Dark Companion by Marta Acosta

Growing up through foster homes has made Jane very leery and on guard. She doesn't trust many and can figure out if someone wants more than what they are saying.

It also made her work extremely hard to succeed and get an education to get out of the slums of town. So she was happy to get a scholarship at the Birch Grove Academy for Girls who has a prestigious reputation and mostly rich girls go there.

Right away the headmistress Mrs. Radcliffe took Jane under her wing and gave her clothes, food, and a place to stay.

And on the plus side, Jane got to tutor the headmistresses handsome son, Lucien - aka Lucky. But she also saw the other son, Jacob, or Jack, even though it seemed that he hated her.

With the two Radcliffe brothers stealing Jane's attention, she has to really focus and make sure that her grades didn't drop.

But things are very odd at Birch Grove Academy. And Jane is trust right into the weirdness of the history.

Not only does Jane have to adjust from living in the slums to having her own cottage on campus, but now the Radcliffe's are asking her to be a Companion - something that most would jump at the chance to be.

Jane, though, has always looked over her shoulder, and does intense research. When she starts looking into the past of two girls who disappeared from Birch Grove Academy, she realizes that everything is not as it seems. Can Jane get out of this situation before it's too late? Or will she decide to stay and be wanted for once in her life? Read Dark Companion by Marta Acosta to find out!

My Thoughts/Reflections
This was an...interesting novel.

Jane has had a hard life. After her mom died when she was 6, Jane grew up in foster homes. The last place she was at she was there for 4 years before she was able to transfer to the Birch Grove Academy. But being in foster homes and living on the wrong side of the block made her very protective and she knew what to do to get out of horrible situations.

But the way Jane acted around Lucien and after she found out about their secret, I couldn't feel pity for Jane anymore. She ignored her own health and her own wants, thinking only of what would be best for Lucien.

Sounds good in theory, but this girl has been fighting for the past 4 years to get to a better place and she wanted to dehumanize herself just to be like the "rich" people.

Thankfully Jane came to her senses and redeemed herself in my opinion by the end of the novel, but throughout most of the novel I just kept shaking my head at her.

The two characters I loved were Mary Violet - one of Jane's new friends at Birch Grove Academy. She said the most random and hilarious things that I found myself laughing out loud.

The other character I loved was Jack. He was so random and extremely different from his brother. I couldn't wait for the next time he randomly popped up in the book to have an odd conversation with Jane.

So, this book just wasn't for me. But for anyone who wants a Dark Gothic novel about an orphan girl trying to find her way in life, I would definitely recommend it to you.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Karou is a unique 17 year old girl. She lives in Prague, she's an art student who is extremely talented when drawing, and she has blue hair.

Her hair comes out of her head that color, or it did after she made a wish, and her drawings? Some are drawings of monsters who she claims are real, but none of her friends believe her.

In fact, they are real. Brimstone, Issa, Twiga, and Yasri. They are who raised Karou since she was an infant, and are the inspiration for her drawing.

What Karou doesn't realize is that they are not from Earth. They have another world where there are numerous chimera's. The only reason they are on Earth is because they are raising Karou away from that world to give her a chance to stay out of the Chimera War.

Now she is running "errands" for Brimstone. She doesn't ask, well too much, and he will never tell her what the errands are for, she just goes where she is supposed to when she is told.

But around the world, there is a mysterious dark hand print that is popping up on doors.

Akiva is one of those people who are placing the hand print on these doors. He is the mortal enemy of the chimeras. And he is very close to winning the war for good.

When Akiva sees Karou and is fighting against her, he finds that he is distracted by her. As a seraph, a war angel, he has no emotions, so being distracted by Karou puzzled him. Then, with the demon eyes tattooed on Karou's hands, she was able to escape.

But that didn't keep Akiva from wondering about her and going out to find her to figure out the mystery that is Karou.

Only one other person got under Akiva's skin like that, but Karou couldn't be that girl since she died.

Or could she?

To find out the mystery that is Karou and how the Chimera War progresses, read Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor!

My Thoughts/Reflections
This was a great book! At first I wasn't sure where it was going, but the way Taylor wrote and created a new world for the reader kept me enthralled and wanting to know more about the characters and about the other world.

Karou is a unique character with blue hair, tattoos, and an amazing talent of drawing. All of her classmates in her art classes want to look at her sketch book to see the amazing characters and landscapes she makes. She has over 90 binders of drawings, so it's not homework to her but a way of living.

Akiva is a tortured soul who only has one goal in life. But when he stumbles upon Karou, he starts to stray from that goal to learn more about this appealing person.

The attraction between these two characters was phenomenal. I wanted them to meet more and more.

Then Taylor threw in some more twists and turns that kept the reader wanting more.

I think I liked it so much because it was different than the other novels coming out today. I don't know much about chimera or seraphs, so I wasn't expecting anything particular when reading this novel.

This is the first of a series, and the second novel, Days of Blood and Starlight, comes out November 6, 2012, so just a few more months of waiting! I'll definitely be ordering this from the library as soon as I can!

I would definitely recommend this novel to anyone who wants a unique, urban fantasy with a forbidden love, survival, and another world aspect. It was a fast read for me and I definitely wasn't bored throughout the novel.

Black Heart by Holly Black

This is the third book in The Curse Worker series by Holly Black.

Here is my review of the first book: White Cat.

Here is my review of the second book: Red Glove.

After forcing his brother into working with the government, Cassel is now training with Barron during the time he has off from school.

Since he has nothing better to do, right?

When the government needs Cassel's curse magic, though, Cassel has to make a decision. Work for the Feds, or they will find his mother and put her in prison again for another con she pulled - this time with a politician.

Since Cassel really had no choice, he's doing a job that seems very familiar to a job he would have done with the mob. So in reality, both sides of the coin are pretty much the same thing, only one thinks they are doing "good".

Along with the governmental issues Cassel has, he is also heartbroken by the way things went with Lila. The curse his mother put on her has finally gone away, but now she's angry at Cassel and has been ignoring him.

Things are also going badly for his roommate, Sam, and his girlfriend, creating chaos for both Sam and Cassel that is keeping them distracted from other things.

And since Cassel never seems to get a break, a girl from his school came to him for help because someone is blackmailing her. Only he gets a strange vibe from her, knowing she is lying but not knowing what about.

When Cassel and Lila finally talk about their feelings and find out that the love each other, Cassel has a decision to make. Will he stay with the Feds, on the "good" side, or will he go with Lila, the love of his life?

And, because this is Cassel, he'll also have to get himself out of a mess he created with another con act.

My Thought/Reflections
Another great novel in The Curse Workers series, and a great ending! There was more con acts to follow, more mystery to unfold, and enough romance to keep the reader engaged in this continued story.

I really was very happy with this ending. I don't want to give too much away, but Cassel finally opened his eyes to what he really wanted and forgot about everything else, which is what a teenager should do every once in awhile.

The thing that I loved about this series is Cassel. He was the main character, the main narrator, and it was nice and different to get a guys perspective in a novel rather than a female.

I think that this would be a great book for guys. I just wish that the covers were more appealing to guy readers - maybe show Cassel do a con act, or a "mysterious" vibe to the cover that might get more guys to pick up these novels.

I'm also really happy that while there was a romantic story included, it wasn't the story itself. There was magic, mobs, government, politics - events that happen in the "real" world and what grown ups usually deal with.

Only Cassel was stuck in the grown up world.

I really enjoyed this story and will be finding out if there is more to come or if this is the end to Holly Black's series.

If it's the ending, I'd call myself a happy camper. If there is more, I will definitely be picking up the next novel ready to delve into Cassel's next adventure, because I'm sure his life will never be boring haha.

Red Glove by Holly Black

This is the second book in The Curse Workers series by Holly Black.

To read the review of the first novel, click here: White Cat.

Cassel is starting his senior year at his preparatory school, but things are very different than last semester. First, his roommate and his girlfriend know Cassel is a curse worker, though they don't know what kind yet.

Second, the girl Cassel loves, Lila, was worked by his mother to fall in love with Cassel. Now that she's at his school, he can't ignore her as much, and resisting her is becoming harder and harder.

When Cassel is confronted by two FBI agents informing him that his oldest brother, Phillip was murdered, Cassel finds himself in a very compromising situation.

Zacharov, the crime boss and Lila's father, wants Cassel to use his curse magic for him. The FBI wants Cassel to be a part of a team for the government.

And Cassel? He just wants Lila not to be cursed to love him and to get through his senior year in school.

However, the FBI gave him an ultimatum: find out who killed his brother, and the killer of unsolved cases Phillip was working on, or they will frame his mother since she's been working older, elite men since she got out of prison.

But when Cassel finds out who killed the men of the unsolved cases and finds out who Phillip's killer is, he has to pull out all of his con abilities to protect those two people.

Once again, Cassel will need to use the tricks and tools he's grown up with to get everyone out of trouble. Hopefully his luck stays with him throughout this investigation.

My Thoughts/Reflections
Now that I've been introduced to Holly Black's world in the Curse Worker realm, I really enjoyed this novel!

Cassel is stuck in so many worlds and so many lies, I don't know how he can keep them all straight! I also love how he comes up with his cons and how detailed he is before he reveals his story to anyone. That is a great gift; conniving, but great!

I had to chuckle when reading about Cassel and Lila. I know it's not funny, having a girl be forced to love you because of a curse, but the intense work he put into avoiding her did nothing to stop the attraction between the two.

This was a great novel and a great addition to add to the first novel of the series. I also liked how Cassel started to trust more people with the real truth, and not the version that he decided to give to his friends and associates.

Being part of so many circles can be a burden to one person, but Cassel managed it throughout this novel and I was very impressed with how much his character had grown.

I'm anxiously waiting to read the third, and final, book in this series to see what is in store for Cassel at the end.

White Cat by Holly Black

This is the first novel in The Curse Workers series by Holly Black.

Cassel is the youngest brother in a very well-known Curse Worker family. Unfortunately, Cassel doesn't have his own curse.

With just the touch of their hand/finger, any curse worker can make the person they touch do whatever their ability is: change their emotion, break bones, make them become lucky, etc.

The magic of the curse worker is illegal, making all curse workers turn to con artist events or go to the mob to work.

Cassel, as not having any powers, has still lead a life of a con artist. At his prep school he is a bookie, taking bets of silly random events that students want to bet against. Cassel can also con his way out of anything - he knows the tricks to lie very easily and to stay undetected when needed.

But when Cassel sleepwalks and is forced to leave the school until a doctor says his sleepwalking is under control, Cassel is forced home to live with his older brother, Phillip. Soon, his other brother Barron comes home but things seem very weird between the two of them.

Around the same time as his sleepwalking started, Cassel also had a dream about a white cat who needed his help with a curse. That didn't make any sense, though, since Cassel doesn't have curse worker magic.

When the cat comes to Cassel in real life, though, Cassel knows there is something going on - something bad. And there is also a very big secret that involves the white cat, his brothers, and an old friend named Lila.

Hopefully Cassel's con abilities will get him out of this problem.

My Thoughts/Reflections
I love Holly Black. I've read all of her books and have enjoyed them, and this book is no different.

I will admit, it did take me awhile to get into this story. I put it down a couple of times but I didn't give up because a lot of my friends really enjoyed it.

And in the end, I'm very glad that I kept with it! The world that Holly Black created is somewhat hard to grasp at first, but once everything clicks, the story goes really fast and the reader is racing through the ending along with Cassel.

I think this book could interested anyone - especially because it is a male narrator so it might draw attention to guy readers as well.

There is a lot going on in this novel but the main theme is magic and crime. The curse workers are forced into crime because they are not trusted by normal/non-curse workers and they need to make money to live.

Now that I've gotten a handle on the atmosphere and the "rules" of this book, I'm very excited to read the second book in this series!