Sanibel
Holly Black’s Curse Workers series was my guilty pleasure back in the day. I’m well aware of all its shortcomings — the sometimes thin world-building, the occasional pacing issues — but I loved it anyway. There was something irresistible about the blend of noir, crime, cons, and magic that hooked me, and I tore through those books like they were made for me.
Recently, while going through my shelves, I found my old Curse Workers books and got curious about what Black had written in the years since I stopped keeping up with her releases. That’s when I discovered Book of Night, the first in a new series, with a sequel set to release in 2025.
With a tagline like: “Charlie Hall has never found a lock she couldn’t pick, a book she couldn’t steal, or a bad decision she wouldn’t make,” how could I not pick it up?
Reading Book of Night felt like stepping into familiar territory, but with a darker, more mature edge. Like Curse Workers, Book of Night leans into noir elements—dangerous magic, crime, and a protagonist who can’t quite escape her past. Charlie Hall is a con artist, a survivor, and someone who’s spent most of her life making bad choices. She reminded me a lot of Cassel Sharpe, though her world is darker, and her mistakes feel heavier. Instead of curse magic, this world revolves around shadows—manipulating them, stealing them, and binding them in ways that feel both fascinating and horrifying.
The pacing here is slower than Curse Workers, more atmospheric. It’s heavier and leans more into psychological tension than action. The mystery unfolds in layers, and the story plays with trust and deception in ways that feel quintessentially Holly Black.
For most of the book, I was all in. I enjoyed Charlie as a protagonist—she’s reckless, sharp-witted, and haunted by her past in a way that felt real. I liked the way she navigates a world that constantly tries to swallow her whole. The world of shadow magic was intriguing, even if some of the mechanics felt underexplored. The plot had that classic Holly Black twisty, con-game feel, and I was fully invested in where it was going.
And then... the ending happened.
I can’t talk about it without spoilers, but I will say this: a choice was made that left me deeply uncomfortable. Not because it was a bad narrative decision—it made sense within the world, within the stakes—but because of what it says about love, power, and control. I understand why it happened. I even understand why it might have felt like the only option. But that understanding doesn’t make it sit any easier with me.
Book of Night is gripping, clever, and exactly the kind of dark urban fantasy I expected from Holly Black. It has all the elements I loved in Curse Workers—the morally gray protagonist, the magic-infused crime world, the tension between love and deception—but with a more adult, unsettling edge. I’d recommend it to those that like urban fantasy and noir, but with a caveat: this book lingers in ways you might not expect.
I’ll be reading the sequel. But I’ll also be watching closely to see how Black handles what comes next—because some choices aren’t so easy to undo.
P.S. This book also has a cat in it. Don’t know if you care about that, but you should. Holly Black writes cats really well. They always feel like more than just background animals—they have personality, presence, and a way of making their scenes feel lived in. Similar to Barron in Curse Workers, Lucipurr in Book of Night adds just the right touch of attitude and charm to the story.
Holly Black’s Curse Workers series was my guilty pleasure back in the day. I’m well aware of all its shortcomings — the sometimes thin world-building, the occasional pacing issues — but I loved it anyway. There was something irresistible about the blend of noir, crime, cons, and magic that hooked me, and I tore through those books like they were made for me.
Recently, while going through my shelves, I found my old Curse Workers books and got curious about what Black had written in the years since I stopped keeping up with her releases. That’s when I discovered Book of Night, the first in a new series, with a sequel set to release in 2025.
With a tagline like: “Charlie Hall has never found a lock she couldn’t pick, a book she couldn’t steal, or a bad decision she wouldn’t make,” how could I not pick it up?
Reading Book of Night felt like stepping into familiar territory, but with a darker, more mature edge. Like Curse Workers, Book of Night leans into noir elements—dangerous magic, crime, and a protagonist who can’t quite escape her past. Charlie Hall is a con artist, a survivor, and someone who’s spent most of her life making bad choices. She reminded me a lot of Cassel Sharpe, though her world is darker, and her mistakes feel heavier. Instead of curse magic, this world revolves around shadows—manipulating them, stealing them, and binding them in ways that feel both fascinating and horrifying.
The pacing here is slower than Curse Workers, more atmospheric. It’s heavier and leans more into psychological tension than action. The mystery unfolds in layers, and the story plays with trust and deception in ways that feel quintessentially Holly Black.
For most of the book, I was all in. I enjoyed Charlie as a protagonist—she’s reckless, sharp-witted, and haunted by her past in a way that felt real. I liked the way she navigates a world that constantly tries to swallow her whole. The world of shadow magic was intriguing, even if some of the mechanics felt underexplored. The plot had that classic Holly Black twisty, con-game feel, and I was fully invested in where it was going.
And then... the ending happened.
I can’t talk about it without spoilers, but I will say this: a choice was made that left me deeply uncomfortable. Not because it was a bad narrative decision—it made sense within the world, within the stakes—but because of what it says about love, power, and control. I understand why it happened. I even understand why it might have felt like the only option. But that understanding doesn’t make it sit any easier with me.
Book of Night is gripping, clever, and exactly the kind of dark urban fantasy I expected from Holly Black. It has all the elements I loved in Curse Workers—the morally gray protagonist, the magic-infused crime world, the tension between love and deception—but with a more adult, unsettling edge. I’d recommend it to those that like urban fantasy and noir, but with a caveat: this book lingers in ways you might not expect.
I’ll be reading the sequel. But I’ll also be watching closely to see how Black handles what comes next—because some choices aren’t so easy to undo.
P.S. This book also has a cat in it. Don’t know if you care about that, but you should. Holly Black writes cats really well. They always feel like more than just background animals—they have personality, presence, and a way of making their scenes feel lived in. Similar to Barron in Curse Workers, Lucipurr in Book of Night adds just the right touch of attitude and charm to the story.