goodbetterbetsy's review against another edition
4.0
I love this series! I believe this is the final book (tear) but I would keep reading them if they kept coming out. I have to admit I liked White Cat and Red Glove more than Black Heart, but I still was really interested in how things were going to turn out. I do feel that some of the bigger plots in the story were just left hanging or not explained as well as I would have liked.
Cassel training with his brother Barron to work with the feds. But he's not quite able to keep himself on the straight and narrow. Since he had a falling out with Lila, he decides to follow her as she does jobs for her father. He sees her order a hit on someone and follows the hit man. After a scuffle, he steals the hit mans gun and lets him go. What seemed like an enormous amount of time was spent on this part of the story and it turned out to be a bigger deal then expected (with Cassel stealing the gun), however, to me it seemed like a really loose way to further the plot in a couple other areas. I don't know, it just seemed a bit weak. There were a couple of other plot lines that really didn't seem to fit into the story very well and just seemed to be left hanging there.
If you've read the other books in this series, definitely pick this one up. Very cool series.
Cassel training with his brother Barron to work with the feds. But he's not quite able to keep himself on the straight and narrow. Since he had a falling out with Lila, he decides to follow her as she does jobs for her father. He sees her order a hit on someone and follows the hit man. After a scuffle, he steals the hit mans gun and lets him go. What seemed like an enormous amount of time was spent on this part of the story and it turned out to be a bigger deal then expected (with Cassel stealing the gun), however, to me it seemed like a really loose way to further the plot in a couple other areas. I don't know, it just seemed a bit weak. There were a couple of other plot lines that really didn't seem to fit into the story very well and just seemed to be left hanging there.
If you've read the other books in this series, definitely pick this one up. Very cool series.
sri_savita's review against another edition
4.0
Another Holly Black trilogy completed and my only regret is racing through them so fast, thank goodness I preordered the beautiful new bind-up with all three books to have its place of honor next to my other beloved Holly Black books.
This was probably my favorite of the three books in this trilogy because so many exciting things happened, the world got wider, and we met amazing new characters. I think it was smart of Holly to keep the scale of the world small because I was wondering how she was going to manage the many levels of magic and politics and so many key players that just led to more questions, and leave some threads loose by the end of the book. It was hard to see how some plotlines were related so I knocked a star off for that. Though I initially felt like the ride ended too soon, I think the last line was perfect and I was happy for our characters. I miss them already. I felt this way with Queen of Nothing but I think this installment puts the romance front and center, and while there's nothing wrong with that or that detracted from my overall enjoyment, I think there were just so many interesting things about the politics and past heists, and the compelling side characters and family characters that HB is so adept at drawing. The ground is fertile for a follow-up and if there's ever a continuation or spinoff, then I'll be the first in line to read it. This magic system and world is one of my favorites.
This was probably my favorite of the three books in this trilogy because so many exciting things happened, the world got wider, and we met amazing new characters. I think it was smart of Holly to keep the scale of the world small because I was wondering how she was going to manage the many levels of magic and politics and so many key players that just led to more questions, and leave some threads loose by the end of the book. It was hard to see how some plotlines were related so I knocked a star off for that. Though I initially felt like the ride ended too soon, I think the last line was perfect and I was happy for our characters. I miss them already. I felt this way with Queen of Nothing but I think this installment puts the romance front and center, and while there's nothing wrong with that or that detracted from my overall enjoyment, I think there were just so many interesting things about the politics and past heists, and the compelling side characters and family characters that HB is so adept at drawing. The ground is fertile for a follow-up and if there's ever a continuation or spinoff, then I'll be the first in line to read it. This magic system and world is one of my favorites.
elihinze's review against another edition
4.0
This is by far the best book in the trilogy. (Which is nice, because it’s always an awful feeling to muck through a disappointing ending.) The previous books were only so-so, lacking that special “umf” or “punch” or whatever you want to call it. Black Heart is much better executed, with a constant tension thrumming through it and an (actually!) interesting love story. It’s not mushed to death either. It’s strong, and each character is in full possession of themselves regardless of their romance.
The plot is strong, though a tad confusing at the end with Patton. I wasn’t sure what was being coordinated between Barron and Cassel, which made it difficult to follow along, but eventually got back on track.
The characters are given more time to stretch their legs and grow, resulting in more dimension, most especially for members of Cassel’s family.
For its constant tension, character growth, and plot, Black Heart earns itself a 4 out of 5.
The plot is strong, though a tad confusing at the end with Patton. I wasn’t sure what was being coordinated between Barron and Cassel, which made it difficult to follow along, but eventually got back on track.
The characters are given more time to stretch their legs and grow, resulting in more dimension, most especially for members of Cassel’s family.
For its constant tension, character growth, and plot, Black Heart earns itself a 4 out of 5.
annoellyn's review against another edition
5.0
love this series, cassel is a great main character with normal flaws and morality.
taylorreadsbooks's review against another edition
4.0
I still can't get over how much I really liked these books! I love Cassel as a MC and I LOVED Jesse Eisenberg reading the audiobook! Black Heart was a great 3rd book and I am compleatly satisfied with that ending. In fact, I had been hoping for it!
mandalouwho's review against another edition
3.0
Not near as good as the first two, I loved that Barron had a larger role though.
scrollsofdragons's review against another edition
4.0
3.5
This is Daneca Wasserman. She is your girlfriend and you love her. That broke me. Barron is far from a good guy but hes not the complete sociopath Cassiel believes him to be. Why did Cas go and do that for, after all Barron did for him in this book. Your brother cares okay. And taking off with Lila at the end? Urgh, prefer it without. First 100 pages were hard for me to get into but so enjoyable after that.
Series Finale gets a C from me. It was just okay, should have been a little bit better.
This is Daneca Wasserman. She is your girlfriend and you love her. That broke me. Barron is far from a good guy but hes not the complete sociopath Cassiel believes him to be. Why did Cas go and do that for, after all Barron did for him in this book. Your brother cares okay. And taking off with Lila at the end? Urgh, prefer it without. First 100 pages were hard for me to get into but so enjoyable after that.
Series Finale gets a C from me. It was just okay, should have been a little bit better.
blakehalsey's review against another edition
4.0
Amazing conclusion and I just loved Cassel throughout this whole book. While the fact that Cassel even lived through some of what he did (I think the real mafia would've taken him out or at least blackmailed him into a lot more shady stuff), I really loved his endeavors to try and "do the right thing". I thought the entire drama with the Dean could've have been cut. I'm just saying. Regardless, one thing I really loved about this book is that it proves that good writing can make readers care about anyone--even a killer and a con.