Read This Book…

Charlie Hall is in her late twenties, and she’s spent most of her life as a thief and con artist in a world where people can manipulate their own shadows for power and status. But not anymore—after a job went wrong, she’s decided she’s on the straight and narrow path, working as a bartender and trying to see her sister through college. But then one last job reels her back into her former life, and this time she walks right into the center of a dangerous struggle for a legendary grimoire that a local billionaire is desperate to get his hands on. And unfortunately for Charlie, it turns out this mess is about to get personal, so there’s no walking away from it.

If you’re a devoted Holly Black reader, this novel (with a confirmed sequel!) is probably best described as an edgier, slightly more grown up novel that’s reminiscent of her Curseworkers series—it’s got an organized crime element, family secrets, heists, dangerous magic, and plenty of plot twists. If you’re new to Holly Black, hopefully that all sounds good to you! I really enjoyed Charlie, a character who’s never really gotten a fair start in life and grew up manipulated into conning more powerful shadow magic users in order to get ahead. We meet her at a point in her life when she’s realized the danger in her previous actions, and is trying to live a different life—but it’s incredibly hard when the world seems to be against you. You can’t help but sympathize with Charlie for her rather simple desire for a job that pays the bills, a boyfriend who is steady and kind, and a sister who is happy with going to college. Of course, nothing is that simple and Charlie realizes she’s going to have to face the darkness head on if she’s going to even survive.

I’ll be real—I didn’t 100% understand the magic system in this world, and there were many scenes where I just went with it. Luckily, Black makes it easy to do because her writing and her characters are so engaging, and I think it’s the more grounded, real-world struggles of trying to live a good life in a complicated and not-so-kind world that made the conflict so intriguing. And of course, there are some truly excellent twists in this story (some I saw coming, others I didn’t) and a brilliant heist climax that made my head spin (in a good way!), and all of that was really fun. This book is one of my favorites of Black’s work, and it’s perfect for fans of Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo!