Review Detail

It took me a good 100 pages to get into this book. Now, mobster-like stories aren't exactly my thing, but after hearing so many good things about the TITHE series, I had to give this book a shot. I could tell immediately that the writing was great. It is told in the present tense with great description and detail. The plot just didn't excite me much. I pushed this book to the side several times but then I told my self, "Hey, you have to read this." So I pushed through the rough parts and was pleasantly surprised.


This book really picks up and gets exciting towards the middle. By that point all the questions you have about 'workers' are pretty much answered. This book has so many unexpected twists. Right when you think that you know what is going on, what do you know, you really don't know what is going on. There are betrayals and deceit beyond what anybody could even fathom.


This book doesn't have a tremendous amount of romance but it has just the right amount to not subtract from the action and make the romance-lovers like myself pleased.


Holly Black obviously knows how to weave clever worlds and words that are so natural they could be real. There are a lot of instances, I've discovered, where withholding information from the reader does not work when it comes to suspense, but Holly Black does an excellent job with that. I found myself munching on my nails and wondering how in the world Cassel was going to get him out of certain situations. Cassel does some things that don't seem to make sense at the time, but then are later explained and I thought, "Ahhh. Clever boy."


I ended up staying up until 3 AM finishing this gripping tale and longing for the sequel.