I managed to get my hands on an ARC. This review reflects that.

To me, this book was flawless: emotionally tense (so tense I was shaking at points, literally forcing myself to read every word even though I really just wanted to skip ahead and make sure everything was all right), cleverly plotted (Black intertwines several different plots, some mundane and some dire, deftly - giving them all the appropriate amount of screen time and consideration), and thematically unified (the big underlying thing here is choice - every book comes down to a choice Cassel has to make). I already had Strong Feelings about this series, and I was worried that Black was going to disappoint me on some level, but she didn't, and the book itself was astoundingly wonderful. I'm blown away.

Cue the specifics (not particularly spoiler-y except in a very general way, but I figure I cut won't hurt since the book isn't even out yet.

(view spoiler)[Something that really stands out about the series as a whole is Cassel's voice as the narrator. He's a mix of self-loathing and smart-mouthed, clever, quick-witted, and knowledgeable about what he does. He's scared of himself, of who he thinks he might be, even as it comes down to the fact that he doesn't really know who he is. Even at the end of Black Heart he's still just figuring himself out, and there's something so profoundly realistic about that. Most people never figure themselves out.

Black's writing is heartbreakingly beautiful at times, humorous at others, and always deft and well-crafted. Cassel is poetic and sarcastic, and you can tell what he thinks of people just by how he looks at them (e.g Cassel spends very little time in Black Heart describing Sam, he steady best friend, whilst he spares no detail in describing Lila, the girl he's loved since forever). The writing itself is tense - Cassel is granted enough know-how and awareness to illustrate the danger of a situation, while also allowing room for the reader to be surprised.

The relationships really shine in Black Heart. Characters I really didn't care about (e.g. Barron) develop into three-dimensional individuals, while relationships between other characters (e.g. Sam and Daneca) shift drastically. Cassel's mom is humanized, and even the "villains" (or the closest thing to) are shown to be complex. Cassel and Barron have a brotherly repartee that is both organic and amusing, while Cassel struggles with his "normal" friends who don't really understand half of what he is. Most important is Cassel's relationship with Lila, which is not only shown as passionate, but also warm and comfortable.

Plot-wise the book is well structured, moving between several mysteries ranging between amateur cons at school to life-or-death political situations. The action is always moving, is always handled well - sometimes Cassel even manages to come out on top, but more often he is running around in a kind of perpetual struggle to stay on top of things. What I really, really loved was the way some plotlines were never really resolved. Once again, there's something so realistic, so tangible, about that little touch that moves these books from amazing read to something profound.

And the book is profound - as I said in the above there's an overlying theme of choice, about who one chooses to be, about the relative goodness of the choices we make. There isn't really a right or a wrong answer to Cassel's story except in the most broad kind of way, and Black Heart is all about making the right choice - that is, about making the good choice, and then after that making the best choice. The story flirts cleverly with morality, never taking a dogmatic sense, and certainly not providing much in the way of solid answers. That's a good thing, because it leaves the reader to think a whole lot about whether, in the end, Cassel was a hero, a villain, or something else entirely. (hide spoiler)]

The short version? Do yourself a favor and buy this book. If you haven't read the series, buy the whole thing. It's well worth it.