ARC Review: Widow's Web by Jennifer Estep

 Widow's Web
(More like 4.5 feathers!)

(Elemental Assassin #7)

by Jennifer Estep

WIDOW’S WEB is book seven in the Elemental Assassin series and this time, Estep makes it personal.

Gin Blanco has a new enemy in town. Her name is Selina Debouis and rumor has it, the water elemental is back in Ashland after her long disappearance to seek revenge. But it seems that that’s not the only thing Selina has her eyes on...

Owen, Gin’s lover and Selina have a complicated past. Struggling at a young age to survive, Owen, Selina, Owen’s younger sister, Eva and Gin’s other enemy Philip Kincaid banded together to do whatever was necessary to live onto the next day. One secret haunts them all and splits the group into two, severing any friendships that the group may have had. This secret is the most deceitful and it makes for a very interesting story.

Readers get a glimpse of a more vulnerable Gin in this book. The fact that Owen has ties to Selina makes simply killing her a complicated task, especially when Owen seems to be harboring feelings toward his oldest friend still. Emotions are rocked back and forth in this book and I have to say that this may be one of my favorites of Estep’s because she was able to create an engaging villain in Selina while creating some drama as well to stir things up.

Some scenes are hard to read because of the emotional depth involved in them. This was exactly the type of scenes I wished for in this series. Seeing Gin kick ass is fantastic, but seeing her deal with something far more important than saving her own life is even more special in my eyes. You see the depth of her relationship with Owen and you see her vulnerability. It just makes Gin a more multi-faceted character. It makes her more real.

With tons of action, emotional depth and a worthy enemy, WIDOW’S WEB is my favorite of the Elemental Assassin series yet! With that ending, I’m hoping that the next book comes sooner rather than later.

*ARC provided by publisher

 

 

Purchase Links: Amazon

ARC Review: By a Thread by Jennifer Estep

 

By A Thread

(Elemental Assassin # 6)

by Jennifer Estep

With Mab Monroe out of the picture, Gin takes a much needed vacation with her sister, Bria. They stop at Sea Breeze, Bria’s friend’s trendy restaurant where Gin takes a bite out of the sweet owner, Callie. While I think Gin has grown from the previous books in the series, there are still times when I feel like she is still the callous person she was in book one. She notices how friendly Callie and her sister are and can’t help but feel jealous of their relationship. Gin has tried to develop the same kind of relationship with her sister, but it hasn’t reached the same affect so far. So while she pouts about that, I can’t help but wonder if they ever will learn to love and trust each other.

Now that Gin’s reputation as the Spider is common knowledge, violence seems to follow her everywhere. The action still doesn't stop! I think it’s safe to say that new readers can open this book and not feel like they are completely lost with the events that have happened before. Estep does a really good job of reviewing the past events so that are not too repetitive, but refreshing to old readers and summarizing those events for new readers.

Meanwhile, Estep pulls a few surprises in this book. A certain someone comes back into Gin’s life and his appearance causes her to stumble back a bit. I wasn’t sure how to take this because while I did like their relationship in the previous books, I don’t think his sudden appearance in this one should have changed or rocked the relationship Gin and developed with Owen.

I have to stay how well-paced and smooth this book is. Estep really knows how to hit home with each end to her chapters, making me want to read “just one more chapter!” It’s very well written, but I do feel like sometimes there is repetition of who Gin is, where she is from, what her powers and weapons are and so on.

Because Monroe is dead and gone, I was worried about where Estep would take this series. She introduces Randall Dekes, a powerful vampire who has a sick addiction of collecting things – you’ll find out what these things are when you read. Dekes was a sick bastard and loved his involvement in this book!

Now if only Gin can keep her jealously in check and remember that she’s got her own people in her life that care about her, then I think her and I could get along well.

*ARC provided by publisher

 

 

Purchase Link: Amazon

Review: Web of Lies by Jennifer Estep

 

Web of Lies

(Elemental Assassin # 2)

by Jennifer Estep

The Spider might be retired, but that doesn’t mean the action stops in Ashland.

Gin is now manning the Pork Pit, her beloved barbeque joint. It seems that danger lurks just around the corner because one night, a young teen walks in asking for the Tin Man aka the man who taught her everything. Soon after, gunshots litter her restaurant making it resemble Swiss cheese. It is only later that Gin realized that the shooter was aiming at the girl, not her.

Curiosity gets the best of her and now Gin must find this girl named Violet Fox and figure out who is after her and what business she has with the Tin Man.

While I enjoyed the writing of this book, I still can’t find myself relating to Gin. There’s this coldness to her that is necessary for her job as an assassin. She is kickass and intelligent, however there’s this sense of detachment from everything that makes it hard for me to relate to this book.

I can appreciate the action and the worldbuilding of this book, but when I can’t relate to the protagonist, we have a problem. Gin has all the qualities of a strong heroine, but I feel like she just goes through the motions. As I read it, it felt like this: Observe, plan the next move. Attack. Insert a snarky comment and execute killing blow.

I’m not sure what I expected. Maybe I hoped for some more emotion, some more passion. It was just hard.

Another thing I noticed a lot in the first book and in this book as well was the use of the word, “Mmm.” If you’ve read this series, I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. Every single time Gin mentions Donovan Caine, you can be sure an “Mmm” will follow suit. Just a tad annoying, but I can understand that sometimes an “Mmm” is the only way you can express yourself when in the presence of Officer Hottie.

However, like I said earlier, there are some great action sequences in this book. Estep knows how to pace these scenes perfectly. The world continues to get better. I’m just not sure Gin is the right match for me.

 

 

Purchase Links: Amazon

Review: Spider's Bite by Jennifer Estep

 

(more like a 3.75. Yes, I know that sounds weird. Read on to see why.)

Spider's Bite 

(Elemental Assassin # 1)

by Jennifer Estep

“I’m the Spider. Surely you’ve heard of me.”

Gin’s assassin reputation precedes her. She is feared by many and respected by those who share the same occupation as her.

Fletcher, her mentor and middle man has a job for her that requires her to take out Gordon Giles at an opera house. The assignment should be an easy one so Gin is all in. But what should have been an easy takeout becomes much more complicated and deadly.

In order to save her own life, Gin takes steps that inevitably pull Fletcher’s son, Finn and a detective named Donovan Caine into the mix, complicating matters greatly.

Many people have recommended this series to me, stating that I’ll want to be Gin “when I grow up.” While I may not be ready to make that statement just yet, I can definitely see why Gin Blanco appeals to so many people.

First off, being an assassin doesn’t bother Gin. She doesn’t obsess over her morals. She plays to her strengths and she just happens to be a damn good killer. On the flipside, I also felt that Gin was too detached. She does show a vulnerable side to her, but I wanted to see more of that. Kicking ass is good, but it doesn’t make a character real to me if that’s all she does.

I am really looking forward to reading more about Gin and her history; learn what makes her tick, what makes her cry and what she desires most. I’m sure with the next few books in the series Gin’s character will develop more.

Spider’s Bite was a little bit like a mountain. The beginning was OK, slowly increasing in its pace. The middle half was the best, hitting its highest peak in terms of pacing and plot. But then the ending felt a little flat for me. I was hoping for something more.

There is also a romantic subplot. Gin’s got the hots for the detective and while I did enjoy their chemistry, I felt like Finn and Gin had something better. Caine was simply too restrained for my liking. He was too busy having an internal battle about right and wrong that it really hindered the romantic aspect of the book.

Overall, I’m looking forward to reading Web of Lies. I can’t wait to read more about Gin.

 

 Purchase links: Amazon