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Reviews of books in a series, with a focus on urban fantasy.
Other genres include mystery, paranormal romance, and crime thrillers.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Spider's Bite: An Elemental Assassin Book by Jennifer Estep




As I finished Spider's Bite I immediately went online to see when the next book will be out. Three months. I have to wait three months for the next installment. Unless maybe I can get an ARC or something.

Spider's Bite literally blew me away. I've had an interest in the whole assassin thing for a while. First there was Edward from the Anita Blake series, then there was Cormac from the Kitty Norville series, and then Kelley Armstrong released two books in her Nadia Stafford series and then apparently dropped the series, much to my disappointment.

And now we have Gin Blanco:


My name is Gin, and I kill people.

They call me the Spider. I'm the most feared assassin in the South -- when I'm not busy at the Pork Pit cooking up the best barbecue in Ashland. As a Stone elemental, I can hear everything from the whispers of the gravel beneath my feet to the vibrations of the soaring Appalachian Mountains above me. My Ice magic also comes in handy for making the occasional knife. But I don't use my powers on the job unless I absolutely have to. Call it professional pride.

Now that a ruthless Air elemental has double-crossed me and killed my handler, I'm out for revenge. And I'll exterminate anyone who gets in my way -- good or bad. I may look hot, but I'm still one of the bad guys. Which is why I'm in trouble, since irresistibly rugged Detective Donovan Caine has agreed to help me. The last thing this coldhearted killer needs when I'm battling a magic more powerful than my own is a sexy distraction...especially when Donovan wants me dead just as much as the enemy.



The blurb does nothing to describe the many events of the book. Gin is about as three dimensional as a character can get. She is a cold hearted assassin, but she does live by a code, and she has people she loves.

There is going to be a lot of depth in this series, a lot of moral issues explored, and a lot of directions the plots can go from here.

As for the Urban Fantasy aspects, the world building is very well done, with what appear to be pretty simple magical rules for those who have magical abilities.

The world building is good, the dialogue is good, the prose flows as it should, the pacing is excellent, and the characters are interesting. I don't have to think twice about how to rate Spider's Bite: It easily gets a 10 of 10.

Book Rating: Spider's Bite: 10 of 10






1. Spider's Bite
2. Web of Lies (May 25, 2010)
3. Venom (September 28, 2010)


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