Spider's Revenge (Elemental Assassin, Book 5) by Jennifer Estep

 

Spider's Revenge is a whirlwind of a book. The plot did not take a straight line reaching the end -- there were a lot of left turns, a few swan dives, and Gin was too close to this to be the normal stoic Gin with endless patience.

It's the same Gin, but the tone of the book is a lot different than previous books. That is neither good nor bad, just an observation. This is personal, and she can't be as coolly detached as she normally is. 


Here's the blurb:

Old habits die hard for assassins.

And I plan on murdering someone before the night is through.

Killing used to be my regular gig, after all. Gin Blanco, aka the Spider, assassin-for-hire. And I was very, very good at it. Now, I’m ready to make the one hit that truly matters: Mab Monroe, the dangerous Fire elemental who murdered my family when I was thirteen. Oh, I don’t think the mission will be easy, but turns out it’s a bit more problematic than expected. The bitch knows I’m coming for her. So now I’m up against the army of lethal bounty hunters Mab hired to track me down. She also put a price on my baby sister’s head. Keeping Bria safe is my first priority. Taking Mab out is a close second. Good thing I’ve got my powerful Ice and Stone magic—and my irresistible lover, Owen Grayson—to watch my back. This battle has been years in the making, and there’s a good chance I won’t survive. But if I’m going down, then Mab’s coming with me . . . no matter what I have to do to make that happen.

The previous books have been building up to Spider's Revenge, if you haven't read the previous four books then I don't think you'll want to start with this one. 

As for the writing elements:

• The plot should be predictable, since we all have a general idea of how it's going to end. And it sort of is predictable, but... not. There are enough surprises and twists to keep you on your toes until the very end.
• Pacing had some issues, but nothing too major.
• Prose and dialogue were excellent. Beautiful.
• Character development is a funny thing. The Gin we see in Spider's Revenge is not the same Gin we've seen in previous books. But as I said earlier, this is personal, and that puts her off of her game. At first it bothered me, but the more I think about it, the more I appreciate it. Also, Gin does grow emotionally in this book, as do a few other characters.
• World-building is consistent with previous books in the series.

I was concerned that the previous books have led up to Spider's Revenge, and (based on the blurb) wondered where the series would head once this plot arc was finished. Never fear, Ms. Estep has a plan, and we see the seeds of where things are heading. I'm anxious to see how she makes things play out when By a Thread comes out in February. 

• Book Rating: Spider's Revenge: 9 of 10
• Series Rating: 10 of 10

And finally, for those who can tell I wanted to say something but were holding back, I need to put this into spoiler text: We want revenge to feel good, but it rarely does. Especially when it has been an all consuming part of your life for a long time. When you finally have your revenge, it's often a let down. I appreciate that the book takes us into those feelings honestly, and even has Gin explore the feeling a bit, after the fact. She realizes that for so long killing Mab had been her focus, and now she is without a focus. It's a good book, but it left me feeling a bit melancholy. Things are not over, not by a long shot, and I look forward to the next book. (Select the spoiler text to view it.)

You can read blurbs and excerpts for the books in the Elemental Assassin series at Jennifer Estep's website. 

This series is one of my five most favorite series. I highly recommend it.

1. Spider's Bite
2. Web of Lies (May 25, 2010)
3. Venom (September 28, 2010) 
4. Tangled Threads  (April 26, 2011)
5. Spider's Revenge  (September 27, 2011)
6. By a Thread (Feb 28, 2012)

Tangled Threads (Elemental Assassin, Book 4) by Jennifer Estep

 

I adore Gin Blanco. Yeah, sure, she's an assassin. Assassins kill people, and that's generally considered to be a bad thing. But Gin has her own code of honor, and she's different. And besides, she's retired now.

If you've been reading this series then you know that there is going to be a final showdown between Gin and Mab at some point. If you haven't been reading the series then stop reading this review and go read my review of the first book in this series.

As for whether the much awaited showdown happens in this book... let me just say that the title of book five in this series is going to be Spider's Revenge. But that's okay, Gin is still building her own strength, and getting her own house in order before she deals with Mab. And a lot of that happens in Tangled Threads.

Here's the blurb:

I’d rather face a dozen lethal assas­sins any night than deal with some­thing as tricky, con­vo­luted, and frag­ile as my feel­ings. But here I am. Gin Blanco, the semi-retired assas­sin known as the Spi­der. Hov­er­ing out­side sexy busi­ness­man Owen Grayson’s front door like a ner­vous teenage girl. One thing I like about Owen: he doesn’t shy away from my past — or my present. And right now I have a bull’s-eye on my fore­head. 

Cold-blooded Fire ele­men­tal Mab Mon­roe has hired one of the smartest assas­sins in the busi­ness to trap me. Elek­tra LaFleur is skilled and effi­cient, with deadly elec­tri­cal ele­men­tal magic as potent as my own Ice and Stone pow­ers. Which means there’s a fifty-fifty chance one of us won’t sur­vive this bat­tle. I intend to kill LaFleur — or die try­ing — because Mab wants the assas­sin to take out my baby sis­ter, Detec­tive Bria Coolidge, too. The only prob­lem is, Bria has no idea I’m her long-lost sib­ling … or that I’m the mur­derer she’s been chas­ing through Ash­land for weeks. And what Bria doesn’t know just might get us both dead …

A few things happen in Tangled Threads that I've been waiting to see. Plus, we get a piece of jaw dropping information towards the end of the book. Not a cliffhanger, just information we didn't have before.

My one complaint? All of the murmuring that happens. It bugged me enough that I went back and did a search... and someone murmurs 42 times in the book. Some of the murmuring fits, but some of it just made me wonder why she wasn't speaking up at that moment, why she felt the need to murmur. It sounds like a petty thing to complain about, but it pulled me out of the story somewhere around 30 of those 42 times it was used.

As for the writing elements:

• The main plot was good if a bit predictable. Still, predictable or not, it was a good step towards Gin learning more about her own powers.  The plots that are part of the series arc had some interesting twists and a few nice resolutions. Or partial resolutions.
• Pacing was mostly good but had a few minor issues.
• Prose and dialogue flowed nicely with the exception of the murmuring.  
• Character development continues to have depth and interest and make you feel as if you know the characters.
• World-building is still exceptionally well done.

I'm torn on what to rate Tangled Threads. I've rated every book so far in this series as a 10 of 10, but I think Tangled Threads is going to get a 9 of 10. It's still a very good book, but just not quite a 10. The series rating is still easily a 10 of 10.

• Book Rating: Tangled Threads: 9 of 10
• Series Rating: 10 of 10

You can read blurbs and excerpts for the books in the Elemental Assasin series at Jennifer Estep's website.






1. Spider's Bite
2. Web of Lies (May 25, 2010)
3. Venom (September 28, 2010) 
4. Tangled Threads  (April 26, 2011)
5. Spider's Revenge  (September 27, 2011)

The Top 18 books of 2010

 

It's the end of the year, time to look back on the best books of 2010. This list is not the best books I've read this year, but the best book I've read this year that were also published in 2010. Clicking on the numbered titles will take you to my review of that book. Clicking on the book images will take you to Amazon's page for that book.


1. Magic Bleeds (Kate Daniels, Book 4) by Ilona Andrews 

This is my favorite series, so it's probably no big surprise that book four of this series comes in at my favorite book of the year.  The books available now are shown below. The next book is Magic Slays and will be available in May.





2. Blood Cross (Jane Yellowrock, Book 2) by Faith Hunter

This is a new series for me, and I've fallen in love with Jane Yellowrock. I've already read and reviewed an ARC of book three, and if it were released in 2010 it would certainly be on this list as well.  The books in this series are:

3. Frost Moon (Skindancer series Book 1) by Anthony Francis

Another debut series for me, and I've been watching for the second book to be released but so far all I've seen are teasers from the author. I can't wait for book two, because book one knocked my socks off.


4.  Spider's Bite: An Elemental Assassin Book by Jennifer Estep
5.  Web of Lies (Elemental Assassin Book 2) by Jennifer Estep
6.  Venom (Elemental Assassin, Book 3) by Jennifer Estep

Jennifer Estep released three books in her new Elemental Assassin series this year, and all three were incredible. I couldn't decide which to rate highest, so I've just got them all listed in order. Gin Blanco is a likable kick-ass heroine, and she's got a supporting cast that work great as well. The books in this series are shown below, with Tangled scheduled for release in April.

7. Changes (Dresden Files, Book 12) by Jim Butcher

There have been a few books in this series that didn't work for me. A few books of "same thing, different book". But Changes was in a class by itself. Looking through the list, I'm surprised I've put it at number seven, because when I read it I felt for sure it would be one of the top three books of the year. But there have been some really good books this year, so it's all the way back at seven. I'm not going to show all twelve book in this series, if you haven't read the series and want to start, the first book is Storm Front.


8.  Vicious Grace (Book 3 of The Black Sun's Daughter) by M.L.N. Hanover

Another new series for me this year, and another series with a completely new twist on the Urban Fantasy genre. The fourth book, Killing Rites, is due to come out in the fall. The books available now are shown below.




9.  Silver Borne (Mercy Thompson, Book 5) by Patricia Briggs

I loved Silver Borne.  The books in this series keep getting better and better.  In a really good series we see character growth, so it's a lot of fun to watch Mercy grow as a person. She actually (gasp) learns from her mistakes instead of making the same mistakes over and over again. The books available now are shown below, and River Marked will be out March 1.

10.  Play of Passion (Psy-Changelings, Book 9) by Nalini Singh

I adore Nalini Singh, and I love her Psy-Changelings. This series is more of a Paranormal Romance, which isn't usually my thing... but the series is written so well, and the metaphysics and world building are so original, that it's one of my favorite series. I can't wait for Kiss of Snow to release in May, and I expect it will be one of my top three or four favorite books of 2011. I'm not going to show all nine books in this series, but if you haven't read this series and would like to start then you really should read them in order. The first book is Slave to Sensation.


11.  An Artificial Night (October Daye Book 3) by Seanan McGuire

Another new series for me this year. I thought the first book was really good, I didn't care too much for the second book, and the third book blew me away. The books available now are shown below and the fourth book, Late Eclipses, is due out March 1.




12. Archangel's Kiss (Guild Hunter Book 2) by Nalini Singh

I'm still on the fence about whether I'm going to love this series or not. However, the second book took place in The Forbidden City in Beijing, and having spent the better part of the day there a few times, and since the main character gets to stay in The Forbidden City... sleep in a room, attend balls there, etc. -- I loved the fantasy of it. The book itself was a really good book, even without my love for the location, and the series certainly has promise. I think the first two books have set us up for the series, and the next book should give a better idea of where things are going from here.  The books available now are shown below, and the next book is Archangel's Consort.




13. Roadkill (Cal Leandros, Book 5) by Rob Thurman

This is not one of my favorite series. In fact, I've got the series listed as an 8 of 10. But Roadkill? Oh. My. Goodness. This is the best book, by far, of the series. I laughed, I cried. And there were philosophical points that I read and re-read and allowed to soak into my psyche. Oh, and there was a plot, and an adventure or two (or three) along the way.

14.  Kitty Goes to War (Kitty Norville, Book 8) by Carrie Vaughn

This is another of my favorite series, Carrie Vaughn continues to amaze me by pulling out plots and twists that keep this series like a breath of fresh air. Each book heads off in a unique direction, each is a surprise. I thought I knew what Kitty Goes to War was going to be about. I was so very, very, wrong. It was much different, and was a very good book. I won't list all of the books in this series, but I highly recommend it, and if you want to start at the beginning the first book is Kitty and the Midnight Hour.  And yes, the series is about a werewolf named Kitty. The name came first, before she was turned against her will. The titles are cute, but the books are quite serious. The next book will be titled Kitty's Big Trouble and is due out in June.

15. Magic at the Gate (Allie Beckstrom Book 5) by Devon Monk

The Allie Beckstrom series just keeps getting better and better. I had trouble getting through the first book, but did because so many people said the series is really good once you get past the first book. And? They were soooo right. There is a good bit of worldbuilding, and a lot of rules to this world, but it's the characters and the storylines and the plots that make this series. The books available now are shown below, the next book will be titled Magic on the Hunt and is due out in April.

16.  Shadow Blade (Shadowchasers book 1) by Seressia Glass

Another debut series by a debut author, I gave the first book in this series a 10 of 10, but the second book received a 9 of 10. The third book, Shadow Fall is due out in June and will be the litmus test for whether I stick with the series or not.


17.  Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven by Susan Jane Gilman

The only book in today's list that isn't an Urban Fantasy. Ms. Gilman's first visit to China was a dozen years before my first visit to China, and she really made the sights, sounds, smells, and culture of China come alive in a way that is very difficult to do. Undress me in the Temple of Heaven is more than a travel memoir, it's one of those truth-is-stranger-than-fiction books.


18.  Tempest Rising (Jane True, bk 1) by Nicole Peeler

Yet another new series for me this year, the Jane True series is a quirky urban fantasy with a bit of a new twist on the genre. Sort of.  I described the first few books as fun and lighthearted. I've already read an ARC of Tempest's Legacy (due out next week) and the lighthearted part goes away.  It's still quirky and fun, but things get a lot deeper and a lot more emotional in the third book. I have a feeling that Tempest's Legacy will be a lot higher in the 2011 listing next year.