2013 Top Review: Deadly Sting by Jennifer Estep

Deadly Sting 

by Jennifer Estep 

Source: Pocket Books via Edelweiss

Red is definitely my color. Good thing, because in my line of work, I end up wearing it a lot.

Most people shy away from blood, but for an assassin like me — Gin Blanco, aka the Spider — it’s just part of the job. Still, it would be nice to get a night off, especially when I’m attending the biggest gala event of the summer at Briartop, Ashland’s fanciest art museum. But it’s just not meant to be. For this exhibition of my late nemesis’ priceless possessions is not only the place to be seen, but the place to be robbed and taken hostage at gunpoint as well. No sooner did I get my champagne than a bunch of the unluckiest thieves ever burst into the museum and started looting the place.

Unlucky why? Because I brought along a couple of knives in addition to my killer dress. Add these to my Ice and Stone magic, and nothing makes me happier than showing the bad guys why red really is my color.

If you have not read Widow's Web there will a SPOILERS in this review.

Red is definitely Gin's color! In each book of the series we see how deadly Gin can be but since she took out Mab in Spider's Revenage she gone a little soft IMO. But she is in full assassin mode in Deadly Sting!

Deadly Sting is different than all the other books in the Elemental Assassin series. The main plot takes place in one night at one location. I've talked the book over with some of my reading buddies and some have said they didn't like this change but I for one enjoyed it.

True we didn't get to see as much of the secondary characters that I've come to love just as but I feel like DS was more about Gin and getting some of her mojo back after the events that have happend to her personal life. And reminding the "crime bosses" in Ashland that the Spider is not someone to mess with.

Gin reluctantly goes to a fancy art showing with Finn. But it's not just any art show but it's a showing Mab Monroe's personal art collection and her will is going to be read at this shindig. All of the big names in Ashland is going to be there, including.....Owen Wilson. But Gin doesn't know it until she is blind sided by seeing him.....with a date.

Oh Owen, Owen, Owen. You cut us, cut us deep.

Just when the party is looking like a boring run of the mill art showing the wait staff start waving guns around and in true Gin fashion she can't go anywhere without having to put on her assassin knives, luckily she has a place or two to hide them under her new red party dress that Finn made her buy.

Gin moves throughout the museum like the deadly, bad ass assassin that she is taking out the bad guys and trying to save her family and friends at are in attendance. For the most part of the action Gin is alone but she's the Spider after all and she can handle it.

One thing I've enjoyed through out the series is getting flashbacks from Gin's past with her mentor, Fletcher. And we get another one in Deadly Sting. Gin always pulls from the memories to help her when she is in a hard place.

The Clementine, head bad guy, has plans for using Owen in her scheme. Gin works fast to free him before they kill him once he's done. The 1/2 half of the book has Owen and Gin working together to help the others.

"No, we didn't really get a chance to talk about anything. There was just blood, dead giants, and a lot of awkward pauses."

Audio Review: Widow's Web by Jennifer Estep

Widow's Web 

by Jennifer Estep 

(Elemental Assassin # 7)
Narrated by Lauren Fortgang

I used to murder people for money, but lately it’s become more of a survival technique. Once an assassin, always an assassin. So much for being plain old Gin Blanco. With every lowlife in Ashland gunning for me, I don’t need another problem, but a new one has come to town anyway. Salina might seem like a sweet Southern belle, but she’s really a dangerous enemy whose water elemental magic can go head-to-head with my own Ice and Stone power. Salina also has an intimate history with my lover, Owen Grayson, and now that she’s back, she thinks he’s hers for the taking. Salina’s playing a mysterious game that involves a shady local casino owner with a surprising connection to Owen. But they call me the Spider for a reason. I’m going to untangle her deadly scheme, even if it leaves my love affair hanging by a thread.


REVIEW:

Oh where to begin? Well first if you follow me you know that all the books in this series have been 5 Mac Halo (stars) and favorites for me. Well kiddies, Widow's Web is still a favorite and I still have my Gollum moments (My Precious) but I could only give it 4 stars.

Why? One word, or rather name...OWEN.

Owen you broke my heart in this one. I knew you were too perfect. But I have hopes that you pull you head out of your ass in the future.

But I'll back up a bit and leave Owen where he belongs...bitch slapped and tie up somewhere. For now.

I love how Widow's Web starts. Gin has been planning an assassination for weeks on her current targets and you won't believe who they are. I found myself confused and then laughing my ass off.

We get to see the whole case, Finn, Bria, the Deveraux sisters (I knew that I've heard that last name before reading this series and it finally click in my head... The Golden Girls, Blanche Deveraux ok back to the review) Eva, Phillip Kincaid and of course Owen.

This time around the gang is dealing with a deadly water elemental, Salina who just happens to share a past with Owen, Eva and Phillip. And as the book summary states, she appears to be the perfect Southern Belle but really she's one cold heart, crazy bitch and it's seems every but Owen knows it.

Anyway Salina is back in town after being gone for years. And she is making a splash (pun intended) in the underworld of Ashland. See Gin and Owen's families were not the only people that Mab Monroe killed. Salina's father was killed by Mab at party years ago when she was younger and it broke her. While she was away she only got crazier and now she has brought her deadly water magic to town in hopes of getting revenge.

That's where Gin comes in to take the bitch down. But Salina wrecks all kinds of havoc before the Gin finally takes her out. And we will feel the effects of the havoc for few books yet, I'm sure.

Also to sum up Widow's Web - action packed, another crazy bitch dead by Gin's knives, and the once loved Owen is now on my shit list as well as others that have read the book. Fans of the series will no doubt read this one and have strong feelings, especially if they are an Owen fan.

Series Reading Order:
Spider's Bite
Web of Lies
Venom
Tangled Threads
Spider's Revenge
By a Thread

Cover Releaved: Heart of Venom by Jennifer Estep

 

Heart of Venom

(Elemental Assassin #9) 

by Jennifer Estep 

Expected publication: August 27th 2013 by Pocket Books

The hotly anticipated ninth novel in the hugely popular Elemental Assassin series finds Gin Blanco on a dangerous mission to rescue a friend. When a terror from the past threatens Gin’s friend and body-disposer, Sophia, Gin will stop at nothing to protect her, even if it means walking straight into a killer’s trap. Meanwhile, the rocky romance between Gin and Owen reaches a turning point—can they reunite and rekindle their love? Or will the things Gin has been forced to do in her line of work as the deadly assassin the Spider keep them apart forever? Assuming, that is, she survives long enough to find out.




Deadly Sting is not out yet (I've read it and loved it) and we get a cover for the 2nd release of 2013.

YAY! We get twice the Gin in 2013!!!

 The cover is not my favorite in the series but I like it. It has a different feel to it than the other covers.

Wonder what the graveyard means? Is Gin digging her own grave or someone elses?

Can't wait.

What do you think of the cover? 

Which cover is your favorite?

        

Audio Review: By a Thread by Jennifer Estep

By a Thread 

by Jennifer Estep

(Elemental Assassin #6) 

Published February 28th 2012 by Audible Frontiers
Narrated by Lauren Fortgang

When killing people is your job, there’s no such thing as a vacation. Then again, how often does an assassin live long enough to enjoy her retirement? In this line of work, you either get lucky or you get dead. And since I destroyed my nemesis Mab Monroe a few weeks ago, all of Ashland’s lowlifes are gunning to make a name for themselves by taking out the lethal Spider—me, Gin Blanco. So I’m leaving behind my beloved barbecue joint and heading south with my baby sister, Bria, to cool my heels in a swanky beach town. Call it a weekend of fun in the sun. But when a powerful vampire with deadly elemental magic threatens an old friend of Bria’s, it looks like I’ll have to dig my silverstone knives out of my suitcase after all. Complicating matters further is the reappearance of Detective Donovan Caine, my old lover. But Donovan is the least of my problems. Because this time, the danger is hot on my trail, and not even my elemental Ice and Stone magic may be enough to save me from getting buried in the sand—permanently.

Gin has been busy the last few weeks after she finally took down Mab Monroe (Hey I'm not spoiling you, points up to the book summary). Every scum bag in Ashland that's trying to make a name for themselves has been trying to take out the Spider. Gin is sick of the constant death threats...yeah right, they're not really threats since she kills all the lowlifes that is too stupid not to learn from other's mistakes. Come on, the Spider was the only one that could kill the big bad fire elemental, Mab Monroe and you think that you can take her out with your pea shooter. Please! Then you are too stupid to live.

Gin realizes that the attacks are not going to stop anytime soon, so she finally agrees to take that vacation that Finn suggested to her. What could go wrong when Gin decides to go on a short weekend getaway? A fun road trip with her little sister, Bria? The Snow sisters make Thelma and Louise look like a Disney flick.

Gin takes her assassin show on the road in By a Thread. Hoping to have a little sister time with Bria the two drive down to the beach getaway a day earlier than Finn and Owen since the boys had business to wrap up. Gin really tries to relax on her first ever vacation, but she doesn't know how to enjoy a vacation like "normal" people. She tries to do the tourist thing with Bria but that doesn't last long.

Bria picked the vacation spot, the place she grew up after the death of hers and Gin's mother and older sister. Bria takes the chance to catch up with her best friend. Gin tags along to get Bria's BFF, Callie. But feels left-out and comes off a little bitchy to Callie at first. But then that's when a local thug comes into Callie's restaurant to threaten her. Yeah, Callie is the friend that Gin reminds her of...she runs her own restaurant and she happens to look a lot like Gin..... (wait for it)

So Gin steps in to help Bria's friend with the thug. But little did Gin know that the thug is a low man on the totem pole that works for the big bad guy in town who happens to be a vampire. Now up to this point in the series vampires have been around but we get the low down on Estep’s version of the creatures in By a Thread. They are just like humans expect they need blood along with regular food. If they drink from an elemental they get that person’s power for a short time and they live for a long time.

So this vampire has a few tricks up his sleeve and he's not as easy to kill as Gin first thought. Killing Mab might have made Gin a little too cocky and she quickly rethinks her approach to killing the bastard. And he's a real bastard but I won't going into to much deals.

Remember when I said to "wait for it" (points to earlier paragraph about Callie's similarity to Gin). Well hello Mr. Dick-tective Douche Bag. That's right, if you couldn't tell by the book summary, Donovan is back. It just so happens that Bria took his spot on the Ashland police department and he took hers when he left town. And what has that self righteous prick been doing? Getting engaged to the safe version of Gin, Callie. That's right Gin's ex-lover is engaged to her baby sister's BFF who happens to look a lot like Gin. Mmm....

And things only get more awkward when Finn and Owen finally make it into town.

Need less to say By a Thread is full of bloody good times and wrapping up a few loose ends in Gin's love life.

Narration Note: Lauren Fortgang is on my top 5 favorite narrators list. She does an outstanding job with Gin and all the other characters. I've done this whole series on audio with the exception of Thread of Death (novella) and the arc of Deadly Sting and when reading I have Fortgang's voice in my head.

Series reading order:

        

Audio Review: Spider's Revenge by Jennifer Estep

Spider’s Revenge 

by Jennifer Estep 

(Elemental Assassin #5) 

Old habits die hard. 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 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 she 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 Stone and Ice magic — and my irre­sistible lover Owen Grayson — to watch my back. This bat­tle has been years in the mak­ing, and there’s a 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.

“Old habits die hard for assassins. And I planned on murdering someone before the night was through. That’s what I did, me Gin Blanco, the assassin known as The Spider. I killed people, something that I was very, very good at.”

Have I told you guys how much I LOVE this series? Well, I’m telling ya again. It’s on my top 5 list of Urban Fantasy series EVER.

Since I don’t want to spoil you guys I’ll keep this review very short.

Gin is back, kicking ass and taking names.

Finn is back with his smart remarks and sexiness.

Owen is back with his yummy self.

Mab is back…..

Donovan is still gone. YAY

That’s all you’re getting from me. I can’t talk about this book without spoilers so just know it’s AWESOME and I suggest you start this series you have not already. And if you have, you know how great it is.

“The people I've killed over the years, yeah I did most of them for the money. Because being an assassin was a job and one that I was good at. But the biggies, all the folks I've taken on in recent months......they've all practice for you bitch.”

If you are just now getting into this series and have not made it past Spider’s Revenge, I HIGHLY recommend you read the novella that follows, Thread of Death. It reads like an epilogue to Spider’s Revenge.

Review: Tangled Threads by Jennifer Estep

Tangled Threads

by Jennifer Estep

Narrated by Lauren Fortgang

Elemental Assassin # 4

Published April 26th 2011 by Audible Frontiers

An assassin has come to Ashland to murder Gin Blanco, the renowned killer known as the Spider. Ever since she declared war on Mab Monroe, the ruthless head of the Ashland underworld, she's had a target on her back. Mab wants her dead in the worst kind of way, which is why she's hired Elektra LaFleur. LaFleur is just as ruthless as Gin, and has electrical elemental magic that equals Gin's Ice and Stone power. Complicating matters is the fact that Mab's kidnapped an innocent young girl. For Gin, finding her is priority number one…but surviving is a close second.

It's getting harder and harder not to spoil during these reviews but here I go....
 
Gin has stepped up her game on the take down Mab Monroe front. She is taking out Mab's men left and right and now Mab has brought in Elektra, an out of town assassin, in hopes of taking out the Spider.

The assassin's name hints at her elemental power, electricity. And Gin gets a few shocks from Elektra. But have no fear, Gin is the still the baddest ass assassin in Ashland. With her ice magic becoming just as strong as her stone and she is learning that she just might have what it takes to finally take out old Mab.

Gin and her gang (Finn, Jo-Jo, Sophia, Rosalind and Xavier) work on helping free an innocent little girl that Mab's men have taken while trying not to get themselves or the little girl killed.

Gin and Bria work together again and secrets are found out.

On the romance side Owen is back. Mmmm... Owen. He could not be more perfect for Gin. He doesn't guide her by her past and is front and center to help her with her present. 

Gin might be a "retired" assassin but the bad guys of Ashland better look out cuz the Spider is now doing her job for free and she is every as bit as dangerous if not more.

Still loving this series and now that I've gotten then review out of the way I can power through the next book, Spider's Revenge. 

Review: Venom by Jennifer Estep

Venom

by Jennifer Estep 

(Elemental Assassin #3) 

Lauren Fortgang (Narrator)

It’s hard to be a badass assassin when a giant is beating the crap out of you. Luckily, I never let pride get in the way of my work. My current mission is personal: annihilate Mab Monroe, the Fire elemental who murdered my family. Which means protecting my identity, even if I have to conceal my powerful Stone and Ice magic when I need it most.

To the public, I’m Gin Blanco, owner of Ashland’s best barbecue joint. To my friends, I’m the Spider, retired assassin. I still do favors on the side. Like ridding a vampire friend of her oversized stalker—Mab’s right-hand goon who almost got me dead with his massive fists.

At least irresistible Owen Grayson is on my side. The man knows too much about me, but I’ll take my chances. Then there’s Detective Bria Coolidge, one of Ashland’s finest. Until recently, I thought my baby sister was dead. She probably thinks the same about me. Little does she know, I’m a cold-blooded killer . . . who is about to save her life. (From Goodreads)

****Review will contain mild spoilers if you are not update on the series.****

Ok the awesomeness of this series just gets better with each book. Each book in the Elemental Assassins series has its own plot with a bigger picture plot surrounding the murder of Gin’s mother and older sister. Things keep building as Gin finds out more about that night and about her later handler, Flecter.

Gin is still mourning her handler and foster father, Fletcher. She is also having a hard time with her love life. But as one douche bag leaves town; another HOTTER and more suited for Gin, guy comes along.

“I don’t judge you for what you’ve done, Gin. Why are you judging me for another man’s mistakes? Because Donovan Caine did make a mistake,” Owen said in a soft voice. “Letting someone like you go.”

By the time Venom ends I can’t see a more perfect guy for Gin than Owen.

Gin just can’t seem to stay retired from the assassin gig. But instead of getting paid for her skills she is using them as a service to the good people of Ashland.

“I’m just wondering how exactly I went from being the Spider to the Robin fucking Hood of the greater Ashland area... Instead of stealing from the rich, I’m stabbing them to death for the poor.”

Gin and gang has their hands full trying to help Rosyln Phillips with a stalker problem. The stalker in question is Elliot Slater, Mab Monroe’s head of security. Gin has no problem planning a way to kill the giant, since we start out Venom with Slater beating the crap out of Gin on the college campus. How can that be? Gin decides to go along with the beating as not to give away her cover as Gin Blanco.

Gin spends a great deal of Venom protecting her cover in order to get closer to Mab Monroe and figuring out a way to take her out for killing her family all those years ago.

Speaking of family, Gin finally gets to meet her baby sister that she thought died with her other sister and mother on that dark night. Gin and baby sister Bria are on different sides of the law but are more alike than either would have guessed.

Venom is full of action, mystery and a healthy dose of dark humor and snark. I love the world and characters that Jennifer Estep has built. It’s been a while since a series has grabbed me the way this one has.

And now that I’m done with this review and can now start Tangled Threads!

UF Audio Review: Web of Lies by Jennifer Estep

Web of Lies 
by Jennifer Estep
Lauren Fortgang (Narrator)
(Elemental Assassin #2)
Amazon | B&N | Audible.com
★★★★★
Curiosity is definitely going to get me dead one of these days. Probably real soon.

I'm Gin Blanco.

You might know me as the Spider, the most feared assassin in the South. I’m retired now, but trouble still has a way of finding me. Like the other day when two punks tried to rob my popular barbecue joint, the Pork Pit. Then there was the barrage of gunfire on the restaurant. Only, for once, those kill shots weren’t aimed at me. They were meant for Violet Fox. Ever since I agreed to help Violet and her grandfather protect their property from an evil coalmining tycoon, I’m beginning to wonder if I’m really retired. So is Detective Donovan Caine. The only honest cop in Ashland is having a real hard time reconciling his attraction to me with his Boy Scout mentality. And I can barely keep my hands off his sexy body. What can I say? I’m a Stone elemental with a little Ice magic thrown in, but my heart isn’t made of solid rock. Luckily, Gin Blanco always gets her man . . . dead or alive.

REVIEW:


Ok let me get the rant part of this review over with….. Bye, Bye Dick-tective Douche Bag! That’s all I will say so that I don’t spoil you guys but those of you that have read this series will know what I mean.

Web of Lies takes place about 2 months after the events in Spider’s Bite. And we find that Gin has been retired after taking a long vacation and is now running the Pork Pit full time. But what does a retired assassin do when she gets bored?

She plans the murder of one of the rich douche bags in town, which is trying to strong arm an old man by having one of his thugs rape and kill the old man’s granddaughter one night on the college campus.

Gin dusts off her skills and goes to work. The whole team from Spider’s Bite, Fin and the Deveraux sisters are back to help Gin with the dirty work. Also detective Donovan Caine is back to get Gin’s warm spot, hot again.

Gin is juggling a few things this time around. She has a few bad guys to deal with, she’s still grieving over Fletcher’s death and not to mention her conflicting feelings about Donovan. Plus Gin is trying to figure out how to hand the news she learned about her past in Spider’s Bite.

After all is said and done, Gin gets her man….well the man she means to murder and plus one. As far as getting her man in her personal life that’s a bit harder for her.

Web of Lies ties up a few things just to build up more things to come in the coming books in the Elemental Series by Jennifer Estep and I for one can’t wait to dig into the next book, Venom. In fact, see y’all botches later. I’m off to start it on audio NOW.

 Part of:

Check out the interview Jennifer Estep did the 

the narrator of the series over at her WEBSITE.