Thursday, January 7, 2016

Review: Bitter Bite

BITTER BITE
Elemental Assassin #14
Jennifer Estep
Urban Fantasy
400 pages
Pocket Books
Available February 23rd
Source: eARC from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Which is stronger: blood ties or a battle-tested friendship?

It’s not easy being queen bee of an underworld abuzz with crooks and killers. Wielding my potent Ice and Stone elemental magic will only get me so far—my real secret is my tight-knit makeshift family, a motley crew of cops and criminals, dwarves and playboys. My foster brother Finnegan Lane is my right-hand man, but when his suddenly not-dead relative comes back into the picture, I’m the one on the outside looking in.

It’s funny how life works: one minute your best friend is rock-steady, and the next he’s doe-eyed and buying into this whole loving-relative routine to the point of ignoring you. I’d like to be happy for Finn, I really would. But all of my instincts are telling me that beneath the syrupy sweet demeanor and old-fashioned charm, this sudden interloper is planning something. The whole shtick leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. This person might have avoided the grave once, but I’ll put anyone who hurts Finn in the ground—for good.


MY THOUGHTS
*This is an early review. Normally I post a little closer to the release date, but this is one of my favorite series and I didn't have it in me to hold off this time:)

Bitter Bite is the fourteenth installment of the Elemental Assassin series, a number not too many series are able to hit without losing steam, but Ms. Estep manages to keep each new Gin adventure as engaging as the last.

One of the strongest aspects of this series as a whole is the wide array of villains Ms. Estep pits Gin against time and again, each beautifully monstrous in their own unique way to keep us on edge throughout even though we know Gin will prevail in the end. The strongest villains, however, are those that have a more personal vendetta against Gin, the ones who know just where the chinks in her armor are and can aim their knives, bullets or magic at those places with unerring precision. With Bitter Bite Ms. Estep gives us series favorite Finn's mother, a woman so perfectly sweet and polite on the outside that we can feel our lips curl into a disbelieving sneer every time she appears on page, but we can only smile in glee throughout because we know she'll get the bloody end she deserves before our time with Gin comes to a close once again.

Gin is as she's always been, a glorious blend of strengths and weaknesses, and we can't help but love her most when those weaknesses are on full display as they are in this installment. There's no better way to simultaneously bring Gin to her knees and incur her wrath than to threaten someone she loves, and Mama Dee does so in perfectly sinister fashion, leaving us counting the pages until Gin is finally able to unleash her full fury. Gin's not alone in her fury however, and the additional time we get to spend with Finn in both the present and a few flashbacks of their life together with Fletcher is every bit as enjoyable as we we'd hoped it would be when we first learned that Bitter Bite would focus on a blast from his past.

Overall, Bitter Bite is a strong addition to this series, giving us a villain who threatens our cast of beloved characters on an emotional and physical level, and leaves us with more than a few revelations regarding Gin's long-dead mother that are undoubtedly going to make future installments very, very interesting.

Rating: 4/5
 

Find Jennifer:
 
 
This book was sent to me by the publisher  free of charge for the purpose of a review
I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.

28 comments:

  1. wow already book 14, I'm so behinf, I've only read book 1... and I have book 2 and 3 in French. One day!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's how I am with Charley Davidson Melliane! I have at least 8 books to catch up on with that one.

      Delete
  2. I've never heard of this series only the author and I've only heard good things about her. I must get into this series and read more fantasy. So glad it's still going strong for you. Lovely review. x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope you give her a try Emma. I love her adult and YA books equally:)

      Delete
  3. YAY for long running series that don't lose steam! I think this one is one of those I really need to check, even if 14 books ahead looks daunting!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Right? I would think it would be crazy hard to keep coming up with people for Gin to kill by book 14, but Jennifer writes such amazing villains:)

      Delete
  4. 14 books wow! Kudos to you for keeping up with it, Jenny! :)
    It looks like a great series too and I love that Gin has her weaknesses and strengths. That's so much more realistic than a heroine who is consistently badass.
    Great review, Jenny! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I try Nick! This is one of the few long running series I'm actually up to date on:)

      Delete
  5. I'm so behind on this series but I absolutely love that fans are still in love with it after all these books, that is awesome and truly the main reason why I picked it up to begin with knowing there were so many of them. It is awesome when authors can keep a series strong and alive.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree Ali! And I love that you can pick one up at any time and get a complete story. You're not left hanging so you can read at your own pace:)

      Delete
  6. I love the sound of this one! It takes real dedication to stick with a series after 14 books! That's amazing. I love that she has weaknesses to combat her strength—too strong can be a bore. Lovely review, Jenny!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Definitely! If Gin was badass all the time I think she'd get to be too much for me. You need someone who feels real:)

      Delete
  7. I am so glad to see that after fourteen installments you still love this series. I keep saying I am going to start this series, but I haven't. Maybe this year as I am clearing out the ARCS and I have a lot more days set aside for me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's my goal this year too Heidi - to read more of the books I want to read and focus less on ARCs. I've been missing out on too many books I want to read lately!

      Delete
  8. Number 14?! Holy cow. I don't know that I'll ever catch up! It has been awhile since I've listened to one though so maybe it's time to get another one (or two) listened to. I enjoy the series but I listened to a bunch really close together and they started to blend together and feel similar. Now that I've had a break I should be ready to enjoy them again. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can see how that would happen. Usually a book comes out in this series about every six months and that's the perfect amount of time for me in between books:)

      Delete
  9. I love this series and I am so impressed with how Ms. Estep can continue to make the story lines so fresh. And I have you Jenny to thank for getting me hooked on them

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oooh, I've never head of these! They look great, Jenny!

    ReplyDelete
  11. This sounds like a great series! I don't know if I've ever heard of it before. I'm going to go look up the first one. ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope you give them a try Erin! I just adore Gin and company:)

      Delete
  12. GRRR..I will re this series one day. I am working my way through a 2 back series at a time.

    ReplyDelete
  13. 14?! I still have book one on my shelf. I really need to pick up this series especially if it's still fresh and engaging after running this long.

    ReplyDelete
  14. when you love a series so much you can't wait to tell everyone about it! I feel the same way about Charley Davidson. Lol. I can totally relate.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I'm the kind of person who falls in love with having the most twisted and cruel villains who you just can't help but hate. I think that is gonna be how I feel about this series once I start on it. It's so impression to have a 14th book in the series and yet readers aren't feeling bored in the slightest!

    ReplyDelete