Review: Shadow Fall

SHADOW FALL
Tracers #9
Laura Griffin
Romantic Suspense/Thriller
Pocket Books
357 pages
Available Now
Source: Bought

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Special Agent Tara Rushing arrives at a grisly murder scene and quickly discovers she’s got a serial killer on her hands. The killer is meticulous, making sure to wipe up even the smallest traces of evidence…but the Delphi Center experts are on the case.

The local sheriff has a suspect all picked out—ex-Marine and current security expert Liam Wolfe. Despite all her digging, Tara knows very little about Liam when she shows up at his sprawling Texas compound, which serves as headquarters for Wolfe Securities, and she’s surprised by her intense physical reaction to him.

As she and Liam grow closer, Tara finds herself depending on his skills and expertise to help her track a killer. But when another body turns up, Tara must decide if she can trust the man who’s quickly stealing her heart.

MY THOUGHTS
Shadow Fall easily stands on its own despite being the ninth book in the Tracers series, giving us a new murder to solve and a new set of lead characters to guide us through it. Ms. Griffin truly excels at crafting a believable investigation full of individuals who know their job and do it well, neither weighing us down with too many complicated forensic details nor denying us information required to feel as though we're a part of things. We crack the spine of this thriller and find ourselves surrounded by the story, all our senses on full alert as we try and identify a brutally misogynistic killer.
 
Tara is an incredibly strong woman, forced to fight a battle on two fronts as she's assigned a new case, both that of a woman in a male-dominated field as well as that of a Federal Agent sent to assist a small town police force. As a result she has more than a few hard edges, but she never tries to one-up those around her in order to prove her competence, instead the only person she consistently strives to impress is herself. She's good at her job and makes smart decisions, never asking us to suspend disbelief as she goes running headlong into danger without so much as putting in a call for backup, and we can't help but root for her throughout.
 
While the murder mystery element is brilliantly executed, forcing us to bite our nails further into nubs with every chapter as our killer gains confidence, the romantic element between Tara and ex-military/current security specialist Liam isn't quite as strong. Because Tara's fighting the aforementioned battles, she does feel a need to assert her independence and show everyone (but most of all herself) that she's more than capable of handling whatever is thrown at her on her own, and therefore she never really lets Liam in. He in turn gets frustrated with her when his protective streak takes over, and they do a dance around one another for most of the book. It's not a huge source of frustration mind you, and any tension between them gets resolved quickly and with little drama, but it does make the declaration of love at the end feel a touch forced.

There's also a backstory with regard to the last case Tara was on just before she was assigned this new job, but we're only given tiny hints about it here and there when she has a nightmare or two, and it's hard not to wish for a little more information regarding the outcome (it's possible it was in a previous book though, this is the first of the series I've read and I'm not entirely sure how/if the books are loosely connected). Overall however, Shadow Fall is a lighting-fast read with an extremely well done murder investigation and an enjoyable romance even if it's not quite as emotionally engaging as we might have liked.

Rating: 4/5

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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
 

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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.

Review: Spider's Trap

SPIDER'S TRAP
Elemental Assassin #13
Jennifer Estep
Urban Fantasy
400 Pages
Pocket Books
Available July 28th
Source: eARC from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Keep your friends close but your enemies within stabbing distance.

One important lesson I’ve learned in the assassination business is that to be the best you have to roll with the punches. Now that I’m queen of Ashland’s underworld—by default, not by choice—a lot more punches are being thrown my way. But I suppose that’s the price of victory for taking down some of the underworld’s top dogs. Good thing I have my Ice and Stone magic to help me survive my volatile new position. Just when I think things are finally settling down, someone tries to murder me during a hush-hush underworld meeting. But the real surprise is how strangely familiar my shadowy assailant seems to be.

My job is to maintain order among killers, crooks, and thieves, and soon I’m embroiled in a bloody game where the ability to keep secrets could be the greatest superpower of all. My enemies have all sharpened their knives and laid their traps, waiting for me to fall. But this Spider weaves her own webs of death…

MY THOUGHTS
Ms. Estep never fails to impress with the Elemental Assassin series, pitting Gin against foes with varying levels of villainy that test her on all levels, forcing her to never rely too heavily on any one of her innumerable assets. While Spider's Trap feels a bit like an in-between installment–the epic showdown with Madeline Monroe in the previous book a tough act to follow on an emotional and physical level–Gin's world is never anything other than hugely entertaining.

With her takedown of Madeline, Gin is now the reluctant head of Ashland's criminal underworld, required to put her knives aside, much to her chagrin, and practice the art of mediating disputes between the more humorous of her city's bad guys. Thanks to their antics and Gin's attempt to be a more hands-off boss of bosses, this installment has a lighter overall feel, even when a shadow of Gin's past finds his way out of the dark corners of her memory and into the light. It's more of a quick, light (light being a relative term of course) read than some of its predecessors as a result, Gin's general badassery on a lower setting as her team and a couple of newcomers help her solve a new metallic problem, our emotional investment in this particular tale perhaps not quite as strong as when Madeline targeted everything Gin holds most dear.

That being said however, we find ourselves catching a sneak peek in the concluding chapters at what the next installment promises, a beloved secondary character clearly going to have a long awaited moment in the spotlight (not that he needs one, Finnegan Lane shines brightly whether he appears on two pages or two hundred). As always, Ms. Estep makes our time with Gin and company fly by, leaving us satisfied with a complete story while hinting at things to come, and this series continues to deliver action, humor and a touch of romance in every installment.

Rating: 3.5/5

Find Jennifer:
 

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This book was sent to me by the author  free of charge for the purpose of a review. 

I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.

Review: Black Widow

BLACK WIDOW
Elemental Assassin #12
Jennifer Estep
Urban Fantasy
400 pages
Pocket Books
Available November 25th
Source: eARC from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
There’s nothing worse than a cruel, cunning enemy with time to kill—and my murder to plan.

With wicked Fire elemental Mab Monroe long gone, you’d think I could finally catch a break. But someone’s always trying to take me down, either as Gin Blanco or my assassin alter-ago. Now along comes the Spider’s new arch-nemesis, the mysteriously named M. M. Monroe, who is gleefully working overtime to trap me in a sticky web of deceit.

The thing is, I’m not the only target. I can see through the tangled threads enough to know that every bit of bad luck my friends have been having lately is no accident—and that each unfortunate “coincidence” is just one more arrow drawing ever closer to hitting the real bulls-eye. Though new to Ashland, this M. M. Monroe is no stranger to irony, trying to get me, an assassin, framed for murder. Yet, as my enemy’s master plan is slowly revealed, I have a sinking feeling that it will take more than my powerful Ice and Stone magic to stop my whole life from going up in flames.

MY THOUGHTS
One of the reasons the Elemental Assassin series continues to be as successful into the double digit installments as it was in the beginning is Ms. Estep's ability to craft the most cunning, sadistic, and beautifully despicable villains for Gin to face down, each one testing her not only on a physical level, but on a mental and emotional one as well. As a result, we don't simply feel as though we're reading the same story again and again with a different bad guy in play, instead we get to watch as Gin's character grows and matures, helped along by friends but even more so by foes; men and women who have a bloody lesson to both teach and learn.

With Black Widow, we're reminded of a time several months ago for Gin (seven books ago for us readers) when she faced another monster bearing the Monroe moniker, a woman who passed her cruelty and her flair for the dramatic to her daughter. What's most intriguing about Madeline however is not her elemental ability (though her acid magic is the stuff of nightmares to be sure), but rather the way in which she comes after Gin. Before Madeline, the impressive array of villains in this series have, for the most part, come at Gin directly, confident enough in their fighting prowess, strength or elemental gifts to challenge a woman with a reputation as fearsome and merciless as their own. They've come with egos and arrogance on proud display, taking their swings at her with all the physical force they have in their arsenal, and while they've brought Gin to the edge of death, none have managed to tip her over.

Madeline, though in possession of a healthy ego of her own, takes a different tack than all those before her, using smarts over brute strength to unleash a seemingly passive multi-pronged attack on Gin and those closest to her. She's clearly watched as Gin has effectively defeated head-on attack after head-on attack, and thus shoves Gin out of her comfort zone, forcing her to fight a very different type of battle than she's used to. One where the cover of night and the flash of her silverstone knives are rendered useless, and she must instead comb her vast knowledge of strategy to win a game played by rules not of her making.

Overall, Black Widow proves that the strength of the Elemental Assassin series is in no way waning, and Gin herself is only getting stronger and more impressive as she goes. Ms. Estep clearly has a reservoir of perfectly hateful villains ready and waiting to throw down their gauntlet for Gin to pick up, and here's hoping we have at least another twelve books on the way to see them try their very best.

Rating: 4/5

Are you a fan of audiobooks? Then check out a clip of Black Widow from Audible!

Black Widow on Audible

Find Jennifer:

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This book was sent to me by the author  free of charge for the purpose of a review. 

I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.

Review: Poison Promise

POISON PROMISE
Elemental Assassin #11
Jennifer Estep
Urban Fantasy
416 pages
Pocket Books
Available July 22nd
Source: e-ARC from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Gin Blanco is hard-nosed, sexy, and lethal. Nicknamed “The Spider,” she’s a stone elemental assassin who brings her unique mix of magic and tact to every assignment, no matter the target.

There’s a new drug on the streets of Ashland, and its name “Burn” sums up the potent effect it has on its users. When one of her restaurant employees is threatened by dealers of the drug, Gin steps in to set things straight…

MY THOUGHTS
There comes a certain point in a series approaching the teens in number where there’s simply very little to say that hasn’t already been said about the characters, their strengths and weaknesses and the author’s ability to write their ongoing stories. At book eleven, Poison Promise continues to maintain the level of characterization and quality storytelling fans of the series have come to expect from Ms. Estep, and while this installment doesn’t necessarily show any new sides to Gin and company or throw an unexpected wrench in the well-oiled machine that is the Elemental Assassin series, it is nonetheless a thoroughly enjoyable way to spend several hours.

Gin has been a badass from the very beginning, thoroughly convinced her emotions were buried beneath a cold and ruthless exterior never to see the light of day, but we as readers have always been able to see that for the delusion it is, her stark vulnerability and low sense of self-worth in every area save for her abilities as an assassin coming through loud and clear. She has a tendency to take the cruel words of others–from adversaries and loved ones alike–as her penance to pay for the life she leads as The Spider, a trait that is sometimes as frustrating as it is effective in strengthening our bond to her.

In more recent books however, we've started to see a Gin who no longer simply accepts the disgust and disdain of others for the blood on her hands as her due, and her self-confidence as a woman, friend, sister, and lover–rather than just The Spider–continues to grow in Poison Promise. Gin carries around quite a bit of guilt when it comes to her little sister Bria, and as a result, she's always squared her shoulders in the face of Bria’s disapproval of her profession and stoically accepted her criticism (much to our dismay). Finally, in this latest installment we find a Gin who is unwilling to be an outlet for Bria’s frustration any longer, and we can’t help but smile in satisfaction as Gin gets angry at her sister when she would have previously stood still and let the blows find a soft place to land.

Poison Promise, though as action-packed as all the books that have come before it, has a somewhat inexplicable softer quality to it, where the violence Gin inflicts and that which is inflicted upon her isn’t quite as intense as it has been in installments past. There’s the feeling of building toward something larger in scale, and though we’re given a complete story with another epic villain struck down in the end as we’ve come to expect and appreciate, we definitely get the sense that book twelve will be bigger, badder and more brutal than this book as perhaps the most dangerous enemy yet sets her sights on Gin.

Rating: 4/5  

Find Jennifer:

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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.

Review: The Spider

THE SPIDER
Elemental Assassin #10
Jennifer Estep
Adult Urban Fantasy
400 pages
Pocket Books
Available December 24th
Source: e-ARC from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Amazon)
How did I end up in a career where I always have blood on my hands? Well, let me tell you a story about an assassin who thought she could do no wrong. . . .

Ten years ago. A blistering hot August night. I remember like it was yesterday. The night I, Gin Blanco, truly became the Spider. Killing people is what I do best, especially now that I’ve honed my Ice and Stone magic. But back then, I had yet to learn one very important rule: arrogance will get you, every single time.

This particular job seemed simple: murder a crooked building contractor with ties to ruthless Fire elemental Mab Monroe. My mentor, Fletcher Lane, had some misgivings, but I was certain that I had the situation under control . . . right up until I exposed my weaknesses to a merciless opponent who exploited every single one of them. There’s a reason assassins aren’t supposed to feel anything. Luckily, a knife to the heart can fix that problem, especially when I’m the one wielding it. . . .

MY THOUGHTS
The Spider is a somewhat unusual installment in the Elemental Assassin series given that it's the tenth book yet also a prequel to all of the books we've read thus far, allowing fans of the series a never before seen glimpse at Gin as she's getting her bearings as an assassin while at the same time giving newcomers to the series a perfect introduction. This newest installment does revert back to the somewhat repetitive nature the last couple books had finally moved past, reminding longtime readers of things they are well aware of nine times over, but as always, even with that niggle Ms. Estep thoroughly entertains with a piece of Gin's life previously unknown to us. The real treat comes in the form of Fletcher Lane, a man we lost early on in the very first book and have felt the absence of in each book since, but in this story he's alive and well and beautifully caring despite what he's training Gin to do, and we can't help but revel in every minute we're granted with him knowing when it's over we'll be faced with his loss all over again.

The younger version of Gin we get in this book is surprisingly different from the Gin we've come to know and love, our expectation that she would be the exact same woman ten years prior of course slightly delusional once we've had time to think on it, and our initial shock quickly gives way to curiosity as we begin to catalog all the ways she differs from The Spider with whom we're so familiar. Over the course of this series we've learned to implicitly trust Gin, perhaps at times questioning the always-fatal solution she suggests to various problems, but we've unequivocally known that those she targets deserve their fate and then some; many of the villains she's faced monsters that haunt us long after we've finished reading. In this story though we find ourselves a bit off-kilter, Gin's willingness to so quickly believe what a file tells her is the truth causing nerves to roil in our guts and unease to shiver down our spines, something that's completely foreign to us in this context and utterly fascinating at the same time.

Gin has always been someone who inspires confidence in us as readers, our faith that she knows what she's doing unwavering as she proceeds to teach the nightmares that plague Ashland's streets, businesses or government officials lessons that will lead them straight to their graves. There's no doubt in our minds in The Spider however that it's Gin who will be learning a lesson; a rather brutal one that finally gives us some insight as to why she's so very susceptible to emotional hurt, particularly from members of the opposite sex. While we ache for this younger Gin, wanting nothing more than to scream ourselves hoarse telling her to open her eyes–that The Spider we know would never be satisfied with face-value and would dig and dig and dig until she found everything there was to know before acting–we find ourselves both riveted and resigned, knowing Gin has go this one the hard way in order to be the woman we meet later in her life.

It's nothing short of gratifying in the concluding chapters to watch as the Gin we recognize emerges from the young woman we didn't, the price for the change in her extraordinarily high, but paid for in full in wounds visible and not. Overall, The Spider is a deeply satisfying addition to this series for both new fans and old, Ms. Estep handing us a piece of Gin we never knew we were missing but now can't imagine continuing her story without.

Rating: 4/5

Find Jennifer:

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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.

Review: Heart of Venom

HEART OF VENOM
Elemental Assassin #9
Jennifer Estep
Adult Urban Fantasy
384 pages
Pocket Books
Available August 27th
Source: e-ARC vie Edelweiss for review

THE STORY (from Amazon)
When I say you’re a dead man, take that literally.

To me, killing people is like a day at the salon: cut and dry. Well, more like rinse and repeat when you moonlight as the assassin the Spider. But my last spa day ended redder than my freshly painted nails after a twisted Fire elemental and his goons kidnapped my close friend Sophia Deveraux and nearly killed her sister Jo-Jo in the process.

Up Ashland’s most dangerous mountains, and deep into the heart of its blackest woods—I’ll track these thugs no matter where they take Sophia. It doesn’t matter what kinds of elemental magic they try to throw at me, my Ice and Stone powers can take the heat and then some. I will get Sophia back, over their dead bodies.

Because anybody that hurts Gin Blanco’s family becomes a body.

MY THOUGHTS
With the Elemental Assassin series we are always guaranteed a knock-down, drag-out fight between Gin and whatever villain is currently thinking of replacing Mab Monroe as Ashland's Biggest Bad, but what so often surprises us no matter how many books we read is the emotional intensity that accompanies the swinging of Gin's fists and the slashing of her knives. While the previous installment was a little lighter in tone overall (relatively speaking of course), Ms. Estep plunges us deep into the darkness of Gin's world in this newest book, a horror from Sophia's past emerging once again to grab hold of both characters' and readers' hearts alike, giving them a brutal twist and yank as family fights desperately to save family.

Gin has been a fighter from word one of book one, always the first to defend those she cares about even if they are undeserving of her loyalty and affection, but where she has always been nearly indestructible physically, her emotional armor has always been far softer. She's highly susceptible to rough words in a way she isn't to rough hands, the former cutting deep and drifting like a slow-working poison through her veins, while the latter simply glance off and then go limp, no longer a threat as the person attached to them is dead by her blade. Her stoicism and her cool, controlled demeanor are a point of contention for us as readers; we can't help but admire everything that makes her both woman and Spider, but at the same time, her constant internalizing of emotional pain can be frustrating, as it was in the previous book when things with Owen so rapidly deteriorated.

Luckily for us in this book however, Gin makes a few small efforts to voice her hurt when she has a quiet moment to actually talk to Owen amidst the fight to save Sophia, listening to his apologies and his reasoning for past behavior, but instead of simply accepting the way he treated her as her due given the life she leads as an assassin, she hesitates, taking the much-needed time to really think about what her heart can and cannot handle moving forward. She doesn't hold Owen's actions against him or try to make him hurt as she's been hurting, she simply takes stock of the wounds he's inflicted, lets him know he caused them, and then decides if she's up for the not-insignificant job of rebuilding her trust in him. Owen, for his part, acknowledges his role in how things turned out between them, and the ice we'd built up around our hearts when it came to him can't help but melt a little in the face of the warmth we can practically feel when he looks at Gin.

In addition to the tension crackling between Gin and Owen as they feel one another out, Heart of Venom also gives us perhaps the most violent and dark of Gin's battles thus far, a brother-sister team of fire elementals raising the bar when it comes to sadistic cruelty, their vile games made all the more horrifying given Sophia's involvement. The bits and pieces of her past alluded to in past books were enough to send shudders racing down our spines, but to bear witness as Sophia is forced to live her nightmares all over again is a special kind of torture, and we find ourselves appreciating Gin's ruthlessness more than we ever have before. All in all, this latest gritty adventure of Gin's is perhaps the most gripping one yet, overflowing with pain, love, family and more than a little blood to leave us even bigger fans of the series than we were when we started.

Rating: 4.5/5

Find Jennifer:

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If you didn't get a chance yesterday to check out my interview with Jennifer and enter for your chance to win a copy of Heart of Venom, you can do so here!

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.

Interview and Giveaway: Jennifer Estep + Heart of Venom

Jennifer Estep is one of my auto-buy authors and I'm beyond excited to welcome her back to the blog today to talk about my very favorite elemental assassin, Gin Blanco. Gin is about as badass as they come, but she's also surprisingly insecure when it comes to friendships and relationships, making her an intriguing combination of soft and hard that I just can't get enough of. I'm reviewing Heart of Venom tomorrow, so be sure and check back as it was one of my favorites of the series thus far!

Looking back at all the books in the Elemental Assassin series, is there any particular one that gave you more trouble than the others above and beyond the challenges that come with writing any story?

In some ways, SPIDER’S REVENGE was the most challenging for me. I really wanted to deliver on the Gin-Mab arc in that one for readers, especially when it came to the final Gin-Mab battle in the book. So I really tried to think about how I could write those scenes and the overall book in a way that would be most satisfying for readers. Hopefully, folks enjoyed how that arc ended and the adventures that Gin has had since then.

If you were to join Gin, Bria and Roslyn’s book club and it was your month to choose a book and host, what book would you pick for the group to read and what snacks would you make when you all got together?

Good question! I sort of do this in every book when I’m deciding what Gin is reading at the time. I always try to pick something that ties in with the plot or what Gin is going through in some way.

At the end of DEADLY STING, Gin and Bria are talking about the book club, and Bria mentions that she wants to read THE MALTESE FALCON by Dashiell Hammett because of the events that happened in DEADLY STING. Since Ashland is such a corrupt city, and Gin spends so much time dealing with the underworld bosses, I think a book like that would be right up her alley.

But if I were choosing, I would probably pick something like REDWALL by Brian Jacques, which is about a mouse who becomes a hero and saves his friends. I think that sort of story would also appeal to Gin.

For the snacks, I like to bake, so I’d probably make lots of desserts, like some chocolate brownies, that would satisfy everyone’s sweet tooth. That’s sort of what Gin does in a scene in HEART OF VENOM for a day at the beauty salon with Bria, Roslyn, Sophia, and Jo-Jo.

Gin hasn’t had an easy time of it in the love department. If she wanted to take a break from her own sometimes-troubled romance and experience the sweetness or drama of another couple, what book or movie might she treat herself to?

Gin’s love life has definitely had its ups and downs, so I think that Gin would choose a movie that would be a fun escape for a few hours. So I could see her watching something with a lot of action and adventure, like THE PRINCESS BRIDE or PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL. I could also see her watching something a little darker and grittier and with a little more angst, like CASINO ROYALE or THE BOURNE IDENTITY.

Sophia has always been a personal favorite of mine from the very beginning. What new or surprising things did you learn about her character given her more prominent role in Heart of Venom?

As I’ve been writing the books, I always knew that Sophia had been through something really traumatic that shaped her into the character that readers meet in the series. I can’t give out spoilers, but I will say that as I was writing HEART OF VENOM and really exploring Sophia’s backstory, that it definitely got a lot darker than I anticipated, as did some of the scenes in the book.

If Fletcher could see the woman and fighter Gin has become since his death, as her mentor and teacher, what advice, criticism/compliment, or instruction would he have for her?

I think that Fletcher would be proud of how Gin always manages to survive, no matter how much danger she finds herself in. But I think he would be even prouder of how she’s slowly lowered her own emotional defenses and opened herself up to people like Bria and Owen.

Back in the beginning of the series, Fletcher told Gin that he wanted a normal life for her, part of which included letting herself care about other people. So I think that he would be really happy with the circle of friends and loved ones that she’s slowly built for herself as the series has gone along.

Happy reading, everyone!

• • • • • • • • • •

JENNIFER ESTEP

I’m a Southern gal through and through. Sassy, sarcastic, and just a tad crazy.

I spent my formative years doing the usual kid things – playing, hanging out with my friends, and making up wild stories in my head.

It’s the last one that’s gotten me into trouble.

I don’t remember the first book I read. Or the second. Or even the third. But somewhere along the way, I fell in love with books and reading. Fairy tales, fantasies, adventure stories, mysteries, romances, westerns. As a kid, I read every book that I could get my hands on.

My mom, bless her, encouraged this obsession by taking me to the library every week. It’s one of my favorite childhood memories. Most folks think penicillin, indoor plumbing, and the Internet are the world’s best inventions. Not me. The greatest thing ever created was a library. Indoor plumbing is a close second, though.

The more I read, the more I thought about writing my own stories. I penned a few poems and short stories over the years, mainly for class assignments. Somewhere along the way, I realized that I wanted to write books for a living.

In college, I majored in English because of my love of books. But what can you do with an English degree? I didn’t know. One semester, I got a job with the college newspaper and discovered you could write stories and make a respectable living. Since that light-bulb moment, I’ve earned a bachelor’s degree in English and journalism, and a master’s degree in professional communications. Currently, I’m an award-winning features page designer for a daily newspaper.

Now, after many, many years of toil and trouble, I’ve achieved my dream of being a bona fide, published, fiction author. I plan to keep on keeping on – writing, dreaming, making up wild stories in my head.

And getting myself into trouble.

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HEART OF VENOM

When I say you’re a dead man, take that literally.

To me, killing people is like a day at the salon: cut and dry. Well, more like rinse and repeat when you moonlight as the assassin the Spider. But my last spa day ended redder than my freshly painted nails after a twisted Fire elemental and his goons kidnapped my close friend Sophia Deveraux and nearly killed her sister Jo-Jo in the process.

Up Ashland’s most dangerous mountains, and deep into the heart of its blackest woods—I’ll track these thugs no matter where they take Sophia. It doesn’t matter what kinds of elemental magic they try to throw at me, my Ice and Stone powers can take the heat and then some. I will get Sophia back, over their dead bodies.

Because anybody that hurts Gin Blanco’s family becomes a body.

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GIVEAWAY

Thanks to Jennifer, I have one print copy of Heart of Venom to give away on the blog today. To enter, please just fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Giveaway is open to US residents only. Good luck everyone! 
 
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Review: Deadly Sting

DEADLY STING
Elemental Assassin #8
Jennifer Estep
Adult Urban Fantasy
400 pages
Pocket Books
Available March 26th
Received through Edelweiss for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
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.

MY THOUGHTS
Coming off the emotionally intense sixth and seventh installments where Gin and Owen faced their respective pasts in the form of ex-lovers, Deadly Sting is a bit lighter in comparison (though still plenty violent as Gin is physically incapable of going any length of time without finding trouble). While certainly action-packed with Gin demonstrating her many and varied skills with a silverstone blade to protect those she loves, this latest Elemental Assassin novel feels more like a middle book than any of the previous installments, the focus remaining almost solely on Gin’s battle with her newest villain as the emotional intricacies that bind our hearts to Gin’s are temporarily placed on the back burner.

The beautiful juxtaposition of Gin’s deadly fierceness with her quiet vulnerability when it comes to matters of the heart has always been a highlight of this series, cementing our bond to a woman we can’t help but feel inordinately protective of despite her obvious capability when it comes to protecting and defending herself. Though she’s proven again and again she’ll let no physical assault from anyone go unanswered, that reaction does not extend to emotional blows, and her tendency to continue to protect those around her from further hurt by not expressing her own is front and center in this installment. While typically this behavior of hers is admirable–something that makes us want to wrap our arms around her and hold tight–there are times when we feel smothered by her capacity for understanding and her rationalization of the feelings of others, her continued silence a heavy burden given we want nothing more than to shout out her pain to those who should be most aware of it even without it being given voice.

Much of our frustration is with regard to Owen (and his relationship with Gin), someone who previously has been a fundamental supporter and champion of Gin and all that she is. Though we certainly understand his need for space after the death of his ex-fiance at Gin's hands, his inability to acknowledge Gin’s feelings because he’s too consumed by his own knocks him down a peg or two on the ladder of our esteem and regard. The fault can’t simply be laid at Owen’s feet alone however, Gin’s aforementioned tendency to keep things bottled up only adding to our collective misery as she continues to spare his broad shoulders the additional weight of her own heartbreak. Just once we would love for the aggressiveness Gin shows in physical situations to extend to emotional ones, wishing she would make Owen (and previously Donovan and Bria before him) aware of how deeply his actions– or inaction–cut.

Even though Deadly Sting isn’t the strongest addition to the series and Gin’s trademark stoicism causes our protective instincts to flare–this time with the desire to guard her against her own silence–we’re still undeniably entertained. Ms. Estep never fails to write a good story; one that keeps us up late reading and then rushing to look up the release date for the next book upon finishing.

Rating:  3.5/5

Review: Widow's Web

WIDOW'S WEB

(Elemental Assassin #7)

Jennifer Estep
Adult Urban Fantasy
400 pages
Pocket
Available August 21st
Received from author for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)

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.

MY THOUGHTS

Widow’s Web is the seventh installment of the Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series, continuing to impress with a heroine who, book by book, allows readers under her substantial emotional defenses to show us yet another layer of the already multi-layered assassin known as The Spider. One of the most intriguing aspects of these books–outside a highly entertaining core cast of characters–is Ms. Estep’s ability to craft new and unique villains to take Gin on in each tale. After seven books, one might expect Gin’s nemeses to have core similarities or common traits, and the battles to feel as though we’ve been through them with her before, but to our utter delight, Ms. Estep flexes her villainous creativity and brings another memorable foe to the table in this newest book. Where some past villains have been loud in their evil, throwing the weight of their physical strength, magic, wealth and power around and attacking Gin head-on, the evil in Widow’s Web is far quieter, and while she does pose a physical threat to Gin, the emotional threat she represents is far more terrifying for us as readers.

Gin is a paradoxical heroine—exhibiting the utmost physical prowess and consummate skill when it comes to her assassin’s trade, but yet as each book continues she seems to become more and more fragile (relatively), our knowledge and understanding of who she is stripping away some of cool detachment and the harshness of the assassin and replacing it with the insecurities and vulnerabilities of a very human woman. She’s not the type to show any outward display of emotion or give voice to her feelings, instead she deflects anything that causes her pain with The Spider’s tough-as-nails demeanor, hiding the wounds the words or actions of those around her have caused until she can acknowledge them in private with only our eyes as witnesses. It’s these private intimacies that are becoming more numerous as the series continues, and with the return of a woman from Owen’s past in Widow’s Web, our connection with Gin is at its strongest and most poignant as we watch her suffer blow after blow to both the body and the heart.

Ms. Estep pulls no punches in this tale, pushing Gin and us to our limits emotionally when history seems to repeat itself in terms of love and loss, only the pain we feel is all the more acute given how our relationship with Gin has grown from earlier books. While Gin at times can be frustrating in her stoicism, refusing to defend herself and her actions when we so desperately want her to lay herself bare and let the ones hurting her see how their words and deeds so easily make her bleed, she also continues to earn our respect as she bears the burdens of everyone around her without a single word of protest. Widow’s Web leaves us with an ache in our chests, bodies limp and exhausted after the physical and emotional battle waged in its pages, but Ms. Estep does not simply abandon us to wallow in our despair, instead she gives us the barest glimpses of hope that Gin’s future will be a happy one.

Rating: 4.5/5