Unraveled (Elemental Assassin #15)

Gin Blanco is an assassin. If youve read any of the books in this series you already know that. What I appreciate about the series is shes not hiding anything. She gets paid to kill people. Yeah, most of them are bad people and sometimes she works pro bono but she still kills people. And she doesnt make any excuses for that. I love that about her.

But, Id probably pitch a fit if you said Gin was the most entertaining in the series. It might just be my opinion but I think the rest of the characters are arguably more fun and seriously bring me back to the series each and every time. Im talking about Owen, Bria, Sylvio and most of all Finnegan Lane (Finn to the uninitiated) who is Gins brother and partaker of all things sinful, decadent and fun. Owen and Finn fight for top dog in my head all the time. Owen wins serious boyfriend points for accepting everything about Gin but Finn won my heart for his shear audacity.
I was worried Finn took a couple of hits in the last few books I wasnt sure he was going to be able to come back from. Hes always had this almost boyish joy in all the trouble hes able to get into. The reappearance of his previously thought dead mother caused way more damage than he was prepared to deal with. I mean, she was dead. Once he got over the shock of finding out she wasnt he thought it was all going to be hearts, rainbows and kisses..

Not so much!

This book is kind of a follow up to the major cluster that followed Deidre into his life. Hes dealing with some major guilt, none of it I feel he deserves, for a number of reasons. Id hoped that this books was going to be Finn finally pulling out of his funk. And he does a little bit. Hes a little more carefree, hes gone back to some of his flirtatious ways, and hes even smiling occasionally.

I know Im supposed to be focused on Gin.and I am, but I was completely stuck on Finn. Even Owen and Bria were almost invisible to me over what was going on with Finn. And the true brilliance of this series is that Estep builds characters that arent just fodder for all the bad stuff to happen to in subsequent books. She builds characters that are family, of course theyre Gins family, but they become part of yours too and you want to hear all the gossip about them just as much as you do about Gin.

Theyre all become this big dysfunctional family you want to be part of.

See, this is why I don’t write books. In my awesome wisdom I was already sounding the death knoll for this series (I should know better) and now we have a whole new slew of bad guys to kill and since Gin is my “revenge junkie’s” hero I have to say I am delighted.

While we have what seems to be a bit of a carry over from the end of Bitter Bite our heroic characters decide to take a vacation (since the last one worked out so well) and it goes about as good as the last one.

Somebody is always trying to kill Gin but she pretty much always comes out on top even if somewhat bruised and battered in the process (usually a near death experience) but this time we had a bit of a mystery thrown in but even as dim-witted as I am I knew where the jewels were hidden right away (nope, you gotta figure it out on your own).

The fact that this one takes place in an old west amusement park does add a bit of flavor to it but the real beauty of this book is the slow reveal of the redirection of the series and it looks to be fun.

Bottom Line: Totally enjoyable, if you loved any of the books in this series, you are going to like this one. The overarching story line looks to be picking up some interesting twists and I can’t wait. 4 Stars and highly recommended for all of us “revenge junkies” out there.

Review first published on jenasbookreviews.blogspot.com

15th book in the Elemental Assassin series. Finn still has questions about what happened with his mother so when he suddenly finds himself inheriting her Wild West theme park and hotel, he’s suspicious but it seems like too good an opportunity to pass up to possibly get some answers about her. Gin is extremely suspicious but since she has hit nothing but dead ends in her search for information on The Circle, she agrees to go along. Of course that means that Bria and Owen come along as well. It doesn’t take long before the real game has been sussed out by Gin and her friends and the deadly stakes are known. Now Bria, Finn, and Owen have been drugged and kidnapped and Gin has just barely escaped with the help of an unexpected ally. She will need friends and allies if she wants to save them and live to fight another day.

A fun, quick read. The basic plot was pretty standard for the series and not much headway was made on the overarching Circle plot but there was a bit of expose of Gin’s mother’s past and much less of her usual repetitive drivel so that made for an overall better reading experience.

Gin is an assassin not a detective & after “The Circle” constantly avoid discovery by proving to be one step ahead of Gin at every turn, Finn suggests they go on vacation. A spa get away with her foster brother Finn, her sister Bree, & her lover Owen should allow The Spider time away from her daily troubles & an opportunity to ease her mind & body. Unfortunately for Gin her vacation skips right pass the traditional deep tissue massage & cucumber masks & heads straight for danger. Gin ends up participating in some old western fun except she’s not the sheriff in this town she’s the salon girl complete with vintage puffy dresses & old fashion heels.
This story was filled with hockey get ups, conniving bad guys, & made for a none stop deadly adventure. The story also moved the overall arc forward with some answers to burning questions. Fifteen books in & i’ve not lost interest in the Elemental Assassin’s world & characters. The eARC for Unraveled (Elemental Assassin Book 15) was kindly provided to me by the publishing house in exchange for an honest review. However, I enjoyed the story so much i purchased the audible & kindle versions (which you can tell by the verified purchase attached to this review . An excellent read I look forward to book sixteen. 5 stars.

Pretty standard fare in the world of urban fantasy. I couldn’t really get into this one much or believe in the characters. For tales of urban fantasy the monsters really have to work. They have to be a shivery contrast with the humans. The vampires/werewolves/occult beasties have to be fundamentally alien, savage, dangerous or else what’s the point? The vampires both good and bad in Unraveled are basically human with vampirism coming across as a slightly annoying character trait, even the bad guy vampire. Heroine Gin Blanco is supposed to be some kind of fearsome assassin armed with elemental magic but didn’t really convince in that role either by actions or dialogue. Maybe I’ve been spoiled by the early Anita Blake novels of Laurell K. Hamilton or the more current Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews (honourable mention to Faith Hunter’s Jane Yellowrock series) but those authors have much harder-edged writing and better characterisations than those on display here. Crucially the occult critters in those authors’ books are satisfyingly nasty and definitely not just vaguely altered humans with apologetic canines. Anyway, perhaps I should try earlier novels in the Gin Blanco series to see why they have received such good reviews from authors like Nalini Singh and Lilith Saintcrow. As it is, Unraveled didn’t really do it for me.
.

Galaxyaudiobook Member Benefit

- Able to comment

- List watched audiobooks

- List favorite audiobooks

- Bookmark will only available for Galaxyaudiobook member