Web of Lies

So far this isnt my favorite UF series out there. That title is still held by the Kate Daniels Series and The Fever Series (1-5) Im still pretending the other books didnt happen.

It has potential.lots of potential but so far Im struggling a little with the repetition in the writing. I dont need a recap of what happened in chapter 1 in chapter 5 I read it under an hour ago I remember what happened.

The gist of the story

Gin is trying to be a retired assassin and current BBQ owner but there is a man who trying to get someone off their land for the mining rights and has escalated his tactics to get it. She might need to brush off her knives and save yet another damsel in distress and her grandfather.

What this has going for it

It has Gin. I dont adore her yet but I do like that she is a sexually aggressive assassin that takes what she wants and goes after the bad guys. Just because you are an assassin doesnt mean that you dont kill bad people.

It has Finn. He is a totally likeable sidekick that had your back and will flirt with anything with two legs.like literally anything. But he is sorta adorable in a Im an loveable man whore kind of way.

There are a few other fun sidekicks that will probably have very cool backstories when we get to them and there are more and more hints about who the big bad really is and why Gin is going to take them down.

Another plus is the world. Im enjoying this UF world with dwarves, giants, vampires and other nasties. Also the magic system of earth, wind, water and fire is different and might work up to be some thing really cool.

What hasnt hit the mark for me yet

The writing. It is getting better all the time but like I said before there is a lot of repetition and I just want to get on with it.

There is also a love interest introduced in book only to be hustled out in book 2. I didnt really care about him and everyone thinks he is a jerk he is a little but you know it is doomed from the beginning cop+assassin does not make a happily ever after. I think it had potential and could have been good if the author committed to the journey and struggle but I like the new guy so I dont care at all.

Im waiting for this to just catch me and take me on a ride and so far it hasnt. I like it but Im easily distracted by other things going on in my reading list.

Final thoughts

The is definitely something here and since this has like 10 books in the series so far Im going to assume that the author figure out how to streamline her story just a little bit better later on.

To be honest, this series has been popping up all over recommendations for me: on Amazon, on Goodreads, etc. The blurb sounds pretty good, but after reading alot of the reviews I usually passed on it. Fortunately, I finally caved and decided to at least give it a try. I loved it, and I have already started on the third. In this one, I particularly liked the introduction of Owen – and can I say I hope to see alot more of him in the future? Please?! As for some of the complaints, I can see why some people felt the way they did – but I don’t think it deserved quite such harsh ratings. When people talk about the repetitiveness in the books, I did see what they were talking about – but it is quite difficult for an author to span a multi-book series, maintain current reader interest, and yet still appeal to new readers. I can overlook that. As for for the comments about Gin going on and on about her long-dead family, though she is a strong character I can see where she would be traumatized and have alot of guilt over it….I expect we will get to know more and more as the series progresses. And when it comes to Gin ‘objectifying’ Donovan and acting in more of the ‘male’ role…I didn’t see it that way at all. I thought it was a refreshing change and more honest than most other characters have portrayed. Are there better done books out there? I’m sure we can all think of at least one – however, this one is refreshing, different, and interesting. While in my not be my favorite series of all time, Jennifer Estep has quickly moved up into excellent company among my top authors.

This is the second book in the Elemental Assassin series and it follows fairly directly on from the first one. Having said that, both books are really finished episodes with only a background thread following on from book to book.

I liked this book as much as I liked the first one. Gin continues to be the same bad–s in this book as she was in the first one. She has retired from being an assassin for hire but this, of course, do not stop her from getting herself involved in some business requiring her unique skills. The story is not going to win any prices but it is not bad and is good enough tie together the events and the action. Gin and Caines relationship is also developing, for lack of better word, and I hope that the conclusion in the book stays that way. I was getting fairly tired of hearing Caine moan about how Gin could not just kill people and how bad a conscience Caine has for letting her do it.

As part of Gins character development in this book Gins elemental powers are also developing. Unfortunately it appears that the author is still making Gin cling to her idea of not wanting to rely on her powers for various reasons that I do not really agree with. It is urban fantasy and she is the hero after all. I want to read about Gin kicking a– with her elemental powers. While were at it, some people have complained that the author is recapping explanations and events from the first book too much. I have to agree with them that there is a bit of space wasted on repeating things that have already been written at least once before. However, I also have to say that I was not to the extent that I really became greatly bothered by it. At least not in this book.

Bottom line is that I quite enjoyed reading about bad–s Gin Blanco. The writing is quite okay, the dialog matches her attitude, the action is fun, the characters interesting enough. I am indeed looking forward to read the next book although, since The Lost Stars: Perilous Shield came out on the 1st of October, I think I will make a detour into the universe of Black Jack Geary first.

Let me just start by saying I am really enjoying the Elemental Assassin series. The plot lines are well thought out, the action is great, characters are well drawn and the backline story is intriguing….However, and this is the reason for only giving 3 stars, it feels like a completely different person writes when we get to Gin’s love interests. Every single time we are given the line eyes gold on grey or violet on grey or whichever colour depending on who she is interested in and every scene with Donovan has a sentence of 3 words regarding the look in his eyes whether is ‘worried, lust, caution’ or ‘fear, lust, disappointment’ or whatever combination you want to put together. And please, please stop putting Mmm at the end of these paragraphs…I actually groaned out loud on the tube when I read this yet again. It honestly feels like the author hands theses scenes over to a hormonal teenager with poor language skills. I so enjoy the rest of the book but that is why I can only give 3 stars… improve the writing on the other bits and my rating will definitely jump up.

This story continues from Spiders Bite, it’s set two months after Fletcher ‘s funeral. Gin is now retired from the assassination business and is finding it to be boring.

When she is approached by a young woman asking for the Tin Man, she finds her interest piqued. It seems that a local miner, Tobias Dawson is threatening her grandfather and herself, he wants their land and he wants it now.

Gin has also drawn the attention of a very powerful lawyer who works for Mab Monroe, a fire elemental who runs Ashland with an iron fist. She stopped a couple of young men from robbing the Pork Pit and one of them is the son of the lawyer, he’s also a fire elemental. When she insists on pressing charges, his father tries intimidating her and getting her to drop the charges but he’s chosen the wrong woman to mess with. She’s the assassin known as The Spider and she always gets her way.

In the process of getting close to Dawson so she can kill him, Gin finds herself at one of Mab’s parties. When she is recognised by Jake McAllister, the young man who tried to rob her place, she ends up killing him so he couldn’t give her away or burn her as he promised.

Dealing with Dawson soon becomes a matter of life and death as he recognizes her power and knocks her out. She wakes up to find herself deep in his mine with him and some of his men. When he challenges her to a duel, she has to use her power to defend herself and to finish Dawson off once and for all, ensuring that Violet and Warren Fox never have to sell their property or worry about being murdered ever again.

This is a well-written story with great characters and none stop action all the way through. I love Gin, Finn and the Deveraux sisters. The situations that Gin gets into make me laugh out loud and I highly recommend this series to anyone who loves reading, you get magic, romance, suspense and murder. A great urban fantasy.

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