This is actually a good book. I love how the author started it with a very fast-paced scene. I love the heroine. I love the plot. The only thing I didn’t like was the hero. Gin is a powerful elemental. She has both stone and ice and she’s very good with knives. The problem is she’s paired with a very bland hero. I liked Owen at first when he walked up into Pork Pit, surveyed the area, asked if his sister was okay and swaggered to Gin. But then he decided to pursue Gin like a supporting character would. You know how some random guy in a club tries to hit up a girl? That’s how he made his move to Gin for me. He seems like a passing love interest. Another thing is that, he can’t help her during battles and considering she’s a “retired” assassin, there will always be a time when she has to fight with someone. It would have been better if he was a strong elemental like her or very good in another skill entirely so that together, they would do a lot of damage. But no. They aren’t a team. He’s not there in the battle with her. He would only be there at the end waiting for her and taking care of her after she’s injured. So yeah, okay. He gave her the knives. But that’s it. In the country club scene, he went there with her but she walked up to Mab alone. I was more interested in Finn honestly. He’s very talented with a gun. And I loved how he played this badass, entirely separate role with his skill during that final confrontation. What did Owen do? Yes, he was there swinging his mighty hammer but he was there with Sofia or was that Xavier? Like a good old supporting character. There was nothing to look forward to in their relationship. Since for the first two books Gin was practically in love with another guy maybe there’s still a chance she’ll get introduced to a new guy or, I don’t know, maybe Owen would be more interesting or something. Actual rating: 3 ½ going on 4I can’t believe it! It looks like this series found an editor at last!! Before I started reading Spider’s Revenge I had promised myself that I would give up on Elemental Assassin if the constant recaps & repetitions were only half as bad as they were in the last instalment. No matter how much I love Gin and the rest of the characters in this series, I just couldn’t stand the repetitive narration and was ready to give up on it all, despite my wanting to know whatever happened next.Well, luckily enough, it seems that someone finally realized the repetitions had to go because Spider’s Revenge is a great improvement on the other instalments. Granted, the narration is still too repetitive but at least I didn’t feel like I was reading the same chapter over and over again, as was the case with previous books. There is less of the “gray on violet” nonsense and I’m very grateful for that. Still, if Estep writes “and then we danced” once more I’ll probably just go down on my knees and scream my head off. As I have said in previous reviews, the strength of this series is the cast of characters. I love Gin and her straight-forwardness. She is unapologetic, has no qualms about who she is, what she does and the lengths she is willing to go to. I find that she’s a bit lacking in the snark department but that’s probably because I keep comparing her to Kate Daniels, the absolutely queen of all things cynical & sarcastic. Still, Gin is a pretty cool character and one of my favourite kick-butt heroines of all times. Actually, she is probably the main reason why I held on to this series despite the poor narrative. Well, her and the rest of the characters, which are all pretty fantastic. The cast of secondary characters for this series keeps growing and I don’t think there is a single one that I don’t like so far. I just love Finn, Owen, the Deveraux sisters, Bria, Eva, Roslynn, Xavier… Even Mab!The plot here is entertaining and fast-paced as it is finally time for the final showdown between Gin & Mab Monroe. The queen bitch suffers a satisfying death but as momentous as this face-off was supposed to be, I was expecting a bit more. More violence, more darkness, more gore… I don’t know, something bigger and meaner and “badder” somehow. That’s probably because to me this series is a bit on the light side compared to other urban fantasy series I have read. The bad guys & girls are sufficiently dangerous and mean but not downright evil evil evil. Then there is also the fact that no matter how badly Gin and the secondary characters are injured, they always survive all the fights they get into. Jo-Jo comes over, does her magic thing and everything gets back to normal. With each new instalment I keep expecting one of the recurring characters to die but they just never do and it’s getting a bit too unrealistic for my taste. Besides, having one the main characters die would spice things up a bit, no matter how heartbreaking it would be. Still, this was an enjoyable read and I was relieved to find most of the repetitions and recaps gone. There is hope for this series yet! Off to get my hands on “By a Thread”!
Do You like book La Revanche De L'araignée (2012)?
FINALLY!! The showdown readers have been waiting for for over five books is here. Spider's Revenge is the culmination of the previous four titles, with Gin finally facing her enemy, Mab Monroe. I do NOT recommend anyone start the Elemental Assassin series with this book.Overall, I enjoyed the story and the battle is glorious. Gin and her makeshift family grow incredibly close in the face of danger, and there is more than one tender, tear-provoking moment. Spider's Revenge is all I hoped it would be. There are several points in the story when I was so worried about what would happen to Gin, Bria, Finn and others, that I had to stop the audio and catch my breath. I am happy to report that the repetitious nature of the previous books isn't quite as noticeable in this story. Sure, the familiar catch phrases and reminders of the who's and what's are all present, but it didn't drag me down like it did in the previous book. I don't know if it's because the action was that much more intense so I didn't notice it, or if there really is a change in the writing style. I completely adored the development of Gin and Owen's relationship. The pair move forward in touching and beautiful ways, and I look forward to more of their HEA down the road (yes, I know I've read the subsequent books, but I'll just pretend here that I haven't!) Readers are also treated with some history on goth dwarf, Sophia, from her wonderful sister, Jo Jo. I do adore those sisters. Finally, Finn and Bria crack me up in their mutual lust and attraction.There was only one scene that gave me pause, and I felt it was just a little bit too much of a stretch. I'm not going to spoil here - it's near the end of the book, but I will say that it was a little over the top for me. However, I'm not going to dwell on the scene because overall I really enjoyed the book.The narration is pretty spot on, however, I felt like both Xavier, Owen and maybe even Bria's voices sounded different that the previous listens. I also felt like Mab's wasn't as consistent throughout the story. However, as usual, I loved Gin and Finn!My Rating: A, loved it.Narration: A-, liked it a lot.
—len_berti
I didn't dislike this book, but I didn't love it, either. The whole Mab story finally is resolved, but it seemed to take way too long to do so, and felt like a let-down because, well, we know the prophecy that Mab is scared of. So there's a lack of suspense even though it should be the most suspenseful moment of Gin's life. I feel this is because after four books, I know that Estep won't be killing off any of Gin's "team," so while it purports to be a gritty read with killing and all, the stakes aren't high because I know everyone will be safe... And this is my farewell to this series. It has been fun and Gin is likable as a character. I just feel like this is a good place to stop instead of starting another conflict that drags on. The first story arc took so long to develop and I just don't have patience to continue. I really wish the editors of this series would cut half of the summary and explanation of what's what and who's who. It makes for such repetitive reading and as a series, is totally unnecessary. People know it's a series and will start at the beginning if they want to know that Gin Blanco is --surprise-- an assassin who runs a restaurant after her mentor Fletcher was killed. Estep is a good writer, so the repetition seems to grate because I know she can do better.
—angelnicki
FINALLLLLY! About time the plot changed! I love the series and all but it's ridiculously repetitive
—Nhel
