Spider's Bite

I enjoyed this book, and plan to go on to the next book in the series, [b:Web of Lies 6933152 Web of Lies (Elemental Assassin, #2) Jennifer Estep http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1262902266s/6933152.jpg 7164540]. I'm hoping that [a:Jennifer Estep 580315 Jennifer Estep http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1264385515p2/580315.jpg] grows as an author, though, as the foreshadowing regarding the real “big bad” as well as the revelation of a fact important to the main character were both rather clumsily done, in my opinion.I'm aware of another series by Estep, Bigtime. I was thinking of reading it, but it was written earlier than the Elemental Assassin series, and now I'm not so sure about whether I want to read it or not. Estep's characters are interesting, but I'm not sure that they're interesting enough to hold me through writing that's less polished than [b:Spider's Bite 6611038 Spider's Bite (Elemental Assassin, #1) Jennifer Estep http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1254292883s/6611038.jpg 6805023]. Then again, I've certainly read worse. I suppose it all depends on what I happen to have in hand at any given time. I'd be more likely to read it if there were short stories available similar to the ones on Estep's web site that drew me in to this series.I didn't do reviews for those, but there are three stories that occur chronologically before [b:Spider's Bite 6611038 Spider's Bite (Elemental Assassin, #1) Jennifer Estep http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1254292883s/6611038.jpg 6805023]: [b:Poison 10869243 Poison (Elemental Assassin #0.5) Jennifer Estep http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg 15784488] [b:Web of Deceit 11478192 Web of Deceit (Elemental Assassin #0.75) Jennifer Estep http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg 16413134] and [b:Spider's Bargain 11478167 Spider's Bargain (Elemental Assassin #0.90) Jennifer Estep http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg 16413109]. Reading them certainly isn't necessary to enjoy the novel, and it's definitely better to avoid reading [b:Web of Deceit 11478192 Web of Deceit (Elemental Assassin #0.75) Jennifer Estep http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg 16413134] first. They are good stories, though, and I do recommend that anyone who enjoys Estep's work seek them out in order to enjoy the additional bits of information gained in them. For instance, [b:Spider's Bargain 11478167 Spider's Bargain (Elemental Assassin #0.90) Jennifer Estep http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg 16413109] is the story of an event that is pivotal to Gin and Caine's relationship, and its consequences are likely to continue echoing through the next few volumes of the series.

Gin is kick-ass. A female assassin, AKA The spider, trying to track down who doubled crossed her, killed her handler, and beat up Finn, her handler's son. She crosses paths with Detective Caine. The world of elemental magic seems intriguing but it wasn't flushed out enough. Vampires, dwarves, giants, and humans seem to live amuck in this world. The novel is fast-paced which makes it a page turner but I didn't believe the romance/relationship between the Detective and Gin. It seemed forced and I think the book would have done better without the sexual tension. Also, the receptiveness of “Gold on gray” and “Mmm” was placed in the story often enough to make me roll my eyes.