This short story takes place when Gin is a teenager and is told from the point of view of Finnegan Lane, Gin's foster brother.
From Goodreads:
This short story takes place when Gin is a teenager. It's told from the point of view of Fletcher Lane, Gin's assassin mentor, and focuses on Gin's first solo job as the assassin the Spider.
From Goodreads:
This short story takes place before the events of Spider's Bite, the first book in the Elemental Assassin series. In "Spider's Bargain," Gin Blanco takes on a corrupt cop, but only one of them will be left standing in the end.
From Goodreads:
My name is Gin, and I kill people.
They call me the Spider. I'm the most feared assassin in the South — when I'm not busy at the Pork Pit cooking up the best barbecue in Ashland. As a Stone elemental, I can hear everything from the whispers of the gravel beneath my feet to the vibrations of the soaring Appalachian Mountains above me. My Ice magic also comes in handy for making the occasional knife. But I don't use my powers on the job unless I absolutely have to. Call it professional pride.
Now that a ruthless Air elemental has double-crossed me and killed my handler, I'm out for revenge. And I'll exterminate anyone who gets in my way — good or bad. I may look hot, but I'm still one of the bad guys. Which is why I'm in trouble, since irresistibly rugged Detective Donovan Caine has agreed to help me. The last thing this coldhearted killer needs when I'm battling a magic more powerful than my own is a sexy distraction... especially when Donovan wants me dead just as much as the enemy.
From Goodreads:
This short story takes place after the events of Spider's Bite but before the beginning of Web of Lies. In "Web of Death," Gin Blanco’s retirement is interrupted by some unwanted guests.
From Goodreads:
Curiosity is definitely going to get me dead one of these days. Probably real soon.
I'm Gin Blanco.
You might know me as the Spider, the most feared assassin in the South. I'm retired now, but trouble still has a way of finding me. Like the other day when two punks tried to rob my popular barbecue joint, the Pork Pit. Then there was the barrage of gunfire on the restaurant. Only, for once, those kill shots weren't aimed at me. They were meant for Violet Fox. Ever since I agreed to help Violet and her grandfather protect their property from an evil coalmining tycoon, I'm beginning to wonder if I'm really retired. So is Detective Donovan Caine. The only honest cop in Ashland is having a real hard time reconciling his attraction to me with his Boy Scout mentality. And I can barely keep my hands off his sexy body. What can I say? I'm a Stone elemental with a little Ice magic thrown in, but my heart isn't made of solid rock. Luckily, Gin Blanco always gets her man . . . dead or alive.
From Goodreads:
This short story takes place in between the events of Web of Lies and Venom. One day, a beautiful woman walks into the bank where Finn works, and trouble soon follows.
From Goodreads:
What kind of assassin works pro bono?
It's hard to be a badass assassin when a giant is beating the crap out of you. Luckily, I never let pride get in the way of my work. My current mission is personal: annihilate Mab Monroe, the Fire elemental who murdered my family. Which means protecting my identity, even if I have to conceal my powerful Stone and Ice magic when I need it most.
To the public, I'm Gin Blanco, owner of Ashland's best barbecue joint. To my friends, I'm the Spider, retired assassin. I still do favors on the side. Like ridding a vampire friend of her oversized stalker—Mab's right-hand goon who almost got me dead with his massive fists.
At least irresistible Owen Grayson is on my side. The man knows too much about me, but I'll take my chances. Then there's Detective Bria Coolidge, one of Ashland's finest. Until recently, I thought my baby sister was dead. She probably thinks the same about me. Little does she know, I'm a cold-blooded killer . . . who is about to save her life.
From Goodreads:
This short story takes place in between the events of Venom and Tangled Threads. It's told from the points of view of Jo-Jo Deveraux and her sister, Sophia Deveraux. When a carjacker follows an injured Gin back to Jo-Jo's beauty salon, Jo-Jo and Sophia join forced to eliminate the threat.
From Goodreads:
This short story spans a period of time starting from the last chapter of Spider's Bite and ending right before the beginning of Tangled Threads. It's told from Detective Bria Coolidge's point of view and shows her search for her long-lost sister Genevieve Snow. What Bria doesn't know is what she's going to do about the fact that Genevieve also happens to be the assassin the Spider.
From Goodreads:
I'd rather face a dozen lethal assassins any night than deal with something as tricky, convoluted, and fragile as my feelings.
But here I am. Gin Blanco, the semi-retired assassin known as the Spider. Hovering outside sexy businessman Owen Grayson’s front door like a nervous teenage girl. One thing I like about Owen: he doesn't shy away from my past—or my present. And right now I have a bull's-eye on my forehead.
Cold-blooded Fire elemental Mab Monroe has hired one of the smartest assassins in the business to trap me. Elektra LaFleur is skilled and efficient, with deadly electrical elemental magic as potent as my own Ice and Stone powers. Which means there's a fifty-fifty chance one of us won't survive this battle. I intend to kill LaFleur—or die trying—because Mab wants the assassin to take out my baby sister, Detective Bria Coolidge, too.
The only problem is, Bria has no idea I'm her long-lost sibling . . . or that I'm the murderer she's been chasing through Ashland for weeks. And what Bria doesn't know just might get us both dead. . .
From Goodreads:
This short story spans a period of many years, beginning before Gin was born and ending during the events of Tangled Threads. It is told from the point of view of Mab Monroe and shows how the Fire elemental grew up, including her first meeting with Eira Snow, Gin's mother.
From Goodreads:
Old habits die hard. And I plan on murdering someone before the night is through.
Killing used to be my regular gig, after all. Gin Blanco, aka the Spider, assassin-for-hire. And I was very good at it. Now, I'm ready to make the one hit that truly matters: Mab Monroe, the dangerous Fire elemental who murdered my family when I was thirteen.
Oh, I don't think the mission will be easy, but turns out it's a bit more problematic than expected. The bitch knows I'm coming for her. So now I'm up against the army of lethal bounty hunters she hired to track me down. She also put a price on my baby sister's head. Keeping Bria safe is my first priority. Taking Mab out is a close second.
Good thing I've got my powerful Stone and Ice magic — and my irresistible lover Owen Grayson — to watch my back. This battle has been years in the making, and there's a chance I won't survive. But if I'm going down, then Mab's coming with me...no matter what I have to do to make that happen.
From Goodreads:
Gin Blanco, aka the assassin the Spider, might have finally killed her nemesis, Mab Monroe, but that doesn't mean that it's smooth sailing. Gin goes to Mab's funeral to say her goodbyes and runs into some of Ashland's most notorious underworld power players, including Jonah McAllister and Phillip Kincaid. McAllister wants her dead, and Kincaid has his own murky motives when it comes to the Spider, and Gin once again finds herself fighting for her life. Only this time, she might wind up in the cemetery right next to Mab.
From Goodreads:
The sixth book in the USA TODAY bestselling Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series featuring Gin Blanco, who by day owns a Tennessee BBQ joint, and by night is a tough female assassin known as the Spider.
I never thought I'd need a vacation from being an assassin….
My name is Gin Blanco, and I'm the assassin the Spider. All the Ashland's lowlifes are gunning for me and trying to make a name for themselves by taking out the Spider. So I think it's a good idea to get out of Ashland for a while until things cool down.
So I'm headed south to a swanky beach town, along with my baby sister, Bria, for a weekend of fun in the sun. But when an old friend of Bria's is threatened by a powerful vampire with deadly elemental magic, it looks like I'll have to dig my silverstone knives out of my suitcase after all. But this time, not even my own Ice and Stone power may be enough to save me from coming home in a pine box…
My Review:
I just absolutely loved reading these books! They were just so freaking fabulous, the pages just turned with a quickness that only happens in a book-or series-that extremely good for me, and for a lot of others, too! So awesome!
First off, I loved these characters! There were little things that we learned about them as the series went on, especially in the free short stories, like a bit about Sophia's body dumping process. Or why Fletcher knew who Gin really was, and about her family! So awesome! Those little details just brought this series to life!
I also loved this world, it was dark, gritty, and harsh, but there were real people inhabiting it, and people that were better than the world that they lived in. While this series takes place almost exclusively in Ashland, the world building that we got was just exquisite! I do have some questions-like why Ice and Stone are the elements, and water is an offshoot, since it's not the norm. It does make it unique, so I like it, I would just like an explanation!
One thing that I really enjoyed, was the fact that Spider's Revenge ended with the same line that Spider's Bite started with, since in the series' FAQ's, books 1 to 5 were the Gin and Mab arc, to to begin and end with the same line, just awesome!
Another, is the tidbit from Spider's Nemesis, was the fact that the Snow family, and the Grayson family, were friends, that Gin's mom wanted revenge for the deaths of Owen's parents! Which gives rise to a theoretical where their families didn't die, and that they could've met and fallen in love, that sense of fate, that no matter what way life had gone, they would've ended up together, which I find really sweet. But this is all in my head!
I was only meaning to read Spider's Bite. But then there were the 3 prequel free stories to read. And then there were the first chapter of the subsequent book in the back of the one that I was currently reading, and I would read it, and then I had to read the next book (though I read the short stories before continuing on with the full length novels!) because that was just how addicting this series was, and is, for me! And I only stopped when I did, because I didn't have the next book! Otherwise, I would've kept going till I was done up to what's been currently published (though I think I'm missing more than one of the series!)
It's funny, I read all these books in just 3 days, and yet it felt like so much longer, because these books were so freaking great! So much happened, from her power growing, facing off her big bad, realizing to not take her power for granted. Pretty important things! By a Thread reminded me a lot of Stolen by Kelley Armstrong, in that both of the strong heroines escaped the bad guy, only to come back and release the other hostages! So awesome!
Just a fantastic, epic series, so enjoyable, and yeah, I need to read more Jennifer Estep books!
Author: Jennifer Estep
Series: Elemental Assassin #0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.7, 3, 3.5, 3.7, 4, 4.5, 5, 5.5, 6
Read: August 29th, 29th, 29th, 29th, 29th, 29th, 30th, 30th, 30th, 30th, 30th, 30th, 31st, 31st, 31st, 2015
Source: Tuebl
Reason Why: Love her books, and they're Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2015 Books!
Publisher: Online Fictin, Pocket Books
Published: 2011, 2011, 2011, January 26th 2010, 2011, May 25th 2010, 2011, September 28th 2010, 2011, 2011, April 26th 2011, September 19th 2011, September 27th 2011, January 31st 2012, February 28th 2012
Poison:
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Web of Deceit:
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Spider's Bargain:
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Spider's Bite:
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Web of Death:
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Web of Lies:
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Wasted:
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Venom:
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Tangled Dreams:
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Tangled Schemes:
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Tangled Threads:
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Spider's Nemesis:
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Spider's Revenge:
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Thread of Death:
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By a Thread:
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