Saturday, September 12, 2015

Week 37 Reviews: Widow's Web, Deadly Sting, Kiss of Venom, Heart of Venom, The Spider, Poison Promise, Black Widow, Spider's Trap








From Goodreads:
I used to murder people for money, but these days it's more of a survival technique.

Once an assassin, always an assassin. So much for being plain old Gin Blanco. With every lowlife in Ashland gunning for me, I don't need another problem, but a new one has come to town. 

Salina might seem like a sweet Southern belle, but she's really a dangerous enemy whose water elemental magic can go head-to-head with my own Ice and Stone power. Salina also has an intimate history with my lover, Owen Grayson, and now that she's back in town, she thinks he's hers for the taking. 

Salina's playing a mysterious game that involves a shady local casino owner with a surprising connection to Owen. But they call me the Spider for a reason. I'm going to untangle her deadly scheme, even if it leaves my love affair hanging by a thread.

From Goodreads:
Red is definitely my color. Good thing, because in my line of work, I end up wearing it a lot. 

Most people shy away from blood, but for an assassin like me— Gin Blanco, aka the Spider—it’s just part of the job. Still, it would be nice to get a night off, especially when I’m attending the biggest gala event of the summer at Briartop, Ashland’s fanciest art museum. But it’s just not meant to be. For this exhibition of my late nemesis’s priceless possessions is not only the place to be seen, but the place to be robbed and taken hostage at gunpoint as well. No sooner did I get my champagne than a bunch of the unluckiest thieves ever burst into the museum and started looting the place.

Unlucky why? Because I brought along a couple of knives in addition to my killer dress. Add these to my Ice and Stone magic, and nothing makes me happier than showing the bad guys why red really is my color. 

From Goodreads:
The New York Times bestselling Elemental Assassin series continues with a new e-novella—from the hero's point of view! Owen Grayson is bound and determined to get Gin back...if her enemies don't get her first.

When you have a history of dating an assassin, a night out on the town can turn deadly—fast. Owen Grayson is still wracked with guilt over the end of his love affair with Gin Blanco, and there aren't enough gin and tonics in all of Ashland to ease his heartache. But when Gin happens to show up at the same nightclub, he isn't the only one hoping to get her alone. Some shadowy figures will do anything to take down the Spider, Gin's assassin alter ego, and Owen will do anything to protect her. This could be the way to win her back, or at least give her a night off from fighting for her life—if Owen can survive...

From Goodreads:
The hotly anticipated ninth novel in the hugely popular Elemental Assassin series finds Gin Blanco on a dangerous mission to rescue a friend. 


When a terror from the past threatens Gin's friend and body-disposer, Sophia, Gin will stop at nothing to protect her, even if it means walking straight into a killer's trap. Meanwhile, the rocky romance between Gin and Owen reaches a turning point—can they reunite and rekindle their love? Or will the things Gin has been forced to do in her line of work as the deadly assassin the Spider keep them apart forever? Assuming, that is, she survives long enough to find out…

From Goodreads:
The tenth book in the bestselling and "outstanding" (Romantic Times) Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series finally reveals for the first time the origins of Gin Blanco's career as the deadliest of assassins.

For the first time, the origins of Gin Blanco's career as the deadly assassin "the Spider" are revealed in full. In a story that pre-dates the other nine books in the series, Gin Blanco goes through her paces to become the most feared assassin in the Ashland.

From Goodreads:
Gin Blanco is hard-nosed, sexy, and lethal. Nicknamed "The Spider," she's a stone elemental assassin who brings her unique mix of magic and tact to every assignment, no matter the target.


There's a new drug on the streets of Ashland, and its name "Burn" sums up the potent effect it has on its users. When one of her restaurant employees is threatened by dealers of the drug, Gin steps in to set things straight...

From Goodreads:
There's nothing worse than a cruel, cunning enemy with time to kill—and my murder to plan.

With wicked Fire elemental Mab Monroe long gone, you'd think I could finally catch a break. But someone's always trying to take me down, either as Gin Blanco or my assassin alter-ago. Now along comes the Spider's new arch-nemesis, the mysteriously named M. M. Monroe, who is gleefully working overtime to trap me in a sticky web of deceit.

The thing is, I'm not the only target. I can see through the tangled threads enough to know that every bit of bad luck my friends have been having lately is no accident—and that each unfortunate "coincidence" is just one more arrow drawing ever closer to hitting the real bulls-eye. 

Though new to Ashland, this M. M. Monroe is no stranger to irony, trying to get me, an assassin, framed for murder. Yet, as my enemy's master plan is slowly revealed, I have a sinking feeling that it will take more than my powerful Ice and Stone magic to stop my whole life from going up in flames

From Goodreads:
The next thrilling book in Jennifer Estep's New York Times and USA Today bestselling Elemental Assassin series—"an extraordinary series… One of the most intriguing heroines in the genre" (Romantic Times Book Reviews).

Keep your friends close but your enemies within stabbing distance.

One important lesson I've learned in the assassination business is that to be the best you have to roll with the punches. Now that I'm queen of Ashland's underworld—by default, not by choice—a lot more punches are being thrown my way. But I suppose that's the price of victory for taking down some of the underworld’s top dogs. Good thing I have my Ice and Stone magic to help me survive my volatile new position. Just when I think things are finally settling down, someone tries to murder me during a hush-hush underworld meeting. But the real surprise is how strangely familiar my shadowy assailant seems to be.

My job is to maintain order among killers, crooks, and thieves, and soon I'm embroiled in a bloody game where the ability to keep secrets could be the greatest superpower of all. My enemies have all sharpened their knives and laid their traps, waiting for me to fall. But this Spider weaves her own webs of death…

My Review:
I've caught up to what's been currently published! And that's a good thing, and a bad thing, Good, because I got to read all these wonderful books! Bad, because now I have to wait for more really wonderful books!

In the FAQ's on Jennifer Estep's site, it talks about story arc's, how there's one from Widow's Web to Heart of Venom, about Gin and Owen's relationship. Then another between Poison Promise and Black Widow, that had it's rots in Heart of Venom, about M. M. Monroe. And there's kinda another one in Spider's Trap, and the upcoming Bitter Bite, which I can't wait to read!

Both The Spider, and Black Widow, were hard for me to read, in different ways. The Spider, because most of it was set 10 years ago, so the conflict had already come and gone, and there was nothing too be done to change what was happening, unlike current conflict. Black Widow, because I knew the bad things were coming-and so did Gin-but there was nothing I could do to stop them from happening! And it sucked!

That doesn't mean that they weren't fantastic books! Because The Spider mainly is set before the rest of the series happened, it means that everybody who's died is alive in it. Which is a good thing in Fletcher, and a bad thing in Mab and her group!

Yeah, so much happened in these books, and I just want to read more! Just keep the great books coming, please, Jennifer Estep!

Author: Jennifer Estep
Series: Elemental Assassin #7, 8, 8.5, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13
Read: September 5th, 5th, 6th, 6th, 6th, 7th, 7th, 8th, 2015
Source: Tuebl
Reason Why: Loved the previous books in the series, and her writing! And they're Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2015 Books!
Publisher: Pocket, Pocket Books, Pocket Star
Published: August 12th 2012, March 26th 2013, July 22nd 2013, August 27th 2013, December 24th 2013, July 22nd 2014, November 25th 2014, July 28th 2015

Widow's Web:
5/5 Hearts
5/5 Books
5/5 Stars









Deadly Sting:
5/5 Hearts
5/5 Books
5/5 Stars









Kiss of Venom:
5/5 Hearts
5/5 Books
5/5 Stars









Heart of Venom:
5/5 Hearts
5/5 Books
5/5 Stars









The Spider:
5/5 Hearts
5/5 Books
5/5 Stars









Poison Promise:
5/5 Hearts
5/5 Books
5/5 Stars









Black Widow:
5/5 Hearts
5/5 Books
5/5 Stars









Spider's Trap:
5/5 Hearts
5/5 Books
5/5 Stars

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