Diamond in the rough.
If I had to sum up this entire book in once sentence, that is exactly the words I would use... a definite diamond in the rough. This is book one, a debut novel to a dark, urban fantasy series about an assassin known as Gin Blanco and she is gifted with elemental magic. Her family is murdered when she is just a child and is found and trained by another assassin, one that becomes her mentor.
This book is packed with action and explodes from the first chapter with a plot that is out of this world! (Let's just say I was on the edge of my seat and rapidly turning the pages... I missed a few meals without even realizing it!) This tale of urban fantasy contains giants, dwarves, vampires, weather witches, and elemental magic... which the author's description is fascinating. This is also a true urban fantasy in the aspect that there are dead bodies, everywhere... violence is a reality of Gin Blanco's world and it is apparent, also given her occupation as an assassin, it also seems that trouble follows in her wake.... no matter how much she attempts to avoid it.
It's important to note a couple of things, (especially if someone has only read Jennifer Estep's Bigtime paranormal romance series), Gin Blanco is the heroine in the Elemental Assassin series... she seems to separate her identities, Gin is her 'normal' identity and the 'Spider' is how she identifies with her 'assassin'. (Especially considering the 'Spider' has gotten a fair amount of media coverage.) Another primary aspect of this novel that was interesting is how Gin views killing. If it needs to be done, she's the one for the job. (I bring this up because after a friend of mine read this book, we had a two hour discussion about that subject alone, LOL!) And I pointed out that I think maybe Gin views the world & maybe even 'killing' in shades of grey instead of black and white. It's not necessarily right or wrong, maybe degrees of each to a point and who knows... everyone has their own 'boundaries', maybe she has her own too.
So I'm not going to spoil the book, outside of what I've already shared. Be prepared for a roller coaster ride as Gin receives her next 'assignment' from her 'handler' and things don't go as well as they normally do... and well, it sets off a chain of events that sets up the entire series of books that follow. And maybe have your eyes open for a stubborn detective, but kind of a jerk (in my opinion at least) and see if you recognize any vulnerability in Gin when he's around...
Most of all, I'm curious of your take of the fantasy aspect of the novel too... how did you like the Elementals? Did 'Spider's Bite' make you want to take a bite out of the next one?
And I have to say, I read this book some time ago... I remember cruising up & down the bookstore shelves searching for a change & something fresh, then finding this and saying, 'Why not?' Well, it's one of the best decisions I've ever made. I can't say enough about ANY of Jennifer Estep's work... she writes several different genres and I've read them all. (My son even reads her Young Adult series!) However, the Elemental Assassin series is my favorite, but I think it's because there is so much more happening here... I've never been sorry. And even better? 'By a Thread', book 6 in this series releases at the end of February this year!
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