**This review was written by Sara from Sara’s Urban Fantasy Blog**
Thanks Sara!
Book Stats:
Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Pocket (April 26, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-13: 978-1439192634
Elemental Assassin series:
Spider’s Bite
Web of Lies
Venom
Tangled Threads
Source: eARC sent by author
Purchase: Amazon | Kindle | Book Depository
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. . . .
Plot: 4.5 Stars
Once again, the author did not disappoint with the amount of twists and turns within Gin’s adventure. Gin has to juggle a number of items on her agenda: stay alive while an assassin with electrical powers is after her, save a child who has been abducted, continue to run the Pork Pit, and finally talk to Bria without getting her dragged into the mayhem. The biggest disappointment (and it’s a very small one) was that Finn, Jo Jo, and Sophia played smaller roles than usual. Although Bria and Owen’s larger roles balanced it out a bit. There was a bit of repetition in regards to details about Gin’s powers or past books, but it wouldn’t have been a problem if more time had elapsed between reading books three and four. All in all, this was another awesome addition to one of my favorite Urban Fantasy series.
Pace: 5 Stars
This novel picked up just a couple weeks after the third installment, Venom, left off and jumps immediately back into the action. Since declaring war against Mab Monroe, Gin has started picking off flunkies one by one. It doesn’t take Gin much time to get mixed up in Mab’s affairs after figuring out who tried to sell her out. Between trying to save Natasha and trying to stay alive, no thanks to LaFleur, Gin had a lot on her plate. Time elapsed in a believable manner: there weren’t too many scenes crammed into one day, and there wasn’t too much downtime and planning between scenes. I think the truest testament to the pace of this novel is that I had to read it on my laptop (since I do not have an e- reader), and although I couldn’t bring it to work with me to read on my breaks, I only stopped reading while I was at home to charge my laptop so that I could read even more.
Characters: 5 Stars
Although there weren’t any new revelations about Gin or Finn, they were still just as interesting to read about. There were a number of smaller characters we learned more about in this installment. Vinnie, the ice elemental that runs the bar at Northern Aggression. Before this novel, he was just a random character mentioned once or twice. In this novel, a bit of his history and family are shared which helps explain the decisions he made. Bria becomes a much more important character as she gets wrapped up in Gin’s quest to vanquish Mab Monroe. Plus, Gin finally opens up to Bria at the end. Owen Grayson’s role also became larger in this novel as he continued to stick around and support Gin’s lifestyle. Elecktra LaFleur, the assassin that comes to town to kill the Spider, is a great example of a psychopath that enjoys getting drunk on her own elemental magic. Her powers are scary in their intensity, and she has a slight tie to an earlier book that is a bit surprising.
Cover: 5 Stars
This is another fantastic cover to go with the other three great ones Jennifer has been blessed with. There is always so much detail to these covers. Gin’s spider run is always included in both the title and the cover model, and this time the spider rune on her hand is shown in a way that leaves her body in a pretty realistic pose. The best part of these covers is that the setting is always an actual destination within the novel. The railroad tracks and abandoned buildings are an important part of the plot that is visited on multiple occasions. The color choices are also fantastic for this novel. The yellow title really pops off of the red background. And the red! It’s such a strong, eye-catching color and it’s resemblance to blood is both eerie and fitting.
Overall: 5 Stars
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