Spider’s Bite ( Elemental Assassin 1) by Jennifer Estep

Hello to all,

   The heat is really tiring me down and it made me forget to post this yesterday . For those who love history and geography, Sunday, 21th july, was the national day in Belgium and this year was really special because our king Albert 2 decided to let the throne to his son Philippe on that day, it's something completely unusual in Belgium so it was synonym of huge party, more firework and such.
 Not sure how i'm feeling about that i always appreciate Philippe and i think he will be a good king but at the same time i didn't want changement so i'm adjusting.

Now back to books topic, i will try to finish more books including witches sinces it's the main topic of this month but i also read a little other genre so the rest of the month should be interesting.

 Today i'm introducing you to the first book in a series already well know "elemental assassin" by Jennifer Estep,  currently 8 books and several novellas , it's urban fantasy and i heard more than promising things about it, but i didn't get the books in order ^^ in fact i'm still having huge gaps so i was hesitant to start until i got all the books... but "Spider's bite", book 1, has witches in it so i couldn't wait longer and now that i've read it i'm even more impatient to get my hand on the missing titles on my list.

Happy Reading

Publisher: Pocket Books

Publication: 2010

ISBN:  1439147973

Genre: urban fantasy
Violence: strong
Language: mild
sex: strong
Public: 18+

Source: bought

Short description 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.

My opinion:

          Not the kind of character I’m used to but I could get addicted to this complex universe quite quickly, in fact the more I got into the book the better I liked it but this one was still quite dark and perhaps a little too much for my taste, at least for an introduction.

Jennifer Estep made a believable world where creatures having magic are not uncommon, they can be vampires, dwarves, humans, giants and perhaps they are others which aren’t cited yet. I admit I’m a little curious about the vampires in this world because it looks like they can have natural family, the author doesn’t speak of it like a change but like a born race…so I would love to get deeper and see the specificity of this version of vampires.

 Now, the main character, Gin, is an assassin yes but you can’t said she is evil, in fact it would be more the opposite and it explain while the good cop, perhaps the only one in the city, is torn when she is concerned…there is what she has done yes but she is more and he doesn’t know exactly her reasons but inside he is sure there must be some. I really could feel his turmoil and Gin’s too because she could have told him but she wants to spare him…she admire his integrity and I guess she would have loved to stay as naïve and innocent as he can be. Her life has been difficult, worse even it started with a tragedy…Fletcher, owner and cook at the Pork Pit, saved her years ago and taught her to be a good assassin, like himself, before retiring but he still kee care of her, watch her back so when he is killed, it’s her new family that’s destroyed but now she can take revenge and she is determined to do so while protecting Finn, Fletcher’s son.

Speaking of Finn, he is a funny, though deadly, character. He doesn’t love to get his hands dirty and love the luxury, the expensive cars and clothes. However, despites his good look, his fortune he is still his father’s son and he is quite a good assistant for Gin, handling the research and having the contacts. I couldn’t help but smile at the way he was selecting the car he stole, really like he had all the time of the world and was in a specialised market for that^^. He likes to banter with Gin too, considering her like a sister (though it wasn’t the case in the past since they had a relationship). In danger and devastated by his father’s murder, Finn still manage to be effective and more important in my opinion… he IS loyal.

Donovan Caine is a cop and determined to catch or kill the spider for his partner’s murder.  He is proud of his honesty and do his job the best way he can however he can also be blind... he doesn’t see the corruption running in the police force, give the doubts first at his own risk etc . When he meets Gin, in fact when she saves his life, he is attracted yes but his integrity made him want to catch her, ignoring who she is.  When his life get in danger, because his integrity put him on the path on dangerous persons, he reluctantly accepts the truce and partnership Gin offers… Unfortunately for him, his attraction only grows and he discovers some of the assassin’s side he never envisioned.

I liked him but I find strange he didn’t went to ask Finn for information after Gin refused to answer..

The Plot in itself is really well constructed. I didn’t guess the reasons behind the double crossing or the way it was done and the part some of the secondary characters played in it. So I was immersed in the adventures…. But like I said it also dark and I really enjoyed the ending offering at least a little hope, some closure. While the case is solved, you also see glimpse of a new one so while it’s not completely a cliffhanger, you could want to start on book 2 right away too.

I would recommend this book to the fan of dark  urban fantasy who love investigation and lot of action.

Score:  3,5/5

Disclaimer: All opinions are my own and no compensation was received in exchange for this review

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