Halloween Spooktacular Day 3

 Spider’s Revenge

By Jennifer Estep

Publisher: Pocket

Publication Date: September 27, 2011

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Disclaimer: This is the fifth book in the series and there may be spoilers for previous books mentioned.

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.

Goodreads Summary

Tangled Threads left off with our beloved assassin Gin declaring war on Ashland’s reining underworld crime boss and most powerful elemental to date. With a sixth book already scheduled for publishing, I began reading Spider’s Revenge with trepidation, fearing that it would be one of those dreaded “filler” novels. Gin would kill a few people, she and Owen would ogle each other for a bit, and Gin and Mab would have some sort of show down that ends in a stalemate. Exciting, yes, but we’d still be in the same position at the end of the book as we were in the beginning.

I am happy to report that this book is far from “filler.” Spider’s Revenge is the most action-packed book of the series to date. The book opens with Gin hanging off a roof in the middle of a snow storm and continues in the same vein throughout the whole story. She finds herself in all sorts of sticky situations that I was sure she wouldn’t be able to find her way out of. Mab is out for blood and has no qualms about removing any obstacles in her path - innocent or otherwise. It takes all of Gin’s considerable talent and training as an assassin and her growing elemental powers to fight back. It’s not just her life on the line anymore, and Gin won’t let anyone hurt the people she loves.

Gin is one of my favorite heroines. She never makes excuses for her chosen profession. She’s very much an “I am what I am” type of gal. Underneath her core of steel lies a tender heart. She hides it of course, but she is fierce in her devotion to her makeshift family. The book is mainly action scenes but there are a few sweet moments between the characters. Gin and Bria continue trying to awkwardly find common ground and move on from the past. And Owen. Sexy, sexy Owen. The moments between he and Gin are rare, but oh, so worth the wait.

Jennifer Estep has created such a dark and violent world for her characters. I nervously wondered if Gin and family would even make it all out alive. Mab is as evil as they come and when she and Gin meet it’s with the force of an avalanche and hurricane combined. I’ll steer clear of spoilers, but something epic happens between the two….

My Summary: Jennifer Estep continually delivers intense action and suspense with every new book in this series. Spider’s Revenge is, hands down, my favorite book so far. I finished it in a matter of hours and when I finally came up for air I had to sit for a minute and just absorb. If you haven’t started the series yet, Gin and her hodge-podge family will steal your hearts. If you’ve followed Gin from book one, then Spider’s Revenge will cement their place in your Hall of Fame. The writing is bloody and gory, but for some reason the books leave me happy.  I can’t wait for more.

My Rating: A+

by Cait

 Barbara

http://www.basiasbookshelf.com

barbara@basiasbookshelf.com

basiasbookshelf@charter.net

Twitter: @basiasbookshelf

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