I received this book for free from the library in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: the library
Jennifer Estep, Venom
by
Jennifer Estep
It is part of the Elemental Assassin #3 series and is a fantasy in Paperback edition that was published by Pocket Books on September 28, 2010 and has 389 pages.
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Other books in this series include [books_series]
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Spider’s Bite, Web of Lies, Karma Girl, Tangled Threads, Touch of Frost, Spider's Revenge, Kiss of Frost, Hot Mama, By a Thread, Dark Frost, Widow's Web, Crimson Frost, Deadly Sting, Midnight Frost, Heart of Venom, The Spider, Killer Frost, Tangled Dreams, Tangled Schemes, Spider's Bargain, "Poison", Spider’s Nemesis, "Wasted", "Web of Death", "Web of Deceit", Black Widow, Poison Promise, Cold Burn of Magic, The Spider's Trap, Dark Heart of Magic, Bitter Bite, Unraveled, "Nice Guys Bite", Bright Blaze of Magic, Snared, Kill the Queen, "Winter's Web", Last Strand, Sharpest Sting, "Unwanted", Dirty Deeds 2, "Heart Stings"
Third in the urban fantasy series, Elemental Assassin, the title is quite apt what with the hatred Gin has for the elemental who murdered her family, the spite Mab has for anyone not her, and the extreme malice vented by Elliot.
My Take
I love Gin, she don’t take no shit. One benefit of this world of hurt is Bria. Gin finds her…very unexpectedly.
Now I have to wait til May (2011) for Tangled Threads to find out what happens next!
The Story
The story begins with Gin’s beating by Slater, inspired by McAllister who hates Gin for not caving as everyone else does.
None of this is enough to inspire Gin to actively track Slater down until she finds out what’s happening to Roslyn, and that settles it. The bad guys are in for their own world of hurt if only Gin can get past the many roadblocks that keep jumping up!
The Characters
Gin Blanco, a.k.a., the Spider, is a feared assassin with a daytime job serving up barbecue and blackberry lemonade (I want to try this!); Finn, Gin’s foster brother, who adores all aspects of money — the making of it, the hiding of it, the increasing of it, the wallowing in it, let alone the toys one can buy with it; Roslyn Phillips, a super-gorgeous vampire and former hooker who made good; the Deveraux sisters: Sophia and Jo-Jo whose air elemental powers take care of the clean-up and fix-up of Gin’s adventures; and, Xavier, a cop by day and bouncer by night.
Minor characters from previous stories include…
…Eva Grayson and Violet Fox, schoolmates and friends with previous contact with Gin, and Owen Grayson, Eva’s brother, who has some intriguing secrets up his sleeve.
A new, and very important character, is Bria Coolidge. Yup, that Bria…
Mab is a fire elemental who murdered Gin’s family and anyone else who gets in her way as she seeks to keep her top-dog position in town; Jonah McAllister is her top attorney who keeps the opposition so tied up in red tape and legal motions that no one even tries anymore; and, Elliot Slater is Mab’s enforcer with a hard on for hurting people…the prettier the better.
And, man, are they pissed that Jonah’s son died…
The Cover and Title
I love the cover. Dark and brooding with the river boat in the background as Gin sits back with a wicked glance over the shoulder.
I suspect it’s Jonah’s Venom Estep is addressing.
