Publisher: Pocket Books
Release Date: January 26, 2010
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Pages: 395
Source: Library Loan
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Review Date: October 8, 2012
Rating: 4 bookmarks
Book Synopsis: 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.
Release Date: January 26, 2010
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Pages: 395
Source: Library Loan
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Review Date: October 8, 2012
Rating: 4 bookmarks
Book Synopsis: 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.
Gin is an elemental assassin known as Spider. Her recent job turns out to be a set up which also leads to the death of her handler, Fletcher, who has been like a father to her. Once she realizes she has been double crossed, she rushes to the rescue of Finn, the brother that Gin never had. They really have a true sibling relationship, which was fun to read. They give each other a hard time, but he backs her up 100% and she takes care of him. He sort of turns into her honorary assassin side-kick .
Gin is a true antiheroine. She's a hard, practical, ruthless and a kick-ass assassin yet at the same time, she also shows that she had deep feelings and can be hurt. She also appears to have a good moral compass, despite the fact that she kills people for a living. Talk about a person full of contradictions. It a hard for many writers to accomplish, but Gin is perfectly balanced. She's one of those characters you love to hate. It's like I almost want to see her as a Robin Hood of death. Killing off all the people who do wrong, but for money. Even though the people she kills have done terrible things, the bottom line is that she is an assassin, and that alone makes her bad.
Gin is a true antiheroine. She's a hard, practical, ruthless and a kick-ass assassin yet at the same time, she also shows that she had deep feelings and can be hurt. She also appears to have a good moral compass, despite the fact that she kills people for a living. Talk about a person full of contradictions. It a hard for many writers to accomplish, but Gin is perfectly balanced. She's one of those characters you love to hate. It's like I almost want to see her as a Robin Hood of death. Killing off all the people who do wrong, but for money. Even though the people she kills have done terrible things, the bottom line is that she is an assassin, and that alone makes her bad.
Donovan, the cop whose oblivious to the corruption right under his nose. He really comes of very naive in many ways, which is odd for such a smart guy, Anyway, I like him. I'm glad that he didn't just fall all over Gin just because he's attracted to her. He at least put up a little resistance before deciding to team up with her and Finn. He definitely put up a fight when it came to getting into anything personal with Gin. Of course he failed miserably! I can see Gin and Donovan going back and forth over the span of the series. That whole love/hate relationship except it's kicked up a notch to more of a love/kill situation. They are either all over each other or wanting to kill each other, literally.
I liked the story as a whole and I really liked the fact that I couldn't figure out who the true villain of this story was. I usually can figure it out quickly, but this time I was unable to. That's always a plus for me. I liked the other characters that became a piece of Gin's makeshift family, sisters and dwarfs, Jo-Jo and Sophia. They are interesting and add another dimension to the story.
I also liked the whole elemental thing. Many characters possessing magic pertaining to stone, fire, ice and air is all pretty fascinating. Along with the elemental magic, there were giants, dwarves, vampires, etc. I thought it was pretty amusing that the vampires seemed to pretty much be at the bottom of the food chain...being the hookers and all.
This story is has an engaging who-dun-it plot. Romance with serious heat and plenty of issues to over come. A fun and speedy read. I'm looking forward to reading Web of Lies.
A few of my favorite quotes from the book:
“The two men stared at each other. Assumptions were made, judgments rendered, dicks measured.”
“You're just jealous. Hardly. Been there, done you. Adequate, but unremarkable.”
“Executive Vice President? That's a nice way of saying he's someone's corporate bitch.”
I liked the story as a whole and I really liked the fact that I couldn't figure out who the true villain of this story was. I usually can figure it out quickly, but this time I was unable to. That's always a plus for me. I liked the other characters that became a piece of Gin's makeshift family, sisters and dwarfs, Jo-Jo and Sophia. They are interesting and add another dimension to the story.
I also liked the whole elemental thing. Many characters possessing magic pertaining to stone, fire, ice and air is all pretty fascinating. Along with the elemental magic, there were giants, dwarves, vampires, etc. I thought it was pretty amusing that the vampires seemed to pretty much be at the bottom of the food chain...being the hookers and all.
This story is has an engaging who-dun-it plot. Romance with serious heat and plenty of issues to over come. A fun and speedy read. I'm looking forward to reading Web of Lies.
A few of my favorite quotes from the book:
“The two men stared at each other. Assumptions were made, judgments rendered, dicks measured.”
“You're just jealous. Hardly. Been there, done you. Adequate, but unremarkable.”
“Executive Vice President? That's a nice way of saying he's someone's corporate bitch.”
Get the Kindle version here: Spider's Bite (Elemental Assassin, Book 1)
