Spider's Bite by Jennifer Estep
Publication Date: January 26th 2010
Publisher: Pocket Books
Mass Market Paperback, 395 pages
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.
Spider's Bite is an amazing first book to an urban fantasy series that promises to become even more exciting in the books to come.It's been quite some time since the last time I picked an urban fantasy title,and boy did I miss them!And Spider's Bite was just the perfect book to make me crave for even more!
Jennifer Estep's writing style is really good.Fast paced,straight to the point and with an ability to create such fully developed characters that you can feel her heroes feelings.I liked Gin from the very first pages.It's not that common to have an assassin as the main character.Assassins are in most cases the bad guys and to have one as the actual good guy was what intrigued me in buying this book.And Estep's portraying of her assassin hero didn't disappoint me in the least.
Surely, Gin is ruthless,cold blooded and with no feeling of remorse towards her killings,but she is also devoted and strong willed,courageous and ready to die for those she loves,qualities that make an amazing heroine.
I've read in many reviews that what bothered most readers in Gin was that she acted more like a guy and less like a woman or that they didn't like her advances towards Caine but for me,all those things are what made Gin an unforgettable character and what I loved most about her.
I've grown tired of damsells in distress,waiting for their men to save them and save the day in the end of the book.Gin has no need of a white knight or anything.She's perfectly capable of taking care of herself and the other's around her and I so much enjoyed that she was the one to save men around her and not the other way around!
The plot was action packed and fast paced,leaving little time for the reader to get bored or tired.In general,Spider's Bite was a really good book in a series that from what everything indicates will only become better.The only things that bothered me a bit were two: That Donovan Caine was a bit of an irritating character and a bit narrow minded for my taste and the fact that same sentences kept appearing the whole time.All those "mmmmmmmm's" and "sloppy,sloppy,sloppy" and the way Gin arranged her knives really distracted me after seeing them thrice or more.But in whole,those two things didn't spoil the fun of the book for me and didn't keep me from ordering the next book in the series as soon as I finished reading this one.
All in all,Spider's Bite is a book I highly recommend to all urban fantasy lovers and one I can't wait to read its sequel!
Hi Anna, glad you liked the book as well. I read those books last year, and the seris has become auto read for me. Now I just have to try her first series, which should be good as well.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review, I keep seeing this book around but haven't had a chance to pick it up. I like a good kick butt heroine so this one seems just the thing I like to read.
ReplyDeleteSuzanne
I've never really read that many UF books before but I do own this book. Thanks for the great review because now you actually have me wanting to read the book. I hope UF becomes a genre that I enjoy. :)
ReplyDelete