The sixth book in the USA TODAY bestselling Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series featuring Gin Blanco, who by day owns a Tennessee BBQ joint, and by night is a tough female assassin known as the Spider. I never thought I’d need a vacation from being an assassin…. My name is Gin Blanco, and I’m the assassin the Spider. All the Ashland’s lowlifes are gunning for me and trying to make a name … gunning for me and trying to make a name for themselves by taking out the Spider. So I think it’s a good idea to get out of Ashland for a while until things cool down.
So I’m headed south to a swanky beach town, along with my baby sister, Bria, for a weekend of fun in the sun. But when an old friend of Bria’s is threatened by a powerful vampire with deadly elemental magic, it looks like I’ll have to dig my silverstone knives out of my suitcase after all. But this time, not even my own Ice and Stone power may be enough to save me from coming home in a pine box…
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**Spoiler from previous book’s in this review.
**Note: This series needs to be read in order.
Another stellar installment in the Elemental Assassin series.
Now that Gin’s reputation as the Spider is common knowledge and Mab Monroe is out of the picture, Gin decides to get out of town and takes a much needed vacation with her sister, Bria.
Bria is excited to go home and visit with her best friend Callie. Gin sees how close they are and she’s jealous of their relationship. She’s tried to develop the same kind with her sister, but it hasn’t come to be. Will they every learn to trust and care for each other?
Donovan Cain pops back up and for, Gin, feelings and emotions come to a head in relation to Cain and her sister. Besides the personal issues we have another heavy hitter who is trying to take down Gin aka the Spider.
Their’s a lot of action, adventure, and on the edge of your set moments. I was in awe with how tough Gin is and that she lived through some of the things that happened. Man does she get bet up bad in this one. The pace is smooth and Estep’s knows how to hit home with each chapter. She kept me reading. The world building and characters for this series are so interesting, intriguing, and all in composing. I really enjoy the direction the author is going now that Mab is out of the picture. I wasn’t sure what would happen once Gin took care of an old enemy.
By a Thread blends the old with the new and takes the Elemental Assassin world in a new direction. I’m hooked and I can’t stop reading. Each book grabs me! The series has everything I love in an Urban Fantasy; kickass heroine, packed full of action, surprises, and suspense, plus many fabulous characters to enjoy. I highly recommend the Elemental Assassin series.
Rated: 5 Stars
Warning: Slight spoilers ahead for those who have not read the series.
Review: For the first five books of this series, Gin Blanco has been focused on exacting revenge against her arch-enemy, Mab Monroe. At the end of the last book, Gin and Mab have their showdown. I’ll admit that when I learned that the series wasn’t done, I was quite curious to see how Jennifer Estep was going to continue now that her foe is no longer a threat. But obviously Mab isn’t the only bad guy out there and so Ms Estep decided to bring in a bigger and badder villain and an ex-lover to spoil Gin’s much needed vacation.
I’ve enjoyed this series from the very beginning. However, I was never a fan of Donovan Caine, Gin’s ex-lover, and wasn’t exactly thrilled to see him return in this story. I always felt Donovan was a weak character. He had strong morals, but there was no give to them and when he got involved with Gin he felt like he was compromising those morals and then took it out on her. Gin just took the emotional abuse and as the reader we had to watch as she struggled through it. I rejoiced when Donovan left and Gin found love with Owen. But to see Donovan back and still treating Gin so rudely… well, I didn’t particularly enjoy those scenes and it’s the main reason why I didn’t rate this novel higher.
But overall, I enjoyed watching Gin and her sister get closer, Gin and Owen’s relationship get stronger, and of course Gin battling a new, stronger villain. While there are some flashbacks and lots of returning characters, if you’ve not read the rest of this series, this is a good place to start. But as always, you’d get much more out of it from starting at the beginning.
My review originally posted at Romancing the Book.
Love the giants and elementals. JoJo and Sophia are awesome
*Spoilers* I’ve read five of Ms. Estep’s novels before this one, and though they are entertaining and original… and bloody, they usually languish in too much detail, slowing down the pace and making for a slow, yet enjoyable read. This book, though, is absolutely amazing. Taut, action packed, filled with plenty of great characters bouncing off each other. From the sisters Gin and Bria, trying to work through some pretty dark sisterly troubles, to Gin being Gin, and unable to not help those with murderous bully problems, to her past lover and tormentor, Donovan Caine showing up, and being engaged to her sister’s best friend. Throw in a really sick, ubber powered vampire, Gin losing her powers, but still standing up to said mega vamp. I loved this book. A sensational book. — Alice Bello is the author of Better off Dead, Min’s Vampire and the Ferro Mountain Shifters series.
Really liked this one as far as story line and character progression! Estep has an annoying tendency to using some phrases repetitively. i.e. Calling Owen her “lover” instead of using his name. Okay you use it once or twice but not almost every time you saying something about him! His name is Owen and we recognize him.
Yet, that is minor compared to the storyline; and watching Gin discover she is more than an assassin, is well worth something that minor!
Gin and the gang are on vacation. Yeah, right! Who are ya trying to kid. Gin finds herself once again trying to help out another only to run into Donovan Caine, her one time lover. Interesting story with good delivery.