Review: Web of Lies by Jennifer Estep

Web of Lies by Jennifer Estep

Elemental Assassin #2

Curiosity is definitely going to get me dead one of these days. Probably real soon.

You might know me as the Spider, the most feared assassin in the South. I’m retired now, but trouble still has a way of finding me. Like the other day when two punks tried to rob my popular barbecue joint, the Pork Pit. Then there was the barrage of gunfire on the restaurant. Only, for once, those kill shots weren’t aimed at me. They were meant for Violet Fox. Ever since I agreed to help Violet and her grandfather protect their property from an evil coalmining tycoon, I’m beginning to wonder if I’m really retired. So is Detective Donovan Caine. The only honest cop in Ashland is having a real hard time reconciling his attraction to me with his Boy Scout mentality. And I can barely keep my hands off his sexy body. What can I say? I’m a Stone elemental with a little Ice magic thrown in, but my heart isn’t made of solid rock. Luckily, Gin Blanco always gets her man . . . dead or alive.

Now that Gin has retired, she finds herself getting quite bored. So, it comes at no surprise when she agrees to help out an old friend of Fletcher's and his grandaughter. A dwarf wants their land and is willing to kill for it. She also gets herself mixed up in a bad way with the son of Mad Mab's top enforcer, which is a complete recipe for disaster. This leaves two people that just need killing, and no easy way to do it. If she isn't at the top of her game, she might just find it to be her last.

Donovan Caine's character is really starting to tick me off. His high handed morals are really absurd. Its so convenient for him to forget those precious morals when he wants her for a hot round of sex. Right after, however those moral miraculously reappear and he acts as if she is some plague he will catch. I could have accepted his morals if they weren't able to be conveniently forgotten. Gin deserves so much better than him. Yes, she is an assassin, but she only seems to kill those who deserve it. In my review of the last book I wrote that I thought the two of them would make a great couple. Now, however I take that back. I just cannot wait till he is out of her life for good, and she gets herself over him. He isn't worthy of her affections.

This book was much more emotional and personal than the last one. I think this is mostly due to her still being an emotional wreck over Fletcher's murder. Well, she is as much of an emotional wreck as an assassin really ever is. Any emotion at all could be considered a major display for her, as she learned long ago to bury everything. I really enjoyed seeing the glimpses into her past, and I hope to learn even more about the events in the past that made her who she is.

I loved this book, and I love where the series is going. Its great to see Gin slowly opening up and feeling some emotion rather than just being completely cold-hearted. I imagine we will eventually get to meet her baby sister, Bria, and I cannot wait to see what happens at that reunion. If you enjoyed the first book, you will only love this one that much more. The characters are absolutely awesome, Donovan excluded, and I cannot wait to read more of their story.

Rating:

Buy now at Amazon:
Web of Lies (Elemental Assassin, Book 2)