Early Review: Unwanted by Jennifer Estep

Unwanted by Jennifer Estep

Elemental Assassin #14.5

The New York Times bestselling Elemental Assassin series continues with a new e-novella--from the point of view of Finnegan Lane, the foster brother of Gin Blanco, and a fan favorite of readers of the series.

The fallout from his disastrous “family reunion” in Bitter Bite has left Finn feeling hurt, angry, and depressed. He can barely stand to look at himself in the mirror, much less eat any of the delicious barbecue from Gin’s famed Pork Pit restaurant.

But when the funeral for a slain security guard at his bank turns into a showdown with some nasty underworld giants, Finn knows that he must act in order to protect an innocent family.

Finnegan Lane might be the most unwanted man in Ashland these days, but he’s determined to try to make amends for his past mistakes...

This was a short but surprisingly full of depth read. To be honest, while I've adored Finn throughout the series, my feelings for him drastically changed in the last book. The way he lost his head over his mother, and basically abandoned Gin despite all they've been through together as siblings over the many trials they have faced? Well it just left a sour taste in my mouth and he firmly was on my crap list. So that being said, this novella was exactly what I needed (and the characters needed) to get past those mistakes. In UNWANTED Finn is utterly wrecked at his behavior, barely eating or sleeping and overall completely miserable. He just wasn't in a good head-space at all, and that's just "sloppy" as Gin would say when you consider there's always some threat after them.

So when the widow of one of the deceased guards from his fiasco from trusting his mother runs into some pretty big trouble, Finn can't seem to help himself in needing to help her. And boy does she not make it easy, and frankly it's just what he needed to start his own healing process in forgiving himself. How can others forgive him if he's still stuck in loathing and self denial? I really enjoyed how the author showed this journey towards healing, but in true Elemental Assassin style, that healing came with a fast paced and killer (literally) plot. I also loved how she made his guilt and healing process realistic. He's still got a long way to go, but at least he's now headed on the right path.

I highly recommend this novella for fans of the series, especially those like me who need to see a bit of redemption from Mr. Finnegan Lane.

(Received a copy from the publisher)

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Other Reviews:
     Mixed Book Bag
     The Linseyverse

Previous Books:
     1. Spider's Bite
     2. Web of Lies
     3. Venom
     4. Tangled Threads
     5. Spider's Revenge
     6. By a Thread
     7. Widow's Web
     8. Deadly Sting
     9. Heart of Venom

     10. The Spider

     11. Poison Promise

     12. Black Widow

     13. Spider's Trap

     14. Bitter Bite