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booktreasuresau's review
5.0
Meinung
Da dies Folgebände sind, wird es diesmal nur eine Kurz-Rezension geben. Ich möchte ja nicht zu viel verraten ;)
Natürlich passen die Cover von Band 6 und Band 7 auch wieder perfekt zu den anderen der Reihe und ich finde sie wirklich wunderschön. Sie glänzen durch Schlichtheit und Detail-Liebe.
Die 'Elemental Assassin'-Reihe von Jennifer Estep ist eine meiner absoluten Lieblingsreihen und auch diesmal hat mich die Autorin wieder von ihrem Können überzeugt.
Auch wenn die Reihe vielleicht nach Band 5 hätte beendet sein können, verliert die Geschichte doch absolut NICHTS von ihrer Spannung. Im Gegensatz zu manchen anderen Reihen, fühlt sich 'Elemental Assassin' nicht an als würde die Geschichte unnütz in die Länge gezogen werden und ich bin froh, dass ich die wundervolle Gin noch bei weiteren Abenteuern begleiten darf.
Von den vorherigen Bänden wisst ihr ja bereits, dass ich die Sprecherin Tanja Fornaro einfach genial und vor allem auch perfekt für Gin finde! Daher gehe ich diesmal nicht weiter auf die Sprecherin ein, denn sie hat auch bei Band 6 und Band 7 wieder geniale Arbeit geleistet.
Fazit
Müsste ich eine Lieblings-Protagonistin wählen, würde ich mich wohl für Gin entscheiden!
Die geniale, wahnsinnig talentierte Autorin Jennifer Estep gehört zu meinen absoluten Lieblings-Schriftstellern und konnte mich auch diesmal wieder uneingeschränkt von ihrem Können überzeugen.
Die 'Elemental Assassin'-Reihe kann ich nur immer wieder und wieder weiterempfehlen!
Da dies Folgebände sind, wird es diesmal nur eine Kurz-Rezension geben. Ich möchte ja nicht zu viel verraten ;)
Natürlich passen die Cover von Band 6 und Band 7 auch wieder perfekt zu den anderen der Reihe und ich finde sie wirklich wunderschön. Sie glänzen durch Schlichtheit und Detail-Liebe.
Die 'Elemental Assassin'-Reihe von Jennifer Estep ist eine meiner absoluten Lieblingsreihen und auch diesmal hat mich die Autorin wieder von ihrem Können überzeugt.
Auch wenn die Reihe vielleicht nach Band 5 hätte beendet sein können, verliert die Geschichte doch absolut NICHTS von ihrer Spannung. Im Gegensatz zu manchen anderen Reihen, fühlt sich 'Elemental Assassin' nicht an als würde die Geschichte unnütz in die Länge gezogen werden und ich bin froh, dass ich die wundervolle Gin noch bei weiteren Abenteuern begleiten darf.
Von den vorherigen Bänden wisst ihr ja bereits, dass ich die Sprecherin Tanja Fornaro einfach genial und vor allem auch perfekt für Gin finde! Daher gehe ich diesmal nicht weiter auf die Sprecherin ein, denn sie hat auch bei Band 6 und Band 7 wieder geniale Arbeit geleistet.
Fazit
Müsste ich eine Lieblings-Protagonistin wählen, würde ich mich wohl für Gin entscheiden!
Die geniale, wahnsinnig talentierte Autorin Jennifer Estep gehört zu meinen absoluten Lieblings-Schriftstellern und konnte mich auch diesmal wieder uneingeschränkt von ihrem Können überzeugen.
Die 'Elemental Assassin'-Reihe kann ich nur immer wieder und wieder weiterempfehlen!
mrsbsbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Hmmm....
Although the characters grow a lot in this book i did not find this book to be as good as the others even though i gave it the same amount of stars.
I admit, i was worried once Mab has been killed off that the series would stumble somewhat. But it hasn't.
Donovan, however, was portrayed as, well, weak. I mean come on, he has his fiancee but he can't get Gin out of his mind. RIIIGGHHTT. The man has lost his decency and now comes over as, well, wet. Well done Gin for turning your nose up at his in your own subtle way.
I do however have more respect and love somewhat more Owen. The love and respect he has for Gin, to let her do things that she needs to do, however it makes him feel. He's hardcore.
I look forward to see what the rest of the series brings.
Although the characters grow a lot in this book i did not find this book to be as good as the others even though i gave it the same amount of stars.
I admit, i was worried once Mab has been killed off that the series would stumble somewhat. But it hasn't.
Donovan, however, was portrayed as, well, weak. I mean come on, he has his fiancee but he can't get Gin out of his mind. RIIIGGHHTT. The man has lost his decency and now comes over as, well, wet. Well done Gin for turning your nose up at his in your own subtle way.
I do however have more respect and love somewhat more Owen. The love and respect he has for Gin, to let her do things that she needs to do, however it makes him feel. He's hardcore.
I look forward to see what the rest of the series brings.
hixxup79's review against another edition
4.0
These books are pretty addicting, however my only bitch about these books are that they are quite redundant in explaining things. Like in each book it explains this person in detail in each book, and then about the jewerly Bria where's and the drawings Gin has made. It's like ok it's the 6th book, I think we know all the details on each of these by now, or at least I hope we do. I generally skip through a good piece of the books because of that, because I get tired of reading the same thing over and over in each book. Otherwise this series is very enthralling to me, and I can't see to put them down.
lynseyisreading's review against another edition
3.0
I have a bit of a love/hate thing going on with this series right now. I used to absolutely adore Gin as a character, back when she was broken and vulnerable, a cold-blooded assassin that just wanted to be loved. She was such a dichotomy and her very existence as a "heroine" when she, you know, kills people for a living, I found very provocative and interesting to read. She was like a one woman moral dilemma. And I especially loved her ability to always triumph over every horrific trial thrown her way. When she pulled herself out of that collapsed underground cave system using just her own brute strength and determination, I was like, "you freaking well go, girlfriend! Hooyah!"
But for whatever reason, I seem to have fallen out of love with her in this book. What I once saw as a justified sense of achievement is starting to come across as arrogance and smugness. The return of the original source of her vulnerability, Donovan Douche-bag Caine, only served to highlight these changes in Gin. I admit my stomach did flip flops when he walked onto the page, and I did enjoy those scenes, but then he started annoying the crap out of me, too. Again. I also really didn't find his actions towards the end in keeping with his character at all. I found that whole thing totally unbelievable.
My favourite thing about this series at the moment, and for the last two or three books, is Owen Grayson. He is a fantastic character and I love the history of how he and Gin met. I wish more time was devoted to him and I think he was incredibly patient with Gin in this book.
Sadly, I didn't enjoy the storyline this time at all. I really couldn't have cared less about the bad guy or the damsels in distress, and I found the plot extremely slow and dull. And also very familiar. If it were me, I think I would have wrapped this baby up in the last book when that plot arc ran its course.
Another thing to note is that the repetitiveness is still there. Yes, the recapping has been lessened greatly due to the fact that the plot arc from the first 5 books is over so no need to go into all that again. But the actual writing is still repetitive. If I see the words "chicory coffee" or "sloppy, sloppy, sloppy" one more time, I may just throw a fit.
I don't think I will be buying any more of this series in the future. I'm going to go ahead and pretend it ended with Spider's Revenge, and I would still recommend those first five books to UF lovers, but for now, for me, it's bye bye Gin Blanco.
2.5 Stars ★★★
But for whatever reason, I seem to have fallen out of love with her in this book. What I once saw as a justified sense of achievement is starting to come across as arrogance and smugness. The return of the original source of her vulnerability, Donovan Douche-bag Caine, only served to highlight these changes in Gin. I admit my stomach did flip flops when he walked onto the page, and I did enjoy those scenes, but then he started annoying the crap out of me, too. Again. I also really didn't find his actions towards the end in keeping with his character at all. I found that whole thing totally unbelievable.
My favourite thing about this series at the moment, and for the last two or three books, is Owen Grayson. He is a fantastic character and I love the history of how he and Gin met. I wish more time was devoted to him and I think he was incredibly patient with Gin in this book.
Sadly, I didn't enjoy the storyline this time at all. I really couldn't have cared less about the bad guy or the damsels in distress, and I found the plot extremely slow and dull. And also very familiar. If it were me, I think I would have wrapped this baby up in the last book when that plot arc ran its course.
Another thing to note is that the repetitiveness is still there. Yes, the recapping has been lessened greatly due to the fact that the plot arc from the first 5 books is over so no need to go into all that again. But the actual writing is still repetitive. If I see the words "chicory coffee" or "sloppy, sloppy, sloppy" one more time, I may just throw a fit.
I don't think I will be buying any more of this series in the future. I'm going to go ahead and pretend it ended with Spider's Revenge, and I would still recommend those first five books to UF lovers, but for now, for me, it's bye bye Gin Blanco.
2.5 Stars ★★★
jamiz's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
noemi1010's review against another edition
4.0
The battle against Mab is finally over, and now Gin deserves a vacation especially after all of Ashland's thugs start coming after her. After all, her secret identity as the Spider is not so secret anymore. So when Finn convinces her to go, she packs up her bag and goes with her sister, to Bria's former city. Here she meets Bria's best friend, and her fiancé... someone that Gin knew very well. However, her vacation is soon interrupted as every town has its own criminal, and this time he is a centuries-old vampire intended to buy the land owned by Bria's best friend.
I'm glad that Gin and Bria's relationship improved and that now they are both more accepting of each other.
I'm glad that Gin and Bria's relationship improved and that now they are both more accepting of each other.
breezy610's review against another edition
5.0
this one was pretty good. I was wonder what she was going to do after defeating Mab, but she manages to find some trouble again. and the nerve of that guy, seesh, he gave her up and now when she is happy, he wants her again. i hope his marriage burns in hell because he is going to marry the girl for the wrong reasons.
kathydavie's review against another edition
4.0
Sixth in the Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series revolving around Gin Blanco, an assassin known as the Spider.
My Take
It's not a bridge story so much as it's a tidy-up story using the greed of one man to feed his own ego and pockets. Gin is in agony — she just knows that Bria will get fed up with her and want to end their relationship. Bria is too much like Donovan Caine in her disgust for how Gin has lived and continues to live her life — killing first and questions after. Neither Bria nor Donovan seems to grasp the point that this is how Gin managed to survive her horrific childhood and that, in a town like Ashland that is teeming with elementals, it's the only way she will continue to live.
Oh, there are a couple of food scenes that will have you craving fried chicken and the grilled chicken smothered in a sweet mango salsa with deep-fried hush puppies and pomegranate lemonade… Yum. I definitely want to try that buttermilk marinated one! I do like Owen's attitude...he's jealous, angry, and so in love.
Gin, however, can also be pretty insecure and bitchy. She has some lessons she too needs to learn and its the events within this story that ram a few home truths in. One can get too cocky...
The Story
It's getting old. Ever since Gin killed Mab, the bounty hunters and wannabes have been crawling out of the woodwork to take Gin Blanco, the Spider, down. This idea of Finn's. A vacation. It just might be what she needs.
Only Gin reckons without Bria's choice of visiting her old hometown and an old and cherished friend. Especially a friend who is in trouble.
The Characters
Gin Blanco, a.k.a., Genevieve Snow, a.k.a., the Spider, assassin and Stone and Ice elemental, owns a barbecue restaurant, the Pork Pit, she inherited from Fletcher after he himself was murdered over six months ago. Owen Grayson is a Metal elemental who is in love with Gin — more importantly, he loves her enough to understand what she needs to do.
Her sister, Detective Bria Coolidge is recovering from Mab's "tender" attentions with Finn's help. Finnegan "Finn" Lane is Fletcher's son and close enough to be Gin's brother. A financial planner by day, an information broker by night, and an all-round pain and ladies' man at all times. But now, he's fallen in love with Bria.
Jo-Jo and Sophia Devereaux are sisters and dwarves as well as Air elementals. JoJo runs a beauty salon and does healing on the side while Sophia uses her power to clean. Crime scenes, bodies...
Xavier and Roslyn Phillips get a brief mention. Jonah McAllister was Mab's second-in-command, attorney and another of Gin's enemies and he plays a small, but pivotal, role.
Callie Reyes is Bria's best friend since childhood and she runs the Sea Breeze, a beach restaurant that's been in her family for decades — I so want to eat here! Detective Donovan Caine is the morally upright detective who broke Gin's heart and left town. For Blue Marsh.
Randall Dekes is a powerful vampire who is "buying up" all the land in Blue Marsh. Pete Procter and Trent the giant are just two of the men Dekes sends against Callie and her friends. Vanessa is Dekes' wife and she has a younger sister, Victoria.
The Cover and Title
The greens and blue cover could be a metaphor for Gin's thoughts...a walk in the park...except this one is a walk through the swamp and not the easy job Gin thought it would be. Instead, she's poised in her jeans, royal blue tank top, and stiletto-heeled boots, a studded belt holding a sheathed knife, hips cocked as she leans against a tree next to the boardwalk.
The title is a reflection of where Gin's life is...hanging By a Thread.
My Take
It's not a bridge story so much as it's a tidy-up story using the greed of one man to feed his own ego and pockets. Gin is in agony — she just knows that Bria will get fed up with her and want to end their relationship. Bria is too much like Donovan Caine in her disgust for how Gin has lived and continues to live her life — killing first and questions after. Neither Bria nor Donovan seems to grasp the point that this is how Gin managed to survive her horrific childhood and that, in a town like Ashland that is teeming with elementals, it's the only way she will continue to live.
Oh, there are a couple of food scenes that will have you craving fried chicken and the grilled chicken smothered in a sweet mango salsa with deep-fried hush puppies and pomegranate lemonade… Yum. I definitely want to try that buttermilk marinated one! I do like Owen's attitude...he's jealous, angry, and so in love.
There's a lovely bit of metaphor here: "...we were already lost in another sort of undertow, swept away until there was nothing left but the climax that drowned us both."Mmm, Estep missed a good opportunity for confusion and tension with Vanessa in the bedroom. Then there's Donovan, I mean, duhhhh, just what did he think Dekes was gonna do??
Gin, however, can also be pretty insecure and bitchy. She has some lessons she too needs to learn and its the events within this story that ram a few home truths in. One can get too cocky...
The Story
It's getting old. Ever since Gin killed Mab, the bounty hunters and wannabes have been crawling out of the woodwork to take Gin Blanco, the Spider, down. This idea of Finn's. A vacation. It just might be what she needs.
Only Gin reckons without Bria's choice of visiting her old hometown and an old and cherished friend. Especially a friend who is in trouble.
The Characters
Gin Blanco, a.k.a., Genevieve Snow, a.k.a., the Spider, assassin and Stone and Ice elemental, owns a barbecue restaurant, the Pork Pit, she inherited from Fletcher after he himself was murdered over six months ago. Owen Grayson is a Metal elemental who is in love with Gin — more importantly, he loves her enough to understand what she needs to do.
Her sister, Detective Bria Coolidge is recovering from Mab's "tender" attentions with Finn's help. Finnegan "Finn" Lane is Fletcher's son and close enough to be Gin's brother. A financial planner by day, an information broker by night, and an all-round pain and ladies' man at all times. But now, he's fallen in love with Bria.
Jo-Jo and Sophia Devereaux are sisters and dwarves as well as Air elementals. JoJo runs a beauty salon and does healing on the side while Sophia uses her power to clean. Crime scenes, bodies...
Xavier and Roslyn Phillips get a brief mention. Jonah McAllister was Mab's second-in-command, attorney and another of Gin's enemies and he plays a small, but pivotal, role.
Callie Reyes is Bria's best friend since childhood and she runs the Sea Breeze, a beach restaurant that's been in her family for decades — I so want to eat here! Detective Donovan Caine is the morally upright detective who broke Gin's heart and left town. For Blue Marsh.
Randall Dekes is a powerful vampire who is "buying up" all the land in Blue Marsh. Pete Procter and Trent the giant are just two of the men Dekes sends against Callie and her friends. Vanessa is Dekes' wife and she has a younger sister, Victoria.
The Cover and Title
The greens and blue cover could be a metaphor for Gin's thoughts...a walk in the park...except this one is a walk through the swamp and not the easy job Gin thought it would be. Instead, she's poised in her jeans, royal blue tank top, and stiletto-heeled boots, a studded belt holding a sheathed knife, hips cocked as she leans against a tree next to the boardwalk.
The title is a reflection of where Gin's life is...hanging By a Thread.
readersretreat's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I swear this series gets better with every book
katyanaish's review against another edition
2.0
Well. This one was honestly disappointing to me. I'll admit that the ending was good, and did a lot to salvage the book, but I was pretty irritated for the first 200 pages.
The biggest flaw in this book is Bria.
I know that she was never thrilled with Gin being an assassin, but she did make her peace with it. So in this book, when Bria suddenly morphed into a female Donovan Caine, I was pretty shocked. I thought it was needless drama in the Gin/Bria relationship, and was way out of character for her. It made her seem like an idiot. The fact is, with their history, there is plenty of other drama that is in-character and way more interesting that the author could have tapped in this book. The two of them just becoming friends, now that the Mab situation is over, would have been fun to explore.
And there was a shitty additional side-effect to the Bria-as-moral-police development: it made me disbelieve her relationship with Finn. Which is too bad, because I thought their relationship developed beautifully over the last few books. But it occurred to me, during one of Bria's bitchy, self-righteous, condescending rants: how can she be in love with Finn? If Gin is the very devil herself, doesn't Finn at least qualify as a demon? So then either she's a hypocrite on top of being a judgmental asshole (as in, it is okay when Finn does it, but not when Gin does), or she has no consistency and is now a flat, 2-dimensional character (which I frankly think is the case).
Look, I get what Estep was trying to do. She was trying to set Bria and Donovan up for this parallel relationship. It was a re-tread, as far as I am concerned. Bria HAD this concern, and got over it when she showed up at Gin and Owen's Christmas party a few books back. She chose to get over her black-and-white view of the world. The events of the series since then should only have reinforced Bria's view of the world in shades of gray. There is just no reason at all for her to revert to her old self, and then twist into an even more extreme version. It was forced by the author to play against Donovan Caine, and it felt forced. It was a bad call.
And speaking of, if I never saw Donovan Caine again in this series, I would have been MORE than fine with that. Him popping up again was nauseating, to say the least. Him popping up with Bria's best friend/shoulda-been sister-who-is-just-like-an-angelic-version-of-Gin-so-of-course-Donovan-loves-her ... again, way too contrived. This whole book felt horribly, horribly contrived.
Really disappointing. I hope this doesn't define the new, post-Mab direction for what was one of the best UF series currently running.
The biggest flaw in this book is Bria.
I know that she was never thrilled with Gin being an assassin, but she did make her peace with it. So in this book, when Bria suddenly morphed into a female Donovan Caine, I was pretty shocked. I thought it was needless drama in the Gin/Bria relationship, and was way out of character for her. It made her seem like an idiot. The fact is, with their history, there is plenty of other drama that is in-character and way more interesting that the author could have tapped in this book. The two of them just becoming friends, now that the Mab situation is over, would have been fun to explore.
And there was a shitty additional side-effect to the Bria-as-moral-police development: it made me disbelieve her relationship with Finn. Which is too bad, because I thought their relationship developed beautifully over the last few books. But it occurred to me, during one of Bria's bitchy, self-righteous, condescending rants: how can she be in love with Finn? If Gin is the very devil herself, doesn't Finn at least qualify as a demon? So then either she's a hypocrite on top of being a judgmental asshole (as in, it is okay when Finn does it, but not when Gin does), or she has no consistency and is now a flat, 2-dimensional character (which I frankly think is the case).
Look, I get what Estep was trying to do. She was trying to set Bria and Donovan up for this parallel relationship. It was a re-tread, as far as I am concerned. Bria HAD this concern, and got over it when she showed up at Gin and Owen's Christmas party a few books back. She chose to get over her black-and-white view of the world. The events of the series since then should only have reinforced Bria's view of the world in shades of gray. There is just no reason at all for her to revert to her old self, and then twist into an even more extreme version. It was forced by the author to play against Donovan Caine, and it felt forced. It was a bad call.
And speaking of, if I never saw Donovan Caine again in this series, I would have been MORE than fine with that. Him popping up again was nauseating, to say the least. Him popping up with Bria's best friend/shoulda-been sister-who-is-just-like-an-angelic-version-of-Gin-so-of-course-Donovan-loves-her ... again, way too contrived. This whole book felt horribly, horribly contrived.
Really disappointing. I hope this doesn't define the new, post-Mab direction for what was one of the best UF series currently running.