Web of Lies (Elemental Assassin, book 2) by Jennifer Estep
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Edition Reviewed: Paperback
Amazon: Paperback | Kindle
Goodreads: Web of Lies (1)
Curiosity is definitely going to get me dead one of these days. Probably real soon.
I'm Gin Blanco.
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.
Review: My love of the first book can not be emphasized enough. Which is probably why I was running scared for a while only able to bring myself to read the first book over and over again. See I have a problem. When I read an amazing first book, this fear takes over that the second book—and following—will never be able to hold a flame to the sheer awesomeness that was the first book. It's happened, and sadly so often that I have developed this reading phobia. Or what I sourly call the “First Book Wonder, Shitty Series Terror”. It exists. I swear, despite it's lame name.
The first part of Web of Lies was not as instantly mind blowing or as addicting as Spider's Bite. It's still infinitely better then a lot of other Urban Fantasy titles I've been reading. We've gotten to know the Spider and Web of Lies is showing how the death of Fletcher Lane and the decision to finally retire is affecting Gin. It's always a good sign when the actions of the previous book shape and evolve the next book, and the entire series.
Falling into the pages of Web of Lies was like coming home, and what's better is seeing someone as tough as Gin redefine herself. Realizing that even if the choices she's made in her life are horrible, maybe even the actions of a monster, she would still stand by them. Make those same choices. Part of Gin might be playing around with the idea of being a better person—even while she hides from her “fuzzy” feelings—she understands she will never be that type of woman and doesn't want to be. Which is why I had a hard time with how her emotions jumped so crazily ahead with her crush/lust of Donovan Caine.
It boggled me how a woman so patient and able to think things through. Went from the casual crush/lust she had for Caine in book 1, to this . . . love? Obsession? It was the weakest point of this book. Especially since Caine's actions cut Gin deep. More than Gin, or myself, would like. Especially since Caine's so called moral high ground made him more of a monster to me. No really. Not sure how anyone that read that mine scene—towards the end—between Caine and Gin could resist the urge to slit Caine's throat for Gin. That moment was excellent in showing that hiding behind so called morals and saying you're a good guy, doesn't mean jack.
Estep does a wonderful job playing in the gray areas here. Good guys may not really be good guys, and the monsters are sometimes the ones actually battling the evil. Don't get me wrong, the bad guys are bad. Down right evil, the best of the best for despicable mobsters, lawyers, corrupt miners, and such. Having a heroine like Gin is perfect because these villains need someone not afraid to shed blood and get dirty. Gin has morals and I think it's important that showing how Caine's high-and-mighty ones can be bad and Gin's morals mixed with her dark side make her the person that I'd want on my side. Especially after a scene with Mab Monroe and Gin. Holy cow.
Gin's a sexy strong lead, it’s only natural she has her own stable of man candy. Thankfully it's not all Caine. Yuck. Blessedly within six pages of Owen Grayson entering there was a light at the end of the tunnel! What a great character and I like that readers, and Gin, aren't 100% sure who he is. However, I know one thing. Owen is one heck of a love interest at this point. One that I hope will wash away the stain of Caine.
OK, now that I've over analyzed the romantic aspects of the book let's move on. (Honestly I swear the romance is not the focus!)
The cast of characters in Web of Lies is so awesome. Finn is such an smooth player, and a smart character. It's so sweet how Gin and him interact together. Proving that family is what you make of it. Not blood. Jo-Jo gets more page time here and it's wonderful how she's stepping into Fletcher's shoes as a guide/parental type figure. Sophie, the Goth dwarf, is another cool character that I was very excited to get more page time. These three characters make up Gin's family and it's wonderful to watch them all interact and care for Gin. Especially in helping her realize all of Fletcher and show her what the old man really meant by retirement.
New characters are introduced and I'm exited—hoping—to have them in future books going forward. What makes a series stronger and truly last is the connections that the lead has in that universe. The more connections there are the further it goes in creating a believable world. Which many non-fantasy fans always laugh at me for. It's a fantasy verse, it's not supposed to be real! But we the fans know better.
After a slower start than the last book things get back to good ol'Gin assassin fun. Our girl will always be the Spider even if she goes down a different path. Despite my instant dislike for Caine I do appreciate the “bad romance”. Showing that even an amazing assassin can fall prey to misconceptions about people and love. Web of Lies is an example of what good character building can do for a series. The first book introduced us to the Spider, however this book shows us how Gin is becoming more than that. The gritty realism is appreciated from the “romance”, to how dangerous being an assassin is, injuries, and shows all the ugly things that dark fantasy fans want. It's nice to have an anti-hero hero as dark and messed up as Gin. Besides, who doesn't love reading about amazing cooking along with planning assassinations and other assorted activities? Gin is definitely one of my book BFFs.
Sexual Content: Oh, quite the sex scene. Plenty of sexual humor, talk of rape, and some other dark/taboo sexual things mentioned. Gritty. (It’s not scary dark or anything. If you normally read darker reads it’s nothing that will explode your mind.)
4/5- Great! Really enjoyed it.
