Venom (Elemental Assassin, book 3) by Jennifer Estep
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Edition Reviewed: Paperback
Amazon: Paperback | Kindle
Goodreads: Venom (3)
What kind of assassin works pro bono?
It’s hard to be a badass assassin when a giant is beating the crap out of you. Luckily, I never let pride get in the way of my work. My current mission is personal: annihilate Mab Monroe, the Fire elemental who murdered my family. Which means protecting my identity, even if I have to conceal my powerful Stone and Ice magic when I need it most.
To the public, I’m Gin Blanco, owner of Ashland’s best barbecue joint. To my friends, I’m the Spider, retired assassin. I still do favors on the side. Like ridding a vampire friend of her oversized stalker—Mab’s right-hand goon who almost got me dead with his massive fists.
At least irresistible Owen Grayson is on my side. The man knows too much about me, but I’ll take my chances. Then there’s Detective Bria Coolidge, one of Ashland’s finest. Until recently, I thought my baby sister was dead. She probably thinks the same about me. Little does she know, I’m a cold-blooded killer . . . who is about to save her life.
Review:
Ahhhhh! So good. Keri Arthur taught me one thing about hating the male love interests. When the new man shows up, or the despised male lead finally turns around, things can get really good. Ah, so good. Owen Grayson. Amazing. Amazing.
Now I'm not going to go on and on like my last review, because to be far Venom is not a romance. But Gin is coming into her own. she’s realized finding her path is realizing the type of people she needs in her life. She's tough and though she's said she knows who she is and will have no regrets about what she's done. She still fears what others will think, in the back of her mind where she doesn't want to admit it. For me that makes her more real, and human. We've all picked the wrong man—person. Made justifications for them, why we are the bad guy and don't deserve them.
It was wonderful watching Gin come to see Owen Grayson. Because the man is sexy! OK, sexy isn't a reason. The Detective Caine was sexy, but he was a total evil asshole. Owen is protective, and alpha, and he does what needs to be done to protect his family. He's worked hard to get where he is, and knows the world isn't black and white. There are gray areas and sometimes terrible things need to be done. The funny thing is even though Owen has done some bad things in the past, he has more compassion and heart than Caine. Argh! There's just no words to describe how much I loved Owen and Gin together. It was a real treat getting to know him, and . . . just read it!!!
OK, enough about that I loved getting to meet Gin's sister as well. Like Gin, Bria is a force to be reckoned with. All of the interactions between the two are amazing and it's building this burning anticipation for them to REALLY meet. Bria is filling Caine's shoes in Ashland as the straight and narrow cop. Which worried me at first, but Bria is not the female version of Caine. No . . .I . . . I love her too!
Which brings me to the most shocking words: I love all of the characters so much. From dark Sophia and light and wonderful Jojo, to Finn the smooth operator, O-W-E-N, Bria, and well there's so many. It's wonderful to be in love with so many characters like this! To see how they all work together and interact. To fear that they might die . . . because Elemental Assassin is that kind of series. Oh, and I enjoy the evilness and wickedness of the villains. Things aren’t wrapped up fast with them, these are epic villains.
Gin has finally decided what she wants to do with her retirement, and finding her way there is quite the journey. Once more is that even though Fletcher is dead Estep shows readers and Gin who the man really was. As the plot unfolds and the mysteries come to light readers will find an even richer story than the previous books. Estep has out done herself and it's safe to say the Elemental Assassins universe is perfection for me. Everything comes with consequences and the characters' lives go on and develop. Again I have to mention how they all interact with each other and how it drives the plot.
Isn't it amazing to be rooting for killers. Hoping that Gin will get her revenge. Venom is filled with monsters, and only those who have danced with the monsters—and at times become monsters themselves—can truly be heroes in Ashland. Venom is a rush and as Gin takes those first few steps at setting up her revenge game fans can’t help put foam at the mouth for more.
Sexual Content: Oh, it’s here. Plenty of sexual humor (Finn!), dark sexual themes, and so on. It’s very gritty at times. The book follows a serial rapist/killer. Nothing too over the top, but it’s dark.
5/5- Fabulous, a beautiful obsession!
| Previous book(s) in series: | ||
| Reviewed on BW: | Amazon: | Goodreads: |
| Spider’s Bite (1) | Spider’s Bite (1) | Spider’s Bite (1) |
No comments:
Post a Comment