** spoiler alert ** 4/5 (B)

Overall, as a fan of this series, I was satisfied after reading Tangled Threads. I think that Ms Estep did a good job and delivered a solid installment. However, as a reader, the more I thought about this book, the more I had issues with it ^_^; I'm not going to go too much into the details of the storylines or the characters because I've gone through it in the previous reviews :)

As a fan, I was satisfied because I enjoyed the story that was told; it was interesting, fast-paced, action-packed and a nice continuation from the previous events. I enjoyed the characters and their dilemmas, especially Gin. There's a lot going on in her life and she also has to worry about Bria and her new relationship with Owen. All in all, I liked how everything was handled and resolved. I liked seeing the familiar faces - Gin is having quite the entourage for an assassin :) I also liked that some light was shed on some issues - that's always nice. Also, I thought that Bria's reaction to Gin's identity was quite realistic and obviously, she'll need time to come to terms with it which I guess is what we'll see in the next book.

My favorite part of the book was without doubts the growing relationship between Gin and Owen. It bothers me a little that Gin is still so uncertain of Owen - especially since the man has been such a rock, but then it's only been a few weeks they've been together. I really like Owen and he's really what Gin needs. He doesn't condemn her and understand the path she's taken. I'm actually surprised though, I thought Owen was a bit darker and grimmer than he really is. In any case, it's a joy to see their relationship deepens.

All in all, I think that if you've enjoyed the series so far, you'll like Tangled Threads :) Ms Estep takes what has worked in the first three books and continues with it in Tangled Threads which explains why this is a good installment... At the same time, it's essentially where my first issue lies. There's nothing new to Tangled Threads. In the beginning, I felt that the writing style and the character were refreshing and original; however, after three books, they've become familiar. This is not a bad thing, familiar is good, but it also means that you have to compensate somewhere else and this is usually done through details or storylines. Unfortunately, there hasn't been many twists and surprises in the Elemental Assassin series. It seems to me, when Ms Estep sat down and thought of this series, she wrote down an outline of the main events that would happen and she's been sticking to that outline a bit too closely and too much to the point. And because of this, the series has become a tad too predictable. I mean, at the end of Web of Lies, when the new detective is mentioned, I knew right away it would be Bria. From the events in Venom, I knew that Bria would learn of Gin's identities in Tangled Threads... In the next book, I know that there will be a big show-down with Gin whose magic has grown so much and Mab. What I'm saying is that there's not enough subtlety in Ms Esptep's writing. If it's in the story, then there's a reason to it and from there, you can extrapolate and there's not a thousand possibilities ^_^; While it doesn't stop me from enjoying this series and Tangled Threads, I think it is holding back the storyline from being an absolute wowzer.

The other issue I had with Tangled Threads and this one with a lesser impact was the amount of recaps the book had. Gosh. I understand the need to remind the readers and inform the newcomers what has happened, but in this case, it was too much and simply bogged down the storyline and probably made the book thicker by 1/3 ^_^; Usually, main lines are fine but in Tangled Threads' case? It was every single event of importance from Spider's Bite to Venom: Fletcher's death, Gin's past, all the secondary characters, Donovan Caine, the previous books storylines, Gin's magic and so on. Really too much! Obviously, Tangled Threads cannot be read as a stand-alone and I'm sorry but for those who have short memory, well too bad for you!

I enjoyed Tangled Threads, there's no question about it; it was definitively a solid installment. Unfortunately, there are issues that cannot be overlooked and need to be rectified if the 5th and final book is going to be a wowzer.