Spider's Bite (Elemental Assassin, #1) in Vampires, Weres and Fae!

Sep 03, 2018 Cee rated it it was amazing

Shelves: sexy-times, fantasy

I am so glad I decided to give this one a try! I really ended up enjoying it.

There is no insta-love between the main character and the love interest, just attraction and fun times, but definitely not love considering he hates her.

It is also fun to read a book where the main character is strong and doesn't need someone to bail her out of situations all the time. Her reputation lines up with her actions-- fantastic.

There are some good side characters here. I love Finn, he is so adorable. The co ...more

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Oct 04, 2014 Albishka rated it really liked it

Gin Blanko is really very attractive, not ordinary person. But she is an assassin, who kills for money,so it's no wonder that part of me just couldn't accept her first but then everything changed and now I find myself being interested in what is going to happen next in her hactic life. ...more

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Apr 23, 2014 Snarktastic Sonja rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy, reviewed, urban-fantasy

Another on my to-read list that I snapped up at the cyber Monday audible sale. I’m really glad I didn’t pay more for it.

The opening scene in this book is an attention grabber: Gin is standing there telling a group in group therapy that she is an assassin there to kill the doctor leading the group. (It is part of the contract.) She decides to take down one of the guards in the place as well, because, well, because he was a bad guy. And, here is the thing about Gin: she may be an assassin, but she Another on my to-read list that I snapped up at the cyber Monday audible sale. I’m really glad I didn’t pay more for it.

The opening scene in this book is an attention grabber: Gin is standing there telling a group in group therapy that she is an assassin there to kill the doctor leading the group. (It is part of the contract.) She decides to take down one of the guards in the place as well, because, well, because he was a bad guy. And, here is the thing about Gin: she may be an assassin, but she is an assassin with standards – she won’t kill just anyone – there has to be a good reason and they have to be guilty. She won’t kill innocents nor children. So, Gin is an honorable assassin for whom I can cheer.

After she escapes the prison of her latest gig, she returns home to the pork pit. Here, we get to meet her mentor, Fletcher Lane. We don’t get to see him for long, but what we learn about him was, for me, crucial to the story. He took Gin in when she was alone on the streets and molded her into the assassin she became. At any rate, he has another job for her – one that appears to be too good to be true, but they take it on anyway. Sigh. Silly; they should know better.

So, Gin goes out on the assignment. While she is moving in for the kill, she sees that her target is being protected by Donovan Caine, the sole good guy in the city. She begins having fantasy, deeply sexual fantasies, about the guy. While she is on assignment and moving in for the kill. How seriously can she possibly be about an assignment when she dilly dallies along the way having sexual fantasies about the guy’s bodyguard? In the end, she gets her come uppance, because her distraction leads to her being jumped by another assassin. I really found this entire scene to be completely unbelievable. It is, however, the setup for the entire book and the mystery that is to follow: who wanted to set Gin and Fletch up for the assassination?

I found Gin to be completely cold and unfeeling. Even though I respected her profession, her abilities, and her reasoning, I could not like her. I really wanted to like her, but found myself completely unable to do so. The only thing that kept me going was her reaction upon losing Fletch. That, to me, felt like the only truly real emotions Gin had. It was this distress that actually captured my heart and kept me in the story. It was not, however, enough to make me like Gin.

I found the love, or, rather, lust, story totally impractical and off putting. Every SINGLE time she thinks, see, reacts, WHATEVER, to Donovan Caine, I just rolled my eyes and hurried past. This is a lot of reading to skip over, which is extremely difficult when listening to a book. But, there never really seems to be any sort of relationship between the two – just lust. And, really, no true reason even for THAT much. He cannot stand her, first because she is an assassin. Second, because she killed his partner. She refuses to tell him why she killed his partner (and, I have my suspicions that all is not revealed in this portion of the story) so there is just a lot of sex. It doesn’t matter how threatening the situation in which she finds herself is, Gin is thinking about sex. And, that is when she isn’t having sex. Really, the wording and frequency borders WAY too closely to erotica for my enjoyment.

I did enjoy Finnegan Lane, Gin’s mentor’s son. His character seemed to be well drawn and there was real affection between the two of them. I also enjoyed the dwarf Deveraux sisters: Jo-Jo, the healer and Sophie, the concealer. Again, I felt real affection developed between them. Unfortunately, these characters made brief appearances with most of the story revolving around the lusty Caine and the mystery developed. I also really enjoyed the fact that Gin likes to cook. I found that to be a rather fun little random side trip.

I did not, and no emphasis is enough here, like the reader, Lauren Fortgang. I found her southern accent deplorable and her performance sour. I will never understand why, with so many people who actually HAVE a southern accent (and many of whom have worked hard to lose this accent as is deemed unacceptable in the entertainment world), why publishers find it necessary to use readers who have to fake the accent. And, just for the record, there is more than one type of southern accent.

Ok, rant over. I did not like the reader. And, it was for more than the southern accent. She did not imbue the story with any personality. Maybe, with a better reader, I could have liked Gin more, though I seriously doubt it.

Ultimately, I give this book 3 stars. The mystery was interesting enough that I wanted to finish it. I am, however, in no way attached enough that I feel the need to move on. ...more

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