Heart of Venom by Jennifer Estep

Synopsis from Goodreads.com
When a terror from the past threatens Gin’s friend and body-disposer, Sophia, Gin will stop at nothing to protect her, even if it means walking straight into a killer’s trap. Meanwhile, the rocky romance between Gin and Owen reaches a turning point—can they reunite and rekindle their love? Or will the things Gin has been forced to do in her line of work as the deadly assassin the Spider keep them apart forever? Assuming, that is, she survives long enough to find out...

My review

This was one of my favourite books of this series. I just love the world of The Spider, but this one was more heart-wrenching than usual. Gin did have to do her usual assassinating, but this time it was more personal than it has really been for a while now, ever since she killed nasty old Mab Monroe.

The beginning of this book sets the scene for rollercoaster ride that is The Heart of Venom. When Sophia, Gin's cook and body disposal expert, rushes into Jo-Jo's salon, where all the girls are having a pampering day and screams "Run!" you know it's not going to turn out well for someone. Unfortunately that someone wasn't the bad guy at first. Harley Grimes, the man of Sophia's nightmares, the man who tried to destroy her in the past, the man who caused her voice to be the way it is, has returned! And this time he intends on keeping Sophia no matter what. Only Gin's not going to let that happen, no sir-ee!

After Sophia is taken, Gin intends on storming Harley Grimes' place with no plan, no back up, but a heap of weapons, but that's just not enough. She needs information and she does realise in time that going in completely unprepared won't help. The rescue attempt is helped out by two men she never expected to help her, Owen Grayson and Warren, an old friend of Fletcher's, without whom she would never be able to find Grimes' camp. The rescue mission kind of goes well, in that Sophia is rescued, but Gin manages to get caught and now it's her turn to be rescued, but does she need it or can she escape herself? She's The Spider; we all know what Gin is capable of doing!

I loved the feel of this book, back to the gritty, dangerous world of the ruthless Spider. There were a few times throughout this book, when I wasn't quite sure if Gin would truly make it through what was happening to her.

My favourite quote of the book came from Finn though - "Why paint when you can eat pie instead?". My thoughts exactly about decorating!

Looking forward to reading the next book in this series, which is all about how Gin became the secretive, dangerous assassin we all love!

Spider's Bite by Jennifer Estep

I accidentally bought the 3rd book in this series on Christmas Day when I got my kindle from the lovely Santa, not realising it wasn't the first one. I finally got round to buying the first two the other week and am so glad I did - another great series for me to read!

Synopsis from Goodreads.com
My name is Gin, and I kill people.
They call me the Spider. I'm the most feared assassin in the South — when I'm not busy at the Pork Pit cooking up the best barbecue in Ashland. As a Stone elemental, I can hear everything from the whispers of the gravel beneath my feet to the vibrations of the soaring Appalachian Mountains above me. My Ice magic also comes in handy for making the occasional knife. But I don't use my powers on the job unless I absolutely have to. Call it professional pride.

Now that a ruthless Air elemental has double-crossed me and killed my handler, I'm out for revenge. And I'll exterminate anyone who gets in my way — good or bad. I may look hot, but I'm still one of the bad guys. Which is why I'm in trouble, since irresistibly rugged Detective Donovan Caine has agreed to help me. The last thing this coldhearted killer needs when I'm battling a magic more powerful than my own is a sexy distraction...especially when Donovan wants me dead just as much as the enemy.

My review:
This book started off with our main character in a mental asylum. I did think it was rather strange and thought that maybe the whole assissin idea was in her head and was expecting the book to take a downward spiral, but it went way back up in my expectations once I realised she was there to do a job!

On her return Gin takes another job, a quick one with a large payout. Her mentor and contacts manager for a better name is her foster father who took her in as a teenager when she was living on the streets. The job: kill a man in an opera house before the interval. Nothing she hasn't done before and for $5 million, double her normal fee, something she can't turn down!

However, Gin doesn't manage to kill him as another assassin is there to kill her instead. She turns the tables on him, saves the target and jumps into the river. She realises she has been double crossed and is determined to find out by whom, but when she returns to the restaurant Fletcher, her mentor, owns, she realises they have all got themselves into more trouble than they realised. With Fletcher dead, she heads over to his son's apartment and finds him tied up, being beaten by the same group that killed Fletcher. Gin kills them all and they both manage to get away.

Not knowing who else to turn to when Finn's contacts don't find any concrete evidence of who is involved, Gin contacts the police detective who was talking to the original target in the opera house. He decides to work with Gin, even after finding out what she is. He has conflicting feelings - he likes Gin, but hates her at the same time. Will he ever decide what he wants?

The trio, Gin, Finn and Donovan, eventually work out who the air elemental in charge is and plan to bring her down. Gin has to use her stone magic to help her defeat with evil one, something she has never relied on before. Once the air elemental has been defeated, Gin decides to retire from the assassin business - it's too much hard work watching her back all the time, but can she really walk away from the only way of life she has ever really known? I guess I'll find out in book 2!

I loved this book! It was another full-of-action book, with a bit of quick sex thrown in for good measure - not romance though. I loved the idea of the trio having to constantly watch their backs trying to find out who wants them dead. As there are 5 books in the series so far, I presume that Gin doesn't retire - I don't think I would like reading about her running the Pork Pit to be honest - doesn't sound very exciting, but I can't wait to read the next one in this series. Although vampires do make a slight appearance in this book, the main characters use elemental magic, air, fire, water or stone, which is something I haven't read too mcuh about either. Nice to find a different kind of magic user once in a while. A great read!