Book Review: Web of Lies by Jennifer Estep

Title: Web of Lies
Series: Elemental Assassin, Book 2
Author: Jennifer Estep
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Sensuality Rating: Steamy
Source: personal shelf
Published: May 2010 by Pocket Books

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.

Why I Read this Book: I have been sucked into this world since book one and I don’t see the momentum slowing down in the slightest.

What I Liked: You know when the question gets asked ‘if you could be any one character from a book, who would you be?’ – I finally have an answer! I can now honestly and enthusiastically say Gin FTW! I loved Gin in the first book and I love her even more now. She’s tough as nails and has the whole fierce, kickass heroine thing down. She’s not stupid but she has her flaws. I think it makes her relatable in a sense that we all make mistakes. She’s not perfect but she’s pretty good at getting rid of problems rather effectively.

The author is not stingy with information nor does she draw things out beyond necessity. Gin gets some answers regarding her mother’s and sister’s deaths. She also found out a little about Bria. Gin receives a folder full of information regarding Bria yet the reader doesn’t know what Gin’s going to do with that information. She talks about it, thinks about it, but doesn’t act on anything yet. There are also some bits and pieces of Fletcher’s past are revealed, which sheds some light on his character. I think we’re just touching the surface in regards to his character but it’s one layer that’s been peeled back for us to see.

A new character (and possible love interest for Gin) gets introduced – Owen. He comes into Gin’s world full force and I cannot wait to see how things transpire with him. He’s definitely interested in Gin and he’s completely upfront about it. He just lays his feelings and desires right on the table. And he doesn’t take her rejection to heart. Quite the determined fellow! And even though he knows that she’s still fixated on Donovan, he’s not going to give up. I like Owen but I have a feeling that he’s got some kind of ulterior motive when it comes to Gin. He seems to know A LOT about her.

I like that the reader gets to see glimpses of Gin’s past, while she was growing up, through her flashback dreams. We get to see how Gin came into Fletcher’s life and find out how she became an assassin at the tender age of 13. She’s a pretty complex character so every piece of information we get is gold.

What I Didn’t Like: We get more smexy time with Donovan but there’s a new development, which I’m not too happy about. I’m curious to see how this plays out in future books.

Memorable Moments:

“Donovan is [a fine man]. But he’s not the one for you.”

“See something you like, Detective?” I said in a soft voice. “Because I sure do.”

Overall Impression: This is the best Urban Fantasy series I’ve read so far. Each book is just as stellar as the previous one and I’m dying to find out what happens next. The author holds my attention, from beginning to end, even though there isn’t a whole lot of romance going on in this book. I cannot recommend this series enough.

Brianna’s Rating: