Review: Web of Lies (Jennifer Estep)

Web of Lies by Jennifer Estep

Publisher: Pocket Books (2010)
Format: Mass Market Paperback | 400 pages
Genre(s): Urban Fantasy

Description (GR): "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." 

First read of 2012, kind of. I started this book with plenty of time to finish it in 2011 but I kind of 'dropped it' once or twice. It's not that the book was very bad, I simply thought it was "more of the same" as it was so similar, plot wise, to the first one. Plus it kind of annoyed me that the world-building is still so incipient as if the author thought it was not important to develop it after telling us that Gin's world is basically an alternate version of our own with vampires, elementals, dwarves and giants roaming the cities of the US of A. You can't start like that and just get on with the program as if the fact that at least four different 'species' co-exist with humans. That was why I was going to give this one 2 stars; but the final chapters did provide a little more development of the magic system/ world in the series so...

I still can't feel a connection to the main character. I feel like Estep is trying to make the reader approve of Gin Blanco's flawed logic (she's an assassin) especially by making Caine (who opposes her set of morals) to be kind of a dumb character who can't explain his ideals. I actually understood Caine better than Gin, the protagonist and I recognized more depth in his character than in hers (which I'm pretty sure wasn't what the author was aiming at). I'd have liked the character more if she recognized that killing is wrong but she does it anyway... owning up to who she really is. But no. Gin makes excuses as to why she has to kill certain people and I think that just isn't believable, since the author wants her to be moral at the same time. It doesn't work, or at least for me it doesn't.

It's pretty hard to read a series if you don't really like the main character but I'm glad Caine is out of the picture... I never did understand the attraction between characters.

Estep still has her little habit of repeating herself by describing features and objects or features already described in the first book or even in this book (like Gin's grey eyes, Caine's golden eyes, the silverstone knives,etc). The name thing also continues to happen in this book and it annoyed me to no end... everyone is almost always treated by their first and last names. Caine is Donovan Caine; Fletcher is Fletcher Lane; Mab is Mab Monroe, almost every time. It's pretty tiring, as if the author doesn't know whether her character should think of someone by their first or last name... :P

Overall: the series still doesn't stand out in the urban fantasy world. The world building is weak as lots of things are left unexplained and the magic has a very minor role in the books so far, which I kind of think is pretty weird since there is magic. Many times I felt like I was reading an ordinary mystery book since Gin doesn't like to use her 'elemental' powers and giants, dwarves and vampires are very similar to humans.

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Review: Spider's Bite (Jennifer Estep)

Spider's Bite by Jennifer Estep

Publisher: Pocket Books (2010)
Format: Mass Market Paperback | 395 pages
Genre(s): Urban Fantasy

Description (GR): "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."

WARNING: Contains a few SPOILERS!

The Elemental Assassin series is one of the most popular urban fantasies out right now so I've been steadily buying the books for a while. I've also been afraid to pick them up and be disappointed.

I was. I mean, I understand why people like the series; the heroine, Gin Blanco is likable enough and she isn't exactly a goody two-shoes. She is unusual. But... as I read the story I felt like I had seen this one too many times. Yep, it's a common movie plot: famous assassin gets double-crossed, famous assassin gets angry and famous assassin goes on a punishing killing spree. Nothing new there.

On the other hand I kind of get that this first book is clearly introduction for the rest as the author does tie all the loose ends and the plot follows quite a neat line. It was a gamble to start with this book, but I think Estep was clever. I prefer an entire book about why Gin retires than just an hasty explanation in a prologue.

Still, besides the over-used plot, a few other things bothered me. Like the fact that we are plunged into Gin's world with little to no explanation. What are elementals? How did they come to be? Are they human? How come vampires can withstand daylight and are they turned or just another kind of wizards? Nothing is explained and with vampires going out in daylight and being overall quite human I'd certainly like to know more. Still, this is just the first in a series, so I suppose I can wait. It just bug me that there was no explanation of Ashland's society.

Another thing that bothered me: the romance. It felt rushed and there was no chemistry. Also, why the heck did Estep think it was a good thing to have Gin call the male protagonist by his full name every single time? Really I got tired of reading the words 'Donovan Caine' every other sentence. Gah!

Overall, this book was a pretty standard urban fantasy. There wasn't anything special about story or characters and the world-building was pretty weak. The writing style was engaging and the pace was good but these are mostly the only things to recommend it. Since it is clearly an introductory book I am hoping the series gets better though.

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Review: Touch of Frost

Touch of Frost by Jennifer Estep

Publisher: Kesington Publishing (2011)

Format:  Paperback | 350 pages

Genre(s): Urban Fantasy, Young Adult

Description (Goodreads): "My name is Gwen Frost, and I go to Mythos Academy — a school of myths, magic and warrior whiz kids, where even the lowliest geek knows how to chop off somebody's head with a sword and Logan Quinn, the hottest Spartan guy in school, also happens to be the deadliest. But lately, things have been weird, even for Mythos. First, mean girl Jasmine Ashton was murdered in the Library of Antiquities. Then, someone stole the Bowl of Tears, a magical artifact that can be used to bring about the second Chaos War. You know, death, destruction and lots of other bad, bad things. Freaky stuff like this goes on all the time at Mythos, but I'm determined to find out who killed Jasmine and why—especially since I should have been the one who died. . ."

WARNING: Contains SPOILERS!

Although I own several books by Jennifer Estep, I'd never read anything by her before. I like Urban Fantasy but the genre is so saturated that I am starting to be weary of any new series that comes out. That is why I postponed the reading of Estep's adult series. But as "Touch of Frost" seemed interesting and I was in the mood to read more about ancient myths (after Dark Descendant) I decided to give it a try.

I liked it. It was a good YA urban fantasy, even if it wasn't exactly original. The base story is a very common one: a boarding school filled with rich kids that have some supernatural power. In this case it's a school for "mythological warriors" (like Valkyries, Amazons, Vikings, Spartans, Romans and the likes) who are trained in the arts of combat so that they can later join the ongoing battle against the evil guys.

Of course our heroine, Gwen, ends up in Mythos Academy in a rather precipitous and slightly unrealistic way. She doesn't fit into any class of warrior so she is shunned by everyone. The only ability she has is the gift of psychometry which allows her to 'extract' feelings and images from any object or person.

When a student is murdered and an ancient artefact stolen Gwen decides to use her power to find out 'who did it'.

So, as you see, "Touch of Frost" isn't exactly the picture of originality, either in terms of story or character development. I'll admit Gwen was pretty cute and I loved that she was so nerdy, but Logan was pretty much a walking stereotype of the perfect YA male protagonist; he was a Spartan warrior and a serious bad boy who slept around but somehow ended up attracted to Gwen. I see how this may appeal to teen readers but I'm getting kind of tired of reading about the same characters over and over again.

I will say, though, that I liked Daphne... the popular kid turned geek was amusing to read about.

The plot wasn't very complex: it was a mixture of "whodunit" with everyday high school life. The usual. Parties, catty popular girls, the geeky protagonist falling for the bad and mysterious boy, etc.

As for the "mythology" and the basic concept behind Mythos Academy, it reminded me a bit of Harry Potter. Still, it was original enough. I wasn't particularly thrilled with Estep's definition of "mythological warriors" - as far as I know Spartans, Romans, Vikings and Celtics were pretty real - but I got her idea and I suppose a little creative license is okay.

Overall, while I liked "Touch of Frost" I have to say it isn't a book that stands out among all the similar-themed YA Urban Fantasy that I've read. The heroine was a definite strong point, but I think the author should try to be a little more original, even if I reckon it's pretty much impossible nowadays. Still, a gripping read that kept me interested in spite of lacking originality.

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