Bitter Bite

Jennifer Estep

Feb 2016 · Elemental Assassin Book 15 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

Which is stronger: blood ties or a battle-tested friendship? That’s the question Gin Blanco asks when a friend’s long-lost relative strolls into town. The suspicious reunion is a surprise for everyone—and a big problem for Gin. Book fourteen in the New York Times bestselling urban fantasy series RT Book Reviews calls “unbeatable entertainment!”

It’s not easy being queen bee of an underworld abuzz with crooks and killers. Wielding my potent Ice and Stone elemental magic will only get me so far—my real secret is my tight-knit makeshift family, a motley crew of cops and criminals, dwarves and playboys. My foster brother Finnegan Lane is my right-hand man, but when his suddenly not-dead relative comes back into the picture, I’m the one on the outside looking in.

It’s funny how life works: one minute your best friend is rock-steady, and the next he’s doe-eyed and buying into this whole loving-relative routine to the point of ignoring you. I’d like to be happy for Finn, I really would. But all of my instincts are telling me that beneath the syrupy sweet demeanor and old-fashioned charm, this sudden interloper is planning something. The whole shtick leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. This person might have avoided the grave once, but I’ll put anyone who hurts Finn in the ground—for good.

Ratings and reviews

Being queen bee of the underworld is hard enough and Gin Blanco couldn’t do it without her elemental magic and her tight-knit makeshift family so it’s a bitter pill to swallow when Finn buys into his not-dead relative’s loving routine in this thrilling Elemental Assassin tale. All of Gin’s instincts are telling her that beneath the sugary sweet demeanor, the interloper is planning something and the reader is drawn into all the emotional turmoil and exhilaration of this story as Gin strives to determine just what that may be and how it affects Finn because we all know that if Finn gets hurt someone is going to become dead for real. The story starts off with a bit of a flip flopped scene and by that I mean that it’s something I would expect Gin to be on the opposite side of, so I was immediately intrigued with what Gin was up to and from there the story keeps accelerating with spine tingling tension and suspense with unexpected twists, some squabbles between Gin’s makeshift family and quite a bit of emotional turmoil. While this story may not be quite as fast paced as the others it’s not slow either because there is so much angst flowing from the pages that the readers can’t help but hang on to every well-written word and as usual Jennifer Estep provides such vivid details that it makes it easy to become immersed in the story and as with the beginning scene things seem be a bit topsy turvy for Gin as this new enemy just might have the upper hand and the ending battle leaves Gin with more questions than answers. Once again, Gin Blanco deserves a standing ovation (well she is an awesome assassin), I couldn’t put the story down because it seemed there was a new revelation happening every time I blinked and the interesting developments at the conclusion guarantee that I am waiting impatiently for the next book.

** I received an e-ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.** ----------------------------------------- This book is beyond AWESOME! Gin and company are at it again! This time Fletcher left parts of a puzzle for Gin to find in order to help Finn because his mother is back in town and up to no good. Gin is determined to help Finn - even if Finn doesn't want to listen. There are several interesting flashbacks in this book, and Gin learns more about her mother than she probably wanted to. Overall a terrific read that kept me going when I really should have been asleep! Jennifer's ability to draw the reader in and make you empathize with the characters is awesome. And, yes, there were tears shed during the reading of this book!

Awesome book

About the author

Jennifer Estep is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author prowling the streets of her imagination in search of her next fantasy idea. Spider’s Bite, Web of Lies, Venom, Tangled Threads, Spider’s Revenge, By a Thread, Widow’s Web, Deadly Sting, Heart of Venom, The Spider, Poison Promise, Black Widow, Spider’s Trap, Bitter Bite, Unraveled, and Snared, along with the e-shorts Thread of Death, Parlor Tricks, Kiss of Venom, Unwanted, and Nice Guys Bite are the other works in her red-hot Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series. Jennifer is also the author of the Black Blade and Mythos Academy young adult urban fantasy series and the Bigtime paranormal romance series. For more on Jennifer and her books, visit her at JenniferEstep.com and @Jennifer_Estep.