By a Thread

Elemental Assassin, Book 6

By: Jennifer Estep

Narrated by: Lauren Fortgang

Length: 11 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

"When killing people is your job, there’s no such thing as a vacation. Then again, how often does an assassin live long enough to enjoy her retirement? In this line of work, you either get lucky or you get dead. And since I destroyed my nemesis, Mab Monroe, a few weeks ago, all of Ashland’s lowlifes are gunning to make a name for themselves by taking out the lethal Spider—me, Gin Blanco.

"So I’m leaving behind my beloved barbecue joint and heading south with my baby sister, Bria, to cool my heels in a swanky beach town. Call it a weekend of fun in the sun. But when a powerful vampire with deadly elemental magic threatens an old friend of Bria’s, it looks like I’ll have to dig my silverstone knives out of my suitcase after all.

"Complicating matters further is the reappearance of Detective Donovan Caine, my old lover. But Donovan is the least of my problems. Because this time, the danger is hot on my trail, and not even my elemental Ice and Stone magic may be enough to save me from getting buried in the sand—permanently."

©2012 Jennifer Estep (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Gin Blanco is one of the most intriguing heroines on the scene.... If you have not gotten on the Gin bandwagon yet, do so today!” ( RT Book Reviews)

Enjoyable as always

As a whole this series has been a great group of books to listen to, not to serious, but yet not to fluffy either. This chapter begins with Gin going on vacation because on the up comers in Ashland want to make their name by killing The Spider, but instead they just keep dying. Gin takes Bria with her and they meet up with Callie (Bria's BFF) and found out a local power player is pushing in on her and in fact is putting Callie in danger. As Bria and Gin watch a few of the power player (who happens to be a powerful vampire) threaten Callie. Gin is going to help with her "Spider" skills as only The Spider can but in walks Det. Donavan Caine with his looks and smell but also with his accusing gaze and words. Thus, begins the story and action of By a Thread. By a Thread, for me, was a quick enjoyable listen in which Jennifer Estep was able to tie up loose ends in the relationship between Gin and Donavan. Gin's shutting down of Donavan at the end of the story allows Estep the ability to progress the relationship between not only Gin and Owen but Gin and Bria because Gin lays it all out in the open when she talks with both Donavan and Bria at the end of the story. I did find a sense "WHAT" when listening to the first encounter Gin has with the vampire and how she just walks in to a trap that had to be shocking her "spidey" sense. But as always she quickly uses her wits and comes out beaten and weak but ready for revenge. If you enjoy easy listening or reading books and enjoy urban fantasy with a little to no romance sex scenes then you should enjoy listening/reading By a Thread.

LOVE this!

What did you love best about By a Thread?

Gin Blanco!! She's great. I love her character, the people she has around her. Her background. She's a very likable character!

What was one of the most memorable moments of By a Thread?

When Gin was dumped in the swamp and made her way back.

Which character – as performed by Lauren Fortgang – was your favorite?

Gin, definitely!

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When the wife expressed that she would give up everything for her sister. Touching.

Any additional comments?

Love this series! Keep 'em coming!

LilyElement Book Reviews - By a Thread

Any additional comments?

Gin Blanco returns in book six of the Elemental Assassin series. After killing Mab Monroe, her cover as The Spider has been blown and she has all the wannabe thugs out to get her in attempts to prove themselves. Talk about annoying, you'd think her taking out a big villain would cause people to not try messing with her. Anyway, she desperately needs a vacation due to all the pesky people. Her and Bria hit the road and head back to Bria's old stomping grounds. They meet up with Bria's BFF, only to find out that Callie, Bria's BFF is being threatened to sell her restaurant or else a vampire will do something bad like torch the place and kill her.

Gin and Bria are having pretty bad tension in this book. I've noticed similarities between Bria and Donovan in the past and knew he'd make a reappearance sometime soon. Much to my surprise, he actually reappears in this book as Callie's fiance. Gin basically has to deal with Donovan's bs while trying to kill the vampire that is out to get Callie. As per norm, there is a lot of plotting, fighting, and a big blow out near the end. I enjoyed listening to the audiobook, and will be getting the next one in the near future. If you're a fan of Urban Fantasy, I highly suggest this series.

Again another excellent story.

For me Jennifer Estep never fails to deliver a good story in the spider series. Her joyce of using the very talented Lauren Fortgang gives the Audible version a great deal of depth.
Lauren's wide range of voices, dialects, and flawless delivery is amazing and she pulls the listener quickly into the story.
So absolutely five stars.

This series just doesn't slow down.

After six books in the Elemental Assassins series, I’m still enjoying these books. Although I will say I was annoyed several times in this book and I’ll tell you why in a minute, good before the bad. Thank you Jesus or Jennifer Estep really that this book had hardly any repetition in it. Hallelujah! There was minimal recap of roles, relationships of people, etc which was a MAJOR plus in my mind.

By a Thread starts with Gin heading on vacation. She drives down with Bria so they can hopefully spend some time together and bond. Bria droves me nuts. Right from the beginning she was being judgmental of Gin. Gin is by far an innocent, but she tries to do right. Bria still has issues with the fact that Gin is an assassin and it shows in every conversation that they have.

During an interesting (insert sarcasm) introduction to Bria’s childhood best friend, Gin’s hackles start raising when she’s threatened in her own restaurant. Then, surprise surprise! There is a surprise guest that I wasn’t expecting AT ALL. Many more mixes feelings about seeing this person again. My most prominent feeling was definitely annoyance though.
Even though Gin had a hard time in her final showdown with Mab, Mab never really out smarted Gin. Gin was out smarted and repeatedly tested in this installment. It wasn’t an easy win for her and honestly it was good to read about her getting out of a really sticky situation. She was in new territory, there was no one shaky in their boots at the thought of “The Spider”. She had to work for this one.

Owen was phenomenal in this book. So sweet and understanding of Gin and what she needed to do. When I think about him wielding his hammer, I always think of Thor! Yum! I’m nervous about reading the next book though. I’ve been hearing that Owen problems are on the horizon and I it figures that he was so perfect in this one. Have to enjoy this Gin and Owen bliss while it lasts.

At the end of this one Gin receives an interesting proposition and even though I completely agree with her final decision, it was real nice that she received the opportunity. When you get to the end, you’ll know what I mean.

Full of Surprises!

Where does By a Thread rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Best yet.

What did you like best about this story?

The surprises and suspense but not disappointed.

What does Lauren Fortgang bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

She transitions from character to character seamlessly with voices that help me form what the characters look like.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

LOL and cheer!

Roadtrip!!

Any additional comments?

Oh my word! If the story hasn't been delicious enough so far, Gin packs up her sister, her foster brother and her honey and they head for the shore. I've been wondering if the whole world was ruled by magic or if it was just located around the Ashland area and this gave me my answer. There was a brand new villain and a scum puppy ex that rounded out the cast nicely. I have so enjoyed listening to this series that I've binged through it in less than 3 weeks. Great job!!

Great series

EA review


 The Elemental Assassin books are great.  very engaging with interesting strong characters and good story lines.  a perfect mix of fantasy, action and romance. And I love having a series with a strong, add kicking female as the lead character

This Series is Not letting Up!

By a Thread is Jennifer Estep’s sixth installment in her Elemental Assassin Series and she is not letting up. With a main plot point solved in the last book I couldn’t help but wonder what was going to come next and By a Thread did not disappoint.

By a Thread gives a bigger insight into some of Gin’s insecurities. Jealously, anyone? Some of her past inner fears surface and it was kind of a nice touch. Gin is still Gin and proud of who she is, but we all have the little things we are deeply afraid of. Estep does a great job of not sacrificing the characters true nature, but allowing some of these fears to surface.

In the previous book the main plot line was wrapped up and I wondered how she was going to continue. Although she did a good job with By a Thread I am not sure that another full story line emerged. I am hopeful that this book was just a lead into another major conflict. The story by its self was still a great story with some fantastically unexpected events. Anther great addition to this series and world Estep has pulled us into.

Audiobook Thoughts: Well, I am sure this is getting repetitive, but seriously Lauren Fortgang just rocks. I am extremely happy that I am listening to this series. I think the narration adds a kick to an already great story.

Disappointing addition to the series

I really enjoyed the first few books in this series and so was looking forward to this installment. Unfortunately, this book didn't live up to my expectations. I actually contemplated stopping listening a number of times but the story held my interest just enough for me to finish it.

I had three main problems with this book: 1) The narrator irritated me with some oddly placed emphases and unbecoming characterazations (especially of Finn). 2) The amount of time and energy spent inside Gin's head dealing with (and stressing out about) relational difficulties left me feeling annoyed rather than compassionate (too much "telling", not enough "showing"), 3) Gin's interactions with the villain were painful and distressing without being compelling.

Overall, I appreciate the way the characters were developed, the choices that Gin made regarding Owen, and the battles and struggles Gin faced, I just feel like the level of the writing wasn't as high as in the previous novels.