Deadly Sting

Elemental Assassin, Book 8

By: Jennifer Estep

Narrated by: Lauren Fortgang

Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

The eighth hotly anticipated book in the Elemental Assassin series by New York Times best-selling author Jennifer Estep.

It’s Gin Blanco's party - and you’ll cry if she wants you to. Against her better judgment, Gin is coerced into attending a high-society gala with the rest of Ashland's elite underworld. On display: the priceless art collection of her deceased nemesis, Mab Monroe, and an excess of crime-boss swagger.

While not comfortable in her fancy attire, Gin gets vastly more interested in the evening’s events when a group of thieves bursts in and tries to seize the valuable, dangerous gems. Facing a Die Hard-esque scenario in which she must free hostage partygoers while herself trapped in the museum, things get a little bit messy when the bloodshed begins. Let's just say that Gin should have chosen the red gown....

©2013 Jennifer Estep (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Frustrating with Owen!

I loved that this was such a different style of story. But the Owen bit?? Rage.

Baby sister *eye roll*

I've lost interest in this series....and the narrators voice for Brea sets my nerves on edge. If I never hear the phrase "my baby sister" again it will be too soon.

Dueling Tongues?? Really??

Would you try another book from Jennifer Estep and/or Lauren Fortgang?

The plot was a departure from the previous plotlines. It had potential.

What could Jennifer Estep have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Not one bit. This is urban fantasy: you either like it or you don't.

Would you be willing to try another one of Lauren Fortgang’s performances?

Not at all. I'm sorry, Ms. Estep, but I'm done. I think the story line is ruined by the author's use of creative writing rules, like the rule of 3 adjectives for each noun. In theory, using the Rule of 3 seems like a good idea. In reality, the repetitive mechanics made me think the author had a contract clause for a book with at minimum number of words, and that she used this rule, and others, to fill out the story.

For example: "I could hear the drip,drip, drip of the blood from the knife onto the floor." Or, "I was learning to control, manipulate and focus my magic." Or, "sloppy, sloppy, sloppy..." Really?

I wanted to like this story. I really did. I tried ignoring the adjective overuse, I even tried listening to the very slow narration at a faster speed so I could skip the parts that were irrelevant repetition. I was willing to overlook these flaws, until the author described a passionate kiss with her long-separated boyfriend. "Our tongues dueled with each other..." Really?? Ewwww!! Yuck! Blechh!

So, I say this with much regret: skip the book and save your credits for something really worthwhile. Bye-bye. Adios. See you later.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Deadly Sting?

I would have rewritten the book.

Any additional comments?

Repetitive, repetitive, repetitive.

OK Story; Great Narration

FIRST IMPRESSION:: Chapter One was cute. Nice introduction back into the world of Gin and Finn. I love their banter, and Finn in general. He takes being self-conceit to a whole new level, but still remains loveable and charming.

THE STORY:: This story, for me, fell flat because of how linear it was. Very "straight forward and to the point" plot-wise. I was a bit bored the whole time thinking 'this that's it. Really?' The entire book is one event long: Gin attends event, said event is robbed, chaos ensues. Throw in a somewhat resolution to the "will they, won't they" question about Gin and Owen's relationship and a flashback montage into how Gin came to be the spider and ... The End. Yes, that sentence was as abrupt as my reaction was to getting to the end of this book.

The only thing I can hope is that maybe this is the true end of the original story arc. With Mab Monroe's death and Owen and Gin's relationship on the rocks, for the last few books there was a lot of loose ends dangling about. But when I came to the end of this one, I felt some things had been wrapped up.

FINAL THOUGHTS:: This series has made a distinct impression on me. I'm not the type to scream in outrage, but the men in Gin's life often let her down in horrible ways. Especially Donovan Caine. Uggggh. Just thinking about him makes me shiver in disgust. His feelings toward Gin were so spectacularly judgmental and cruel. He made her out to be this twisted, evil temptress who lured him into a trap and played her up to be this horrible creature who had him in her snares He just couldn't help being attracted even though he despised her. Never had I wanted to jump through the pages and wring someones neck so much-- he was a colossal jackass through and through.

All that said, I was dumbstruck when it appeared as if Owen was heading in the same direction over his feeling toward Gin because of Selena's death. Especially since he seemed so far from the colossal jerk Donovan Caine. But, he's just heartbroken and traumatized. i get that and I can live with it.

Without revealing too much, the "new guilt" that Gin gains in this book got really repetitive. I didn't really get where she was coming from either.

RECOMMENDED FOR:: Urban Fantasy lovers who like heroes they can root for and appreciate their fantasy grounded in some good foundation when it comes to realism. Part of what makes this series so great is that there's just as much action and magic as there is character development and story. Estep has created this interesting world and continually gives us little nibbles of detail with each book. It's a great balance, getting learn more about Gin's past and her present concurrently.

MY THOUGHTS ON THE AUDIOBOOK:: I love Lauren's narration of these characters and this story. Eight books in, she of course has a good handle on them, but I appreciate it nonetheless. I'm like a kid, loving when narrators do distinct voices for central characters and I think Finn's is especially spot on. Another great interpretation; I'm definitely audiobook loyal to this series.

Ho Hum ver 8

For an accomplished Assassin there seem only to be memories and accounts of botched jobs barley pulled out of the fire by a combination of luck, circumstance and miracle. And the pattern continues.

There is a good amount of well established and well developed characters; a great little world full of variation and colour but it seems that this Authors train is just running back and forth on the same rail with little or no real variation and a lot of incidental repetition.

If you have read book 1 through 7 than you will know what I mean; if not do start at book one as the read is great and only starts being very predictable around book 4 or 5.

Not the best one of the series

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The book reads like a Die Hard movie more than the other books. There isn't as much time devoted to her motivations and her relationships with the other characters. 3/4th of the book is about killing with out much explanation why we should even care. The last 1/4 of the book is made up of the stuff I like. Her relationship with Finn, Owen, her sister etc.

I hope the 9th book is much better.

Not as pleased

Any additional comments?

I was very glad to see that she didn't go back AS much into the past as in other books. However the entire book was about one scene only, I kept hitting my fast forward hoping that the fighting and her mental thinking would stop and other places and other scenes would come up. Vin's voice in this audio was way off. It didn't make him sound as manly and sexy as the other books. Plus not enough of the rest of the group. As for Owen, well grow up or leave the story. It's really disgusting how he's being portrayed after being this confident man in the past. I hope the next book is better , if not then I will end this series. I really like the characters and the story, but this book was to dull for me.

Slightly Different Than Others in Series

This one was slightly different than the other books in this series, in my opinion. I am a fan of the series but this may be my least favorite book so far. It’s still worth listening to though. The narrative is good as usual. The Spider kicks butt as usual. I’m not sure what it may have been missing for me.

Should have stopped with Book 7

Overall I like the story line, however it becomes redundant. I purchased book 9 and after listening to it decided to quit the series. I returned book 9.