Spider's Bite

Elemental Assassin, Book 1

By: Jennifer Estep

Narrated by: Lauren Fortgang

Length: 11 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

©2010 Jennifer Estep (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Fortgang’s captivating drawl sketches Finn’s flirty, genteel arrogance and Caine’s horrified disapproval of her. Fortgang portrays Gin’s well-hidden emotions as well as her habitual analysis of combat probabilities. The capable narration ensures that Gin comes across as an intriguing mix of battle-weary assassin, sorceress, and affectionate homebody. Fortgang also delivers the book’s wry humor with subtle elegance." ( AudioFile)

My name is Gin, and I kill people.

There a lot of things I liked about this book. I love the opening line, "My name is Gin, and I kill people." That's got to be the best opening line to a series ever.

It is a different story than I have been reading, it nice to have a book that is not about vampires and shifters, as much as I love them. Yes there are vampires in this book, but they play an extremely small part to the story. There are things that drove crazy, there a few things that are repeated a little too frequently. But over all, a great story. I can't wait to get the next one.

Interesting new world for Urban Fantasy

I picked this up on one of the sales and got hooked in yet another great series.

I'm glad I didn't look at the reviews beforehand. Most are very positive but there are a few that got caught up on the repetition on the book. There is definitely some of that - ok we get the placement of her blades and the colour of everyone's eyes. The story was compelling however and I think the strength of the narrator keeps the books going (that accent is right on the money).

Overall I am very thankful that this is a strong female character and the author doesn't feel the need to use sex in every other scene - there is definitely some scenes along those themes however the story is central and is not a bed hop.

Gin is a strong, believable, flawed character who I really did like as a person. Glad to have this series in the queue.

Entertaining. Will buy next book in series.

Do you think Spider's Bite needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Oh, yes. So much more to find out about the lead character and two secondary characters.

Great fun

This is a truly fun series. It moves at a good pace.

“Gin Blanco is an assassin. The best. Her secret to success? She gets surprised by baddies when they do bad things. Then she says, “capricious bitch”, she counts by tens... 10... 20... 45... (assassins aren’t very good at counting by tens), then she’s all stab stab blasty until the baddies are dead a minute later ...two tops.”

Truly though. These are fun books.

Quite surprised

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I've had this one for quite a while in my library and finally decided to listen to it. It was surprisingly good. I'm looking forward to listening to the rest of the series when I get a chance.

Good start

Spider’s Bite is book 1 in the Elemental Assassin series. This is an urban fantasy series set in Tennessee, USA. The main character is 30-year-old Gin Blanco. She is a stone elemental and she can also control ice. Her assassin name is The Spider. When she was 13, she was beaten and tortured and her family was killed. After a short stint on the streets, she ended up being taken in by an assassin named Fletcher who became a father to her but also her handler as he taught her to become an assassin, knowing that his son Finnegan, who is two years older than Gin, would not be following in his footsteps. I’m kind of bummed that this book basically started out with Fletcher being killed because I would have really liked to have gotten to know that character more. We got some good flashbacks though and I think he was great.

I really enjoyed this book. It was entertaining and even had some funny parts. I cracked up when Fin said, “It’s the principle of the thing, you don’t puke on a Mercedes.” I’m sure it isn’t very funny out of context, but at the time I had to pause the book to crack up. I liked Gin’s love interest Donovan Caine, the police detective, and am curious to see where things will go with them from here.

One thing that I felt was lacking was additional information and background about various supernatural powers that each type has. For example, we heard about multiple vampire characters and that they refuel with blood and sex, but what does it really mean. What advantages do they have? That one vampire guy got super winded from running a couple blocks. They were able to be killed pretty easily too. What about the giants? What are their advantages and disadvantages? Any powers? I know some are healers but I think they were only part giant. What creates an elemental? Are they part fae? I just wanted more in those areas so I could really understand the character types better. Another thing that was kind of meh, was the way the bad guys were bad. It seemed like there were a few too many pedos in this book. There are so many ways of making them bad without making them chomos. I could see one character being that way, but multiple? That’s just lazy writing in my mind, because obviously no one in their right mind is going to disagree that those characters are absolute filth and need to be killed, and it is easy to hear child grape and immediately hate someone. It alleviates any need for the author to spend time making a back story for those characters or showing all the ways in which they are evil and why we should not like them. Just lazy. The only other thing that stuck out to me as needing to be better fleshed out was the town they live in. It seemed to change based on the need of what was happening at the time. In some aspects it is written like dangerous, unfriendly, dirty, and kind of scary, and others a fun little college town full of peppy co-eds. Those things do not mix so we needed to see better how they are all incorporated together. Maybe have it be friendly by day and dangerous by night when the streets clear out except for those looking for trouble. Or maybe we have two completely different areas of town that she passes through, but in the same general place depending on the scene, it doesn’t fit and it makes it hard to visualize.

I think that this was a really good start for the series. I am definitely interested in continuing on to book 2 which is a relief because I purchased the whole series on audible in the recent site wide sale. I’m anxious to find out what Gin does next, especially with the bomb (uncovered information) that was dropped on her at the end of the book. The narration was good. I didn’t have any complaints. It was easy to listen to. Overall, 3.75 to 4 stars, rounded up.

Eventually, you'll care what happens

What did you like best about Spider's Bite? What did you like least?

I had the hardest time listening to the hard "g's" by the narrator. e.g. wrongah (wrong), longah (long), he was strongah. (is her last name Fortanga?) I didn't mind the quasi-southern accent. I even liked the interesting timbre of her voice. I just hated the hard g's. I live in the South and no one pronounces g's like that.
I wish Gin would have used her power more, practiced it, etc, instead of just ignoring it.
I listened to the end because the story was pretty good, despite some of the oddities.

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

NO!

Truely a great listen

Would you consider the audio edition of Spider's Bite to be better than the print version?

Haven't read the book but the narrators voice and accent really make the story come to life.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Spider's Bite?

When Gin rescued Finn.

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

Her amazing voice and accents.

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

Made me wish it would never end but am so glad there is a series.

Any additional comments?

This story adds a whole new angle to supernatural stories, it is refreshingly different.

Great story and gin is all some

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend this book to anyone, great story

What did you like best about this story?

Gins wit and instincts

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

Very good narrator she does a great job and keeps you interested

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

If I had the time I would like to listen to the book all at once, I listen to 2 or 3 hours at a time

Any additional comments?

I already have book 2 in my wish list

OMG!!!!! Great first book in a series!!!!

Would you consider the audio edition of Spider's Bite to be better than the print version?

I like reading the print than listening, this was for a friend of mine. But she didn't like the sound of the readers voice.

What did you like best about this story?

The killing parts and funny times

Have you listened to any of Lauren Fortgang’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No. I haven't listened to the Heart of Venom yet.

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

All my emotions were good.