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)

WHY

OK, started out really really slow, got better about 1/2 way thru, but still not understanding all the great reviews...guess it just depends on ones tastes in books.

Sloooooowww

After several hours I found the trick - set the narrator's speed to at least 1.25, then you can listen relatively comfortably without falling asleep.

Seriously, the story is good but the southern sleepy drawl drags the story down so that it's hard to really stay with it. My attention kept being pulled away, even when I was sitting still with no distractions, let alone driving or shopping. I've been in the south most of my life and...never... heard... anyone... t..a..l..k... t..h..a..t... s..l..o..w..l..y. While the accent is good, the pace is not.

Overall, the story is interesting. There are sex scenes and language that might concern some. Thankfully this is not a romance novel disguised as urban fantasy as many are but I really do like Patricia Briggs who can spin a great story without resorting to descriptive sex. I haven't been interested in reading that since I was a teen.

Fun, entertaining tale of fire, ice, stone and air elementals with some dwarves and vampires mixed in. Set in a kind of rednecksville south where there seems to be an overabundance of violent sexual predators, pedofiles and wife beating husbands. Gin, the 'hero' in our story is an assassin who apparently only kills the bad guys (REALLY BAD guys). She tends to go on about the color of her eyes, how she got the scars on her hands, how her family was killed, how she ended up on the street with nothing and is now pulling in millions of dollars in fees for assassinations...over and over. Once I know how she got the scars, is it important to hear it more than once? It's not like she was ever describing it to another character, but literally describing it to the 'reader' several times. Need to make a page or word count?

It's a mindless listen on a lazy afternoon - not bad, not great either...just meh...

Amazing

Loved it. can't wait for the second one! ! I am going to buy it now!

Good Story

What made the experience of listening to Spider's Bite the most enjoyable?

Narrator was very good, story kept moving not a lot of slow dragging commentary

What other book might you compare Spider's Bite to and why?

??

Which scene was your favorite?

Spider saving Fletcher in the Alley

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

no Extreme reaction

loved it.

beginning was a little slow but the mystery carried it through to the end. great cliffhanger.

Basically Good

Where does Spider's Bite rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Middle of the pack. Nothing to set it apart either among the best or worst.

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

The beginning. Really, that was a fabulous hook. What followed, however, was also memorable in the opposite sense -- it bored me to the point that I wished it would be over already. About 5-6 hours in it picked up again for me.

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

The main character. She can do raspy very well, and some nice drawls, but there wasn't a lot of character distinction for me. Still though, she has a lovely voice and the audio portion was pleasant.

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

No.

Any additional comments?

The author has an issue with repetition. Yes, I know Gin's eyes are grey. I know the detective's eyes are hazel/gold/amber/other colorful and descriptive synonyms. I know Fletcher's son (what's-his-name) has green eyes. You do not need to tell me this every single time you mention someone's eyes. It went from irritating to frustrating to making me feel apathetic every time it was mentioned.

Also, the chemistry between the detective and Gin felt flat and uninspired at parts. I understand this is likely categorized as romance, but if you can't fit in a developing relationship within a book in such a way as to fittingly lead to sex, DON'T TRY. Leave it for the next book.

Overall it was decent enough that I might pick up the next one if nothing better catches my attention, but nothing special to me.

Spider’s Bite by Jennifer Estep

Updated review: audible version. The narrator, Laura Fortgang is fantastic. Listening to this story, I could visualize this tough, but softhearted female, that is ruthless in protecting her friends and self made family. Yes, Gin is an assassin, but her targets are not the good guys, but rather mercenaries themselves and often aimed at harming Gin and her friends.
The narrator did an incredible job with the different character voices and emotions.
While I have the full set of this series in paperback, I promptly purchased the next dozen in audio to reread and immerse myself in this world.

First review:
Original story line. Fast paced. Gin is an assassin but there's more to her than a job description. She has a heart.
Urban fantasy.

Ms. Esteps action filled romance, great narration.

Never thought I would get into it the Spider series, but it won me over, hook line and sinker, the story of Gin Blanco's retirement as an assassin, is great writing. Evokes the South, and the southern tier of Appalachia as a soup of timeless stories of the place, host of interesting characters and Spiders fight against local boss Mebb Monroe and her cohorts.
The collection of elementals and humans, dwarves, giants, and vampires form strange heirarchies of spiritual creatures in a way not depicted before. I am a guy who never thought I could enjoy "womans" fiction so much. Lauren Fortgangs narration is delicious. Sexy, dead-on accent and very funny.
I have a few criticism about the chain of causation in each story. But this writer
is somone to watch. I wish there were more in the series

Loved It

Any additional comments?

Great narration. I like to list this first as it can make or break a story.

Loved this story. Easy listerning and very entertaining. Will be impatiently waiting for any new books in audio from this author.

I really enjoy it when readers with similar reading interests list their favourite authors and series. It really helps me find new authors too follow. Mine are Charlaine Harris, Jeaniene Frost, Jennifer Estep, Faith Hunter, Molly Harper, Ilona Andrews, Kresley Cole, Deborah Harkness, Nalini Singh, Coreene Callahan and Sherrilyn Kenyon.

Happy Reading

After this Book I HAD to hear the rest

Gin is one of the best characters to come along, in my opinion, since Harry Dresden. This was an excellent first book and I couldn't wait for the follow-ups, I bought them right after finishing this one. I love how the magic is place in the real world and it fits right in as if it's something we all know about and simply take for granted. If they had 10 stars to rate this I'd give it an 11.