The Spider

Elemental Assassin, Book 10

By: Jennifer Estep

Narrated by: Lauren Fortgang

Length: 10 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

For the first time, the full origin story of Gin Blanco's transformation into the fearsome assassin known as the Spider - book 10 in the red-hot Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series. In a prequel tale, Gin Blanco goes through her paces on the way to become the most feared assassin in the Ashland. Her mentor, Fletcher Lane, is not going to go easy on her - if she’s going to become a fearsome killer, she has to learn to use her elemental Stone and Ice powers alongside old-fashioned human street smarts.

©2014 Jennifer Estep (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

too chatty but still good

Gin takes a trip back in time when a mysterious package arrives with white stemed roses. She tells Owen of one of her biggest regrets as the Spider and how they met for the first time years ago. Although a bit chatty, this was a good back story, well worth the telling.

Great story

Christine Hvam portrays the part of Gin Blanco/The Spider so well that I can’t stop listening books by her. I may have read most of the elemental assassin books, but this is the first time that I’m hearing it read and it is far better than I thought it would be.

Great book

Story line was good but it kinda makes it seem like a small world with all the characters in it

A Trip Into the Past

Not sure why we travelled back in time, but it was a nice jaunt nonetheless. Filled with all the trademark snark, action & southern drawl. But it shows a time when Gin was young and a tad idealistic, naive. The story unravels the events that made her a little more cautious & calculating along with a bit colder & realistic when dealing with human nature.

Now let's get back to future & a lot of Owen 😘

Too Coincidental

Would you listen to The Spider again? Why?

Yes, I think it is a very interesting situation and I like to root for the underdog myself.

What other book might you compare The Spider to and why?

I have no comparison

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

As far as I can remember other than this book and the previous books in this series I do not believe I have listened to any other books narrated by this individual.

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

I just did. These are not very long books so I usually listen to each one while I work and it is over by the end of my shift.

Any additional comments?

It is very Coincidental that most every important character has been there in the past for Gin in one way or the other. All of the important people in her life fell into this rendition.

Excellent history

A fun trip down memory lane of "The Spider". Especially the cross history of Owen and Xavier. It's a leading story to Book 11. I'll be honest, Gin has been through some of the most roller coaster emotions any one person can go through. It's nice having history for everyone.

Interesting Prequel

As a prequel to the Elemental Assassin Series, this book gave some interesting background into Gin's life. As always, Jennifer Estep spins a tale that pulls you in from start to finish. Lauren Fortgang remains an excellent narrator for this series.

LilyElement Book Reviews - The Spider

Any additional comments?

Gin Blanco returns in book 10 of the Elemental Assassin series. This time around, Gin is retelling a story that happened in her early adulthood. Her mentor and foster father, Fletcher is alive and teaching her the ways of being an assassin. They are paid to kill a man, when digging for background on their mark, they find he might be responsible for a terrace collapsing and killing multiple people. Something feels off and Fletcher wants to wait to find out more details about the case, but Gin lets emotions control her once she hears that the man is harming his daughter. No proof that he actually does it, she just wants to take him out and save the girl from being harmed. Fletcher allows her to take the job and start her solo mission.

This one was a bit different from the previous installments in the Elemental Assassin series. Likely because it was a flashback book. Gin's character is a bit more impulsive, and reckless. I enjoyed seeing all the characters I've become familiar with. Even a young Owen made an appearance. While initially I thought I wouldn't enjoy this book, I quickly changed my mind. You can tell that Gin's character has grown a lot compared to her younger self. The plot itself was kind of predictable, I figured it out quickly and wasn't that surprised as the story unraveled. All in all it was a pretty good installment to the series, I'd recommend this series for anyone looking for a good Urban Fantasy.

As a backstory it's good

I have listened to the whole series and even though I really tried to get into this story it was a struggle.
If you don't know Gin's story, it could fill in gaps. But for a die hard fan it seems tedious and superfluous.
Looking forward to the next one that doesn't cover the past.

A True Disappointment!

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

The entire book is Gin recounting details that we already know about her past. She "mysteriously" ties in absolutely every character in the series to one ill fated hit that confirmed her as The Spider.

Any additional comments?

Overall I got the impression that Ms. Estep was rushing to meet a deadline much to the detriment of what to this point has been an enjoyable series.