Bitter Bite

Elemental Assassin, Book 14

By: Jennifer Estep

Narrated by: Lauren Fortgang

Length: 10 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's Summary

Which is stronger: blood ties or a battle-tested friendship? That's the question Gin Blanco asks when a friend's long-lost relative strolls into town. The suspicious reunion is a surprise for everyone - and a big problem for Gin.

Book 14 in the New York Times best-selling urban fantasy series RT Book Reviews calls "unbeatable entertainment"!

It's not easy being queen bee of an underworld abuzz with crooks and killers. Wielding my potent Ice and Stone elemental magic will get me only so far - my real secret is my tight-knit makeshift family, a motley crew of cops and criminals, dwarves, and playboys. My foster brother, Finnegan Lane, is my right-hand man, but when his suddenly not-dead relative comes back into the picture, I'm the one on the outside looking in.

It's funny how life works: One minute your best friend is rock steady, and the next he's doe eyed and buying in to this whole loving-relative routine to the point of ignoring you. I'd like to be happy for Finn, I really would. But all of my instincts are telling me that beneath the syrupy-sweet demeanor and old-fashioned charm, this sudden interloper is planning something. The whole shtick leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. This person might have avoided the grave once, but I'll put anyone who hurts Finn in the ground - for good.

©2016 Jennifer Estep (P)2016 Audible, Inc.

Everything is all my fault!

So tired of her self-flagellation. It's all my fault that so and so died, so and so is in danger, so and so is ... whatever. Stop already. Let the bad guys take the blame for being bad guys and stop making me listen to how Gin Blanco thinks she's at fault for people hurting her friends and family. It sends the message that people are responsible for the action of others - they are not.

I enjoy the series but this one thing, this one point, makes me grind my teeth and yanks me right out of the world of the story.

I would love to see the fierce Gin Blanco, the Spider, tell people that they are responsible for their own actions and not those of others.

And truly - Gin - stop whining!

Another continuation

What did you like best about Bitter Bite? What did you like least?

Bitter Bite is a good story just as all the other 13 books have been but by now i am getting abit tired of the same old approach to this series. this has been the same book as almost all the others in the series. Gin Always wins out after getting caught and escaping by a hairs breath. For this series to get better i think that Gin needs to stop being a victim and start too take charge of her life. Just being a passive observer in the crime capital that she lives in is not enough. SHE IS "THE" ASSASSIN in the crime world good dammit start acting the part.

What was most disappointing about Jennifer Estep’s story?

The most disappointing is that the series is not moving ahead its the same story all over again with a new twist and i belive that this has been going on ever since the defeat of her loong lost archnemesis.

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

Lauren is still very good at giving the characters the Life they deserve.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No i would not pay to see the movie 14 times.

Same story, different title

I feel like I keep reading the same book over and over again. Maybe when this series first came out it wasn’t a big deal because the release dates forced you to wait fir a few months between them, but listening back to back - Ug. I just finished this book and I’m really not sure I want to listen to the next one.

Cookie Cutter

This story was predictable just like the main character kept be described. Unlike the earlier books of the series this does nothing good for the main character's image.

No spoilers

Love love this series. Estep dose a fantastic job in her writing. She give you a action packed story with suspense, light romance, and even laughs. Can't wait to listen to what Estep has in store for all the characters she so very well writes about. As far as Fortgang who is the narrator i can't even put it into enough words. She brings this whole series to life it is so well narrated. Voices are outstanding. In fact don't read it listen to all the books you won't be sorry well worth the money. Great writing and narration what more can you ask for.

14 books and still so much fun

After fourteen books in the series, and Gin is still going strong. This series has been going strong since book one and doesn’t seem to be slowing down. While this book is more Finn’s book than Gin’s, it is still told entirely from Gin’s first person POV, which gives it an interesting take on the story.

When a supposedly dead relative appears back in Ashland and in Finn’s life, you can see how it would affect Finn. I can also see why Finn responded the way that he did. I mean, you don’t want to think that every person who comes to town, is doing so for nefarious reasons, when you could be the reason. When you grow up with a hole in your life and all of sudden, you see a chance to get that hole filled, who would want to see the downsides?

Gin, on the other hand, couldn’t help but see the coincidence in the situation. Bria also noticed that something was off with our new visitor to Ashland. Gin continued to be her protective and loyal family member to Finn whether he liked it or not. Plus, she had the warning from Fletcher to help her, who continues to be a very large secondary character in this series.

I will say that Jennifer Estep’s ability to come up with new villains for Gin to fight continues to amaze me. They are all unique in the own way. They all require Gin to learn new ways to tackle their villainous ways. This one was particularly difficult for Gin and required her to rely on her magic more than she ever has in her past. We even learn more about the past of Mab Monroe and even Eira Snow. It will be interesting to see where the series goes from here with the information that we learn towards the end of this book.

Narration
Lauren Fortgang continues to do a fantastic job with the narration of this series. This is a series that I started off reading, but once I listened one of the books, I’ve been audio only ever since. She does such a great job with all the different Southern voices of both men and women, she really adds to the story. I think in this story in particular, I could really see Deidre Shaw for the fake that she really was based off her voice alone. LOL. If you haven’t tried this series on audio, I highly recommend you give it a try.

You can always count on Gin

There is a reason that we are talking about this book and reading the 14th book in the series. We love the characters and love seeing our characters triumph. I did like hearing more about Fletcher (I was heartbroken) and about the other deceased characters as well, I felt it added to everyones story.

This is a fun listen that entertains, if that is what you are looking for, it delivers. As well as the 13 before.

"mother love"

This has been the most emotional of all the books so far. We find Finnegan Lane' s presumed dead mother back in Ashland. Fletcher, Finn's father, has left Gin a letter telling her not to believe anything Finns mother has to say. To watch out for her foster brother for his mother is evil and will use him. Deirdre 's return puts everyone in emotional turmoil especially Finn. It's a situation Gin realizes must play itself out. Ever protective of her foster brother and right-hand man Finn, Gin will put anyone who hurts him in the ground - permanently.

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

Love the Series!

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

I love the way Finn sounds southern and whiny at times. She does a really good job with his character and voice.

Any additional comments?

Love the SERIES but this book seemed shorter than the others. I like the longer plot/story-lines but don't get me wrong, I still love it!

these books keep getting better

the story is well written and I am looking forward to the next book and the storyline is very strong and you can tell how Jin has evolved as a caricter

I love this series but....

I do like this series, an elemental assassin as my ‘hero’ leading lady is a different take on the urban fantasy genre I love and I’m enjoying it. But, I do feel the writer condescends the reader sometimes.

Gin is supposedly a powerful element with more power than most because of the double elemental power thing, yet conveniently enough she doesn’t or can’t use it for some ridiculous reason when facing the latest big bad. She supposedly brought down her entire mansion home when just a child with her stone power but as an adult never manages to be able to use that power well enough as a weapon?! The best we see her do is harden her skin so she can take blows/bullets which is great and all but why wouldn’t you use it as an offensive weapon too? She also killed Mab by combining both her powers, which she has now apparently long forgotten how to do or can’t anymore. However she uses her power in one book is conveniently forgotten in future books if it doesn’t fit how the author wants Gin to be trapped or scuppered in some way. It’s slightly ridiculous and patronising.

Equally and this the thing that really got me in this book, it’s been annoying me for a few books now but in this one it just takes the biscuit. Gin is an intelligent woman, yet somehow in each book she never manages to piece together the glaringly obvious clues that are staring her in the face?!?! - IT WAS OBVIOUSLY THE BANK!! How the hell else is Finn involved, not acknowledging that is a joke. In previous books I’ve put it down to the fact that I read a lot of books and that might be why I can predict what’s next and maybe, just maybe Gin wouldn’t have guessed. BUT if she’s this intelligent woman, a deadly assassin that survives time and again, presumably she would learn?! YET SHE NEVER DOES, If anything the author portrays her as increasingly too stupid to figure anything out until it cracks her on the head! Every book she makes reference to her paranoia like that might still be a valid excuse! Errrm no, anyone with half a brain, including her friends would realise by now that her paranoia is usually valid and worth paying attention to. It’s so annoying. There is a really obvious point where even if she hadn’t figured it out before then the list of businesses would have given it away - not acknowledging that is a joke and frankly patronising, disappointing and dissatisfying.

But, I do persist in reading the books because they do have good qualities and storylines. even though it doesn’t sound like it, I do like this series, if only the author didn’t assume all readers are idiots and will easily overlook the gaping holes, and actually took the time to write Gin intelligently solving the problems she faces, these books would be amazing.