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.

Something Different than the usual Jobs

So i'm not giving anything away, but before the book started i have assumed that its going to be the same thing as usual... She finds someone who is hurting someone, she plans to kill that bad guy, she fales the first time, she heals, then she tries again and kills the bad guy... But noooo ... not in this one.. you have a different place, different plot than usual..

You don't get the usual, and you keep on thinking you know what will happen, but no there are few twists in this book.. some of these twists are predictable and some are not... There are few funny moments here and there, specially in the first few chapters.

Narrator is doing a good job as usual.

I don''t want to give anything away, but lets just say, i would rank this in the top from this series, specially with the change we got from the usual thing... its not completely different than the usual but its new and reminds me of few movies i watched before

Great job here.

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.

GIN, like the liquor....

Love this series, love the storyline how it picks right up from the last book. The narrator Lauren Fortgang rock this, her slow southern drawl is perfect.
Hope for another book soon...

Action Packed!

4.5 stars. Definitely the best in the series in my opinion.
This book was 90% plot and action, low romance. While I love the romance, this story was well done. Riveting and just entertaining.

Finnegan Lane was invited to an Art Exhibit of the items owned by the infamous Mab Monroe and of course Finn invited Gin to be his date.
First, he wanted to get Gin out the house since she has been moping about her separation with Owen and he was also curious about the items that the dead fire elemental had amassed.

We learned from the prior 2 book that everyone should be weary of any invitation by Ashland's underworld, so I was not surprised at all when a fun gala event turned into a "stick up". A group of Giants had decided that they were through being bodyguards and wanted to run Ashland's underworld now that Mab's death left a vaccum for leadership.

Obviously they made a grave miscalculation by holding the crowd hostage, the crowd including Gin Blanco's loved ones. Nobody messes with Gin's family and gets away with. Watch Gin Blanco get to the bottom of the robbery and also the mystery of who set up the heist and why.

I was just hooked from the beginning to the very end! What a ride. This book was written like an action movie and it was the return to the beginning of the series where love as a side action and Gin Blanco as the Spider reigned as the main plot. Yes, Gin and Owen did talk and lay some things on the table. I also see a future with these two as I love them as a couple. But most of this book was all Gin solving a mystery and while there was just a little of Finn, Owen, Jojo D, Eva, Philip, Rosaline, Xavier & even Bria were just supporting her.
I can't wait for the next installment of what has become one of my favorite series.

Not my fav but another fun read...

Gin is a magnet for trouble. Even when Finn tries to convince her to stop wallowing and go to an event with him, drama finds her. Of course it’s not surprising that this is an event that will auction off all of Mab Monroe’s belongings. It’s bound to have shady characters, right? Luckily Gin is always prepared.

Deadly Sting started off differently than most of the Elemental Assassin books. Usually the books start with Gin in the Pork Pit, this book is 80% at least in the same place, the gala event. The gala starts off like any normal ritzy event, cocktails and mingling. Gin and her gut feelings, she kind of knows something is “off”. She wasn’t wrong. In a very unexpected turn of events Gin is left alone to figure out how she’s going to rescue her loved ones without the help of anyone.

My favorite part of this book was definitely having Gin and Owen working as a team together, after she rescues him of course. I think after their recent turmoil this was definitely needed for me. These two aren’t a couple again or back to normal, but it was nice to see them in action and remember how great they are together.

Damn it Owen! I seriously hope you redeem yourself in Kiss of Venom, the new novella in HIS point of view. He still isn’t the same but I have HOPE! :-) Gin is damn near a one woman show and she prevailed again this time. Not without broken bones, bruises, etc but she got it done. I look forward to hear what else karma has in store for her.

Derivative of Die Hard, but still fun

Okay yes, I had to get past the ridiculousness of a party full of magic wielding, criminal heavies getting held up … and yet passively waiting for rescue. And yes, I still find it ridiculous how Gin relies on hand-to-knife contact when she should be taking people out with her ice and stone magic (she can bring down mountains for Pete’s sake). And yes, we still have the relationship angst.

But, this installment has better action, humor, and mystery that takes me back to the viscious fun of the first books. This book and the next one are standouts for me, even without the yippee kai-yay finale.

good but getting to be same old same old

good but getting to be same old same old. love the characters and the world she has created. I'd like more out of the box plot lines.

Another Hit from Jennifer Estep

I love this series. Just like all the others, Deadly Sting pulls you in and makes it impossible to put down. I'm can't wait for the next book to come out. I literally I think about daily.

Nobody Wears A Red Dress Better Than Gin Blanco!

As always, Jennifer Estep delivers an action-packed tale of violence and death. You'd think with that sort of material the story would be gruesome and the characters unlikeable, but not so! Gin is sexy, confident and capable. You just have to cheer for her and her friends. I really enjoy this series and can't wait for the next one! Lauren Fortgang adds SO much to the story with her smoky southern voice. A wholly enjoyable experience!

I can dig it. . .

This one was a nice surprise. For once, it didn't start out with Gin gunning for someone. The story was good. It tied up some loose ends. It opened the door for a new big bad. Overall, pretty good. The beginning was a little weird, Fortgang sounded very breathy, almost like she was trying to be sexy (?) at a point in the book where it wasn't needed and it creeped me out a little. She took the normal Gin drawl and twisted it. It went away fairly quickly and all was good after that. It was a nice addition to the series and I can't wait for August and the next one!

Dead

I bought seven of Jennifer Esteps audio books after having read one which I loved! BUT the narrator is terrible and I can not listen to ANY of the audios. Returning every one. CHECK OUT THE SAMPLE BEFORE YOU BUY!