THOUGHTS on: Jennifer Estep's "Web of Lies"

Title: "Web of Lies"

Author: Jennifer Estep

Series: Elemental Assassin 002

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Oh, I am very happy with where the second book of the Elemental Assassin series, “Web of Lies,” ended. So pleased that I sort of wish “Web of Lies” and “Spider's Bite” had been one book, because things that had bothered me about the first book no longer matter much given how things unfold in this second book, and “Web of Lies” ends on this note where it feels like we're on the brink of seeing what this series is all about. But first, the requisite blurb: Gin Blanco, retired assassin and new owner of the Pork Pit is starting to get bored with retirement. Things start rolling, however, when Violet Fox, a student at the local college, comes into the Pork Pit asking for help from “The Tin Man.” Although not immediately willing to acknowledge that “The Tin Man” was the codename for Fletcher Lane (Gin's former handler), Gin's curiosity is peaked when it becomes clear that someone is trying to kill Violet. Gin soon finds out that Tobias Dawson, one of the biggest mine operators in Ashland, has been trying to intimidate Violet and her grandfather Warren into selling him their land, and Tobias seems quite willing to kill Violet in order to get what he wants.

So, what did I like? First, the characters. As I mentioned previously, I like Gin as a heroine, because she keeps her cool, and isn't overly sassy[1]. Reading “Spider's Bite”, I felt that I didn't see quite enough vulnerability from Gin as I would have liked, but “Web of Lies” definitely has scenes where I empathized with her. For example, the short scene where Donovan pulls away from Gin's touch right after they had sex - I thought was beautifully done. Although it felt somewhat muted, and it was barely touched upon, it was clear to me as a reader that Gin was hurt. And I thought that the way she held back from immediately confronting Donovan about it was also testament to Gin's strength and patience.

As for Donovan Caine, well, he didn't annoy me as much in this book, because it became clear that he wasn't supposed to be the “hero” you get in a romance novel [2]. So instead of feeling generally dissatisfied with the relationship between Gin and Donovan, I began to see Gin's feelings for Donovan as a small window into Gin's psyche – i.e., a window into the things Gin wants in her life, and what she will and will not do to get them. And in this aspect, I thought the relationship was very successful. I learned that Gin is proud, but not overly proud. She was willing to make the first move twice, even following rejection, but she was not willing to chase after Donovan more than that. And when Owen Grayson (a wealthy businessman who I assume we will see more of in later books) was making his interest in Gin very clear, I thought Gin's general wariness and standoffishness towards him, despite her curiosity about Owen (and Donovan's continued rejections), showed how steady Gin was in terms of her feelings for Donovan. So although I still don't quite see why Gin is attracted to Donovan, I nonetheless was convinced of the strength of her feelings for him[3].

While we're on characters, we have a new one, Owen Grayson! I liked Owen quite a bit. But then again, I like the over-protective brother character-type, and Owen showed himself to be observant in the way that he recognized Gin in disguise, measured in the way he approaches his courtship of Gin, yet brave enough to take gambles that could endanger his own life (in how he left himself open when Gin was contemplating stabbing him). I'm looking forward to seeing him in book 3.

Second, I like how the stakes have also been raised in terms of the plot – Gin's magic has almost doubled[4], and things are starting to get more interesting. Gin has evolved from being someone who was just surviving, to a someone getting ready to confront the demons in her past, even if this means taking on Mab Munroe, the fire elemental who controls Ashland by killing and torturing anyone who gets in her way. I'm also really looking forward to how this plays out in book 3 : )

Prose: B+

Plot: B+

Characters: A

World-building: C+

X-factor: A (For the rushing "grand" factor I felt at the very end, when Gin was pithily laying out her goals)

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[1] Despite what Owen says : P

[2] i.e., the long-term love interest, the one that sticks around for the HEA. Although I wouldn't mind a matured Donovan, with more of spine and more character, coming back in future books to make things interesting.

[3] I, personally, having much less emotional strength of mind than Gin, would have gone for Owen over Donovan like a shot ; )

[4] Although not in a deus ex machina way - given Gin's family, her increase in power was not inconsistent with what we might expect.

THOUGHTS on: Jennifer Estep's "Spider's Bite"

Title: "Spider's Bite"

Author: Jennifer Estep

Series: Elemental Assassin 001

Genre: Urban Fantasy

(Review written May 29th, 2011)

I just finished reading "Spider's Bite," the first in the Elemental Assassin series by Jennifer Estep, and I enjoyed it. Gin Blanco is an assassin known as "the Spider." A last-minute job that seems like a quick way to make big bucks turns out to be a set-up, a ploy to frame Gin for killing corporate whistle-blower Gordon Giles after killing her. Gin is soon caught between trying to figure out who set her up, so she can kill them before they kill her, and along the way we meet Finnegan Lane, Gin's foster brother; the Devreaux sisters, a pair of dwarven sisters with interesting talent sets; and Donovan Caine, perhaps the only non-corrupt cop left in Ashland. Donovan's partner was hit by Gin before the events of “Spider's Bite”, and while Donovan Caine is willing to call a truce with Gin in order to find out who was behind the murder of Gordon Giles, he is not willing to forget that has sworn to bring to justice the assassin who killed his partner.

I thought "Spider's Bite" was a good, solid start to a series. Like an urban fantasy heroine should be, Gin Blanco is tough, capable and confident. And a little quirky, in that she is a bit of a foodie, and quite enjoys the classes she takes at the local college as her "cover" as a perpetual college student. As an assassin Gin is understandably morally off-centre, but she still holds fast to her own set of morals and honour, and is therefore admirable. Gin also comes off as vulnerable at times, usually when she struck by unbidden memories of people she cared for. These parts are (to me) quite brief, however. I like seeing a bit more vulnerability in my heroines, in order to better connect with them, but since this is only the start of the series, I suspect this may develop with further installments. And on further contemplation, I realize that the brevity of these parts does a good job of illustrating Gin's mental state. As an urban fantasy, "Spider's Bite" is written in first person, and so these moments of vulnerability are necessarily portrayed as short, because Gin, at this point in her life, will not let herself be vulnerable. Continuing along this line of thought, the book's portrayal of Gin's attraction to Donovan Caine might also be skewed by either conscious or unconscious editing on Gin's part: although she admits that Donovan's idealistic moral view is rare and admirable, her attraction is primarily portrayed as physical, with several descriptions of Donovan's physical attributes, and what Gin would like to do with, ahem, said attributes. A possible way of reading this, however, is that this asymmetry reflects not the compositional proportions of Gin's actual attraction to Donovan, but rather only what Gin will admit to. I suspect now that it may actually be Donovan's moral uprighteousness that primarily attracts her: here is an honourable man with a pure moral code that Gin, a bit unhappy and uneasy with the extreme boundaries of her own moral code, wishes she could, but could never actually adhere to. All in all, I liked Gin, and how she was portrayed. I especially appreciated that Gin wasn't a hotheaded, reckless heroine (although those heroine's have their places too).

Unfortunately I wasn't as pleased with the portrayal of Donovan Caine. Although we are told that Donovan has an upstanding moral code, and he certainly shows priggishness in adhering to his code, I never really found a part where this priggishness translated into an attractive quality. After all, honour is sexy, right? Or at least, it can be portrayed as such. For example, the moment in George R. R. Martin's “Game of Thrones” where Lord Eddard Stark claims the heartbreaking responsibility of executing his daughter's direwolf puppy? Or the moment in “To Kill a Mockingbird” when Atticus Finch asks “Do you really think so?” when facing the lynch mob (not to mention Jem's obstinacy to abandon his father)? Shivers[1]. Not that I require all heroes to have the moral fibre of Atticus Finch, but I never came across any scene like this with Donovan Caine. His moral uprighteousness was usually portrayed by him showing disappointment or outright disapproval towards Gin's actions and values. And so it was a bit difficult for me to like him, or understand why Gin found him attractive. Unless there really is just a physical attraction. In which case, sure Donovan Caine is described as physically appealing, seeing as I like dark hair and hazel eyes as much as the next girl, but then Gin becomes much less interesting. Also, while his loyalty in his partner is, I suppose, commendable, the academic in me abhors the fact that this is blind loyalty. His lack of research into his partner to see whether his loyalty is justified irks me. I certainly wouldn't go making vows on public television without making sure I had collected all the relevant information. Again, this is the first in the series, so although I didn't find Donovan particularly likeable in this installment, we shall see. Although since this is an urban fantasy, and not a romance, I suppose I shouldn't have the expectation that I ought to feel attracted to the heroine's love-interest (my criteria #2 for categorizing a romance as one that fulfils its duties to its readers,) and certainly not so early. The romance in urban fantasy series usually comes a bit later in the series.

Prose: B (Not bad, but I felt that Gin as narrator told us too much about how the world and magic in it worked in words, instead of showing us with observations)

Plot: C+ (No holy-shit moments, but I don't think "Spider's Bite" set out to thrill and astonish us with plot twists and turns, so I had no problem with this.)

Characters: B (Gin was interesting, and the side characters like Finn and the Devreaux sisters were quite interesting and amusing, but the main love interest, Donovan, fell flat for me)

World-building: C+ (fairly standard urban fantasy, cities with dwarves, giants and vampires, and so far a fairly standard magic system aligned in terms of elements)

X-factor: A (I enjoyed it)

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[1] Er, It occurs to me now that my love for Atticus Finch may not be the norm. Or is it? I don't recall other girls in my 1oth grade class sighing over Atticus...(or any of the characters in any book we were assigned to read.)