Interview + Giveaway for Widow's Web by Jennifer Estep

Hello everyone! Now earlier today I posted my thoughts on Jennifer Estep's upcoming release WIDOW'S WEB, which is book 7 in her Elemental Assassin series. To celebrate, I was granted a quick interview with the handsome, funny, and cunningly intelligent Finnigan Lane! I was ridiculously giddy because I love Finn, and I had such a hard time deciding on 5 questions to ask, so with a little outside help (thanks you guys) we managed to whittle it down. Let's get down to it :)

Vikki: So Finn, you’re dating Bria now right, Gin’s sister? What’s that like...has it had any effect on the relationship between you and Gin? (Would Gin as big sister still have to kick your ass if you broke Bria’s heart)?

FL: Yes, I am dating Bria. At first, I was just chasing after Bria because I was so intrigued by her. But I have to admit that my feelings for her have deepened as we’ve spent more and more time together. *Cough* Don’t tell anyone, though. *Cough. Cough.* I don’t want to ruin my reputation as a shameless womanizer.

Oh, yes. I’m sure that Gin would do her big sister duty and give me a very stern talking-to (at the very least) if I ever hurt Bria.

Vikki: Since you and Gin basically grew up together, was there ever a time where one of you had to cover for the other e.g. if one of you snuck out of the house, or broke a special vase, that kind of thing? 

FL: Of course. Although I have to admit that Gin covered for me far more than I did for her, especially when it came to sneaking into the house after curfew. I never could keep track of time when I was out having fun with friends or on a date with a pretty girl.

Vikki: I can so imagine a teenage you sneaking out. So, you and Gin have both proved you can handle yourselves in a fight...but who do you think would win if you two had a sparring session? 

FL: My ego demands that I say that I would win. *Sigh.* But in reality, Gin would. I might be able to handle myself, but she’s just as good a fighter as I am. Plus, she has Ice and Stone elemental magic, and I don’t, so that would give her an advantage.

Vikki: Good job you guys never really have to duke it out ;) I know Gin loves to cook, and you seem to love eating what she makes (I don’t blame you, it all sounds divine!) but is there a specific dish you often request?

FL: I have to admit that I’m a big fan of comfort food. Fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, cornbread, biscuits and gravy … it’s all good to me.

Vikki: *drools*.....Must...stop thinking about...amazing food....And finally, after a hard day’s work what do you like to do to relax and unwind? 

FL: I like to open a nice glass of wine and just relax, preferably with Bria by my side.

Vikki: Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions, I hope everyone enjoys WIDOW’S WEB as much as I have!

FL: Thank you for hosting me on your blog. Happy reading, everyone!

***

GIVEAWAY!

Right, now for the giveaway part of the post. Here at V's Book Life we'll be giving away one copy of WIDOW'S WEB...I have my paperback copy on pre-order :)

HERE ARE THE RULES!
The giveaway closes on the 8th September 2012 at midnight (EST) so you must have entered by then to qualify.
The giveaway is US ONLY, meaning it's only available to those with US mailing addresses.
Please read my giveaway policy before entering.
All right, that's everything so now all you have to do is fill out the form below.

GOOD LUCK!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Early Review: Widow's Web by Jennifer Estep

Hello!! Well today, I'm going to be raving about the brand new release from one of my favourite authors at the moment, the lovely JENNIFER ESTEP! This is book 7 in her awesome Elemental Assassin series. I've been looking forward to this for months, so lets get started :) WARNING: while this review keeps spoilers for Widow's Web at a minimum...there are spoilers for earlier books in the series.

Title: Widow's Web
Author: Jennifer Estep
Publisher: Pocket Books
Release Date: 21st August 2012
Series: Elemental Assassin series, book 7
Source: I received an ARC of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Blurb from Goodreads:
I used to murder people for money, but lately it’s become more of a survival technique. Once an assassin, always an assassin. So much for being plain old Gin Blanco. With every lowlife in Ashland gunning for me, I don’t need another problem, but a new one has come to town anyway. Salina might seem like a sweet Southern belle, but she’s really a dangerous enemy whose water elemental magic can go head-to-head with my own Ice and Stone power. Salina also has an intimate history with my lover, Owen Grayson, and now that she’s back, she thinks he’s hers for the taking. Salina’s playing a mysterious game that involves a shady local casino owner with a surprising connection to Owen. But they call me the Spider for a reason. I’m going to untangle her deadly scheme, even if it leaves my love affair hanging by a thread.

Review:
First Line - 'Breaking into the building was easy. Too easy for an assassin like me.'
She's done it again. Jennifer Estep has managed to create an absolute masterpiece of Urban Fantasy, filled with action packed scenes, a good dollop of humour and topped off with a light dusting of romance.  All in all, the perfect recipe for an amazing read.
Our lead throughout this series is Gin Blanco, assassin, elemental and chef extraodinaire. Up until she killed her arch enemy Mab Monroe a few months ago (back in book 5), Gin had been leading a fairly quiet life, a few assassin contracts and pro-bono jobs were fitted around her job at the Pork Pit, no one knew she was the renowned assassin known as the Spider...but now her identity has been leaked and everyone wants to either stare at, avoid or kill her. First Phillip Kincaid, who I think will be a major character for the foreseeable future, decidedly complicates Gin's life. And now, a new threat has blown into town. However she is unlike anything Gin has ever faced before...sure she wants Gin dead, but she also wants something more important to Gin than her own life...something she'll do anything to protect. Because Salina Dubois is here to win back her ex, she wants Gin's lover Owen...and won't stop until she has him, even if it means destroying everyone else in the process.

I looked at him, at his black hair, his violet eyes, his 

rough, rugged features that were so appealing to me. All 

these emotions roared up in my chest. All my love for 

him, all my caring, all my worry—and all my fear of losing 

him.

One of the great aspects of this series is that the villains keep getting better and better. Each new 'bad guy' Gin comes up against brings her a new challenge, tests her skills to the very limit...and always reveals more about this closed off assassin's character. And Salina is no exception, in fact, I'd say she is quite possibly the best villain in the series so far. No only does Salina test Gin as an physically, but her actions put Gin on an emotional roller-coaster...that has her questioning everything she knows about herself. Despite a pretty damn successful attempt on Gin's life and an awful secret revealed, Owen is determined to see the good in Salina, but sooner or later Gin has to make a choice. Kill Salina like she's promised, and possibly ruin her relationship with Owen, or do as Owen asks, and leave everyone she loves vulnerable to the psychotic b*tch. Can they come to a compromise, or will Salina get to them before they reach a decision...

Salina was Owen's first love way back when they were kids, but then she left Ashland and Owen never quite got over her loss. Now she's back and ready to pick back up with Owen, only there's one thing in her way. Gin. Owen loves Gin, and Gin loves Owen. They are perfect for each other, Owen is so good for Gin after the disaster that was her 'relationship' with Donovan Caine. Owen can understand Gin's past as an assassin and does not judge her for it (unlike Donovan Caine *spits* ). However, upon meeting Salina, Gin worries Salina is everything she's not...beautiful and refined, a real lady, someone Owen deserves. That is until the cold hearted b*tch is exposed for what she really is. A murdering psychopath, who gets off on repeatedly drowning people with her water magic. That eases her mind a little bit...until it comes to the question 'How do we deal with Salina?'
While Gin would almost certainly kick Salina's ass in an elemental battle, this war is fought mostly with words...Salina is able to manipulate Owen like a puppet on a string, lies mix with truth and although Owen stands up for Gin, he never exactly reassures her that it's over between him and Salina and that speaks louder than words and fuels Gin's insecurities...not that she'd ever show it ;)

Salina’s smile widened. “Why, Gin, if I didn’t know better, I would say it sounds like you’re threatened by little ole me.”
I snorted. “Hardly. I eat haughty, arrogant, manipulative, self-important bitches like you for breakfast, sugar.  And then I go back for seconds.”

As soon as I read the blurb I'd had a bad feeling about this book. I love Gin and Owen so much that I couldn't bear anything to happen to them. Gin is constantly worrying about the strain on her and Owen's relationship Salina is causing. But still, I didn't expect what happens. I'm glad it has, because we get to see so much more from Gin. We don't just see her as an assassin, we see her as a woman in love. A woman in love who is seriously afraid that her man might love another woman more than her. Salina forces Gin to grow exponentially as a character and she surprises herself with how she deals with these situations. I thought Jennifer Estep done brilliantly when she re-introduced Donovan Caine into Gin's life (book 6), but this is a whole new level. And despite the fact there is a plan and several books left in the series, I can't help but wonder where we will be taken next. I certainly will be tuning in to find out :)

All in all, I loved WIDOW'S WEB. I cannot fault this book one bit. If you are a fan of the series you NEED WIDOW'S WEB. You will not regret picking up a copy. I finished this in one sitting, staying up until 4am with eyes watering constantly from the strain...but I could not make myself stop. I was drawn in to this war between two strong but completely different women...I never want to leave...Gin, can I come live with you?

My Rating: 4.5/ 5

Join me later today when I'll be posting an interview with the one and only Finn Lane, as well as a giveaway to celebrate the release of Widow's Web!!

Review: Dark Frost by Jennifer Estep

Hey guys! Time for a new review and today we have Dark Frost by Jennifer Estep, book 3 in her YA Mythos Academy Series. *may contain spoilers from books 1 and 2*

Title: Dark Frost
Author: Jennifer Estep
Publisher: Kensington
Release Date: 13th July 2012* (UK) | 29th May 2012 (US)
Series: Mythos Academy, Book 3
Source: Received from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
*available for kindle 29th May in the UK

Blurb from Goodreads:
I’ve seen so many freaky things since I started attending Mythos Academy last fall. I know I’m supposed to be a fearless warrior, but most of the time, I feel like I’m just waiting for the next Bad, Bad Thing to happen. Like someone trying to kill me—again.
Everyone at Mythos Academy knows me as Gwen Frost, the Gypsy girl who uses her psychometry magic to find lost objects—and who just may be dating Logan Quinn, the hottest guy in school. But I’m also the girl the Reapers of Chaos want dead in the worst way. The Reapers are the baddest of the bad, the people who murdered my mom. So why do they have it in for me?
It turns out my mom hid a powerful artifact called the Helheim Dagger before she died. Now, the Reapers will do anything to get it back. They think I know where the dagger is hidden, but this is one thing I can’t use my magic to find. All I do know is that the Reapers are coming for me—and I’m in for the fight of my life.

Review:
First Line - '"If you guys don't stop making out, I'm going to be sick." Daphne Cruz laid another loud, smacking kiss on her boyfriend Carson Callahan. Princess pink sparks of magic shot off my best friend's fingertips and flickered in the air around the couple, the tiny rainbows of colour almost as bright as Carsons flaming cheeks.'
Gwen Frost is a Gypsy. A Gypsy with the rare gift of psychometry or 'touch magic', magic that gives her the ability to read the memories and emotions tied to any object or person she touches. Since her mother's murder a year ago, Gwen has attended the elite Mythos Academy, a school for those gifted with magic in all its forms. The Spartans, Valkyries, Amazons and many more attend to learn how to fight...for the magical community has it's enemies. The Reapers of Chaos are followers of the evil Norse god Loki and they are determined to free him from his prison so he can once again terrorise the world with Chaos. These Reapers are the ones responsible for Gwen's mothers murder...and now they hunt her.
Gwen's mother hid a powerful artefact during her time at Mythos Academy. An artefact the Reapers need to find at any cost because it's the key to freeing Loki from his prison. After an attack at the museum Gwen and her classmates were attending, Gwen finds out that the dagger may be hidden inside Mythos Academy itself, if she's going to find it, she's going to have to trust in her instincts and her touch magic...but Gwen sees secrets when she uses it...secrets people don't want her to know. But if the Reapers find the Helheim Dagger before Gwen and her friends at Mythos do, The God of Chaos will be unleashed into the world once more.

I've got a confession to make...I haven't read books one and two in this series *gasps*. I know, I know...silly of me really but to be honest, it wasn't that hard to catch up so I guess you could read this like I did. However I'm fairly certain it spoils books one and two, so I'd advise reading those ones first. Either way I'm definitely going back and buying the earlier books, they'll be good if DARK FROST is anything to go by.
Right, so our heroine is Gwen Frost, a Gypsy with the power of Psychometry (she can read emotions and memories from anything she touches). She also has an awesome sword named Vic. Vic talks. Vic talks a lot...mainly about killing and maiming but other things too. He's actually quite funny for a sword, his quips has me giggling. When they interact it almost always had me laughing...why can't I have a talking sword *sulks*.
Young Gwen has the weight of the world on her shoulders as only she can find this dagger everyone is searching for. Even though she's the Goddess Nike's champion, it's a lot of responsibility for a teenager. Not only that but her quest is putting those she loves in danger. The attack on the museum and the death of many of her classmates brings home the stark reality of what Gwen has to do...and she's not sure she's cut out for this.

The Reapers of Chaos ran their swords through everyone they could get their hands on, then shoved the dead and dying to the floor. The museum staff, adults, kids. It didn’t matter to the Reapers who they killed. Wax figures, statues, and display cases crashed to the floor, splintering into thousands of pieces. Blood spattered everywhere, a cascade of scarlet teardrops sliding down the white marble walls.
A sick, sick feeling filled my stomach at the bloody chaos in front of me. I’d heard about Reapers, about how vicious they were, about how they lived to kill warriors—about how they lived to kill us. I’d faced down two Reapers myself, but I’d never seen anything like this. Chapter 1.

Not only that, but Gwen's friends are having problems of their own...sometimes causing Gwen to think she has no-one she can rely on. Daphne's skill emerges but she has trouble adjusting, and when Gwen tries to help, she's accused of sticking her nose in to other people's business like she always does, and that she won't allow people to have secrets. This cuts Gwen to the very core, and when the same phrase is used by Logan because Gwen accidently uncovered a painful memory from his past, she feels cut off from her friends and abandoned in her time of need.
However a familiar face brings Gwen comfort when she needs it most. From what I understand, previously Gwen had rescued a Fenir Wolf from the hands of the reapers that had been torturing her. Now the wolf (named Nott) has come back to Gwen. They're able to have a sort of communication through Gwen's psychometry and Gwen discovers Nott is eating for two...and wishes to stay with her. Which naturally causes Vic apoplexy :) Can't argue with the fact that she's an amazing guard though...despite being 'the size of a house'!

Gwen is tested both physically and emotionally in DARK FROST. The lives of her friends, her classmates and her Grandma are constantly on the line...the escape of one of Gwens most hated enemies from they Mythos prison puts everyone on high alert...and sooner or later, Gwen knows she'll have to come face to face with the Reaper who murdered her mother.

DARK FROST is a great YA book, there's laughter, there's tears. Jennifer Estep's writing here kept me hooked from the word go, and the end! Oh the end, it was one of those where I'm turning the book over and going 'WHAT! No, that can't be it! I need to know now!!' Don't get me wrong, it's a fabulous ending but I just can't wait to see what happens to Gwen and the folks at Mythos next!

My Rating: 4/5

Waiting on Wednesday {4}

Hi everyone, it's time for Waiting on Wednesday! For those who don't know, Waiting on Wednesday is an awesome meme hosted by Breaking the Spine. It allows all of us who are entrenched in the book world to share our most anticipated 'to reads'. My WOW is one I have been dying to read for a while now! She's an assassin...and she will eat you alive, GIN BLANCO is back everyone!

Title: Widow's Web
Author: Jennifer Estep
Publisher: Pocket Books
Release Date: 21st August 2012
Series: Elemental Assassin Series, Book 7

Blurb from Goodreads:
The seventh book in the hugely popular Elemental Assassin series by New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Jennifer Estep—Gin Blanco is back and ready for action.
My name is Gin, and I kill people. It’s something I've been doing for years as the assassin called Spider, but now, it’s turned into a necessity on my part just to survive all the lowlifes in Ashland who are gunning for me. The underworld is still in turmoil, and I seem to be on everyone’s hit list these days.
To add to Gin’s problems, her lover Owen’s ex is in town. Salina is back in Ashland to reclaim an old family legacy—and she thinks that Owen is hers for the taking. Also in the mix is Phillip Kincaid, a casino owner and all-around shady character who has a mysterious connection to both Owen and Salina.
Salina might seem like a sweet Southern belle, but there’s more to her than meets the eye. Her water elemental magic makes her a dangerous enemy—and someone who can go toe-to-toe with Gin’s Ice and Stone power. But Gin is determined to get to the bottom of Salina’s deadly scheme, even though it just might cost her everything…including Owen.

Why am I waiting for it?
Oh my God *hyperventilates* I freaking love this series! Gin is such a kick-ass heroine...she's an assassin, though she has 'retired' but will still do pro-bono work when she sees someone who really needs killing! Gin is just awesome. Period. She has elemental magic, strong control over Ice and Stone meaning she could just as easily flash-freeze a man to death as to bring a building down on top of him. Gin is a quirky, strong heroine who cooks like no-bodies business :)
Right, so I may or may not have already received an advanced readers copy of Widow's Web (I love you Jennifer Estep!!) but the restraint of not immediately diving into it is causing me physical pain!! I've had exams and several other books I need to read before I can dive head-first back into Gin's world. Oh lord, give me strength!

You know what I'm waiting on, leave me a comment about what you're waiting for and I'll get back to you!

Review: Spider's Bite by Jennifer Estep

HELLO! Time for a review of one of my favourite books at the moment, Spider's Bite by Jennifer Estep, Book 1 in the Elemental Assassin series. Gin kicks some major ass in this :)

Title: Spider's Bite
Author: Jennifer Estep
Publisher: Pocket Books
Release Date: 15th April 2010 (UK) | 26th January 2010 (US)
Series: Elemental Assassin, Book 1
Source: My personal copy

Blurb from Goodreads:
My name is Gin, and I kill people.
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.

Review:

First Line: '"My name is Gin, and I kill people." Normally my confession would have elicited gasps of surprise. Pale faces. Nervous sweat. Stifled screams. An overturned chair or two as people scrambled to get away before I buried a knife in their heart- or back. A sucking wound was a sucking wound. I wasn't picky about where I caused it.'
And that ladies and gentlemen, is Gin Blanco in all her glory. Can you see why I love her already?! The opening chapter just gets better, you know a couple of assassinations and lots more wit...what more could a girl ask for. Gin Blanco is an assassin...and not just any assassin. She's the Spider. The best and highest paid assassin in the South. Gin really is just that good. I mean she has been training to kill since she was 13, ever since the brutal murder of her family at the hands of a fire elemental. Gin was tortured that night...her once precious Silverstone rune was taped between her hands and super-heated by the fire elemental...causing the metal to melt into her skin permanently. That rune? Well it was a Spider...the symbol for patience...and a rune Gin has lived her life by ever since.
Anyway, Gin accepts a contract under her assassin moniker The Spider... to assassinate Chief financial officer at Halo Industries but things don't go exactly as planned. Once in position for the kill, Gin is ambushed by a fellow assassin. She'd been double crossed by the client and is now in the fight for her life. The Spider had been set up to take the fall for the assassination...only she wasn't supposed to live to defend herself. To escape, Gin throws herself off a balcony into the river below...but not before a heated (in more ways than one) confrontation with Ashland's golden boy, Detective Donovan Caine.
Dripping wet and injured from her unplanned swim, Gin returns home to find Fletcher Lane, her mentor and handler, dead on the floor of his restaurant. Fletcher had been ruthlessly tortured by an Air Elemental for information on The Spiders whereabouts, and then murdered. Gin's heart is shattered. She loved the old man like a father...and now she's out for revenge...God help you if you stand in her way.

'As I crouched there over Fletcher's bloody body, a faint scuffle sounded. A slight, scraping noise that intruded upon my grief. More than enough to snap my cold, calm control back into place. A shadow fell over the pools of Fletcher's drying blood, turning the crimson puddles an inky black.
Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy.
My fingers tightened around the knife in my hand. I turned and whirled it an the man behind me. The metal flashed through the air and sank into his right arm. He howled in pain and lunged at me, slashing with a switch-blade. I sidestepped his clumsy, awkward blow. Using his own momentum, I shoved the man forward. He crashed into the counter and fell to the floor. I leaped on him and knocked the blade out of his hand.'

Our heroine is Gin Blanco aka the Spider. She isn't your typical heroine, she's an assassin. She kills people for money and isn't ashamed of what she does. Don't get me wrong, Gin isn't completely cold-hearted. No kids, no pets and no innocents but whatever you do, don't confuse these rules with weakness. Gin doesn't harm the defenceless because of her past. Her family's murder, her torture...they still plague her nightmares. But if you come at her, or anyone she loves...you better make sure you can kill Gin...because the Spider will come at you full force, there will be no mercy. She will listen to you plead for your life and not bat an eyelid...then cut your throat. Believe me, this woman is as far from defenceless as you can get.

Gin is a double threat, she not only has wicked cool knife skills, but she can command two of the elements. Ice and Stone. She's the rarest of the rare, an elemental with command over two elements. Admittedly her stone power is much greater than her ice magic but she can still bring down a building if she has to, or turn her skin as hard as marble. It's these skill she'll need to take out the Air elemental who murdered Fletcher...but will it be enough?

I found it very interesting that Gin did not rely on her elemental magic to kill her targets...but I can't help but wonder why because it wasn't 100% clear to me. I kind of got the vibe that Gin didn't like using her magic...a connection to her past maybe? Or just because she likes the challenge of killing with her knives, keeping her skills honed...I don't know, and that bugs me.

Gin has a romantic interest of sorts in Spider's Bite, but it's not a romance novel...not even close. Gin's interest in Detective Donovan Caine is almost a mixture of lust and curiosity. I for one, dislike Caine's character. Sure he's just about the only cop in Ashland who isn't on the take, but still, he's so up himself that it's annoying. His superiority and quick judgement of Gin threw me right off. Gin's more than an assassin, but Caine can't see past it...he's still happy to sleep with her though! It works well in a weird way, but still doesn't mean I like Donovan Cain's character...he seems to throw his morals right out the window whenever it suits him, but still acts superior to Gin *sigh* and just assumes she's the devil incarnate. Sure there was the small issue of Gin killing his partner but the man raped a child, and for that Gin killed him Pro-bono. See, not the Devil incarnate...just a regular, knife happy assassin, who hates cruelty to the innocent.

All in all, I really enjoyed Spider's Bite. It's certainly a series with a lot of potential, and to be honest...Gin scares the crap out of me, but I love her and I will be adding this series to my 'must buy' list :) A great addition to the Urban Fantasy genre.

My Rating: 4/5