Review--Spider's Bite by Jennifer Estep (Book 4 in Reading Challenge)

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.

So I finished Spider's Bite earlier this morning and honestly, I was a little disappointed with the book. I was hearing good things about it and about the upcoming release of book 3 in the series and thought I would give it a try. But honestly the book just wasn't for me.

The premise was good. I mean an assassin! How awesome! I thought it was great that she was a kick-butt assassin and was good at her job. Gin was a great character, she had an edge to her. She was able to detach herself from a job and kill the bad guy. She did have her priorities though, no kids, no pets. Nothing completely inhumane. So she was a great heroine, I loved her!

Donovan Caine, he was a little annoying, but I get why. He wasn't totally a fan of Gin, especially since she's an assassin and he's a cop. He doesn't want to be attracted to her. He doesn't want to help her or receive her help. But things change and all those things happen. He fights it all the way though. Mostly because Gin killed his partner awhile back.

The mystery element was even good. Her handler was murdered after an assassination attempt went haywire and she was double-crossed by someone. Likely the person who hired her. Now she has to protect her friend, the son of her handler and recruit the help of Donovan and find the killer and make them pay. She wants the killer dead and the killer will be dead.

Along the way Gin and Donovan play a game of I like you-I hate you-I want you-I hate you. That whole thing. Donovan wants Gin, it's clear, but he doesn't want to want her. So there's a lot of romantic tension and a few other scenes that spark more romance between the two.

All in all a good, decent story. So why did I not like it? Well, it kind of dragged in some places to begin with. The book is nearly 400 pages, not a problem really, but it takes past the 100 page mark for the action to really get started. It's around then that Gin gets into trouble and discovers her handler dead. And then it just took to long to get from point a to point b. There was a lot of buildup to certain points and then it took awhile to get through that point and move on to the next buildup.

A few other things that nagged at me was the almost constant use of Donovan Caine's name. It wouldn't be just his first name. It would be his whole name. Almost repetitively. I would see Donovan Caine at least twice on one page, if not more. Sometimes it would be just Donovan or just Caine. But it was mostly Donovan Caine, Donovon Caine. It bugged me. I know his last name and yet it keeps getting repeated. It was repeated with another character too. Pretty much the only characters we got just with first names was Gin and occasionally her friend Finn. Sometimes his was the full name though.

Another thing that bugged me was Gin constantly thinking "Mmm" whenever she saw Donovan. It wasn't all that bad. It just happened. A lot. Wayyy too much for my liking. I get that she's attracted to Donovan. But it was like every so often Gin just had sex on the brain. I know people look at the opposite sex and will find the qualities they like and admire them. But couldn't Gin think of something other than "Mmm" to say? I mean every time she saw something she liked it was "Mmm". It would happen in every chapter almost. Right around when Donovan started to help her with the case. Just "Mmm"! Agh.

Other than those little nagging things, the book wasn't all that bad. The pacing was a little too slow for my liking. But the ending was good. Leaves you hanging with an "oh my!" kind of thing. But honestly I don't think I'll be reading the next book or any other in the series. This book just wasn't for me. And I know a lot of other readers I talk to loved this, it just wasn't for me. So sadly, I have to give the book 2/5 stars.

This was my fourth book in the September Spectacular Reading Challenge, still ahead of the game! Went to Borders again today looking for Blameless and STILL had no luck. It's pretty depressing. They said "maybe" next Tuesday. Oh well.