Black Widow (Elemental Assassin Series Book 12)

Well, that was intense. Of course none of the books in this series are a calm walk in the park, but Black Widow took things up a notch. I never thought that I would hate a character more than Mab Monroe, but her daughter turned out to be a whole new level of ‘witch.’Instead of going for the obvious kill like all the other crime bosses in Ashland, M.M. Monroe decided to go the ‘legal’ route. Or as legal as things got in their fair city. She didn’t go about it slowly either. One by one, everyone that Gin loved and cared about was targeted. They never saw it coming. The one thing that Ms. Monroe didn’t take into consideration was the level of payback that Gin would send her way for messing with her family.The battle got super personal and they were pretty much surrounded by danger from the beginning to the end. The tactics were clever but once Gin knew the game plan, she took her time and worked as smartly as her opponent. As usual, she didn’t do it alone though. Her friends and family were behind and beside her all the way, which is one of the many things I love about the Elemental Assassin series.Gin seems to pick up more family as she goes, which is keeping things interesting. So are the twists and turns in Black Widow that could have changed everything and still might. Gin’s status in Ashland also took a new turn and I can’t wait to see what happens in the next book, Spider’s Trap. 13 books in and I’m not even close to being tired of Gin and company.

This is the twelfth installment in the ever popular Elemental Assassins series by Jennifer Estep; and in my opinion, these books just seem to grow in depth and character. The emotional intensity pairs with superb character development to land a one-two punch to the senses, leaving you wide open to the following explosive events that drop like nuclear bombs...one...two...BOOM.Gin is slowly recuperating and getting used to a particularly unsettling peace after offing Southtown's repulsive drug pin mastermind Beauregard Benson. But peace of mind is hard to keep when an immaculately-attired Madeline Magda Monroe is always lurking with giant bodyguard Emery Slater in tow. She's arrived in town to take over her mother Mab's empire with the help of lawyer Jonah McAllister. Mab Monroe was the evil fire elemental who ruled over the crime lords of Ashland, killing legions--including Gin's family and her mentor Fletcher Lane.Until Gin killed her.But Madeline Magda Monroe has an appreciably larger agenda in place. It seems that her devious plan is much more subtle and made to play across a considerably grander stage than any other challenger Gin's met so far. You see, Madeline has discovered that the one key to taking out the Spider, aka Gin Blanco, lies in first systematically destroying or handicapping everyone she loves. And then, when Gin's alone without help, to just keep coming until she goes down... that one last time.But that's where Gin has always been underestimated... to everyone's peril. Villains think she's gone, she's quit, she's defeated. But it's when the odds are against her that our girl shines. Who else but someone with nothing to lose will continue to fight? If you don't care if you make it out alive but you DO care that your opponent doesn't, then you've already got the upper hand.As Gin watches from the sidelines, Madeline ingratiates herself with both the upper-crust Northtown snobs and the low-life Ashland crime lords by spreading her inherited ill-gotten gains across the cities in charitable endeavors far and wide. A library here, a park there, all in the illustrious name of Monroe--ostensibly for her mother, but not really. Feeding Madeline's own ego is the name of the game--all under the guise of honoring dear dead mom. Gin attends each and every event, a little thorn in M.M.'s side.One sunny October day at noon, Gin and stepbrother Finnegan Lane attend the opening of the Monroe Memorial Park in Northtown, a very familiar battleground for Gin. Normally Madeline ignores her at these events; however, strangely, this day she approaches Gin. After exchanging their usual barbs, Madeline turns to leave, remarking that she needs to prepare for the library event at 3 o'clock. Gin responds that she'll see her there to which Madeline replies, it isn't likely. Odd? Yes.Uneasiness starts to flare as subsequently throughout the early afternoon bad things begin to happen for Gin's friends. It starts out with a liquor distributor giving Roslyn a hard time at her bar, Northern Aggression, when Gin and Finn stop by for a drink after the park ribbon-cutting. They return to The Pork Pitt, and as Gin starts serving up lunch with Sophia and Catalina, events begin to multiply along with the customers. Which include Madeline and her bodyguard Emery, who apparently stopped by for lunch and a show.A sure-thing business deal for boyfriend Owen Grayson gets lost, stepbrother Finn gets served for mismanagement of funds, and Owen's sister Eva Grayson gets suspended from the local community college--all within about thirty minutes. In the beginning Finn had told Gin she was just being paranoid--but they're all paranoid now. When Captain Lou Dobson shows up at The Pork Pitt shortly after, it's time for Madeline's showstopper--and for the sigma to hit the fan. Captain Dobson is there to arrest Gin for murder; a conundrum for sure. She's murdered lots of people in Ashland--who's he there about?We all know that there's no way that Gin Blanco would survive the Ashland jail--not with all the cops on the take, and her with a bounty on her head. Talk about a sitting duck. And with the way Captain Dobson keeps glancing at Madeline Magda Monroe like a puppet on a chain, it's doubtful Gin would even make it to the police station.This is a situation that calls for a freezer full of frozen peas.Jennifer Estep is an award-winning journalist and it shows in the consistent excellence of her writing. The story flows beautifully and the characterization and world-building are beyond flawless. This world becomes an intimate character as you cozy up to these people and make them your own. At times with this book I had to walk away.... in a very complimentary way, this was not a comfortable read for me. I am so familiar with the characters and feel like I've lived through so much with them that what hurts them... hurts me. What sets Estep's work above all other urban fantasy and romantic suspense for me is the voice of Gin. Gin is funny. Gin is very self-deprecating, kind and honest. She has integrity. Gin is educated--mostly self-educated. Gin has taken untenable situations and worked through them with help and sometimes alone. She's not a super hero. She gets lucky. But she sticks. She keeps going. And she deeply cares about those around her. And I keep on reading these books because I care about HER. And through her, those around her.See if you can resist her.Originally posted on itsabouttheblog.com: http://itsaboutthebook.com/2014/11/25/black-widow-elemental-assassin-12/

This is probably the best book of the series and you have to wait clear until Elemental Assassin 12 to get it.Reasons Why This One is Better:➜ Finally the villain has a more complicated plan to kill Gin than the ever popular hulk smash or I will rape and kill you because I’m a big badass. She actually has a very well thought out and complicated plan that she spent a lot of time on and even when Gin thinks she is out of the woods she finds out that maybe….just maybe she underestimated her opponent again.➜ The incessant recaps and repetitions are done. Usually I have to eye skim through several sections in the book because Estep does a recap of something that happened a few books ago, or five chapters ago. Finally she avoided this and so I felt more engaged with the story.➜ Gin was way more likable overall. Normally I struggle with her characters since she seems to steamroll even over her friends to do what she thinks is best. But her she gets to be protective of her friends and family but…she also finally uses them to the best of their capabilities to go after the infamous triple M.➜ I finally didn’t figure out the entire story by chapter 8 and then have to just wait for it to play out. This time there was more than one surprise. I wasn’t sure what the next attack was going to be and how Gin was going to get out of it. It was much more intense and I enjoyed the journey to the very end.➜ Threat of rape wasn’t the driving force for the plot. I really have hated how this series has leaned on that so hard to try and drive the suspense or danger factor of a situation. It is good to finally move past that into something that seemed more real and less contrived.Hopefully this bodes well for Estep and the series. But still shouldn’t we be wrapping this up sometime soon. I mean it is book 12 and there doesn’t seem to be any ending in site. I like these books but at some point Gin should get a semi-HEA and the door to a series should come to an end….right?But let’s at least hope with the events of this series that Gin is going to stay a little more interesting since she seems to have gained an even bigger and better role in Ashland now.

I liked this as it bought the Monroe saga to an end, or certainly for the foreseeable future but more so as Gin no longer operates on her own. She has a stellar supporting cast who add so much to the story. The next book should be interesting as things will change for Gin and it will be interesting to see how she handles it.

This is one of my favourites in the entire series, I've read it twice now and it's still fantastic! I love how the Snow Monroe family feud makes a U turn and comes right back towards Gin and her friends, and Madeline Monroe is one of the best bad guys yet! She may not be as up-front as her mother Mab had been, but she's so crafty and sneaky and I love the image Jennifer Estep puts in my head as to what Madeline looks like. I loved the suspense that I felt held strong all the way through, and then the ending! Luck really is a capricious B* as Gin describes.

What can you say, this series keeps getting better and better. The spider and her companions, have their work cut out for them in this book when it's the villain M M Monroe who starts catching Gin and everyone she cares about in her web masterfully turning the tables on the spider who will need more than skill to survive.

i like this book. it's a nice addition to the series,with gin blanco and friends working together to defeat their enemy. i look forward to the next book with eager anticipation! it's a good story from a good author,read it!

excellent author I have yet to find a 'bad' book by this writer