Review: Blade Song by J.C. Daniels

Book: Blade Song by J.C. Daniels
Genre: Urban Fantasy

Buy A Copy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Available Formats: Ebook

Publication Date: August 1st, 2012

Where Did I Get This Book: For Review, From Netgalley
First Sentence: "My sword arm is mighty. I will not falter. I will not fail. My aim is true. My heart is strong."
Description: Kit Colbana—half breed, assassin, thief, jack of all trades—has a new job: track down the missing ward of one of the local alpha shapeshifters. It should be a piece of cake.

So why is she so nervous? It probably has something to do with the insanity that happens when you deal with shifters—especially sexy ones who come bearing promises of easy jobs and easier money.

Or maybe it’s all the other missing kids that Kit discovers while working the case, or the way her gut keeps screaming she’s gotten in over her head. Or maybe it’s because if she fails—she’s dead.

If she can stay just one step ahead, she should be okay. Maybe she’ll even live long to collect her fee…

So, Blade Song. I honestly don't even know where to begin. I have so many thoughts flying around in my head that I am struggling with putting it into words. But for you, I will do my best. First of all let me say, that  I literally could not put this down. I declined an invitation to go to my favorite Chinese restaurant to finish Blade Song. If that doesn't tell you how awesome it was, then I don't know what will.

It has a lot of elements that Urban Fantasy readers are familiar with; werewolves, witches, vampires and a strong heroine who welds a sword. Sure, it's been done before. I'll bet you can name 10 books right now that contain these elements. But for some reason, this did not bother me. Guys, Blade Song was just that good.

Let's begin with Kit. Kit is our resident badass. She is half-aneira, which is an ancient race of assassins. Kit has had a extremely difficult life and it has made her into beautifully flawed character... which makes her easy to rally behind. You care about her and want to see her succeed. She's a determined little thing that simply refuses to fail. I love that quality in a heroine. But what I really love about our dearest Kit is that she is smart. She is well aware of her shortcomings and thinks before she acts. She knows that she isn't as strong as some of the creatures she goes up against and she keeps her head.

With that being said, I felt like Kit's personality faltered at times; she would sort of go in and out of character. The main occurrence that stood out in my mind is when she was considering a future with Damon. Daniels built Kit up as this woman who needed to be independent. She had been badly damaged in the past and she drew strength from being on her own. That's why it really surprised me when she was fully willing to dive headfirst into a commitment. It just did not seem to fit with her character. I'm not saying that I did not want her to, it just felt off to me.

Speaking of Damon, lord have mercy, do I ever have a fangirl crush on this werecat. I'll be honest, when he was first introduced, I was not a fan. He comes of as, well let's face it, an asshole. He's pushy, demanding and even gets a bit physical with Kit. However, as his story unfolds and things progress, his character does a complete 180. You begin to understand Damon and he becomes much more appealing. 

But, there was one thing that really rubbed me the wrong way. It may seem silly and I certainly didn't hold it against his character, but his pet name for Kit irritated me immensely. Every time called Kit "baby girl" I felt like rolling my eyes. Why on earth did he call her that? Nothing about her is babyish. "Kitten" I get - he's a cat shifter, her name is Kit... I can roll with that. But baby girl? No.

Okay, moving on. The story centers around the job that the werecats have hired Kit to do - find the Alpha's missing nephew. I do not want to divulge too much information regarding the mystery, but I will let you this - it was AWESOME. It's a story full of adventure, magic, mystery and of course.. violence. What is an Urban Fantasy without a little ass-kicking, right? The pacing is perfect - it's not rushed, but it doesn't drag either. All things considered, I adored Blade Song. It's dark, gritty and all out exciting. I has a few minor hiccups with the story, but nothing serious. I will be eagerly anticipating a sequel!

It was a seductive thing, full of promise. Full of warmth and wonder and lies.

I'll be damned if I act like a mouse, you overgrown tomcat.

"I'm part of the package, kitten. Your bodyguard, babysitter and tattle-tale, all rolled into one." Flashing his teeth at me, he added, "Aren't you pleased?"

In the back of my mind, some part of me thought: Pretty... And I immediately wanted to punch myself.

Keeping my voice level, I shook my  head. Mustn't enrage the antisocial monster standing five feet away.

But of course, instead of saying something honest like Yes, bitch, it hurts, Damon just shrugged.

I wasn't human enough to die easily.

I didn't move for probably ten more minutes. I wasn't sure if I could. If I moved, I just might shatter.

"Child, you suffer from an excess of great stupidity or great bravery. I'm not sure which."

"I just sliced and diced a Burmese python while you were busy growling at the universe, fuzz bucket."

 

ARC Review: Spider's Revenge by Jennifer Estep

Book: Spider's Revenge by Jennifer Estep
Series: Elemental Assassin #5 
Previous Books in Series: Spider's Bite (#1), Web of Lies (#2), Venom (#3), Tangled Threads (#4)
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Buy A Copy: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes & Noble Available Formats: Print / Ebook
Publication Date: September 27th, 2011
First Sentence: "Old habits die hard for assasins. And I planned on murdering someone before the night was through."
How Did I Get This Book: For review, from author
Description: Old habits die hard. And I plan on mur­der­ing some­one before the night is through.

Killing used to be my reg­u­lar gig, after all. Gin Blanco, aka the Spi­der, assassin-for-hire. And I was very good at it. Now, I’m ready to make the one hit that truly mat­ters: Mab Mon­roe, the dan­ger­ous Fire ele­men­tal who mur­dered my fam­ily when I was thir­teen.

Oh, I don’t think the mis­sion will be easy, but turns out it’s a bit more prob­lem­atic than expected. The bitch knows I’m com­ing for her. So now I’m up against the army of lethal bounty hunters she hired to track me down. She also put a price on my baby sister’s head. Keep­ing Bria safe is my first pri­or­ity. Tak­ing Mab out is a close sec­ond.

Good thing I’ve got my pow­er­ful Stone and Ice magic — and my irre­sistible lover Owen Grayson — to watch my back. This bat­tle has been years in the mak­ing, and there’s a chance I won’t sur­vive. But if I’m going down, then Mab’s com­ing with me...no mat­ter what I have to do to make that happen.

In Spider’s Revenge readers finally get to see Gin battle it out with the infamous Mab Monroe. We’ve been working up to this since the series began and Estep certainly pulls out all of the stops for this elemental showdown.

While I have enjoyed all of the previous four books, Estep breathes some new life to Gin this time around that is utterly refreshing. In the past, I’ve had a difficult time connecting with the heroine; she’s always intrigued me, but I found her difficult to relate to. She blocks herself off emotionally, and unfortunately that makes it rather difficult to completely understand her.

In Spider’s Revenge, we are still treated to the tough as nails assassin, but we also are exposed to a softer side of Gin. Estep puts a great deal of effort into exploring Gin’s personal relationships and it really fleshes her out.  I was particularly happy to see her relationships with Bria and Owen grow – there are a number of scenes that I might even call heartwarming.  

With Spider’s Revenge, Estep finds to perfect balance between action and emotion - we begin to see Gin really let people in. That’s not to say that Gin loses her edge, because if anything, she puts more on the line than ever.  This time around, she’s not just battling for her own life; she’s battling for her friend’s and family’s.

The only problem I had with Spider’s Revenge is the same problem I’ve had with all the books. There is just too much repetitiveness. Whether we are flashing back to Gin’s past again ( I usually just skip over all the italicized passages), recapping past storylines and information, or Gin is talking about her cold, dead heart again, I must admit it tends to get under my skin.

But honestly, that’s a small price to pay. All in all, Spider’s Revenge is rather amazing – and we finally get some closure. After completing the book, I must say, I find myself extremely curious about where Estep will take things next. A major story arc comes to a close at the end of Spider’s Revenge and I am not sure how things will play out in the future.  Whatever happens, I am always down for another gritty adventure with Gin Blanco.  

Favorite Quotes:

Damn and double damn. And then some.

Finn regarded pesky little things like wedding bands, engagement rings, and jealous, hulking menfolk more as amusing challenges than immovable obstacles that could be hazardous to his health.

Instead, I cut him. Not deep, but there was enough of a sting in the wound to remind him of what I'd done to the dwarven mobsters in the parking lot - and that I wasn't just some chick with a knife who looked good in black.

I couldn't let him walk away. Nobody hurts the people I care about and gets away with it - nobody.

We always met in public places, like the Pork Pit or Northern Aggression, usually with Finn, Xavier, Roslyn, or one of the Deveraux sisters in attendance. Self-imposed chaperones to keep the long, awkward pauses to a minimum.

Moonlight slipped in through the lace curtains, slicing everything with its sliver cracks. That's how I felt right now - cold and cracked and hollow and empty.

In that moment, without a doubt, I knew I loved Owen - loved him with every bent piece and warped shard of my heart, black, brittle and broken though they may be.

Her small wistful gaze hurt worse than a knife ripping into my heart.

For a moment, I clung to him, letting him hold me, letting him be the strong one.

One by one, the others all nodded their heads again, as if we were talking about having a spring picnic instead of going up against the deadliest woman in Ashland and all of her men.

Rage filled me at her words - cold, black, unending rage. Whatever happened to me, Mab would not hurt my sister again. She would not.

You're Gin Blanco, Genevieve Snow and the Spider all rolled into one. You can do whatever you want to, sweetheart. 

Review: Tangled Threads by Jennifer Estep

Book: Tangled Threads by Jennifer Estep
Stand Alone or Series: Elemental Assassin #4
Previous Books in Series: Spider's Bite (1), Web Of Lies (2), Venom (3)
Pages:  384 
Genre: Urban Fantasy

Buy A Copy: Amazon | Book Depository

Available Formats: Paperback & Ebook
Publication Date: April 26th, 2011

Publisher: Pocket

How Did I Get This Book: From Author, For Review

First Line: “Are you going to kill this guy? Or are we just going to sit here all night?"

Description: I’d rather face a dozen lethal assassins any night than deal with something as tricky, convoluted, and fragile as my feelings.

But here I am. Gin Blanco, the semi-retired assassin known as the Spider. Hovering outside sexy businessman Owen Grayson’s front door like a nervous teenage girl. One thing I like about Owen: he doesn’t shy away from my past—or my present. And right now I have a bull’s-eye on my forehead.

Cold-blooded Fire elemental Mab Monroe has hired one of the smartest assassins in the business to trap me. Elektra LaFleur is skilled and efficient, with deadly electrical elemental magic as potent as my own Ice and Stone powers. Which means there’s a fifty-fifty chance one of us won’t survive this battle. I intend to kill LaFleur—or die trying—because Mab wants the assassin to take out my baby sister, Detective Bria Coolidge, too.

The only problem is, Bria has no idea I’m her long-lost sibling . . . or that I’m the murderer she’s been chasing through Ashland for weeks. And what Bria doesn’t know just might get us both dead. . . .

Like the preceding books in this thrilling series, Tangled Threads packs a great deal of punch. Gin is back, guns (or shall we say, knives) blazing and is reeking havoc on Mab Monroe and her followers. Once again, Estep delivers Gin's story in the same dark, gritty tone that we as readers have grown accustomed to.

However, what makes the fourth installment standout is that Gin's emotional ride takes the front seat, when in the past the books have been more focused on her career and skills as an assassin. We are finally able to see her develop stable relationships with those around her, namely Owen. Can I just take this moment to say, Donovan Caine, who? The storyline with Gin's long lost baby sister also finally see's some development. I don't want to say what exactly happens, but just know that there is a great deal of progression in the sisters' storyline.

Finn, Gin's foster brother is also back as her trusty partner-in-crime. I have to be honest, the relationship between these two is my favorite of the series. They bicker and banter, but at the end of the day they really do love each other. Plus, I won't lie, I kind of love Finnegan Lane.

By shaping these relationships for Gin, Estep continues to do the seemingly impossible task of creating an assassin with a heart. Honestly, that is one of the highlights of this series; Gin is such a contradiction - she is overwhelmingly tough, yet she is a pushover at the same time. Once again, in Tangled Threads, Gin's heart gets her into some sticky situations. But that's what is so appealing about her - it makes her a character you want to champion, even though she making a living killing people.

The villain in the story, Elektra, is easily my favorite of the series. She is the assassin that Mab hires to take Gin (well, the Spider) out. Elektra is the kind of villain we all love to hate - she is extremely confident and completely evil. She, like Gin, is an elemental - she has power over electricity. This nice lady loves to fry people. Obviously, she is easy to hate, but she is also a fun character to read about. I much prefer her to the Tobias Dawson and Elliot Slater.

The only complaint I have about Tangled Threads is the same complaint I had for Web of Lies  and Venom. There is just simply too text that deals with repeating prior storylines. I get what Estep is trying to do, she wants to make sure readers remember all of the key points so that there isn't any confusion moving forward. However, I literally skipped pages worth of writing, because the recaps are insanely in depth.

 Favorite Quotes

"But I'd much rather face a dozen assassins like LaFleur any night than deal with something as tricky, convoluted, and fragile as my feelings."

"This is the first time I've dated an assassin. I don't want to piss her off."

"Killing people was far easier than making polite chitchat."

"The romantic reunion and thank-you-for-saving-my-life sex would have to wait until later."

"are you coming along peaceful-like, or am I going to have to hog-tie you and put you in the car?"

"All I'm saying is that I understand if the novelty's worn off and you want to get off the carousel ride now before it kills you."