Sharpest Sting
Author: Jennifer Estep
Reviewer: Jen
Rating: B-
What I’m Talking About:
Note: this is the 18th book in an urban fantasy series; my review will contain spoilers from previous titles.
Picking up her adventures shortly after the conclusion of Winter’s Web, Gin needs to deal with the huge revelation that her uncle Mason is the head of the nefarious Circle. When they aren’t working to combat/manage the crime scene in Ashland, Bria and Gin are helping Mallory prepare for her wedding to Stuart Mosley.
Sharpest Sting provides readers with a LOT of new information about the Circle and Gin’s father, Tristian. Some of the revelations are shocking while others disturbing. Gin takes it all in, getting better at leaning on her friends for emotional support. Even on the dangerous missions, she’s learned she doesn’t have to go it alone, which I appreciate. While I had trouble digesting a few of the revelations, by the end of the book, it all felt right; a sign of good storytelling. I appreciate the forward momentum of this plotline after Gin was seemingly stuck without much new information for a while. With the revelations, some dramatic shifts in the players, and the action in this book, I feel like Gin is closing in on the Circle and the end is in sight.
I loved seeing Stuart and Mallory get their own little HEA. Both have been excellent supporting players in recent books, and they deserved a plotline of their own. The wedding also provides a fun way to bring back some of the characters we haven’t really seen in a while, and it helps showcase a couple romances that are potentially in the making.
Okay, here is my thing. I love Gin. I love her world. But at book 18, I know the mundane about Gin and her friends. The books have become repetitive and predictable, repeating facts and phrases from book to book, most notably for the first half or more of the story, making me frustrated and bored. I also continue to be frustrated with Gin’s uncanny and convenient ability to dream “memories” that provide key details for unraveling the case or catching the bad guy.
In the end, Sharpest Sting is an entertaining adventure filled with some shocking twists for Gin and her gang. Even though the books frustrate me at times, I still love the overall story.
My Rating: B- Liked It, but I had a few small issues
Jen
About the Book:
The truth won’t set me free—but it will probably get me killed…
As Gin Blanco, aka the assassin the Spider, I’m used to having a target on my back. But ever since I started investigating the secret society known as the Circle, that target seems bigger than ever.
Still, I’m trying to relax and enjoy the events leading up to my friends’ wedding when I learn that an old enemy has returned to Ashland. And that’s the just beginning of my latest nightmare. Soon, I have Circle goons watching my every move, but I have no choice but to continue searching for a key piece of evidence against the evil group.
The deeper I dig, the more horrifying secrets I uncover, and the more dangerous things become for me and my friends. Just when I think I finally have a handle on things, a shocking revelation shatters my heart and leaves me with an ugly realization—that betrayal is the sharpest sting of all.
Release Date: October 8, 2019
Publisher: Self-Published
Series: Elemental Assassin #18
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Format(s): paperback (364 pages), e-book
Book Source: Author
Purchase Info:
Amazon
Reviews in the Series:
Spider’s Bite by Jennifer Estep (Elemental Assassin #1) – Audiobook Review
Web of Lies by Jennifer Estep (Elemental Assassin #2) – Audiobook Review
Venom by Jennifer Estep (Elemental Assassin #3) – Audiobook Review
Tangled Threads by Jennifer Estep (Elemental Assassin #4) – Audiobook Review
Spider’s Revenge by Jennifer Estep (Elemental Assassin #5)
Thread of Death by Jennifer Estep (Elemental Assassin #5.5)
By a Thread by Jennifer Estep (Elemental Assassin #6)
Widow’s Web by Jennifer Estep (Elemental Assassin #7)
Deadly Sting by Jennifer Estep (Elemental Assassin #8)
Kiss of Venom by Jennifer Estep (Elemental Assassin #8.5)
Heart of Venom by Jennifer Estep (Elemental Assassin #9)
The Spider by Jennifer Estep (Elemental Assassin #10)
Poison Promise by Jennifer Estep (Elemental Assassin #11)
Black Widow by Jennifer Estep (Elemental Assassin #12)
Spider’s Trap by Jennifer Estep (Elemental Assassin #13)
Bitter Bite by Jennifer Estep (Elemental Assassin #14)
Unwanted by Jennifer Estep (Elemental Assassin #14.5)
Unraveled by Jennifer Estep (Elemental Assassin #15)
Nice Guys Bite by Jennifer Estep (Elemental Assassin #15.5)
Snared by Jennifer Estep (Elemental Assassin #16)
Venom in the Veins by Jennifer Estep (Elemental Assassin #17)
“Winter’s Web” by Jennifer Estep (The Season of Sorcery Anthology) (Elemental Assassin #17.5)