Heart of Venom (Volume 9)

I LOVE THESE BOOKS EXCEPT FOR ONE RHING WHICH IS WHY I NOW REALIZE I STOPPED READING THEM WAG BACK IN 2013? 2014? Gin NEVER GROWS. She ALWAYS WANTS TO HANDLE THINGS HERSELF TO “SAVE” the ones she loves. A HEROINE NEEDS TO GROW and understand that she needs people to help her. She needs to understand that she doesn’t need to almost die every time bc she doesn’t utilize the people around her. I LOVE GIN and this is so hard to write, but I love several authors, to death, and I love their writing. The way Gin thinks, “mmmm” when she has a sexy thought. I make the same sound in my head when I have sexy thoughts. BUT, life may be complicated. I understand and maybe she gets back with Owen in the future but WHAT GUY WHO AT FIRST SEEMS TO ACCEPT EVERYTHING ABOUT HER THEN DISSES HER BC SHE WANTS TO PROTECT HIS SISTER? That isn’t even imaginable in a world where he loves her. THE ONE THING HE MIGHT LOVE AS MUCH AS HER IS HIS OWN SISTER BUT HE HAS TO “THINK” about if he loves the person who saves his sister time and time again? Things may happen, but Gin deserves so much better, and that ANGST shouldn’t keep repeating itself for her. AT LEAST LET ONE THING BE GOOD FOR HER. This is a great series, and it is why I gave it a good 4 star review. MAYBE, I will read more books and all of this is solved. BUT INSTEAD OF her having more and more problems in the “can’t be very big town of Ashland and maybe a spare vacation or two”, I would rather see her problems ESCALATE AND INCLUDE her sister and everyone else to solve the worlds problems, not save her after the fact and also screw with her love life? I BELIVE IN GIN! Why doesn’t the author believe in her as much as I do??????

There is not much more about the Elemental Assassin series as a whole that I can say. You all know that Jennifer Estep is one of my favorite authors and this series is one of my favorite series. I have went on and on about how much I love Gin, how she never stops amazing me. How she is kick-ass and her friends and allies are just as awesome. The world building grows and grows with each book. I love that the storyline for each book is different and that it is resolved by the end yet connected to every other book. So I will leave this short and simple so that I do not bore you with my fan-girl babble.HEART OF VENOM is tough. We learn about Sophia's past, it is not pretty in the least and if you didn't love her before you will fall in love with her character now and understand her so much better. Her friendship and love for Gin has always shown through and Gin stops at nothing to show Sophia that she means just as much to her. All of our favorite characters are in HEART OF VENOM and none of them disappoint. Fletcher continues to be present through his files of information and secrets. I am always amazed when something else is revealed. Owen just might have retrieved his head from his ass. I know that is harsh but he deserves it. I don't want to spoil anything so lets just say Owen is present and accounted for and trying to redeem himself. Gin is being smart and I am proud of the way she handles everything concerning him.It seems like no matter who is involved or what the situation is that I end up in tears multiple times in each book. Estep knows how to pull you in and wring you dry where emotions are concerned. As always there is plenty of action, character growth and plot advancement to be had. I am excited to read book 10, it should be interesting to see Gin in the beginning as the spider! Wow, this ended up longer than expected. That is all. Go read.

Well, here we are and Gin is at it again. This is a great story in that we, the followers of the series, get to learn much more about some supporting characters who are essential to Gin's life. In this case it is the Deveraux sisters, and most particularly, Sophia. For years we have heard about her raspy voice and her skill at making bodies disappear. In this novel, we get to re-live the hell that made Sophia who and how she is. Estep does this by means of having the person who had tried to kill Sophia, only to see her rescued by Fletcher, has returned to finish the job. He's not really quite up to the task, but he brings his psychopath sister with him and they are both Fire Elementals. Fortunately, Gin is both a Stone and Water Elemental and is up to the task of taking on the challenge put forth by the villainous siblings. They do manage to kidnap Sophia again, but not to worry, Gin is on the case.This story also helps us get to know other characters who have mostly remained in the background, specifically Phillip and Owen. I'm not going into great detail about this book, there are other reviews that you can read for that.What I do want to say is that there are two things about this novel that set it apart from its predecessors in the series: one is that while the novels usually start with someone trying to kill Gin, the fight at the beginning of "Heart of Venom" is the funniest little piece that Estep has written, in my opinion. Second, and this is a warning for those with weak stomachs: without doubt, this is the darkest and goriest of all the novels and shorts in the series thus far. As a result the reader comes to understand Sophia (and love her all the more) and her quirks in the most compassionate of ways. Great read, please read the earlier books or you will miss a lot in this one.