My love for Gin is well enough known that you'll forgive me that it took me this long to get around to reading the fourth book in the Elemental Assassin series. I was eager to see how things would turn out between Gin/Bria, Gin/Owen and Gin/new Assassin Chick. For different reasons.

Gin/Bria because its the first time we're given a better understanding about Gin's family. Finn and Fletcher aside, Bria is Gin's blood and she's apparently hunting Mab in her own (entirely too legal) way. Its interesting to note how polar opposite the two are, yet so very alike. After a revelation in the ending about the night Mab played Murderess, its also kind of illuminating.

Gin/Owen because I love them together, I love Owen and after his 'I was a vulnerable wittle boy you helped save' story from the last book (VENOM) I want to just hug him. He hits just the right stride with Gin. He's let's her do her thing, voices his concerns, offers his support and doesn't make her feel crowded.

Gin/New Assassin chick, aka Elecktra LaFleur, was AWESOME. Elecktra was a crazy sociopath, but oh so much fun when the two met. The book focused heavily on Elecktra trying some trick, Gin being like 'Pfft I see through this!' (though not always quickly) and then Elecktra throwing a murder filled tantrum. Elecktra was...well it was obvious why Mab hired her. The two had very similar mentalities though Mab is better at putting on a public face then LaFleur.

The one thing I've enjoyed is the slow unveiling of Gin's powers over the course of the novels. Estep didn't just toss all of Gin's cool abilities into one book and then recycle and reuse; instead we see different facets of her stone and ice abilities.

I do wonder about Fletcher. From dropping the file about Gin's sister Bria being alive to the latest interesting history bit he seems to be more then what is presented. With the next book being the 'showdown' between Mab and Gin (insofar as the synopsis suggests) I wonder how much we'll learn about him. He kept his secrets pretty tight, which is always fun to uncover as a reader. ( )

I am really enjoying the audio books of this series! ( )

I love this series. ( )

Tangled Threads by Jennifer Estep
4th book in the Elemental Assassin series. Urban fantasy. Best read as part of the series.

Gin is the target of a new assassin in town. She must juggle the threat while protecting Bria, Finn, Owen and the rest of her collected family. Mab Monroe still wants the Spider dead.

Fight of good over evil? Giants, desperation, beatings, freedom and killings. It’s a complex world where Gin fights good, while being kinda bad.
I mostly listened to the audio version. I got lost a couple of times because of the dream sequences which in the print version are shown in italics. The repetition of background info is a bit tedious.
Overall a good continuation of the fantasy series. ( )

This book was quite interesting, Gin also known as the assassin the Spider has declared war on the most notorious person in Ashland. The Fire Elemental Mab Monroe, the women who had done such tragic things to her family in the past. This story starts off a little bit maybe a few weeks already passed, and Gin and Finn her Foster brother, are staking out another one of Mab's henchmen, only to find out that there is a new player in town. One who is an assassin just like Gin who goes by the name Lafluer. So during this book, there's more action, more killing, more of Gin getting the ever loving crap beaten out of her. But also there's more puzzles being solved, and love and familial bonds being set in stone even more or blossoming. This series is quite shaping up to be a must read for me. ( )