This installment of the Elemental Assassin series continues along the same vein of people coming out of the woodwork to kill Gin since her defeat of Mab Monroe. It's hard to believe that happened less than a year ago! This time Gin finds herself smack int he middle of a drug kingpin's operation when one of her employees is targeted by a dealer.

Beauregard Benson was an interesting and different villain. I was not expecting for a the drug king of Southtown to be a lanky nerd complete with pocket protector. Though I think that served to make him and his science experiments even more frightening. Ick.

Bria has been after Beau Benson for quite some time, and her quest begins to make her reckless and hurt her relationship with those around her. I lost some respect for Bria in this book. She treated Gin poorly, which was undeserved. It's apparent that Gin's outwardly calm demeanor makes people forget she has feelings - whether she lets them show or not. But Bria does redeem herself for the most part by the end... I just hope she continues to remember what Gin has sacrificed for those she loves.

We finally learn the identity of the mysterious M.M. Monroe in this book, which is setting up a story arc for the next couple of installments I believe, and they should be a doozy. Old enemies are going to come back to haunt Gin through their offspring, even pairing up with that wish-he-were-dead lawyer, Jonah McAllister.

The secondary characters continue to be great, and almost all of them play a part in Poison Promise. We also have a new character come into play who has lots of promise - I think he will be around and playing a big part in the rest of the series. (Not revealing identity so it doesn't spoil anything.)

Overall, this was a good continuation of the series and a reminder of why I love it so much. 4 stars / 2 flames. ( )

Estep's Elemental Assassin series seems to just keep getting better and better with each book that I read. I haven't read all of the books before this one, but I was able to jump right into this one and get caught up in all the action. Estep does a great job at capturing the reader's attention from the very beginning and never letting go. Gin goes through a lot in this book, and the threat causes some tension between Gin and her sister. However this book also shows the strong bond the sisters share as well as just how strong Gin really is when threatened with something she never faced before. Poison Promise has it all action, drama, some romance, and even some humor (just love that Finn) so if you are looking for a great read Poison Promise is that. I would definitely recommend this book, and I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series,

Received a copy of Poison Promise through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. ( )

Well, this is the 11th book in the series, and it shows. Gin is slowing down, and not quite so bad-ass. I really enjoyed this series in the beginning and couldn’t wait for the next ones to come out, however the last few books seem to be the exact same thing. Now Gin may be in line to be the next underworld leader of the city. Does that make her good or bad? This book was better than the last few books though, and brought a new player to the table, with new powers, which made things a little more interesting and gave us quite a bit more action. Beauregard Benson is a vampire and is distributing a new drug called “Burn” to the city of Ashland.

Burn has an immediate reaction and leaves the user hooked after one use. Benson also has a unique power that Gin has never seen before. But either way he’s been testing this new drug on the residents of Ashland and, as usual, it’s up to Gin to stop him before it’s too late. If he wins this battle, he would become a contender for the role of underworld leader, if not the leader outright, which is exactly what he wants. But Gin refuses to let that happen. I’m tired of the continued use of words like “baby sister” or “po po”. She continues to call Bria her baby sister, even though we all know who Bria is. (and she’s a character I don’t like very much, way too goody goody and whiny) Gin also refers to her several times as “my sister, Detective Bria Coolidge” as if we don’t know who she is. She continuously refers to herself as the ‘badass spider’ and explains over and over again, that she has to fight off people who want to kill her each and every day, especially when she takes the trash out at her “gin joint” (which also gets tiresome). It became so repetitive. Just another day in the life of Gin I guess. I like Owen, (the love interest) but there is nothing very exciting about him. There doesn’t seem to be any spark between them. He trusts that Gin can take care of herself, and she probably can, but I’d like to see him get involved a little more, and show a little more spark. I like Finn much better, and he should have been the leading man even though he and Gin are foster siblings. His quick wit, snark and total obliviousness to the eye rolling he gets is too funny, (although he was less so in this book) but he’s hooked up with Bria, so there is probably no chance of that ever happening. I want to continue reading this series, but I think some things need to be shaken up a bit. It looks like an old nemeses is in town, or a relation of her, as well as a few others she’s had to deal with in the past. I’m not sure if this will shake things up, or be a repeat of her dealings with Mab Monroe. I’m still deciding if I want to find out. ( )

Originally posted at The Bookaholic Cat

Poison Promise is the eleventh book in the Elemental Assassin series by Jennifer Estep.

Gin Blanco is tired of people trying to kill her, but that’s her life. Being the famous assassin “The Spider” has its drawbacks and that is one of them. Gin’s sister, detective Bria has her sights on Beauregard “Beau” Benson, drug lord and king of Southland who is pushing a new drug called Burn. But Bria’s obsession with Beau is putting not only her life in danger but that of those around her.
Gin has retired from her “profession”, but when the people she cares about are threatened she has to stepped up and do what she does best, take her Silverstone knives out to play. The only problem is that Beau is not her usual enemy; he’s a sadistic vampire with a special magic that lets him feed from other people’s emotions.
The good thing is that Gin is not alone, she has a group of friends willing to help her every step of the way.

I have to be honest, I’ve been going through a kind of reading slump and I’m not enjoying much the books I’ve been reading. Even though I knew and felt this book was better than previous couple of books in the series, I just couldn’t get into it as much as I wanted. I’m blaming it on me, not on the book. I think it was one of those “it’s me, not you” cases.

Saying that, I can say I liked Gin in this book, I liked that we see her tough side and her insecure side. That’s what makes her a remarkable heroine. She is not perfect, she’s not omnipotent, she has insecurities, and knows she has limitations. Still, she does what needs to be done to protect those she cares about.
In this installment she’s tired of hiding and comes out in the open. She knows that now that she has publicly proclaimed to be The Spider things will be more interesting for her and consequently for those around her.

One good thing about Poison Promise was that I felt love for Owen again. What he did in previous books is now in the past and he’s back to be the perfect man for Gin.

Finn is the perfect sidekick. He can kick ass when necessary and at the same time he brings the comedy relief to balance the story. He loves Gin and has always been there for her. I really couldn’t like him more.

Now we have come to Bria, OMFG! Bria! I wanted to slap her more than once. What happened to her? She used to be a pain in the neck for Gin then she accepted her for what she was (an assassin and her sister) and now, in this installment she is back being a prick! She said many hurtful things and was very judgmental about Gin’s life. She not only hurt Gin deeply, she also put her life in danger.
Later on she regretted her actions, but I can’t helped but think that deep down Bria still feels and thinks that way about Gin, if not, she wouldn’t have said those hurtful things.

In Poison Promise we see everything we expect from the books in this series, non-stop action, violent confrontations, creepy villains, Gin getting her ass kicked and kicking ass.
In this installment we finally meet M.M. Monroe and even though I guessed who she was, I can’t help but feel that what is to come for Gin are things we have seen before (first books). I really hope I’m mistaken and the new villains won’t be new versions of Mab Monroe and her cronies, because that would be very disappointing.

Poison Promise is a great addition to a great series. I recommend reading these books in order to get the full effect of the Elemental Assassin series.

I’m looking forward to next book in the series, Black Widow, to be released on November 25th. ( )

Listened for Fun (Audible)
Overall Rating: 4.00
Story Rating: 4.50
Character Rating: 3.50

Audio Rating: 5.00 (not part of the overall rating)

First Thought when Finished: Loved the story in Poison Promise by Jennifer Estep but Bria needs to get over it already! Either accept your sister or move on.

Story Thoughts:There was a whole lot of kicking ass in Poison Promise and I liked it. Drug King needed taking down: Gin's got it taking care of. New characters in the fold that could go either way: Gin's got that too. A whole lot of twists, turns, and snark: Gin can handle it. It was just another great adventure for Gin and crew!

Character Thoughts: Let me be specific: every character was downright awesome except Bria. Seriously, I know it sucks that you are a cop and your sister is an assassin. Also, it sucks that she knows it is better for her to do things her way than you. JUST SUCK IT UP ALREADY. Can you tell she annoyed me a bit (or a lot) in Poison Promise? :)

Audio Thoughts:

Narrated By Lauren Fortgang / Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins

If you haven't listened to Lauren narrate this series, you are seriously missing out.

Final Thoughts: Ready for the next adventure because I think I have a new side boyfriend. Finn is still my main man! ( )