When I started this book, I wasn't sure if I was going to like it. I was afraid that the villains were gonna be too similar to past evildoers, and I would have one of those "been there done that" feelings. Well I will just go right ahead and insert my foot into my mouth now. Because I really liked this book. How much? Enough to sacrifice sleep and getting to work on time.

You see, because I was procrastinating with that "not gonna like it" attitude, I didn't start reading this until I got into bed around 10:30 or 11pm. Needless to say that when the book started hitting it's stride, it was 1am. My friend Deanna, who lives in the future (15 hours ahead) is messaging me on Facebook telling me to go to bed. And I am all "just one more chapter!" Well, I "one more chaptered" it all the way to the end around 4:30am. Just in time for a nice 2 hour nap before dragging my butt up for the workday. Priorities, I have em.

I am still trying to figure out what to say about the book other than "der, I liked it. I liked it a lot." I don't want to give you any spoilers, so I'm having a hard time putting anything else about the story into words. Let's see. People go to jail. People die. Other people don't die. There is some life-affirming nookie. Gin scrapes by with barely the skin on her teeth. The main villain has acid magic, and it's particularly nasty. Jonah McAllister continues to be a cockroach. And there is a new queen of the underworld. This may have been the most intelligent review I've written (snicker). But what do you expect? I've had less than 2 hours of sleep.

So if you were reluctantly trudging forth like me whining that you wanted brand spanking new villians, not ones tied to the past, well go ahead and keep reading. You won't be disappointed. And I will never doubt Ms. Estep again. 5 stars / 3 flames. ( )

Black Widow is another action packed installment in Estep's Elemental Assassin series featuring Gin Blanco. Each book in this series seems to be better than the last and proves to be even harder to put down. This book picks up with Gin and her friends trying to figure out what Madeline Monroe, the daughter of enemy Mab Monroe, has in store for them. Gin and her friends are taken by surprise by Madeline's plan despite their precautions leading to an epic showdown between Gin and Madeline.

I love how this series continues to keep my attention and continues to surprise me despite being twelve books in. Gin continues to be one of my favorite heroines as she seems to be constantly challenged in each book and learns something about herself as she faces down each foe. I really enjoy the secondary characters in the book because they really add to the story and each bring out something different in Gin. This odd little family is one of my favorite fictional families. Estep continues to build up the suspense and action in each book making each one especially this one unable to be put down or forgotten.

Overall Black Widow was an amazing read that I would most definitely recommend. If you love urban fantasy and haven't checked out this series yet, then please do because you are missing out on a truly great series and heroine. I can't wait to see what Gin's next adventure brings.

Received a copy of Black Widow through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. ( )

Very nicely done. This novel stretches Gin to her limits, and then some, testing her in ways we haven't seen her face before. It's an excellent cap to the second arc of the series, and from the preview, it looks like more unorthodox challenges are ahead. I look forward to seeing them unfold.

I don't often hand out five stars, but this installment deserves every one. ( )

Originally posted at The Bookaholic Cat

4 ½ Stars

Black Widow is the twelfth book in the Elemental Assassin series by Jennifer Estep.

I have something to confess… Here it comes… I haven’t been crazy about last four books in this series. Actually, I was almost ready to give up on the series. I even considered not reading this one because I thought it’ll be a Spider’s Revenge 2, but at the end… it’s Jennifer Estep! So, I decided to give it another chance. Hallelujah! OMG! I’m so glad I did because Black Widow is made of awesome. It’s simply Jennifer Estep at her best. I can almost say Black Widow is one of my favorite books in the series. Yes, it is that good.

Gin always thought one of her virtues was patience, but in Black Widow she found her match in Madeline Magda Monroe aka MMM.
MMM took her time to design a very tight trap for Gin, her family and friends, and slowly, every one of them was snared into her evil plans. MMM’s modus operandi was completely different from what Gin was expecting and what she was used. She couldn’t react on time to avoid many hardships and heartaches. I can’t say much without giving spoilers away, but let me just tell you that more than once my heart ached for Gin. MMM is a cunning bitch!

Gin was a lot better in this installment than in previous books, but she wasn’t perfect. She made couple of mistakes about things that were pretty obvious… I was so invested in the story that I found myself talking to the book and almost yelling at Gin “Don’t go there”, “Don’t do that”, but Gin didn’t listen to me and bang… you have to read the book to know what I’m talking about. Apart from those “why you did that” moments, I don’t have any other complain about this book. Gin has grown a lot, she knows she is fallible, but she also knows she has a supporting group that will always be there for her and in this installment, more than ever, they were there for her. All of them! Even Bria, who took her head out of the hole she had put it in in previous books and stepped on the game.

That camaraderie between Gin, her family and friends was one of the things I liked the most about Black Widow; it felt like everything and everybody came to its right place.

I also like how Estep dealt with the MMM situation. If I’m honest, I was expecting something similar to the conflict we saw with Mab in previous books, but I’m happy to say I was surprised how things were developed and … I can’t say more without spoilers… You have to read the book.

Everything that I like about this series was present in this book, the characters I love, the banter, the action, the fights, the suspense, and of course, the food. All these elements made of Black Widow an-impossible-to-put-down-order-take-out-if-you-interrupt-me-while-I-am-reading-I-will-kill-you book.

Black Widow has an almost perfect end, one so well done that I could have been happy with this being the last book. Luckily for us fans, we still have two more books to go and I can’t wait to see what else Estep has in store for Gin and friends in next book in the series, Spider’s Trap, to be release on July 28th, 2015.

Black Widow is a great addition to a great series and a book fans of the Elemental Assassin series have to read; especially those who are considering giving up on this series. Trust me! Don’t give up yet, read Black Widow … and… Welcome back to Gin’s world. ( )

Read/Listened for Fun (Paperback/Audible)
Overall Rating: 4.25
Story Rating: 4.00
Character Rating: 4.50

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

First Thoughts when Finished: Black Widow by Jennifer Estep was another strong entry in Elemental Assassins series. The characters are still as bad*ss as ever. Also, I really dug the different way that this all "played" out in the end. MM was not my favorite villain in the series but I think she maybe was the craftiest. I was just happy that it appears Bria is finally ok with her sister (let's hope cause if not I am taking Finn back).

Audio Thoughts:

Narrated by: Lauren Fortgang /Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins

Once a series goes into automatic listen (which this is for me) I sound a bit like a broken record. However, let me state this again: Lauren nails Gin and Gang with the sass, brass, and southern of a narrator who just might really be an elemental assassin! She is that convincing :) So just listen to it already!

Part of my Read It, Rate It, File It, DONE! reviews ( )