The Spider by Jennifer Estep - It Should Have Been a Novella

				The Spider (Elemental Assassin) Offered by Simon and Schuster Digital Sales Inc Price: $7.59
Should Have Been a Novella, December 24, 2013 Book Description "Publication Date: December 24, 2013 How did I end up in a career where I always have blood on my hands? Well, let me tell you a story about an assassin who thought she could do no wrong. . . . Ten years ago. A blistering hot August night. I remember like it was yesterday. The night I, Gin Blanco, truly became the Spider. Killing people is what I do best, especially now that I’ve honed my Ice and Stone magic. But back then, I had yet to learn one very important rule: arrogance will get you, every single time. This particular job seemed simple: murder a crooked building contractor with ties to ruthless Fire elemental Mab Monroe. My mentor, Fletcher Lane, had some misgivings, but I was certain that I had the situation under control . . . right up until I exposed my weaknesses to a merciless opponent who exploited every single one of them. There’s a reason assassins aren’t supposed to feel anything. Luckily, a knife to the heart can fix that problem, especially when I’m the one wielding it. . . ."   This review is from: The Spider (Elemental Assassin) (Kindle Edition) This was a unique prequel novel that chronicles some of what molded Gin fairly early in her career. It also allows us to get to know Fletcher and also to get to know young Finn better. We also see gin try to deal with her emotions instead of the cold nearly cruel feelings she normally has to most outsiders. However, this melting of her emotions is what brings us this story. Gin receives a very specific gift wishing her a Happy Anniversary and that is what begins this narrative (for that is what this book very nearly is, one very, very long narrative) of Gins fall from Grace as The Spider. The gift comes while Gin is in the company of her lover Owen at the Pork Pit and it seems to be a simple enough job. Assassinate a building contractor. After all, he is evil and mistreats his child...or does he? I hate to say it, but if you don't see the ending coming a million miles away I would be very surprised. The author makes it very easy for the fn of this series to figure this book out. It is a perfectly acceptable book to use as book that shows there is going to be a change in a series, but haven't we done that already and shouldn't Gin and Company be ready to take on some new bad guys and bring the series into a different direction? To have Gin grow. I was already to read about Gins' new growth and was sadly disappointed. This 400-page novel really sped by for me. It read more like it was 200 pages. Most likely because I was able to skim most of the inner dialoging to get to the parts where there was action (typical) or conversation (trite). Perhaps the NEXT novel will give us some growth, a new villain or a different direction for the series to go into. If I didn't know that there was another book coming out, I would have said that this was the perfect book on which to end this series.*ARC Supplied by Publisher* Happy Reading!