Venom in the Veins by Jennifer Estep – Dual Review & Giveaway

 

 

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Description:
Blood might be thicker than water, but venom is stronger than just about anything …

It was supposed to be a nice, quiet, simple dinner with friends—but nothing is ever nice, quiet, or simple when you’re Gin Blanco, the Spider, notorious assassin and current queen of the Ashland underworld.

This time around, someone seems to be targeting Stuart Mosley, the president of First Trust bank. Lots of people have grudges against Mosley, but the more I investigate, the more Mosley’s problems seem to be connected to some of my own, especially when it comes to the Circle, the evil, shadowy group that is secretly responsible for much of the crime and corruption in Ashland.

But when another blast from my dark and deadly past as the Spider comes to light, I wonder if I’ll be able to survive this dangerous new enemy, who has a burning thirst for revenge that will only be satisfied with one thing: my death.

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Barb’s Review:

Venom in the Veins by Jennifer Estep is the 17 book in her fantastic Elemental Assassin series.  Jennifer is one of my favorite authors, as I always look forward to reading her books, and spending more time with our kick-ass heroine, Gin Blanco.

Gin is enjoying dinner with Finn and Stuart Mosely (Finn’s boss at the bank, and friend to Gin); they learn about the upcoming auction that Mosely has been buried helping set up.  When they leave, Gin senses something wrong, and rushes to save Mosely, who is under attack and being kidnapped.  As we always come to expect with Gin, she saves him, but now the question is why someone is targeting Mosely.

Gin suspects that the attack is related to the Circle and  her arch enemy Tucker.  Upon further investigation, Gin will come across a blast from her “spider”past.  Years before, when she was still being trained by Fletcher, she ended up killing a dangerous vampire, and regretted that the daughter came upon the scene.  In present time, Alanna, this story’s main villain, is the daughter of the woman she killed years before, who is also working with Mosely on the auction, which proves to Gin who is behind the attack and why.

What follows is an exciting, action filled, pulse pounding mystery that will bring Gin into death defying situations, where ‘déjà vu’  memories of the past as the daughter comes back to enact revenge on both Moseley and Gin.    As always with Gin Blanco, she is right in the middle of this wild violent adventure.  Gin suffers a lot, and I held my breath so many times when she was in precarious situations.  We have come to expect that Gin, who is always in the middle of danger so many times as they all try to kill her, and somehow our heroine always manages to suffer horrific injuries, and yet escape death.  But it still is nerve wracking to watch, as the violence escalates.

I love spending time with Gin, but I also love all the recurring secondary characters that are Gin’s friends and family that she is loyal to, and always there for each other.  Finn, Owen, Bria, Silvio, Sophie, Jo Jo, Lorelei are all great members of Gin’s group.  Tucker, who Gin is determined to destroy, as well learn more about the Circle leader, Mason are two main villains in this arc of the series.   Though I feel there is more about Tucker than we know, especially with his penchant for being around to help save her a few times.  There are some findings as we race to the thrilling climax that will lead into the next book.

Jennifer Estep is a master at creating exciting, mind-boggling adventures in each story, and making Gin into such a great heroine. Venom in the Veins was a wonderful action filled addition to this series, which also gives us answers to some questions, as well as surprises that will have us waiting impatiently for the next book;  I cannot wait for more adventures of Gin Blanco. If you have not read the Elemental Assassin series, it is time for you to start now.

 

Sandy’s Review

VENOM IN THE VEINS is the seventeenth full-length instalment in Jennifer Estep’s contemporary, adult ELEMENTAL ASSASSIN paranormal/ urban fantasy series focusing on Gin Blanco aka The Spider aka The Assassin –the reigning Queen of the paranormal Underworld of Ashland. VENOM IN THE VEINS can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty although I recommend reading the series in order for cohesion and backstory.

SOME BACKGROUND: Years earlier, Gin lost her mother and her older sister to a deliberate fire started by a fire elemental, a fire ordered by the notorious group known only as The Circle. Fostered and mentored by Fletcher Lane, Gin would become the fiercest elemental assassin the Underworld would ever know.

Told from first person point of view (Gin Blanco) using present day and memories from the past, VENOM IN THE VEINS brings together all of the familiar, and not so familiar characters in a show down between the present and the past. The Circle, a secret society of supernaturals responsible for much of the crime and corruption in Ashland, continues to haunt our story line heroine as sins from the past come full circle in the search for something Gin knows nothing about. When Ashland’s First Trust Bank owner Stuart Mosley is targeted in what appears to be a random abduction and robbery, Gin’s mind goes into overdrive as she sets out to discover the reason behind the attack against a man she has called a friend, a discovery that is laced with revenge, guilt and a familiar party. Sins from the past are revealed in the present such that Gin must face down a powerful enemy with vengeance on her mind as a high-stakes auction is only the beginning of a battle for control.

Gin’s intrepid friends and family (step-brother Finn, sister Bria, officer Xavier, boyfriend and lover Owen, Gin’s assistant/ vampire Silvio, dwarves JoJo and Sophia) return to assist our heroine as she must battle not only her guilt but with a vampire avenging the death of the mother she loved. We are introduced to Alanna Eaton, a vampire whose mother Amelia was killed, years before, by our heroine in a fight to the death. A cannibal vampire like her mother, Alanna is not above using The Circle, in her need to seek vengeance against our story line heroine. Vampire Hugh Tucker and the mysterious Mason make a cameo appearance to set up the next arc in the Elemental Assassin series

VENOM IN THE VEINS is a familiar story line in that Gin’s past has come back in more ways than one. Look a-likes, including mothers and daughters, are a persistent theme throughout the series, a theme that will continue with the reveal of what’s next for our story line heroine. The over-use of familiar phrases, specific to the author, are easily recognizable throughout the series. The series arcs, premises and situations in which the heroine struggles are similar in context and plot. VENOM IN THE VEINS is a dramatic and intense instalment in Jennifer Estep’s ELEMENTAL ASSASSIN urban fantasy series.

Jennifer Estep is a New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling author, prowling the streets of her imagination in search of her next fantasy idea.

 

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Jennifer is graciously offering an $10 Gift Card to ONE  (1) lucky commenter at The Reading Cafe:

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8. Giveaway runs from June 11 to 14, 2018