Venom (Elemental Assassin, #3) by Jennifer Estep

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

***SLIGHTLY SPOILERISH FOR THE PREVIOUS 3 BOOKS***

Venom is the third installment in Estep's elemental series. I was very happy overall with the story for the most part, but others felt a little phoned in. Estep often uses the same phrases in each of her books to describe the same thing. A few things like eyes meeting gray on violet, or gray on green, or whatever colors. She always talks with the same phrasing Bria as her baby sister, not little sister or even just sister, even the other characters do this, maybe she's going for the dialect but stop repeating the same tired phrases again and again. She even rehashes the plot from the previous books in the same way and I've been reading the same similes and metaphors for three books now.
I like that Gin is becoming the reluctant crusader because it suits her. However it was really annoying when she blames someone else's stalker problems on herself. The blame is with the psycho-stalker, not with the person that inadvertently introduced them! Owen Grayson is also a welcome addition and a better replacement for the boring Donovan Cain. I'm looking forward to seeing her final confrontation with Mab Monroe, but I don't know how convinced I am that Estep can continue to make this a fresh, exciting story. I'll definitely continue with the series, but I hope some things get polished up a bit.

Copy Source: Ebook Own

Spider's Bite (Elemental Assassin, #1) by Jennifer Estep

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Gin Blanco is an assassin. She's a good assassin and takes after her trade-name, the Spider. Before retiring she decides to take the 'one last gig' and ends up in a heap of trouble.
I'm really glad I started this series. Gin is the kind of UF-ballsy heroine that I like to read. She does her job and tries to stay one step ahead of her ugly past, which doesn't seem to want to let her go. I admired that for the most part she keeps things real and honest, even if it's uncomfortable. She keeps her own assassin's code: no children or people who are innocent of wrongdoing. I enjoyed following her on her high stakes investigation. Plus the worldbuilding is superb and I fell right into her world of dwarfs, giants, vampires and elementals- people with magical control over one element (air, ice, fire and stone). The fact that Gin doesn't rely on her own magic is a welcome respite from others in this genre who seem to have unbelievable feats of strength and power from the beginning. I'll definitely be continuing with this series.

Copy Source: Purchased e-book

Wither (Chemical Garden, #1 by Lauren DeStefano

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

I was really excited to start this one since I was in the mood for some dystopian goodness. I don't know exactly what's between these pages, but after reading I wouldn't call it dystopian per se, but maybe that will change later in the series. I had to suspend quite a bit of disbelief to enjoy this one. The premise is that humanity is slowly dying after a failed utopian-type experiment to produce a generation of humans without disease. Every child born after the golden "first generation" is dying too early. Girls live only twenty years and boys only twenty-five. The first generation seems to be enjoying an unnaturally long lifespan, but cannot find the cure to stop the 'virus' that seems to be claiming the young.

As a kidnapped child-bride, Rhine is angry, scared and wants nothing but to return home to her brother. She places her efforts to escape in befriending her young husband only to find that most of her bitterness is directed at the wrong person because the one that holds the strings is Linden's father.

The plot of this story is very linear and the progression is a bit predictable. The strength of the story is the characters and the world DeStefano has created. Although I don't find many things plausible, like how an entire population would agree to in vitro fertility, or how anything would be accomplished when the next generation only lives to twenty-five at the most, or how the first generation expects anything to be done for them when it seems like everyone else is either cloistered in luxury or dying in poverty. Whenever these types of questions would come to mind I'd remind myself this is a story meant to entertain not a textbook I'll be quizzed on at the end. Otherwise I found myself immersed in Rhine's bubble of a world with the glimpses to the outside and what has become of it. I'll definitely read the next in the series to see if the author can pull off the grandiose ideas and stories she's put into play.

Copy Source: Library

Hard Bitten: A Chicagoland Vampires Novel (Chicagoland Vampires, #4) by Chloe Neill

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've noticed that a lot of readers seem to fall on either side of the spectrum of love or hate for this one. Myself, I'm definitely leaning toward love, but there were some major bumps along the way. Hard Bitten is the fourth in the series and Merit is settling in as much as she can into her role as vampire and Sentinel of the Cadogan House. Unfortunately there are some nefarious characters that aren't about to let her rest on her laurels. Add in a dose of extra awkwardness whenever Ethan enters the equation and you have….well, you have something somewhat interesting.

It's been established by the author that vampires as a group are very political and love intrigue, alliances and the sort. We definitely see that side here. Sure Merit spends some time "investigating" the raves we learned about in the previous book, but most of the plot is about maneuvering correctly between the people of Chicago, its mayor, and the GP which governs the vampire houses. We see the relationship is very tenuous at times, but I'm not a PR person and it wasn't interesting for me to listen to Merit wax philosophical about the various repercussions of different plans of action.

To be honest it was the very end that got me or more specifically, the last couple of chapters. Normally this wouldn't be enough to redeem a book in my eyes, but DAMN this was an awesome ending. I can see two totally different camps of readers forming based on this one event. If you like safe status quo and familiar plots then you won't like it, but if you like a little shock and awe every now and again I think it may work. Don't worry it's not the end of the world, dear readers, it's just an author not taking the easy way out. I will definitely be reading the next.

Copy Soure: Ebook Purchased

Red Glove (Curse Workers, #2) by Holly Black

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Slight Spoilers for the previous book

After reading the first in this series, White Cat I was really impressed with the surprise ending (for me, anyway). Cassel was a character I could sympathize with in his endeavors to do the right thing in a family where cons are the norm. Red Glove continues right where we left off. Cassel's mom is out of prison and doing what she does best. The school year is about to start again and it's senior year so things are a little more serious in the academic arena. At the beginning we discover Phillip has been shot and killed by a mysterious person in red gloves and Cassel has been "recruited" to help figure out who was behind it.

The struggles in this book for Cassel are much more about trust and making the right decisions. We know just how much he's been manipulated in the past and now that he knows too, he has to find a way to avoid going back to the person he was. Lila is also going to the same school and the curse Cassel's mother put on her only makes things worse, because now he can't trust his own feelings, must less Lila's.

I was happy with some of the developments for Cassel. I hope he can find more to trust in the world, but still keep clever and realistic about the people in his life. Family has always meant the most to him, but the reasons are starting to become a little more blurry in the face of the truth. Cassel's got a lot to work out and I'm looking forward to seeing what he decides.

Copy Source: Library