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A review by bookandcoffeeaddict
Bitter Bite by Jennifer Estep
5.0
Bitter Bite, book 14 in the Elemental Assassin series, sees dual magic wielding, underworld queen, and all around badass assassin Gin Blanco dealing with some good, old-fashioned family drama – of course, it’s slightly more menacing and potentially deadly family drama than most people have to deal with (understatement). At the end of book 13, Spider’s Trap, Gin got a lead on her foster brother Finn’s long-lost and thought-to-be-dead relative. In Bitter Bite, the not-quite-so-dead-as-reported relative is no longer just an idea anymore and more of a real-life, real pain in Gin’s side. Naturally, Finn feels different about the whole thing, putting the once tight-knit foster siblings at odds with one another.
I’ve only read the past three books in the series and I’ve never really given any serious attention to Finn before Bitter Bite. Sure he’s Gin’s foster brother, and Gin’s sister’s boyfriend, and he’s been Gin’s slightly deus ex machina savior out of many a hard situation – but he was never really a layered, nuanced character for me. Bitter Bite changed all that. We really get to see a vulnerable side to Finn beyond the handsome, polished, investment banker/talented sniper – he became more real. I’m going to admit, I was not his biggest fan for most of this book, but he was dealing with some stuff and, let’s be honest, nobody can mess with your head and emotions like family. There’s an e-novella set after this book, Unwanted, written from Finn’s perspective that shows him dealing with the extremely personal aftermath of Bitter Bite, and I completely recommend reading it if you want to get to know more of what’s going on in Finn’s head.
Beyond (and sometimes within) the unfolding family drama, Bitter Bite also has plenty of uppity bad guys, well-written and well-choreographed fight sequences, and strong women getting things done – all typical staples of this series and what make the Elemental Assassin books such entertaining reads.
As Estep keeps raising stakes and cranking out more books, the Elemental Assassin series continues to be action packed, full of strong, badass women, and after 14 books, still going strong with page-turning plotlines. I can honestly say I love this series and I'm itching to get my hands on more of it.
*I received an ARC of this book to review. You can find this review and others like it at BookAndCoffeeAddict.com, along with recommendations for a fantastic cup of coffee.
I’ve only read the past three books in the series and I’ve never really given any serious attention to Finn before Bitter Bite. Sure he’s Gin’s foster brother, and Gin’s sister’s boyfriend, and he’s been Gin’s slightly deus ex machina savior out of many a hard situation – but he was never really a layered, nuanced character for me. Bitter Bite changed all that. We really get to see a vulnerable side to Finn beyond the handsome, polished, investment banker/talented sniper – he became more real. I’m going to admit, I was not his biggest fan for most of this book, but he was dealing with some stuff and, let’s be honest, nobody can mess with your head and emotions like family. There’s an e-novella set after this book, Unwanted, written from Finn’s perspective that shows him dealing with the extremely personal aftermath of Bitter Bite, and I completely recommend reading it if you want to get to know more of what’s going on in Finn’s head.
Beyond (and sometimes within) the unfolding family drama, Bitter Bite also has plenty of uppity bad guys, well-written and well-choreographed fight sequences, and strong women getting things done – all typical staples of this series and what make the Elemental Assassin books such entertaining reads.
As Estep keeps raising stakes and cranking out more books, the Elemental Assassin series continues to be action packed, full of strong, badass women, and after 14 books, still going strong with page-turning plotlines. I can honestly say I love this series and I'm itching to get my hands on more of it.
*I received an ARC of this book to review. You can find this review and others like it at BookAndCoffeeAddict.com, along with recommendations for a fantastic cup of coffee.