Karissa E. (ophelia99) reviewed on 10/22/2011 + 2527 more book reviews

This is the fifth book in the Elemental Assassins series by Estep. The 6th book will be titled, By a Thread, and is scheduled for a Feb 2012 release. The 7th book will be titled, Widow's Web, and is scheduled for a August 2012 release. This book was a good read but I didn't like it quite as much as the previous couple books. There was a bit too much recapping of the previous books and that got tedious as times.

The showdown between Mab and Gin has been a long time coming. When Gin takes a go at Mab by herself and botches it she's in big trouble. Now whole team (Finn, Owen, Bria, the dwarve sisters and others) will have to give Gin a hand in taking out the biggest meanie the city has ever known, Mab herself. When Mab calls in a bunch of hit men to take out Bria and Gin things get even crazier.

There is an absolutely terrific urban fantasy series. It is fast paced, has some great humor, some excellent action scenes, and some wonderful characters. The system of Elemental magic is interesting and fun to read about.

Gin is a wonderful character; she is snarky, tough, and loyal. Owen is a great compliment to her; he is caring, steadfast, and tough in his own right. The witty dialogue between the two is lots of fun to read about.

Finn and Bria also get a lot of development as characters in this story. We get to see a sensitive side of Finn that we've never seen before. We get to learn a lot more about Bria and it was awesome to see her and Gin working together.

This book finally wraps up the whole Mab versus Gin storyline. The final standoff between the two is just as wonderful and fabulous as I hoped it would be. The story wraps up wonderfully, leaving me wondering what will happen next for Gin.

The only thing that really bothered me was the constant recapping of the previous books. I understand that Estep wants to put enough info from previous books in here that it can stand on its own. What I don't understand is why? Information from the previous books is presented over and over again, to the point where it got very tedious to read parts of this book. I know all of the books in this series have had a bit of this and I like a bit to jog my memory. In this book though there was so much recapping of the previous books that it was actually distracting and it messed up the pace of the stoyr.

Overall a must read for fans of the series. If you love urban fantasy you have got to read this series. We finally get to see the outcome of the whole Mab versus Gin storyline and it was as wonderful as I had hoped. The characters are excellent, the magic system unique, and the action captivating. The only thing that really took away from the series was the constant inserting of info from previous books. The level of this recapping was excessive and made the story drag at points. Still, if you love urban fantasy you have got to check out this series...it is a fantastic one!

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