Spider's bite by Jennifer Estep

Gin is an assassin, a very successful assassin known as the Spider.  Her reputation has been well earned, she is fast, deadly, and always gets her target - but she also lives by a trick code, no children and no pets.  Her handler Fletcher handles the business side of things, compiling folders of the targets, taking the deposits and collecting the rest of the money once the job is done.  She has just come off a job when she is offered another job on short notice that seems too good to be true - and when the job goes severely pear shaped she realises it really was too good to be true.  

Trying to hunt down the person responsible brings her into contact with sexy Detective Donovan Caine - he would the perfect partner if not for the fact that he wants her dead because she killed his partner.  This is not going to be an easy job, not only does she have to contend with the cops and the bad guys, she also has to take into account that the person responsible for her troubles is an Air elemental who can control the very air around her - but Gin has a few tricks up her sleeve too, she is a Stone elemental with a little bit extra on the side. 

I loved this book from start to finish, it jumps straight into the action and doesn't let up to the final page.  Gin is a strong character and while she should come off as an anti-hero, because she is an assassin after all, there is enough of her background in the story to pick up that she is has some pretty strong morals and does pro bono work on the side - hence the death of Detective Caines partner.  I picked this book up as a paranormal romance, but have to confess that it fits more in the fantasy with romance section than the romance with fantasy section.  The world they live in appears to basically be alternate reality where elemental magic exists and people of other "races" also exist - for races read dwarfs, giants, and vampires.  It is an amazing world, made all the more interesting because the magic has rules and limits that make it all the more believable. 

This was an entertaining read that I finished in an afternoon because I didn't want to put it down, and if there weren't so many other things on my shelves to read at the moment then I would have jumped straight into book number two.  The only thing that annoyed me was the fact that the author kept saying Gin put a knife up each sleeve, a knife in each boot, and a knife in the small of her back - once or twice would have been enough. 

If you like this book then try:

• Spiders web by Jennifer Estep
• Dead witch walking by Kim Harrison
• Angel's blood by Nalini Singh
• Children of the night by Mercedes Lackey
• Blood price by Tanya Huff

Reviewed by Brilla