Jennifer Estep

After unfortunate "coincidences" befall her friends, Gin Blanco, aka the Spider, discovers that she has a new enemy, the mysteriously named M. M. Monroe, who, trying to get her framed for murder, has a master plan that will take more than her powerful Ice and Stone magic to stop. By a best-selling author. Original. 60,000 first printing.

Black Widow

Sarah Escorsa

And here it is. The dreaded meh review.



This series and I… Let's say we have a complicated relationship. It is a great series and I love Gin but Estep's writing tends to get in the way. Harsh I know but that's the way it is. 

I read the first four instalments in the series despite the constant recaps and repetitions (and when I say constant I mean it sometimes felt like you were reading the same chapter over and over again).This in itself is quite a feat: I usually DNF books pretty quickly if I don't like them but I held on to this series despite its many flaws. Why? Fantastic potential and great characters. So I read on, keeping my fingers crossed and hoping Estep would finally turn this series into the awesome story that it should be.

Then book 5 happened! Sing Hallelujah! Pure awesomeness! And book 6! And 7! And 8! And 9! And 10! And 11! I LOVED them all!



But then this book happened… Oh man, here we go again! Why, just tell me why? Okay, I'm not being really fair here. Estep's writing has improved a lot since the first instalments and it isn't exactly the problem here. Black Widow's main weakness is its paper-thin, unexciting plot: Gin, please meet your new arch nemesis. Arch nemesis, please threaten Gin, family & friends. Arch nemesis, please try to have Gin killed. Gin, it is now time for REVENGE. Bye bye arch nemesis! Really? Now that's absolutely fascinating, thank you very much Ms Estep. The plots of the last few books in the series were a lot more complex so I really don't understand what went wrong here. Lack of inspiration? That's what it feels like.

The other gripe I have about Black Widow is that we get to see little of the series' great cast of secondary characters. Estep has been adding more recurring characters with each new instalment and I have grown really fond of them all. They add a lot to the series. I realize that now because they aren't around much in Black Widow and it just isn't the same. And don't even get me started on the lack of Owen… Well, there is some Owen but not nearly enough.



Very true. This is not as bad as I'm making it sound. There are some great things here:

 1-Gin, I love you. The ever-awesome knife-wielding assassin with elemental magic is still as butt-kicking as it gets. There's some pretty fantastic character development going on here and it's amazing how much Gin has evolved since the beginning of the series. Ruthless? Definitely. Resourceful? You bet. Hungry for revenge? Always. But now with a heart. And she's really great with freezers and peas. Now that's irresistible.

2-Amazing scenes. Sorry can't go on without spoilers here. (view spoiler)[The Bull Pen fight and Gin's escape from prison are absolutely fantastic. Gin trapped at the Pork Pit? Great. The fire? Simply brilliant. Gin's escape? Love it. The reunion scene at the Deveraux' house? One of the best scenes in the whole series. (hide spoiler)]

Case in point: there is awesomeness here. It's just not awesome from beginning to end. It starts with a bang but goes downhill halfway through the book. This could have been a great instalment but it's only mildly entertaining and adds little to the series.

BUT. I still have high hopes for this series and I won't give up easily. Come on Jennifer Estep, you can do this! PLEASE do this.

Amber Oelmann

I've always loved this series and each book I read just keeps getting better and better!

Chantale

I have read every books in this series so far and I have absolutely loved every single books in this series so far. 

It is very well written and I just couldn't put it down . 

If you are looking for a fantastic paranormal romance novel, I highly recommend this.

Black Widow

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