Review - By A Thread (Elemental Assassin, Book 6) by Jennifer Estep (4.5/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size: 384 pages
Publisher: Pocket Books
Release Date: February 28, 2012
ISBN: 978-1451651768
Stand Alone or Series: 6th book in the Elemental Assassin series
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 4.5/5 stars

This was the sixth book in the Elemental Assassin series by Estep. It was an excellent book in the series and did a great job of continuing the story of "what happens after Mab is gone?" A great investigation, lots of great action, and Gin definitely shows emotional growth as a character. The seventh book in the series, Widow's Web, releases in August of 2012.

After defeating Mab and being outed as the Spider, Gin has had some tough times. Everyone is gunning for her and she is constantly having to beat down idiots who are set on taking out the Spider. Finn thinks it is time for a vacation. Gin reluctantly agrees. Soon her and Bria are driving up to the coastal town of Blue Marsh, Bria's old stomping grounds, for a weekend vacation. Of course things get complicated when Bria's best friend Callie's life is threatened. Gin decides she needs to do some more pro bono work and take out the undesirable that is threatening Callie.

This book doesn't start out a new epic plotline; but it does provide a very entertaining story while showing us how the characters are adjusting following Mab's defeat. Estep finally has a good balance of providing some recap but not so much that it is obnoxious. This is a huge improvement over the last few books where I felt she spend a quarter of the book recapping...

Gin is back in top form and there are some truly excellent fight scenes in this book. Even better Owen is in on the action. I loved watching him and Gin fight side by side; they are a truly awesome couple. I love that they have a solid relationship based on mutual respect. Gin grows a lot emotionally in this book, as does Bria. They are both dealing with a lot of tough history in regards to what Mab put them through. Gin is learning to accept who she is and to accept how people react to her new outed status as the assassin the Spider. I loved that when Gin is faced with Donovan again, she puts him in his place and stands solid with Owen; this shows how much she has grown and changed from the first book in this series.

The baddie in this book is a truly evil bad guy. He is a vampire that uses elemental power and is definitely a force to be reckoned with. The way Gin and crew have to gather intel on him and set up the hit made the story very engaging. I read this book in a couple days because it was just so hard to put down.

This was definitely a transition book in this series. All of the characters are regrouping and trying to deal with the aftermath of the Mab storyline wrap up. That being said this is one of the best transition books I have ever read in a series. The story was absolutely engrossing, the characters are still growing and changing, and you meet some wonderful new characters.

Overall I really, really enjoyed this installment in this series. It is a transition story but a really good one. The story is very self-contained and ends well. The characters all grow a lot and it was fun to watch them mature and move on with their lives. There is also a lot of really kick-butt action in here and the story moves at break-neck speed. This whole series has been very well done and I continue to really enjoy Estep's writing. I highly recommend this series to fans of urban fantasy. The characters are excellent, the magic system unique and interesting, and the story absolutely engrossing. I am really looking forward to Widow's Web when it releases.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge
- 150+ Books Reading Challenge