Review: Nice Guys Bite by Jennifer Estep (Elemental Assassin #15.5)

Nice Guys Bite (Elemental Assassin #15.5)
Jennifer Estep
Published: Dec. 12, 2016 (Pocket Star)
Purchase: Amazon
Review source: purchased  

Reviewed by: Kris

Rating (out of 5): 4.5 stars

Note: While review will be spoiler free, it does make reference to previous books. If you haven’t started this series yet, check out VBC’s review of book 1, Spider’s Bite.

Being the assistant to Ashland’s current queen of the underworld Gin Blanco (the infamous assassin The Spider) is not an easy job—but some one has to do it! Of course, when you are busy keeping track of various mobsters, crooks, and the body count your boss leaves behind, there is not that much time for romance. So when an attractive gentleman catches Silvio Sanchez’s eye, he takes a chance (with Gin’s teasing and loving encouragement) on a date.

Of course, this is Ashland and anyone who is part of Gin’s circle really does not get a break. So when Silvio’s date goes sideways and puts his date’s life in danger, Silvio must prove that he is every bit as tough as his boss.

Nice Guys Bite is another fantastic and fun addition to one of my favorite series. One of the best parts of the Elemental Assassins series is the side characters—they round out Gin’s world and make her a much more sympathetic character. I love when we get to see a main character from someone else’s point of view and Nice Guys Bite provides a really quick and fun look at Gin.

Most importantly though, we get to know Silvio a little bit more. Silvio is the incredibly proficient and talented assistant that joined the gang in Black Widow (book 12). Up to this point we have seen him deftly deal with administrative and bureaucratic details that come with effectively managing Ashland’s darker half while Gin is more hands-on, but we have not seen him really “get dirty.” Nice Guys Bite proves that Silvio is willing to do what needs to be done and that he will protect Gin–even at cost to himself.

Nice Guys Bite is a quick, fun read, full of holiday cheer that illustrates how much of a family the people Gin has surrounded herself with really are, and that Silvio fits right in. It has all of the things you can find in a full-length Elemental Assassins novel—twists, action, delicious BBQ, and fantastic characters. My only complaint is that it is not longer.

Sexual content: none