Catherine M. (Catherine1) reviewed on 6/11/2010 + 60 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 4

I think one of my favorite things about this story was Gin's outlook on her job as an assassin. There wasn't chapter upon chapter of internal angsting about her morals and her career choice. She's an assassin because it doesn't bother her and she's good at it.

The author did a really good job of making Gin competent. Too often I find that authors paint their protagonists as the best things ever, but when it comes to showing how clever or smart or competent that character is they fail miserably. That's not the case here. Gin knows how to compartmentalize. When she's working, she's really working. She's doesn't cry over the people she's supposed to kill, she just does it (and does it rather impressively too). If she has a boundary she won't cross she chooses those lines before she picks a job.

Now, Gin's competence doesn't mean she's invulnerable. Just like anyone else, she can be talked into rushing a job for a big score. She has regrets and she has feelings, even if she never shows you them. She's pragmatic and willing to live in the moment. She knows that assassin's don't have a very long shelf life and she accepts that. She does have a weakness in the form of her past. Well, I guess it's not really a weakness, more like an area that eats at her. I'm looking forward to learning more about that.

I also really like how Gin has developed a skill beyond her magic. She won't trust it blindly and she'd rather rely on her trained skill sets. I liked that in the end all her issues with her magic weren't solved.

I thought the side characters were well done too. I think the person that we learned the least about was Detective Donovan Caine. I don't know if I like him or not. On one hand, I appreciate the fact that he struggled with his attraction to Gin and his personal and professional revulsion of her job. I don't like when characters abandon their morals for no reason, so watching him struggle was nice. On the other hand, I really didn't like that he looked down on Gin so much. I felt he was overwhelmingly judgmental toward someone who was keeping him breathing. I know she wanted his help too, but he got way more out of that deal than she did. I didn't understand their attraction to each other and I don't think they fit very well together.

I really liked Finn's character. Truthfully, I wish he and Gin were set up as a potential couple instead of her and Donovan. They had such a great dynamic together. Even though he and Gin joke about him doing anything for money, you can feel that he'd do anything for Gin and his father. Speaking of his father, for all his short page time alive he really felt like a well developed character. Gin's memories of him helped fill in his character and made me care for him right along with Gin and Finn.

I waffled between choosing 4 stars and 5 stars for my grade. I thought it was a great book and it kept me very entertained, but I also thought the middle dragged a bit. In the end I decided to just go for 5 because I can excuse a few awkward parts for a really fun read.

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