3.5 stars

When I saw an Urban Fantasy Romance available as an audiobook on Netgalley, I knew I had to request it. I feel like it's been a little while since I read a book in that genre and while this was entertaining and funny, I don't think my need for UFR is completely satisfied.

In Blood & Ash, you'll follow Ash, a mundane who grew up thinking she had no powers whatsoever. However, one day, she finds out she actually has magic - blood magic. She can take powers from others if she wishes to. When people start to be missing, she'll try to find them with Levi, the guy she hates but hate can turn into lust and love.

Overall, I enjoyed listening to this book but I felt like I never really grasped the bigger plot, the world and how magic worked there. It was all confusing and not well explained. The pace was perhaps too quick and therefore I felt like it was a bit messy. Also, I enjoyed the romance and the banter at first but in the end, it was a little lackluster especially after Levi went on a date with another woman after kissing Ash.

(Thank you for letting me listen and review an ARC via Netgalley)

Blood and Ash is the first book in Deborah Wilde's series The Jezebel Files. This audio book is really fun. The MC Ashira is a spitfire full of snarky attitude. I found myself laughing outload and the narrator did an excellent job bringing the story to life.

The book has good character development and world building which will hopefully be explored more deeply in future books. I would definitely like to see an expansion of the characters and maybe a bit of backstory to help make the overall arc be fully fleshed out.

Overall, this is a great beginning to a new series with many adventures to come.

I received this audio book from NetGalley for an honest review.

A nice listenable new Urban Fantasy novel. Set in modern day, but people with magic abilities are registered and subject to their own governance. Of course there are factions that don't want them to have the same freedom as the "normal/mundane" people.

I really liked the hate to love romance. Also the female friendship was refreshing without competition.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The first installment of the Jezebel Files series, Blood & Ash tells us the tales of magic being infused into the air, in secret and in the open. We are thrown into Ashira “Ash” Cohen’s world as she investigates a missing person’s case before she is thrust into the knowledge of her possessing magic herself.

I rated Blood & Ash four stars as it was a very interesting to read about Ash’s journey when she was not only trying to succeed in her missing person’s case but in discovering her magic and the mystery behind how she got her magic now and what happened to her past.

I found the plot to be very interesting to read and fascinating and I really enjoyed reading about Ash’s magic growing throughout the book.

The narration for this book was not something I favored while listening to this book but I think that overall it was a nice read and very enjoyable to hear about all the growth in Ash and her magic was well as the plot development.

However while I did enjoy this, I found the plot was rather basic. I think that with more development this story could have been a much stronger book one and could have really lead into book two much smoother and better. While I liked the magic that was in the book, I felt like there could have easily been more incorporation the the magic. We got Ash’s experiences with magic here and there but while it was a big part of the story, it didn’t feel like it was, like it was a minor part of the story.

I did enjoy the way Ash grew stronger as a character throughout the story. I really enjoyed reading more through her view and investigating the missing person’s case was really interesting to read especially the banter between her and Levi, her long-time nemesis and her partner in this investigation. They had a lot of good moments between the two of them as well as some tension between the two that were cute and I loved reading them together.

I did enjoy this book and hoped that there would have been more to this book than what was given.

Thank you again to NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Audio-arc provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.



For me, this was an example of a perfectly competent author who perhaps wasn't entirely to my taste, but nevertheless narrated with flare, kept my attention and brought the story to life. So in terms of audio book quality, this definitely passes the taste test.



I started off feeling that this was a typical UF with a cut out bog standard sexy romantic subplot. And I was wrong. Yes Blood & Ash does hit the standard UF tropes - sassy heroine - check, brooding love interest - check, mysterious power - check and check. However, Wilde makes several unique twists on the beloved original tropes. Ash, the MC, is of Jewish extraction and while she lives a more secular life, her upbringing and the circles her mother moves in really affect her life. She might have turned her back on a lot of it but she is still a product of her upbringing. Similarly, magic users are allegedly all descended from one of the ten tribes of Israel and are therefore specific types and confined by these traditions. No magic user can access all the types of magic. When you find out what Ash's mysteriously activated and hitherto unknown power is, it's absolutely delicious. (Suck it Bible scholars!) Similarly, Levi, the sort-of love interest, while rich, handsome and brooding, has a lot more depth than your average alpha male love interest as well as a surprising sweet side.



I didn't love Ashira to start with. Partly because she was almost too snarky (I know, I wouldn't have thought that could be possible either) because she used it as a defence mechanism that kept everyone away from her, including the reader. She is also quite crass. I am not bothered by swearing but in the early part of the book it felt like the Fs and blinds were obscuring the story and how Ashira crudely described things was a bit off putting. I like wit that doesn't rely on crudeness. That said as I got to know her, I found myself rooting for her. I felt for her as we learn more about her father and I winced but also nodded at how that made her interact with others.



Overall this is a fast paced and fun story. I definitely want to read the rest of the series.

Blood and Ash is the first book in Deborah Wilde's new series The Jezebel Files. The main character, Ashira Cohen has a snarky attitude that I found absolutely hilarious and the narrator did an excellent job executing.
Just from book one we have a decent set of characters and some world building, so I can see this developing into a good series down the road.
I think I would have enjoyed this more with a prequel. Something that goes over Ash's accident. Her childhood. Her past with Levi. All of these are things that heavily shaped her personality and are referred to frequently throughout the story but not really explained. It makes it difficult to connect with the characters.
Overall, I think this was a good start to the series and I will happily continue the adventure with Ash and company in the future.

Ashtray is a mundane private investigator, non magic user. Based in Vancouver BC Canada, the author uses great descriptions to make you feel like you are there. When kids go missing Ash starts looking into where they are going. During her investigation she discovers that she does in fact have magic, blood magic to boot. Blood magic doesn’t exist though. When Levi, the infuriating leader of the magic community and long time nemesis of Ash find out, he hires her to discover where it came from and where the kids are disappearing to.
This start to get steaming between the two as they investigate together.
Lots of good humor and back and forth jabs. The narrator does an awesome job with the voices. Definitely keeps you wanting to hear more.
This is the first in the Jezebel Files from author Deborah Wilde.

#bloodashthejezebelfiles1, #netgalley, #indigoemployee

I wasn’t sure about this book at first but by chapter two I was really into it. It seemed a bit silly and I didn’t really like the narrator but it smoothed out my issues fairly early. It turned out to be a really fun urban fantasy book with a few cute nods to Sherlock Holmes and Jewish mythology.

This book takes you into a world parallel to ours. It show cases how adding in one element, in this case magic, can change different parts of society as well as what would not change. For example there are still people who are prejudice but against those with magic rather than other reasons that are prevalent in our own society.

I loved this audio book! Blood & Ash is self-described as an urban fantasy mystery and that sums it up!

Unlike many supernatural mysteries I've read, this one is rooted in Jewish mythology and I loved it!

The characters are relatable and fun to follow. There is so much personality in the main character that you can't help but like her! Also, she swears just enough to seem real!

This is definitely not appropriate to listen to at work (or read on a work device). There is just enough NSFW material in it to not take that change.

The narration was perfection. I am looking forward to reading future books in this series. One book wasn't enough for me!

I received a free copy of this audio book in exchange for my honest review from NetGalley and the publisher.

A solid beginning to a new urban fantasy series. I love this genre but am also very picky when it comes to it. Blood & Ash was a fun ride with an interesting mystery and cool magic.
The world building could do with some expanding but I'm hoping we'll get to it in the following books. Ash, our heroine has a huge chip on her shoulder but is generally a likeable character and I could totally root for her. Could do without the frequent cursing - says she who curses like a sailor - but only because it felt a bit repetitive. The snark could also get too much at times - again, it is something I usually enjoy but only if it feels effortless. And in this case, it didn't always hit the spot. However, I could get over this small blunders, since the story itself flowed nicely and kept me completely engaged. I absolutely plan on continuing the series.
I listened to the audiobook, and if you like the format, I would highly recommend checking out this one. Narrators always make or break the audio experience, and Holly Jackson did an awesome job, so kudos to her! Overall, it was a really enjoyable experience.

I found this audio book on netgalley and then discovered that there are 2 more books in this series already out! Its also free on kindle unlimited. This is a great YA supernatural mystery series. The main character Ashira is a snarky jewish detective in a world of mundane and magical people. People with magic must be registered with a house and her mother is in politics fighting for more regulation against magical people. After a routine stakeout Ashira is injured and starts to see weird things and finds a tattoo on the back of her head she didn't know was there.

Filled with Jewish mysticism, romance and witty banter this is a fun read. I am definitely going to be downloading the rest of this series.

Oh my. This book is an absolute riot. I was laughing so incredibly hard through most of this novel. The story is great and the characters are all quite amazing!

This book has so many elements that I love: a snarky female lead, a magical society, characters of various races, religions and ethnicities, and an enemies-to-lovers romance. The main character, Ashira, is a snarky, sassy, and vivacious private investigator. Her longtime nemesis hires her to investigate a string of missing persons, all magical people under his governance. Along the way, she finds out more about the magical society, who she is, and magical powers that were thought to just be myth.

The strength of this book is that it is steeped in Jewish culture and lore and the characters are a diverse group of individuals. It was nice to see an urban fantasy novel that is so inclusive. Once I got into the story, I found the magical mystery compelling and was invested in the main character's discovery of who she really is. However, it took me a while for the plot and characters to "click" for me - about halfway through. While there is some world building (as this is the first book of a series), it took a good while to get to the heart of the story. Once there, it just didn't grab me the way I thought it would. I should have loved this book - but everything seemed to fall a little short. The romantic story line fell flat - I wasn't intrigued by the romantic interest. Ashira was snarky, but sometimes abrasive. Weaving in the Queen of Hearts was confusing and seemed out of place. Again, I realize this is the start of a series and there is much more to learn about this world. I just don't think I'll be continuing this series,

** I received a copy of the audiobook from NetGalley. This is my unbiased review and all opinions are my own **

This is the first book in a running series and it was FUN. The snark is great- so many great one-liners and zingers that I was chuckling throughout the book. Ashira is such a great character- strong and smart (and full of snark and attitude). She discovers secret magical powers that have now made her an important part of a key investigation to discover who is hurting magical community. Levi, the leader of the magical community, is her partner and he's really cool too- a bit of push and pull but I loved the anticipation between the two characters. I really enjoyed the world setting and look forward to reading the rest of the series.

The narration was totally on point- the narrator, Hollie Jackson, infused the perfect amount of emotion and dare I say, snark, in her voice. She did a good job playing multiple characters and overall, elevated the story. Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to the audiobook.

I received an ARC audiobook copy of this book to review, a rare kind of ARC but since I have been feeling sick the last couple days, a welcome one. For those who don't know, ARC stands for Advance Readers' Copy and is given to other authors, bloggers, people in the book community, to read and review before the book's actual release date. It helps garner some buzz for the book and I am always more than happy and honored when I'm asked to receive one. This book was already published back in January, but the author wished to get some attention on the audiobook version!


My overall thoughts of the audiobook are simple:

I was not a fan of the narrator, but her voice wasn't enough to keep me from being invested in the story. 3/5 on the audiobook recording.


However, my review of the book in general is:

Blood and Ash was F-U-N! Urban Fantasy, as we ALL know, is my favorite genre. There is never any shortage of reading material in the genre, which can either be a very good thing or a bad thing. Blood and Ash is what I like to call Mass Market Urban Fantasy, UF that the author pushes out three books a year and that you would normally only find in mass-market binding if self-publishing wasn't a glorious thing now. We all know that Kindle Unlimited is rife with thousands and thousands of UF books being published, mostly independently, and sometimes it is hard to settle on a new read without cringing in the first few chapters. My ratings for UF are two categories only: either superb or severely lacking--no in between. But at the end of the day, I still enjoy reading either end of the spectrum. I can really enjoy a book but know that it wasn't any prize winner (or Ilona Andrews in this case!). Now, as you can tell by my four-star rating, Blood and Ash sits firmly in my superb category, and here is why!

It has, literally, everything I love about this amazing genre:
--Token cheesy cover (Just look at it, it's glorious!)
--Snarky MC (Who takes no crap, but is also a mess!)
--BANTER (BANTER, LOTS OF IT!)
--Magic (Different magic castes and unique, yet familiar, political structure.)
--Mystery and detective shenanigans (Or MC is also a Sherlock fan so the references and jokes made me smile!)
--Enemies-to-lovers romance (Need I say more?)
--A dark, growing evil (Just enough revealed to keep us in the dark for the next books.)
--Lore / Mythology (The magic in this book revolves around Judaism, a rich culture and deep history rarely tapped into in books. Truly unique. AND our MCs are Jewish!)
--Action (Mild, but there.)

Sure, all these things above that I look for and want in a UF book that I read are usually in every UB book I pick up. But, they aren't always done well. Deborah Wilde writes a fun and fast-paced romp full of wit and humor, mixed with a sprinkle of dark and dangerous. While some parts of the book felt slightly rushed, or could have been expounded on a little longer, or even felt tropey, I greatly enjoyed this first installment into a new Urban Fantasy world. Ashira, our main character, best moments were when she dropped her tough act and actually felt human to read about. There were moments where true emotion shined through and I hope for more of that in the future, even if it comes with cheesy dialogue. I am all about heartfelt moments from a guarded character, it's a kink of mine.

If you enjoy quick, fun reads and Adult Urban Fantasy, I recommend you give this one a go!

Blood & Ash

I received this audio book through NetGalley for a free and fair review. All opinions are my own and in no way reflect the author, publisher or NetGalley.

Ash, a detective, while on a case finds herself in her own mystery. Lost magic, hidden tattoo, missing father, secretive mother and so much more. Balance it out with hot rival from her past in the with the name Levi and Ash has her hands full.

As an avid reader and audio listener, I found this book to be entertaining. This is my first Deborah Wilde book. Her use of description of everything to the most minute detail got slightly on my nerves, but the story line was interesting enough. As with all audio books I have to ramp up the speed because it is too slow, this one wasn’t that bad. The narrator Hollie Jackson did a good job.