I enjoyed this audiobook. The main character was sassy and strong. It was slow to start, but picked up and had an interesting premise. A lot of magic and words building. Good mystery and some romance. The narrator did a wonderful job.

This is a mystery but it does have a touch of magic, it's well done and the characters are well defined and our main protagonist is very fond of our Sherlock Holmes so she has followed in his footsteps and is a private investigator. I have the audio version and it was not great had trouble downloading and kept cutting out perhaps would be better with the written version.. when I did get a good run on the audio the narration was good and clear. I am thankful to Netgalley and Te Da Media for a cop[y to listen to and review.

Really enjoyed listening to this audiobook. Ash is a fun character, but as the story goes along we get to see her hidden depths and how she is dealing with the secrets that keep on unravelling. I love her tenacity and how she is not letting things go, not just for her sake, but also for others. I also loved Pria as her best friend and sidekick, her personality was very bubbly and easy to love (reminds me a lot of myself)

Levi...well... he is all kinds of sexy, dark and broody... my kind of hero who isn't cowared by a strong female lead. And Ash gives him a lot of sass, but my boy puts up with it, their chemistry is off the charts and their banter spot on.

As urban fantasies go, I really enjoyed this one, it was fun, action packed and sprinkled with sizzling romance - exactly what this girl needed!

The audiobook book was well narrated, I could differentiate between the characters and felt all that sass!

3.5 stars

I was not able to download prior to this title expiring - I kept getting an error in the app. I wish there was a better way for app support when downloads don’t work.

As someone who has always been into fantasy books I was so excited to read this book. I think part of the reason I didn't like this book is because I went in with such high expectations for the characters and plot, none of which satisfied me.

I feel that if Ash and Levis previous history had been seen before they run into one another it would have felt less forced when they ended up attracted to one another. They reminded me of Curran and Kate if they had been done badly.

The world building was intriguing but it felt messy in a way that I couldn't grasp, not for a lack of trying but it just seemed to go in circles.

Overall 2.5 Stars

I received a free copy of this book via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to like this book. The blurb had all the right stuff, so it certainly had potential, but it completely missed the mark with me. The narrator, Hollie Jackson, does well, and she captures the tone for sarcasm and wit very well. However, she could only do so much with this story.
This book is self-proclaimed as 'A Snarky Urban Fantasy Detective Series.' It says so right there alongside the title. And okay, there is magic, which speaks to Urban Fantasy even though world-building fell way short in my opinion. Ash is a detective, so that holds true as well. And then we have the snark. Yeah, it's there in spades. This book has more snark than you can shake a stick at, which is where my biggest problem came in.
I don't know, maybe it's just me and I don't have the right sense of humor, but I didn't find anything about this book even remotely funny. There is a difference in witty snark and sarcasm and crude one-liners mixed with juvenile sexual references. I'm not offended by the crudity, and I have no problem with steamy scenes, but when they come across as the equivalence of teenagers gossiping and giggling about sex, it's not amusing and it's certainly not sexy. At one point in the story, there's a line: 'this is just sex...' Yeah, that's about the way I felt after the umpteenth crude line. It's just crudity instead of comedy. I truly do like snark and sarcasm, and I use both quite often. I just don't like this brand of snark, and while I caught myself rolling my eyes so much I feared my mother might be right about the whole sticking that way if I kept it up, I didn't even so much as chuckle while listening to this one.
Then we have the characters. Try as I might, I couldn't find anything about Ash that I liked. Actually, I didn't much care for any of these characters. They either came across as completely bubble-headed, inept, or at the risk of becoming as repetitive as this story, crude and childish.
What it boils down to is I couldn't find anything to care about with this book. Not the characters,. not the case, not the romance. As I mentioned, the story had potential, and I do love a good sarcastic detective series. Sadly, this doesn't fall into that category for me, and I have no desire to go any further with this series.

While the ending was a bit abrupt, I did like the foray into Judaism, and Jewish "mythology" instead of the relatively well known western mythology.

Ash was a moderately immature person, especially someone in her almost thirties. (No judgement, but there was a lot of miscommunication that was just let go, if she'd been acting less like a teenager there wouldn't have been the relationship drama).

I DNF'd this at about 6% it was difficult to keep motivated for reading the story, things were happening too fast and I just personally didn't enjoy it. I had the audiobook copy and the narrator was not good at all.

Ashira Cohen is a private investigator who is on a missing person case. She is attacked and learns that she has supernatural powers. Partnered with her nemesis they try to solve the case.

I love when books have bad ass women with attitude. The banter between characters was a lot of fun. It reminded me of the Mercy Thompson series. Ashira is strong and sarcastic.

The story was so much fun I read it in one sitting. I will definitely be recommending this book to anyone who enjoys urban fantasy.

Didn’t Like the Heroine

Audiobook Review:
As I am still relatively new to audiobooks, I thought I would try this piece of speculative fiction when I saw it at one of my favorite book review sites. I wish I hadn't. The main character just rubbed me the completely wrong way. Her jaded thoughts and views just weren’t appealing. The book also reinforced stereotypes, especially negative ones, which I don't like to see in fiction. I also didn't like the level of profanity in the book. I really do wish that authors warned about this in their book descriptions so that those of us who don't like to read such unimaginative and offensive words don't have to be subjected to them. All in all, this book was not a pleasant listen for me.

Blood & Ash is the epic first novel in The Jezebel Files. It was a really fun, urban fantasy/ paranormal mystery. If you like sassy, headstrong heroines, action, complex mysteries, folklore, magic and a bit of swooning romance, then you'll love Deborah Wilde's story. The characters are dynamic, witty and compelling and the plot is the perfect combo of humour, mystery and thrill!

This book has a bit of everything, I was gripped from the very beginning. I listened to a netgalley audiobook arc and it was excellent, the narrator captured the characters essences perfectly and really made them come to life.

This is a great start to a new series and I look forward to reading the rest. Highly recommended.

Thank you Netgalley and the Publisher for the arc.

4.5 starlights 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Thank you to netgalley for the download of this audio book. (Although it did take quite a while to download) This was an exciting book! Our heroine was a struggling PI until she was knocked on the head. The damage broke open a spell that was put on her as a child. Now the struggling PI has a new struggle to tackle.
A wonderful fantasy that was perfectly performed.

This book is Alice and Wonderland meets Sherlock Holmes.

I was unable to listen to the audio book and net gallery were unable to assist, so i read this book though Kindle,
It took me a while to write this review due to having to keep reading this series.

I like this series, the first book has great characters and world building.

Ash is a PI who love Sherlock, she has grown up being a mundane (non magical) until an accident on a case changes this.

She is quickly thrown into the world of magic and even visits 'wonderland' where she meets the queen of hearts.

Levi is the school boy antagonist who is the head of a house those with magic, They are snarky and flirty and he is obviously her love interest.

This is a great start to the series

This book was a great Urban Fantasy read. I really enjoyed the narrator as well. Overall, a very entertaining read!

Omg what can I say, I absolutely love this book!
Forgot to give feedback because was so busy reading the sequels.
I love the world development, the original idea and how badass she is!

This title wouldn’t play on my app so I couldn’t review it I’m afraid. I’m sure I won’t be the only one who had this problem. The net tally shelf app stopped working whenever I tried to download it.

I received a copy of the audiobook via Netgalley, however it would not download to my phone. Therefore, I took the risk of borrowing the book through KU and purchasing the audio at a reduced price. The risk paid off as I enjoyed the story, the characters and the world the author created.

Blood and Ash by Deborah Wilde, the first book in The Jezebel Files series took me on a journey to a world filled with magic, adventure, mystery and romance. The story took place in Vancouver and it introduced me to Ashira Cohen, a private investigator who investigates cases which don’t involve magic. She is a Mundane, someone who doesn’t possess magic, hence the reason for investigating non-magical cases. So, imagine her surprise upon discovering her current case involved magic. The surprises, however, did not end there, as in the aftermath of solving the case, she discovered she possessed magical abilities. A Star of David tattoo placed on the back of her neck was responsible for the suppression of her abilities. Who placed it there and why were questions she vowed to find answers for? Meanwhile, a mysterious and evil entity is on the loose in the city, murdering users of magic and Levi, her nemesis and leader of the magic community hired to investigate. Her quest for answers would have to take a back seat as she sets out to find out who is behind the villainous magical creature and stop them.

I loved Ashira, smart, independent, determined, caring and a no-nonsense private investigator. Her association with Levi stemmed from their times together at summer camp. They never seen eye to eye then, and it has not changed. Their back-and-forth banter sprinkled with witty comments and snarky comebacks had me laughing throughout the story. The thing that amused me about these two were their lame attempts to deny their chemistry. Seriously, anyone worth their salt could see that they had the hots for each other.

I loved how the case developed throughout the story. It allowed Ashira to use her magical skills, which proved powerful, unique and dangerous if not kept under control.

Blood and Ash offered a fast-paced, action-packed and magical story with the romance being served as a delicious dessert. All these combined made for an entertaining read.

The author created an intriguing world, but it could have been better developed. I guess as the series progress, we will see an improvement in this area.

I enjoyed Holly Jackson’s narration. She did a fantastic job of bringing each of the characters to life. Her distinct voices made it easy to distinguish between each character.

Conclusion/Recommendation
Blood and Ash provided a pleasant escape and I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

This certainly felt like the first in a series. The ideas are there but the plot and world building felt a little rushed and clunky. Overall, it was an easy listen and the characters and the series arc have potential.

Blood and Ash is an enemies to lovers romance with magic and a mystery. If you are a fan of the dynamic of Kim Harrison's Hollows books, you need this book in your library! There is really great story pacing and enough obstacles in the story to make it worth the time it takes to listen to it. I enjoyed this book and cannot wait for the next book in the series!

The story (without spoilers): Set in Vancouver, Canada, Ashira (Ash) Cohen is a private investigator who discovers that she has blood magic, something that was quite a surprise. Children are tested for magic and Ash tested as having none, so she has a big life adjustment to accomplish. The magic system in this world is based on Jewish tenets (think golems) and fortunately for Ash, she is Jewish so she has a leg up on figuring things out.

This is a fast-paced, well-written, urban fantasy detective series. Ashira is a strong female lead and I really appreciated her snarky can-do attitude. The side characters are all super likeable as well and I found myself really liking Levi even though he is made out to be a bit standoffish. The mystery aspect was very interesting and really propelled the story forward nicely. The romance we are given was not the main focus but added a nice balance to the story and I really hope we get more in the next book. Unfortunately, the world building was a bit lacking and I was slightly confused as to what was happening in the beginning but as I got farther into the story things started to click into place. I listened to this on audiobook and at about the 35% point I realized I was having a hard time putting it down because I was so interested in what was happening.
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I received this audiobook from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.