Blood & Ash by Deborah Wilde.

It’s a whirlwind adventure where Alice and Wonderland meets Sherlock Holmes.

The story takes place in Canada with a lot of Jewish mythology.

Ashira is a human private investigator working in a world where magic exits until obviously something happens that kick starts the story and now she’s got magic surprise surprise there.

Ashira was a fun character which i enjoyed to the fullest. I liked how her mind worked. She’s a mini Sherlock Holmes and theirs a lot of references to her love of Holmes. while reading this it kind of reminded me of the movie "enola holmes"

Levi her nemesis and the leader of the magic community. Boy!!!! he’s a sexy one, and i love sexy, if i can i would have put sexy in my middle name but also very put together. He needs to sex

the world building isn’t very well explained. stuff just happens and we dont know a lot of things
We get a lot of different things thrown at us and it can be a lot to take in especially the book being a audiobook.. We don’t get much time to digest until after you’ve devoured the book. I am hoping more things will be explained as the series progress.

The romance was secondary to the mysteries. Levi and Ashira are like oil and vinegar which i love love love to fullest. They have a lot of witty comments and comebacks for each-other,

but you can defiantly tell that theirs an attraction between them. I liked the banter, snarky comments, and witty humor in this novel. Though at this point in the story the romance just didn’t fit. These two have known each other for decades and for some reason they choose now to kick off a romance. I’m not won over on the romance end and I don’t think it’s needed in the series.

• Character development- 3☆
• Story Plot- 3.5☆
• Side characters- 4☆
• Flow of the story- 4☆
• Overall - 3.5☆

I enjoyed the narrator. The story was well rounded. It had good world building. It had a nice will they/wont they romance. The characters were easy to connect to. I would call this urban fantasy with a hint of mystery. An enjoyable listen overall.

This book is a paranormal romance about Ashira who is a private investigator. Something happens and she finds out that she actually has powers, and along the way, she’s pushed to work with a nemesis from her past, Levi. I, unfortunately, didn’t really like this book. I couldn’t connect to the main characters at all. There was constantly something happening, and I was confused throughout the whole book and had no idea what was the point of anything, and where the story was going. It’s set in our world but it’s filled with people with all kinds of magical creatures. It kind of made me think about Mortal Instruments, it definitely had some of the vibes.
There were hints of a romance, but I didn’t really care for it at all, and not much happened, and they didn’t even spend a lot of time together. Which usually doesn’t happen to me, it’s not so hard for me to like a romance in books.
I’m slowly realizing that books that are super action-packed and plot-focused really aren’t for me when I don’t fully love the characters. But maybe you would enjoy this more if you like plot-focused books where a lot’s constantly happening.
Also, there were a few comments that made me feel a little uncomfortable. I didn’t fully catch them since I listened to it on audio, but it was still meh.
The one thing I liked though was that there was a lot of swearing and talking bluntly, which I love.

Ashira (Ash) Cohen was cocky and snarky. She was a determine woman in a male dominated field. She made the story all that for me. I had a mystery and a bunch of laughs. Ash was tough and fierce. Levi was not what she was expecting to be charming to work with. She was pushed just a bit too far. This for me was most certainly a kick-butt action involved mystery fantasy. There were no straight lines. This was turn filled.

Hollie Jackson has the perfect voice for narration fantasy. Her voices have that flare or whimsy and delight. She hit all the notes for me. I was in love. She made sure each character come to life.

**I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.**
I have been searching for a good new urban fantasy and I may have found it.
It is set in Canada.
I love the snark and the push and pull. Ashira is a mundane or is she. She is a PI and she tries to work within the law. Her mother leads the group who does not want magic wielders to be on equal footing as non magical people. There is, of course, a hot powerful man who does not trust Ashira. They grew up together but clearly they are not on equal footing.
There is a hidden tattoo, secret things being done by secret groups, and the ability to hide people by making others see someone else.

Unfortunately I was unable to review this book. I requested it as an audiobook on NetGalley the other day and when I tried to download it on the netgalley app on my phone yesterday, it was so slow that it never did download. And when I tried today it no longer showed up on the app. So I pulled up the website but it was archived and no longer showing up. I will look for this to be released as a book and hopefully will be able to read it. The review is making me rate the book so I'm giving it 5 stars because I don't want to give it less stars without actually reviewing it!

If you are a lover of supernatural and dark stories and characters, this is a book for you.
I obtained this book as audio book and enjoyed listening to it. The start kind of throws you into the deep as you do not get too much information about what it is about before the action starts. However, you get to know the environment and the characters as the story unfolds. I found it quite dark (I do not mind at all) and packed with action. I could do with more insight of how the magic powers work in for the magic community in first book, if I am honest, as I felt that I am missing a lot in order to comprehend situations. I also liked the "daddy issues" of the heroine as I think that it gives her more character in the book and she is more humanised this way.
Overall, I will keep my eyes open for the sequel!

This is an urban fantasy novel (first in series) that I listened to on audio. I enjoyed the audio narration, and occasionally had trouble following the storyline, but that was probably totally me multi-tasking!

It is set mainly in Vancouver where the strong female lead gets kudos on my part! Not everyone in the story has magic, and I liked that it blended fantasy and some reality as well. Ashira is a private investigator (think Sherlock Holmes-esque!) who is human, and quickly she encounters Levi, head of the magic community.

There's a little peek at romance in the novel, that I am sure will play out further in the series. This makes it a draw for those romance lovers as well! I also liked that it took somewhat of a backseat to the mysteries unravelling in the novel.

I am here for the detective, urban fantasy- I can't wait to read the next book!

I was sincerely waiting for Audiobook review copies by Netgalley. I started checking out books within a month of audiobook launch. But my selective choices have delayed my Netgalley audiobook experience by 2 months. The very first book for which I applied and received a review copy in exchange for an honest review was "Blood & Ash" by Deborah Wilde. I could have reviewed the book within 15 days of approval, but a month was wasted as due to some technical issues in the app, I was unable to download the book. For another month, I waited for a technical bug to get resolved, which I was facing in the app. The bug was about forward and backward buttons, these buttons were kept playing chapter from the beginning. Also, the app was forgetful many times where I left last. One more thing I found was that this issue was with a certain set of audiobooks only, and unfortunately, Blood & Ash was one of them. Anyway, I don't want to downrate books because of technical issues.

As mentioned in the blurb, the story is portrayed in today's world. But magic is added as a fantasy flavor. The world is having two kinds of people mundane the normal humans, and the Nefesh, human with magical powers. There are separate rules and houses for wizards. The protagonist of our story is Ashira Cohen, a mundane private investigator. All she has in her life are her job as an investigator and her roommate/best friend Priya, a cybersecurity expert, and somewhat space for her mother. Things are changed when she discovers a hidden tattoo on the backside of her body, and she realizes that she can do magic. As if these complexities are not enough, she starts seeing mysterious shadows attacking wizards. She also learns that kids are disappearing from different locations. Read the book to know how things are related.

Coming to writing style, the author has covered multiple aspects in the book, but my favorite are
1. Badass female protagonist
2. Satirical dialogues
3. Action sequences
4. Suspense behind situations

The character of Ashira is unique. She is intelligent, kind-hearted, too much introspective, less friendly, to the point in nature, and last but not least bad mouth at times. Throughout the book, you will see Ashira's way of seeing her surrounding like you are living through it. Suspense creation in the book was good, but I was expecting more in the climax.

Anyways a good book series to follow.

I will give 3.75 out of 5 to this book.

This book is saucy and intriguing. I thought the storyline was absolutely fantastic. It was unique and kept my interest the entire time. The NSFW scenes seemed a bit much and unnecessary towards the beginning of the book, but by the end, they started to feel more normal. There's not too much which I appreciated it. I absolutely loved the idea that she's had a power that was suppressed her entire life. Ashira is not a likable person, but is a wonderful character. I really loved her! I'm looking forward to reading the rest of this series.

Blood & Ash is a book full of Snark, Smut, magic and mystery.

Blood & Ash is based in Toronto Canada with Jewish / lapsed Jewish characters. I liked these two elements as I haven't read, any books based in Canada and I can't think of a book where the magic was connected to the Jewish religion.




The leading lady Ashira "Ash" Cohen a P.I who loves Sherlock (I completely understand.) Has an amazing friendship with tech goddess Pryia. A difficult relationship with her mother. Ash is not really a people person, and I liked her. She uses snark and sarcasm to keep people at arm's length. I find it funny and entertaining to read.

Her snark and sarcasm give way to one of my favourite elements of the book is Ash and the leader of the Magic community in Toronto Levi. The tension and history between two give me life. I love the banter, the jokes and the sexual tension between the two. It kept the pacing and story interesting. I think the love-hate relationship between the two was my favourite element.

I liked the plot and the mystery surrounding Ash, her abilities and the smudges. The mystery about Ash was the element of the plot I was interested in more. Even though both are connected.

Blood & Ash is narrated by Hollie Jackson, I liked her performance and the voices she gave them. Especially Ash and Levi voices and how they change in different moments between them.

Overall I enjoyed the plot, characters and the magical world. Ash & Blood is an enjoyable urban fantasy and I plan to listen to the other books in the series.




My Rating for Ash & Blood is 4.3 out of 5.

I received with thanks an ARC copy of Blood & Ash (The Jezebel Files #1) from Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Audiobooks UK and Netgalley.

This is my review of Blood & Ash (The Jezebel Files #1) by Deborah Wilde. This was published on 23rd January 2020.

I had the pleasure of listening to this via audiobook. This was a quick and easy listen. I enjoyed the Sherlock Holmes style urban fantasy mystery element. Will be continuing on with the series soon.

Would recommend if you love urban fantasies with a twist.

This is a promising beginning to a new mystery series set in a paranormal world, one that mirrors our own with the addition of having had magic released in the 1700s. The author jumps right into her story, which is a bit disconcerting. I felt like I’d entered a movie theater five minutes after the movie began, wondering what I’d missed before this. The voice of the narrator grew on my quite quickly and she did an admirable job of voicing each character in a unique manner, making it easy to know who was speaking just by the voice.

Major characters are introduced fairly quickly, giving you most of the book to get acquainted with them and the interpersonal relationships between them. The main mystery is likewise introduced early, becoming more nuanced and complex as the story develops. Although various puzzle pieces come together in this first entry, there are still questions left to answer and individuals and motives to identify at the end of the book. My one complaint is the abruptness of the ending. It felt like the author just stopped writing. I actually opened the app on my phone to make sure the book was actually over. Cliffhanger endings are one thing, and this definitely points the way to further entries in the series to come, but usually you feel a sense of completeness in the story that was just told, even with unanswered questions. This ending left me feeling like they forgot to record the paragraph or chapter that winds things up.

In the scheme of things, that’s a small quibble, however. I found the characters interesting, found the mystery compelling and wanted to find out more, and really enjoyed the sparring relationship between Ashira and Levi and loved watching it develop and change as the story continued. I look forward to seeing how things progress in future entries into the series. This is definitely a series I’ll be following and picking up as new titles come out.

I really loved this book. It was funny, had a great story and added in a little romance. I want to read the next book in the series now. I like the characters humor and the everyone was relatable and real.

Blood & Ash is an engaging urban fantasy romance, read by Hollie Jackson, the story follows snarky paranormal investigator Ashira Cohen as she is forced to work with her long-time nemesis Levi while trying to unravel a magical mystery while trying to not get killed or kill each other. it's a close call. Hollie is a competent narrator, though her range of voices is somewhat limited so it wasn't always easy to tell who was speaking during some of the more intensive dialogue scenes, or ones with multiple characters.

Loved how sassy the main character was! She definitely keeps you entertained! The narrator wasn't my favorite but not the worst I have heard either.

I thoroughly enjoyed this! I read a lot of UF so it doesn't take much for things to feel "samey" but Blood and Ash - book one in the Jezebel Files - was a breath of fresh air!
The world created was different to typical UF in that magic existed but other supernatural beasties didn't and the reason for magic existing was rooted in Jewish mysticism which was awesome! I'm not going to pretend to have the faintest clue about Judaism beyond the basics so learning a little bit through reading the story was great.

Ash is a beautifully snarky and fierce character with a love of Sherlock Holmes. She's fiercely loyal, her determination and ambition were admirable and I absolutely adored her! She's surrounded by larger than life characters who each have their part to play and who have their own distinct personalities and roles. From the quirky, tech wizard, flat-mate, to the grumpy head of Nefesh (magic people) security, and everyone in between, I just enjoyed the heck out of them but none more so than Levi... Oh my. I loved Levi. Sexy, powerful, dutiful, and ruthless when needed - Levi rocked. The chemistry between Ash and Levi? Scorching. But more important than the romantic fireworks was the banter between these two! OMG, I laughed, laughed and laughed even more. They're savage and I ate it up!

In fact, the entire book is a bit of a riot. Fast-paced, engrossing and hilarious with a diverse range of characters and a side serving of delicious will they/won't they romance... It made my soul happy.

It's four-stars instead of five only because I found it a little confusing at times and it feels like there is a lot of world-building yet required to give the world suitable depth.

Audio:
I started Blood and Ash as an audiobook but I only got to chapter 7 before I had to switch to reading the ebook. I could not stand the narrator. I found her voice and style grating and thus wouldn't recommend it in audio format.

This was such an enjoyable listen. I loved the humour and the witty, snappy and outrageous dialogue. It had me laughing out loud.
The story itself was very intriguing with all the mysterious, magical things happening. It was full of suspense and had a little hint of romance. It was so much fun.
I loved the narration and I thought that all the characters were performed extremely well.
I happily await the next in the series.

Blood & Ash was the second audiobook I picked up to review on Netgalley and like the first, it was a pleasant experience. The book is exactly what I would expect from the blurb, it was mostly predictable and a very comfortable read.

I will look forward to reading the rest of the series when I get the chance!

Thank you to NetGalley & Te Da Media who provided a free copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This series has promise - a 'snarky' urban fantasy romance centred around a Private Detective - but unfortunately is held back. The story follows Ashira Cohen as she tries to track down kidnapped, magical teens while simultaneously coming to terms with some rather incredible changes in her personal life.

The narration by Hollie Jackson really brings the characters to life and makes for a fun, enjoyable read and comedic moments are timed and read well - it is doubtful that the mention of a 'magical dildo' could fit so seemlessly into another novel and be exactly what it claims to be.

The story is fun and heavily layered with a nice blend of reality and magic, however both can appear forced at times. The author is heavy on contemporary references, from Justin Timberlake to K-Pop, and on more than one occasion, this seems unnecessary. In addition, there is a detailed scene about Iraq, Islam, Judaism and magic which seems unnecessary to the plot and something which was simply added to include diverse mentions while simultaneously pushing a particular narrative.

The romance, while it holds potential, is predictable and the two intimate scenes are almost cringe to listen to.- perhaps more suited to print format.

Ultimately, the story offers a fun, new take on urban fantasy but the second in the series should relax on the heavy appearance details and contemporary narratives and focus more on the world building.