ood and Ash the first in the Jezebel Files series. The first thing I can say about this audiobook is that the narration by Hollie Jackson was absolutely superb! She was able to deliver Ash’s snarky and sarcastic comments perfectly. I found myself audibly laughing many times while listening to this book. The world building was very well done. It reminded me a little of the Sookie Stackhouse series. The magical Nefesh and the mundane(non-magical) humans living side by side in alternate present-day Vancouver. Ashira Cohen is Vancouver’s only female private investigator and proud of it! As a mundane herself she is not legally able to take any case that involves a Nefesh. Unfortunately for Ash, her current case is about to get her into a world a trouble!
This story is fast-paced with a well-developed plot. It is a mix of traditional Noir and fantasy. I enjoyed the Jewish folklore that was sprinkled throughout. Ash’s hacker best friend Preya is a fantastic supporting character as well as their new neighbor that comes into the story at the midway point. Levi Montefiore, current head of House Pacifica, the ruling body for the Vancouver Nefesh community, is a childhood acquaintance of Ashira. They have never really gotten along so their relationship is full of snarky jabs. The underlying chemistry is one of the best “just get a room already!” vibes I’ve read in a long time. The scene where Preya wins a years old bet in regards to Ash and Levi’s relationship had me snorting out loud. I look forward to reading more in this series soon I hope!

Fun urban fantasy snark.

This was an enjoyable read with plenty of sarcasm and some diverse characters. The magic is based in Jewish mythology which isn't something I've read before and made for interesting lore. It feels very much like the start of a series so although it's not a cliffhanger, we're left with a lot of unanswered questions - this is probably pretty standard for this sort of series but I don't read a lot of them so it feels a little frustrating to me. That said, there are at least a couple more out already so it's not like there's a long wait to continue the story.

The audiobook was pretty good, some of the voices for certain characters were weird but fortunately these were mostly the ones that are smaller parts so it didn't distract too much.

I liked the mysteries and the complications. It was sometimes a little difficult to follow, but that's because I was usually working while listening to the audiobook. The main characters were very good--they were consistent, motivated, action-oriented. The secondary characters were interesting and unique.

This is a detective story set in a complex modern fantasy world. Mundanes and Nephesh (humans born with magic) are in political conflict and criminals on both sides take advantage.

Ashirah "Ash" Cohen has a complicated relationship with her mundane mother and abandonment issues with her nephesh father who left long ago. When Ash suddenly begins showing a magical talent long after all others would have, she is forced to deal with her arch-enemy Levi, head of the regional nephesh House and her tormentor from when they were juveniles.

The twin mysteries of her new power and the disappearance of young nephesh runaways drive this story, which is quite good. I feel that Ash and Levi are the only well-developed characters. The others are interesting and realistic, but lack depth and history.

This book had a few very erotic scenes.

I wasn't able to listen to this audiobook on NetGalley Shelf App no matter how hard I tried to fix the issues.
As I was able to listen to chapter one on repeat I became very curious about the rest of the book so I downloaded in on another app and listen to it.

This is an amazing urban fantasy novel. I love the heroine and the storyline.
I will definitely read the next book in the series.

4,5 stars

I really enjoyed this first in the series, enough that I’ll be continuing the series. The narration was good for the main character, although it didn’t really hit home for some of the side characters.
Ashira with the magic & the mystery & the Sherlock Holmes kept my attention. A strong heroine, which is exactly what I like to see.

Coming out of my confort zone, I decided to give this story a try as it appeared to sound like a good read/listen. However, after listening a quarter a way through the book, it was just not my cup of tea. I did not like the narration too much and felt a bit lost with this story. Urban fantasy and kick-butt heroines are okay for some, but just not for this reader.

Ashira Cohen is a Sherlock Homes loving PI who, in a world where some have magic and some don’t, always thought of herself to be one of the latter, until a blow to the head reveals that she was wrong. Her unique magic seems to be the only thing that might be able to stop the mysterious entity that is killing local people. Teamed up with Levi Montefiore, who is the leader of the magical world and her childhood nemesis, she has to put aside her old enmity to try to save the kids that have disappeared and discover what the deadly entity is. Overall, I found this first audiobook in the Jezebel Files to be an entertaining listen. I really liked that the story was rooted in Jewish mythology and that it took place in Vancouver, Canada. The snarky humour and banter were great, and the narrator did a good job of giving the characters distinct voices and she helped keep the story treads understandable. I did find that the pace of the story (not the narration) was a bit too fast and that a lot was thrown at you with not enough explanation, especially about the different types of magic. There are numerous mysteries to be solved and plot threads to follow and it would be easy for a reader to become confused with the many events that happen. It also seemed a bit manufactured that after years of animosity, Levi and Ash chose this time to start a romance. I’m not against them having a relationship but it just seemed to be too much too soon. Having said all this, this is still an enjoyable story with characters and plot concepts have great potential. It’s a fun, urban fantasy detective story and I will enjoy continuing the rest of the series. I received a copy of this audiobook from Independent Book Publishers Association via NetGalley with no obligation to review. This in no way influenced my review and all opinions expressed are solely my own.

Well, I enjoyed Blood and Ash by Deborah Wilde,but it was a bit slow and confusing at times. The narrator was wonderful! I really enjoyed her energy and she really brought the characters voices to light. The humor was good as well. It’ reminds me a bit of another book series I love. I think it’s definitely worth a listen if you are a fan of fantasy.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to listen to this audiobook.

From the start this book was ticking a lot of boxes for me, Magic, mysteries, steamy romance and female kickass detective MC so I knew I’d like this but still I liked it a lot more than I thought!

Holly Jackson is a great narrator, it took me a couple of chapters to get used to her but after those chapters her narration fit perfectly

Ash is brilliant as the main character, loved her, she’s so quick-witted and she says all the things I think of the day after something happens, if that makes sense. She’s not a Mary Sue and she’s great at her job which is really important in these types of stories for me.

I thought the enemies to lovers was done very well here but I wanted more on why they were enemies in the first place and why Levi and Miles were so mean when they were young

I loved all the character too

I’m looking forward to seeing where this story is going to go!

★★★★☆

As I did an audiobook for this novel compared to reading it, I will start with the narration aspect. The narrator was Hollie Jackson who is an excellent overall narrator, but this just wasn’t the story for her. The novel and the narrator just didn’t mesh well together and as the novel is told via Ashira (the main character), it just wasn’t a good fit for that character. Her delivery was nice for the humor portions as she was able to convey it in a more believable fashion. She changed her tons subtly to reflect the different personalities of each character as much as possible. She did a good job being clear and concise with some hints at emotions in the correct places, but you never felt the characters come to life as the tones of the narrator didn’t match what the character is imagined to be.
Blood & Ash is book one in the start of a “snarky, urban, fantasy detective series.” In this new reality that takes place in Vancouver, Canada where magic exists, but not everyone has it. Our main character is a private investigator named Ashira (“Ash”) who starts as a non-processor of magic. She later discovers that she does have magic, but it was blocked when she was a teen. As she faces a new adventure, she must not only navigate through this quest, but also how to deal with her new-found magic abilities.
She teams up with Levi, the leader of the magic community, to take on the quest. Together they face many obstacles and there’s a lot of action throughout the story which moves it along at a great pace. There are enough details along the way to explain possibilities for what could happen next in the series. The romance between Levi and Ashira has potential and the relationships between all the characters were enjoyable.
As this is the first novel in the series, I’ll have to reserve overall judgement until I finish them all. I will say that this novel is an excellent start and I can’t wait to check out the next book in the series!

My first time listening to a story by this author. The plot was enjoyable and the narration good, though for secondary characters was less so.
A good book for first in the series and enough so that I would consider the second one.

I really enjoyed this book. The storyline was interesting and the main character was very interesting. The magic system was great as well.

In the main, I found the narrator really good as well but there were some times during the book where I felt that her voice veered towards the childish. It didn't distract from the story at all though.

This start of a new series has a promising cast of characters and unique set of magic skills that, among other sources, incorporates Jewish folklore. Ash, a mundane PI, unexpectedly discovers that she has had magic all along, it having been mysteriously blocked when she was a teen. So now as an adult in the middle of a life and death quest, she not only has to learn how to safely handle her skills at the same time she's in the midst of a dangerous quest to rescue some kidnapped magical kids. Good world building in an Alternate Vancouver, plenty of humor, and non-stop action. Excellent performance by Hollie Jackson who uses subtle voices effectively to identify characters, and manages to convey humor well. Should appeal to Darynda Jones fans.

This was an interesting take on a Magical Crime style of book - The characters were well thought out and had real depth to who they were and the magical world they live in. there were some nice references back to Holmes as well which I liked. Ash as a lead character was everything you want in a heroine, strong, sassy but with a real personal touch as well and the plot had plenty of twists, turns and action to keep you captivated until the very end.

I'd definitely be interested in reading what happens next to Ash and co.

Thank you NetGalley, Deborah Wilde, and publisher for allowing me to have this ARC. If there’s one type of book that usually steals my heart it’s a witty, snarky, bad-ass heroine. However, many times this type of book isn’t executed well. Blood & Ash did not disappoint and was such a fun read, I was thoroughly entertained throughout the book. Looking forward to reading more in the series and other books by Deborah Wilde!

This may not have been my first audiobook, but it was my first audiobook from NetGalley (YAY for ARC audiobooks!).

Ahhh, I always am never sure what to think about audiobooks. Sometimes a terrible narrator can totally butcher the beautiful prose, and sometimes a great narrator can make a bad book sound a tad bit better. And then there are those few instances where the planets align and a perfect narrator and book just fall into each others’ hands. Then there are those -iffy ones. This was one of them.

I’m not saying the narrator is terrible, but I wasn’t in love with how she tried to bring the story to life. In the end, I got used to her and will probably not be able to hear another narrator take over because Hollie Jackson is officially the voice of Ash. Honestly, it might ruin it for me. Oops! But anyway, Jackson’s voice actually seemed to fit Ash’s PI attitude.

Ashira, known to her friends as Ash, is a normal old Private Investigator. In Ash’s own words, she only deals with human cases. Until she was unwittingly pulled into a runway teen case in which both teens turned out to be of magical descent and nearly cost Ash her PI license.

Except Ash’s father was a magical being (one that left her when she was in a terrible childhood accident). But that means nothing because Ash doesn’t have magic running through her veins, right? WRONG-O. At least, in the beginning. Ash’s magic ends up developing later in life, unlike normal children whose powers appear at a young age. So to say, it’s a little interesting, and I wanted to know more.

What caused Ash’s magic to be hidden for so long? Did her mother know Ash had magic? Her dad? And what is the deal with her old “friend” Levi who is now head of one of the most powerful magical families? (totally a friend-to-lovers bit which was irritatingly slow to grow into something more; but that’s just me)

Ahh, so many things were going on and so many things I was dying to understand.

Also, is it bad that I kind of pictured Levi as a kind of Christian Grey? I mean, Levi’s not as . . . well, you know, but Levi had that imposing nature about him. Though that could have been how the narrator was portraying him.

Side note: this has nothing with the plot of the book but I would like to point out that there is a character named Talia, which made me squeal with excitement! I love seeing my name in books. Until I learned that Talia was an absolute pain-in-the-ass and I hated every fiber of her being. And still do. Totally unfair!

Overall, the story was good and the narrator was alright (still not my favorite but I liked her a bit more in the end) and I actually cannot wait to read the next book in the series because I would love to see how the series plays out. Though next time, I will probably snatch an eBook version to see if that changes how I feel about the story. I mean, why not?


Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this review copy!

Ashira is a mundane PI whose career is limited by her lack of magic until, in the middle of a case, she suddenly uses unheard-of blood magic. She must figure out the source of her abilities and keep them hidden from influential society leaders, while also racing to keep her client safe and solve the case.

I really liked that Wilde's magic system is based in Judaism. It was a refreshing change from angel-demon battles, vampires being hurt by holy water, and other conflicts that come from Christianity as the default culture. Magic in this world comes from an ancient gathering of Jewish holy men who petitioned the Powers that Be. As magic passed down the generations, it trickled into the non-Jewish population until it has become reasonably commonplace.

Wilde is Jewish herself and has written about the importance of representation on her blog. While I can't speak to the accuracy of her portrayal, I enjoyed the "what-ifs" of Judaism, not Christianity, as the dominant culture..

For better or worse, this plot is uncannily similar to Ilona Andrews' Hidden Legacy series. While the storyline is pretty formulaic paranormal romance, I will happily recommend it for the worldbuilding and the protective, independent heroine.

I recieved this book in exchange for an honest review (Thanks Netgalley!<3)

This story follows Ashira, a sassy private eye mundane (human) in Vancouver, Canada. Her world is split between people with magic abilities and those without (mundane). She discovers that those lines can be blurred and the consequences for those blurred lines can lead to trouble.

She ends up working with her long time nemesis, Levi, who of course, is the main romance antagonist. There's also a lot of seemingly random sub plots with family which I assume will be wrapped up in later books.

They story tries to have the enemies to lovers troupe but their background story is a bit... underwhelming.
They went to a gradeschool camp together, he has magic, she doesn't. ENEMIES.
They grow up, he's hot, she's hot. LOVERS.

Over all I'm giving it a full 4 stars.
It was an interesting read, love the Canada references, but the enemies to lovers storyline was a bit blah.

I'm legitimately interested to find out where her story goes and how the magic develops throughout the next books. I liked that there is some mystery regarding her powers and the other Jezebels.

I loved Blood & Ash and can't wait to get my hands (or ears) on the next installment of the series. The magic system is interesting with consequences that up the stakes and adds to the political tension of the book's world. It was nice to have a more diverse cast of characters than can usually be found in contemporary fantasy, as well. As for the plot, I found it fast paced and fun with a enjoyable romance arc that was at turns steamy, tender and realistically uncertain. Overall, I can say I'll definitely be hand-selling this book and its future installments.

In the end, I enjoyed this story but at the beginning I wasn't sure if I was going to finish it. The main character, Ashira, was certainly snarky and sarcastic and kinda over the top which put me off at first and had me focusing on her word choice instead of the story. So it took me longer to get into the story and understand where it was going. It did get much better but I was a little disappointed in the barely there romance. It could definitely progress in the next books though. I did enjoy the bantering between Ash and Levi and their sometimes obvious attraction.

It was an interesting take on magic users, Nefesh, and mundanes. With the different houses, it kinda reminded me of a grown-up Harry Potter story.