A shifter thief, a demon’s angelic henchman, and a cat demon (and its host) find common ground in the search to acquire a demon-killing knife in this found family heist urban fantasy.

Diana is a careless man’s careful daughter, a crow shifter exiled with her parents when her conman father conned the wrong demon and brought danger to the Murder (their crow shifter clan). Diana is now 28 and a professional thief, stealing items for her father and pining for the day Lead Crow allows her to rejoin the flock.

Sasha is a demon general’s right-hand man, born from an angelic bloodline and forced into servitude, using his talents to acquire whatever his employer desires. Taken from his mother as a child and raised by demons, he’s now 31 with a ledger stained red.

When a demon-killing knife goes up for auction, both are desperate to get their hands on it – Diana as an offering to her old Murder for a chance to be reunited and Sasha for a promise of freedom in exchange for the blade. The two join forces, along with Nobu, a young man possessed by a cat demon. Although working together, they all have their own agendas, and Sasha keeps his true motives under wraps as part of his own plan to use the other two to get his hands on the weapon.

While I was intrigued by the book’s description, I was not expecting to like it as much as I did. It’s kind of impossible not to become attached to this little motley crew, they are all so damaged and alone in their own ways and in need of a hug. It’s impossible to stay detached – something even the emotionally-distanced Sasha learns the hard way.

The author does a fantastic job of keeping the action and stakes high the whole way through. The bond that forms between the three conspirators is established naturally and organically as they plan, fight, and face vampires, werewolves, demons, and more side by side in their quest for the knife.

The romance between Diana and Sasha is a very slow burn, so slow that I started to think there wasn’t going to be one. Their connection is more of an emotional (and magical) bond than a physical one, but rest assured the two are very attracted to each other and do share a few kisses and embraces eventually.

Oh – also it’s Christmas. The book is set during Christmas, but the holiday happens in the background, it actually doesn’t play a part in the book and none of the characters celebrate it. I found that kind of quirky.

I really enjoyed For The Murder and was left wanting more. Fantastic plotting, incredibly likable complex characters (who doesn’t love damaged-but-redeemable characters with hearts of gold?), and the perfect blend of action & emotion made this an absolute page-turner for me. I can’t wait to see what these three are up to in book two (coming out this fall) and will absolutely read more books by this author.

My Review:Enjoyed reading this book. It contains all the elements a PNR fan would live for. Angels, demons , shifters and witched (umm life is set). Loved the chemistry between Sasha and Diane.Can't wait to read the sequel.

Recommendation:Gabrielle Ash is just rocking the slow burn pnr. Loved the family cross book , and all the PNR fans might definitely enjoy reading this book.

I enjoyed this book. Diana is an interesting main character, struggling against a poor situation she is in for no fault of her own. Her abusive parents are very well drawn. Sasha too is in a very difficult position and watching them both develop and first have opposing aims then begin to work together made for a really good read. The action takes precedence over the romance as they try to fight their way out of the awful circumstances they are both in.

This is clearly the beginning of a series, but the crisis they face in this book is resolved , so no cliff hanger (a personal dislike, so yay).. Looking forward to the next in the series.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC. I really liked this book and will be adding it to my list of books to look for the sequel. It is always refreshing to find a book about shifters that doesn't involve wolves or bears. That is what caught my attention to begin with. The main character, Diana, grows through the book coming into her own. She has difficult decisions to make and she has to reevaluate her priorities. It is also one of those books where there is believable romance but it is not the main focus of the story. The author makes it easy to get into the story from the beginning.

Oh the tangled web we weave.

This book had a lot of tropes that I find myself at home in. Found family, forced proximity, and a little bit of Enemies to lovers. The way each relationship in this book is handled is masterful, each character is described and portrayed with not only grace but a real respect for the various intricacies that go along with their particular standing in the world.

At the start of the book Diana really got to me. Her family is really crappy, her situation isn't at all ideal but she's still clinging to the hope that everything has the opportunity to turn around. The next deal her father participates in will see her and her parents back with their murder. It takes a lot of twists and turns before she's able to see the truth of the world around her and find refuge in those she wouldn't normally seek out. But once she does everything seemingly falls into place.

Sasha's story is this little morsel of bittersweet angst. He's done everything in his power to get to a point where he could truly be free of his previous life and now he's stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place. All of his previous choices seem a little bit empty and a little bit forced and he's finally seeing what really waits for him in a life that is formed by himself.

Don't get me started on my love for Nobu, a character you'll meet in the story. Or the tangled pieces of his influence in the story line. It all boils down to a fast-paced adventure/mystery tangled with a really heartwarming love story.

If I had one complaint it was that I wished there were more pieces of the burgeoning romance and friendship between Sasha and Diana. It's definitely not instalove/instalust but a lot of the build up is done under the covers of the pages. It's not really a front part of the story and I truly understand that there were more important pieces of the story to fully realize and build but it felt like the ending was a foregone conclusion rather than something we had to keep hoping for.

If paranormal romance and adventure are up your alley, this is definitely a book to pick up and devote a few days to reading.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is an intriguing urban fantasy, where Diana is a crow shapeshifter who has been exiled from the murder she was born into through no fault of her own. This is a disaster for her as crows are highly sociable birds and being alone not only is emotionally damaging, but crow magic works best in concert. Worse, she is in thrall to her uncaring, abusive parents who are far too caught up in their own woes to waste any time worrying about their daughter. An unsuccessful con merchant, her father also has a bad habit of seriously upsetting very powerful, dangerous beings. Diana’s vulnerability and fragility is well portrayed without tipping over into pitiful victimhood, which would have made me lose patience with her. I was always rooting for Diana to survive throughout, which didn’t feel as if it was a guarantee.

I also liked Sasha, the lethal fixer for demon-general Madame. His uncaring façade and world-weary acceptance of the vicious deeds he is forced to commit comes over well. So the initial encounter and growing relationship between the two main protagonists is intriguing and mostly well handled. However, I do have a niggle that knocked off a point – there were times when I felt the pace stuttered as Ash reiterated, yet again, how much Sasha worried about his mother/the odd sensations he’s experiencing since first meeting Diana, while she is goes on reeling at the odd sensations she’s experiencing since first meeting Sasha and wondering whether to tell him why. The book would have been a more satisfying read if some of those internal musing were edited out, especially as the reader learnt nothing new in the process.

That said, this is an enjoyable world. The general nastiness is graphically conveyed in some gripping and brutal action scenes that are all the more shocking as a contrast to the delicate and nuanced characterisation. Ash is clearly an accomplished writer with a strong, individual writing style and I kept turning the pages to discover what happened next. I look forward to reading the next book in the series in due course. Highly recommended for fans of urban fantasy who enjoy a convincing, dangerous world, unusual characters and strong romantic thread running through the story. While I obtained an arc of For the Murder from the publisher via Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
8/10

I loved this book.
Two damaged individuals, extremely unhappy manage to claw out of terrible circumstances and come out better that they were. My only complaint is I wanted Diana to be more..I love a strong heroine and she was not it. She was spunky when needed, but I wanted her to find her inner strength and become a badass. I felt her strength lay in Sasha, not a bad place to be but still. Maybe it's because i'm used to kickass supernatural heroines, but she didn't have any strengths, only liabilities and that felt so wrong for her. I loved Nobu, thought he was a great addition, another damaged soul, but he had hidden strengths (literally).
I wouldn't mind reading more from this Author.

This highly imaginative story is a breath of fresh air in a world of all the same urban fantasy. I love the idea of crow shifters!
Gabrielle Ash does a great job in immersing you into her world just as she did with the Family Cross.
The cat demon was a nice touch as well.
I'm excited to read more of what Ash has to offer!
I don't want to give any spoilers but it's action packed and a fun read.

I really enjoyed this book, it was a quick and easy read that i found to be way more uplifting than I thought it would be. It was well written with well developed characters and a good storyline. I will definitely be checking more out from this author.

I am always on the lookout for books even though I have more than enough to keep my reading for years, and this is one author I’ve always wanted to try. I dived into this one not understanding the title. I felt so silly when I figured it out. Diana is a crow shifter trying to help her family. She was not treated well all her life, and she isn’t prepared when her life changes in this interesting paranormal romance. I felt so bad for Diana, and I wished she had trusted Sasha sooner. Natsu was probably my favorite character, though, for some reason. This was a delightful book that could be a little dark at times. I’m looking forward to finding out how things will shake out for all of them. Recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.