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.

Very entertaining, took me a while to finish it though as I really could not get on with the narrator. But that's just a personal preference. Great plot, very well written with a great cast of characters.

I liked this so much more than I had anticipated. The story takes place in Vancouver, Canada in an alternate reality where some have magic. It is packed with interesting elements and enjoyable secondary characters.
The story moves at a break-necking speed. With that the world building isn’t very well explained. We get a lot of different things thrown at us and it can be a lot to take in.
Anyways! Looking forward to reading more from this author!

I loved the start to this series and look Foward to diving in further into the world of Jezebel Files. It is hard to put down from the start, very fast pace.
Easy to follow plot and very well written characters.
Following Ashira, with humour, a snarky strong independent women with a dash of possible enemies to lovers theme. What’s not to like!

A new edge and a twist detective mystery with excitement, and spicy.

World where you have powerful elemental magics and different levels of strength. Living amongst mundane humans. Ashira was thought to be mundane, solving crimes all the well having to figure out her new destiny, who she can trust. All is not what it had seemed in her life before her accident.

Will be recommending to fellow book readers. I don’t want to say too much as I don’t want to spoil the story! I can assure you won’t be disappointed !

Reader that like author Kim Harrison and Keri Arthur will enjoy this new series.

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for the review copy of this audiobook!

I loved the magic system in the book and this book has a great main character. She was snarking and I loved it! The plot and story was done great. I loved also that our main character loved Sherlock Holmes. This made my Sherlock Holmes fan heart VERY happy!

I highly recommend this read!

The NetGalley app wouldn't allow the listening so I uninstalled it. The star rating is not for the book, though. The feedback wouldn't go thorugh without it.

Hello Gemmies! I have an exciting book review to share with you today. Please note: I received an audiobook ARC of this book (via NetGalley) from its publisher in exchange for an honest and fair review.

Blood & Ash by Deborah Wilde is fun and delightful read. The first book in the Jezebel Files series, this book is part gritty crime noir, part paranormal drama, and part romantic comedy. Blood & Ash really has it all! With influences from Jewish religion and mythology the story felt very fresh and new. Blood & Ash was a different take on magic and monsters. It was so much more than I expected.

Blood & Ash is full of twists, turns, action, magic, and sexy characters. Set in contemporary Vancouver, the world building felt realistic. I found myself quickly immersed in it. The plot was also well done. There are mysteries to be solved, magic, golems, mob bosses, and enough sexy hijinx to keep you reading all night long. Trigger warning: this is an adult book as such there is adult language and at least two sexually explicit scenes.

Blood & Ash is also a well written character driven story with a diverse cast of characters that I found to be fun, dynamic, and complex. Ashira Cohen is the best protagonist. She's sarcastic, snarky, bold, smart, headstrong, and just plain old awesome. I also loved Levi and Pria's characters. The tension between Ashira and Levi felt a little over the top at times but not enough to detract from the story. And the relationship between Ashira and Pria was BFF perfection.

Blood & Ash is narrated by one person Hollie Jackson. Hollie does a fantastic job of voicing each character. She is able to provide each with a distinct voice and personality. This is especially true with Ashira who needed a super sarcastic tone to make her character's quirky humor come through. Each person felt authentic, and through Hollie's narration I experienced several laugh out loud moments. The narration is done at a great pace, it never feels too slow or too fast. This was a joy to listen to and I cant' wait to read more stories in this series!

If you are a fan of snarky heroine's, noir thrillers, sexy scenes, and magic, then go read this book! This gem published by Te Da Media is available for purchase from all major booksellers. I give Blood & Ash 4 out of 5 gems. Happy Reading!

Blood and Ash initially shows a lot of promise. However, by the end, the clear lack of world-building and believable plot makes this entry a bit of a joke, but not in a good way.

Thank You Netgalley & Te Da Media for the audiobook of Blood & Ash (The Jezebel Files) by Deborah Wilde in return for my honest review. This was my first book by Wilde and I’m torn.

Blood & Ash led by “snarky” MC Ashira Cohen, who is PI in a magical world. It is mentioned MANY times that she’s a Holmes fan. The need to repeat it so much was one of many things that made me feel like this was written by someone who doesn’t trust readers to pick up on blatant details. I wish less time had been spent on Holmes, Watson, & Moriarty. Anyway, we have supernaturals living amongst humans. There’s magic and houses, family drama, kidnapping, murder, and a lot of confusion.

The good:
Diversity, for the most part. Jewish MC and love interest. Jewish mythology which was a fun change of pace. And an Indian BFF. That was great.

BFF, the two ladies had some moments I enjoyed.

Queen of Hearts - loved!!!

What didn’t work for me:
The snarkiness of the MC came off as childish more often than not. I love strong, sarcastic women, but it was too much, to the point of being distracting.

The romance felt forced. Enemies to lovers, I guess, but I didn’t buy into either relationship. They were odd enemies (like little boys pulling a little girls hair because he likes her sort of feel). I would almost describe it as bully/bullied to lust-ish. Like I said, didn’t work for me.

The world building and character development was lacking. The magic and rules were never clearly defined or explained. There was so much going on that I felt overwhelmed. I normally enjoy fast-paced books with a lot of action, but that only works if you take the down-time to explore the world and explain the rules. Then you have the characters, which felt like caricatures of every UF book I’ve ever read. This is obviously set up to be more than one book, so leaving questions open is important, however so is answering them. There was so much left unanswered that it became frustrating.

Unfortunately for me I had the audiobook, I was not a fan of Hollie Jackson’s take on the MC, and that More than anything else took me out of the story. I can’t help but wonder if some of my opinions would change if I had read it myself. But who knows.

I thoroughly enjoyed the parts I listened to. Who doesn't love a strong female with a snarky attitude? I also liked where the story was going but unfortunately, I didn't get very far.

The NetGalley app was not functioning properly. It wouldn't start where I'd left off and the controls were unusable so I could not move from where it was set. I was really disappointed as I was looking forward to getting into this story more.

I was enjoying this audio book until I found problems with the software and in particular the inability to return to where I finished listening when I returned to take up my listening (I was mainly listening in the car so could not spend time fiddling trying to get back to where I left off.

The story and plot hat I heard did seem interesting but unfortunately I did not get far enough in to fully appreciate both. I am unlikely to download more audiobooks until the software becomes more user friendly!

Do you like snarky, smart mouth, bad ass heroines? Yup. Me to. Ash covers all those bases. In a world of magic, Ash is supposedly non magic, yeah that doesn’t last long. A smack to the head and her magic starts to make an appearance. While on the hunt to find a missing girl she must figure out why her magic was hidden, how did Levi become such a hotty (there’s some serious sexual tension going on). It’s full to the brine with who dunnit! And I particularly adored the narrator, she managed to portray Ash’s character with her voice. It’s definitely worth a read and I can’t wait to read the next instalment to see what happens. Do Levi and Ash get together or will it be a guessing game through the series? To Be Continued....

**Thanks to the author and netgalley for the advanced copy of this book. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to NetGalley and Te Da Media for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Bottom line: I really enjoyed this paranormal mystery with a dash of romance. Ashira Cohen is a fun, take no prisoners character whose sarcasm and antisocial tendencies spoke to me in a way I should perhaps be concerned about. I loved her snark, perhaps because it was balanced with a character who knew when she was wrong. Then there’s the mystery. It was compelling enough that I urgently wanted to finish and find myself making time to listen when I should be doing other things, and there were threads left loose that make me want to keep reading. Character growth, sarcasm, friendship, mystery, and magic were ingredients for a good read (or listen in this case). And like I mentioned, there is certainly some romance in the mix, but it isn’t the driving force and I for one appreciated that. It was just the right balance for me and I’m definitely glad it isn’t a standalone.

**4.5 stars**

This book was the entry door to the Jezebel Files series and now I am (a tiny bit) obsessed. All is narrated from Ash’s point of view, a Private Investigator in the non magic side of society in Canada, that doesn’t seem to have boring days in her life.

As a heroine, Ash is smart and has a surprising ability to handle risky situations. She also masters the use of irony and has a best friend that I totally envy.

Quite importantly, Ash also has an archenemy. His name is NOT Mycroft but it could almost be, considering all the Sherlock references on this book. The only point? There are NOT brotherly feelings towards him. These two have a long history and their banter have reached professional level of proficiency. No additional tension required (it’s all already there).

This book was diverse, action packed, full of pop culture references and made me laugh more than once (don’t get me wrong, certain parts could also be frustrating). The book also touches the daily complications of public opinion in a society that has forward (and less forward) thinking in regards to the acceptance of differences (i.e. humans with magic). The story grabbed me by the arm and didn’t let go until I finished this book and the following two. The fourth and final is about to get published… reading time is already booked on my calendar.

-Overall story: 4.5 stars
-Audio: 4.5 stars (the narrator was great, but the beginning of the book was a bit accelerated until she found the “rhythm”)

*I voluntarily read and reviewed an audio of this book though Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I love audio books and this was a book i enjoyed to the end. My first book with this author but i will look out for more

So, let me just say that any book that self describes the main character as SNARKY wins a top of the stack read from me. It's so descriptive. It's the person that I want to be. :) And Ashira is all that. The story starts a little slow but I'm a believer that often books, and especially the beginning of a series, need to take those baby steps. Once the cast of characters has arrived and taken form the book really takes off. I am already looking for the next one in the series. Very, very good.