Blood & Ash: A Snarky Urban Fantasy Detective Series

By: Deborah Wilde

Narrated by: Hollie Jackson

Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's Summary

Cold-blooded kidnappers. Long-lost magic. When things get serious, she goes full Sherlock.

Ashira Cohen takes pride in being the only female private investigator in Vancouver. With her skills, her missing persons case should be a piece of cake.

She wasn't counting on getting bashed in the skull, revealing a hidden tattoo and supernatural powers she shouldn't possess.

Or the bitter icing on top: a spree of abductions and terrifying ghostly creatures on a deadly bender.

And don't even get her started on the golems.

Reluctantly partnered with her long-time nemesis Levi, the infuriating leader of the magic community, Ash resolves to keep her focus on the clue trail and off their sexual tension because WTF is up with that?

But with a mastermind organization pulling strings from the shadows and Levi's arrogance driving her to pick out his body bag, can Ash rescue the captives and uncover the truth or will the next blood spilled be her own?

Blood & Ash is the epic first novel in The Jezebel Files. If you like headstrong heroines, complex mysteries, and a dash of red-hot romance, you'll love Deborah Wilde's laugh out loud tale.

Get it now!

©2020 Deborah Wilde (P)2020 Deborah Wilde

LOVED!

The story was awesome. It had moments of seriousness but buffered with humor. I didn't want to stop listening to the story because I wanted to know what was going to happen.

Hollie Jackson did an amazing job narrating the story. She did the different voices well and even at the fast pace I listen to books didn't sound weird.

Will definitely pick up more by this author and narrator.

1 person found this helpful

Sensational & Snarky

I loved theis first in series. The female lead is sensationally snarky & flawed but strong. The way magic is portrayed in this world is quite original. The narrator was fantastic at bringing the story and characters to life. I look forward to more from this author and in this series

1 person found this helpful

A sound building block for more to come~

Book one in The Jezebel Files.

Ashira Cohen-A female private investigator. Since she is human she is not allowed to work the cases that deal with the magical society. Yet during a case that takes a turn into the magical direction, she hits her head and suddenly has magic.

Levi- Leader of the magical society. He and Ashira have one of those relationships that have you cringing. But under all the snark between them, there is a sensual tension under it all.

With magical people disappearing and humans dying, these two have to work together to find who is responsible before the humans take things into their own hands. This is a mystery with magical creatures and a building romance. I found this first book a pretty good building block for the series and have hopes to continue reading the rest.

Explicit mind candy

The story is entertaining as long as the listener realizes this is pure mind candy. Be aware that it is very explicit regarding language and sex; listener must be willing to accept constant F-bombs and sex descriptions.

Promising start to a great new series

I’m not a big fan of spoilers in reviews – and you can get what you need about the book from the synopsis so I’m not going to go too deeply into plot details. Also I’m always a bit dubious when and author I love starts a new series: I absolutely adore Wilde’s main protagonist Nava from her “Unlikeable Demon Hunter” series –and you kind of want the same characters you fell in love with, but at the same time you don’t because it’s a new story and new world you get to explore.

I think Blood and Ash hits it out of the park.

The main character here is Ashira Cohen – who has all Nava’s snarkiness – if a bit (just a bit) toned down - but is clearly not just a stand in for Nava. Her back story is different enough to clearly give her her own voice. Yes they are both Jewish women in the 20’s who discover they can wield magic, but their magic is very different and they take to it differently.
Other similar but very different characteristic of both series are the strong but not overwhelming feminist undertones – luckily for Ashira the men in her world seem a much more accepting of strong women than some that Nava had to deal with. Also similar is the use of Jewish Mythology as the driving force of the plot. Personally I find when actual mythology is used as a base for fiction it gives the story a more grounded feel.

I did 100% enjoy “Blood and Ash” – in fact I read it twice – once the kindle version (because I just couldn’t wait for the audio to be ready!) and then listened to the audible. As for the audible version vs the kindle version – I think Hollie Jackson is a great narrator and generally enjoy her readings. Also I found the audible version flowed better – although that may have just been due to how I have formatting set up on my kindle. As to why I’m only giving this book 4.5 out of 5 stars – I wouldn’t like the book as much as if it were just a standalone story. There is a ton more story to be explored that just couldn’t be tied up in one book. So, although the main plot specific to this book was fully completed I still had a lot of questions around Ash’s world in general. That being said I highly look forward to getting to read subsequent books and discovering the rest of it. I expect this series will just get better and better!

Amazing!

What an exciting and thrilling story! I absolutely loved it. The narrator is spot on as Ash, and I just love Ash’s inner monologues. The storyline is enticing, the characters are fantastic and I can’t wait to find out what happens next. Very well written and truly hilarious.
One of my favourite lines from the story: “Namaste, bitch”.

Fun character dynamics and interesting storyline and world building. I love Ash she is a feisty MC.

The Blood and Ash series is a stay up all night and look haggard the next day kids kinda book. This series will definitely remain in your favorites that you will re-read often. I definitely plan to read the rest of the series and hands down the narration is fantastic. I love the narrator she really brings the story to life! The world building is very interesting and believe-able. In this world only a small percentage of the population has magical powers. The more powerful magic wielders strictly register and monitor the others with power for safety and stability within the human population. The overall storyline is action packed and filled with humor, evil plots, and a dash of romance. This book wraps up nicely but still has plenty too figure out in other books and I am excited to see what happens next. I received this book as an ARC from the author and I highly recommend it!

Ash is so full of attitude that she made me laugh.

This is the beginning of an outstanding brand new series. Ashira is so full of personality that she will captivate her audience. She made me laugh and cringe. I didn't think anyone could beat Nava Katz for snarky originality, but Ash is gonna give her a run for her money for that top spot. She is a PI, but only able to handle NON paranormal cases. She takes a case from a woman to follow her daughter and see what she's been up to. What she gets is a whole lot more trouble and surprises than she was counting on. She will be working with the leader of the local magic wielders, Levi. They have had more than a few run-ins and the more they are together the more they are drawn to each other. Hollie Jackson gives Ash such depth in her narration that I could see her attitude in my mind's eye. I highly recommend this book!! This promises more laughs and magical hijinks than you can dream. I requested an advanced reader copy and am under no obligation to leave this review.

A brilliant listen!

Deborah Wilde and Hollie Jackson do it again! Sassy, snarky, hilarious, sexy, quick witted and absolutely brilliant. Hollie brings Ashira alive in this action filled new series by Deborah and I can not wait for book 2! The character is perfectly portrayed in this production, I could listen to her speak forever! Even her 'voice change' for the male MC is awesome (and just a little bit - okay maybe a lot a bit sexy). I loved it! Thank you both for your brilliance and keep it coming.

Even better than her last series!!!

I should have known Deborah could make another series as awesome as The Unlikeable Demon Hunter. I read the book first, and I couldn't put this book down. And as soon as I write this review, I'm heading back in to reread my highlights (which are full chapters). AND then the audio released, and it was GLORIOUS!!! It's been awesome to listen as I drive or cook dinner. Hearing the snark is even better than reading it!!!

So many mysteries to unravel. So much history to break down and move through for Ash. So much romance to be had.... Maybe?

This keeps you on the edge of your seat. There's no down time. There's only wondering what will happen next and reveling in each answer and next clue.

Ash is locked down tight, strong-willed, working on her own history and future, with awesome friends, acquaintances, and buckets of snark.

The narrator was PERFECT for Ash and did all the different voices AMAZINGLY well. I absolutely love it!!

Can't wait for the next book!

Having read and loved the Unlikable Demon Hunter series, I had high expectations from this book, going in. I'm happy to say I was not disappointed in the least!

Ash is snarky and kickass without the need to show off her snark and kickassness (kickassery?) at every turn, the plot is unique and engaging, the characters ring true despite the magic element, and the sexy scenes are steamy without becoming the focus of the book.

Hollie Jackson does a great job giving life to the story. She and Deborah Wilde's heroines seem to be a match made in audio-book lovers' heaven.

I hope the next book is out soon. I'm hooked and need more!

Great Start

Fantastic start if you like urban crime fantasy.

This is about a female PI in an alternate world where magic is available and caused originally by ten men who try to cheat and carry out a Jewish ritual but it goes awry and magic is released.
The female lead thinks she’s mundane but due to an accident a ward on her head is damaged and she finds out she has a type of magic thought to not exist.

Disappointing

I just don’t get what this book/story/series is trying to be. The storyline is rushed and makes no real sense. The author skips from one plot reveal to another never fleshing out any of them so your still wondering what the hell the last one is about when’s into the next one. I’m all for fast paced but this just didn’t work