Blood & Ash: A Snarky Urban Fantasy Detective Series (The Jezebel Files, #1)

by Deborah Wilde

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 kickass urban fantasy.

• ISBN10: 1988681359
• ISBN13: 9781988681351
• Publish Date: 14 January 2020
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Simon & Schuster
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 316
• Language: English

Reviews

[booksandcats]

A really really strong start for a series. I am very intrigued! the world building is interesting, with a lot of jewish mythology/religion (I very much hope that most of it is accurate and respectful, but as someone who has little to no idea, it is fascinating and I love the for me, new aspect of fantasy). The characters are interesting, layered and kickass. Ashira is so much fun and she is so strong and she has a few issues, of course, but I like a flawed protagonist. Levi... is a nice, redeamable dick with a few very good qualities and I love their banter.

I had to get a bit used to the writing style, since it doesn't follow normal pacing I'd say with very critical and important scenes coming with seemingly no buildup, but I actually grew to like that, since it is in a sense more realistic.

Great start and I'm looking forward to enjoying more of the author.

[Liz (Bent Bookworm)]

Well folks, looks like I've found another one! Thoroughly enjoyed this. More of a review/better review to come!

[Nadz@Totally Addicted to Reading]

I received a copy of the audiobook via Netgalley, however it would not download to my phone. Therefore, I took the risk of borrowing the book through KU and purchasing the audio at a reduced price. The risk paid off as I enjoyed the story, the characters and the world the author created.

Blood and Ash by Deborah Wilde, the first book in The Jezebel Files series took me on a journey to a world filled with magic, adventure, mystery and romance. The story took place in Vancouver and it introduced me to Ashira Cohen, a private investigator who investigates cases which don’t involve magic. She is a Mundane, someone who doesn’t possess magic, hence the reason for investigating non-magical cases. So, imagine her surprise upon discovering her current case involved magic. The surprises, however, did not end there, as in the aftermath of solving the case, she discovered she possessed magical abilities. A Star of David tattoo placed on the back of her neck was responsible for the suppression of her abilities. Who placed it there and why were questions she vowed to find answers for? Meanwhile, a mysterious and evil entity is on the loose in the city, murdering users of magic and Levi, her nemesis and leader of the magic community hired to investigate. Her quest for answers would have to take a back seat as she sets out to find out who is behind the villainous magical creature and stop them.

I loved Ashira, smart, independent, determined, caring and a no-nonsense private investigator. Her association with Levi stemmed from their times together at summer camp. They never seen eye to eye then, and it has not changed. Their back-and-forth banter sprinkled with witty comments and snarky comebacks had me laughing throughout the story. The thing that amused me about these two were their lame attempts to deny their chemistry. Seriously, anyone worth their salt could see that they had the hots for each other.

I loved how the case developed throughout the story. It allowed Ashira to use her magical skills, which proved powerful, unique and dangerous if not kept under control.

Blood and Ash offered a fast-paced, action-packed and magical story with the romance being served as a delicious dessert. All these combined made for an entertaining read.

The author created an intriguing world, but it could have been better developed. I guess as the series progress, we will see an improvement in this area.

I enjoyed Holly Jackson’s narration. She did a fantastic job of bringing each of the characters to life. Her distinct voices made it easy to distinguish between each character.

Conclusion/Recommendation
Blood and Ash provided a pleasant escape and I am looking forward to the next book in the series.
This review was originally posted on Totally Addicted to Reading

[kimbacaffeinate]

Full RTC

[EBookObsessed]

I loved the blend of investigation and magic in Of Ash and Blood.

As a Mundane Private Investigator, Ashira Cohen is forbidden from working a case involving Nefresh (magic users). She has already been warned by House Pacifica as well as pompous Levi Montefiore, who runs her local House. Problem is that no one advised her that her current investigation involved an unregistered Rogue magic user and when she gets knocked down and suffers a concussion, she needs to sweep the whole thing under the rug rather than lodge her own complaint.

But hitting her head has caused more problems for Ash than just a bump and a hospital bill, Ash suddenly has magic of her own — blood magic, something which has considered as much a fairy tale as unicorns and dragons. No one is going to believe that Ash knew nothing about it since most magic makes an appearance in childhood. Someone actively suppressed her magic and she needs to figure out who and why before she is locked up as an unregistered Rogue herself.

Still Ash’s investigation into her own issue may have to take a back seat to the fact that someone may be abducting troubled teens — troubled magical teens. Ash has to find out how they are being lured and why. Ash needs to find her missing ex-client before it is too late. If she can solve this, it might go a long way in convincing Levi and the House that Ash hasn’t been hiding her abilities and if blood magic actually exist, Ash can’t possibly be the only one.

I am certain at this point that an author’s chance of writing a purely unique novel is a million to one. For example, any vampire novel after Bram Stroker’s Dracula is not unique, whether they sparkle or not. I say this because when a book comes second on someone’s reading list to a book that is similar, it is hard if not impossible to ignore the similarities. Before we can talk about this story under it’s own merit, you need to know three things that jumped out at me and kept smacking me around throughout the whole novel: #1 – the main character has blood magic which brought of memories of the Ilona Andrews’ Kate Daniels series and #2 references Houses which oversaw anything to do with people with magical abilities was reminiscent of the Houses in Ilona Andrews’ Hidden Legacy series. #3 is the fact that those without magic were considered “Mundanes.” I never read the Harry Potter books but even I know what a Muggle refers to. Mundanes was just a poor choice of word. I just find it pulls me out of a story when I start making comparisons between stories. Additionally, there was some similarities to characters and character arc between this and her Nava Katz series, but that is not wholly unexpected since many authors do this even unintensionally, including Nora Roberts. If you never read those stories, never mind. No problem.

Aside from all that, Of Ash and Blood is a great Urban Fantasy story with a solid plot and interesting characters. Ash’s obsession with Sherlock Holmes adds an interesting depth to the character. Ash is snarky and smart as all Urban Fantasy heroines should be and Levi is smart, rich and powerful which makes him a good counterpoint to Ash. I will definitely be reading the rest of the series.

Received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.

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