In Deborah Wilde’s Blood & Ash, Vancouver is transformed into a city run by humans with magical powers organized into “House Pacifica,” which has its own rules and laws and quirks that control how the “mundanes” operate. Ashira Cohen, the only female private detective in the city is a mundane whose mother is part of the “Untainted Party,” a political group rivaling the House Pacifica. Ash likes to make her own rules, threading the needle between the two powerful forces calling the shots, and it isn’t easy. And that’s even before an air elemental knocks her on her ass during a surveillance job and Ash discovers she was born with … a little something extra.
This is the first in a series of novels, and the world-building and character set up are first rate. There are some genuinely horrifying moments as our heroine crosses paths with otherworldly “smudges” that attack both humans and their magical counterparts. The dark magic these things represent means she needs an ally and she finds one in Levi Montefiore, head of House Pacific and her nemesis since they met in childhood.
The magical world of Wilde’s alternate Vancouver is a lot of fun, and she throws in a lot of little details that really “sell” the magic. (My favorite is a scene where cake balls are offered at a party. Called “wish balls,” they will taste like whatever the eater wants them to taste like. Ash is partial to things that are maple syrup and bacon-flavored.) We like Ash a lot. She’s billed as a “snarky” narrator and she is. She reminded me a bit of Anita Blake from Laurell K. Hamilton’s urban fantasy series, complete with the enemies-to-lovers trope.
The underlying mythology is Jewish, a nice change from the usual Catholic backdrop, and the reason for how magic escaped into the world is tied into that. (Bonus points for the golem.)
There’s a genuine mystery here, and while the book solves it, there is plenty of room to develop the world and larger secrets in the sequels. I look forward to Ash’s new adventures
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Reviews with images
A Must Read!
Deborah Wilde’s new Blood and Ash series isn’t just great—it’s stay up all night and go to work looking hung over great! this book will go straight to your favorites shelf so that you can reread. I cannot wait for the next in the series to come out! Blood and Ash is in a world where only a small percentage of the population has magical powers. The magic wielders grouped up for safety and power within the world. All who have powers only have one power, the rest are just mundane. Deborah does a superb job of weaving her story line with humor, intrigue, and of course a bit of romance. While Deborah concluded the first book’s problems nicely, she created a new mess for the protagonist to wade through for the next one. I am counting the days until its release!
Top reviews from other countries
starcrossed2012
Mind bending, great story and very hard to put down. Completely enjoyable
Reviewed in Canada on March 23, 2021
Holzbeez
Funny and Witty with a touch of magic
Reviewed in Australia on October 13, 2020
Cheryl from uk
Easy read, likeable characters
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 19, 2023