What do you think?
Of Light and Ember
He falls firstSlow burnTwo Jewish Mystical MC’sCompetent, neurospicy FMCProtective Emberborn MMCJewish mysticismSacred sexualityPolitical corruptionMagical ClevelandOpen door romanceFound familyAviva Stern has spent years keeping humans and Mythriqs from tearing Cleveland apart.
As deputy director of Human and Mythriq Relations, she is good at solving impossible problems, navigating political disasters, and making everyone else feel safe. What she is not good at is letting anyone get close.
Then Rafael Al-Hadeff arrives.
Rafi is Emberborn—rare, powerful, infuriatingly charming, and impossible to ignore. He has come to Cleveland to represent the Mythriq communities in a high-stakes waterfront negotiation. Aviva expects an adversary.
She does not expect him to smell like smoke and melted sugar.
She does not expect him to understand her.
And she definitely does not expect him to look at her as though she is something sacred.
As negotiations intensify and long-buried dangers begin to surface, Aviva and Rafi are drawn into a bond neither of them knows how to control. But trust is more dangerous than desire, and Aviva has survived too much to surrender her heart easily.
In a city where magic is regulated, love is complicated, and every species has paperwork to file, one woman must decide whether the life she built to protect herself is also the thing keeping her from the future she deserves.
Of Light and Ember is a Jewish urban romantasy filled with slow-burn chemistry, magical politics, emotional healing, found family, sacred tradition, and a hero who knows exactly what he wants.
For readers who love devoted heroes, complicated heroines, rich worldbuilding, workplace tension, and romance with both heat and heart.
As deputy director of Human and Mythriq Relations, she is good at solving impossible problems, navigating political disasters, and making everyone else feel safe. What she is not good at is letting anyone get close.
Then Rafael Al-Hadeff arrives.
Rafi is Emberborn—rare, powerful, infuriatingly charming, and impossible to ignore. He has come to Cleveland to represent the Mythriq communities in a high-stakes waterfront negotiation. Aviva expects an adversary.
She does not expect him to smell like smoke and melted sugar.
She does not expect him to understand her.
And she definitely does not expect him to look at her as though she is something sacred.
As negotiations intensify and long-buried dangers begin to surface, Aviva and Rafi are drawn into a bond neither of them knows how to control. But trust is more dangerous than desire, and Aviva has survived too much to surrender her heart easily.
In a city where magic is regulated, love is complicated, and every species has paperwork to file, one woman must decide whether the life she built to protect herself is also the thing keeping her from the future she deserves.
Of Light and Ember is a Jewish urban romantasy filled with slow-burn chemistry, magical politics, emotional healing, found family, sacred tradition, and a hero who knows exactly what he wants.
For readers who love devoted heroes, complicated heroines, rich worldbuilding, workplace tension, and romance with both heat and heart.
440 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 29, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 29, 2026
I absolutely loved Of Light and Ember! This book has been on my mind even after I finished reading it. Aviva completely won me over,her strength, guarded heart, and struggle to let herself be vulnerable felt so real. And Rafi? I adored him. The way he sees and understands Aviva made their slow-burn romance incredibly satisfying.
I loved how the human,Mythriq tensions, magical politics, Jewish traditions, and found-family elements gave their love story so much more depth. But what stayed with me most was the idea that sometimes the walls we build to protect ourselves can also keep us from the happiness we deserve.
Beautifully written, emotional, magical, and full of heart. I genuinely loved this book and will be thinking about Aviva and Rafi for a long time.
I loved how the human,Mythriq tensions, magical politics, Jewish traditions, and found-family elements gave their love story so much more depth. But what stayed with me most was the idea that sometimes the walls we build to protect ourselves can also keep us from the happiness we deserve.
Beautifully written, emotional, magical, and full of heart. I genuinely loved this book and will be thinking about Aviva and Rafi for a long time.
October 12, 2026
I wanted to love this book SOOOO bad it hurts, but after reading it I regrettably had to give it 1.75 stars.
On paper this book is JUST my vibe - a spicy Jewish romantasy?!? COUNT ME IN!!
In practice though, the execution of this story was poorly done.
1. The writing was abysmal
I can’t even tell you how many parts of this book were so grating it made me physically cringe like I was hearing nails on a chalkboard. Even though this book was not written by AI, I can see why other readers felt like it was. Just when I thought the writing couldn’t get even more cliche, Aviva (the FMC) would say “How very dare they/he/she?” or Rafi (the MMC) would REPEATEDLY describe Aviva as a “dark-haired beauty”. I would instantly be ripped out of the story and I would want to rip my eyes out. The author explains SO MUCH that she doesn’t add any literary devices to SHOW the reader how characters are feeling, she
To give you a taste of what the writing was like in this book:
The FMC talking to the MMC, Rafi in Chapter 14: “Okay, big boy. Time to go.” (GAG 🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮)
“After Siobhan learned enough about Ben to understand why, Aviva’s former husband, she stopped pushing.” - I TRULY don’t understand what this sentence is suppose to say. The wording is so weird
“…and told him stories about growing up with a mean old bossy-pants oldest sister Vivi” - if you EVER feel the need to add the word “bossy pants” to a story (ironically or unironically!!!!), DON’T I BEG YOU.
2. The “Jewish” Element of this Jewish Romantasy was Shallow and Cliche. It felt like the author did not trust the reader to use context clues while reading so they spelled out EVERYTHING related to Jewish words rather than crafting the story in a way that is organically Jewish.
For Example:
Chapter 14: “The assembly held a diverse array of humans, Satyrs, Warewolves, Fae, Lizardmen, Dwarves, and one singular Minotaur transplant from Detroit. He had converted”
- I think this sentence is suppose to be funny? Not sure where the joke was though because this was an extremely long sentence that forgot to land
- Also I don’t understand how this is suppose to be a JEWISH fantasy and there is ZERO reference to JEWISH folklore and fantasy creatures (golem, dybbuks, ziz, re’em, LEVIATHAN etc.?!?!?) I feel like the author called this a Jewish fantasy because the FMC was named Aviva and she defined Jewish terms. As a Jewish Woman who wanted to LOVE this book with every fiber of my being, this book was incredibly frustrating. Our culture has SUCH a rich history of mystical creatures and fantasy that to not add even a SINGLE creature from Jewish folklore actually irritated me. If you could wait to naturally explain what “koukla” meant after Rafi first said it, I think the same intentionality should have been to the Jewish elements of the story.
3. I DRAWWWWWW the LINEEEEE at WOMEN proposing TO MEN!!! EEEYYYYCCCKKK!!!!! 🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮
SIOBHAN IS A TERRIBLE FRIEND!!!! IDK IDK IDK!!!! 🤬 (Argue with the wall NOT ME!!!!)
The fact that this was even a conversation Aviva entertained sent me into a BLIND RAGE - as if Aviva did not do ENOUGH. As if Aviva ALREADY didn’t call herself a people-pleaser. SHE DESERVES to be CHOSEN!! I’m SICK of reading about how she choses everyone and EVERYTHING else over herself.
4. I wish the author leaned more into office humor
-The Office Potluck sign at the beginning of the book had me CACKLING!!!!
- Janice Chapter ONE!!!!:
- Janice’s response when Aviva asked her when Rodney quit had me HOWLING 😂
- Janice guessing that Aviva was reminiscing about “When we actually liked this project” 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂
-I thought this book was going to be an EASY 5 stars with how witty it started but it felt like after chapter 1,the editor just quit or something because the wit and humor that the book started off with did not carry into the rest of the book and I was HEARTBROKEN because Janice really could have been our Corporate Spirit animal if she maintained that wit throughout the book.
5. Rafi was CREEPY AS SH*T
-What do you mean that man incessantly texted Aviva then CALLED her after she responded too slow? JAIL!!! ASAP!! This was not the case of a man who YEARNS and knows what he wants, this man is DANGEROUSLY!!!! SOS!!!! 😭
- Aviva literally says “Hmmmm. He really was persistent” and I literally SCREAMED that Rafi was a K!LLER!!!!
- Rafi’s insta-lust was unbelievable and irritating
- Rafi’s “Hi beautiful” texts to Aviva made him sound like a hotep
6. EDITOR ASAP!!!!
-This book had SOOO much potential that I wish I was a beta reader or something because the story could be so much better if there was an editior
- The author wrote the dialogue the way people speak - not the way people read - which made the characters come off as stupid (lol I’m not sure how to reword this but that’s the best I can describe this right now). I HIGHLY recommend the author attend workshops on writing dialogue she tightens up the conversations instead of dragging them on
- example:
- “Yes. And, please G-d, we should be near the finish line soon, right? Everyone’s happy with what we discussed yesterday? Please tell me everyone is happy, Rafi”
- Spoken in a Disney Channel Original Movie, this makes sense. But in a book the repetition is GRATING 🤮
- POVs switched LITERALLY mid sentence. It was so confusing and irritating. The beginning of the SENTENCE started with Aviva, then somewhere before the end of the run-on sentence, I was in Rafi’s POV?!?
- Mentioning the racial categories and/or stereotypes for the “non-white” characters but characters assumed “white” getting vivid descriptions of their skin/hair/eyes without mentioning stereotypes or their “racial categorization was - hard to read. It was glaringly obvious that the diverse characters were an afterthought and it felt forced. When I came across the chapter where she described Mirabel Ortiz as a “loud opinionated Latina” with “self-proclaimed ‘chola’ - eyebrows” (yes those are direct quotes 🙃), I literally had to put my kindle down and stare at a wall in shock (NOT the good kind of shock 🙃)
There were so many other notes I could add but I will stop there. I REALLY hope the author hires an amazing editor and rewrites this book because I KNOW it could be really fabulous but as of right now, the writing, the plot, and the characters are all over the place. 1.75 stars is truly a stretch to be honest for my star rating because with all the issues, reading this book was SOO incredibly difficult even though I really want to support this author.
On paper this book is JUST my vibe - a spicy Jewish romantasy?!? COUNT ME IN!!
In practice though, the execution of this story was poorly done.
1. The writing was abysmal
I can’t even tell you how many parts of this book were so grating it made me physically cringe like I was hearing nails on a chalkboard. Even though this book was not written by AI, I can see why other readers felt like it was. Just when I thought the writing couldn’t get even more cliche, Aviva (the FMC) would say “How very dare they/he/she?” or Rafi (the MMC) would REPEATEDLY describe Aviva as a “dark-haired beauty”. I would instantly be ripped out of the story and I would want to rip my eyes out. The author explains SO MUCH that she doesn’t add any literary devices to SHOW the reader how characters are feeling, she
To give you a taste of what the writing was like in this book:
The FMC talking to the MMC, Rafi in Chapter 14: “Okay, big boy. Time to go.” (GAG 🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮)
“After Siobhan learned enough about Ben to understand why, Aviva’s former husband, she stopped pushing.” - I TRULY don’t understand what this sentence is suppose to say. The wording is so weird
“…and told him stories about growing up with a mean old bossy-pants oldest sister Vivi” - if you EVER feel the need to add the word “bossy pants” to a story (ironically or unironically!!!!), DON’T I BEG YOU.
2. The “Jewish” Element of this Jewish Romantasy was Shallow and Cliche. It felt like the author did not trust the reader to use context clues while reading so they spelled out EVERYTHING related to Jewish words rather than crafting the story in a way that is organically Jewish.
For Example:
Chapter 14: “The assembly held a diverse array of humans, Satyrs, Warewolves, Fae, Lizardmen, Dwarves, and one singular Minotaur transplant from Detroit. He had converted”
- I think this sentence is suppose to be funny? Not sure where the joke was though because this was an extremely long sentence that forgot to land
- Also I don’t understand how this is suppose to be a JEWISH fantasy and there is ZERO reference to JEWISH folklore and fantasy creatures (golem, dybbuks, ziz, re’em, LEVIATHAN etc.?!?!?) I feel like the author called this a Jewish fantasy because the FMC was named Aviva and she defined Jewish terms. As a Jewish Woman who wanted to LOVE this book with every fiber of my being, this book was incredibly frustrating. Our culture has SUCH a rich history of mystical creatures and fantasy that to not add even a SINGLE creature from Jewish folklore actually irritated me. If you could wait to naturally explain what “koukla” meant after Rafi first said it, I think the same intentionality should have been to the Jewish elements of the story.
3. I DRAWWWWWW the LINEEEEE at WOMEN proposing TO MEN!!! EEEYYYYCCCKKK!!!!! 🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮
SIOBHAN IS A TERRIBLE FRIEND!!!! IDK IDK IDK!!!! 🤬 (Argue with the wall NOT ME!!!!)
The fact that this was even a conversation Aviva entertained sent me into a BLIND RAGE - as if Aviva did not do ENOUGH. As if Aviva ALREADY didn’t call herself a people-pleaser. SHE DESERVES to be CHOSEN!! I’m SICK of reading about how she choses everyone and EVERYTHING else over herself.
4. I wish the author leaned more into office humor
-The Office Potluck sign at the beginning of the book had me CACKLING!!!!
- Janice Chapter ONE!!!!:
- Janice’s response when Aviva asked her when Rodney quit had me HOWLING 😂
- Janice guessing that Aviva was reminiscing about “When we actually liked this project” 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂
-I thought this book was going to be an EASY 5 stars with how witty it started but it felt like after chapter 1,the editor just quit or something because the wit and humor that the book started off with did not carry into the rest of the book and I was HEARTBROKEN because Janice really could have been our Corporate Spirit animal if she maintained that wit throughout the book.
5. Rafi was CREEPY AS SH*T
-What do you mean that man incessantly texted Aviva then CALLED her after she responded too slow? JAIL!!! ASAP!! This was not the case of a man who YEARNS and knows what he wants, this man is DANGEROUSLY!!!! SOS!!!! 😭
- Aviva literally says “Hmmmm. He really was persistent” and I literally SCREAMED that Rafi was a K!LLER!!!!
- Rafi’s insta-lust was unbelievable and irritating
- Rafi’s “Hi beautiful” texts to Aviva made him sound like a hotep
6. EDITOR ASAP!!!!
-This book had SOOO much potential that I wish I was a beta reader or something because the story could be so much better if there was an editior
- The author wrote the dialogue the way people speak - not the way people read - which made the characters come off as stupid (lol I’m not sure how to reword this but that’s the best I can describe this right now). I HIGHLY recommend the author attend workshops on writing dialogue she tightens up the conversations instead of dragging them on
- example:
- “Yes. And, please G-d, we should be near the finish line soon, right? Everyone’s happy with what we discussed yesterday? Please tell me everyone is happy, Rafi”
- Spoken in a Disney Channel Original Movie, this makes sense. But in a book the repetition is GRATING 🤮
- POVs switched LITERALLY mid sentence. It was so confusing and irritating. The beginning of the SENTENCE started with Aviva, then somewhere before the end of the run-on sentence, I was in Rafi’s POV?!?
- Mentioning the racial categories and/or stereotypes for the “non-white” characters but characters assumed “white” getting vivid descriptions of their skin/hair/eyes without mentioning stereotypes or their “racial categorization was - hard to read. It was glaringly obvious that the diverse characters were an afterthought and it felt forced. When I came across the chapter where she described Mirabel Ortiz as a “loud opinionated Latina” with “self-proclaimed ‘chola’ - eyebrows” (yes those are direct quotes 🙃), I literally had to put my kindle down and stare at a wall in shock (NOT the good kind of shock 🙃)
There were so many other notes I could add but I will stop there. I REALLY hope the author hires an amazing editor and rewrites this book because I KNOW it could be really fabulous but as of right now, the writing, the plot, and the characters are all over the place. 1.75 stars is truly a stretch to be honest for my star rating because with all the issues, reading this book was SOO incredibly difficult even though I really want to support this author.
August 8, 2026
I think books made with AI should have to self-disclose or otherwise come with some sort of label.
Great concept but poor execution.
The writing was clunky and awkward with heavy use of AI. For instance, the FMC noted the MMC wearing a chai necklace on first sight, but pages later a hamsa tattoo was what made her ask if he was Jewish. A chai pendant would be the dead giveaway he's Jewish, not a hamsa used by many cultures. That lack of continuity is a clear red flag for AI, even if the author didn't admit herself to using it. World building was not flushed out or clearly established, and honestly paragraph after paragraph about how the guy smelled in the first chapter was... weird. In fact, the whole first exchange was odd because the described emotions flitted from one extreme to another. She's stunned, then she's angry, then she's horny, and then she's angry again before deflating, all within a couple pages without anything actually happening. She's just having some sort of internal meltdown for now reason. (But what did the meltdown smell like?)
It was a DNF for me, and truly I wouldn't have even bothered had I known from the start how laden the writing was with AI slop.
Great concept but poor execution.
The writing was clunky and awkward with heavy use of AI. For instance, the FMC noted the MMC wearing a chai necklace on first sight, but pages later a hamsa tattoo was what made her ask if he was Jewish. A chai pendant would be the dead giveaway he's Jewish, not a hamsa used by many cultures. That lack of continuity is a clear red flag for AI, even if the author didn't admit herself to using it. World building was not flushed out or clearly established, and honestly paragraph after paragraph about how the guy smelled in the first chapter was... weird. In fact, the whole first exchange was odd because the described emotions flitted from one extreme to another. She's stunned, then she's angry, then she's horny, and then she's angry again before deflating, all within a couple pages without anything actually happening. She's just having some sort of internal meltdown for now reason. (But what did the meltdown smell like?)
It was a DNF for me, and truly I wouldn't have even bothered had I known from the start how laden the writing was with AI slop.
September 30, 2026
3.5 rounding up
I enjoyed this heartwarming, spicy Jewish Urban Fantasy Romance! It’s clear so much love and heart went into writing this book.
It was heavier on the romance and more slice-of-life than I expected. Once I adjusted to the expectation that it was a romance that happened to coincide with magic and stopped waiting for Big Fantasy Things, it became a more fun read.
The Jewish aspects were so much fun to read in a fantasy and felt like a warm hug after lighting shabbos candles. The Sephardi vs Ashkenazi quips had me laughing out loud, as did some other super-specific orthodox Jewish experiences (I mean what girl hasn’t swooned over their crush wrapping tefillin?)
The author is a strong writer, with fluid prose and very relatable metaphors. The pacing did feel somewhat off (a little too long to really get the story started, a little too long to wrap up, with a very strong middle chunk), but the characters were endearing enough to overcome it.
A favorite line that I felt deeply:
“And she had borne it gracefully right up until the moment she absolutely did not. Hours and days of graceful patience gave way to weeping, explosions, and emotional disarray.”
I’m hoping we get a Bruria-centered story next, she was my favorite character!
I enjoyed this heartwarming, spicy Jewish Urban Fantasy Romance! It’s clear so much love and heart went into writing this book.
It was heavier on the romance and more slice-of-life than I expected. Once I adjusted to the expectation that it was a romance that happened to coincide with magic and stopped waiting for Big Fantasy Things, it became a more fun read.
The Jewish aspects were so much fun to read in a fantasy and felt like a warm hug after lighting shabbos candles. The Sephardi vs Ashkenazi quips had me laughing out loud, as did some other super-specific orthodox Jewish experiences (I mean what girl hasn’t swooned over their crush wrapping tefillin?)
The author is a strong writer, with fluid prose and very relatable metaphors. The pacing did feel somewhat off (a little too long to really get the story started, a little too long to wrap up, with a very strong middle chunk), but the characters were endearing enough to overcome it.
A favorite line that I felt deeply:
“And she had borne it gracefully right up until the moment she absolutely did not. Hours and days of graceful patience gave way to weeping, explosions, and emotional disarray.”
I’m hoping we get a Bruria-centered story next, she was my favorite character!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews