Hechizos y cenizas

The Dark Files #1

by Kim Richardson

Mi nombre es Samantha Beaumont y soy una bruja. Y no, no soy tu bruja promedio. Soy una bruja oscura, y me gusta cazar y matar demonios y otros entes sobrenaturales desagradables con magia de la antigua.

Todo iba bien hasta que una niña humana es asesinada y un demonio mayor toma su alma. Se pone peor. Los cuerpos están cayendo como moscas y no tengo más remedio que asociarme con Logan, un guerrero tan sexy como el mismo pecado, para resolver el caso.

El problema es que todo el mundo sabe que los nacidos de ángeles odian a las brujas oscuras, y por lo tanto no debería confiar en él. Sin embargo, no tengo otra opción. Voy a resolver estos asesinatos, incluso si el ángel nacido me odia, e incluso si la sensualidad entre nosotros es irresistible.

Si te gusta la fantasía urbana intensa, el misterio, el romance de combustión lenta y el humor, entonces te encantará Hechizos y Cenizas. ¡Prepárate para tu próxima mágica aventura!

Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Witches, Magic, Demons, Romance

393 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 23, 2019

About the author

Kim Richardson is the award-winning author of the bestselling SOUL GUARDIANS series. She lives in the eastern part of Canada with her husband, two dogs and a very old cat. She is the author of the SOUL GUARDIANS series, the MYSTICS series, and the DIVIDED REALMS series. Kim's books are available in print editions, and translations are available in over 7 languages.

Reviews

[Montzalee Wittmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spells & Ashes
By Kim Richardson
This was a fun and fast-paced fantasy with angels, demons, witches, and more. Great characters, plot, action scenes, and dialog. I plan to follow this series when I can.

[Denisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 A pretty nice start.


This series seems interesting enough.

The MC is pretty average as a character, but I like the extra added spice with her very unusual ability. I'm reaaallyyy curious to see how this will go, but should be pretty nice.

I love, love her Familiar, he's awesome!

The rest of the book, well, not much to say. Not bad, not great either. I have a feeling that this will either be a really good series, or a really boring, typical, forgettable read.

We'll see soon enough.

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon today (3/27/2020)! 🎁

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe I'll do a review for this one later.

But I just gotta say the villain monologues were pretty frequent and monotonous. At one point I was thinking "Really? Another time wasting shit-talking speech?"



I mean, the Demon sure seemed to like waiting around for the heros to show up, to let the h finish her magic sigils, or just share some taunting witty barbs as a time waster for the mains to get the upper hand somehow instead of just...I dunno...killing them?

The question is do I want to read the next one for the possible angel-born/witch/demon romance? Dunno.

[Mara]

I tried it twice but never got past chapter 5.

[Heather Gilbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 rounded up

How have I never read this author before?? I adore a good urban fantasy and this one is honestly better than most. It gives just enough information to craft the world while still moving the plot spins at a fast clip. There’s a touch of romance, a whole slew of danger and a hefty dose of magic - all mixed in a cauldron of awesomeness.

Pros:
- Great characters, I’m truly not sure who is my favorite.
- Ok, Colin... he might be my fav.
- Or Poe. Honestly? A raven named Poe? Love it.
- Well written.
- Very Fast.
- Plot is concise and focused.

Cons:
- What Good is a psychic if we don’t get to hear the inner workings of what he hears? lol!!

[Emmalynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 this was actually not bad, but I’m reading another series by this author and the trend I’ve noticed with her MFC is that they are irritating. I think they can be string, assertive, intelligent, etc etc without being irritating and selfish. Here, the MFC gets angry, angry, angry. She also has this “well of power” that she only uses after getting her butt kicked over and over, her friends almost dying etc.

The story itself of her being a half-breed, witch with demon powers is interesting. The best part of the book was Poe, Farris and Grandfather. Overall it was a goodish read.

[Dallass · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick fun first book

I enjoyed this first book in The Dark Files. The characters were interesting, the scenarios attention grabbing, and the world building was sufficient enough that it fleshed out the story without being a great big info dump.

The battle with the demon wasn’t a cakewalk for the protagonist, which I appreciated, and it took a group effort to get sh*t done.

I think I’ll pick up the second book.

3 stars.

[Gena Grider · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s ok

I tried to read this book several times. It had so many good reviews and I couldn’t make it past the first couple of chapters because of boredom. I finally finished it, but it was just ok to me. It’s a great storyline, but it’s so dry and bland. I don’t mean romantically, just in general.

[DaJa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 Sterne von mir. Ich hatte mir wirklich mehr von dem Buch erhofft. Die Story und der Aufbau an sich ist nicht schlecht, aber mit den Charackteren bin ich nicht so wirklich warm geworden. Sie waren mir zu flach. Schade eigentlich, ich wollte, dass es mir besser gefällt, aber nun bin ich mir nicht sicher, ob ich die Reihe weiterverfolgen soll.

[Lilith1323 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars!

[Lura (The Life of Serendipity) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Now what can I say about this book that won't come off offensive, or mean... Ah hell, whatever I'm just gonna give my 2¢ and be gone so either you'll agree with my opinion, or you won't. Anyway on with the review!

Samantha Beaumont is out for blood, demon blood to be exact. She's on the hunt for a demon who killed a young teenage girl, whom the demon had possessed, and who Sam had tried to save. Will Sam succeed in killing this demon once and for all, or die trying...?

This book was a rather quick read, surprising because I didn't even realize I had hit the 70% mark until I'd been reading it for about a day and a half, on and off. Now does that mean that I couldn't put this book down? Yes and no. I did feel myself dragged into the book, I was enjoying it, but not at the same time. I found this book was rather shallow and just... not deep whatsoever. Felt like I was wading through the kiddie pool at your local swimming pool. There was big talk but it just fell flat, like there was to much information thrown at us and you weren't given enough time to process said information. Spells, hexes, sigils, demons, witches, vampires, psychics, gnomes, pixies, werewolves and whatever else that this book threw your way, It was to much to fast. Now the characters, oh god help me, the characters...

Samantha Beaumont - Oh good lord what can be said about good ole Sammy. This girl was powerful, but she talk to damn much, both in real life and in her head. She could probably do with getting her head out of her own ass. Like in all seriousness I'm sure she's a sweet woman and all, but damn this character needs some work. She talks about others being too cocky, but damn she has no room to talk. This girl was too overly confident that it kinda made me dislike this book a little more. Actually really enjoyed when she realized that she might have bitten off more then she could chew. Oh and her constant need to say how hot Alex, Logan, Kyllian and Faris were... *sigh* GIRL WE GET IT! They are so smoking hot that it should be illegal for them to walk to the streets without supervision, get laid and lets move on! No more hot men around Sam because I don't really think she could handle it and focus on the task at hand. Honey just grab Logan and go to town, like you told Vera it feels good to get laid so why don't you follow you own advice and do the nasty! It might help you clear your head of all that pent up horniness...! Now I do commend her for waiting to avenge Julia, but my word this character was just sooo shallow.

Logan - I mean nothing can be said about his character, you don't really learn much about him which is understandable since this is the first book in the series, but damn Sam covered us well on how hot he looks in a motorcycle jacket and him being all dressed in black... *rolls eyes*

Kyllian - You know I really hope Kyllian comes back because he seemed like a really interesting character. He's a angel, but he hates the Legion for what they made him do in the past. I'd loved to see where his character goes from here if there is more of him to be seen.

Grandpa Beaumont - I thought Gramps was pretty funny, even a eccentric at times but he was serious when the situation called for it.

Aunt Evanora - I really liked her character! She had a dark sense of humor and didn't like when she was being jerked around, or someone tried to steal from her. Only morons would steal from this ancient witch.

Poe - Sam's demon familiar and best friend(?) I really liked him because he stood up for Sam and didn't like when people messed with her, or poked at her heritage.

Colin - Cool little kid, mature for his age and insanely powerful for someone so young.

Vera - Suck a toe, Vera. That's all that I can say about this character. She was just your average nosy, bitch of a neighbor.

So overall this book was just okay, but I think what really spoiled the book for me was Sam's cockiness and her need to keep mentioning how hot all the guys where around her. Plot could have been so much better if Sam was toned down just a little bit and she actually focused on the task at hand and not been so distracted when Logan was near her even for a second...

Anyway I give this book ★★ out of ★★★★★

[Thelma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spells and Ashes

Great plot, lots of action, nice world building,,and a quirky cast of characters, really enjoyable, with some heart racing parts to cover all of the bases, I will be checking out the rest of the series

[Sandra · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really liked the first two books in the series, and even maybe half of the third. Then the main character's backbone started dissolving. She lets a man who supposedly likes her, #1 Stand her up, #2 Accuse her of the most horrendous crimes possible while calling her every filthy name in the book, and #3 Destroys her case by doubting her skills, withholding information, and getting her fired.

Yet she keeps sucking up to him, and he finds her honest anger very funny. I don't want anything to do with books where female hormones rule, and self respect is nonexistent. I won't be reading anymore of this ' books. There's nothing romantic about a guy like this one. NOTHING.

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite uninteresting. I wished I had loved it. It has almost everything I love in a urban fantasy. It just lacked the sit-grip-inducing characteristics. I didn't feel a thing in regard of any character, I couldn't connect with a thing from the story.

It felt unemotional and meh. I don't know how better to describe it. It really wasn't for me, unfortunately, because I love urban fantasy and am in desperately need of a good new series...

[Véronique Laplante Grenier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spells and Ashes is the first book in the Dark files serie. It set in the same universe of Kim Richardson serie Horizon chronicles and Shadow & Light it was fun to see some familiar characters as well as new ones.

I have really love this book and can't wait to read the next one in this serie.

Thanks to Kim Richardson for an arc of this book.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Def enjoyable. Solid urban fantasy with a slowburn romance subplot (not much of that in this book, but it sets up for a future romance arc). The FMC is likeable enough, and the whole mystery component was well developed. That said, I'm still pretty confused about how her magic works... like if she can pull magic from other beings, why couldn't she just steal Alex's magic or the big bad demon's magic while they were beating the shit out of her?? Why did she need her raven? And also in the beginning when she basically took mind control of demon man to make him stop choking her, what the heck was that??? so yeah idk it just seemed like there was no rhyme or reason to how her magic worked or what made her decide to use it. And then the whole 'well of magic' thing at the end how she like reached inward and unleashed that but then still got her shit absolutely wrecked like nothing changed when she did that??? so idk I'm just confused.

I'm also very confused about the magic of the other characters. Like. What's up with the man. He's good with a sword... and?? Like what else. What does the whole angel born thing even mean what extra abilities does that give him?? Bc I feel like we didn't really see any. We also really just breezed over how he knew her name and exactly where she lived and how he found her at the morgue like... idk just saying he was 'looking into her' doesn't seem like enough of an explanation.

And lastly, the injury and healing timeline and severity stuff makes no sense. Like. She keeps getting beat to death's door, putting a numbing spell on herself, and then continuing like everything is fine. That happened every time she got hurt. Like. Where are the consequences?? That really hurt the angst and tension component of this, especially because there were MULTIPLE instances where she was like "damn can't believe this is how I'm gonna die" just to act like that didn't happens after she inevitably didn't die. How did she miraculously heal. Every time.

Yeah all in all I mean this is your standard urban paranormal fantasy. I'm gonna read the next book because there was clear hinting at a slowburn romance subplot, and I want to see that come to fruition. That said though, if the OP healing persists, I may have to stop after the second book.

[BookieBits · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kim Richardson ci accompagna nella sua indagine de Il Caso Oscuro con questo primo volume di una dilogia.
La sua protagonista non è la solita strega buona che si oppone a quelle cattive. Per niente. Samantha Beaumont è oscura e ammette senza troppi giri di parole che ama cacciare e uccidere le altre creature soprannaturali aiutandosi con la magia di cui è particolarmente dotata.
La specialità di Sam è la goetia, ovvero l’arte delle evocazioni di demoni attraverso la creazione di sigilli che lei usa a fin di bene per eliminarli e il suo migliore amico è il suo famiglio, il corvo/demone parlante Poe.
“Poe era il mio famiglio, il mio animale guida, il mio aiuto magico e il mio compagno demone.”
La sua vita scorre bene tra una caccia e un’altra finché un demone maggiore non possiede e uccide una ragazzina umana per rubarle l’anima. Sarà solo la prima di una lunga serie. Così la strega si assume il compito di risolvere questo difficile caso, ma accetterà con riluttanza l’aiuto di Logan, un sexy e affascinante angelo nato.
C’è un piccolo grande problema: angeli e streghe oscure si detestano a vicenda. Loro due non fanno eccezione, ma allo stesso tempo provano un’irresistibile attrazione che promette davvero scintille.
Questo urban fantasy è ricco di umorismo, mistero e un pizzico di romanticismo, peccato che il tutto sia condito da una quantità esorbitante di maledizioni e battaglie. I personaggi non fanno altro che lanciare anatemi e lo scontro finale è davvero troppo lungo.
Inoltre i protagonisti sono tratteggiati in modo superficiale e poco approfondito. Per esempio Sam ha una particolare capacità che deve mantenere segreta ma non sappiamo da cosa derivi. E perché angeli e streghe si odiano tanto?
Mi è piaciuto l’uso della prima persona e spero che nel secondo volume l’autrice ci faccia conoscere qualcosa di più non limitandosi solo alla battaglia delle streghe e degli angeli contro i demoni.

[S.F. Henne · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the story has some really strong points and I enjoyed it for the most part, the negatives diminished all of that and meant that I didn't care to read any more in this series. It lacked the depth, growth I want in a book.

The Good:
I really loved the world building - very quickly I felt as if I was in this new world without dumps of information. It came off effortlessly, and I was intrigued by it.
Book 1 was super fast paced, there is never a dull moment without it feeling overwhelming. I read through this book super fast.
The magic/rituals were different from the norm and I loved that. There were some great spells with real costs to them.
There was some great tension with the side plot romance but... see the negative points below.

What I didn't like:
While I was invested in the slow burn romance, the MC's comments right off the bat about his good looking ass caught me off guard. Like you're in a fight for you life with a demon and you comment about how fine his ass is? Why do female protagonists objectify male characters like that? I just came off wrong. If the roles had been reversed it wouldn't be acceptable.
The next reason (the biggest, and the reason I won't continue this series) is that there was ZERO character growth. The MC at the start of the book and at the end was exactly the same. That was where things really fell flat for me. Stories are always about growth and there wasn't any here.

*** Spoiler for my last negative point***




While the action was great, the story telling captivating, the "romance" conclusion left me no wanting more. As I said before I love slow burn and this romance was set up to be across the series which is 100% fine by me. BUT right at the end, rather than hinting at what was to come, the MMC just kisses her all hot and heavy. It ruined the temptation to see what happens and was a real let down for a first kiss.

[Scheylis ☾ · Rating 3 out of 5]

[3.5] Hasta el 80% pensé que le iba a poner 4 estrellas. Benditosea Apple Libros por recomendarme este libro en la sección de GRATIS (nunca le había hecho caso a la biblioteca de apple).

¿Brujas oscuras + demonios + Ángeles? De aquí soy. La verdad es que me lo estaba tragando todo tan rápido hastaaa el 80%, después de ahí lo sentí como en caída (y eso que era la pelea), por alguna razón ese último 20% me costó y me bajo las ganas pero de igual forma quiero seguir leyendo.

Es que la protagonista me encantaaaa, me fascina su forma de ser, aunque hubo momentos donde la sentía un poco arrogante, que decía que era la mejor, que era súper poderosa, que no era como las otras brujas pero a la hora de la verdad no mostraba su potencia y solo la sentía un poco bocona (claro ya después mostro un poco de su poder).

No lo negare, no me cae bien el interés amoroso. Quizás esto sea algo mío pero es que nunca he sentido interés por Los Ángeles (en este caso un Ángel nacido), se me hizo súper arrogante, básico y sin chiste. En defensa de ese Ángel, ¿Cómo la autora nos va a dar un personaje tan espectacular como Faris? Es que Faris opaco a Logan.

Entiendo que esto es un slow burn pero sinceramente no sentía conexión entre Sam y Logan, tanto así que no me disfrute lo que paso en el ultimo capitulo.

Pd: Me encanto tanto Faris.🖤

[Noone · Rating 1 out of 5]

The first 50 minutes, which is all I have listened to, were simply atrocious.
The worst part is her inner dialogue. Just within this short timeframe, the author manages to repeat every thought the MC has at least 5 times. The level of redundancy is staggering and reminds me of someone that has not a single word to say but has to fill a half-hour presentation and just keeps stalling.

The bit of dialogue is unnatural and illogical and all the characters behave intolerably stupidly.
The time flow in the action scene made no sense. The adversaries just stand around waiting for the other to do whatever. This felt like watching a turn-based RPG fight.

This is on the level of mediocre fan fiction at best and should not have been released as an actual book.
To be fair, as I said earlier, I have only listened to the first 50 minutes of the audiobook and it might turn out there is some incredibly unique world-building, or it's just a rough and unpolished opening and the book eventually finds its stride.
But this is no debut novel. This author apparently has been writing books for years and should know better.
The opening scene is typically the most polished part of a novel and I can't even imagine how bad this will get after such a poor opening.

[Zaskya Benítez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una grata sorpresa ha sido esta historia ♡ Me regalaron el libro por navidades y aunque no había escuchado hablar de él, nada más leer la sinopsis ya me tenia.

El inicio del libro marca el ritmo de lo que será la lectura y te promete intriga, acción y una protagonista muy agradable y divertida. En ningún momento se hace pesada la historia y antes de que quieras notarlo ya lo has acabado y quieres saber más, porque Vera seguirá molestando, kyllian y Trish tienen que desarrollar eso que han dejado a medias y Logan y Sam tienen mucho que vivir aún. Por no mencionar que Colin y Poe son personajes de los que necesito saber más.

En definitiva un inicio de tetralogia maravilloso. Que cierra la historia que inicia y te deja con ganas de saber más sobre los personajes y las dinámicas con los demonios. Con muchas ganas de leer el siguiente

[⋆⭒˚.⋆ a r a ⋆⭒˚.⋆ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me gustó la trama de ritos y demonios, lo único que no me agradó del todo fue la "relación" que se formó entre Sam y Logan, es decir al principio creí que se trataría de un enemies to lovers pero fue algo breve la relación de enemies, y al final, cuando se besaron sólo pensé; Wow, sé que iban a terminar juntos, pero ¿por qué tan rápido?
No sentí que entre ellos dos hubiera una química real, a no ser porque la autora lo haya escrito, pero no sentí aquella conexión como he leído en otras historias.
Pero sí puedo decir que fue un trama interesante, rápida de leer y algo entretenida. Supongo que si alguien está buscando un libro que te saque del bloqueo lector, probablemente este sea un libro que recomendaría para eso.

[C.J. Santiago · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting

Samantha is a dark witch. She has demon blood from somewhere.I her past. She doesn't practice black magic, but is quite powerful. She is hired to rescue a human girl but is too late. The upper level demon who killed her has a sinister plan to decimate the earth. Sam has a friend who is an angel....Kyllian who is kind of a drunk. She meets Logan, a half breed angel. Together, they all go in search of this demon.

A collaboration made to save mankind is nothing to laugh at. It's an interesting story, but could use more character analysis. But.... It was a good read.

Read on my friends

[Pedro Bedro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Samantha can't save every soul but she tries her best, with help from her familiar Poe the raven and a couple of angel based characters she sets out to rid the world of a greater demon and eventually succeeds in saving his latest victim despite losing to him once. Her main magic is hidden till she really needs it so we get a bit of a surprise in the final battle. There's a will she won't she thing going on with the Logan character as well and a few funny bits with her granny. Quite a readable book.

[Amy S. Ryan-Day · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book!

I really love paranormal series. So I've read a lot of them. This was my first book I've read by Kim Richardson and I loved it. Her characters are different than other people's and you either love them or hate them, but they do evoke emotions. :)
I'm excited to see there are more books in this series and that she's written other series as well / I've got to get buying now!

[Himanshu Sharma · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is great. It has that novelty in it. I really liked how the characters are developed and the characters are practical. The protagonist is kind of regular. But there is a big revelation in the end. This book is the perfect example of why we should explore more books. The book just keeps you attached to it. Even though not so much is happening there still, it's not boring at all. I think I'll read more by Kim Richardson.

[Boneist · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was ok - it wasn’t terrible, it wasn’t great. I liked the world our protagonist lives in, but it felt a little clumsy and the characters were clichéd. I did like Poe, though; he could have done with more fleshing out (figuratively), though.

I wouldn’t usually bother with the next book in the series, but I bought an omnibus of all the books in the series, for 99p, so I’ll plough on. Hopefully things get better in the next book!

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

A special witch and a raven named Poe

Samantha is one of those FMC's that gets their butt kicked every other chapter. The girl is practically a walking bruise, with some questionable morals.

She's a good person, with some interesting "friends" and family, but her powers are a bit confusing.

I did like this story, although it was definitely violent and sometimes quite disturbing. It seems like a good start to a new series that I am excited to dive into.

[Lillian Cummings · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great read

Sam is a witch that has a raven as her familiar. She was meant to save a young woman but she was too late. She has no choice but to find the demon so that she can save the young woman's soul. But things get complicated when Logan an angel born decides to help her as she is attracted to him. Can they find the demon before it is too late?
Great characters. Enjoyable read