Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Book Review: Wickedly Dangerous

Title - Wickedly Dangerous
Author - Deborah Blake
Series - Baby Yaga #1
Genre - Urban Fantasy
Published - September 2nd 2014
Publisher - Berkley
Format - Kindle

Known as the wicked witch of Russian fairy tales, Baba Yaga is not one woman, but rather a title carried by a chosen few. They keep the balance of nature and guard the borders of our world, but don’t make the mistake of crossing one of them…

Older than she looks and powerful beyond measure, Barbara Yager no longer has much in common with the mortal life she left behind long ago. Posing as an herbalist and researcher, she travels the country with her faithful (mostly) dragon-turned-dog in an enchanted Airstream, fulfilling her duties as a Baba Yaga and avoiding any possibility of human attachment.

But when she is summoned to find a missing child, Barbara suddenly finds herself caught up in a web of deceit and an unexpected attraction to the charming but frustrating Sheriff Liam McClellan.

Now, as Barbara fights both human enemies and Otherworld creatures to save the lives of three innocent children, she discovers that her most difficult battle may be with her own heart… 

Review
Wickedly Dangerous is the first installment in the Baba Yaga Series. Barbara is a guardian of the boarders and balancer of nature, but also a witch and sometimes the wicked witch. She’s been called to upstate New York to deal with a case of missing children as well as something that is damaging the area and a possible open door to the other world. Arriving in town she quickly draws attention being a small town and the only stranger. Barbara quickly starts to befriend people offering magical salves made from herbs to help them heal. The more time she spends in town she determined that the female assistant of Peter Callahan isn’t as human as she appears. 

Needing help she calls in the riders a trio of dragons who help the Baba Yaga’s hoping to figure out who’s taking the children. However things aren’t going to be too easy it’s clear that Maya has access to a door because she’s not the only powerful creature roaming around town. The riders each encounter their own supernatural creature. After confronting the Queen she orders Barbara to figure out what’s going on and find the door. They can’t have human children being taken and brought to the other realm. With the help of the riders, Liam who she’s had to reveal her true self to and Chudo-Yudo they may just be able to figure out what Maya really is and save the children. What about her growing connection with Liam that might just change her life forever. 

I adore Barbara! While she may have been born human her time with the prior Baba Yaga as well as the magic has changed her into so much more. I love that she’s joined by a dragon who takes on the form of a giant Pitbull named Chudo-Yudo. I like the added love interest of a human man who’s dealing with his own tragic past. I like the chemistry between Barbara and Liam they complement each other very well and seem to be exactly what they need. We also are given an insight into several of the supporting characters who I expect will be popping up in future books. 

I’ve had this book on my kindle for far too long and regret not reading it sooner because I enjoyed it so much. I love the Baba Yaga fairytales, they are one of my favorites and the author does an amazing job putting a unique modern twist on a classic concept. I love that Barbara lives in an Airstream instead of the classic hut with chicken legs it works well for the traveling Baba Yaga. Wickedly Dangerous is the first in an exciting new series about some powerful Russian witches who have the power to protect the balance of nature and keep those from using doors into our world at bay. I really liked Barbara she’s a unique character who’s easy to connect with and I couldn’t help falling for her charm. Which is no surprise that she captured Sheriff Liams attention. The author has done a beautiful job creating a captivated story that was hard to put down. I loved every moment of Barbara’s story and look forward to checking out the next book in the series. 

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