Tag Archives: Baba Yaga World

Dangerously Driven by Deborah Blake

Book Review, , , , , ,

Overview

Dangerously DrivenTitle: Dangerously Driven
Author: Deborah Blake
Series: Broken Riders #3.5, Baba Yaga World #6.5
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Fae, Mythology, Paranormal romance
Pace: Medium
Format: Novella
Publisher: Deborah Blake
Year: 2018
5th sentence, 74th page: “Ah,” Jazz said, lifting one finger into the air.

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Synopsis

The Riders… three legendary brothers who were born to aid the Baba Yagas, until tragedy changed everything. Separated by guilt and circumstance, they will finally have a chance to come back together. But what will happen when they do?

Neither Mikhail, Alexei, nor Gregori are enthusiastic about the invtiation to join the three Baba Yagas at Bella’s home in the Wyoming woods. But Bella and her apprentice Jazz have just spent a year in the Otherworld after Jazz’s disastrous attempt to cure the Riders’ loss of their immortality, so it isn’t really a summons any of them can refuse. As much as they might wish they could.

Each brother has his own reason to feel guilty, and they all mourn what they have lost despite having built themselves rewarding new lives. None of them is quite ready for a reunion. But they no longer have all the time in the world. So they get on their enchancted steeds (now a black Harley, a red Ducati, and a white Yamaha) and head out across the country, never expecting the adventures that lie ahead.

The brothers travel different roads to get to Wyoming, but they all end up on the same path. A surprise visit from an old friend might just show them that the journey is more important than the destination… especially when you travel it with those you love.

Thoughts

This was a cute way to tie in the three brother Riders after the Broken Riders series. It also lets us revisit the Baba Yagas and their apprentices. Something that I found incredibly enjoyable and refreshing. There’s also the lingering hint of a future tale in the last words and scene of this novella.

I loved the world of the Baba Yagas and every time Blake creates a new novella or story that fits into the world, I have a lot of fun revisiting something that I so thoroughly enjoyed previously. And Dangerously Driven was no different. It let us revisit all of our beloved characters and also find out how their lives ended up.

Dangerously Driven visits each of the three brothers and follows them as they journey to their reunion. In more ways than one. It left such a happy feeling in the pit of my stomach to find the three brothers united and with a goal in life yet again. Definitely a nice way to tie up the Broken Riders trilogy and one that I would certainly suggest to lovers of this series.

 <- Dangerously Fierce Review Wickedly Dangerous Review ->
Image source: Amazon

Dangerously Fierce by Deborah Blake

Book Review, , , , ,

Overview

Dangerously FierceTitle: Dangerously Fierce
Author: Deborah Blake
Series: Broken Riders #3, Baba Yaga World #6
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Fae, Mythology, Paranormal romance
Pace: Fast
Format: Novel
Publisher: Deborah Blake
Year: 2018
5th sentence, 74th page: She’d bang her head against the bar a couple of times, but with her luck, she’d just crack that too.

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Synopsis

The Riders… three legendary brothers who kept the Baba Yagas safe. The Riders’ immortality was stripped away, along with their mission. But they are still much more than Human, and their story is far from over…

His brothers may have found new paths to follow, but Alexei Knight isn’t even looking. If he can’t have the life he was meant to lead, there is no second choice. So he is bent on drinking and brawling his way across the country until he winds up on Cape Cod in a bar called The Hook and Anchor, where he finds challenges he was never expecting, a feisty red-haired bartender, and maybe a lot more than that…

Bethany McKenna left behind an almost-completed law degree to return home and care for her cranky disabled father and run his bar for him. If that wasn’t enough, she also agreed to foster a very pregnant Great Dane. She has enough to deal with without adding in a giant bearded brawler, no matter how appealing he is. Yet somehow he ends up living in the guest-house, taking care of her father, and sneaking his way into her heart…

Alexei and Bethany both think the lives they wanted have come to an end, but after dealing with a mysterious sea monster, pirates, dragons, and some adorable puppies, they might just discover that love is the greatest adventure of all…

Thoughts

I’m really glad that Blake decided to self-publish this book. As soon as I received it I was kind of frustrated, the book was so much bigger than the rest of the books in the Broken Riders series. And then I read the forward – the publishers decided not to go ahead with Alexei’s story, so Blake did instead. And, I for one, am very, very, very glad. I would have been constantly wondering what happened to the third brother and how he found his happy ending.

There is a bit of a difference in reading a self-published book and one that is produced by a publishing house. And it’s fairly obvious when reading Dangerously Fierce. But other than a few slight issues in the grammar or spelling, this story is just as amazing as the rest of Blake’s stories. The romance is sweet and endearing, the characters vivid and all strong in their own way, and the sense of pain in Alexei is heart-rendingly real.

My favourite thing about this story was the fact that it was set in a bar on the coast. The nautical feeling (including the presence of pirates) fed perfectly upon the idea of a small bar run by a busty red head. I’m not sure why red heads always seem to be feisty and busty, but it works perfectly in this tale. Especially when she gets out her baseball bat and threatens a bar full of large lads. From the very beginning, this had such a great vibe and a great feel to the setting. It might actually be my favourite Baba Yaga world location – there is just something about a bar on the sea.

 <- Dangerously Divine Review Dangerously Driven Review ->
Image source: Goodreads

Dangerously Divine by Deborah Blake

Book Review, , , , ,

Overview

Dangerously DivineTitle: Dangerously Divine
Author: Deborah Blake
Series: Broken Riders #2, Baba Yaga World #5
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Fae, Mythology, Paranormal romance
Pace: Fast
Format: Novel
Publisher: Berkley Sensation
Year: 2017
5th sentence, 74th page: Even from halfway across the room, she could tell that something wasn’t right.

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Synopsis

The Riders: Three immortal brothers who kept the Baba Yagas safe, now stripped of their summons to protect. But fate is not finished with them – and their new callings are even more powerful…

Though his physical wounds have healed, Gregori Sun, the eldest of the Riders, reamins in spiritual turmoil. His search for his mother, the one person able to heal his soul and save his life, is failing – until he crosses paths with a beautiful and fascinating librarian who might be the key to his salvation…

Ciera Evans’s bookish ways are just a guise. The product of a difficult past, she has dedicated her life to saving lost teens – by any means necessary. She works alone, but when a dark, brooding stranger proposes they team up to solve both their problems, she is tempted – in more ways than one…

After Ciera and Sun’s plans are derailed by dangerous enemies, they find themselves entangled in an ungodly affair – one that will force them to find new strength together, or be forever haunted by their pasts alone.

Thoughts

I read this story in a day. Which is always a good indication that it was amazing and I loved it. Alright, I’ve basically done this with each of the stories set in the Baba Yaga universe, but there was something about Dangerously Divine that I especially loved. Maybe it was the fact that although there was still the aspect of the Otherworld throughout, it didn’t have as large a place in the storyline. Something a little different to the other tales in this series. There were no journeys into the Otherworld, and, although there are gods and goddesses throughout, the fact that the entire story is based in one city with some very mortal enemies was a great change of pace.

After meeting Gregori a little better in Dangerously Charming, it was hard to imagine what kind of woman he would end up with. Honestly, I had kind of imagined somebody who was immensely spiritual, and maybe a little bit of a hippy. Ciera is nothing like that. And her tragic past just make her all the more engaging as a heroine. I’ve loved every one of the women and characters throughout the Baba Yaga series, but the fact the Ciera was from such a troubled past, and battled her own inner demons as much as Sun does kind of made me lover her the most.

Ciera and Gregori’s battles collide in this great book, and, ultimately deal with a serious issue in our culture. Drugs, homelessness and violence collide with freak snow storms, mystical healing abilities and a sense of justice that prevails above all else. This intense collision is one that is going to stick with me for a long time. It was everything that I want in a good paranormal romance.

 <- Dangerously Charming Review Dangerously Fierce Review ->
Image source: Goodreads

Dangerously Charming by Deborah Blake

Book Review, , , , ,

Overview

Dangerously CharmingTitle: Dangerously Charming
Author: Deborah Blake
Series: Broken Riders #1, Baba Yaga World #4
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Fae, Mythology, Paranormal romance
Pace: Fast
Format: Novel
Publisher: Berkley Sensation
Year: 2016
5th sentence, 74th page: He leaned down to pocket the ball.

Buy The Book Now at The Book Depository, Free Delivery World Wide

Synopsis

The Riders are three immortal brothers who protect the mythical Baba Yagas. But their time serving the witches has ended – and their new destinies are just beginning…

Ever since a near-fatal mistake stripped Mikhail Day and his brothers of their calling to be Riders, Day has hidden from his shame and his new, mortal life in a remote cabin in the Adirondack Mountains. But when a desperate young woman appears on his doorstep, he cannot resist helping her – and cannot deny how strongly he’s drawn to her…

For generations, women in Jenna Quinlan’s fmaily have been cursed to give up their first born child to the vengeful faery Zilya. When Jenna finds herself unexpectedly pregnant, she is determined to break her family’s curse and keep her baby, even if it means teaming up with a mysterious and charismatic man with demons of his own…

To unravel the curse, Jenna and Day will have to travel deep into the Otherworld. But the biggest challenge of the journey might not be solving an ancient puzzle but learning to heal their own broken hearts…

Thoughts

I liked that the point of view was switched a little in this story. The Baba Yaga stories had a strong female lead who travelled around (and then eventually found their loved one). I loved this fact, but after three novels, a change was certainly needed. Dangerously Charming provided this, but kept me in the world that I have fallen madly in love with.

Following the first of the (now mortal) Riders, Dangerously Charming still has a strong female lead. It still has all of the paranormal and mythological aspects that I have fallen for. But, it has a differently damaged lead – a now mortal immortal. It also took someone who was damaged and trying to find a new way in life and helped them to find the way. Yes, this is still a paranormal romance. And it is still predictable that the main characters are going to fall for one another. But really, I don’t mind that kind of predictability. The ways in which they fall, and how they beat the baddy (in this case, a not-so-big, bad faery) are just murky enough that it is impossible to put the book down.

I liked Jenna’s spunk and vulnerability. Pregnancy makes most women emotional (or so I’m told), but somehow she manages to combine this with a strength and gumption that is completely unique. The Baba Yagas are supposed to be strong. And, quite frankly, are expected to be more than a little kick ass, but that’s not expected of a pregnant mortal. Yet, Blake takes these differences and gives Jenna a strength and independence all of her own. One that was actually all the more relatable for the increased vulnerability.

 <- Wickedly Spirited Review Dangerously Divine Review ->
Image source: Penguin Books Australia

Wickedly Spirited by Deborah Blake

Book Review, , , , ,

Overview

Wickedly SpiritedTitle: Wickedly Spirited
Author: Deborah Blake
Series: Baba Yaga #3.5, Baba Yaga World #4.5
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Mythology, Paranormal romance, Witches
Pace: Medium
Format: Novella
Publisher: InterMix
Year: 2017
5th sentence, 74th page: What if she wasn’t as powerful as they all said?

Buy The Book Now at The Book Depository, Free Delivery World WideSynopsis

Jazz, the powerfully magical teen first introduced in Wickedly Powerful, is now being trained as a Baba Yaga—and she’s determined to free the Broken Riders herself.

Jazz had a rough life before meeting her guardian, and she knows she’s lucky that Bella is training her to be a Baba Yaga. But the gifted young witch is frustrated by the slow pace of her lessons. Jazz knows she’s capable of even greater magic, and she wants nothing more than to find a spell that will give the Riders back the immortality they lost.

With the reluctant assistance of Bella’s dragon-turned-cat Koshka, Jazz travels to the Otherworld to get the necessary ingredients to perform the spell. A willful young witch, dangerous magic, and one powerful wish—what could possibly go wrong?

Thoughts

Jazz was a fun introduction in Wickedly Powerful. She’s sassy, powerful and full of energy. The fact that there is a novella available that features her was kind of a welcome surprise. Although, it really wasn’t what I expected, and sadly, I read it before Dangerously Charming, which was kind of a mistake – after all, the acts in this take place after Mikhail Day’s story and it kind of had some spoilers.

Teenagers never do what they’re told – or at least, I know that I rarely did. If I was given an order, I needed to understand why, otherwise I’d merely take it as a suggestion. Which is kind of like Jazz. She is told not to play with higher powers again and again. But, because she doesn’t understand why Bella says these things, she’s a little more fluid in her adherence to the rulings. Which is why you can see that she’s going to get into trouble from a mile off. The trouble that she finds herself in is completely unexpected though. Actually, I was quite taken back by the results of her rebellion and I can’t wait to see how this factors into the greater series…

 <- Wickedly Powerful Review Dangerously Charming Review ->
Image source: Penguin Random House