Wickedly Dangerous (Baba Yaga, #1) in SOS: Serious Overload of Series

Apr 04, 2014 Christal rated it really liked it

Shelves: arcs, fae, magic, pi-detective-cop, paranormal-romance, lesser-known-creatures, motorcycles, kidnapping

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Deborah Blake's Wickedly Dangerous was a pleasant surprise! I was expecting a somewhat generic, yet entertaining paranormal romance, but this book was actually an action-packed urban fantasy with a unique and intriguing mythology. The writing was clear and concise, nothing that I would describe as special, but it worked for the straight-forward heroine, Barbara Yager.

Barbara Yager is one of three women in the US that work under the title See this review and others like it at Badass Book Reviews!

Deborah Blake's Wickedly Dangerous was a pleasant surprise! I was expecting a somewhat generic, yet entertaining paranormal romance, but this book was actually an action-packed urban fantasy with a unique and intriguing mythology. The writing was clear and concise, nothing that I would describe as special, but it worked for the straight-forward heroine, Barbara Yager.

Barbara Yager is one of three women in the US that work under the title of Baba Yaga. The Babas are good witches that travel the country protecting the earth and helping those that call them. They are entrusted with keeping the balance between our world and the world of the fae, The Otherworld. In Wickedly Dangerous, Barbara is called to help find a missing child but what she discovers goes way beyond a mortal kidnapper. Now, she must work alongside the local sheriff, Liam McClellan, to find the missing children, stop the kidnapper, and put an end to the hydrofracking that is killing the local countryside.

Barbara was a nice change from a lot of "first-book" heroines that have to find themselves and their strength throughout the story. She already knew who she was in Wickedly Dangerous and she didn't care who might have a problem with it. She was strong, smart, and powerful, but also very polite and caring towards the townspeople. Even when things go bad, Barbara doesn't want innocents to get hurt and uses her powers to gently turn them away. Don't get me wrong, she loves a good fight now and then, but only jumps in when it's warranted. Liam wasn't my favorite UF leading man, but he was sufficiently sweet and respected Barbara and her abilities. It might have taken him a little bit to get on board with her crazy world, but once he did, he let her take the lead. Liam had been hurt in the past and it was nice to see him begin to move on from those demons. I think he and Barbara worked well together and, as long as they stay open and honest with each other, could make a run at something real.

The side characters in Wickedly Dangerous were diverse and interesting. I never knew Russian (or Slavic) folklore featured dragons, but the character of Chudo-Yudo drove me to look into it. While he was there mainly for comic relief à la Oberon from the Iron Druid Chronicles, Chudo-Yudo was cute and an interesting blend of dog and dragon. I always really liked the characters of the Riders. They were three "men" that came to help when a Baba called, but they each had distinct personalities and appearance traits that made them stand out. We didn't meet many of the fae residents, but the queen was regal, powerful, and a bit scary. I hope we learn more about the balance between our world and the Otherworld in the next book.

I hesitate to classify this series as a paranormal romance because I think the fantasy elements are stronger than the love story, but each book will focus on a different Baba Yaga in the same vein as most PNR series. We learned a tiny bit about the two other American Babas in this book, and it appears Wickedly Wonderful will showcase the west-coast Baba, Beka Yancy. I will be sad to leave Barbara and Liam behind, but it will be interesting to see how Beka's life differs from Barbara's; though I am hoping we get some cameo appearances at the very least!

Thank you to Berkley and Netgalley for providing an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. ...more

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May 26, 2018 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it liked it · review of another edition

Wickedly Dangerous is the first book in Deborah Blake’s urban fantasy romance trilogy drawing on the legend of Baba Yaga, with a unique contemporary twist.

Barbara Yager is only one of several Baba Yaga’s, whose role it is to keep the balance of nature and guard the borders of our world. Instead of a cabin on chicken legs,as in legend, Barbara travels her territory in an Airstream with a mind of its own, accompanied by a dragon-turned-dog, Chudo-Yudo. When she needs backup she calls on the Riders ...more

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Oct 27, 2014 Samantha wickedshizuku Tolleson rated it it was ok

Shelves: reviewed, 2015, female-lead, witch-or-wizard, dragons, why-do-i-do-this-to-myself, not-manga, title-w

I have looked forward to reading this for so long, and so drastically disappointed now that there is very little substance behind the MC.
Really! If I wanted a sappy romance; I would have watched a Hallmark movie. So let down that the premise of this series was so promising yet, disappointing.