Also by this author: Wickedly Dangerous (Baba Yaga, #1), Wickedly Wonderful (Baba Yaga, #2)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…
The only thing more fiery than Bella Young’s red hair is her temper. She knows that a Baba Yaga’s power without strict control can leave the people she cares about burned, so to protect her heart—and everyone around her—the only company she keeps is her dragon-turned-Norwegian-Forest-cat, Koshka.
But when Bella is tasked with discovering who’s setting magical fires throughout Wyoming’s Black Hills, she finds herself working closely with former hotshots firefighter Sam Corbett—and falling hard for his quiet strength and charm.
Sam may bear the scars of his past, but Bella can see beyond them and would do anything to help him heal. Only before she can rescue her Prince Charming, she’ll have to overcome the mysterious foe setting the forest fires—a truly wicked witch who wields as much power and even more anger than Bella…
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This is the third and currently last book in the Baba Yaga series. There is an off shoot series that deals directly with the riders that are part of every Baba book. This one deals with the fire. Bella and her magical motorcycle arrive in a forest, a victim of magical fires. A lot of this book’s sub plot is directly related to the first two’s sub plots. I of course bucked the system and read this one first. It was a good starting point. Especially since I like fire, and there is a lot of that in this book.
So the story starts with sweet little Baba Yaga Bella. Like Kono from Hawaii 5.0, Bella is sweet and spicy. But she does have a classic motorbike and possessed ‘house’. The forest is near nothing, except for a fire watcher. The firewatcher used to be a wildland firefighter, like I was. This was an actual event that occurred in Arizona. Anyways the incident left the firefighter as the only survivor. Disfigurement and survivor’s guilt haunted him on a daily basis. The fear was so strong, that he could not be near open flame.
This book isn’t just about fires, but also about how two wounded individuals can learn from each other. Sometimes with the help of a large dog/dragon. So anyways, magical fires, and Bella has control over flame. See where this could go astray? During the course of her investigation, a fire began so close to someone, that death was imminent. Bella had to decide if saving a life was worth exposing her abilities, or ehh…lack thereof.
At the same time, there is a subplot that directly involves the Riders and boy is it a doozy. Bella’s job becomes a lot harder with the Riders thrown in. She not only has to keep Sam from the truth, saving a lost one, and figuring herself out. Oh did I mention her dog is a dragon? and that her living arrangements are strange.
I really enjoyed this book. The Baba Yaga mythology has always interested me. I have ancestors who are gypsys from that overall region. Maybe that is why I like Vampires mythos so much as well. Obviously these are not the chicken house living, child eating Babas of yore, but they can hold their own. The thing is, even though at a certain time, all Babas leave earth, some don’t want to. Being a Baba is tiring. After years of helping everyone, retirement is not a bad idea. They have raised their successor, so why stay around? The elixir of Life and Death does funny things to certain people.
The story as a whole is very good and really gets into the character’s personality. Even though all three Baba’s are strong independent women, they are all different. I really respect that the author gives each one different abilities and distinct personalities. It makes each book a standalone. Another thing I really like is their dragons are also completely different. Not just in size, or type, but in personality. They are snarky, smart, and sneaky.
About Deborah Blake
Deborah is the author of nine non-fiction books on modern witchcraft from Llewellyn and the Baba Yaga series from Berkley Romance, including Wickedly Magical (novella), Wickedly Dangerous, and Wickedly Wonderful, Wickedly Ever After (novella), and Wickedly Powerful, plus an urban fantasy, Veiled Magic.
Deborah lives in a 120 year old farmhouse in upstate NY with four cats, and runs an artists' cooperative shop when she's not writing. She believes in magic, laughter, chocolate, and wine. The order may change depending on the day.
