Wickedly Dangerous (Baba Yaga #1) by Deborah Blake

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 by a woman desperate to find her 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…

Type: Urban Fantasy
Heat: 1.5 out of 5
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

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Oooos a new paranormal/uf to loves! Wickedly Dangerous was...well...it was interesting and fabulously fun! How could it not be with a dog shaped dragon, a heroine called Baba Yaga, 3 burly badass motorcycle driving side kicks and a cop full of determination and heart? I'm telling ya. It was paralicious. Bwaha.

The quick of it is that kids are disappearing without a trace and Liam--who is the town Sheriff-- can't figure out what's going on or how to stop it. He's struggling with the case when a mysterious woman comes into town that he's sure is up to something...maybe helpful...maybe not. Not only that but the town where he lives is battling itself over fracking in it's community by an oil company and tensions are...high. Strange happenings, wild emotions, community unrest and "other" worlds swirl together as they fight to bring lost children home to their families. Eeps. Yeah. It was pretty exciting and pretty funny now and again too!

"No one is going to believe you had anything to do with this."

"Folks are pretty irrational when their families are threatened," Liam said, face grim. "That sort of rumor is already being whispered in corners. I heard it myself, although no one came right out and said anything. That's why I came out here to talk to Barbara and try and convince her to leave the area until things cooled down."

"Fat chance of that happening," Chudo-Udo said from near Liam's feet. His new bone was already half gone, but he happily resumed chewing on what was left, slobbering a little on Liam's boot.

Liam jumped. "Jeez--you can talk!"

Chudo-Yudo rolled his eyes. "Right. So a talking dragon is okay, but a talking dog freaks you out? Dude, you're going to have to adjust to this crap a lot faster than that if you're going to be any help."

Clutching his coffee cup like it was a lifeline to reality, Liam stared beseechingly at Baba. "I promise I'll try to catch up on believing the impossible."

I loved the characters. Liam, Baba and her crew were fabulous. Strong, spirited and with the perfect amount of quirk to make them endearing and fun to be around. I loved watching them work together. Dealing with trusting each other and finding some moments in all the chaos to sit back and get to know each other. They were awesome and never made me grrr arg at them. There were a couple serious spots as Liam dealt with past heartbreak and Baba her childhood and it made them feel real and made me want to hug them :) I loved the connection between Baba and Liam and the startings of some romantic bits and pieces. Things get a little heated but it's over before you realize and WAY tame with little description. That was fine just be warned if you need the heat.

The suspense/UF side of things. Oh man it had my blood boiling. I was frustrated right along with them when they couldn't figure out what was going on. As Baba got to know the town and then suspicions were cast in her direction by someone that wanted her stopped. There's some definite hinky stuff going on politically with it all and the issue of fracking that might be connected to the missing kids. It definitely kept my interest and was nicely done.

*aaaaaannnnd takes off her professional blogger hat--sorry Blake and the ladies at Penguin*

Okay. The town. I hated this town. Hard. They were--in mass--fucking asshole pricks. I don't care if they were being influenced by outside forces they were jerks and I loathed them for the most part as they turned on Baba. A few of them rocked but in large I really wanted them all to get hit by a truck and left to wallow in their asshattery instead of being saved. 

Now. Did I hate this? Hell no. I thought it was awesome! Blake had me so freaking wrapped up in the story and the main characters I was feeling livid towards all of those out to get them or hurt them and that...is an amazing feeling.

*dons her blogger girl hat again*

All in all, I really liked the world Blake created and enjoyed Wickedly Dangerous. It's a slightly new take on the para-universe and was fun exploring new "beings" and magic. I'd never heard of Baba Yaga before. Had yall? I just love getting fresh and unique paranormals. Especially when awesome characters are added to the mix and nail biting mysteries thrown on the table. While it wasn't the perfect read--things at the end were too rushed and "convenient" with both the para and the romance--it was a damn fine start to a series and left me curious to see what will happen next.

Have you read Blake?

Ever read a Baba Yaga tale?

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