The Baba Yaga of the West, Bella, is in charge of keeping order and peace, and this includes trying to douse the forest fires that seem to be spreading beyond control. When the fires leave a magical trace, she soon learns they are connected to the missing Riders. Charged to find the Riders by the Queen of the Otherworld, Bella must now protect the forest and save her friends. If her life wasn't complicated enough, she meets Jazz, a runaway foster child with an aptitude for magic, and Sam, a wounded firefighter who just might steal her heart.

WICKEDLY POWERFUL by Deborah Blake is the third full-length novel in her Baba Yaga series. Fans won't be disappointed and new readers will get lost in Blake's new take on the classic Russian fairytale. The setting is vivid, and the forest fires will seem real and just as dangerous to readers as they are to the characters. In every book, Blake gives the Baba Yaga a whimsical home, and Bella's home is no different. Her caravan is described with all the right details that will have readers living there right alongside Bella.

Sam and Bella are a great couple. Their romance is steamy, and the tension between the two will have readers longing for a happily ever after. Bella's backstory gives her character a vulnerable twist that is unexpected, but helps to balance out her strong and independent nature. Sam will have the readers' empathy and respect as soon as he is introduced, and his courage and love will make him a wonderfully impressive hero. Bella's Chudo-Yudo, Koshka a large Norwegian-Forest-Cat, adds hilarity and lightheartedness to WICKEDLY POWERFUL. Jazz is a great addition to the story, adding an element of innocence and teenage rebellion, which compliments the personality of the other characters. In fact, all the secondary characters Blake has written are wonderfully developed and help enhance the story.

The climax is exciting, and the conflict of fighting forest fires and saving the Riders brings great conflicts to Bella's story. An old enemy will return as the antagonist, and Blake includes the Otherworld Queen and King in the narrative, which helps to add depth into the story. WICKEDLY POWERFUL is a wonderfully detailed paranormal love story that will keep readers turning pages, and questioning everything they ever heard about Baba Yaga.

Book Summary

The author of Wickedly Wonderful returns to her “addicting”* world of Russian witches in the latest Baba Yaga novel.

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...