Dangerously Charming by Deborah Blake

After stumbling on Deborah Blake’s Baba Yaga series a couple of years ago, I quickly became a fan.  Now, I finally get more insight into the Riders. I. Am. Thrilled. A fast-paced tale that travels through now and faery-time, Dangerously Charming tells the story of the first Broken Rider, Mikhail Day.  He’s brooding, sexy, and a good guy at heart.  While you don’t necessarily need to read the Baba Yaga series to start this one, they provide a rich back story of the ancillary characters that appear.

dblake-dangerously-charmingThe 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 family have been cursed to give up their first born child to the vengeful fairy 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…

The hero of this story is Mikhail Day, the White Rider or the Bright Day. He has yet to recover from the events that ended in the last Baba Yaga book, Wickedly Powerful, and is feeling broken and purpose-less.  After centuries of immortality, he’s now faced with the reality of a shortened life span and nothing to fill it – Blake did a great job of achieving broody without it being too whiny.

The real scene-stealer is the heroine, Jenna Quinlan, a human bearing a family curse that spans generations.  She is one of those perfect heroines – quirky, awkwardly self-assured, and ready to roll with the punches.  All in all, Jenna was the balance in the story.  She kept things relatable with great dialogue and an incredibly independent attitude.  Even though she needed Mick’s help, Jenna was loathe to accept it at times because she wanted to do it on her own.  Jenna became the balm for Mick’s soul and even soothed Gregori a bit as well.

The basis of the story, Jenna’s trek to break her age-old family curse and keep her unborn baby, left me with so many thoughts.  Even as much as I loved the Baba Yaga series, this is easily my favorite Deborah Blake book.  The emotional content was much more than expected.  Jenna just wants a chance at a future – with her baby.  Mick doesn’t know if he can even continue life in his current, depressed state.  Combined, they produce fireworks, matched wit, and hope.

This spinoff series begins after the events of the Baba Yaga series, so we get to focus on the Rider characters but still see the characters that we’ve come to love.  The vivid descriptions of faerie, The Otherworld, are amazing and full of realistic imagery.  Then, we have the character feels (like, whoa) that kept me reeling.  The story is one of transformation (literally), hope, and love – love of friends, love of family, and self-love.  All of this is wrapped in a beautiful paranormal romance story that had me tearing up at the end.  Dangerously Charming charmed the heck out of me. If you’re looking for faeries, fights, and…I don’t know exactly where I was going with that…anywho, if you want to read about a fantastical faerie adventure (hey, that totally works!), then pick up a copy of Dangerously Charming.

Read Order
Broken Riders Series

  1. Dangerously Charming
  2. Dangerously Divine (Nov 2017)

Baba Yaga Series

  1. Wickedly Dangerous
  2. Wickedly Wonderful
  3. Wickedly Powerful
About Sarah 47 Articles
A 30-something mother of a teenage (going on 30) daughter, I read between 4-8 books a week. Between work, chauffeur responsibilities, and reading, I don’t have much free time . However, I do like to knit and crochet in the winter (quality scarves and hats are highly underrated!). My favorite genres are urban fantasy, contemporary romance, and paranormal romance. I tend to binge read when I find a great new series, so I love to discover new-to-me series that already have several books out.

2 Comments

  1. Dear Sarah,
    I love you. Please marry me. Or, you know, I could just give you chocolate. Whatever. But seriously, I’m so glad you loved the book! Thanks for the fabulous review. You made my Day. (See what I did there?)

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