REVIEW: Dangerously Charming by Deborah Blake

In Dangerously Charming (Broken Riders #1) by Deborah Blake, As a Rider, Mikhail Day and his two brothers, Gregori and Alexei, had a sense of purpose in assisting the Baba Yagas for centuries. But after being duped and enduring horrible torture at the hands of an evil witch, Day and his brothers have begun a new journey as mortals. Exiling himself in the mountains should have kept him out of dangerous situations but Jenna Quinlan knocking on his cabin door brings his need to help a damsel in distress roaring back. Getting attached to the sassy pregnant–and cursed–woman is the last thing he needs. But Day gets caught up in her search for a way to keep her unborn child safe. Even though it means facing his painful past head on.

“So, what kind of curse? Evil witch? Offended faery? Enchanted object?”
Jenna’s jaw dropped and she tried to speak a couple of times before words actually came out. “Uh, offended faery. You…you believe me?”
Day sighed. “I do.”

Jenna has been told the story of her family’s curse since she was a child. And although she believed it after seeing her parents’ and grandmother’s emotional suffering, she didn’t want to believe she’d ever find herself in the same situation. But now that she finds herself pregnant and jobless, she sets off to try to break the curse that will take her firstborn child from her. It almost seems to good to be true when Jenna finds herself face to face with gorgeous but grumpy hunk Day. A guy who truly believes she is cursed and helps her on her quest. And while her main focus of course is the well being of her child, she also reluctantly admits to herself she would love to find a way to keep Day in her life as well.

‘She would fight the faery, fight the Queen, fight everyone in the Otherworld if she had to in order to keep her baby safe. They were going to take her child away from her over her dead body. Literally, if need be.’

Dangerously Charming was an exciting beginning to Deborah Blake’s newest series in which a former Rider, filled with guilt and a penchant for saving damsels in distress, went on a trek through the Otherworld with a cursed mom-to-be. Sounds interesting, right?

‘This was what he wanted. To be with Jenna, to help raise her baby, to keep them both safe through days filled with sunlight and laughter and nights full of passion. Gods help him, the lonely Rider wanted to be lonely no longer. Too bad it was impossible.’

This Broken Riders series is a spinoff of Blake’s popular Baba Yaga series and follows each of the three former Riders on their new journey now that they are no longer immortal. While these books are able to stand alone, I honestly think it would be best to have read the Baba Yaga series–at least book three, Wickedly Powerful–before settling in here. It will explain everything that the Riders went through and why our hero Mikhail Day was in his self-imposed exile at the beginning of this book.

I adore the supernatural world Blake has created for these characters. And as always she did a fantastic job of vividly describing the backgrounds, the cool beasties, and the offbeat characters we met along the way. I really enjoyed Day and Jenna together as a couple, and as a team while they tried solving the riddle to save her unborn child. She was spunky, smart, and extremely compassionate in nature. I got a kick out of her not letting Day bring her down with his grumpiness. He had a reason, of course, with what he and his two brothers had endured at the hands of evil witch Brenna. But it was weird to see the former charming guy who was always courteous and helping out women in need be grouchy and push Jenna away. I was very happy with Day’s emotional progress, though, as he fell for Jenna and was able to let go of some of the guilt that had been holding him down.

Dangerously Charming was quite an adventure, one that will be sure to captivate with its blend of fairy tales, mythology, and ancient folklore. From the amazing imagery to the meaningful connection between our hero and heroine, I think this will quickly become paranormal and fantasy lovers’ newest obsession.

Book Info:

 Published October 4th 2016 | by Berkley | Broken Riders #1

From the author of the Baba Yaga novels, a brand new series set in the same “addicting”* world, filled with wild magic, enchanting damsels, and the irresistibly daring men who serve the Baba Yagas…

The 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…