Dangerously Charming by Deborah Blake – Review & Interview, & Giveaway

 

 

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Description:
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…

 

 

Review:

Dangerously Charming by Deborah Blake is the first book in her new Broken Riders series.  This is a spinoff from Blake’s successful Baba Yaga series.  I have not read that series, but this book read very well without having to read the previous series,  as the author gives us information along the way to make it easier.  However, with that being said; I enjoyed this book and Deborah Blake’s writing, and I will need to find time to read the Baba Yaga series (3 books and 2 novellas).

Mikhail Day, our hero, is a White Rider, who protected the Baba Yaga witches, and was immortal.  We learn at the start that Mikhail is a Broken Rider, after being tortured by a crazed witch in a previous story, losing his immortality.  When we meet Mikhail, he is still recovering but in seclusion.  On a stormy night a lost young lady knocks on his door to get into safety from the rains.  Mikhail’s life will once again change.

Jenna Quinlan is our heroine, and she is desperately trying to escape a fairy, who is determined to find Jenna.  It seems that Jenna is pregnant, and the fairy, Zilya has come to claim her first born child.  Jenna’s family has suffered this curse for generations, and Jenna is desperate to find a way out. 

Mikhail at first wants nothing to do with her.  All he wants is to be alone.  But he does take her to meet the fairy Queen, who would like to help Jenna, but this curse was created long before the rules changed.  As in the land of the Fae, the Queen gives a sly hint to Mikhail to help Jenna and warns Zilya to leave Jenna alone until after the baby is born.  This gives Jenna a chance to solve the curse riddle that will release Zilya’s claim. 

What follows is a fun and romantic story line, where Mikhail and Jenna will travel through the Otherworld to find the clues.  Barbara, one of the Baba Yaga witches, will offer some help in trying to unravel the riddle, but Mikhail and Jenna must do this on their own.  Despite his wanting to be alone, slowly Mikhail finds himself falling in love with Jenna, and she with him.  We also get to meet Mikhail’s brother, who is also a Broken Rider, and whose story will be next. 

The key to a good story is always to have characters you enjoy and care about.  Deborah Blake gives us this in Dangerously Charming.  I loved Mikhail and Jenna, as they made a great couple.  I loved the supporting characters, such as Barbara, the Baba Yaga witch; Gregori, Mikhail’s brother, Babs, the young daughter of Barbara, and even the Fairy Queen was nice.   This was an enjoyable read, exciting, action-filled, as they had to fight off those trying to stop Jenna; a sweet romance, great couple, as well as spending time in the land of the Fae.  Dangerously Charming is in fact a charming & fun story. I look forward to the next book in this series, and to find time to read Deborah Blake’s Baba Yaga series. 

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

Hi Deborah. Thank you for taking the time to answer some questions today.We are always looking forward to reading about the author behind the book.  

TRC: Would you please tell us something about yourself? 

Deborah: I live in rural upstate NY in a 130 year old farmhouse with three cats, my day job is running an artists’ cooperative shop a friend and I founded 17 years ago, and I am a practicing witch. Don’t worry…I’m a good witch, not a bad witch.  

 

 

 

TRC: Have you always been interested in writing? When and how did you first start writing? 

Deborah: I’ve been writing since I was a kid. (I think I wrote my first “novel” sitting at the back of a sixth grade class.) I dabbled some when I was in my teens and early twenties, but the rejections scared me off. I didn’t get serious until I was about 45 and had my first nonfiction book published. I guess you could call me a late bloomer!

TRC: Dangerously Charming is the 1st book in your Broken Riders series. Can you please tell us about the premise of this series? How many books are you planning for this series?

Deborah: The Riders were side characters in the Baba Yaga series, companions and friends of the Baba Yagas. Something BAD happened to them in the third book (hence the “broken” in Broken Rider) and this series follows the three Riders as they try to figure out new lives…and their mysterious new abilities. The Baba Yagas do make appearance in these books, too. At the moment, the plan is for three books, one for each Rider, Day, Sun, and Knight.

TRC: Can you please give us a brief description of Dangerously Charming?  

Deborah: 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… 

TRC: Broken Riders is a spin off from your Baba Yaga series.  For those who may not have read your Baba Yaga series, can you please give us a brief description of the series? 

Deborah: The Baba Yaga series is an updated version of the Russian fairy tales about a powerful witch. These days, Baba Yaga is more of a job title than an individual person, and the series features three different women—all powerful witches, but all very different—as they cope with magical challenges (and some pretty challenging non-magical men). Luckily, they have help from the Riders, and each has her own Chudo-Yudo, the Baba Yaga’s mythical dragon companion, disguised as a giant white pit bull, a huge black Newfoundland, and a massive Norwegian Forest Cat. (People would probably notice a dragon.)  

TRC: How did you come up with the idea of Baba Yaga? 

Deborah: My agent Elaine and I were talking one day about what I should write next. We agreed that we both liked my books that had witches as protagonists, and we both liked updated fairy tales. So I tried to figure out which fairy tales hadn’t been overused (and had witches in them that weren’t completely the bad guys) and ta da! Baba Yaga.

TRC: You write multiple genres, such as Paranormal, Romance, Fantasy, etc .   Do you have a preference on writing a genre, and have you thought of writing a different genre?

Deborah: I love both Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy I’ve written for Berkley (plus the nonfiction books on witchcraft I write for Llewellyn), but right now I’m actually working on a humorous contemporary romance. I love books that make me laugh. And romance, of course.

TRC: Can you please tell us what you working on now, and what you have upcoming in 2016/2017?

Right now I’m working on the romantic comedy, a book of cat magic, another Baba Yaga novella, and revisions on the second Rider novel, which will be out in November 2017. There will also be a second novel in the Veiled Magic series come spring, the novella towards fall, and I have a tarot deck coming out from Llewellyn in January 2017. 

TRC: What is your writing process?  Do you like to outline your story before you start? Do you have a specific place you like to write?  Is there a special time of day that works best for you?

Deborah: I do outline. I have since about the second book I wrote, but now that I am working with an editor, I always have to submit a synopsis for each book anyway. I actually do fairly extensive outlines, since they help when I get stuck or overwhelmed. I write sitting in a red recliner or on the couch (which also reclines) in my living room, since it seems to be the easiest on my back and arms, and it also makes it easy for the cats to supervise me. I usually work in the evenings, from about 6:30 until 10:30 (give or take), although on the weekends and days off, I sometimes also do another stint in the morning. And yes, that means I work seven days a week, most of the time. 

TRC: When you are not writing, what other interests or hobbies do you have?

Deborah: Besides cats? (laugh) I make jewelry, have an extensive garden, and I like to cook. I also am the high priestess of a small coven, so I do some magical things with the gang on occasion.   

TRC: Would you like to add anything else? 

Deborah: I love my readers—they have been so supportive of my books and my writing. I hope people will come connect with me on my blog, Facebook, and Twitter. And I hope they read and enjoy Dangerously Charming! 

To learn more about Deborah Blake, you can find her at the following links:
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads

 

 LIGHTNING ROUND 

Favorite Food: Chocolate. No, lobster. No, chocolate. Okay, bacon.

Favorite Dessert: Tiramisu 

Favorite Movie: The Princess Bride 

Favorite TV Show: Firefly (yes, I know it is off the air—I’m still bitter) 

Favorite Movie or TV Celebrity: Richard Dean Anderson (MacGyver) 

Dark or Milk Chocolate: Dark all the way 

Favorite literary character (not your own): Alanna (Tamora Pierce’s heroine) 

Dog or Cat: Cats (although I do like dogs too)   

Thank you, Deborah, for answering our questions. The Reading Café wishes you the best of luck with Dangerously Charming.

 

Deborah’s publisher is offering a paper copy of DANGEROUSLY CHARMING to ONE (1) lucky commenter at The Reading Cafe.

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8. Giveaway open to USA only

9. Giveaway runs from October 7-11, 2016

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