Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Wickedly Unraveled by Deborah Blake Narrator: Romy Nordlinger
Series: Baba Yaga #4
Published by Tantor Audio on December 23, 2025
Genres: Paranormal Romance
Length: 8 hours, 8 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
Amazon, Audible, Libro.fm
Barbara Yager is used to traveling alone as she tends to her duties as a Baba Yaga. She sometimes brings Babs, the adopted daughter she is training, but her sheriff husband stays behind. This trip, though, she has made an exception. After all, the task seems so simple, and shouldn’t take long to accomplish. When it is done, the three of them can indulge in a long-overdue family vacation. What could it hurt?
Quite a lot, as it turns out. What Barbara thought was a minor problem ends in a violent magical confrontation she never expected. The resulting backlash sends them all into a warped timeline where Barbara and Liam never got together, and only Barbara and nine-year-old Babs remember the truth. Liam is still trapped in his grief and all the good they’ve done together in the past few years has come undone.
Even worse, her Baba Yaga sisters, Beka and Bella, don’t believe her, and the wicked Brenna is still out there, planning who knows what kind of mischief. The children stolen by the rusalka Maya are trapped in the Otherworld and she is loose in this one and up to no good. It is up to Barbara, Babs, and their faithful dragon-dog companion Chudo-Yudo to knit together the unraveled timeline and make things right again, before it is too late and Barbara loses her one true love forever.
Deborah Blake returns to her unique, magical urban fantasy series with a new adventure for the Baba Yaga who began it all. A magical mishap alters time and only Barbara and her apprentice Babs can restore it. Deborah Blake’s light-handed, exciting Wickedly Unraveled was an unexpected series reunion I was not expecting, but appreciated all the same.
Wickedly Unraveled is the fourth installment in the Baba Yaga urban fantasy series. It presumes the reader has already read the previous novels and novellas in the series as well as the spin-off, Broken Riders series. All the previous characters and situations come into play. However, I think, newcomers who don’t mind mentions of previous stories and characters in the original time line, could slip into this one.
Barbara Yaeger, her adopted daughter-mentee Babs, and Barbara’s sheriff husband, Liam decide to take the sentient airstream (aka the house on chicken legs) for a long-awaited vacation. Barbara just needs to pop in and deal with an eensy weensy fae-witch problem – so little that she takes Babs along to help further her Baba Yaga education.
Oh, how wrong she was. The situation goes pear-shaped quickly and after magic goes wrong, Barbara and Babs end up being the only ones to know that they- along with everyone else- are living an alternate time line. Barbara and Liam never found the missing children, she and Liam never got together and he’s still lost in his grief, more profoundly larger issues never happened either including the defeat of a wicked villainess. The Riders, the other Baba Yagas- yeah, they don’t believe her so they can’t offer the usual help in restoring the original time line. It’s just Barbara and Babs on this one.
Wickedly Unraveled was a book I approached with mixed feelings. I was excited for a new entry in a series I thought was long-finished, but I was wary of a plot that would have Barbara and Liam’s happily ever after non-existent. Yes, that definitely was an ‘oof’ to the gut to have them apart for most of the book and there was definite angst and tension with no one else getting the problem, but Deborah Blake had the wise-cracking Baba Yaga wit and humor going for this one, too.
I found there was an upside to this drastic change in the story. Barbara and Babs got to experience more of a mother-daughter relationship than before. In the past, Barbara was both mom and witch-mentor which was a tough balance for her especially the way she was brought up with her own Baba Yaga mentor. But, with Liam out of the picture, she had to step that side of things up.
I also loved, no matter how it came about, the reunion with the other Baba Yagas and the Riders. It was good to have the gang all together once again.
All in all, this was a great reunion with the series- dare I hope there might be more at a future date? Urban Fantasy fans are definitely the prime target audience and particularly those who like witch magic heroines, fae involvement, and exciting adventure.
Narration:
Romy Nordlinger is not a new to me narrator and I recently listened to her narrate the Baba Yaga Novella Collection so I was eager to plug in my ear buds and hear her bring the Baba Yaga world and Barbara to life once again.
Listen to a clip: HERE
About Deborah Blake
Deborah is the author of nine non-fiction books on modern witchcraft from Llewellyn and the Baba Yaga series from Berkley Romance, including Wickedly Magical (novella), Wickedly Dangerous, and Wickedly Wonderful, Wickedly Ever After (novella), and Wickedly Powerful, plus an urban fantasy, Veiled Magic.
Deborah lives in a 120 year old farmhouse in upstate NY with four cats, and runs an artists’ cooperative shop when she’s not writing. She believes in magic, laughter, chocolate, and wine. The order may change depending on the day.
As a lifelong reader, it was inevitable that Sophia would discover book blogs and the joy of blog reviewing.Sophia is a prolific reader and audiobook listener which allows her to experience so many wonderful books, authors, and narrators.Few genres are outside her reading tastes, but her true love is fiction particularly history, mystery, sci-fi, and romance.Though, sorry, no horror or she will run like Shaggy and Scooby.
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What an interesting premise. I haven’t read anything like this before.
Yes, its fun that it follows the Baba Yaga legend a little and combines it with the fae and other supernatural creatures, too.
Glad to hear this turned out to be another good book in that series. Yeah I would be wary of that plot line too keeping the couple apart for most of the book and I am not a big fan of alternate time line type plot lines. But that does sound great how there was more room for Barbara and Babs their mother daughter relationship instead. And the whole Baba Yaga legend and magic as basis for this series sounds great.
I wanted to read this because I love the series, but I was worried about that alt time line. It did diminish my enjoyment, but not enough to not like the book.
I read the first one in this series years ago. I should pick it up again. The author is lovely, too.
I should revisit this series because its been a while and some of what was going on in this one made me realize I’d forgotten stuff from before. She is a lovely person. I got to interview her years ago on Delighted Reader and loved her responses.
New book and new author for me. This does sound fun tho
Oh my yes, the Baba Yaga series was a fun urban fantasy series.