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Yaga's Choice
by
Joanna Mazurkiewicz
dark fantasy in a Kindle edition on January 9, 2022 and has 126 pages.
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A prequel, 0.5, in the Baba Yaga’s Legacy dark fantasy series and revolving around Baba Yaga, before she becomes the witch in the summer of 1990 in the city of Lviv.
My Take
I gotta say, I couldn’t finish this story, In fact, I barely got into it, so this review is probably unfair.
And. Mazurkiewicz is so disorganized in her writing, that it’s exhausting to read.
I think Mazurkiewicz is using first person dual protagonist point-of-view from Jadwiga’s and Veles’ perspectives.
I only know this contains sex, etc., because the author said so in her Content Warning.
The Story
Veles’ long-standing enmity with his brother, Perun, leads him to Jadwiga, whom he believes can help him destroy his rival. But when he lays eyes on her, he wants nothing more than to possess her body and soul. So, he kidnaps her and forces her to obey his sensual whims.
The Characters
It’s not a full list, and I couldn’t read the whole story.
Jadwiga is a powerful mortal fertility witch and principal who can’t get pregnant.
The Academy is . . .
. . . a school of magic in Lviv where Jadwiga is the principal. Dagmara teaches alchemy.
Aneczka is pregnant. Veronica, from Romania, wants to be pregnant.
Opana is . . .
. . . a witch kingdom within the human world and includes Slovenia, Croatia, Austria, Bosnia, and Herzegovina.
Veles is the god of Nawia, the underworld. Leila. Perun, Veles’ brother, is the god of thunder. Mokosh is the goddess of fertility. Svargo is the god of blacksmiths, law, and fire. A Vila is a nymph and dwells in water.
A upior is a prototype vampire. A kikho is an evil creature with one eye. Baba Yaga is a fairytale character who lives in a hut that walks on chicken legs and eats or helps children.
The Cover and Title
The cover is dark in reds, brown, and gray. In the top right corner is a black-and-white of Baba Yaga’s house on its chicken legs with a full moon behind it. Occupying the top left-to-middle is a horned god with a chest to die for. His right hand holds a shield while his left holds a skull emitting red bubbles. The bottom third is a frame of red roses. Crossing his stomach is the title in white with a black shadow. Beneath it is the series information in four lines in white. Near the bottom is an info blurb, in white, while the author’s name is below that, also in white.
The title is Yaga’s goal, “Yaga’s Choice”.
