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Baba Yaga's Legacy #0.5
Yaga's Choice: Prequel Novella
Meet Veles, the God of the Underworld… and the mortal witch Jadwiga.
Veles’ long-standing enmity with his brother, Perun, leads him to Jadwiga, who 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.
He cannot resist getting close to the witch.
Yet, while he reveals the secrets of the most powerful magic of the world, Veles sets events in motion that will change the course of Jadwiga’s destiny. Jadwiga knows she needs to keep the monster pacified, until she discovers she can steal his firelight and gain access to the Gate.
Soon enough though, Veles awakes in her intense carnal desires, bringing them to a union that is destined to make her one of the most powerful witches in the history of mankind; Baba Yaga.
WARNING: This book is a DARK/FANTASY romance. It contains graphic content of sexual abuse that some readers may be particularly sensitive to. If you have triggers or are even remotely unsure, please read the note at the beginning of this book.
Veles’ long-standing enmity with his brother, Perun, leads him to Jadwiga, who 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.
He cannot resist getting close to the witch.
Yet, while he reveals the secrets of the most powerful magic of the world, Veles sets events in motion that will change the course of Jadwiga’s destiny. Jadwiga knows she needs to keep the monster pacified, until she discovers she can steal his firelight and gain access to the Gate.
Soon enough though, Veles awakes in her intense carnal desires, bringing them to a union that is destined to make her one of the most powerful witches in the history of mankind; Baba Yaga.
WARNING: This book is a DARK/FANTASY romance. It contains graphic content of sexual abuse that some readers may be particularly sensitive to. If you have triggers or are even remotely unsure, please read the note at the beginning of this book.
- GenresFantasyDarkDark Romance
172 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 9, 2022
23 people are currently reading
203 people want to read
About the author
Joanna Mazurkiewicz
105 books783 followersJoanna Mazurkiewicz was born in Poland. She moved to United Kingdom when she was only nineteen and just finished high school. She had aspired to be a writer upon completion of the Harry Potter series but also enjoyed reading books like ‘Gone with the Wind’, ’Animal Farm’ and ‘The doll’. She graduated from Swansea University with a bachelor degree in American Studies. While studying in the UK she made a decision to start writing fiction in English.
The “Whispers of the Sprite” is her first debut novel and she is currently working on other projects. Joanna lives in Cowbridge, a small town in South Wales near Cardiff with her boyfriend Bruce. She enjoys cycling around Welsh countryside some of which has become the settings in her first series.
The “Whispers of the Sprite” is her first debut novel and she is currently working on other projects. Joanna lives in Cowbridge, a small town in South Wales near Cardiff with her boyfriend Bruce. She enjoys cycling around Welsh countryside some of which has become the settings in her first series.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
March 18, 2022
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".
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".
January 13, 2022
Jadwiga is a very ambitious witch and known for her talents of healing and giving women the chance to be a mother. But not herself.
While brewing a powerful potion to remedy this, the God of the underworld, Veles ,comes upon her.
He has a longstanding feud with his brother and needs Jadwiga to defeat him.
Veles sees her potential. But what will the cost be?
This prequel is steamy and bursting with passion, despite the short length of the book. A quick introduction of the main characters and off we go.
Jadwiga has a chance at love or power, which one will she choose?
Very well written, the characters are interesting and have a depth to them.
The storyline is a great introduction to the origins of Baba Yaga in Joanna Mazurkiewicz's retelling. Readers with a knowledge in slavic folklore will recognize certain elements.
Looking forward to reading the next installment in this series.
While brewing a powerful potion to remedy this, the God of the underworld, Veles ,comes upon her.
He has a longstanding feud with his brother and needs Jadwiga to defeat him.
Veles sees her potential. But what will the cost be?
This prequel is steamy and bursting with passion, despite the short length of the book. A quick introduction of the main characters and off we go.
Jadwiga has a chance at love or power, which one will she choose?
Very well written, the characters are interesting and have a depth to them.
The storyline is a great introduction to the origins of Baba Yaga in Joanna Mazurkiewicz's retelling. Readers with a knowledge in slavic folklore will recognize certain elements.
Looking forward to reading the next installment in this series.
February 1, 2022
᠃ ⚘᠂ ⚘ ˚ ⚘ ᠂ ⚘ ᠃ ⚘᠂ ⚘ ˚ ⚘ ᠂ ⚘ ᠃⚘᠂ ⚘ ˚ ⚘ ᠂ ⚘ ᠃ ⚘᠂ ⚘ ˚ ⚘ ᠂ ⚘ ᠃ ⚘᠂ ⚘ ˚ ⚘ ᠂ ⚘ ᠃
I completely forgot that this was a prequel novella and I had the audacity to be surprised when it ended on a cliffhanger. As a Slavic gal myself, I was unsure of how to feel about seeing Veles as a sexual character but boy oh boy....He might have gained a new follower due to this.
Summary:
The main character is your typical stubborn and clear-headed Slavic woman, who also happens to be one of the most powerful witches in East Europe. Jadwiga has an unfathomable gift to help women with their fertility, while at the same time not being able to have children of her own. Due to this immense wish for motherhood, she decides to plunge into the world of dark magic and conjure up a potion that might help her gain fertility. Little does she know, her desires are stronger than she could've imagined as she manages to gain the attention of the Slavic god of the underworld - Veles. His plans to make her his own, in body and soul, in order to dethrone his brother Perun start to become a blur as Jadwiga is not just a mere mortal witch.
Listen, if someone told me that there would be some spicy romance with the Slavic gods I wouldn't believe them in a million years. Yet, here we are! And I read it in one sitting. Okay so, in all honesty, I was a bit confused at first because I thought we might get a re-telling of Baba Yaga's folk story but THIS IS SO MUCH MORE. I am excited to see what will happen in this series as this prequel gave me enough to stay hooked and yearn for more. This book has all the smut and spice but the underlying plot is also incredibly interesting. I am hoping to see more of this plot in the first book, with a tiny bit of less smut perhaps, cause things left off on a curious note.
All in all, this series got a fan.
I completely forgot that this was a prequel novella and I had the audacity to be surprised when it ended on a cliffhanger. As a Slavic gal myself, I was unsure of how to feel about seeing Veles as a sexual character but boy oh boy....He might have gained a new follower due to this.
Summary:
The main character is your typical stubborn and clear-headed Slavic woman, who also happens to be one of the most powerful witches in East Europe. Jadwiga has an unfathomable gift to help women with their fertility, while at the same time not being able to have children of her own. Due to this immense wish for motherhood, she decides to plunge into the world of dark magic and conjure up a potion that might help her gain fertility. Little does she know, her desires are stronger than she could've imagined as she manages to gain the attention of the Slavic god of the underworld - Veles. His plans to make her his own, in body and soul, in order to dethrone his brother Perun start to become a blur as Jadwiga is not just a mere mortal witch.
Listen, if someone told me that there would be some spicy romance with the Slavic gods I wouldn't believe them in a million years. Yet, here we are! And I read it in one sitting. Okay so, in all honesty, I was a bit confused at first because I thought we might get a re-telling of Baba Yaga's folk story but THIS IS SO MUCH MORE. I am excited to see what will happen in this series as this prequel gave me enough to stay hooked and yearn for more. This book has all the smut and spice but the underlying plot is also incredibly interesting. I am hoping to see more of this plot in the first book, with a tiny bit of less smut perhaps, cause things left off on a curious note.
All in all, this series got a fan.
January 14, 2022
I thought this was going to be closer to historical fantasy or a Baba Yaga retelling type of story, boy was I wrong! The steamy level just in chapter 2! Nope I was completely wrong. It’s definitely some type of Historical Fantasy Smut…and it's fabulous!
Witches and Gods, all in the mortal realm where the Gods hardly visit. But Veles has reasons to now that Jadwaga has resulted in using dark magic to achieve her desires of being a mother and ruling Opana.
Okay. So that was a roller coaster of stuff. But, I’ve got to hand it to this rendition of Baba Yaga’s character, absolutely amazing! Yaga kept her wants and goals and dreams in mind when weighing her situation, great characteristics for a ruthless woman with goals to reach. I loved reading her!
I enjoyed the twists the gods provided for Yaga’s plans. And I loved that Veles’ character wasn’t made to be a brooding god whose tired of being in the background. Being the number one god is something he has been wanting for thousands of years, and he doesn’t let his developing feelings for this mortal witch get in the way of his end goal…until at the last second when he can’t go through with it! All that, only to have Yaga completely betray him, trapping him in Nawia! Brutal!
There were some moments when switching between Veles’ point of view and Yaga’s point of view that were rough. The information in these moments was hard to follow and felt like there were some chunks of dialogue that needed to happen there.
Witches and Gods, all in the mortal realm where the Gods hardly visit. But Veles has reasons to now that Jadwaga has resulted in using dark magic to achieve her desires of being a mother and ruling Opana.
Okay. So that was a roller coaster of stuff. But, I’ve got to hand it to this rendition of Baba Yaga’s character, absolutely amazing! Yaga kept her wants and goals and dreams in mind when weighing her situation, great characteristics for a ruthless woman with goals to reach. I loved reading her!
I enjoyed the twists the gods provided for Yaga’s plans. And I loved that Veles’ character wasn’t made to be a brooding god whose tired of being in the background. Being the number one god is something he has been wanting for thousands of years, and he doesn’t let his developing feelings for this mortal witch get in the way of his end goal…until at the last second when he can’t go through with it! All that, only to have Yaga completely betray him, trapping him in Nawia! Brutal!
There were some moments when switching between Veles’ point of view and Yaga’s point of view that were rough. The information in these moments was hard to follow and felt like there were some chunks of dialogue that needed to happen there.
April 10, 2023
This book was very frustrating reading. There are a lot of grammar mistakes. Past, present tenses are used incorrectly in the story and sometimes using both in the same sentence. It's driving me crazy. The thing that is driving the most crazy though is trying to make heads or tails of this story. I have no idea what the heck is going on. It's just one confusing mess.
I don't know if its just because I am unfamiliar with the Baba Yaga tale and therefore it makes no sense to me. Or if I am just so frustrated with all the mistakes in the writing that I am losing complete track of the story.
I can say that I don't care for either MC in this story at all. There is no connection with them. There is nothing compelling about either of them that would make me like them. They both seem to be self centered creatures only looking out for themselves and everybody else can take a flying leap. The one thing that Yaga had going for her that made her somewhat likeable she ruins because of her resent for doing it. She can help other witches in this world become pregnant (which is apparently a rare thing in this world) but then whines to herself afterwards because she can't heal herself.
For as short as this book is... I am struggled really hard to make myself finish reading it. I can say... I don't think I will ever pick up another book by this author again. It's just not worth putting myself thru this much frustration trying to read a book.
I don't know if its just because I am unfamiliar with the Baba Yaga tale and therefore it makes no sense to me. Or if I am just so frustrated with all the mistakes in the writing that I am losing complete track of the story.
I can say that I don't care for either MC in this story at all. There is no connection with them. There is nothing compelling about either of them that would make me like them. They both seem to be self centered creatures only looking out for themselves and everybody else can take a flying leap. The one thing that Yaga had going for her that made her somewhat likeable she ruins because of her resent for doing it. She can help other witches in this world become pregnant (which is apparently a rare thing in this world) but then whines to herself afterwards because she can't heal herself.
For as short as this book is... I am struggled really hard to make myself finish reading it. I can say... I don't think I will ever pick up another book by this author again. It's just not worth putting myself thru this much frustration trying to read a book.
January 12, 2022
Yaga’s Choice 3.5 ⭐️
I’d seen the cover of this book flashing past in my Facebook feed a few times and it had caught my eye, so when the opportunity fell into my lap to be an ARC reader, I definitely volunteered myself.
Yaga’s Choice is a sexalicious read with a unique and interesting plot. Jadwiga is a strong and independent main character with her own magical armoury to back her up. Veles is the god of the underworld and above the morals of mere mortals. When their interests come to cross purposes, fireworks are inevitable, and oh-so-dazzling. I was prevented by life from reading in one sitting, which was probably for the best as I was over-heating! Plan ahead so you have your cool down ready and available ;)
I’d seen the cover of this book flashing past in my Facebook feed a few times and it had caught my eye, so when the opportunity fell into my lap to be an ARC reader, I definitely volunteered myself.
Yaga’s Choice is a sexalicious read with a unique and interesting plot. Jadwiga is a strong and independent main character with her own magical armoury to back her up. Veles is the god of the underworld and above the morals of mere mortals. When their interests come to cross purposes, fireworks are inevitable, and oh-so-dazzling. I was prevented by life from reading in one sitting, which was probably for the best as I was over-heating! Plan ahead so you have your cool down ready and available ;)
January 30, 2022
This book had great potential but definitely flopped sadly. I feel the plot and characters could have been developed more. Spice is hot and heavy, the author did great on all that but the story line didn’t hold well.
Jadwiga or Baba Yaga, a powerful witch who is struggling with infertility finds herself tangled with the god of the underworld Veles.
I wish the author dove deeper and created their story a lot better. Along with the grammar errors that made me cringe but I held on because it could have been great.
Jadwiga or Baba Yaga, a powerful witch who is struggling with infertility finds herself tangled with the god of the underworld Veles.
I wish the author dove deeper and created their story a lot better. Along with the grammar errors that made me cringe but I held on because it could have been great.
January 23, 2022
I truly had higher expectations. I mean it was an easy, steamy read but other than that there was not really a story. I am probably better off saying that there was a story but as the reader I did not experience the so called story.
The end of the book came a little surprising but was welcomed nevertheless.
If I am gonna read the next book in this series it will be because I want to know Veles's future.
The end of the book came a little surprising but was welcomed nevertheless.
If I am gonna read the next book in this series it will be because I want to know Veles's future.
January 24, 2022
Whoa!! I needed a tall glass of cold water after some scenes because, wowzers, the spiciness was deliciously hot. I need me some Veles in my life!! Like come on, tall, large, in-charge God who knows what he wants....yes, please! Then there's Jadawiga, a witch in search of something she cannot have. She's determined, resourceful, and intelligent. The storyline is face-paced, hot, and drool-worthy. I loved being emmersed in, and cannot wait until the next!!
February 1, 2022
THIS BOOKS WOKE ME UO AT THE END 😭 no I actually hate you how can Baba Yaga or whatever her name was TO SO THAT. ARE YOU CRAZY. 😡😡😡😡 that’s so annoying.
August 5, 2025
Lectura rápida pero no me terminó de convencer como para querer más
February 1, 2022
This book is wild, I went in blind and I don’t know what to think.
🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶/5
🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶/5
March 4, 2022
Very interesting
I really enjoyed reading Yaga’s Choice. It’s great to get the prequel of a book before the first one. It is a little graphic, and confusing at times, but as the story goes on, it becomes clear.
I would recommend it.
I really enjoyed reading Yaga’s Choice. It’s great to get the prequel of a book before the first one. It is a little graphic, and confusing at times, but as the story goes on, it becomes clear.
I would recommend it.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews