Romance, intrigue and betrayal saturate One for My Enemy, a twisty urban fantasy from Olivie Blake (The Atlas Six). Baba Yaga's Artisan Apothecary is only part of the Antonova family's business interests, and both their luxury serums and their illegal intoxicants are the result of their magical gifts. For many years--since Baba Yaga refused to marry their patriarch, Koschei the Deathless--they have been rivals of the Fedorov family. A conflict breaks out when a Fedorov encroaches upon the magical drug market, and a cold war becomes a blood feud between the family heirs. When the youngest of each family's grown children, Sasha and Lev, meet, they are immediately attracted to each other, and Romeo and Juliet doesn't begin to convey the level of complications possible when the two houses in question have magic and otherworldly allies at their disposal.
Blake packs a complex family feud with a history that goes back years into an action-packed tale of magical intrigue that never slows. She vividly portrays the bonds among parents, siblings and lovers, whether they hold or fray, and her occasional use of well-timed flashbacks helps to maintain momentum. Depending on their ability to remember multiple nicknames for characters, readers may want to take notes and refer to the dramatis personae pages at the front of the book. But this web of love, deceit and revenge will keep them on the edge of their seats. --Kristen Allen-Vogel, information services librarian at Dayton Metro Library