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Big, Bad Wolf
Who’s afraid of the big, bad wolf?
From the outside, librarian Megan Upton appears to live a quiet, painfully ordinary life. She’s lonely, but she’s content, more or less—that is, when she isn’t being haunted by wolves.
She sees their hulking shadows in blizzards, and their shapes stalk her dreams. Even worse, it’s a family affliction: her beloved grandmother, whose sanity seems to be slowly slipping away, raves about seeing phantom wolves, too.
When a twist of fate brings the beautiful, enigmatic, hungry-eyed Kara into Megan’s life, Megan’s wolf sightings intensify, even as her attraction to Kara grows.
Soon, despite the wintry weather, love begins to warm Megan’s heart. But sharp-toothed danger lurks everywhere. One dark, snowy night at her grandmother’s isolated cabin in the mountains, Megan will have to confront the wolves—and the truth about her family, Kara, and herself—face to face.
From the outside, librarian Megan Upton appears to live a quiet, painfully ordinary life. She’s lonely, but she’s content, more or less—that is, when she isn’t being haunted by wolves.
She sees their hulking shadows in blizzards, and their shapes stalk her dreams. Even worse, it’s a family affliction: her beloved grandmother, whose sanity seems to be slowly slipping away, raves about seeing phantom wolves, too.
When a twist of fate brings the beautiful, enigmatic, hungry-eyed Kara into Megan’s life, Megan’s wolf sightings intensify, even as her attraction to Kara grows.
Soon, despite the wintry weather, love begins to warm Megan’s heart. But sharp-toothed danger lurks everywhere. One dark, snowy night at her grandmother’s isolated cabin in the mountains, Megan will have to confront the wolves—and the truth about her family, Kara, and herself—face to face.
152 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 1, 2014
27 people are currently reading
175 people want to read
About the author
Bridget Essex
54 books461 followersMy name is Bridget Essex, and I write about werewolves, vampires and lady knights; about two strong, courageous women who fall deeply in love with one another, living love stories that transcend time. I'm married to the love of my life, author Natalie Vivien.
I'm best known for my Knight Legends series, stories about women knights, real world hi-jinks and love stories that are out of this world. My Sullivan Vampire novellas are a popular series lauded as "TWILIGHT for women who love women," and I have several other series and stand-alone novellas, and I'm always putting out something new. Learn more at http://bridgetessex.wordpress.com
I'm best known for my Knight Legends series, stories about women knights, real world hi-jinks and love stories that are out of this world. My Sullivan Vampire novellas are a popular series lauded as "TWILIGHT for women who love women," and I have several other series and stand-alone novellas, and I'm always putting out something new. Learn more at http://bridgetessex.wordpress.com
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
November 1, 2017
* update Oct 2017 * - I originally read this book on Kindle in February, and rated it 5*. I now regret my 5* rating, because after listening to the recently released audiobook narrated by Gabrielle Domena, I really wish I could add another star or two! "Big, Bad Wolf" remains one of my favorite Essex books, and Domena really brings it to life! Reconfirming my 5* rating, this time based on the audiobook!
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Ok, if you didn't love this book please re-read it! Even without the extra points for featuring a wonderfully named MC (Kara), this is an astonishingly evocative and entertaining narrative. I've read several of Bridget Essex’s books. The “Knight” series disappointed me with their juvenileness, a couple others were entertaining, but the quality of writing of this book was stellar! It certainly isn't perfect, and the second half somehow didn't quite match what the first half laid out…but I was astonishingly impressed and very captivated by this book!
I recommend it, plan to re-read it, and happily rate this as 5*.
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Ok, if you didn't love this book please re-read it! Even without the extra points for featuring a wonderfully named MC (Kara), this is an astonishingly evocative and entertaining narrative. I've read several of Bridget Essex’s books. The “Knight” series disappointed me with their juvenileness, a couple others were entertaining, but the quality of writing of this book was stellar! It certainly isn't perfect, and the second half somehow didn't quite match what the first half laid out…but I was astonishingly impressed and very captivated by this book!
I recommend it, plan to re-read it, and happily rate this as 5*.
January 8, 2015
I am surprised at the low scores given by other reviewers, as objectively far worse books have higher scores than this on Goodreads. This appears to be one of those books where you either rather like it, or you don't? Anyway, for my money I rather did - but perhaps I should back up and start at the beginning.
Megan Upton has a fairly boring life. She works at the local library and takes care of her grandmother (who seems to be going a bit batty). Frankly, the most exciting thing in her life are the recurring nightmares she endures regarding wolves. Then Kara comes to town. Mysterious and sexy, Megan is really rather keen on her (to the disappointment of her boss Sally, who is the only other lesbian in town). Alas - Kara is more than she seems, and Megan is in danger from quarters she could never expect.
This story is a retelling and a subversion of "Little Red Riding Hood", and that seems to have been its weakness for some people. Some of the twists and turns used to follow the original story felt forced - the romance was awfully quick, and Megan's irrational fear of wolves became a bit trying after a wee while. Regardless, this was a well written, well edited book with an intriguing plot and sympathetic characters.
It is a very high three starts, which I rounded up to four. If you're thinking about buying this book, don't be put off.
Megan Upton has a fairly boring life. She works at the local library and takes care of her grandmother (who seems to be going a bit batty). Frankly, the most exciting thing in her life are the recurring nightmares she endures regarding wolves. Then Kara comes to town. Mysterious and sexy, Megan is really rather keen on her (to the disappointment of her boss Sally, who is the only other lesbian in town). Alas - Kara is more than she seems, and Megan is in danger from quarters she could never expect.
This story is a retelling and a subversion of "Little Red Riding Hood", and that seems to have been its weakness for some people. Some of the twists and turns used to follow the original story felt forced - the romance was awfully quick, and Megan's irrational fear of wolves became a bit trying after a wee while. Regardless, this was a well written, well edited book with an intriguing plot and sympathetic characters.
It is a very high three starts, which I rounded up to four. If you're thinking about buying this book, don't be put off.
November 24, 2017
Amazing story!
On her way to her grandmother, she got caught in a huge snowstorm. The storm is driving her crazy. Alone and exposed to freezing temperatures, things started to get weird. Megan has regularly frightning nightmares and she doesn't know whether that what she sees is real or that her nightmares are screwing with her head. Several surprises awaits Megan and not all very enjoyable. When she meet this remarkable woman little did she know that this woman held the key to the door of her past as well as her future. A great story full of mystery and I warmly recommend it.
On her way to her grandmother, she got caught in a huge snowstorm. The storm is driving her crazy. Alone and exposed to freezing temperatures, things started to get weird. Megan has regularly frightning nightmares and she doesn't know whether that what she sees is real or that her nightmares are screwing with her head. Several surprises awaits Megan and not all very enjoyable. When she meet this remarkable woman little did she know that this woman held the key to the door of her past as well as her future. A great story full of mystery and I warmly recommend it.
January 19, 2020
This book had been hiding on my Kindle for several years, perfect for a cold Saturday in January. Megan, a librarian in a small town, had a fear and recurring dream of wolves. She grew up in a log cabin in the mountains, raised by her grandmother, who often talked about the wolves that came for tea - Megan thought her grandma was going mental. Megan meets a tall, strong women (who never wore a coat in the winter weather) and begins to fall in love. Meg soon finds that all she thought she knew, she didn’t. I love shifter books and Essex is one of my favorite authors. If your a fan of either you’ll enjoy this book!
July 26, 2016
I am like hoping up and down mad. It was good and i was happy but then the author dragged stuff out so much. Then if there seem to be a difficult part she would just cover it up with the char having a fever or passing out and not remember anything cause it was dreamish. Then it ends suddenly without the author having the characters go through that awkward convo of main char saying she hated wolves. I want that because that makes the difference between a good story or not. It would show grow in the characters instead of i hate this. bam something happens. then char changes her mind. and author doesn't have to work none of it is explained or expressed through the character to make them grow or change instead of using a switch. When you spend whole life a certain way then no matter what there will be adjusting. I also want to add that girl not knowing the other girl is a wolf but using "wolfish" terms to describe her is just stupid because it makes no sense. Why see some one you love in wolfish ways when your scared to death of them? Plus author doesn't explain anything in her damn book so it had more hole in it than a damn abandon road. I will say this author's other book series is so much better and I really can't wait for it to come out. If she stops it like she did this story I will have to hit myself over the head with my keyboard.
May 1, 2016
This was quite good, better than I thought it would be. To me this is more like a novella at only 150 pages, so it's a quick read. You can tell fairly quickly it's an abstract version of Little Red Riding Hood. It was plenty different though and had some nice twists, so you didn't feel like you were reading a regurgitated story-line.
I thought the writing was good, and I was immediately sucked into the story. For me it was much better then Essex's A Knight to Remember, the only other book I've read by her, to compare.
If you are a Kindle Unlimited Subscriber, and enjoy lesbian-paranormal-romances, rent this for sure.
I thought the writing was good, and I was immediately sucked into the story. For me it was much better then Essex's A Knight to Remember, the only other book I've read by her, to compare.
If you are a Kindle Unlimited Subscriber, and enjoy lesbian-paranormal-romances, rent this for sure.
March 26, 2018
I don’t even know
This was pretty amazing. It was going kind of slow at the beginning and I was worried it would just be boring to me, but DAMN did it take a turn! I don’t even know how to describe how trippy this book had me. I wish it had ended with an epilogue or something, but apart from that, this story was pretty great.
Now for some ***spoilers***
I don’t quite get how Sally looked like she was killed by a beast, and damn, why couldn’t she have just said “wolves=good” and all would have been pretty good. Better yet, what the heck even caused her fear of wolves??? Like that wasn’t really explained except for that deer thing that she saw, but she also saw that Clyde killed animals too. I don’t get how the wolves equated evil for killing a deer but Clyde somehow equated gentle kindness at the start. WHY DIDN’T MOLLU JUST SAY “The wolves are real, Kara is one, they are nice, Clyde is evil”. Or why the hell Molly just tell her that Clyde was bad and had evil intent from the start? That probably would have been SO much easier on everyone. And WHAT THE FREAK was up with that trippy scene where she sees that psychic lady?
Sorry for my terrible grammar, I’m running on no sleep and this has my mind doing back flips off a balcony.
This was pretty amazing. It was going kind of slow at the beginning and I was worried it would just be boring to me, but DAMN did it take a turn! I don’t even know how to describe how trippy this book had me. I wish it had ended with an epilogue or something, but apart from that, this story was pretty great.
Now for some ***spoilers***
I don’t quite get how Sally looked like she was killed by a beast, and damn, why couldn’t she have just said “wolves=good” and all would have been pretty good. Better yet, what the heck even caused her fear of wolves??? Like that wasn’t really explained except for that deer thing that she saw, but she also saw that Clyde killed animals too. I don’t get how the wolves equated evil for killing a deer but Clyde somehow equated gentle kindness at the start. WHY DIDN’T MOLLU JUST SAY “The wolves are real, Kara is one, they are nice, Clyde is evil”. Or why the hell Molly just tell her that Clyde was bad and had evil intent from the start? That probably would have been SO much easier on everyone. And WHAT THE FREAK was up with that trippy scene where she sees that psychic lady?
Sorry for my terrible grammar, I’m running on no sleep and this has my mind doing back flips off a balcony.
January 25, 2018
Mesmerizing!
This is a very well written tale with well developed characters and an engrossing storyline. I was spellbound by the undercurrents of some hints at something I couldn't quite put my finger on. Something dark lurking around the edges. It seems as though everything should be obvious, but there's another turn and then a twist to keep you wondering what's real, and what's a nightmare. If you love being kept on the edge of your seat, this book belongs on your must-read list.
This is a very well written tale with well developed characters and an engrossing storyline. I was spellbound by the undercurrents of some hints at something I couldn't quite put my finger on. Something dark lurking around the edges. It seems as though everything should be obvious, but there's another turn and then a twist to keep you wondering what's real, and what's a nightmare. If you love being kept on the edge of your seat, this book belongs on your must-read list.
February 23, 2019
✨STUNNED✨
I'm generally over impressed with your writing and story telling . But with this one I'm afraid I was not entertained ! As I usually am . Mostly I was flabbergasted by the lack of intellect that Megan showed . Firstly she's an adult secondly she's and educated person . I would hope working as a librarian . And yet she's unable to put the puzzle pieces of her dreams together . Then we have her irrational actions in the final pages ! Where she runs off into the snow and extreme cold in her bare feet ! REALLY unbelievable .
I'm generally over impressed with your writing and story telling . But with this one I'm afraid I was not entertained ! As I usually am . Mostly I was flabbergasted by the lack of intellect that Megan showed . Firstly she's an adult secondly she's and educated person . I would hope working as a librarian . And yet she's unable to put the puzzle pieces of her dreams together . Then we have her irrational actions in the final pages ! Where she runs off into the snow and extreme cold in her bare feet ! REALLY unbelievable .
May 18, 2024
Everything was going well, it was nicely paced and then the ending made me feel like, why did i read this?
Had the potential to be something more, if the author were to redo this book, I'd go for a "brother bear" type of story (brother bear disney movie). Because that is what this book felt like abit. She had the elements already in the book but then the ending... doesnt really make sense, a human joining a wolf pack and shelly didn't need to die that was anti-climatic.
I know the author would be able to do it too.
Had the potential to be something more, if the author were to redo this book, I'd go for a "brother bear" type of story (brother bear disney movie). Because that is what this book felt like abit. She had the elements already in the book but then the ending... doesnt really make sense, a human joining a wolf pack and shelly didn't need to die that was anti-climatic.
I know the author would be able to do it too.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 8, 2021
I enjoyed this read..I do love a wolfie story
March 24, 2017
This is my least favorite of Bridget Essex's books so far. There is potential here but the story didn't hit the mark for me.
There's a lot of mystery around "the wolves". Megan is terrified of them. They've dominated her dreams and thoughts and they act as one big black cloud over her whole life. And now, she's losing her grandmother to them as she slips into dementia, thinking the wolves are real. Megan is in her 30s when Kara shows up out of the blue in their small village and she falls hard for this mysterious figure.
**** SPOILERS AHEAD ****
As I was reading, the pacing felt slow and the characters didn't develop much. Megan and Kara are both enamored with each other and that's fine but there's certainly a creepy element over it all. Let me just say that if it were me, I'd have a lot of questions for Kara! Why do you and your entire family live in an abandoned factory? What do you do? Where did you go to school? Where are you from? lol. And, I'm not sure why Clyde took so long to act. He had 30 years!
The story was just kind of strange with these big plot holes missing and very loose ends here and there. For example, I still don't get why Megan stopped doing art? Did something happen with Clyde that shut it down? Or, does she only do art when the wolves are around? If Clyde is an ongoing threat, why do the wolves ever leave? And, what act did her grandmother do that would have generational loyalty? Why didn't Kara run out into the storm after Megan when she gets to the house? Why was Megan drugged (assuming she was) and why would Kara let her be? And, by the way, where are Megan's parents? So many questions!
It didn't seem reasonable to me how Megan glossed over everything no matter how strange or dangerous it was. She's a librarian! She should have plenty of questions and a curious mind yet she lives in a fog.
I was just kind of going with it as I read hoping to get answers but wasn't satisfied with what little we were given. And then the end was super abrupt after the climax. I would've liked more resolution there.
Saying all of that, it's still not terribly written...if that makes any sense. The author has a good foundation of storytelling and does better than a lot of others in my opinion. I just really wish she'd gone back to fill in these plot holes and made Megan much more astute than she was. Definitely read her other works before this one.
There's a lot of mystery around "the wolves". Megan is terrified of them. They've dominated her dreams and thoughts and they act as one big black cloud over her whole life. And now, she's losing her grandmother to them as she slips into dementia, thinking the wolves are real. Megan is in her 30s when Kara shows up out of the blue in their small village and she falls hard for this mysterious figure.
**** SPOILERS AHEAD ****
As I was reading, the pacing felt slow and the characters didn't develop much. Megan and Kara are both enamored with each other and that's fine but there's certainly a creepy element over it all. Let me just say that if it were me, I'd have a lot of questions for Kara! Why do you and your entire family live in an abandoned factory? What do you do? Where did you go to school? Where are you from? lol. And, I'm not sure why Clyde took so long to act. He had 30 years!
The story was just kind of strange with these big plot holes missing and very loose ends here and there. For example, I still don't get why Megan stopped doing art? Did something happen with Clyde that shut it down? Or, does she only do art when the wolves are around? If Clyde is an ongoing threat, why do the wolves ever leave? And, what act did her grandmother do that would have generational loyalty? Why didn't Kara run out into the storm after Megan when she gets to the house? Why was Megan drugged (assuming she was) and why would Kara let her be? And, by the way, where are Megan's parents? So many questions!
It didn't seem reasonable to me how Megan glossed over everything no matter how strange or dangerous it was. She's a librarian! She should have plenty of questions and a curious mind yet she lives in a fog.
I was just kind of going with it as I read hoping to get answers but wasn't satisfied with what little we were given. And then the end was super abrupt after the climax. I would've liked more resolution there.
Saying all of that, it's still not terribly written...if that makes any sense. The author has a good foundation of storytelling and does better than a lot of others in my opinion. I just really wish she'd gone back to fill in these plot holes and made Megan much more astute than she was. Definitely read her other works before this one.
February 5, 2017
This is a weird mixture of psychological terror, fantasy, romance, thriller, etc.
A woman grows up on a mountain with her grandmother. No mention is made of her parents. At least, I don't recall mention. And yes, that kept popping up in my mind, the - where the heck are the parents? question. She lives semi-wild and without much in the way of fear. Until, some event or series of barely remembered events changed her. These are remembrances of a woman grown, though, since the book is about the woman as a woman.
A woman who spends a good amount of time fearing wolves. Which is natural, since she spends seemingly every night dreaming nightmarish dreams about wolves. Wolves with blood dripping down their lips.
Somewhat magically, an unknown woman turns up in this small town. She's apparently gorgeous. And zeroed in on getting to know Megan better. On a personal and physical level. Her name is Kara. Which Megan calls exotic or something like that. Seriously? Exotic? I went to school with two people named Kara, and a third might have lived in my neighborhood, but of a different age group. Exotic? Hmms.
There were certain vaguely strange things like that that pop up. Like a gorgeous woman suddenly turning up in a town with, apparently, two lesbians. And she just happens to be one herself. And has a deep interest in the librarian (Megan, who works as a librarian). Then there's the incredibly weird living situation Kara eventually reveals but I won't go beyond this to detail.
Well . . . darn. I mispelled spoiler. Um . . . hope no one actually reads this in feed or mails - the review before spoiler got fixed. Sorry about that. mmphs.
A woman grows up on a mountain with her grandmother. No mention is made of her parents. At least, I don't recall mention. And yes, that kept popping up in my mind, the - where the heck are the parents? question. She lives semi-wild and without much in the way of fear. Until, some event or series of barely remembered events changed her. These are remembrances of a woman grown, though, since the book is about the woman as a woman.
A woman who spends a good amount of time fearing wolves. Which is natural, since she spends seemingly every night dreaming nightmarish dreams about wolves. Wolves with blood dripping down their lips.
Somewhat magically, an unknown woman turns up in this small town. She's apparently gorgeous. And zeroed in on getting to know Megan better. On a personal and physical level. Her name is Kara. Which Megan calls exotic or something like that. Seriously? Exotic? I went to school with two people named Kara, and a third might have lived in my neighborhood, but of a different age group. Exotic? Hmms.
There were certain vaguely strange things like that that pop up. Like a gorgeous woman suddenly turning up in a town with, apparently, two lesbians. And she just happens to be one herself. And has a deep interest in the librarian (Megan, who works as a librarian). Then there's the incredibly weird living situation Kara eventually reveals but I won't go beyond this to detail.
Well . . . darn. I mispelled spoiler. Um . . . hope no one actually reads this in feed or mails - the review before spoiler got fixed. Sorry about that. mmphs.
April 13, 2015
Big bad Wolf
To be honest this wasn't my favorite Bridget Essex's book . It was a tad bit confusing in some parts, It was like the main character was just floating around in the story at certain parts . And the fact that you get this nagging feeling that something was terribly wrong with one of the characters, but without the main character noticing all these not-so-subtle hints . Was kind of disconcerting . Not to say that it's not a good book, it is, just not one of my favorites.
To be honest this wasn't my favorite Bridget Essex's book . It was a tad bit confusing in some parts, It was like the main character was just floating around in the story at certain parts . And the fact that you get this nagging feeling that something was terribly wrong with one of the characters, but without the main character noticing all these not-so-subtle hints . Was kind of disconcerting . Not to say that it's not a good book, it is, just not one of my favorites.
May 12, 2016
Good read
I'm not sure which book the other reviewers read but it definitely wasn't this one. Ok yes the full story behind the wolves wasn't clearly explained but easy to work out if you thought about it. I found the book fun and easy to read and yes I enjoyed it. It didn't have many characters which to me is a plus. I liked the imagination of the author. Also the moral of the story that love and hate are so close to each other in the emotions spectrum. Hey be nice to read a sequel. Just a hint :)
I'm not sure which book the other reviewers read but it definitely wasn't this one. Ok yes the full story behind the wolves wasn't clearly explained but easy to work out if you thought about it. I found the book fun and easy to read and yes I enjoyed it. It didn't have many characters which to me is a plus. I liked the imagination of the author. Also the moral of the story that love and hate are so close to each other in the emotions spectrum. Hey be nice to read a sequel. Just a hint :)
September 13, 2014
I am rather disappointed. What seemed to be an interesting (if not entirely original) concept, based on the book's blurb, became drawn-out and disjointed. This could have very easily been condensed down into a short-story. The protagonist was some-what two dimensional, the love interest was contrived, and the antagonist seemed like a thrown-together afterthought. I'm really bummed out.
February 9, 2015
2 ½ stars, starting at the point in the story where they first visit the abandon factory till the end of the novel, where the plot goes down a rabbit hole and never recovers.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews