Don't Fall

Hunt the Red Hood #1

by B.B. Reid

The first book in a brand-new series, Hunt the Red Hood, from TikTok sensation B.B. Reid, a dark romantic retelling of Red Riding Hood.

"Guard your heart, foolish girl. The wolves will come to steal it."

In a quiet French town steeped in old folklore, Nyx has always believed in logic—not legends. So discovering she’s descended from a line of Red Hood witches feels more like a mistake than destiny. But some stories refuse to stay buried.

The Volkovs have been cursed for generations, and time is running out. The only way to break it? A Red Hood witch must fall in love with one of them. Mikhail Volkov is desperate to save someone he loves—and ending the curse is his last hope. Getting close to Nyx was supposed to be a means to an end… until it becomes something far more dangerous.

Gray, the watchful hunter who seems to linger on the edges of every secret, is thrust into Nyx's life next. Protective, intense, and impossible to ignore, he draws Nyx deeper into a world she doesn’t understand—and can’t escape.

Caught between wolf and hunter, instinct and reason, Nyx must decide who to trust—and what she’s willing to risk.

Don't Fall is a MMF romance.

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Why Choose, Retellings, Romantasy, Paranormal, Witches

Audible Audio

First published October 13, 2026

About the author

B.B. Reid is a bestselling author of several romances, including Crucible, the imaginative retelling of Goldilocks. She’s most known for her dark, diverse, and contemporary romances but began her career writing new adult. B.B. grew up in North Carolina but currently resides in Atlanta with Ivan, her moody tuxedo cat. When she’s not being a nomad, she enjoys gaming, home decor, and retail therapy.

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Reviews

[adrie rose · Rating 1 out of 5]

i received an ARC of this book from netgalley.

it's... bad. it's bad, i don't know what to tell you. i cannot tell you how much i wish that wasn't the case, but it's not good, by any stretch of the imagination. the one, singular saving grace is that's it's a relatively unique plot. 1/5 stars

potential triggers: blood, violence, on-page murder, dubcon, bad(ly written) sex, i honestly don't remember everything because i wanted it to end

was it entertaining?

a dark fantasy, little red riding hood retelling, don't fall tells the story of nyx leroux, an overachieving 20-something who just lost her job. abandoned by her father, and raised by a single mother, nyx has never given much thought to her paternal family. any why should she? they don't give her much thought either, beyond the annual card from her grandmother, bearing nothing except a cryptic threat to guard her heart from the wolves. until a letter comes, from an aunt she's never heard of, begging her to meet with this reclusive grandmother before she dies.

with nothing left to lose, nyx's younger sister convinces her to fly half way around the world, to a remote french village. on arrival, nyx finds herself thrust into a world of secrets, lies, magic, and ridiculous plot twists that add nothing to the experience. 3/5 stars

was it enjoyable?

no, and anyone that tells you otherwise is clearly a masochist. from the beginning, the book is absurd. i have nothing against an unlikeable or ridiculous protagonist, but nyx is objectively stupid. she has no sense of self preservation and her head is apparently full of rocks and pocket lint. we're beat over the head with how brilliant and accomplished she is, namely through the repeated reminders that she has a master's in pharmacology and conducted groundbreaking research before being laid off.

despite this, she finds nothing strange about boarding a full sized passenger jet, empty of all but one other person, and being told that the entire 300+ passenger vehicle has been chartered. never mind that she was able to buy a ticket on this chartered flight. this doesn't set off alarm bells, so of course she sits down directly next to this complete stranger, despite having the entire plane at her disposal, because he's hot. after hours of him stonewalling at all questions about himself, she then gives up her virginity in an airplane bathroom because his vibes are right. S T U P I D.

this would be ridiculous enough, but every single sex scene in this book is written like it came from the mind of a person who's never seen human anatomy before. what do you MEAN his dick is FLARED? WHY IS IT FLARED???? the condom just... disappeared? wiping blood off of his dick with dry paper towels???? writing sex in a romance is a skill, and it is not present here. every single scene, and they are gratuitous, is painful. it evokes pain — sweaty, grimy, grasping, grunting pain.

all of this, i could find some way to forgive, if only it just made sense. all of the volkovs, except mikhail/michael are meant to be russian. russian-american, but russian, in culture and upbringing. and yet they all speak like they're straight out of central casting for the wire. whipping out guns by way of greeting brothers you haven't seen in decades? calling a russian patriarch "g-pop"??? i'm exhausted. this book has exhausted me. 0/5 stars

was it well-written?

NO. on top of everything else, this book is just such a slog. it's repetitive and dense, the characters don't inspire curiosity or empathy, and the setting is flat. the characters flit between a cramped flat, a featureless forest, and a great manor house with no real personality. they're just... there. a dark fantasy should be lush and descriptive. 450 pages of this is criminal, or it should be. 0/5 stars

[brittany:) · Rating 4 out of 5]

💬“My soul is no use to me if it’s not yours.”💬

🐺🩸 SO SO GOOD!! This was the PERFECT read for spooky season! The vibes were vibing, and I was hooked from the very first chapter (iykyk ✈️✈️👀). A Red Riding Hood retelling set in France with witches, wolves, family prophecies, curses, and secret identities?! SIGN ME UP! 🖤🌲

We’ve got MMF romance, high heat 🥵🔥, action, meddling families, and a WHOLE LOT of drama. Nyx is so naive sometimes, and between a controlling MMC and a golden retriever MMC, I truly didn’t know who to trust or what was coming next! Everybody has secrets, and the family drama makes everything messier.

And THAT CLIFFHANGER?! 😭😭 I NEED BOOK TWO IMMEDIATELY because I have so many questions and need to know how everything is going to unfold! If you love dark, spicy fairy-tale retellings with witches, wolves, and plenty of chaos, add this to your spooky season TBR! 🐺🩸✨

Pre-read:
So excited to have gotten this arc!!❤️🐺

[Tiffany · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was provided this ARC by NetGalley. The following opinions are my own.

I was incredibly excited to read this novel. I have been a long-time fan of Red Riding Hood retellings, having loved “The Girl in Red” by Christina Henry, “Red Writing Hood” by Sarah Blakley- Cartwright, and though not a novel, “The Wolf's Postscript to 'Little Red Riding Hood'” by Agra Shahid Ali. Every retelling offers a fresh and reflective perspective of one of the oldest cautionary tales relating to what it means to be a woman in society surrounded by “wolves.”

It’s worth noting that I thought the premise was interesting: in this iteration of the Red Riding tale, the “Reds” are witches that have cursed the “wolves” so that the women in their family come to early deaths - kinda like Practical Magic, but not just love interests - sister, daughters, mothers, etc. The main character, Nyx, did not have any sort of relationship with her dad (previously deceased), who was related to the Reds. The only connection Nyx maintained with that side of the family was a birthday card/warning from her paternal grandmother: “Guard your heart, foolish girl. The wolves will come to steal it.”

Quick summary of the introduction/rising action of the plot diagram: Nyx loses her job and gets invited to this small town in France where she is greeted by her three aunts and is taught about her magical heritage. She meets this Christian Grey style character on the plane over (where they are the only two passengers), engages in an ick-inducing sexual encounter, and only notes a few red flags when he states he’s going to get married but doesn’t know the girl yet and later hints that she is that girl. Kamikazi level love bomber. Nyx gets to this small town and what proceeds is basically “Fins” by Jimmy Buffett but in France and all the guys trying to get with her are Christian Grey’s male family members because to break the curse, Nyx has to marry one of them.

Quick summary of what I did not enjoy: I see on Goodreads that the blurb will be updated soon. I really hope that they update the description. It was presented as: Caught between wolf and hunter, instinct and reason, Nyx must decide who to trust—and what she's willing to risk.

In reality, what is advertised as a love triangle actually evolves into a throuple with some very open door M/M scenes. The Christian Grey character, Michael/Mikhail’s, chapter’s internal dialogue were equally as ick-inducing. Gray is a sweet guy but feels less like the hunter and more of the hunted. There is a bunch of instalove and everyone has overdosed on sexual tension.

The ending was a little confusing, but that’s probably because I did some hardcore skimming after Chapter 10 or so.

Overall, this novel was not for me.

[Sunny · Rating 1 out of 5]

First of all, thank you to Bloom Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, this was a massive disappointment... and I am really sorry about it. I wanted to enjoy it!

A dark Little Red Riding Hood retelling, an ancient curse, a wolf and a hunter… There was so much about the premise that should have worked for me. Instead, I struggled with almost everything: the writing, the characters, the insta-lust-and-love, the sexual content, and just how exaggerated and ridiculous so much of the story felt.

BUT before I get into any of that, I need to say that I am STUNNED by how completely the synopsis MISREPRESENTS the romantic dynamic in this book. The description makes it sound like a fairly straightforward love triangle: a woman caught between a wolf and a hunter, seemingly having to choose between two men.

‼️What it does NOT tell you is that the two male love interests also develop an active sexual relationship with each other, entirely independently of Nyx, including multiple explicit M/M scenes and a BDSM dynamic, before the relationships begin overlapping further‼️

That fundamentally changes what kind of romance this is, and I cannot believe it isn’t communicated anywhere in the description.

⚠️ This review contains minor spoilers for the romantic/sexual dynamics and discusses several explicit sex scenes, including some of the graphic language used in the book ⚠️

♦️Let’s talk about how this romance is marketed♦️
I mentioned this above, but I really need to elaborate because I was SO blindsided.

The blurb tells us that Nyx is “caught between wolf and hunter”. Michael is introduced in relation to Nyx, then Gray is introduced in relation to Nyx. Naturally, I expected a love triangle.

But THAT IS NOT AN ADEQUATE DESCRIPTION OF WHAT THIS BOOK ACTUALLY CONTAINS.

Because Michael and Gray are not simply rival love interests competing for Nyx. They have an established sexual and romantic relationship of their own. Michael becomes Gray’s dominant, Gray becomes his submissive, and entire explicit scenes take place between the two men.

And it isn’t merely sexual either. Gray explicitly admits that he is in love with Michael. Then Nyx develops feelings for Gray too. At one point she literally tells him that she loves and desires Michael but can also feel herself “crying out” for Gray. Gray admits that he has feelings for her, while simultaneously being in love with Michael. And eventually all three dynamics merge.

During one scene, Michael discovers Nyx and Gray having sex and, rather than this resolving into Nyx choosing between her supposed “wolf and hunter,” it becomes the catalyst for an extended BDSM sequence involving all three of them. Michael assumes the dominant role over both, and he eventually refers to them together as “my pets.”

I AM SORRY, BUT WHAT AM I EVEN READING AT THIS POINT?

These three characters are sexually and emotionally interconnected, and Michael is explicitly positioned as the dominant partner to both of them. And to be very clear, that relationship structure itself is not my criticism. My problem is that I had NO IDEA I was picking up a book containing it.

Had the description made the MMF relationship, substantial M/M content, and BDSM dynamic clear, I simply wouldn’t have accepted this ARC because it isn’t something I personally enjoy reading. Instead, the synopsis created the expectation that I was getting a dark fantasy love triangle centred around a woman choosing between a wolf and a hunter.

And honestly, I find that incredibly frustrating for readers on BOTH sides of that preference. Readers who actively seek MMF romances and M/M content deserve to know that this book contains a significant amount of it. Readers who don’t enjoy those dynamics deserve to know what they’re picking up too.

Calling Nyx merely a woman “caught between wolf and hunter” feels especially bizarre when the wolf and hunter are actively sleeping with each other, and one of them is in love with the other.

♦️I knew I was going to struggle with this almost immediately♦️
Even before I realised just how different the romantic dynamic would be from what I expected, I was already struggling.

The story begins with Nyx losing her job before receiving a letter from an aunt on her father’s side whom she has never met. Apparently, the grandmother she has also never met is dying in France, and her final wish is to meet Nyx.

Nyx decides to go. When she gets on the plane, it’s completely empty except for one other passenger: Michael Prince, an incredibly attractive stranger.

Is this bizarre situation treated as remotely suspicious? No. Nyx mentions it, but then is far more preoccupied with how hot Michael is. The narration introduces him as having shoulders that make her want to “climb on them”, decides that he probably smells good before they’ve even spoken, and informs us that even without seeing his face, she can simply tell that he’s “fine”.

I dislike this kind of exaggerated internal narration. What woman would ever see a stranger WHOSE FACE SHE HAVEN’T EVEN SEEN YET and be so overwhelmed by the sight of his shoulders that her immediate thought is that she wants to CLIMB ON HIM?

It doesn’t read like genuine attraction to me; it reads like the author trying very, VERY hard to tell me how impossibly sexy this man is. Even the flight attendant (who we later learn isn’t a flight attendant) encourages Nyx to sit beside him because, SERIOUSLY, how often does a girl get to sit beside a handsome stranger on a plane?

This would become a recurring problem throughout the book. Everything is so heightened that the characters stopped feeling like actual people to me. Every attraction has to be overwhelming, every sexual thought has to be outrageous, every reaction has to be dialled up to eleven. Instead of making the story feel intense, it made it feel cartoonish.

♦️Went from zero to WHAT THE FUCK in record time♦️
Nyx and Michael have known each other for a matter of hours when Nyx, who is a virgin, decides she wants to have sex with this complete stranger… in a plane bathroom.

Sure, characters are allowed to make impulsive decisions. I certainly don’t have a problem with women wanting or enjoying sex. But absolutely everything about this sequence became so increasingly ridiculous that I couldn’t take it seriously.

Nyx has boarded an inexplicably empty plane, met the ONE other passenger, decided immediately that he’s unbelievably attractive, and within hours is losing her virginity to him in the bathroom.

And the scene itself somehow just keeps escalating.

Her first time is described in graphic detail, including her hymen tearing and her bleeding on him. Afterwards, while she’s looking at the blood and APOLOGISING for getting it on him, Michael’s response is that he’s “not” sorry.

And then HE TAKES OUT HIS PHONE AND PHOTOGRAPHS IT.

Also—where did the condom go? The book explicitly has Michael put one on. Yet afterwards, we’re given this description of his penis being a dark colour “like blackberry”, “glistening with our combined juices and something else.”

But... if the condom is still there, how exactly are we looking at his penis covered in their “combined juices” and blood? And if he took it off at some point, when did that happen? It’s a small continuity error in the grand scheme of things, but it perfectly represents my experience of reading this book. And all of this is happening while I’m still trying to process the fact that HE TOOK A PHOTO.

They leave the bathroom, and less than an hour later, Michael convinces Nyx to climb into his lap and they have sex AGAIN. Even when we’re told it had been “less than an hour later”, the narration tells us: “It had already been too long.”

The flight attendant catches them having sex (which is described as her finding them “fucking like rabbits”...) and simply shuts the curtain again. By the time they land, Michael is already thinking about resisting the urge to have sex with her again in the middle of a crowded terminal.

There was just no point during this entire sequence where the book seemed interested in applying the brakes. The sheer excess stopped communicating overwhelming attraction and started feeling like parody. And that’s really the distinction I want to make here: my problem isn’t that Nyx has sex with a stranger or even that she chooses him for her first time. It’s the execution.

Every single aspect of their attraction is pushed so far, so quickly, that I never had an opportunity to believe in it before the book was already demanding that I accept it as this all-consuming connection.

There is nowhere for the sexual tension to go because they start at 100. There is nowhere for intimacy to develop because physical intimacy happens almost immediately. And there is nowhere for Michael’s possessiveness to gradually emerge because this man is apparently collecting photographic souvenirs of her virginity before they’ve even landed in France.

I didn’t find it sexy or hot. I found it completely absurd.

♦️And the writing... oh, the writing♦️
Unfortunately, the ridiculousness of that first sex scene was not an anomaly. If anything, the sexual writing somehow became MORE bizarre as the book went on. It’s so relentlessly graphic, literal, repetitive, and sometimes just downright BIZARRE that scenes clearly intended to be erotic made me stop reading.

I thought the plane scene was bad with sentences like, “the flared tip of his dick sought out my hole,” Nyx’s walls “greedily milked his dick, his penis being described as “blackberry” coloured, the detailed inspection of its “fascinating slit”., and Nyx falling asleep on his chest while he is apparently still “spurting” into the condom (???).

… Turns out I had seen NOTHING yet.

Because we later get sentences from Gray’s POV like, “The finger that teased my perineum like it was a clit.” WHAT? In the same scene, Michael orders Gray to show him: “The hole I’m going to fuck.” And then we get lines like: “And so he did. He fucked and fucked and fucked. And I took it all.”

That genuinely reads like a placeholder someone intended to come back and rewrite.

We also get: “I swirled and swished the fat mushroom head through her lips,” Nyx’s underregion described as “Soft chocolate petals with a warm pink center,” sentences like “My dick remained inside her, spurting pre-cum against her unprotected cervix,” “... her thighs gapped wide and Mikhail's and my cum seeping out of her abused slit...” and a million other aggressively anatomical yet simultaneously bizarre descriptions.

EVERYTHING has to be sexualised, even Nyx secretly watching Michael and Gray together gives us: “My pussy clamped down on nothing, reminding me that I could be that hole.” At one point Gray is apparently so overwhelmed by the possibility of having sex with Nyx that he thinks about “the hot cum stirring in my sack.”

God, it was so hard not to physically cringe at the language used…

The prose is SO determined to describe every body part, every fluid, every sensation and every microscopic movement in increasingly elaborate ways that it lands somewhere between clinical, cartoonish, and unintentionally hilarious.

Even when Michael discovers Gray and Nyx together, instead of allowing the betrayal to breathe, we get an extremely graphic observation about Gray still being inside her. And then we reach Michael “punishment” of them…

First, he takes Nyx and Gray away from the party they were at and calls them “his pets,” which is followed by a sequence that goes on until the next morning, where he makes Nyx and Gray repeatedly have sex while denying them release, watches them, directs them, alternates between them himself, and eventually both Nyx and Gray are essentially exhausted.

We get Nyx described as a “limp rag doll”, while Michael takes his anger and betrayal out on her sexually. We get repeated descriptions of bodily fluids, swollen anatomy, bodies being “used”, “discarded”, “abused”, “rammed”, “pounded” and “fucked” over and over and over again.

And outside the sex scenes, I had similar problems with the prose. The prose constantly reminded me that I was reading prose. I was analysing word choices when I should have been immersed in the scene, questioning descriptions when I should have been feeling tension, and occasionally rereading sentences because I couldn’t believe that was how something had been described.

There are also basic continuity problems beyond the mysteriously disappearing condom. Later, while Nyx is secretly watching Michael and Gray have sex, she thinks: “I’d only had sex twice, both times with Michael.” Nope, bestie, you had sex TWICE on the plane alone, then a third time on a separate occasion before this scene. That’s three.

This isn’t even an ambiguous timeline issue, the book has simply forgotten one of its own sex scenes, which is honestly impressive considering how difficult they were for ME to forget.

♦️Nyx drove me absolutely insane♦️
Nyx is presented as someone who believes in “logic—not legends”, someone with a Master’s degree in pharmacology, which makes it particularly frustrating that she seemed to exercise little logic throughout the story.

There is a difference between writing an FMC who is naïve and writing one who repeatedly notices that something is strange, acknowledges that something might be dangerous, and then BARRELS AHEAD ANYWAY because the plot needs her to.

Nyx too often fell into the latter category for me.

The plane is strange. The circumstances surrounding her journey are strange. The people she encounters are strange. Things aren’t adding up. And yet her self-preservation instincts seem to disappear whenever the story needs her to trust someone, follow someone, believe something or make another questionable decision.

After a while, I stopped feeling worried FOR her because I was too frustrated WITH her. That also made the mystery and darker fairytale elements far less effective. You can put as many wolves, witches, hunters, curses and ominous family secrets around a character as you like, but suspense becomes incredibly difficult to maintain when I am constantly thinking, NYX, PLEASE USE YOUR BRAIN.

♦️All the sex left me caring LESS about the relationships♦️
Even putting aside the fact that this isn’t a romantic dynamic I personally enjoy—and that I wasn’t expecting it in the first place—I still didn’t believe in the relationships themselves.

I never understood why any of these people supposedly felt so deeply about each other.

There is so much sex in this book with the dynamics between the characters increasingly overlapping with one another. Yet, the more sexual these relationships became, the less emotionally invested I was in any of them. Because sex is continually being used where I desperately needed character and relationship development.

I already didn’t believe the emotional foundation of Nyx and Michael’s relationship because their connection begins at such an extreme level of insta-lust. Adding Gray, Michael and Gray’s separate BDSM relationship, and eventually the increasingly interconnected sexual dynamic only made everything feel even more crowded.

There was so much sexual intensity and so little emotional development that actually made me understand why I should care about these people together.

♦️Unfortunately, this just wasn’t for me♦️
I wish I had something positive to say here because I went into Don’t Fall excited by the premise and really wanting to love it. But the execution didn’t work for me at all.

There is probably an audience for extremely spicy, heightened romances with MMF and BDSM dynamics, where realism takes a back seat to fantasy and the characters are consumed by their attraction to one another almost immediately. Readers who enjoy that kind of intensity may have a completely different experience with this, who knows.

Unfortunately, I needed considerably more restraint, development, emotional grounding and, frankly, clarity about what kind of romance I was actually picking up than Don’t Fall gave me.

More than anything, I simply could not get past the writing. The prose consistently pulled me OUT of scenes rather than drawing me into them, particularly during the sexual content. Descriptions that were clearly intended to be erotic struck me as awkward, overly literal, or unintentionally funny, while the sheer amount of graphic sexual language eventually became more exhausting than provocative.

Between the insta-lust, Nyx’s characterisation, the lack of emotional development, the romantic dynamic being completely different from what the synopsis led me to expect, and prose that repeatedly had me staring at the book for all the wrong reasons, there just wasn’t much here that worked for me.

By the time Nyx announced that she’d been in France for only a few minutes and was already “losing the plot”, I could unfortunately relate.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slow start but....

This started off agonizingly slow for me. It took nearly 45% of the book before I felt truly invested in the story, and that's a long time to wait for things to click. Once they did, though, I found myself much more engaged and eager to see where everything was headed.

As a Red Riding Hood retelling, there were plenty of interesting elements woven throughout the story. The love triangle brought the drama, the curse storyline kept me curious, and by the end I had so many questions I need answered. While the pacing in the first half was a struggle, the second half delivered enough intrigue to keep me reading.

That cliffhanger ending absolutely did its job. Between the mystery surrounding Nyx's mother, the curse hanging over everything, and the fallout that's sure to come after the final reveal, there are so many threads I'm excited to see explored in the next book. More than anything, I'm hoping book two jumps straight into the action because this ending set up what could be a very exciting conclusion to the duology.

Overall, I liked this one more than I loved it. The slow start kept me from rating it higher, but the stronger second half, the tension, and all the unanswered questions were enough to make sure I'll be picking up the next book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.25/5

**The Breakdown**
✨ Red Riding Hood retelling
✨ Love triangle drama
✨ Intriguing curse storyline
✨ Stronger second half
✨ Cliffhanger ending that left me needing answers

⚠️ Extremely slow start
⚠️ Took nearly half the book to fully hook me
⚠️ Uneven pacing throughout the first half

Will I read the next book? **Absolutely.**
Did I enjoy the sword crossing? **Also absolutely.** 👀🔥

The ending left me with way too many questions not to continue.

[Raquel (BookishRaquel) · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ | 4 🌶️ | 4 🎧

What to Expect:
- Red Riding Hood Retelling
- Quiet French Village Setting
- Enchanted Forest
- MMF Romance
- Hidden Identity
- Family Feud
- Witches + Curses
- Race Against The Clock
- Multiple 1st Person POVs
- Duet Multicast Narration

“Guard your heart, foolish girl. The wolves will come to steal it.”

My Thoughts:
Witches, wolves, curses, lies, and betrayal make for a dark, extra spicy, and fun twist on Little Red Riding Hood. When Nyx travels to a small town in France to meet her father's family, she finds out she's a witch and gets caught up in a generations old feud with the Volkovs.

Like the original story, Nyx trusted people way too easily and made very questionable decisions. I definitely wanted to shake some sense into her at times. As the story progressed, she did grow a little. I appreciated that she wasn't afraid to stand up to her family and question whether the curse was actually justified. Nyx struggled with her belief in magic, and it was hard for her to accept what was right in front of her. I can't wait for her to fully step into her power.

Mikhail made everything a bit more complicated for Nyx. He is morally grey with secrets, and a very personal reason for wanting to break the curse. Sweet baby Gray is my favorite character so far. He completely stole my heart with his protective nature. I loved watching his confidence grow, and I'm ready for the hunter to really shine in the next book.

This is an insta love + slow burn MMF romance in one. Mikhail and Gray's relationship had me locked in way more than either of their connections with Nyx. I wouldn't say the why choose hits just yet, but I look forward to seeing how it all plays out. I do hope we get more development with their relationships.

Beyond the spice (it was definitely SPICIN), I loved the setting, witchy atmosphere + magic + crystals, and all the ways the vibes/elements of Little Red Riding Hood were incorporated into the story. The Aunties and Mikhail's brothers added some fun moments. The reason behind the curse definitely left me with questions, and the cliffhanger made me audibly gasp.

I feel there is so much more to learn, and so many more secrets to reveal. I also have a feeling some characters will surprise me (in good and bad ways), and my idea of who the villain truly is will be challenged. I can't wait to see what chaos the next book will bring.

Narration:
Katherine Dollison, Brent Billings, and Emmanuel Ingram did a good job with this duet multicast audiobook. Their performances pulled me into the story and made it easy to feel every emotion. Enjoying this book as an immersive read is definitely the way to do it.

Thanks to B.B. Reid and Bloom Books for the gifted copies. The audiobook, published by Sourcebooks Audio, was purchased via LibroFM. Opinions expressed are my own.

[The Romantic Rush Blog · Rating 4 out of 5]

B.B. Reid said dark fairytale, witches, curses, forbidden desires, and a WHY CHOOSE romance and expected me to act normal about it?! Don't Fall is a wickedly delicious, twisted Little Red Riding Hood reimagining that had me hooked on the secrets, the magic, the angst, the tension, and THE SPICE. This story is a whole mess in the BEST possible way, and I was eating up every second of it. The fact that we're talking about an MMF romance with all three characters tangled up in each other? DELICIOUS.

Nyx arrives in France expecting to meet the family she's never known, not to have her entire understanding of the world turned upside down. She's a woman of science, practical and logical, and magic isn't exactly something she's prepared to entertain. But between her powerful witch relatives, a family history steeped in secrets, and two men who are absolutely NOT what they seem, our girl is in WAY over her head. I loved watching her try to make sense of everything while refusing to simply become the person her family expects her to be. She's curious and willing to learn, but she has her own mind, and I appreciated that she doesn't just surrender her independence because everyone around her seems to know better. GIRL, THOUGH. Sometimes the answers are right in front of you! But with so many people hiding things and manipulating the truth, can you really blame her for struggling to figure out who to trust?

And Mikhail and Gray. OH, THESE MEN. The chemistry between this trio is absolutely delicious, and the way they orbit each other, challenge each other, and slowly become more entangled had me hooked. Mikhail is intense, determined, and more than a little controlling, with a protective streak that can be as frustrating as it is swoony. He's a man with an agenda, and his tendency to keep Nyx in the dark creates plenty of complications. But underneath all that secrecy is a man who genuinely loves her, even when his reasons for wanting this relationship are tangled up in his own desperation. I do think his choices could be maddening at times, particularly when a little honesty could save everyone a whole lot of trouble, but that tension is very much part of what makes their dynamic so compelling.

And then there's Gray. MY GRAY. He's such a sweetheart, with a loyalty that runs so deep it hurts. He's caught between powerful forces, torn between the people he loves and the secrets threatening to destroy everything, yet he continues to show up for the people who matter to him. This man is so devoted it's reckless even. SIR. PLEASE. I need to wrap him in a blanket and protect him. The dynamic between all three is messy, complicated, and deliciously forbidden, but I was completely on board with seeing where it would go. Their chemistry isn't conventional or a love triangle (though it may seem that way at first), and I loved that the story lets this connection become something more complicated and unexpected. Is everyone making questionable decisions? YES. Am I rooting for all three of them anyway? ALSO YES.

What really makes this story fun is that there's a supernatural plot unfolding alongside all that romantic chaos. The Volkovs are dealing with a generational curse, the Red Hood witches have their own motives, and the two sides are tangled up in a battle where love is as much a weapon as it is a feeling. Nyx finds herself caught in the middle of all of it, with her own family withholding information and the people around her seemingly playing their own games. The secrets and betrayals kept me guessing, and the tension between the wolves and the witches adds another layer of danger to an already complicated situation. The fairytale elements are a fun, dark backdrop for the romance, but there's enough going on beyond the spice to keep the story moving. And the French setting, the village, the eerie atmosphere, the cursed forest, and all those scrumptious pastries are also pretty enjoyable. (but now I'm hungry in more ways than one).

I also really enjoyed the extended cast, especially Nyx's aunts and characters like Kyson and Sasha. They add so much personality to the story, and I loved how the family dynamics create another layer of tension and intrigue. The magic itself was an interesting concept, particularly with Nyx approaching it from such a scientific perspective, although I would have loved to explore the rules and mechanics of it a little more deeply. But since Nyx is pretty in the dark about it, I guess so are we. There were also a few places where the pacing felt uneven (the middle really dragged a bit for me), and some of the twists and side developments came out of nowhere for me. But that's kind of the BB experience- she loves to knock us on her butt lol. But overall, I was far too invested in these characters and their tangled mess of a situation to do anything but keep turning the pages.

The ending, though?! B.B., MA'AM. That cliffhanger had me holding my breath, and the final stretch left me with approximately one million questions and absolutely no patience for waiting. I need more of this incredible triad, more answers about Michael, and more of Gray being his beautiful, loyal, precious self. I need to know how these three are going to face the enemies closing in around them, especially now that everything is becoming so much more complicated.

Don't Fall is a dark, steamy, chaotic fairytale relling with a deliciously unconventional romance, an intriguing supernatural mystery, and characters who had me emotionally invested in their fate. The pacing isn't perfect, and I would have loved a little more depth in certain aspects of the magic, but the chemistry, the family intrigue, and the sheer amount of MESS kept me hooked. This feels like B.B. Reid having an absolute blast twisting familiar fairytale elements into something wicked, sexy, and entirely her own. And that ending makes it very clear that we are nowhere near done with this story.

What to expect in Don't Fall:
🐺Dark Red Riding Hood retelling
🖤Why Choose/ Poly (including MM) that starts love triangle-y
🐺Witches, wolves, magic, and curses
🖤Hidden Itendity
🐺French small town setting
🐺She Must falll in love to break the curse
🖤Paranormal/Supernatural
🐺Family secrets and betrayals
🖤 castles, enchanted forests, and pastries oh my!
🐺Complicated/Messy Romance
🖤Cliffhanger
🐺High Spice

[Thee Spicy Pisces · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had me so hooked!!!

The way B.B Reid wrote this book, I was up in the middle of night and losing sleep because I needed to know what was going to happen next!

I loved everything about this book, the magic, the angst, the secrets, the manipulation, the spice! Omg this book had it all!

Don’t Fall is like a coming of age, as Nyx was a young naive girl. While traveling to France to meet her paternal side of her family, for the first time… she is lost, naive, too trusting, and doesn’t believe in magic!

But after meeting Michael and Gray, and with her aunts in her ear, life gets tricky and confusing… as more lies and secrets are revealed, Nyx struggles to find her way and clarity.

B. B Reid did a great job of keeping me engaged and invested, I was rooting for Nyx to find her voice and open her eyes to what was going on around her! To come into the powerful woman she is destined to be!

I absolutely loved this book and can’t wait for book 2!

[Paige Ciemnolonski · Rating 4.5 out of 5]

AHHHHHH OH MY GODSSSSS
The secrets and the love and the fight between the two factions. Poor Gray is trapped between them and oh so loyal to the two people who mean everything to him. Enough to basically threaten a trio of powerful witches for them.
I want this to work for Micheal, Nyx and Gray so badly. Just because the witches don't want the marriage and the wolves do for selfish reasons I want it just for the love story. It's taken so long to get here and they deserve happiness.
Also, Ryleigh. I want Nyx and Gray to meet her so much. Poor baby girl. She deserves to live. I know that Michael felt like he was being selfish in his reasoning but he does truly love Nyx.
Honestly cannot wait for the second half of this duology. This story is so well done and it's left in such a way that I NEED more. I need to know how Nyx gets out of the veil (because she has to obviously- she better!) and I need more of this amazing triad. And to know what happens when Nyx learns the truth of who Michael is.
And Gray... Sweet, precious Gray. I just need him. Period.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

✨𝒜𝑅𝒞 𝑅𝑒𝓋𝒾𝑒𝓌✨

📖: Don’t Fall

Nyx finally meets her estranged family in France where she learns she was born from a bloodline of powerful witches. And she is warned to guard her heart above all else.

Tropes:
🧑‍🧑‍🧒‍🧒Multi POV
⚠️Enemies to lovers
💞Why Choose (MMF)
🫂Forced proximity
🐺Dark Red Riding Hood reimagining
🌶️Open door

A woman in science, Nyx feels unmoored by the revelations of magic and generational curses. I loved seeing her navigate her feelings about her family and her deepening connections to two handsome strangers.

Steeped in rich folklore, betrayals, and sizzling forbidden passions, Don’t Fall is a deliciously dark Red Riding Hood reimagining with bite! I cannot wait to reunite with these characters.

Huge thanks to the author, Bloom Books, and Netgalley for the review copy. This is my honest and voluntary review.

[MichelleAriana · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'd rather be eaten by the wolf.

Who looked at the Red Riding Hood story and thought, "What this needs is a love triangle with the emotional depth of a puddle"? I finished Don't Fall out of spite, and I'd like those hours back.

The pacing is all over the place. The book crawls for chapters where nothing happens, then bolts into major plot events like it forgot it had somewhere to be. There's no buildup, no tension, no rhythm. Reading it felt like being driven by someone who keeps slamming the brakes and the gas for fun.

The writing is cringe. The prose tries so hard to be dark and seductive that it comes out unintentionally hilarious. I laughed at lines I was supposed to swoon over. The French folklore setting, the one thing that could have given this some atmosphere, is basically wallpaper behind dialogue that sounds like a fanfic comment section.

The romance is unhinged. Mikhail is supposed to be using Nyx to break a family curse, but somehow he ends up wanting both her and Gray. The feelings explode out of nowhere, so none of it lands. I wasn't swept away by passion. I was wondering whether anyone in this book had met a boundary.

The premise had promise, and that makes this worse. It took a story with built-in menace and magic and made it dull, silly, and exhausting. Skip it, and give your money to a book that respects your time. One star, and only because Goodreads won't let me give zero.

[Keesha · Rating 4.5 out of 5]

🚨ARC REVIEW‼️Don’t Fall by BB Reid is a Red Riding Hood retelling. We all know Red’s story but baby you ain’t neva heard BB’s version! The story comes in hot, transitions to a slow burn and then those last 10 chapters had me sat.

Get your headphones out!!!!🎧

I always say a good audiobook elevates a book to an experience and that is exactly what happened here! I immersively read this book and I had a time! I know BB Reid is always gonna give me a well written, shocking, sexy story.
But these narrators though! Emmanuel Ingram, Brent Billings and Katherine Dollison show TF out in these performances!!! Rent was due, they ate and left no crumbs, they put their foot in it, what ever colloquialism you want to use to describe these performances would be correct!

Don’t Fall serves up
🧺 Fairytale retelling
🧺 Why Choose
🧺 Sword crossing 🎧😮‍💨🫠
🧺 Family Feud
🧺 Curses
🧺 Witches & magical elements

Don’t Fall is the first book in the Hunt the Red Hood duology and it’s available now.

Thank you to BB Reid & Bloom Books for the ARC!

[queenofassassin · Rating 3.75 out of 5]

🌶️ Well… I was not prepared for Don’t Fall by B.B. Reid. 😂

This book said “hello” and immediately made sure I knew exactly what kind of ride I was signing up for. The first sentence alone put me on the right path, and let’s just say… I was a little caught off guard. 🫣

Don’t get me wrong, there is an actual plot here too (because yes, we do occasionally need a story between the spice 🌶️), but this one definitely brings the heat.

If you’re looking for something spicy, this might be the warning label you didn’t know you needed. 🔥

Thank you @bloombooks for providing this eARC for review consideration via @netgalley. All opinions are my own.

[Tequilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

B.B…… Girl! 🫪 is it March yet!? Omgggg this was so good! The small French town was the icing on the pastry here, the world building was it for me becayse it made it easy for this to play out in my head like a movie!

I don’t want to give away too much but this was the perfect amount of plot and romance 🥰 not the “why choose” dynamic I was expecting but I’m not mad at it

This was an amazing spin on Red Riding Hood,
cliffhanger had my jaw on the floor so I need For
The Villain like I need air!

Also, I hope Gray gets what he deserves, I have a
bleeding heart for him and I hope he gets a hea

Absolutely a FIVE STAR read for me!

[Natasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This had me from the very beginning. The plane ride was giving a little bit of Knight and Day (the movie) where they're on the plane and the girl is thinking everything is normal but the man has something going on entirely different, or Dom by SJ Tilly too but that was way more nefarious. I liked being in the know that something was off with Michael, I thought i knew and technically I was obviously right but also there was a little bit of doubt. Nyx is fun. There is some naivety with her but its more refreshing than annoying. Like yeah they did do the do within moments basically but like who cares, they're both hot and single why tf not!? At the same time, the naivety isn't 100% her fault. She's going in blind! A hot man is a hot man! You would do it too for a f 😏 anywho continuing. The sisters... we all have one aunt we want to punch huh? Clemmy is my girl and Collette seems fun but Odile? Girl. She can't be any smarter with no information. The cloak and dagger 🤭 of it all was annoying in the sense that it felt like they both knew she knew nothing but then expected her to just immediately get on board with everything they said cause they said it. WHO ARE YOU? She met you 10 seconds ago and you're like "no trust me, i want whats best for you" shes 25 and just met you, were you busy for 24 years? Couldn't send a card? Grandma managed to!
Unfortunately I did like the Volkov men, not as people just in general. I would never say I like a man. Them all trying to flirt does sound like a horror movie. Poor girl said take this gorgeous dress and BURN IT too many men spoke to me today! Nyx is my spirit animal cause yeah something is wrong if that happens *side note how tf is sunday keeping a job? She scares me but i also love her*
On the same note, hearing what the curse was and the reason...dare I say Odette is crazy? Perhaps I decentered men too much but to do what she did for that reason? Girl. Please. I 100% agree with Nyx that its insane and she spread it to her enemies AND her kids. Like y'all are doing this because of her? Then again, hearing what the Volkovs have done BOTH SIDES TAKE A NAP, A BREAK, AND GET SOME SENSE. Out here unhappy over some BS. Also theyre hurting others cause Grey at the end? Um hello, make him happy! Tho the ending was very hot like yess come through but also... throuple immediately. Will i be reading the next book? Obviously. Do i want to talk to Odette? Get her some therapy? Absolutely. Like i agree men ain't what? 🎤 but some people like them *allegedly*
Thank you to BB for allowing me to ARC read

[Ana | Nothingleftunread · Rating 3.25 out of 5]

This was a red riding hood retelling but make it spicy. Overall, the plot interwove the traditional little red riding hood and big bad wolf story so uniquely. In BB Reid style, this was a why choose. While I typically enjoy why choose, I felt I didn’t connect with the romance here as much. I found Nyx’s character to be so naive and not as strong as I would’ve liked when confronted with so much. Michael was interesting but I wasn’t sure what to think of him at times. Gary was my favorite character and the one I understood the most. While I enjoyed the general storyline, I did feel a bit lost in the details at times and not able to connect with the romance.

Thank you to BB Reid for the physical ARC and eARC. I did listen to the audiobook which I purchased on my own and the narrators did a wonderful job.

[chasc.taylor_reads · Rating 3.75 out of 5]

3.75 Stars ✨

This was such a fun time! There was a really good balance between plot, character development, and spice. I especially loved the Little Red Riding Hood elements, the setting, and the witchy vibes, which made Don’t Fall a good fall read! 🍂🧙🏾‍♀️

I will say, it got a littttttle lengthy, and we were spinning our wheels a bit when it came to the curse. The Why Choose elements were fun 🌶️🥵😂 All in all, this was a great reading experience, and I’ll definitely be continuing with the series! 🫶🏾

[Shante Whitehurst · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love me some BB Reid and I absolutely love a dark fairytale retelling!

[Shannan Harper · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'  not normally a big fan of fairytale retelling, but this one i suprisongly enjoyed.  Some of the characters were likable, some i wanted someone to punch them in the throat.   It also had me in my feelings and took me on such an emotional journey.   I am so ready for the next book in the series

[Angelbelle Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you B.B. Reid for the gifted copy

After Nyx receives word that a grandmother she’s never met is dying, she agrees to fly to Paris to meet this unknown side of her family. Her trip ends up being more than she expected when she’s not only drawn to two different strangers but her family seems to hiding secrets

🐺Red Riding Hood reimagining
❤️‍🔥Witches
🐺Why choose MMF
❤️‍🔥Secrets & lies
🐺Cursed forest

’Guard your heart, foolish girl. The wolves will come to steal it.‘

When the book has both you and the character’s toes curling. My gawd B.B my gawd 🫦l

I really don’t even know what to say fr except everything about this is a yes 🙌🏾

Listen the story, the characters, the spice, the tension, the humor, like quite literally everything is a 12 out of 10 ❤️‍🔥

You know how they say “I released a breath I didn’t know I was holding” yea that was me 😂 cause baby that ending had me on edge

Also those dang Red Hood witches are no joke *insert meme of boy laughing then crying* 🫪😵‍💫

A few fav quotes

“Such a good puppy. Such a sweet mouth.”

’I was already becoming addicted and didn’t want to be saved.‘

He smelled good today. He smelled good every day. It was intoxicating. Fuck, I meant infuriating.

[Ivy Castell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you so much to Bloom Books and Netgalley for allowing me to read this! All thoughts and opinions are my own!

Our FMC Nyx’s life changes when she loses her job. Not only because of that, but because she is invited to France to get to know the family she never knew. Oh, and she’s descended from a line of Red Hood witches.

We also have the Volkovs who have been cursed for generations and time to break it is quickly running out. The only way to break it is a Red Hood witch to fall in love with one of them. Mikhail Volkov is especially to desperate to break this curse to save somebody he loves. So he must get close to Nyx in order to achieve that, which of course becomes more and more complicated.

Nyx also gets close with Gray, a hunter who draws her even more into this twisted web.

Nyx must decide who she trusts, and just what she’s willing to risk.

—————

Oh my gosh, you guys I had such a fun time with this one! BB Reid has been on my tbr for a long time, but this is my first time reading something by her and now I’m kicking myself that that’s the case.

First thing I have to mention is I love the witchcraft in this so so much. Witches are one of my favorite beings, but I feel like in many books they aren’t super witchy. That is absolutely not the case here. I could have read a whole book just on the covens and their lore and Nyx learning magic.

And another one of my absolute favorite tropes is why choose, so I was especially excited to pick this up. Especially because each character felt distinct, which is sometimes hard to do.

Nyx I loved. She made me laugh a lot throughout this book. Some of her choices did frustrate me, but it’s understandable as her whole worldview changes. And she has a really good heart.

Mikhail is complicatedddd. The man is fine for sure. The very stubborn Taurus woman in me though wanted to hate him at times, but he really is in an impossible situation and I ended up really feeling for him.

Gray is protective and a total sweetheart. Ugh, I just wanted to hug him.

Now I will say, this was a bit instalusty. But it didn’t really bother me as there is plentyyyy of drama and tension between the three to keep us on our toes. I love the relationships, not just between the three, but the relationships they individually have with each other.

And some side characters I fell in love with as well.

I loved the pacing and the writing. I read it in a sitting, I genuinely could not put it down. The writing was just so immersive, descriptive, and the story bingeable.

And a fantastic Red Riding Hood retelling!

But I’m genuinely stressing after that ending, so I can’t wait for book two!

[Evie Oliva · Rating 1.5 out of 5]

10/23/2026

I have.... lots of thoughts but officially calling quits at 75%. Just....

Yeah, I'm out.

Full review incoming.

~~~~~
10/24/2026

When the cover of Don't Fall first caught my eye, it was the red hood that I paid attention to. That red hood is familiar and I figured this would be a Red Riding Hood inspired story which the synopsis proved right. What really caught my attention was the idea of our lead character, Nyx, being a descendant of Red Hood Witches. I immediately thought, SOLD, and was looking forward to reading this book. Of course it would have the wolf and the hunter, necessary elements of the original fairytale but I wanted to see exactly how the lead character would come into their own as a witch and how she would be pulled between the wolf and the hunter.

That is not this story.

I don't know how else to explain it except that there is no choice made and if that had been apparent in the synopsis, I most likely would not have picked this up to review. I might have given it a shot in the future but who knows because right now, I had to call it quits at the 75% mark. I know, I had about 100 pages left to go, why not just finish the book? But, ack, I just can't anymore with these characters, I don't like them and the story about witchcraft and a curse is still so up in the air and it's been 300 PAGES, so yeah, I'm moving on.

First of all, pacing wise things are moving fast. We start with Nyx getting fired from her job and then she's home with her sister who reads her mail telling her that Nyx's grandmother is sick and this might be her last chance to meet her. So onto a plane she goes and fine, things are moving along to getting Nyx to France, where her witch family is, so we need to get her there quick. Nyx is supposed to be extremely smart and has made learning and hard work her entire life. But if she's so smart, how does she accept an empty plane so easily when she gets there? It just BUGS me because okay, the plane is empty, sure, find a seat and focus on your destination. Instead, Nyx seats herself right next to the only other passenger, a man she immediately lusted over once she laid eyes on him, and I'm left thinking REALLY?? The whole plane practically to yourself and you sit right next to him? She should have just climbed onto his lap to begin with because there was just no real connection between them. We were "told" they had been talking for hours and that Nyx really likes Michael, and then she's off to the bathroom and he's waiting outside the door when she's done. Three guesses what happened next, the first two don't count.

If there had been more development, I might have understood this supposed connection more but we are only about 30 pages in at this point. There has been no time for anything to really develop between these two and I find it hard to believe that a woman who has not had relations with anyone before would be so quick to jump a guy she just met. And then she does it again back in their seats and they get caught?! I'm starting to side-eye this book because this was not the story I thought I was going to find. I need development before characters get intimate, I need to believe that yes, this scene has been placed here for the emotional development of the story, isn't their deepening connection moving?

Nope.

So we get to France and Nyx meets her aunts and after 300 pages I really can't tell you a lot about them because Nyx does not spend a lot of time with them learning about her magic because she's exploring the town and meeting the rest of the Volkov wolves and the hunter, Gray, who is also supposed to turn her head. I wanted more spells, I wanted more acceptance and learning. It was good that Nyx was a sceptic but it got to the point where I wanted to smack her upside the head because come on, MOVE ON already. She's supposed to be the Volkov wolves last chance to lift their curse and she's acting like Michael stabbed her in the back because he left her behind at the airport when they landed. What exactly did she expect? To bring him home to meet the family she literally met 2 minutes ago? Not that I wanted him to join her, I think Michael is the worst and he did not get any better by the time I put this book down.

I was under the impression that Nyx would be learning about her heritage, and that this would create tension because why is this curse so important? Instead, yes, we learn about the curse but good grief, overreaction is not even sufficient enough to explain the pain wrought by the curse or even why every woman in the family does not fall in love or get married. Someone make it make sense because I just don't get it, I'm with Nyx on this one. But the book spends so much time having Nyx "struggling" with her feelings for Michael that I just ended up not caring after a while. I wanted to rip her aunts' heads off because they were kind of despicable, but I guess the supposed love connections were more important.

There's a lot of telling in this book. They talked for hours. Nyx misses her mom who has refused to speak to her since she went to France. I wanted to see more time spent developing this supposed love connection between Nyx and Michael. I needed to see more interactions with Nyx's mother because with the way things were in the book, I thought the woman should have been cut out of Nyx's life forever. I don't believe any of these emotions because there is nothing there to see. Instead, Nyx meets Gray and she maybe cares about him but the truth is he had more of a relationship with Michael, which fine, okay, let's see how this goes except again, Michael is the absolute WORST so I wanted Gray to find someone better. Which is when this book switches gears and makes it that apparently these three are meant to all be together and now I've got a headache because why?? Why did it have to be that because I don't buy it. I barely saw any attraction between Gray and Nyx and I really didn't think Michael and Gray worked together so why mix all three of them together? At this point it feels like "just because" and I don't see it working out at all.

I didn't like Nyx. I didn't like Michael. Gray was marginally better but again, that's not saying much.

I cared about the curse. When the full details of it were revealed, I was absolutely appalled. The idea of it left me chilled almost and instead of really focusing on that, we get a lot of Michael deciding that he wants everyone and everything and Gray and Nyx just go with it because that's their dynamic and I just can't read this anymore. I don't want to shame anyone that loves this book. It's just definitely not for me.

I wanted to love this book. Instead, I'm taking it off my TBR. I'm truly sorry, it's just not what I expected at all. I'm leaving this as 2 Stars because I didn't finish it and I'm sure I'm in the minority on this one so there we go.



My thanks to NetGalley, SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books and B.B. Reid for the eARC of this book in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.

[The Author Cadence James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don’t Fall — B.B. Reid

The tempo of Don’t Fall was superb. The story moved without feeling rushed, but it also never lingered anywhere long enough for me to lose interest. And the FMC? She was annoying, but just annoying enough. 😂Not so much that I wanted to throw the book, but enough that I occasionally needed her to get out of her own way.

B.B. Reid’s writing style is what made me fall in love with her work in the first place, and this book reaffirmed this. The layout, the footnotes, and the way she plays with the presentation of the story give her books a distinct personality beyond the plot itself.

Her descriptive writing was especially strong in my opinion. The places, clothing, and overall atmosphere were written so vividly that I could actually see them in my head rather than simply being told what they looked like. Some of the fashion and aesthetic details even made me think of the author, herself.

I also appreciated the use of French throughout the dialogue. It felt natural to the characters and setting rather than inserted for the sake of making the book feel more sophisticated or European. It never gave “Google Translate.” The French felt like it belonged there.

What I found particularly interesting was the characterization of the FMC. There was a very recognizable American arrogance to her, although some would probably call it stubbornness or independence paired with the naïveté of a young woman in her twenties who believes she understands far more about herself, people, and the world than she actually does. That combination made her frustrating at times, but it also made sense for who she was.

Overall, Don’t Fall gave me the things I enjoy most about B.B. Reid’s writing: excellent pacing, immersive descriptions, distinctive formatting, and characters with enough flaws to occasionally get on my damn nerves, which frankly means they felt real.

[Franky · Rating 4 out of 5]

4⭐

(+) :
- It’s a sexy good time. The entire time I was reading this, I could just sense so clearly how much fun B.B. Reid was having writing it.
- I think the little red riding hood of it all was fine actually. It was more of a vehicle for the erotica while also being more than JUST smut so I was fine with it.
- Look. Look. Maybe I’m an absolute degenerate, but the swords crossing, throuple surprise of this all absolutely did it for me. I was *all* in on everybody getting everybody of the three POV characters. Is it a mess and are they terrible for each other? Absolutely. But GOOD. Could it have maybe been more detailed in the blurb? Possibly. But it would not have changed it for me because I still would have snatched this up.
- I love the characterization of the extended families, specifically the aunts and then Kyson and Sasha. Dimitri is also up there, but those were the big ones with clearly fleshed out characters that I gravitated towards.
- Nyx not believing in magic because she's a woman in stem is fun (and her being bad at magic relative to that is also interesting, though i wish the magic was more developed)
- I really like this cover. It’s very simple, but also really eye-catching with the colors and the typography and the forest iconography.

(-) :
- I think this could have been a smidge shorter. By the 60% I wanted it to bs more like 75% in (which is, decidedly, not really a smidge but oh well).
- The Kyleigh stuff was fine from a plot perspective but it was so often placed right around, before or after a sex scene and that was, hm, uncomfortable.
- I like Gray but holy shit his sex scene thoughts were juvenile. Do not put the term "nut" in my smut. And not multiple times, eesh.
- I got real tired of the "puppy". It felt too on the nose
- I mean, this title isn’t bad, but it also doesn’t really align with the fairytale. Obviously, it means don’t fall for it or for him or for her. I just wish it was a little more evocative.

(?) :
- Nyx is so stupid for being a Stanford educated woman, my god.
- Why is Gray called a hunter? Like obviously the fairy tale alignment but it's lacking
- I hope in the next one we learn more about the covens
- Why would these pretty evil men care about women dying? Not Mikhail's generation but his father and grandfather's? Obviously they've lost children but is that enough? Are they bad? Time will tell.


WILL I READ THE NEXT ONE? : Oh yes.

*Thank you to Sourcebooks & Netgalley for providing this ARC!


SIMILAR BOOKS :
- 'Son of the Morning' by Akwaeke Emezi
- 'I Got Abducted by Aliens and Now I'm Trapped in a Rom-Com' by Kimberley Lemming
- 'Big Bad Wolf' by Laurie Gilmore

[LaTosha Webber · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

This was a ride. I struggled a bit with the pacing and the details of the concept. Like as a reimagining it’s a really good take but I think to much time was spent in the wrong places. I think Reid does why choose well but she struggles with the balance of polyamory. This is the second story I’ve read where it felt like the MMC had deep feeling for one of the love interest and a significant attachment to the other. I’m a romance romance lover so when it’s built on a strong pull and feelings but not in deeds and in action I don’t connect with the romance the way I prefer. Which is something that can be easily overlooked with a paranormal romance. I’m really intrigued by the story but the romance is miss for me. Now the spicy and the link were top tier, that scene in the office with Nyx and Gray was so hot I think I melted a lil bit. Now while I do love the storyline, in book two ima really need the aunts to make it plain for me why they felt the need to keep the curse going, because I don’t get it. Like Nyx said you’re choosing to let other women be harmed because of the actions of a man and that don’t sit right. Also I absolutely loath the “I don’t believe in magic, convince me it’s real, oh well that can’t be Magic i must be going crazy” device it’s super annoying. Between the romance and the pacing I was left wanting but the plot has me locked in. That and ultimately I want to see Nyx win because quite frankly literally everyone in this book is using her or playing in her face.

[Lindsey G]

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an arc of this book!

As a fan of all things werewolves and spooky season I was so SO excited for this book. Unfortunately, this title really missed the mark for me and I will be DNFing at about 30%.

While I enjoy the premise of the title, I found the FMCs logic just…lacking, to be quite honest. With love, we’re told that she’s intelligent (and I mean like pursuing a doctorate so BIG brains okay) but like…at the same time she doesn’t question what’s going on enough for me and I was BAFFLED. There are several red flags leading up to her reunion with her family and to keep it as spoiler-free as possible, she makes quite a few rash decisions that I simply cannot make sense with who she’s supposed to be.

I can see that some folks love this title, it just wasn’t for me. Would try a different story by this author though in the future!

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC for an honest review.

I simply adored this book! Nyx, Mikhail, and Gray are simply spectacular! The way they meet, the way they circle each other, and even the way they are when they are in each other's company was chef's kiss! I knew the cliffy would destroy me and I knew as more and more secrets unfolded I would not be ok. And I was correct in my thinking. I just adore and admire Nyx for staying true to herself. Yes, she is open to learning, but she doesn't just give in to what her family wants for her. And the spice level was great! It added to the story for me instead of distracting me from the plot. And I can't wait to find out what happens next and how the three will take on their enemies!

[Hanan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love fairytale retelling, adult style. Also a big fan of Ms. Reid. So when I found out she is releasing a loosely based Little Red Riding Hood story, you better believe I was right there for it.
The story takes place in a small village in France. The world building is fantastic. The author describes sights, sounds and the atmosphere in vivid details. Making me feel I’m actually seeing what she is describing. I think I even gained weight with the scrumptious pastries that were described.
The main characters Nyx, Michael and Gray are all interesting. Each very different than the other.
Nyx is an intelligent young lady. Very practical and logical. So believing in magic and witches isn’t even on her radar.
Gray is such a sweetheart. So kind and big hearted. The “Hunter” who helps the villagers with their needs.
Michael is the dominant force of the trio. He’s driven and determined. Nothing will stop this wolf from his mission.
The chemistry between the characters is intense. The tension, yearning and the longing comes to life off the pages.
The secrets and betrayals were suspenseful and nerve wracking. They had me trying to guess how each character would react.
The plot and storyline are unique and unpredictable. Witches, curses and why choose were exciting and interesting.
There were points where the flow of the story seemed a bit off for me. And a couple of scenes seemed to come out of left field.
Hence my rating of four stars.
Am I going to read the second book?
Hell yeah!
Especially after that jaw dropping cliffhanger.

[Nena Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very imaginative retelling of little red riding hood, and on her trip she did alot of riding in the mile high club lol I ate it up!!! This is the first book I've ever read from this author and it won't be my last, now I gotta go thru her backlist because she is an incredible author. This book was so well written and it sucked me in from the very beginning. I loved these characters and with that cliffhanger, I cant wait for book two. And let's talk about the physical deluxe version of this book, it is stunning and the character art in it is hott!!! I highly recommend this book

[Cinderella (Nysa Bookish) · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the moment I opened Don’t Fall, I was hooked by how easily the author transforms the familiar elements of Little Red Riding Hood into a layered, addictive, and distinctly modern dark romance. The story is filled with danger, hidden secrets, and intense romantic tension that rarely gives you time to breathe.

Nyx is a heroine I quickly came to admire. Instead of being the helpless victim often seen in fairy tales, she is intelligent, careful, and determined to survive. These qualities make her both relatable and strong. Her ability to face increasing danger kept me firmly on her side. However, she is not always wise. At times, her doubt becomes deliberate blindness toward the threats around her, and some of her impulsive choices had me shouting at the pages.

Mikhail Volkov is the perfect brooding counterpart. The author gives him a powerful, troubled charm that makes him impossible to ignore whenever he appears. Beneath his dangerous appearance and quiet manner is a fiercely loyal protector whose painful past and desperate devotion to Nyx are truly engaging. Still, he can also be very frustrating. His habit of controlling situations through secrecy and careful manipulation often creates emotional distance. It also causes avoidable tension and sometimes makes his personal growth feel slow.

The novel is strongest when these two characters clash. Nyx and Mikhail have a tense, powerful chemistry that comes alive on the page. Their relationship is shaped by unequal power and mutual suspicion, but the author makes their progress feel natural rather than forced. Nyx’s strong independence prevents her from giving in to Mikhail’s controlling nature, making him change and earn her respect. At the same time, Mikhail’s constant presence slowly gives her the feeling of safety she never realised she needed. Their romance is raw, imperfect, and complicated, but the emotional reward of their constant push and pull is impossible to deny.

The book does have a few minor weaknesses. The middle sections include several confusing side plots and depend too much on misunderstandings to keep the drama going. This leads to a shocking cliffhanger that will leave you stunned. Even so, the author balances these issues with strong pacing and unforgettable tension between the characters. Anyone looking for high heat, morally unclear characters, and an addictive relationship between two fiercely protective people will find Don’t Fall a highly engaging read.