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Third Shift #1
Big Bad Wolf
They call him a monster. More wolf than man―more dangerous than any predator.
They have no idea.
Joe Peluso has blood on his hands. He took out the mobsters responsible for killing his foster brother, and that one act of vigilante justice has earned him countless enemies in New York's supernatural-controlled underworld. He knows that shifters like him deserve the worst. Darkness. Pain. Solitude. But meeting Neha makes him feel human for the first time in forever.
Lawyer and psychologist Neha Ahluwalia knows Joe is guilty, but she's determined to help him craft a solid defense...even if she can't defend her own obsession. Just one look from the wolf shifter makes her skin burn hot and her pulse race. When a payback hit goes wrong, Neha's forced to make a choice: help Joe escape or leave him to his fate. Before long they're on the run?from the monsters who want him dead, from their own traitorous hearts, and from an attraction that threatens to destroy them.
They have no idea.
Joe Peluso has blood on his hands. He took out the mobsters responsible for killing his foster brother, and that one act of vigilante justice has earned him countless enemies in New York's supernatural-controlled underworld. He knows that shifters like him deserve the worst. Darkness. Pain. Solitude. But meeting Neha makes him feel human for the first time in forever.
Lawyer and psychologist Neha Ahluwalia knows Joe is guilty, but she's determined to help him craft a solid defense...even if she can't defend her own obsession. Just one look from the wolf shifter makes her skin burn hot and her pulse race. When a payback hit goes wrong, Neha's forced to make a choice: help Joe escape or leave him to his fate. Before long they're on the run?from the monsters who want him dead, from their own traitorous hearts, and from an attraction that threatens to destroy them.
314 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 26, 2021
120 people are currently reading
4146 people want to read
About the author
Suleikha Snyder
29 books322 followersEditor, writer, American desi and lifelong geek Suleikha Snyder is an author of contemporary and erotic romance. A passionate advocate for diversity and inclusivity in publishing, Suleikha is frequently ranting when she should really be adding to her body of work.
Suleikha lives in Chicago, finding inspiration in genre fiction, daytime and primetime soaps, and anything that involves chocolate or bacon. Visit her online at www.suleikhasnyder.com and follow her on Twitter @suleikhasnyder.
Suleikha lives in Chicago, finding inspiration in genre fiction, daytime and primetime soaps, and anything that involves chocolate or bacon. Visit her online at www.suleikhasnyder.com and follow her on Twitter @suleikhasnyder.
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June 22, 2022Source of book: Bought by me
Relevant disclaimers: Share an agent, share a publisher, sometimes share Twitter bantz.
Please note: This review may not be reproduced or quoted, in whole or in part, without explicit consent from the author.
And remember: I am not here to judge your drag, I mean your book. Books are art and art is subjective. These are just my personal thoughts. They are not meant to be taken as broader commentary on the general quality of the work. Believe me, I have not enjoyed many an excellent book, and my individual lack of enjoyment has not made any of those books less excellent or (more relevantly) less successful.
Further disclaimer: Readers, please stop accusing me of trying to take down “my competition” because I wrote a review you didn’t like. This is complete nonsense. Firstly, writing isn’t a competitive sport. Secondly, I only publish reviews of books in the subgenre where I’m best known (queer romcom) if they’re glowing. And finally: taking time out of my life to read an entire book, then write a detailed review about it that some people on GR will look at would be a profoundly inefficient and ineffective way to damage the careers of other authors. If you can’t credit me with simply being a person who loves books and likes talking about them, at least credit me with enough common sense to be a better villain.
*******************************************
I’ve been on a bit of a re-read kick recently because I read a bunch of books during the pandemic before I decided I missed being able to talk about books more than I cared about people telling me I shouldn’t be talking about books and came back to GR in earnest.
In any case, Big Bad Wolf is a polarising, complicated and, for me, completely fascinating read. Looking back, I think BBW is a book at a double-crossroads, both in terms of the genre, and in terms of the way we, as authors and readers and humans in general, respond to trauma.
More than any other genre, with the possible exception of YA, romance is trend driven and I don’t mean that in a disparaging way: the rise and fall and return of particular tropes and settings never ceases to intrigue me. When I started writing, PNR/UF was just coming to the end of its reign as the big thing but, much like a punch-drunk boxer, it’s kind of got to the point that it is (or was) due to a comeback. And, while I’m not by any means an expert on the market, I think there were one of two ways this comeback would happen: it was either spinning out of romcom or it was spinning out of social justice. As it turned out, it’s spinning out of romcom—hence the flood of books called things like Basic Ass Witch or The Joy of Hex (somebody please write me one of those witchy romcoms called Basic Ass Witch, please and thank you)—but if the genre had spun out of social justice instead, I think BBW offers a glimpse of what it could have look like. PNR was, to my best recollection, kind of the place where the more … shall we say … problematic tropes went to play: fated mates, alpha men, dubconny dynamics, etc. What BBW attempts—and, for my money, mostly succeeds at—is re-framing them to suit an ever-evolving and increasingly self-aware audience. There is nothing, after all, inherently wrong with enjoying big alpha men and dangerous sexual encounters, it’s the way they abut real social contexts that render them difficult to navigate. To put it in the bluntest possible genre terms (not terms that specifically apply to this book, I hasten add but terms from which all our interactions with difficult tropes can to some degree be seen to flow): rape fantasies aren’t by themselves problem. They only become a problem because rape culture exists.
Big Bad Wolf, then, is set in a post 2016 America even more Dystopian than the, uh, the reality we all remember? New York is a surveillance state, civil liberties—especially those aimed at protecting marginalised people—are under constant threat, oh and supernatural creatures exist, their rights barely acknowledged in what feels like an increasingly and perhaps irredeemably polarised world. What’s especially interesting about the way supernatural creatures are positioned within this setting is that they’re not stand-ins or analogies for marginalised people. Rather, they specifically exist alongside them and act as a kind of lens through which the book, and consequently the reader, can explore the vulnerabilities faced by marginalised people in the world as we currently inhabit it. The central conceit of BBW is almost, in that context, a dark joke: that the reality faced by marginalised people post 2016 has become so inescapably threatening that you can throw literal monsters into the mix and they still end up quite low down on the list of things to worry about.
It's a brilliant take, both on the whole “what to do with vampires and werewolves etc” thing and on PNR as a genre. And—given where the world seems to be going as regards trans rights, reproductive rights, and human rights in general—remains bleakly prescient. Bleakly relevant. As I said in my introduction, we respond to trauma in different ways. I can sort of see why this was not the book many people were looking for in the middle of the pandemic and that’s fair enough, but I feel it deserves a re-examination. I would never diminish the value of escapism but escapism can't be our only answer to Bad Shit TM. Sometimes it’s necessary to get angry. Big Bad Wolf is an excellent book to get angry alongside. And, unlike real life, at least offers the consolation of sex, catharsis, and a happy ending for its protagonists.
The plot is somewhat labyrinthine as you might expect from a book with this particular blend of PNR/romsus DNA. But it opens with the heroine, Neha Ahluwalia, sitting in on a client meeting with two partners from the law firm where she currently works. The client is Joe Peluso: a werewolf who was arrested for killing (in human form) six members of the Russian mob. Joe is a surly, aggressive, locked-down mystery who will do nothing to help his own defence. Neha, a trained lawyer and psychologist, has been brought on board to figure out Joe before they go to trial. From this premise, things unravel rapidly. Soon Joe and Neha are on the run from the law and the mob, trying to bring down the Russians with the assistance of Third Shift—a human and supernatural run private security company.
As ever, PNR makes a lot of demands in terms of world-building and, for the most part, I think BBW succeeds in communicating what it wants to communicate, but—and I don’t think there’s a single first book in a PNR series I’ve ever NOT said this about—the need to introduce a large cast as well as establish the setting slightly overwhelms the romance. In that regard, it’s almost a book of two halves: the initial meetings between Neha and Joe, which have a bit of a Hannibal Lector / Clarice Starling vibe to them, and the second half of the book which is a balls-to-the-wall high-stakes action fest. I did manage to adjust to what the second half was doing—I can’t remember the last time I read a PNR that felt so legitimately dangerous and scary—but the introductory scenes between Neha and Joe are so emotionally compelling and UST-saturated that I was kind of disappointed when they were over.
Neha and Joe are interestingly complicated characters. Neha, in particular, is all kinds of amazing: she’s sharp, she’s smart, she knows she’s hot as hell. I wish there’d been more opportunity for her to use her actual professional skills—which is not to say she’s not determined and resourceful throughout, but the climax of the book is mostly a super tense infiltration followed by a massive fight, which doesn’t give much opportunity for a lawyer/psychologist to shine. Where it’s becomes slightly more difficult, I think, is how the book attempts to reckon with her attraction to (and later love for) Joe: a literal murderer. I think part of the issue here might be that there IS that reckoning. Literal murderers are pretty much par for the course in romance, both in PNR and beyond it (I’ve read histroms, for example, where the hero is a multiple murderer and it’s just, like, coolbeans shrug), and mostly this is just kind of brushed under the ethical carpet so the reader never really has to think about it. Whereas the reality of what Joe has done is always front and centre in BBW and, the truth is, there is no way—really—to deal with that. Except in this slightly nebulous “well, sometimes a heroine will fall in love with a mass murderer and as a strong-willed, independent woman that’s her choice and she shouldn’t have to justify it” kind of way.
I really respect BBW for grappling with this, even if I think the result is somewhat messy. I think part of the problem is not with the attempt to take on the trope itself so much as the structure of the book around it, in the sense that Neha and Joe spend the second half, on the run, getting kidnapped, popping dangerboners, or angsting about whether Joe is worthy of her. This sort of leaves no space for them to really talk, or rather all their talk circles the drain of Joe’s low self-esteem without much resolution, when actually Joe’s context as the book establishes it is hugely significant, not only to who he is and how he feels, but the why and the wherefore of his … y’know … murdering. And I don’t just mean the literality of what he did into the army on top of his having shot six Russian mobsters in retaliation for their having killed his (entirely innocent) best friend / little brother figure. Like, in terms of the book and Joe's character, this wasn't a triumphant act of power or justice or even revenge truly (although it may have started out that way): it was despair.
The thing about Neha is that she’s a clever, educated woman with loving parents and a strong community around her. Whereas Joe, while he ticks all the boxes of the traditional alpha (right down to his yo-yo erection), is an incredibly socially disempowered hero. He’s blue collar in the … uh … real sense? Not the romance genre sense of a soft-spoken manly man who maybe does wood carving and can fix your plumbing for you. Having been raised in the foster system, Joe is not particularly well educated, he has no support structures, no real future, and as such is rife for exploitation by the government or pretty much anyone else who feels inclined to use him for their own ends. He joined the army as a young man, was a prime candidate for their “hey, let’s make monstrous super soliders” programmes (this programme, btw, is called Apex, which is fucking perfect) and—fitted with a chip so he can’t transform—was finally cast back into civilian life with nothing but a history of bloodshed behind him. When pretty much his only actual friend was killed, he had no recourse for justice, or help, even for emotional support. And now he’s prison, an institution hardly renowned for helping people improve their sense of self-worth. Yes, Joe is white and male, aspects of identity we normally associate with power, but his economic class has left him profoundly vulnerable. His whole life he has been told he is worth nothing but the violence he can perform. It’s no wonder he reacts to grief and loss by killing six mobsters. And it’s no wonder he doesn’t feel worthy of Neha, who represents everything he has been told he can’t have and doesn’t deserve: love and community, and hope for a better life.
Frankly, the fact that Neha can see this man who has been literally reduced to something subhuman by the army and the state, and the world around him, and find him admirable and loveable and capable of being a better person … that only reflects well on her as a person and a heroine. And it’s all there in the book, established during their first conversations and implied by the dynamics of their relationship, but I really really wish it had been more directly on the page because otherwise it’s too easy to dismiss all of Joe’s “I am not worthy of you, small human female”-ing as tropey and repetitious.
And I'm probably making it sound like the book doesn't fully come together but it’s more, I think, a case of a book that buckles slightly under its own ambition. And I am always personally here for a book that buckles slightly under its own ambition—because it’s books like this that invite us to think about what the genre is versus what it has the potential to be. While there arguably slightly too much going on in BBW, it still utterly fascinates me as a unique take on PNR. I love what it's doing with its setting, I love how it handles supernatural creatures (I mean, thank God, we're moving away from "they're basically like queers or POCs" take) I love its effortlessly diverse cast (I don’t think there’s a single character in here who isn’t marginalised along one axes or another), I love its take on the alpha hero, I love its bleak world and the way community (whether that’s your human/shifter security firm or a bunch of South Asian aunties getting shit done) acts as both mitigation of and resistance to that bleakness. Plus, as you might expect from a Suleikha Snyder book, the writing is incredibly sharp and engaging, and there’s lots of consent-driven, heroine-centring sex—even while the book remains true to its PNR roots and has the hero and heroine banging at frankly ludicrous times.
PNR and romsus make me increasingly concerned about how I’m going to cope if I ever find myself on the run from the mob, stranded on an alien planet, or someone takes a hit out on me, because I just don’t function down there if I’m SCARED FOR MY LIFE. Like the love interest will be trying to get in one last needy, sweaty fuckorama before we die and I’d be like, can I just use my meditation app for a moment please? Is there any Valium in this bunker?
In any case, I can see why Big Bad Wolf ended up being divisive book. For me, though, I admire the fuck out of what it’s doing. Basically, it’s like its hero: as long as you’re willing to you accept it for what it is, understand where it's coming from, and meet it where it’s at, then it’ll surprise and intrigue you and, ultimately, prove itself very worth your time.
Relevant disclaimers: Share an agent, share a publisher, sometimes share Twitter bantz.
Please note: This review may not be reproduced or quoted, in whole or in part, without explicit consent from the author.
And remember: I am not here to judge your drag, I mean your book. Books are art and art is subjective. These are just my personal thoughts. They are not meant to be taken as broader commentary on the general quality of the work. Believe me, I have not enjoyed many an excellent book, and my individual lack of enjoyment has not made any of those books less excellent or (more relevantly) less successful.
Further disclaimer: Readers, please stop accusing me of trying to take down “my competition” because I wrote a review you didn’t like. This is complete nonsense. Firstly, writing isn’t a competitive sport. Secondly, I only publish reviews of books in the subgenre where I’m best known (queer romcom) if they’re glowing. And finally: taking time out of my life to read an entire book, then write a detailed review about it that some people on GR will look at would be a profoundly inefficient and ineffective way to damage the careers of other authors. If you can’t credit me with simply being a person who loves books and likes talking about them, at least credit me with enough common sense to be a better villain.
*******************************************
I’ve been on a bit of a re-read kick recently because I read a bunch of books during the pandemic before I decided I missed being able to talk about books more than I cared about people telling me I shouldn’t be talking about books and came back to GR in earnest.
In any case, Big Bad Wolf is a polarising, complicated and, for me, completely fascinating read. Looking back, I think BBW is a book at a double-crossroads, both in terms of the genre, and in terms of the way we, as authors and readers and humans in general, respond to trauma.
More than any other genre, with the possible exception of YA, romance is trend driven and I don’t mean that in a disparaging way: the rise and fall and return of particular tropes and settings never ceases to intrigue me. When I started writing, PNR/UF was just coming to the end of its reign as the big thing but, much like a punch-drunk boxer, it’s kind of got to the point that it is (or was) due to a comeback. And, while I’m not by any means an expert on the market, I think there were one of two ways this comeback would happen: it was either spinning out of romcom or it was spinning out of social justice. As it turned out, it’s spinning out of romcom—hence the flood of books called things like Basic Ass Witch or The Joy of Hex (somebody please write me one of those witchy romcoms called Basic Ass Witch, please and thank you)—but if the genre had spun out of social justice instead, I think BBW offers a glimpse of what it could have look like. PNR was, to my best recollection, kind of the place where the more … shall we say … problematic tropes went to play: fated mates, alpha men, dubconny dynamics, etc. What BBW attempts—and, for my money, mostly succeeds at—is re-framing them to suit an ever-evolving and increasingly self-aware audience. There is nothing, after all, inherently wrong with enjoying big alpha men and dangerous sexual encounters, it’s the way they abut real social contexts that render them difficult to navigate. To put it in the bluntest possible genre terms (not terms that specifically apply to this book, I hasten add but terms from which all our interactions with difficult tropes can to some degree be seen to flow): rape fantasies aren’t by themselves problem. They only become a problem because rape culture exists.
Big Bad Wolf, then, is set in a post 2016 America even more Dystopian than the, uh, the reality we all remember? New York is a surveillance state, civil liberties—especially those aimed at protecting marginalised people—are under constant threat, oh and supernatural creatures exist, their rights barely acknowledged in what feels like an increasingly and perhaps irredeemably polarised world. What’s especially interesting about the way supernatural creatures are positioned within this setting is that they’re not stand-ins or analogies for marginalised people. Rather, they specifically exist alongside them and act as a kind of lens through which the book, and consequently the reader, can explore the vulnerabilities faced by marginalised people in the world as we currently inhabit it. The central conceit of BBW is almost, in that context, a dark joke: that the reality faced by marginalised people post 2016 has become so inescapably threatening that you can throw literal monsters into the mix and they still end up quite low down on the list of things to worry about.
It's a brilliant take, both on the whole “what to do with vampires and werewolves etc” thing and on PNR as a genre. And—given where the world seems to be going as regards trans rights, reproductive rights, and human rights in general—remains bleakly prescient. Bleakly relevant. As I said in my introduction, we respond to trauma in different ways. I can sort of see why this was not the book many people were looking for in the middle of the pandemic and that’s fair enough, but I feel it deserves a re-examination. I would never diminish the value of escapism but escapism can't be our only answer to Bad Shit TM. Sometimes it’s necessary to get angry. Big Bad Wolf is an excellent book to get angry alongside. And, unlike real life, at least offers the consolation of sex, catharsis, and a happy ending for its protagonists.
The plot is somewhat labyrinthine as you might expect from a book with this particular blend of PNR/romsus DNA. But it opens with the heroine, Neha Ahluwalia, sitting in on a client meeting with two partners from the law firm where she currently works. The client is Joe Peluso: a werewolf who was arrested for killing (in human form) six members of the Russian mob. Joe is a surly, aggressive, locked-down mystery who will do nothing to help his own defence. Neha, a trained lawyer and psychologist, has been brought on board to figure out Joe before they go to trial. From this premise, things unravel rapidly. Soon Joe and Neha are on the run from the law and the mob, trying to bring down the Russians with the assistance of Third Shift—a human and supernatural run private security company.
As ever, PNR makes a lot of demands in terms of world-building and, for the most part, I think BBW succeeds in communicating what it wants to communicate, but—and I don’t think there’s a single first book in a PNR series I’ve ever NOT said this about—the need to introduce a large cast as well as establish the setting slightly overwhelms the romance. In that regard, it’s almost a book of two halves: the initial meetings between Neha and Joe, which have a bit of a Hannibal Lector / Clarice Starling vibe to them, and the second half of the book which is a balls-to-the-wall high-stakes action fest. I did manage to adjust to what the second half was doing—I can’t remember the last time I read a PNR that felt so legitimately dangerous and scary—but the introductory scenes between Neha and Joe are so emotionally compelling and UST-saturated that I was kind of disappointed when they were over.
Neha and Joe are interestingly complicated characters. Neha, in particular, is all kinds of amazing: she’s sharp, she’s smart, she knows she’s hot as hell. I wish there’d been more opportunity for her to use her actual professional skills—which is not to say she’s not determined and resourceful throughout, but the climax of the book is mostly a super tense infiltration followed by a massive fight, which doesn’t give much opportunity for a lawyer/psychologist to shine. Where it’s becomes slightly more difficult, I think, is how the book attempts to reckon with her attraction to (and later love for) Joe: a literal murderer. I think part of the issue here might be that there IS that reckoning. Literal murderers are pretty much par for the course in romance, both in PNR and beyond it (I’ve read histroms, for example, where the hero is a multiple murderer and it’s just, like, coolbeans shrug), and mostly this is just kind of brushed under the ethical carpet so the reader never really has to think about it. Whereas the reality of what Joe has done is always front and centre in BBW and, the truth is, there is no way—really—to deal with that. Except in this slightly nebulous “well, sometimes a heroine will fall in love with a mass murderer and as a strong-willed, independent woman that’s her choice and she shouldn’t have to justify it” kind of way.
I really respect BBW for grappling with this, even if I think the result is somewhat messy. I think part of the problem is not with the attempt to take on the trope itself so much as the structure of the book around it, in the sense that Neha and Joe spend the second half, on the run, getting kidnapped, popping dangerboners, or angsting about whether Joe is worthy of her. This sort of leaves no space for them to really talk, or rather all their talk circles the drain of Joe’s low self-esteem without much resolution, when actually Joe’s context as the book establishes it is hugely significant, not only to who he is and how he feels, but the why and the wherefore of his … y’know … murdering. And I don’t just mean the literality of what he did into the army on top of his having shot six Russian mobsters in retaliation for their having killed his (entirely innocent) best friend / little brother figure. Like, in terms of the book and Joe's character, this wasn't a triumphant act of power or justice or even revenge truly (although it may have started out that way): it was despair.
The thing about Neha is that she’s a clever, educated woman with loving parents and a strong community around her. Whereas Joe, while he ticks all the boxes of the traditional alpha (right down to his yo-yo erection), is an incredibly socially disempowered hero. He’s blue collar in the … uh … real sense? Not the romance genre sense of a soft-spoken manly man who maybe does wood carving and can fix your plumbing for you. Having been raised in the foster system, Joe is not particularly well educated, he has no support structures, no real future, and as such is rife for exploitation by the government or pretty much anyone else who feels inclined to use him for their own ends. He joined the army as a young man, was a prime candidate for their “hey, let’s make monstrous super soliders” programmes (this programme, btw, is called Apex, which is fucking perfect) and—fitted with a chip so he can’t transform—was finally cast back into civilian life with nothing but a history of bloodshed behind him. When pretty much his only actual friend was killed, he had no recourse for justice, or help, even for emotional support. And now he’s prison, an institution hardly renowned for helping people improve their sense of self-worth. Yes, Joe is white and male, aspects of identity we normally associate with power, but his economic class has left him profoundly vulnerable. His whole life he has been told he is worth nothing but the violence he can perform. It’s no wonder he reacts to grief and loss by killing six mobsters. And it’s no wonder he doesn’t feel worthy of Neha, who represents everything he has been told he can’t have and doesn’t deserve: love and community, and hope for a better life.
Frankly, the fact that Neha can see this man who has been literally reduced to something subhuman by the army and the state, and the world around him, and find him admirable and loveable and capable of being a better person … that only reflects well on her as a person and a heroine. And it’s all there in the book, established during their first conversations and implied by the dynamics of their relationship, but I really really wish it had been more directly on the page because otherwise it’s too easy to dismiss all of Joe’s “I am not worthy of you, small human female”-ing as tropey and repetitious.
And I'm probably making it sound like the book doesn't fully come together but it’s more, I think, a case of a book that buckles slightly under its own ambition. And I am always personally here for a book that buckles slightly under its own ambition—because it’s books like this that invite us to think about what the genre is versus what it has the potential to be. While there arguably slightly too much going on in BBW, it still utterly fascinates me as a unique take on PNR. I love what it's doing with its setting, I love how it handles supernatural creatures (I mean, thank God, we're moving away from "they're basically like queers or POCs" take) I love its effortlessly diverse cast (I don’t think there’s a single character in here who isn’t marginalised along one axes or another), I love its take on the alpha hero, I love its bleak world and the way community (whether that’s your human/shifter security firm or a bunch of South Asian aunties getting shit done) acts as both mitigation of and resistance to that bleakness. Plus, as you might expect from a Suleikha Snyder book, the writing is incredibly sharp and engaging, and there’s lots of consent-driven, heroine-centring sex—even while the book remains true to its PNR roots and has the hero and heroine banging at frankly ludicrous times.
PNR and romsus make me increasingly concerned about how I’m going to cope if I ever find myself on the run from the mob, stranded on an alien planet, or someone takes a hit out on me, because I just don’t function down there if I’m SCARED FOR MY LIFE. Like the love interest will be trying to get in one last needy, sweaty fuckorama before we die and I’d be like, can I just use my meditation app for a moment please? Is there any Valium in this bunker?
In any case, I can see why Big Bad Wolf ended up being divisive book. For me, though, I admire the fuck out of what it’s doing. Basically, it’s like its hero: as long as you’re willing to you accept it for what it is, understand where it's coming from, and meet it where it’s at, then it’ll surprise and intrigue you and, ultimately, prove itself very worth your time.
April 9, 2021
Here's a series I can unequivocably say that I will not be continuing. See? Even I have limits.
Where to even start, gosh, well. If you thought post-2016 was A Lot, buckle in, folks! In Snyder's world it gets worse. All those awful real-life things plus a big supernatural outing and rarely does the author miss an opportunity to remind you just how shitty things are. Sure, its fiction, but it doesn't feel like fiction when you're rehashing 80% of the crap you've just lived through in a gritty dystopian paranormal fantasy. No thanks.
If that wasn't bad enough, one of the (many) POVs you get is from Mister Melodrama Man Pain himself. Like, I don't want to shit too hard on this guy, not all his boo hoo'ing was without reason but.. well. Most was. Yeah. The constant spirals of "I'm the worst, you deserve better, I'm a killer" were exhausting. Watching the other half of the pairing put up with it, be reduced to hormones, and waiting until it all got rehashed post-bang? I was so over this very early on in the game. Particularly as I found little to no chemistry between them (or anyone) despite the whole relationship hinging on this big dose of epic lust.
Actually even before we discovered the man pain, I was twigging to this not likely being my thing -- as early as the first chapter -- but what had interested me about this in the first place was my previous experience reading one of the author's novellas.. which I thoroughly enjoyed. This? No. Zero enjoyment. Only boredom or frustration or pure misery.
This is clearly being set up as a huge series because we had lots of POVs with lots of little offshooting set-ups for coupledom, or drama, or adventures, and while some of those minor dynamics sort've interested me at first, I just eventually lost the will to care. The writing isn't terrible but it does not draw you in; I found it very hard to keep track of events in some of the scenes, particularly action sequences, and had to backtrack to determine what had happened, and yet we were forced to rehash so much dialogue (literally, pulled from previous chapters, as one character or another relived it) and all together it just felt so offbalance.
I somehow dragged my lifeless carcass through this book to the bitter end but hey that doesn't mean it won't work for you. Particularly if you want a gritty pseudo-real world PNR that somehow manages to lean into all the cheese and tropes that call this genre home. As mentioned, though, this is as far as I go.
----
This review can also be found at A Take From Two Cities.
Where to even start, gosh, well. If you thought post-2016 was A Lot, buckle in, folks! In Snyder's world it gets worse. All those awful real-life things plus a big supernatural outing and rarely does the author miss an opportunity to remind you just how shitty things are. Sure, its fiction, but it doesn't feel like fiction when you're rehashing 80% of the crap you've just lived through in a gritty dystopian paranormal fantasy. No thanks.
If that wasn't bad enough, one of the (many) POVs you get is from Mister Melodrama Man Pain himself. Like, I don't want to shit too hard on this guy, not all his boo hoo'ing was without reason but.. well. Most was. Yeah. The constant spirals of "I'm the worst, you deserve better, I'm a killer" were exhausting. Watching the other half of the pairing put up with it, be reduced to hormones, and waiting until it all got rehashed post-bang? I was so over this very early on in the game. Particularly as I found little to no chemistry between them (or anyone) despite the whole relationship hinging on this big dose of epic lust.
Actually even before we discovered the man pain, I was twigging to this not likely being my thing -- as early as the first chapter -- but what had interested me about this in the first place was my previous experience reading one of the author's novellas.. which I thoroughly enjoyed. This? No. Zero enjoyment. Only boredom or frustration or pure misery.
This is clearly being set up as a huge series because we had lots of POVs with lots of little offshooting set-ups for coupledom, or drama, or adventures, and while some of those minor dynamics sort've interested me at first, I just eventually lost the will to care. The writing isn't terrible but it does not draw you in; I found it very hard to keep track of events in some of the scenes, particularly action sequences, and had to backtrack to determine what had happened, and yet we were forced to rehash so much dialogue (literally, pulled from previous chapters, as one character or another relived it) and all together it just felt so offbalance.
I somehow dragged my lifeless carcass through this book to the bitter end but hey that doesn't mean it won't work for you. Particularly if you want a gritty pseudo-real world PNR that somehow manages to lean into all the cheese and tropes that call this genre home. As mentioned, though, this is as far as I go.
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This review can also be found at A Take From Two Cities.
October 23, 2020
3.5 stars
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Joe Peluso was the monster in the closet, the creature you were warned about in fairy tales… and still, somehow, not the scariest white man Neha had encountered while doing her job.
Big Bad Wolf kicks off the Third Shift series set in an urban fantasy world full of paranormal and supernatural beings while incorporating a sense of current political times. This is much more of an ensemble piece, and I would say read this as a clear first-in-series world set-up, than a straight focus on one couple. The impetus that starts the story rolling is Neha Ahluwalia, a junior associate with a doctorate in behavioral psych, is brought in on a case her firm took involving Joe Peluso. She's there to analyze him and get him to talk, so that they can come up with a defense for why Joe killed six Russian Bratva members. Through Joe, the reader learns about the Apex Initiative, a secret military project where in Phase 3 Joe was brought in and injected with some kind of serum that gave him the ability to be a wolf shifter. Neha and Joe have instant heat between them and when an attempt to kill Joe happens, Neha goes on the run with him.
They were a ragtag crew who moonlighted fixing other people’s problems. Except the ragtag crew included some werewolves and vampires and sorcerers.
The first half has the reader mostly in the characters' heads, as through them we get a picture of the world they live in. We're told about The Darkest Day where a NSA internal memo was “accidentally” leaked and U.S. citizens learn about the existence of supernatural and paranormal beings. This leads to an increased military state where the creation of the Supernatural Regulation Bureau, Emergency Service Unit Watch, and use of drones overhead to monitor citizens to help them feel “safe”. This is countered a bit by the Sanctuary Alliance, a group of Sanctuary cities that claim to be safer for supernaturals; New York City is one of them and where this story is set. Third Shift Security is also a counter and a group of supernaturals, paranormals, and humans who go on missions and work to protect their brethren. Neha and Joe end up with them as they try to stay safe from officials trying to get Joe back under custody and what becomes a big part of the second half of the story, the Russian Bratva, who are also a clan of bear shifters, that wants to kill Joe in retaliation for the six he murdered.
So he had to watch himself. Wanting her was fine. But liking her? Caring about her? Actually being obsessed with her like he’d pretended to be the last time she was here…? Fuck, no. He had to draw a line. There was way too much to lose if he didn’t.
The second half picks up the pace with less internal monologues and more action. A second romance is highlighted between Danny Yeo, a NYPD detective working for Third Shift and Yulia Vasiliev, sister to the head of the bratva branch hunting Joe. While I thought the romance between Neha and Joe was more erotic in pacing and tone, instant and lusting, Yulia and Danny's relationship definitely captured my interest. We miss their initial meeting and come in months later where Yulia is trying to push Danny away for his own safety but still trying to give information to him about her brother and his activities. I thought these two had more of an emotional connection that I could believe in and therefore, more substance for me to engage with. Due to the worldbuilding taking over, Neha and Joe simply don't get much time together and when they are together, it was mostly about the sex. Neha was the better flushed out character with ties we get to see with her family, friends, and even job, helping to color in her personality. Joe's military career is discussed and how he suffers guilt from it, along with how close he was with a younger neighborhood boy named Kenny, who was murdered by the Russians and why Joe goes after them. Joe just never materialized into a fully solid character for me, I know he's not conventionally attractive and loves to give head (this was brought up over and over), which awesome, but I still needed him to feel fleshed out more.
This was not Neha’s world. She’d stepped through the Looking Glass when she crossed the threshold of Kamchatka. But she couldn’t go back. She’d signed on for this. She’d demanded participation . She was all in now. Because she’d made that call. Used the number Joe had given her… not to save herself, but to find her way back to him.
Ultimately, Neha and Joe's relationship failed for me; there wasn't enough emotional substance between them for me to buy Neha risking so much in the short amount of time she knew Joe. On the other hand, you will want to pick this up for the worldbuilding, I saw another reviewer compare this to Suzanne Brockmann, in terms of storylines, amount of characters and povs, I wholly agree. I think a comparison to Nalini Singh's Psy-Changeling series would also help readers grasp and anticipate the sheer amount of storylines and characters they're about to step into. While Neha and Joe's relationship, and maybe even Yulia and Danny's, looks to be wrapped up, there was a third romance between Neha's friend Nate, and two employees of Third Shift, Grace and Finn, that was left in the air. I would also mention that the author doesn't sprinkle in or is subtle with her views and political thoughts, if you're not ready for that kind of smoke to solidly be in your story, then this probably isn't the book for you. However, if you like some dry wit, a plethora of characters, weaving storylines, and worldbuilding that looks to be able to support a long running series, then you will want to pick up this first installment.
This was their adventure. Because the Third Shift was a shift that never really ended.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Joe Peluso was the monster in the closet, the creature you were warned about in fairy tales… and still, somehow, not the scariest white man Neha had encountered while doing her job.
Big Bad Wolf kicks off the Third Shift series set in an urban fantasy world full of paranormal and supernatural beings while incorporating a sense of current political times. This is much more of an ensemble piece, and I would say read this as a clear first-in-series world set-up, than a straight focus on one couple. The impetus that starts the story rolling is Neha Ahluwalia, a junior associate with a doctorate in behavioral psych, is brought in on a case her firm took involving Joe Peluso. She's there to analyze him and get him to talk, so that they can come up with a defense for why Joe killed six Russian Bratva members. Through Joe, the reader learns about the Apex Initiative, a secret military project where in Phase 3 Joe was brought in and injected with some kind of serum that gave him the ability to be a wolf shifter. Neha and Joe have instant heat between them and when an attempt to kill Joe happens, Neha goes on the run with him.
They were a ragtag crew who moonlighted fixing other people’s problems. Except the ragtag crew included some werewolves and vampires and sorcerers.
The first half has the reader mostly in the characters' heads, as through them we get a picture of the world they live in. We're told about The Darkest Day where a NSA internal memo was “accidentally” leaked and U.S. citizens learn about the existence of supernatural and paranormal beings. This leads to an increased military state where the creation of the Supernatural Regulation Bureau, Emergency Service Unit Watch, and use of drones overhead to monitor citizens to help them feel “safe”. This is countered a bit by the Sanctuary Alliance, a group of Sanctuary cities that claim to be safer for supernaturals; New York City is one of them and where this story is set. Third Shift Security is also a counter and a group of supernaturals, paranormals, and humans who go on missions and work to protect their brethren. Neha and Joe end up with them as they try to stay safe from officials trying to get Joe back under custody and what becomes a big part of the second half of the story, the Russian Bratva, who are also a clan of bear shifters, that wants to kill Joe in retaliation for the six he murdered.
So he had to watch himself. Wanting her was fine. But liking her? Caring about her? Actually being obsessed with her like he’d pretended to be the last time she was here…? Fuck, no. He had to draw a line. There was way too much to lose if he didn’t.
The second half picks up the pace with less internal monologues and more action. A second romance is highlighted between Danny Yeo, a NYPD detective working for Third Shift and Yulia Vasiliev, sister to the head of the bratva branch hunting Joe. While I thought the romance between Neha and Joe was more erotic in pacing and tone, instant and lusting, Yulia and Danny's relationship definitely captured my interest. We miss their initial meeting and come in months later where Yulia is trying to push Danny away for his own safety but still trying to give information to him about her brother and his activities. I thought these two had more of an emotional connection that I could believe in and therefore, more substance for me to engage with. Due to the worldbuilding taking over, Neha and Joe simply don't get much time together and when they are together, it was mostly about the sex. Neha was the better flushed out character with ties we get to see with her family, friends, and even job, helping to color in her personality. Joe's military career is discussed and how he suffers guilt from it, along with how close he was with a younger neighborhood boy named Kenny, who was murdered by the Russians and why Joe goes after them. Joe just never materialized into a fully solid character for me, I know he's not conventionally attractive and loves to give head (this was brought up over and over), which awesome, but I still needed him to feel fleshed out more.
This was not Neha’s world. She’d stepped through the Looking Glass when she crossed the threshold of Kamchatka. But she couldn’t go back. She’d signed on for this. She’d demanded participation . She was all in now. Because she’d made that call. Used the number Joe had given her… not to save herself, but to find her way back to him.
Ultimately, Neha and Joe's relationship failed for me; there wasn't enough emotional substance between them for me to buy Neha risking so much in the short amount of time she knew Joe. On the other hand, you will want to pick this up for the worldbuilding, I saw another reviewer compare this to Suzanne Brockmann, in terms of storylines, amount of characters and povs, I wholly agree. I think a comparison to Nalini Singh's Psy-Changeling series would also help readers grasp and anticipate the sheer amount of storylines and characters they're about to step into. While Neha and Joe's relationship, and maybe even Yulia and Danny's, looks to be wrapped up, there was a third romance between Neha's friend Nate, and two employees of Third Shift, Grace and Finn, that was left in the air. I would also mention that the author doesn't sprinkle in or is subtle with her views and political thoughts, if you're not ready for that kind of smoke to solidly be in your story, then this probably isn't the book for you. However, if you like some dry wit, a plethora of characters, weaving storylines, and worldbuilding that looks to be able to support a long running series, then you will want to pick up this first installment.
This was their adventure. Because the Third Shift was a shift that never really ended.
July 24, 2021
I liked the world building and the secondary characters - but the romance did not work for me at all and Joe was not my favorite. I think if this had gone harder for the fated mates angle with the accompanying compulsion, this could have worked for me better. But most of all, I found this boring which is something I cannot deal with in urban fantasy.
February 15, 2021
This was a disappointment. As a South Asian person, it hurts me, even more, to rate it so low.
Let me begin with the good parts.
- Good chemistry and steam scenes between the main characters
- Great South Asian and Punjabi culture representation
- Having lived in Manhattan as a South Asian, I loved the accurate portrayal of Jackson Heights and Jersey City Indian culture
- Love that cover
- Love that every character was so diverse.
That's about it.
I had several issues with this book that not only made me sad, but also made me exasperated and depressed.
1. The author notes in her Author's note that this book is her way of dealing with the 2016 presidency and everything that followed. This is a paranormal/dystopian world where not only every problem existing in the US is acknowledged but add in shifters and vampires that have been exposed.
2. This is not a shifter book where the shifter part is valued, loved or even appreciated. These are sort of medically injected shifters/lab created shifters. Our main hero is one of them. I had major issues with the hero. He was in the army where he had killed a lot of people, as a human and as an animal. I feel like he just hated having an animal inside him. There was no bond between him and his animal. The self hatred was so strong, that the hero had an EPIC case of "You deserve better" for the herione and CONSTANTLY pushed her away. Right till over 90% of the book.
3. Multiple POVs: I understand that this is the first in a long series. There was also a parallel story of another couple going on in this book. Our main couple barely had any relationship development going on (other than sex) so I don't understand why we needed another couple's story. So, not only did we have the two POVs of our main characters, we had another 2 POVs of this other couple. We also had anther 2 POVs of a potential future gay couple. So, total of 6 POVs was not needed at all.
4. This paranormal world was depressive af. I don't remember having a moment of happiness in the entire book. Yes, the hero and heroine had this intense instaLOVE connection (which was just unbelieveable despite this being PNR), there were no characters at any point that felt any happiness. This book highlighted the problems that each and every person faced in the US who wasn't a straight white man. And I was just so over it.
5. It could have been a great novel. There were instances (in the beginnning) where I liked the concept. But then it just became a pool of problems and characters that came out of nowhere and that I was forced to read their POV.
Let me begin with the good parts.
- Good chemistry and steam scenes between the main characters
- Great South Asian and Punjabi culture representation
- Having lived in Manhattan as a South Asian, I loved the accurate portrayal of Jackson Heights and Jersey City Indian culture
- Love that cover
- Love that every character was so diverse.
That's about it.
I had several issues with this book that not only made me sad, but also made me exasperated and depressed.
1. The author notes in her Author's note that this book is her way of dealing with the 2016 presidency and everything that followed. This is a paranormal/dystopian world where not only every problem existing in the US is acknowledged but add in shifters and vampires that have been exposed.
2. This is not a shifter book where the shifter part is valued, loved or even appreciated. These are sort of medically injected shifters/lab created shifters. Our main hero is one of them. I had major issues with the hero. He was in the army where he had killed a lot of people, as a human and as an animal. I feel like he just hated having an animal inside him. There was no bond between him and his animal. The self hatred was so strong, that the hero had an EPIC case of "You deserve better" for the herione and CONSTANTLY pushed her away. Right till over 90% of the book.
3. Multiple POVs: I understand that this is the first in a long series. There was also a parallel story of another couple going on in this book. Our main couple barely had any relationship development going on (other than sex) so I don't understand why we needed another couple's story. So, not only did we have the two POVs of our main characters, we had another 2 POVs of this other couple. We also had anther 2 POVs of a potential future gay couple. So, total of 6 POVs was not needed at all.
4. This paranormal world was depressive af. I don't remember having a moment of happiness in the entire book. Yes, the hero and heroine had this intense instaLOVE connection (which was just unbelieveable despite this being PNR), there were no characters at any point that felt any happiness. This book highlighted the problems that each and every person faced in the US who wasn't a straight white man. And I was just so over it.
5. It could have been a great novel. There were instances (in the beginnning) where I liked the concept. But then it just became a pool of problems and characters that came out of nowhere and that I was forced to read their POV.
Read
July 10, 2022DNF/ paused, probably for good, at 23%
I want to start by saying that I really love the premise of this. Shifters and other things that go bump in the night exist; their existence was suddenly outed in 2016, likely in a planned move by the US’s national security apparatus to pre-empt it being accidentally or maliciously disclosed by the new (unnamed but regrettably recognizable) president; and the political, legal, and social reaction to the revelation has been characterized by backlash, punitiveness, repression, scapegoating, and wholesale restrictions on or removing of rights – not just for shifters but for any minority, marginalized, and vulnerable groups.
With this precarious, polarized, volatile situation as backdrop, we are introduced to Joe, a wolf shifter with a past shrouded in secrecy, who cold-bloodedly murdered six gangsters in a revenge killing, had a mistrial declared when he started shifting in court – his wolfiness not being known until that moment – and is now awaiting a new trial; and Neha, a criminal defense attorney who also has a PhD in psychology and is the junior member and only woman on his 3-person defense team. Joe is unwilling to act in his own defense, rebuffing or shutting down any attempts to explain or justify his actions. Neha is determined to figure out why he did what he did and use that as mitigation – and make her name and score some brownie points with her bosses and firm in the process. And as a self-proclaimed attractive and ambitious Indian American woman, Neha is also determined to show that she is not some diversity hire or empty-headed floozy: she has a lot to prove to herself, her family, and her firm.
So yeah, this premise hooked me straight away.
And the writing is great: engaging, fluid, and assured. No fault to find here.
The reason I put it aside at 23% is simply that I not only didn’t connect with, but by that point had active antipathy towards, the MCs. I started off lukewarm towards Joe and liking Neha. Joe didn’t changed much one way or the other in my estimation – I find him more irritating than anything else – but Neha made me so pissed off I had to . . . not.
So I put the book down thinking that I’d try again in a day or two. And then the Roe v Wade decision came down in my home country. And then there was a domestic terror attack on a gay bar on the eve of the Pride Parade in my adopted country (killing two and wounding over 20). And then I decided that this premise was maybe a bit too on the nose for the moment and re-read a cute hockey romance instead.
That said, I do want to engage a bit with why this hasn’t worked for me so far.
The first problem, and this is absolutely a me-thing, is that this is firmly situated in insta-love territory (though more accurately, insta-obsessed). Which is a problem for me in almost all cases. Insta-attraction: yay! Insta-connection: awwww! Insta-love: nope, nope, nopeity nope. I’m a Taurus, for god’s sake!! The only thing I do instantly is suspect other people's motives and intentions!!
But it’s not even the insta-love/obsession that ruffled my feathers. It’s the way it was written. And this is maybe a function of me not reading a huge amount of M/F these days, I don’t know. Like the cataloging of a woman’s constituent body parts as a decisive part of her appeal is just . . . something I’ve forgotten happens? Ngl: ugh.
Because Joe’s insta-obsession with Neha takes the form of him wanting to dick her down. It’s all LIPS HAIR HIPS TITS LEGS ASS BONEBONEBONE. They have a little moment where they bond over baking shows. He grudgingly acknowledges that she has a brain. That’s pretty much it. Which, ok, he’s stuck in jail, I guess LIPS HAIR HIPS TITS LEGS ASS BONEBONEBONE is high up on his priority list. And yes, I have read a book before: I understand that this is a deliberate character choice by the author. This is not one of those, “Ashlynne’s translucent blue eyes and sun-kissed lips turned down in a pouty frown as she wondered why her thick rich blond locks weren’t falling bouncily around her pert-but-not-too-big breasts and framing her thin-but-still-totally-fertile-looking hips, as they normally would”-type books. Joe’s preoccupation with LIPS HAIR HIPS TITS LEGS ASS BONEBONEBONE is more about Joe than about Neha (although obviously it’s communicating to us, the reader, that Neha is a smokeshow along accepted heteronormative lines).
But it’s just boring. It doesn’t engage me as a reader. I feel no investment in him as an interesting protagonist, much less a romantic lead. And even though we get bits and pieces of his Tragic Backstory, the fact that 23 percent in, his only engagement with Neha is pointless dominance mind-games, a moment of baking bonding, and LIPS HAIR HIPS TITS LEGS ASS BONEBONEBONE is just not enough to make me root for him or – more to the point – understand why he’s so irresistible to Neha that she acts the way she acts.
Because, Neha. OH, NEHA!!! I really did like her at first. I swear! Her insta-obsession with Joe took the form of a compulsion to figure him out. She wasn’t cataloguing his physical attributes – he is very sketchily described, although there is clearly an attraction there – but trying to poke at what happened to him and what makes him tick. And while she recognizes she is attracted to him – that he compels her in some way – she also recognizes that this is a very bad idea with red flags ahoy. Which: yes, Neha! That is the correct read! He is the very definition of a red flag! Listen to those instincts! Take reasonable steps to protect your personal safety and professional integrity! You are a serious career woman who knows that . . .
. . . and then he kissed her and all that shit (by which I mean: her personality up to this point) went flying out the door so fast I heard a sonic boom.
Because when he kissed her, her reaction was not: this CLIENT who, Tragic Backstory aside, has demonstrably killed six people, and is also a CLIENT, to whom I have professional obligations, and I could get disbarred or at least fired for this, because CLIENT, and did I mention that’s he’s also violently unstable, and oh yeah, CLIENT, is definitely not someone I should be kissing because (see above). No! Her reaction was to double down!! At his suggestion, she agrees to meet this guy (A CLIENT!!!) unsupervised before his court date – a meeting that, I feel compelled to point out, is only possible THROUGH COMMISSION OF A FELONY – so that they can . . .discuss finer legal points? Debate the ethics of revenge killings? Bone down? I don’t know! I mean, I know what I think they’re gonna do, but I didn’t make it that far, because when she agreed to MEET HER ACCUSED KILLER CLIENT IN AN ILLEGAL UNSUPERVISED MEETING ONLY MADE POSSIBLE BY BRIBING A PRISON GUARD, WHICH AGAIN, FELONY, AND SHE DOES THIS BECAUSE HE’S JUST SO F-ING DREAMY, DESPITE THERE BEING NOTHING ON-PAGE TO SUPPORT THIS, I decided that she had been body-snatched and I can only take so much suspension of disbelief.
And now I feel like Captain Holt screaming about the etymology of the word "doctorate." (“Apparently that’s a trigger for me.”)
So. Great but depressing premise that, through no fault of its own, has fallen victim to my inability to deal with fictional dumpster fires in our current shared hellscape; undermined, probably decisively, by my pointless rage at a fictional character who not only betrays her (very sound!) initial instincts and, you know, entire personality but also abandons her professionalism and ambition for a dude that we have little actual reason to be invested in.
And yeah, I am that nightmare reviewer who writes 1300 words about a DNF. I warned y'all I'm a Taurus.
I want to start by saying that I really love the premise of this. Shifters and other things that go bump in the night exist; their existence was suddenly outed in 2016, likely in a planned move by the US’s national security apparatus to pre-empt it being accidentally or maliciously disclosed by the new (unnamed but regrettably recognizable) president; and the political, legal, and social reaction to the revelation has been characterized by backlash, punitiveness, repression, scapegoating, and wholesale restrictions on or removing of rights – not just for shifters but for any minority, marginalized, and vulnerable groups.
With this precarious, polarized, volatile situation as backdrop, we are introduced to Joe, a wolf shifter with a past shrouded in secrecy, who cold-bloodedly murdered six gangsters in a revenge killing, had a mistrial declared when he started shifting in court – his wolfiness not being known until that moment – and is now awaiting a new trial; and Neha, a criminal defense attorney who also has a PhD in psychology and is the junior member and only woman on his 3-person defense team. Joe is unwilling to act in his own defense, rebuffing or shutting down any attempts to explain or justify his actions. Neha is determined to figure out why he did what he did and use that as mitigation – and make her name and score some brownie points with her bosses and firm in the process. And as a self-proclaimed attractive and ambitious Indian American woman, Neha is also determined to show that she is not some diversity hire or empty-headed floozy: she has a lot to prove to herself, her family, and her firm.
So yeah, this premise hooked me straight away.
And the writing is great: engaging, fluid, and assured. No fault to find here.
The reason I put it aside at 23% is simply that I not only didn’t connect with, but by that point had active antipathy towards, the MCs. I started off lukewarm towards Joe and liking Neha. Joe didn’t changed much one way or the other in my estimation – I find him more irritating than anything else – but Neha made me so pissed off I had to . . . not.
So I put the book down thinking that I’d try again in a day or two. And then the Roe v Wade decision came down in my home country. And then there was a domestic terror attack on a gay bar on the eve of the Pride Parade in my adopted country (killing two and wounding over 20). And then I decided that this premise was maybe a bit too on the nose for the moment and re-read a cute hockey romance instead.
That said, I do want to engage a bit with why this hasn’t worked for me so far.
The first problem, and this is absolutely a me-thing, is that this is firmly situated in insta-love territory (though more accurately, insta-obsessed). Which is a problem for me in almost all cases. Insta-attraction: yay! Insta-connection: awwww! Insta-love: nope, nope, nopeity nope. I’m a Taurus, for god’s sake!! The only thing I do instantly is suspect other people's motives and intentions!!
But it’s not even the insta-love/obsession that ruffled my feathers. It’s the way it was written. And this is maybe a function of me not reading a huge amount of M/F these days, I don’t know. Like the cataloging of a woman’s constituent body parts as a decisive part of her appeal is just . . . something I’ve forgotten happens? Ngl: ugh.
Because Joe’s insta-obsession with Neha takes the form of him wanting to dick her down. It’s all LIPS HAIR HIPS TITS LEGS ASS BONEBONEBONE. They have a little moment where they bond over baking shows. He grudgingly acknowledges that she has a brain. That’s pretty much it. Which, ok, he’s stuck in jail, I guess LIPS HAIR HIPS TITS LEGS ASS BONEBONEBONE is high up on his priority list. And yes, I have read a book before: I understand that this is a deliberate character choice by the author. This is not one of those, “Ashlynne’s translucent blue eyes and sun-kissed lips turned down in a pouty frown as she wondered why her thick rich blond locks weren’t falling bouncily around her pert-but-not-too-big breasts and framing her thin-but-still-totally-fertile-looking hips, as they normally would”-type books. Joe’s preoccupation with LIPS HAIR HIPS TITS LEGS ASS BONEBONEBONE is more about Joe than about Neha (although obviously it’s communicating to us, the reader, that Neha is a smokeshow along accepted heteronormative lines).
But it’s just boring. It doesn’t engage me as a reader. I feel no investment in him as an interesting protagonist, much less a romantic lead. And even though we get bits and pieces of his Tragic Backstory, the fact that 23 percent in, his only engagement with Neha is pointless dominance mind-games, a moment of baking bonding, and LIPS HAIR HIPS TITS LEGS ASS BONEBONEBONE is just not enough to make me root for him or – more to the point – understand why he’s so irresistible to Neha that she acts the way she acts.
Because, Neha. OH, NEHA!!! I really did like her at first. I swear! Her insta-obsession with Joe took the form of a compulsion to figure him out. She wasn’t cataloguing his physical attributes – he is very sketchily described, although there is clearly an attraction there – but trying to poke at what happened to him and what makes him tick. And while she recognizes she is attracted to him – that he compels her in some way – she also recognizes that this is a very bad idea with red flags ahoy. Which: yes, Neha! That is the correct read! He is the very definition of a red flag! Listen to those instincts! Take reasonable steps to protect your personal safety and professional integrity! You are a serious career woman who knows that . . .
. . . and then he kissed her and all that shit (by which I mean: her personality up to this point) went flying out the door so fast I heard a sonic boom.
Because when he kissed her, her reaction was not: this CLIENT who, Tragic Backstory aside, has demonstrably killed six people, and is also a CLIENT, to whom I have professional obligations, and I could get disbarred or at least fired for this, because CLIENT, and did I mention that’s he’s also violently unstable, and oh yeah, CLIENT, is definitely not someone I should be kissing because (see above). No! Her reaction was to double down!! At his suggestion, she agrees to meet this guy (A CLIENT!!!) unsupervised before his court date – a meeting that, I feel compelled to point out, is only possible THROUGH COMMISSION OF A FELONY – so that they can . . .discuss finer legal points? Debate the ethics of revenge killings? Bone down? I don’t know! I mean, I know what I think they’re gonna do, but I didn’t make it that far, because when she agreed to MEET HER ACCUSED KILLER CLIENT IN AN ILLEGAL UNSUPERVISED MEETING ONLY MADE POSSIBLE BY BRIBING A PRISON GUARD, WHICH AGAIN, FELONY, AND SHE DOES THIS BECAUSE HE’S JUST SO F-ING DREAMY, DESPITE THERE BEING NOTHING ON-PAGE TO SUPPORT THIS, I decided that she had been body-snatched and I can only take so much suspension of disbelief.
And now I feel like Captain Holt screaming about the etymology of the word "doctorate." (“Apparently that’s a trigger for me.”)
So. Great but depressing premise that, through no fault of its own, has fallen victim to my inability to deal with fictional dumpster fires in our current shared hellscape; undermined, probably decisively, by my pointless rage at a fictional character who not only betrays her (very sound!) initial instincts and, you know, entire personality but also abandons her professionalism and ambition for a dude that we have little actual reason to be invested in.
And yeah, I am that nightmare reviewer who writes 1300 words about a DNF. I warned y'all I'm a Taurus.
December 21, 2020
Book one in the new Third Shift series by Snyder is, as always with a new series, packed to the rafters with world-building and character establishment. Having said that, I really enjoy it when an author throws us right into the thick of it from the very first page. It's a firm thoughtful introduction of Joe and Neha. We're immediately intuned to who and what we think they are and definitely understand the predicament.
Big Bad Wolf has so many things going for it. It's a procedural meets-mafia-meets-supernatural combination. Its well flushed out and commands the reader's attention.
I can't wait for more.
~Tanja
* ARC Provided by the publisher
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Big Bad Wolf has so many things going for it. It's a procedural meets-mafia-meets-supernatural combination. Its well flushed out and commands the reader's attention.
I can't wait for more.
~Tanja
* ARC Provided by the publisher
Follow me on
Twitter✿Facebook✿Pinterest✿Instagram
December 21, 2020
At the beginning of this year, I reviewed Suleikha Snyder’s short story anthology, Prem Numbers, and said Snyder wrote “radical hope and face sitting.” I’m a fan of her work. She is not a low angst author. Her lovers are passionate. Her stories have all the angst and agony of love in a world that will punish people for looking the wrong way and loving the wrong way. She carves out pockets of safe space for her characters to love in and it feels like a respite from the world. In Big Bad Wolf, she takes all that and then dials it up to 11.
Imagine if the administration elected into power in November of 2016 had been more competent in their authoritarianism. In Big Bad Wolf, The United States has moved into an authoritarian, surveillance state dystopia, with a few veneers of democracy still remaining. On top of that, the public has only recently learned about supernaturals. The armed forces, of course, have been experimenting with turning soldiers into shifters for a while.
I’ve written, deleted, and rewritten this review so many times because I keep falling into the trap of retelling the plot as if I’m a toddler telling anyone who will listen about their favorite episode of Paw Patrol. The plot is a wild ride and Suleikha Snyder does a much better job of telling her story than I do. The basics: Joe was turned into a wolf shifter while he was a soldier. He thinks being a killer is all he has to offer and has turned vigilante. Neha is a psychologist turned lawyer, part of the team hired to defend Joe. They strike sparks immediately with verbal sparring, eye fucking and some serious pining. When an attack on Joe’s life sends them on the run, it’s all exploding lust and feelings. Outside of Joe and Neha, there is a whole underground world of shifters and magical beings waiting to come to light.
Snyder brings her love of soap operas to her world building in Big Bad Wolf. This is the first book in a series, so she is building a world and introducing characters and hinting at their future stories. The folks at Third Shift Security start to populate the novel and become intriguing characters on their own right without stealing focus from Neha and Joe*. There are a couple of significant fight scenes, which is not something I’ve read from Snyder before, and she writes it so well. The fight scenes solidified my 5 star rating, because she clearly communicates the violence and chaos while keeping in character growth and emotional epiphanies. When I finished I almost cried at how long I have to wait for the next book. I am anxious for more of this world and just from this book I can see so many stories I want to read. I feel like the direction this is going is the team working to put a world that has gone wrong to rights and creating a safer place for them to live and love.
Joe isn’t going to be everyone’s favorite kind of hero. He’s moody and keeps trying to do the right thing for Neha without listening to Neha’s opinions. Big Bad Wolf is very much a redemption story for him. I am bouncing in my seat waiting for Pretty Little Lion.
*Except for Finn. The vampire steals every scene he is in.
I received an advance reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
Imagine if the administration elected into power in November of 2016 had been more competent in their authoritarianism. In Big Bad Wolf, The United States has moved into an authoritarian, surveillance state dystopia, with a few veneers of democracy still remaining. On top of that, the public has only recently learned about supernaturals. The armed forces, of course, have been experimenting with turning soldiers into shifters for a while.
I’ve written, deleted, and rewritten this review so many times because I keep falling into the trap of retelling the plot as if I’m a toddler telling anyone who will listen about their favorite episode of Paw Patrol. The plot is a wild ride and Suleikha Snyder does a much better job of telling her story than I do. The basics: Joe was turned into a wolf shifter while he was a soldier. He thinks being a killer is all he has to offer and has turned vigilante. Neha is a psychologist turned lawyer, part of the team hired to defend Joe. They strike sparks immediately with verbal sparring, eye fucking and some serious pining. When an attack on Joe’s life sends them on the run, it’s all exploding lust and feelings. Outside of Joe and Neha, there is a whole underground world of shifters and magical beings waiting to come to light.
Snyder brings her love of soap operas to her world building in Big Bad Wolf. This is the first book in a series, so she is building a world and introducing characters and hinting at their future stories. The folks at Third Shift Security start to populate the novel and become intriguing characters on their own right without stealing focus from Neha and Joe*. There are a couple of significant fight scenes, which is not something I’ve read from Snyder before, and she writes it so well. The fight scenes solidified my 5 star rating, because she clearly communicates the violence and chaos while keeping in character growth and emotional epiphanies. When I finished I almost cried at how long I have to wait for the next book. I am anxious for more of this world and just from this book I can see so many stories I want to read. I feel like the direction this is going is the team working to put a world that has gone wrong to rights and creating a safer place for them to live and love.
Joe isn’t going to be everyone’s favorite kind of hero. He’s moody and keeps trying to do the right thing for Neha without listening to Neha’s opinions. Big Bad Wolf is very much a redemption story for him. I am bouncing in my seat waiting for Pretty Little Lion.
*Except for Finn. The vampire steals every scene he is in.
I received an advance reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
January 2, 2021
I enjoyed Snyder's Tikka Chance on Me so when I saw she's coming out with a paranormal romance I jumped at the chance to read it. I usually shy away from books with mafia elements or ex-military heroes, but I enjoyed her look at motorcycle gangs so why not give it a try?
I'm so glad I did. Off the top, this book won't be for everyone - the hero is a bit of an arse, there are two danger bangs, and while the consent is there it isn't the most explicit. None of it ended up bothering me, though.
On to the good!
- This is the first fiction I've read that truly interacts with what America has become politically since 2016, pushing it further into a dystopia. Think new Patriot Acts, detention camps on both borders, and drones tracking people in Sanctuary Cities. It's an alternate 2021 that went off the rails even more than we actually did.
- There are a bunch of supernatural folx, but Snyder doesn't try to explain them all at once. Many series start with one kind of shifter then branch out, so I like that we're starting with a mix here.
- While we have a wolf character packs aren't a thing. Instead of those forced relations we're heading towards a found family, which is utterly my jam.
- There are many PoVs and they work well together - the hero, heroine, Neha's coworkers, and the staff at Third Shift.
- Pretty much every character is from a marginalized group, including people of color, LGBTQIA+ folx, a Jewish guy, Sikh folx of varying devotion, and of course shifters.
- The diversity of Indian culture is emphasized and celebrated - different languages, religions, styles of dress, and more. We even have a naga, so bonus points for non-Western supernatural beings.
- I love the secondary characters and cannot wait for them to get their own HEAs, especially a certain Irish vampire who's too charming for his own good.
- One character is a cop but he has reservations about his day job, and things… change by the end. I like the way it's handled.
The not-so-good:
- Instalove, thanks to the fated mates trope. If you're a paranormal romance fan it's par for the course.
- If you're into explicit consent the danger bangs may leave you feeling squick-y. I'm not a huge fan of sex just after getting away from the bad guy, but I got through okay.
Big Bad Wolf takes place in a world that I do not want to live in but am happy to visit in fiction, especially with such a great cast of characters - I can't wait for the next book in the series.
Thanks to Sourcebooks Casablanca for providing a review copy.
I'm so glad I did. Off the top, this book won't be for everyone - the hero is a bit of an arse, there are two danger bangs, and while the consent is there it isn't the most explicit. None of it ended up bothering me, though.
On to the good!
- This is the first fiction I've read that truly interacts with what America has become politically since 2016, pushing it further into a dystopia. Think new Patriot Acts, detention camps on both borders, and drones tracking people in Sanctuary Cities. It's an alternate 2021 that went off the rails even more than we actually did.
- There are a bunch of supernatural folx, but Snyder doesn't try to explain them all at once. Many series start with one kind of shifter then branch out, so I like that we're starting with a mix here.
- While we have a wolf character packs aren't a thing. Instead of those forced relations we're heading towards a found family, which is utterly my jam.
- There are many PoVs and they work well together - the hero, heroine, Neha's coworkers, and the staff at Third Shift.
- Pretty much every character is from a marginalized group, including people of color, LGBTQIA+ folx, a Jewish guy, Sikh folx of varying devotion, and of course shifters.
- The diversity of Indian culture is emphasized and celebrated - different languages, religions, styles of dress, and more. We even have a naga, so bonus points for non-Western supernatural beings.
- I love the secondary characters and cannot wait for them to get their own HEAs, especially a certain Irish vampire who's too charming for his own good.
- One character is a cop but he has reservations about his day job, and things… change by the end. I like the way it's handled.
The not-so-good:
- Instalove, thanks to the fated mates trope. If you're a paranormal romance fan it's par for the course.
- If you're into explicit consent the danger bangs may leave you feeling squick-y. I'm not a huge fan of sex just after getting away from the bad guy, but I got through okay.
Big Bad Wolf takes place in a world that I do not want to live in but am happy to visit in fiction, especially with such a great cast of characters - I can't wait for the next book in the series.
Thanks to Sourcebooks Casablanca for providing a review copy.
January 23, 2021
Thank you Sourcebooks for the book. And I'm sorry.
Sadly, although I was really looking forward to this one, loved the blurb and cover, I can't say I liked the book at all.
Within 40 pages there already 4 povs. That is ok on high fantasy books, on romance?! Nope. It distracts from what a romance reader is there for- the romance. The secondary romance could have just stayed away.
Its very repetitive. By page 60 parts of the same conversation have been repeated on different povs 3 times already.
The romance was odd. PNR is all about insta love, and I happen to love it. But this was not it. This was some weird insta lust fuckery. It was off putting. Their first kiss had ZerO chemistry and so did every sex scene after that. And there were plenty. In weird incomprehensible times and locations.
It also has a lot of political and social jargon. Some don't mind that in their romance books, but I do. I dislike it severely. I read to escape the real world, not to face it head on. At least half of the book is full of it. I (and before someone says s*** they shouldn't, I'm not white) will pick a non fiction or a contemporary fiction if I want all the political and social stuff in it.
Sadly, although I was really looking forward to this one, loved the blurb and cover, I can't say I liked the book at all.
Within 40 pages there already 4 povs. That is ok on high fantasy books, on romance?! Nope. It distracts from what a romance reader is there for- the romance. The secondary romance could have just stayed away.
Its very repetitive. By page 60 parts of the same conversation have been repeated on different povs 3 times already.
The romance was odd. PNR is all about insta love, and I happen to love it. But this was not it. This was some weird insta lust fuckery. It was off putting. Their first kiss had ZerO chemistry and so did every sex scene after that. And there were plenty. In weird incomprehensible times and locations.
It also has a lot of political and social jargon. Some don't mind that in their romance books, but I do. I dislike it severely. I read to escape the real world, not to face it head on. At least half of the book is full of it. I (and before someone says s*** they shouldn't, I'm not white) will pick a non fiction or a contemporary fiction if I want all the political and social stuff in it.
April 19, 2021
A bit too heavy on the suspense for my personal reading habits, but a paranormal I'm happy I picked up for book club. The world building is fantastic and this will suit readers who love urban fantasy and romances with a lot of characters and storylines that are sure to be built upon in future installments. There were at least 5 POV characters and I'm eager to find out what's up with the vampire.
Read
April 3, 2024Ya… I had to DNF after the line “He was dressed head to toe in basic New Yorker black but somehow managed to make it look like a designer original from Planet Fuck Me.”
May 13, 2021
Big Bad Wolf was an incredible start to a new paranormal romance with suspense elements.
Lawyer Neha Ahluwalia knows her client Joe Peluso is guilty, but she can't stop the deep attraction she feels when she's around him. Joe gained a lot of enemies when he took out the Russian mobsters responsible for his foster brother's death. In New York's supernatural underworld, that makes him enemy number one. When a revenge hit goes wrong, Joe and Neha finds themselves on the run trying to stay one step ahead of the people who want them dead.
The world the author created in this series is fascinating. On the Darkest Day in 2016, the existence of supernatural creatures was accidentally revealed to the world. After that Sanctuary Cities popped up to protect supernatural citizens who were granted rights while inside those cities. The world outside of the Sanctuary Cities became less and less progressive with a number of marginalized groups losing their rights. Even within the Sanctuary Cities there is a lot of surveillance and powerful figures from outside the cities can still have influence in the cities. The world building in this series reminded me a lot of the kind I've seen in urban fantasy books and I would recommend this series to UF readers.
Joe's situation made for a very interesting plot. With multiple groups looking for him, Joe and Neha are constantly on the move which made for a very fast-paced story. I was definitely wondering who would find him first, the Russians or the government. While on the run, Joe and Neha made contact with a group called Third Shift, which is a group founded by several shifters that runs similarly to security type groups. I'm quite interested to learn more about Third Shift as well as the members of the group. Throughout the book there are several confrontations with the bad guys that were well done, the scenes were suspenseful and action-packed. The ending of the book was well done and I enjoyed the final face off against the bad guys.
Joe and Neha's relationship begins very quickly with a lot of attraction on both sides. There are a number of very sexy scenes early on including some outside which were fantastic. This book is definitely on the steamier side in case that's not your thing, but I absolutely loved it. The chemistry between Neha and Joy was phenomenal. Despite coming from very different backgrounds, these two connected quickly and I liked watching them both realize some of their preconceived notions about each other were wrong. There are obviously obstacles to a relationship between the two, namely Joe is a wanted man and Neha could be disbarred for helping him. I liked how the author dealt with these issues and I thought the solution she came up with was a good one.
Overall Big Bad Wolf was a fantastic read and I can't wait to read the next book in the series, Pretty Little Lion, when it releases later this year. I highly recommend this series to anyone looking for a new paranormal series to pick up.
Lawyer Neha Ahluwalia knows her client Joe Peluso is guilty, but she can't stop the deep attraction she feels when she's around him. Joe gained a lot of enemies when he took out the Russian mobsters responsible for his foster brother's death. In New York's supernatural underworld, that makes him enemy number one. When a revenge hit goes wrong, Joe and Neha finds themselves on the run trying to stay one step ahead of the people who want them dead.
The world the author created in this series is fascinating. On the Darkest Day in 2016, the existence of supernatural creatures was accidentally revealed to the world. After that Sanctuary Cities popped up to protect supernatural citizens who were granted rights while inside those cities. The world outside of the Sanctuary Cities became less and less progressive with a number of marginalized groups losing their rights. Even within the Sanctuary Cities there is a lot of surveillance and powerful figures from outside the cities can still have influence in the cities. The world building in this series reminded me a lot of the kind I've seen in urban fantasy books and I would recommend this series to UF readers.
Joe's situation made for a very interesting plot. With multiple groups looking for him, Joe and Neha are constantly on the move which made for a very fast-paced story. I was definitely wondering who would find him first, the Russians or the government. While on the run, Joe and Neha made contact with a group called Third Shift, which is a group founded by several shifters that runs similarly to security type groups. I'm quite interested to learn more about Third Shift as well as the members of the group. Throughout the book there are several confrontations with the bad guys that were well done, the scenes were suspenseful and action-packed. The ending of the book was well done and I enjoyed the final face off against the bad guys.
Joe and Neha's relationship begins very quickly with a lot of attraction on both sides. There are a number of very sexy scenes early on including some outside which were fantastic. This book is definitely on the steamier side in case that's not your thing, but I absolutely loved it. The chemistry between Neha and Joy was phenomenal. Despite coming from very different backgrounds, these two connected quickly and I liked watching them both realize some of their preconceived notions about each other were wrong. There are obviously obstacles to a relationship between the two, namely Joe is a wanted man and Neha could be disbarred for helping him. I liked how the author dealt with these issues and I thought the solution she came up with was a good one.
Overall Big Bad Wolf was a fantastic read and I can't wait to read the next book in the series, Pretty Little Lion, when it releases later this year. I highly recommend this series to anyone looking for a new paranormal series to pick up.
January 27, 2021
I received an ARC of this book to read through NetGalley. All opinions are my own. Big Bad Wolf is the first book in Suleikha Snyder’s extremely steamy new science fiction/fantasy series Third Shift. I’m always going to remember reading The Stand when I was home alone and suffering from what turned out to be pneumonia, and I will always remember reading this book that takes place in a dystopian world where democracy has ended and a right-wing fascist regime has taken over the United States, when right-wing fascists attacked the Capitol building, and doom scrolling on social media seemed to echo the world in this book. When his foster brother was killed, Joe Peluso, an army veteran and wolf shifter sought revenge by taking out some of the Russian mobsters responsible. Neha Ahluwalia has degrees in both law and psychology, and her part on his legal team is to find out what makes Joe tick. A failed courtroom hit by members of the Russian underworld who are bear shifters has them on the run, and their only chance to survive may be with the help of Third Shift, a mysterious organization made up of shifters and other supernatural creatures. This is definitely a book that will keep you avidly reading long past your bedtime. Steam Level: Very Hot. Publishing Date: January 26, 2021. #BigBadWolf #SuleikhaSnyder #SourceBooksCasablanca #SteamyScienceFictionAndFantasy #WolfShifter #ScienceFictionAndFantasySeries #bookstagram #bookstagrammer
October 6, 2020
This book was provided to me by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I tried to read it. I tried to like. But booooy, this was bad. At first I really liked the writing, it was someone telling a story about an intelligent woman who can and will kick your ass (verbally only perhaps, but still) and then it went downhill quickly... There were too many details. I usually complain that romance novels don't have enough details but out of the 35% that I've read at least half could've and should've been cut. There were also several other point of views that weren't making any sense at all to me.
This book is going in the proverbial trashcan to never be seen again. DNF for sure.
I tried to read it. I tried to like. But booooy, this was bad. At first I really liked the writing, it was someone telling a story about an intelligent woman who can and will kick your ass (verbally only perhaps, but still) and then it went downhill quickly... There were too many details. I usually complain that romance novels don't have enough details but out of the 35% that I've read at least half could've and should've been cut. There were also several other point of views that weren't making any sense at all to me.
This book is going in the proverbial trashcan to never be seen again. DNF for sure.
February 6, 2021
I really, really wanted to like this one (it’s a PNR! by an author who is a total delight on Twitter!) - but it’s just trying to be too many books at the same time.
There’s like a six book series about the Third Shift (which our protagonists don’t even know EXISTS until past the halfway point, so it’s always a digression from the main story) crammed into this one. For no reason, because there apparently IS going to be a series, and we could have gotten all of that LATER.
As a result, we get subplots about pretty much everyone under the sun - a very cute bear shifter/detective duo, a lawyer-vampire-doctor love triangle, a legal practice we never see in action, that lawyer’s frankly more interesting friendship with another lawyer, the backstory of every person who works at Third Shift, our protagonist’s cousin’s never-plot-relevant shapeshifter abilities, you name it. Sometimes it’s interesting sidetracks, often it’s plots that could have been great installments later in a series, and always it’s a distraction from the main story.
And so that main story never really gets developed. I have no idea what Joe and Neha see in each other, outside of sex. (I kind of think they should have just banged out their frustration that one time in that alley, and then gotten on with their lives?) There’s so much else going on that their relationship never has room to breathe on the page - it’s just the sex scenes. And they’re good sex scenes! That’s just not enough to build a romance on!
I just guess I needed there to be more story to the central romance than that. And maybe like twenty seven less subplots.
There’s like a six book series about the Third Shift (which our protagonists don’t even know EXISTS until past the halfway point, so it’s always a digression from the main story) crammed into this one. For no reason, because there apparently IS going to be a series, and we could have gotten all of that LATER.
As a result, we get subplots about pretty much everyone under the sun - a very cute bear shifter/detective duo, a lawyer-vampire-doctor love triangle, a legal practice we never see in action, that lawyer’s frankly more interesting friendship with another lawyer, the backstory of every person who works at Third Shift, our protagonist’s cousin’s never-plot-relevant shapeshifter abilities, you name it. Sometimes it’s interesting sidetracks, often it’s plots that could have been great installments later in a series, and always it’s a distraction from the main story.
And so that main story never really gets developed. I have no idea what Joe and Neha see in each other, outside of sex. (I kind of think they should have just banged out their frustration that one time in that alley, and then gotten on with their lives?) There’s so much else going on that their relationship never has room to breathe on the page - it’s just the sex scenes. And they’re good sex scenes! That’s just not enough to build a romance on!
I just guess I needed there to be more story to the central romance than that. And maybe like twenty seven less subplots.
January 31, 2021
Big Bad Wolf is an excellent start to a series! There was mystery, lots of action, supes, and more. I think if I had to say something more specific about the genre, I'd call it a political paranormal thriller. Because there is a lot going on, both with Joe and Neha, and with the country.
The characters are well fleshed out, and the character development is really well done. I feel like I truly know Neha and Joe, and I got to know quite a lot about Nate, Grace, Finn, Dany and Yulia as well.
I can't wait to get my hands on Pretty Little Lion in the fall!
The characters are well fleshed out, and the character development is really well done. I feel like I truly know Neha and Joe, and I got to know quite a lot about Nate, Grace, Finn, Dany and Yulia as well.
I can't wait to get my hands on Pretty Little Lion in the fall!
Read
October 29, 2020Puedes encontrar esta reseña en español al final.
Dnf @ 20% so no rating.
These are not my things: insta-lust, inner monologue galore and almost no world building. I really can´t buy their insta-attraction. Much less their romance.
The secondary romance seemed interesting but was hardly there.
Not for me.
e-ARC kindly provided by Sourcebooks Casablanca via Netgalley.
Lo dejo al 20%, así que no puntúo.
Ni la lujuria instantánea, ni los monólogos mentales interminables ni el inexistente trasfondo de la historia son cosas que me gusten. Y soy incapaz de creerme su insta-atracción. Y mucho menos su romance.
El romance secundario tenía buena pinta, pero era muy escaso.
Definitivamente esta historia no es para mí.
Dnf @ 20% so no rating.
These are not my things: insta-lust, inner monologue galore and almost no world building. I really can´t buy their insta-attraction. Much less their romance.
The secondary romance seemed interesting but was hardly there.
Not for me.
e-ARC kindly provided by Sourcebooks Casablanca via Netgalley.
Lo dejo al 20%, así que no puntúo.
Ni la lujuria instantánea, ni los monólogos mentales interminables ni el inexistente trasfondo de la historia son cosas que me gusten. Y soy incapaz de creerme su insta-atracción. Y mucho menos su romance.
El romance secundario tenía buena pinta, pero era muy escaso.
Definitivamente esta historia no es para mí.
Read
February 19, 2021WHY I DID NOT FINISH:
-Too much telling and not enough showing. There was lots - and I mean LOTS - of internal reflection on Joe, Neha and the various supporting characters' back stories, which was interesting at first. It's understandable how much self-reflection Joe would do in prison, where he has little company besides his own. However, it quickly became tedious as it dragged on for pages and pages. From a reader's perspective, this wasn't an entertaining read...
-Little chance for UST to build up. From what I read, I would definitely categorise Joe and Neha's relationship as lust-at-first-sight. I don't completely hate this trope, but it's kind of boring when the lust aspect is instant.
The premise and world-building in Big Bad Wolf showed a lot of promise, but I wasn't a fan of the execution. I honestly believe the story would work better as a sexy, supernatural TV series/movie franchise on a streaming platform.
Jon Bernthal for Joe Peluso lol
-Too much telling and not enough showing. There was lots - and I mean LOTS - of internal reflection on Joe, Neha and the various supporting characters' back stories, which was interesting at first. It's understandable how much self-reflection Joe would do in prison, where he has little company besides his own. However, it quickly became tedious as it dragged on for pages and pages. From a reader's perspective, this wasn't an entertaining read...
-Little chance for UST to build up. From what I read, I would definitely categorise Joe and Neha's relationship as lust-at-first-sight. I don't completely hate this trope, but it's kind of boring when the lust aspect is instant.
The premise and world-building in Big Bad Wolf showed a lot of promise, but I wasn't a fan of the execution. I honestly believe the story would work better as a sexy, supernatural TV series/movie franchise on a streaming platform.
Jon Bernthal for Joe Peluso lol
April 10, 2021
This gritty urban fantasy set in post-election 2016 is predictably dark--it takes the reality we all lived through and turns up the dystopia to 11. Joe was turned into a shifter as part of an elite military squad and is now on trial for murder. Neha is a lawyer and psychologist on his defense team. She tries to keep it professional, but as always with the fated mates trope, the pull between them is just too strong. Lots of action, danger, and sex in perilous situations. Joe’s character is really interesting--it’s not like he’s an innocent lamb, he definitely committed the murders he’s accused of, and they both have to navigate his culpability and what it means for them going forward.
August 28, 2021
I started this book but I had trouble getting into the story. It didn't seem realistic to me that they had sex so quickly while on the run (though I know that's common in romantic suspense stories). I ended up skimming parts of it and it just wasn't for me. I'm disappointed because the premise looked good and I really thought I would like it. Ah well, just goes to show that not every book is for every reader.
November 10, 2021
Review coming soon. I'm really intrigued to follow this series and enjoyed this book a lot. Great attention to characters, well written and piping hot scenes. Probably rating this between 3.5 and 4 stars.
April 9, 2021
Started this one with high hopes.
Ended up disappointed as this read like a mix of modern jargon and preachy statements that will suit modern readers of romance.
The hero had so many possibilities, but.
Ended up disappointed as this read like a mix of modern jargon and preachy statements that will suit modern readers of romance.
The hero had so many possibilities, but.
January 26, 2021
Thanks to Sourcebooks Casa & Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.
I have so many thoughts about Suleikha Snyder’s Big Bad Wolf. So many.
The first is just how excited I am to find such an emotionally nuanced, sexy shifter read that isn’t afraid to throw some punches at our current political & social climate. A novel that puts a new spin on common themes of the shifter romance—mates, violence, etc—& that features a diverse, charismatic cast of characters who are sometimes noble & foolish & reckless & devoted & anything but one-note.
Neha Ahluwalia is a junior associate at a criminal attorney firm who’s been asked to sit in on meetings for shifter & accused (& confessed) murderer Joe Peluso as they prepare for his second trial.
He’s a murderer. He’s crude. He’s abrasive. But Neha starts having uncontrollable feelings for him & vice versa. There’s a lot standing in their way, including that they’re sitting on opposite sides of the law—plus the fact that his enemies want him dead.
Like others & the blurb on the cover have said ;) this is a dark read that’s full of big emotions—guilt & lust & uncertainty & trust. The worldbuilding is really cool & the difference in voice for each character feels special. There’s so much about Big Bad Wolf that feels special.
But the relationship arc between Neha & Joe feels a little rushed. As steamy as the book is, I wanted more conversational intimacy between the leads & more of a basis outside of physical need for Neha to initially cross her ethical boundary. In addition, the fallout for Neha’s decision is treated pretty simplistically in the novel’s conclusion, to me.
On balance Big Bad Wolf is a really exciting foray into paranormal romance & I can’t wait to pick back up with the next in the series.
4 ⭐️. Big Bad Wolf is available on 01/26/21.
I have so many thoughts about Suleikha Snyder’s Big Bad Wolf. So many.
The first is just how excited I am to find such an emotionally nuanced, sexy shifter read that isn’t afraid to throw some punches at our current political & social climate. A novel that puts a new spin on common themes of the shifter romance—mates, violence, etc—& that features a diverse, charismatic cast of characters who are sometimes noble & foolish & reckless & devoted & anything but one-note.
Neha Ahluwalia is a junior associate at a criminal attorney firm who’s been asked to sit in on meetings for shifter & accused (& confessed) murderer Joe Peluso as they prepare for his second trial.
He’s a murderer. He’s crude. He’s abrasive. But Neha starts having uncontrollable feelings for him & vice versa. There’s a lot standing in their way, including that they’re sitting on opposite sides of the law—plus the fact that his enemies want him dead.
Like others & the blurb on the cover have said ;) this is a dark read that’s full of big emotions—guilt & lust & uncertainty & trust. The worldbuilding is really cool & the difference in voice for each character feels special. There’s so much about Big Bad Wolf that feels special.
But the relationship arc between Neha & Joe feels a little rushed. As steamy as the book is, I wanted more conversational intimacy between the leads & more of a basis outside of physical need for Neha to initially cross her ethical boundary. In addition, the fallout for Neha’s decision is treated pretty simplistically in the novel’s conclusion, to me.
On balance Big Bad Wolf is a really exciting foray into paranormal romance & I can’t wait to pick back up with the next in the series.
4 ⭐️. Big Bad Wolf is available on 01/26/21.
January 28, 2021
Edgy, provocative, and risqué!
Big Bad Wolf is a seductive, dramatic, paranormal romance that takes you on a journey into the life of Neha Ahluwalia, an intelligent, determined psychologist/lawyer who finds herself inadvertently attracted to and swept off her feet by the rough and dirty-mouthed criminal, Joe Peluso who unfortunately has more to fear than a court of law.
The narration is salacious and smooth. The characters are consumed, impulsive, and intense. And the fast-paced, alluring plot is filled with temptation, desire, danger, deception, mystique, sizzling chemistry, palpable attraction, violence, murder, and of course the supernatural.
Overall, Big Bad Wolf is an intriguing, suspenseful, sultry tale by Snyder that has the right amount of mystery, sex, imaginative world-building, unique characters, and bad boy vibes to keep you engaged from start to finish. As most of you know, I don’t read a lot of paranormal romance and I have never read a novel by Suleikha Snyder before, but I have to tell you I really enjoyed this one and I can’t wait to read what this extraordinary team of shapeshifters, vampires, and humans get up to next in Pretty Little Lion publishing this fall.
Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
Big Bad Wolf is a seductive, dramatic, paranormal romance that takes you on a journey into the life of Neha Ahluwalia, an intelligent, determined psychologist/lawyer who finds herself inadvertently attracted to and swept off her feet by the rough and dirty-mouthed criminal, Joe Peluso who unfortunately has more to fear than a court of law.
The narration is salacious and smooth. The characters are consumed, impulsive, and intense. And the fast-paced, alluring plot is filled with temptation, desire, danger, deception, mystique, sizzling chemistry, palpable attraction, violence, murder, and of course the supernatural.
Overall, Big Bad Wolf is an intriguing, suspenseful, sultry tale by Snyder that has the right amount of mystery, sex, imaginative world-building, unique characters, and bad boy vibes to keep you engaged from start to finish. As most of you know, I don’t read a lot of paranormal romance and I have never read a novel by Suleikha Snyder before, but I have to tell you I really enjoyed this one and I can’t wait to read what this extraordinary team of shapeshifters, vampires, and humans get up to next in Pretty Little Lion publishing this fall.
Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
Read
January 7, 2022DNF at 71 pages/ 19%
I struggled with what I did read of this book and did not want to struggle anymore.
This is not "romance" to me.
Joe started talking about Neha and her "tits" on page 9. I'm not necessarily against sex in a book, but I need development of feelings, emotions, and the relationship. And I did not get that.
PNR is known for having insta-love storylines. However, there was no love. There was lust. So much so that I had to hear the depraved things that Joe wanted to do at least once a chapter. I don't understand what Neha sees in him, and I guess I'm not going to find out.
I did like the initial world-building. It feels very close to today but with supernaturals included. I did like Neha's culture being brought into focus as well. I even thought that the writing was okay... Although there were cringey lines too: "He thought cats were freaking adorable, too. But his biggest problem right now, stuck in the dark with nothing but hours to kill, was how obsessed he was with one particular pussy." I'm sorry. No.
I'm sure there are people who will love this and eat it up, but not me.
I struggled with what I did read of this book and did not want to struggle anymore.
This is not "romance" to me.
Joe started talking about Neha and her "tits" on page 9. I'm not necessarily against sex in a book, but I need development of feelings, emotions, and the relationship. And I did not get that.
PNR is known for having insta-love storylines. However, there was no love. There was lust. So much so that I had to hear the depraved things that Joe wanted to do at least once a chapter. I don't understand what Neha sees in him, and I guess I'm not going to find out.
I did like the initial world-building. It feels very close to today but with supernaturals included. I did like Neha's culture being brought into focus as well. I even thought that the writing was okay... Although there were cringey lines too: "He thought cats were freaking adorable, too. But his biggest problem right now, stuck in the dark with nothing but hours to kill, was how obsessed he was with one particular pussy." I'm sorry. No.
I'm sure there are people who will love this and eat it up, but not me.
January 6, 2021
So here's the thing. When I first started this book, I felt like it was initially a bit light on the PNR and there were all these other characters and I was a bit confused. And the political reality aspect of it threw me for a loop even though, I knew that was a big part of this book. But as I got deeper and deeper into the book, I realized that it was actually meant to be the series starter to a hopefully epic and lengthy series. The world building was done through character introductions and honestly, I want every single one of these characters to get their own books. (But not the Russian mafia people, obvs). I loved Neha and Joe, I loved how badass they were. I loved Neha's courage and how fierce she was. I loved Joe's inability to stay away from Neha despite wholeheartedly believing himself unworthy of her. And I loved the B plot romance as well. I can't wait for the next in this series and I really want a polyamorous love story between F/G/N. WITH SWORDS CROSSING.
Read
May 24, 2021This book is an "I'll come back to it later" type of book. It's dark. It's gritty. It's hard.
These are not things I typically mind, however right now, where we are in life, after that year we all just had, I really don't want dark and gritty and political, even if these are politics I agree with. I feel that this is important to say. I agree with all of the points the author was making. I actually typically love this author. But right now I can't. while I realize all books are political to a point, this was repeatedly being shoved to the forefront and I feel like maybe it could have been dialed back a bit. Not a ton! Not to the point where she loses her voice or her point, but it was just a lot.
I am not going to fully call this a DNF-I'm tabling it until I am in a headspace to read it later on.I'll come back to this one later. I'm just not feeling it, but since I love this author, I may just wait until I want something darker.
These are not things I typically mind, however right now, where we are in life, after that year we all just had, I really don't want dark and gritty and political, even if these are politics I agree with. I feel that this is important to say. I agree with all of the points the author was making. I actually typically love this author. But right now I can't. while I realize all books are political to a point, this was repeatedly being shoved to the forefront and I feel like maybe it could have been dialed back a bit. Not a ton! Not to the point where she loses her voice or her point, but it was just a lot.
I am not going to fully call this a DNF-I'm tabling it until I am in a headspace to read it later on.I'll come back to this one later. I'm just not feeling it, but since I love this author, I may just wait until I want something darker.
February 25, 2021
This book was fabulous. So as always with Suleikha Snyder, there was tons of hot sex, fun snark and unforgettable characters, not just our fabulous leads, Neha and Joe, but an entire supporting cast, Dany and Yulia, Finn, and Nate. All were fun and distinct and unique and interesting.
The plot was fabulous with just the right mix of action, mystery, romance, and again, hot sex.
I adored the gritty, intricate world building, and how it reflected ours but still naturally built in the the paranormal elements. I can't wait to go back into it for the second book in the series.
The plot was fabulous with just the right mix of action, mystery, romance, and again, hot sex.
I adored the gritty, intricate world building, and how it reflected ours but still naturally built in the the paranormal elements. I can't wait to go back into it for the second book in the series.
February 2, 2021
Disclaimer! I got an ARC from NetGalley. That has in no way influenced my review.
In a dystopian alternate reality, where the 2016 election led to the USA becoming a tightly regulated surveillance state, pretty much at the same time as the existence of a number of supernatural beings were revealed, several big cities, including New York, are now a Sanctuary City for supernaturals.
Joe Peluso, an ex-soldier turned werewolf through military experimentation, is in prison for murdering six bear shifters with ties to the Russian mafia. His legal team is determined to give him a proper defense, but Joe believes himself beyond redemption. He has no regrets about the murders that landed him in prison, which were in retaliation for the death of his foster brother. However, he is haunted by his years as a soldier and all the lives he ended during his long military career. He has no intention of sharing any information or revealing anything to his lawyers that might help him get a lighter sentence and fully expects to be killed in prison by Russian mobsters soon enough.
Neha Ahluwalia, one of the lawyers on his team, as well as a trained psychologist, believes that everyone deserves a chance. She can't really explain her near-instant attraction to Peluso, which just seems to grow with each of their meetings. Falling for one of their clients, let alone a werewolf with a long history of violence is utter madness, but Neha can't stay away. On the day of Joe's trial, she agrees to a brief meeting alone with him, and they end up going on the run together after the Russian mob attempts to kill Joe and creates chaos at the courthouse. While he might not see himself as worthy of love or affection, Neha has caught glimpses of the wounded and vulnerable man behind the gruff facade, and she's determined to fight for their happy ending.
I had hoped to have this review finished by the book's release date last week, but my depression had other ideas, and quite a lot of the things I wanted to achieve have had to be postponed. My friend and fellow Cannonball reviewer Emmalita reviewed this back in December (and has already used one of my favourite lines from the book as her review title and made me very excited to get to this. I've only ever read Suleikha Snyder's contemporary romance novella Tikka Chance on Me, so seeing her take on urban fantasy/paranormal romance was interesting and quite different.
There's a lot to like in this book, including the two main characters. I adored pretty much everything about Neha, including how completely unapologetic she was about was about embracing her desires once she admitted to herself that she fancied the pants off Joe. I could have done with a lot less self pitying, recriminations and angst from Joe (I have never had much patience with the oh woe is me, I'm so dark and unlovable because of my past dudes), but I guess feeling constantly guilty and not worthy of a wonderful lady like Neha is better than being an unapologetic sociopath who's full of himself.
It's quite clear that as well as the central romance between Neha and Joe, this book is setting up the wider world in which the Third Watch, the secret agency staffed by both humans and paranormals who end up helping our protagonsists on the run. There's a whole host of supporting characters, including an incredibly charming and very scene-stealing vampire, as well as a no nonsense surgeon, both of whom I hope feature in future books. There's a really nice focus on friendship and community thoughout the book and while I have a few niggles about the book as a romance (everything happens VERY fast between Neha and Joe - I would have liked a bit more time for them to get to know each other before declaring eternal love), I loved this as the start of a new paranormal fantasy series full of competence porn, great world building and interesting characters.
As far as I can tell from Ms. Snyder's Twitter, this series will be at least a trilogy. I can't wait to get my hands on more.
Judging a book by its cover: I absolutely see what the cover designer was trying to do here, but I'm not sure it entirely works.While I totally get that showing that just underneath the surface of our hero lurks a big, dangerous wolf, the actual effect of having two big yellow wolf eyes basically looking out at you from the torso of the muscular and very fit cover model is more distracting than enticing.
In a dystopian alternate reality, where the 2016 election led to the USA becoming a tightly regulated surveillance state, pretty much at the same time as the existence of a number of supernatural beings were revealed, several big cities, including New York, are now a Sanctuary City for supernaturals.
Joe Peluso, an ex-soldier turned werewolf through military experimentation, is in prison for murdering six bear shifters with ties to the Russian mafia. His legal team is determined to give him a proper defense, but Joe believes himself beyond redemption. He has no regrets about the murders that landed him in prison, which were in retaliation for the death of his foster brother. However, he is haunted by his years as a soldier and all the lives he ended during his long military career. He has no intention of sharing any information or revealing anything to his lawyers that might help him get a lighter sentence and fully expects to be killed in prison by Russian mobsters soon enough.
Neha Ahluwalia, one of the lawyers on his team, as well as a trained psychologist, believes that everyone deserves a chance. She can't really explain her near-instant attraction to Peluso, which just seems to grow with each of their meetings. Falling for one of their clients, let alone a werewolf with a long history of violence is utter madness, but Neha can't stay away. On the day of Joe's trial, she agrees to a brief meeting alone with him, and they end up going on the run together after the Russian mob attempts to kill Joe and creates chaos at the courthouse. While he might not see himself as worthy of love or affection, Neha has caught glimpses of the wounded and vulnerable man behind the gruff facade, and she's determined to fight for their happy ending.
I had hoped to have this review finished by the book's release date last week, but my depression had other ideas, and quite a lot of the things I wanted to achieve have had to be postponed. My friend and fellow Cannonball reviewer Emmalita reviewed this back in December (and has already used one of my favourite lines from the book as her review title and made me very excited to get to this. I've only ever read Suleikha Snyder's contemporary romance novella Tikka Chance on Me, so seeing her take on urban fantasy/paranormal romance was interesting and quite different.
There's a lot to like in this book, including the two main characters. I adored pretty much everything about Neha, including how completely unapologetic she was about was about embracing her desires once she admitted to herself that she fancied the pants off Joe. I could have done with a lot less self pitying, recriminations and angst from Joe (I have never had much patience with the oh woe is me, I'm so dark and unlovable because of my past dudes), but I guess feeling constantly guilty and not worthy of a wonderful lady like Neha is better than being an unapologetic sociopath who's full of himself.
It's quite clear that as well as the central romance between Neha and Joe, this book is setting up the wider world in which the Third Watch, the secret agency staffed by both humans and paranormals who end up helping our protagonsists on the run. There's a whole host of supporting characters, including an incredibly charming and very scene-stealing vampire, as well as a no nonsense surgeon, both of whom I hope feature in future books. There's a really nice focus on friendship and community thoughout the book and while I have a few niggles about the book as a romance (everything happens VERY fast between Neha and Joe - I would have liked a bit more time for them to get to know each other before declaring eternal love), I loved this as the start of a new paranormal fantasy series full of competence porn, great world building and interesting characters.
As far as I can tell from Ms. Snyder's Twitter, this series will be at least a trilogy. I can't wait to get my hands on more.
Judging a book by its cover: I absolutely see what the cover designer was trying to do here, but I'm not sure it entirely works.While I totally get that showing that just underneath the surface of our hero lurks a big, dangerous wolf, the actual effect of having two big yellow wolf eyes basically looking out at you from the torso of the muscular and very fit cover model is more distracting than enticing.
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