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A review by readclever
Big Bad Wolf by Suleikha Snyder
3.0
Thank you, Suleikha Snyder, Sourcebooks, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review an eARC. Provided for an honest review.
This is a complicated review. So many elements are in my wheelhouse: shifters, a dystopian future, a competent heroine and a cast of characters. The problem falls into the way it was edited and organized..
Between the self-hate repetition--some just pages earlier--and a lack of zapping chemistry made the fated mates trope fall flat. It felt like empty space between the plot points. How do I invest in a character (Joe) that is nothing but self-loathing to the point even a honest, conscientious heroine (Neha) can't make him real?
I love a strong world. One of my top catnips for any genre. Give me a spiraling world with a lot of complex systems. The problem was that the world overtook the romance as a character driver. In truth, it felt more like an urban fantasy instead of romance. Love urban fantasy. But that wasn't what was presented when reading the synopsis or marketing.
I hate leaving a not-so-positive review because I love Suleikha Snyder's writing. But the lack of emotional connection pulled away from the romance. I didn't believe in the love. Joe was too self-hating, too negative, against Neha's burgeoning optimism. Sex isn't the only form of intimacy in a perilous world.
I needed to believe in them and Joe wasn't a hero I could like in any way. Had he been the hero in the second book the concept could have worked better. A space where readers could see him previously dealing with his obvious PTSD at the Brooklyn Hilton in counter to Neha's forced PTSD from being a Sikh in a rising nationalistic white Christian United States. But there was zero focus on the commonalities of a harsh world, even though readers spend at least 45-50% of the book with his regrets and shame spirals.
Absolutely loved Neha's friends and her family network. And the outcome of being honorable in a world with not enough grey spaces for people to survive in. Auntie network thrilled me. Love a good community build up. That's something a lot of people can understand: found families in a world that isn't kind. Pretty much a base line for the current romance market. Again: catnip.
And the use of different shifters, like the Naga, which show that it's not just Western Europe that loves a good paranormal shift. Kind of hoping for some werehippos in the series, honestly. A different kind of apex predator.
I have to give the book a solid three stars. That's for concept and worldbuilding, mostly. Neha had potential but I think she was wasted on a man without layers...beyond lust. The interconnected subplots didn't necessarily hold my attention because I wasn't invested in the world. I know Snyder writes better. I'm hoping a different editing shift in the next book will let that shine through.
This is a complicated review. So many elements are in my wheelhouse: shifters, a dystopian future, a competent heroine and a cast of characters. The problem falls into the way it was edited and organized..
Between the self-hate repetition--some just pages earlier--and a lack of zapping chemistry made the fated mates trope fall flat. It felt like empty space between the plot points. How do I invest in a character (Joe) that is nothing but self-loathing to the point even a honest, conscientious heroine (Neha) can't make him real?
I love a strong world. One of my top catnips for any genre. Give me a spiraling world with a lot of complex systems. The problem was that the world overtook the romance as a character driver. In truth, it felt more like an urban fantasy instead of romance. Love urban fantasy. But that wasn't what was presented when reading the synopsis or marketing.
I hate leaving a not-so-positive review because I love Suleikha Snyder's writing. But the lack of emotional connection pulled away from the romance. I didn't believe in the love. Joe was too self-hating, too negative, against Neha's burgeoning optimism. Sex isn't the only form of intimacy in a perilous world.
I needed to believe in them and Joe wasn't a hero I could like in any way. Had he been the hero in the second book the concept could have worked better. A space where readers could see him previously dealing with his obvious PTSD at the Brooklyn Hilton in counter to Neha's forced PTSD from being a Sikh in a rising nationalistic white Christian United States. But there was zero focus on the commonalities of a harsh world, even though readers spend at least 45-50% of the book with his regrets and shame spirals.
Absolutely loved Neha's friends and her family network. And the outcome of being honorable in a world with not enough grey spaces for people to survive in. Auntie network thrilled me. Love a good community build up. That's something a lot of people can understand: found families in a world that isn't kind. Pretty much a base line for the current romance market. Again: catnip.
And the use of different shifters, like the Naga, which show that it's not just Western Europe that loves a good paranormal shift. Kind of hoping for some werehippos in the series, honestly. A different kind of apex predator.
I have to give the book a solid three stars. That's for concept and worldbuilding, mostly. Neha had potential but I think she was wasted on a man without layers...beyond lust. The interconnected subplots didn't necessarily hold my attention because I wasn't invested in the world. I know Snyder writes better. I'm hoping a different editing shift in the next book will let that shine through.