Big Bad Wolf by Suleikha Snyder
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I don’t read a ton of PNR – not for any real reason, it just tends to run under my radar; I plan to rectify this in 2021 – but when I saw the description for Big Bad Wolf by Suleikha Snyder, I knew I needed to get my hands on a copy. And once I did, I was not disappointed!

Joe Peluso doesn’t expect to make it out of prison alive. He’ll either get life and get killed while serving his time, or he’ll get less than life and still get killed while serving time. That’s what he signed up for when he went after the Russian mobsters responsible for the death of Kenny, his younger foster brother. The animal inside him may be caged, but the monster regrets nothing he did to those men. He knows he’s where he belongs. Not out in the world and certainly not in the arms of the beautiful and addictively brilliant Neha Ahluwalia. No matter how much he craves it.

Neha Ahluwalia doesn’t make bad decisions. She keeps visiting Joe Peluso in prison to help build his defense, not because of some strange obsession with the man himself. But when the opportunity arises to be alone with him, she throws propriety out the window. She needs him, in ways she doesn’t understand. She’s not this person…but when things go awry and she and Joe are on the run from enemies on all sides, Neha has to reevaluate everything she thought she knew about herself, the world around her, and what she’ll do for love.

Politics meets the Paranormal in the Big Bad Wolf, where humans, shifters, vampires, sorcerers, Russian mafias, and white supremacists exist in a world not all that different from ours. There was quite a bit of worldbuilding that had to take place in this first book, which Suleikha handled well without digging too deep and pushing me out of the story (although I may have rushed through some of it to get back to Joe and Neha…oops).

Joe and Neha are electric together, the perfect mix of explosive lust and gentle tenderness. I loved their banter, Joe’s vulnerability and Neha’s just absolute zero tolerance for Joe’s bullshit. Joe may be a stubborn ass, but he’s a loveable one with shit for self-esteem. Neha understands Joe. She knows why is the way he is, but also knows he can be better. Demands, in fact, that he be better. She never stops fighting for him, even when he gives up on himself. Meanwhile he’s willing to do anything to keep her safe. They’re imperfectly perfect for each other.

Part of Suleikha’s worldbuilding includes introducing us to the amazingly eclectic characters who make up the private security company Third Shift and setting up the buildup to the Big Bad (pun only slightly intended) and I can’t wait to see where the story goes next!

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.


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