Big Bad Wolf

I’ll admit, I rolled my eyes at the ‘big bad wolf’ premise—until Ruby Bellerose opened her mouth. This isn’t a damsel waiting for a fairy-tale rescue; it’s a woman who’s already survived the woods, thank you very much, and her sharp-tongued skepticism about the town’s new ‘lumberjack’ (spoiler: he’s *not* just good with an axe) makes their dynamic electric. The audiobook’s pacing is its secret weapon: Gilmore trims the fat, so every scene either deepens the mystery (why *does* Maple Hollow have so many ‘accidental’ livestock deaths?) or cranks up the heat. That said, the paranormal reveal in Act 2 feels slightly rushed—like the story blinks and suddenly we’re in full supernatural mode, when a slower unraveling might’ve amped the tension. Narration-wise, this is a make-or-break performance. The preview clips I’ve heard (yes, I hunted them down) suggest a narrator who nails Ruby’s dry wit but occasionally stumbles on the wolf’s deeper register, making his growls veer into cartoonish territory. A shame, because the *writing* for his character is nuanced—less ‘possessive alpha’ and more ‘man who’s spent centuries hiding his claws, and it’s exhausting.’ The production quality is crisp, though, with atmospheric touches (distant howls, creaking floorboards) that never overshadow the dialogue. If you love romances where the love interest is genuinely *other*—not just a human in a monster’s clothing—and heroines who’d rather bake a pie than play victim, this is your next listen. Just cross your fingers the final narrator leans into the grit, not the growl.