Big Bad Wolf by Laurie Gilmore: My Honest Review
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⭐ Quick Verdict
⭐ My Rating: 3.5 ★
💭 Quick Take: A cozy, contemporary-feeling werewolf romance with great chemistry and enough suspense to keep me turning the pages, even if the story felt a little too drawn out for what it ultimately delivered.
👉 Read If You Love:
- Werewolf romance
- Contemporary-feeling paranormal romance
- Fall vibes
- Romantic suspense woven into your love story
🚫 Skip if:
- You don’t like cliffhanger endings
- You want a fast-paced paranormal romance
- You’re expecting the same level of small-town coziness as the Dream Harbor series
- You prefer a lot of world-building and werewolf pack politics
Book Details
Release Date: September 2026
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Tropes: Werewolf Romance, Small Town, Protective Hero
Series: Maple Hollow
Steam Level: Medium
POV: Dual
What This Book Is About
Ruby spends long hours working at the local bar to support herself and her twin sister, Lena. She’s heard all the local stories about the massive wolves roaming the nearby woods, but that doesn’t stop her from walking home through those very woods at night.
That’s where Rafe comes in. He’s a loner who believes he’s better off staying that way, but there’s something about Ruby he can’t ignore. As their attraction grows, Lena’s unexplained blackouts add another mystery to the story while Ruby discovers that the local stories about wolves aren’t just stories after all.
My Review of Big Bad Wolf
It doesn’t take much to convince me to read a new werewolf romance, especially when it promises some small-town charm from Laurie Gilmore. I’ll fully admit that the cover had me grabbing this one too.
Overall, I enjoyed Big Bad Wolf. I went into it expecting a few nods to Little Red Riding Hood and a werewolf romance that felt more like a contemporary romance with a shapeshifter than a hardcore paranormal romance, and that’s exactly what Laurie delivers.
I didn’t initially realize that Laurie had written this story years ago under another pen name before rewriting and publishing it as Big Bad Wolf. Knowing that afterward didn’t change my reading experience.
Ruby is a strong heroine who’s easy to root for. She’s working a ton of hours at the local bar to support herself and her twin sister, and I liked how much her love for Lena came through. Lena’s mysterious blackouts also add a thread of suspense that runs throughout the story and kept me wondering what was really happening in Maple Hollow.
Ruby also takes the whole werewolf revelation surprisingly well. Once she discovers Rafe’s secret, she’s basically like, OK, you’re a wolf, and moves on. Honestly, I didn’t mind because it allowed the story to keep moving rather than spending chapters convincing her that werewolves exist.
And Rafe is definitely the kind of werewolf shifter hero I want to read about. He’s a loner who has convinced himself he should stay alone, which means he fights his attraction to Ruby over and over again despite their obvious connection.
That back-and-forth did get a little repetitive for me, but thankfully these two eventually come to their senses.
Rafe definitely isn’t afraid to let his alpha side show when it comes to protecting Ruby, but I also liked that there was a kindheartedness underneath it. Once his focus turns to Ruby, he’s very much about her, and their attraction and chemistry were easily one of the strongest parts of the book.
My biggest issue was that the story felt long for the amount of development we ultimately got. We get a good sense of Ruby and Rafe and the struggles affecting their lives, but there isn’t a ton of additional character development or world-building to fill out the longer story. The pack politics are there too, but we only get glimpses of that larger conflict.
I enjoyed getting to know Ruby’s best friend Callie and her new boyfriend, and we also get glimpses of Rafe’s younger brother, Theo, and his attraction to Phoebe. But knowing they’re getting book two surprised me a bit because the cliffhanger itself left me much more focused on Lena and what happens next with her story.
One thing I would clarify for readers coming to this because they love Laurie’s Dream Harbor books: the small-town setting is here, but it isn’t as central to the reading experience. This is much more about Ruby and Rafe, their connection, the werewolf element, and the suspense woven throughout the story.
*I received an advance reader copy. All opinions are my own.
What I Loved
- Ruby and Rafe’s chemistry
- Rafe’s protective alpha side mixed with his kindheartedness
- The mystery surrounding Lena’s blackouts
- Suspense woven throughout the romance
- A werewolf romance that still feels very contemporary
- Cozy fall vibes without going too heavy on the paranormal world-building
Things to Know Before You Read
- This story was previously written by Laurie Gilmore under another pen name and has since been rewritten and republished
- There are Little Red Riding Hood connections, but they aren’t a major part of the story
- The small-town element isn’t as prominent as it is in the Dream Harbor series
- Some of Rafe’s resistance to his attraction to Ruby becomes repetitive
- The story ends on a cliffhanger
Final Thoughts
Big Bad Wolf was an enjoyable werewolf romance that gave me the chemistry, protective shifter hero, fall atmosphere, and touch of suspense I was hoping for. Ruby and Rafe were easy to root for, while the larger mystery kept me curious about where the series is headed.
My biggest issue was really the pacing. For the amount of character and story development we get before reaching a cliffhanger, I think this could have been a tighter read. That kept it from being a standout werewolf romance for me, but it didn’t stop me from enjoying Ruby and Rafe along the way.
If you like your paranormal romance on the lighter side and want something that feels more like a contemporary small-town romance with werewolves, Big Bad Wolf is worth checking out. Just know going in that you’re not getting all the answers by the final page because that cliffhanger is definitely setting us up for more from Maple Hollow.
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