The Heat (The Big Bad Wolf #1)
by Heather Killough-Walden
First of all, I want to say that I really, really wanted to write a nice review but I just can’t help myself with this sorry- excuse=of-a-book. It’s like I have been hurled into some alternative universe in which every book I start is bad and shitty.
The latest book I read is The Heat from The Big Bad Wolf series which I started only because I wanted to read its spin off series (The Kings). I actually have no idea where to start from, there are so many things that I didn’t like about this book that I am … dumbfounded and that’s why I will begin my list with the things that irritated me to the nth degree.
1. “During the course of her job, she’d been trained to teach women that a man’s invading penis was not something to fight against to the point of coming to real harm. It was not worth dying for. It was taught that the important thing was to live through a rape- and deal with the rest later.”
What the Fuck!!! Really, Walden?! I personally had to read this paragraph at least twice because I couldn’t believe that the author really suggested that during a rape the victim should just lay there and not fight! I have a question for her – if she was the victim would she stop fighting and let some scum destroy her? I really don’t think so. The fact that Walden engages such a serious object in that sort of way is just beyond me! If it was just some prick who was trying to steal the heroine’s purse or something like that I would understand that kind of logic but to react like this to rape … No comment.
2. Tabitha, my sweet good Tabitha, if you were my best friend, firstly I will actually feel sorry for myself and secondly I will kill you – painfully. How can a so-called “best friend” be so egoistical, so self-absorbed and stupid?! She actually preferred to risk, never mind her friend’s but also her brother’s future (who is her only family) because she was afraid she would lose Lily’s friendship. Why wasn’t Lily pissed off at her I really don’t know! She should have kicked Tabitha’s ass to hell and back and it still wouldn’t have been enough. Who in their right mind would send their closest friend away knowing she is in danger, that she could be marked by the wrong person and be miserable for the rest of her very, very long life?!? On top of that, little Tabitha actually hid Lily from no other but her own brother – talk about jealousy! And oh wait, I forgot the itsy bitsy detail that Lily was Daniel’s only chance of happiness and without her he would actually go insane – now that’s some sisterly love there! Oh, this only reminds me that she also shot the same brother. Why? ‘Cuz, little sweet Tabitha was pissed at him. See the irony!! I can continue rambling on and on about the sheer stupidity of this character but I think I made my point.
3. Now to get to the main characters – Lily and Daniel. For me it felt like it could have been a little more developed but actually they weren’t that bad. In my experience the first book from a series is almost always, let’s just say, not good. That’s why I am not judging them too harshly. There were some nice moments, like the one with the bike, which I really enjoyed. However there was something that kept irritating me about their relationship. I can’t say exactly what it was. Maybe it was that there weren’t enough moments where the two of them actually were together or the fact there wasn’t enough dialogue between the two. The thing is, they saw each other and BOOM! They were madly in love. I get the fact that they had it bad for each other in high school. But the reality is they haven’t met in 10 years – people change a lot. They don’t know each other but nevertheless they fall in love without even talking. Excuse me, but I find that highly implausible. Now, I know some will say they were meant to be or some bullshit among those lines. I have read a lot of books containing that motive and, even though the main characters were “written in the stars” or “it’s their destiny”. the part of getting to know one another, building a relationship, starting to care and then falling in love still existed. In this book I find that lacking which for me means that Walden didn’t do her job.
4. The writing was, to be mildly put – unpolished. The fact that I found myself skidding through the lines must be enough to prove how bad it was at times. Half through the book (the moment where Malcolm disappeared) I lost absolute interest and actually stopped reading it for 2 days (for me that is a very long period). The author just didn’t give a flying shit about the main characters. I finished this book only because firstly, I hate leaving books when I am half-way through and then secondly – I wanted to be able to write an objective review.
5. When you sum up all the things above you can imagine that at some point I was way pass the limit of my tolerance. After that every little detail started to annoy me. For example, why everyone liked Lily – it was like they haven’t seen a female in years; why didn’t Daniel say something, anything to Lily instead of just chaining her to his bed like a total Neanderthal. He was in a kind of hurry, well how fucking long does it take to say “You are in danger because you are my wolf mate. I will explain later. Some bad men are coming to get you and that’s why I will mark you.” But oh nooo, that would take too long, like 60 seconds. Also the absolutely shitty fact that the main villain got off waaay too easily. In my opinion, he should have been painfully dismembered but I guess I have a lot less control than an angry pack of werewolves. Ha! Who would have thought that x.X. If everything else was good about this book I probably wouldn’t have even noticed these things but now they just contribute to my growing irritation.
6. The only good thing – Malcolm!! This was the only character that I did care for. He was interesting, powerful, cursed and fucked up – just the way I love them. His story was actually well-made and left you wondering what will happen to him. The thing is that he doesn’t stay till the end of the book and with his disappearance went all of my interest down the drain. Just because of him I was ready to read the second book (his book) but after what my fellow blogger Krissy told me about it – I highly doubt it. But you will have the pleasure of reading her review of the second book.
In the end all I will say is – DO NOT READ THIS BOOK! It will be a total waste of your time. That’s the reason why it’s a proud member of the Why? WHY?! category.
~ El
Dirty Little Books 