Bride by Ali Hazelwood

 

Bride

by Ali Hazelwood

Ali Hazelwood's venture into paranormal romance was nothing short of a slay! I've loved her contemporary romance books, but Bride just takes the cake. I can't believe just how much I enjoyed Bride and everything it had to offer. I was so hooked that even though I had pre-ordered it as an ebook, I found myself rushing to the bookstore in the middle of reading to get my hands on a physical copy. It's one of my most fun reads of the year and I can't wait to dive back in.

In Bride, Misery Lark, the daughter of a powerful Vampyre councilman, finds herself in an arranged marriage with Lowe Moreland, the Alpha of a Werewolf pack, as part of a historic peacekeeping alliance between their two species. Despite their mutual distrust, Misery and Lowe are forced to navigate their new life together in Were territory. However, Misery harbors her own secret motives for agreeing to the marriage, driven by a personal quest to reclaim something precious to her, even if it means facing a life of solitude among the wolves.

What I liked about Bride is that it's not a book that's pretending to be a game-changer for the paranormal romance genre. Instead of attempting to re-invent the wheel, it felt like Ali Hazelwood's love letter to PNR. The book has a campy and trope-laden narrative and may therefore not appeal to every reader, but for me, it ticked all the right boxes. Hazelwood deftly navigated the familiar territory of werewolf, vampire, and human politics, providing just enough world-building to create a solid foundation without overcomplicating matters. One particularly intriguing aspect of Bride was its unique take on the concept of mates. In Hazelwood's universe, mating is a one-sided affair, where a wolf can form a bond with someone without that person necessarily reciprocating those feelings.  

The plot too felt like a heartfelt homage to paranormal romance. I enjoyed every minute of it despite anticipating every twist and turn. The book also had a traditional "big bad" and while his identity may not come as a shocking revelation, it contributed to the book's delightfully campy atmosphere. Bride also served as my introduction to the omegaverse, and I appreciated that Hazelwood kept things relatively tame. From what I've heard, the omegaverse can venture into some pretty wild territory, and I'm not sure I'm quite ready to dive into those uncharted waters just yet... 👀

As far as characters go, Misery is my favorite Ali Hazelwood character to date, with her quiet and compelling strength. As a Vampyre, she has mostly been isolated, but she still managed to possess a strong moral compass that guided her actions. I was particularly drawn to her deep bond with Serena, her childhood best friend, who really was more of her soulmate, which served as the driving force behind every decision Misery made in Bride. This unwavering love and loyalty added a beautiful layer of depth to her character. Lowe, the powerful and enigmatic werewolf alpha, was a tougher nut to crack as we're not privy to his point of view. However, Hazelwood cleverly provides crumbs of his personality through the chapter openers of Bride. Fans of the boy-obsessed trope, you're in for a treat with Lowe! He did drive me up the wall a few times with his stubbornness, but I also respected why he had built such a fortress around his heart.

Lowe's chemistry with Misery was a slow bubbling one. I'm always a big fan of the marriage-of-convenience trope, and I thought it was well executed. I can say that I ate up the romance. Their attraction to each other was laced with crack, I swear! Every scene they shared had me kicking my feet because I was ENAMORED. I also loved how Lowe's banter-y and flirty side only came out around Misery. It was like a part of him that he showed just to her! 🥰 

To be frank, I could write even more paragraphs about everything I loved about Bride, but I'll keep it to just this for now as this review is getting too long. I don't know if it has been confirmed anywhere, but I am really hoping that Ali Hazelwood returns to this world. There are definitely some characters who deserve to be paired up! I am BEGGING. 🥺