Rating: 5/5
Trigger Warnings: blood, mild violence
About the Book:
Author: Ali Hazelwood
Published: February 6th, 2024
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Description:
A dangerous alliance between a Vampyre bride and an Alpha Werewolf becomes a love deep enough to sink your teeth into in this new paranormal romance.
Misery Lark, the only daughter of the most powerful Vampyre councilman of the Southwest, is an outcast—again. Her days of living in anonymity among the Humans are over: she has been called upon to uphold a historic peacekeeping alliance between the Vampyres and their mortal enemies, the Weres, and she sees little choice but to surrender herself in the exchange—again...
Weres are ruthless and unpredictable, and their Alpha, Lowe Moreland, is no exception. He rules his pack with absolute authority, but not without justice. And, unlike the Vampyre Council, not without feeling. It’s clear from the way he tracks Misery’s every movement that he doesn’t trust her. If only he knew how right he was….
Because Misery has her own reasons to agree to this marriage of convenience, reasons that have nothing to do with politics or alliances, and everything to do with the only thing she's ever cared about. And she is willing to do whatever it takes to get back what’s hers, even if it means a life alone in Were territory…alone with the wolf.
Review:
Bride is Ali Hazelwood’s first venture into writing a published paranormal romance, a different style of novel than her popular contemporary romances that centre around women in STEM. She executes this sub-genre debut with the ease of someone who has been writing it for years. The plot of Bride follows one of my personal favourite tropes, arranged marriage, and Hazelwood perfectly captures the initial reluctance, unwilling friendship, and full-on love that typically characterizes it. All of this is done within a world where Weres (Alphas included) and Vampyres hate each other due to many long years of animosity and violence between them.
Bride is written from the perspective of Misery Lark, Vampyre daughter of the head of the species’ council who enters an arranged marriage at the request of her evil father. Her life has been filled with betrayal and uncertainty, leaving her with abandonment issues and struggles with codependency, among other insecurities. I found her character arc incredibly well done. She grew throughout, becoming more confident without losing the essence that made her uniquely herself from the book’s first pages. She was also incredibly relatable, falling hard for Lowe, the MMC and Alpha, in a way that felt true and authentic. Lowe himself was seemingly more self-assured, though his own issues became apparent as the story went along. Together, they proved to be a caring couple with a relationship based on a foundational trust that paired well with the natural lust they felt for each other.
I cared for Misery and Lowe, hoping for their success, but that’s not to say that the book's other characters were dull. From her sarcastic twin brother Owen to the mysterious Serena, and, of course, Ana and Sparkles, the FMC and MMC were surrounded by charming characters that enhanced my reading experience. This is sometimes something that is neglected in the romance genre as authors might focus more on the main couple, forgetting to give them what’s most important, friends and family. I felt connected to the characters, and therefore, the story overall. Additionally, the pacing of the book was absolutely perfect, in my opinion, as it was a fast read while also being full to the brim with authenticity, good characters, and an awesome sense of humour.
Lastly, I wanted to note, that Bride is the perfect introduction for readers to Omegaverse, and I can say this with confidence because it was for me! This book was my first of the sub-genre and I found it understandable without having much prior experience or knowledge. The main concepts were not only explained well but they were written in a way that felt instinctively normal and right to me as a first-time reader. If you’re hesitant to try a book of this type, Bride by Ali Hazelwood is definitely the one to start with.
Comments