Bride

Like so many romance readers out there, I’ve become a fan of Ali Hazelwood ever since her debut novel, The Love Hypothesis. Up until recently, she’d focused on adult STEMinist romances, but now she’s branching out a bit more. Following her first young adult novel last November, she is now offering up her first taste of (adult) paranormal romance with Bride. Set in a paranormal universe not unlike our current world, it follows a Vampyre woman and her marriage to a Were Alpha, all in the name of forging an alliance between the two species. But what starts off as a political marriage of convenience turns into a mystery and a true love story.

Special thanks to the publicists at Penguin Random House and to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!

Summary

Misery Lark is the daughter of a powerful Vampyre councilman, and has spent much of her life on missions living with other species (until now, just Humans) in the name of ensuring safety for her people. Her newest mission is to help form a stronger tie with the Weres. The method for this political goal? Marriage to the Were Alpha, Lowe Moreland. Despite centuries of contentious relations between Vampyres and Weres, and despite some initial hostility Misery encounters upon moving into Were territory, she may have finally found a home where she belongs. But first, she has a missing person to find, a mystery to unravel, and a tentative romance blossoming with none other than her new Were husband.

Review

Until now, I’ve only known Ali Hazelwood for her contemporary romances highlighting women in STEM—usually in an enemies-to-lovers setup. But Bride breathes new life into her love stories, both with its paranormal world and characters and with its new romance trope: a marriage of convenience. Sure, Misery Lark and Lowe Moreland are technically from two different species that have been rivals for centuries. But they only first meet during their wedding to each other, and despite some initial distrust (especially on Misery’s part), they get a tentative slow burn romance within their unconventional and politically motivated marriage.

I’ve only just started reading paranormal romances in the past few months, so I can’t speak to how Bride stacks up against the major books within the genre. But personally I really enjoyed this. It’s not trying to present too much that’s new; rather, it’s working within the scope of well-known paranormal beings, in this case Vampyres and Weres (vampires and werewolves). The setting is a contemporary southern United States, in a world where Humans, Vampyres, and Weres have lived side-by-side for centuries, though not necessarily harmoniously. Misery spent 10 years of her childhood as a Collateral living with the Humans—basically, a hostage meant to keep relations between the two species benevolent. Now she gets to repeat that experience, albeit under a new title: wife of the Were Alpha. While she’ll spend a year living in Were territory, a Were Collateral will be living with the Vampyres for the same duration (though apparently not as a bride).

While I went into this expecting it to be focused on the romance, Bride also surprised me with some extra plot points. Misery’s main reason for accepting this position as wife of a Were is so she can look into the mystery of her missing best friend. Something happened to her childhood friend, and Misery thinks Lowe (her new husband) may have some secret knowledge about that. Misery plays detective, snooping as much as she can whenever the Weres aren’t guarding her too closely. I enjoyed the mystery element throughout Bride, including the eventful ending sequence when all is revealed.

Despite the paranormal aspects and the inclusion of some mystery, Bride is still identifiable as an Ali Hazelwood romance. It still has her signature sense of humor and lightness. Misery is an engaging first-person narrator throughout the novel, and she has some background in STEM, making her a bit more familiar to devoted readers. The love story between Misery and Lowe unfolds differently from previous novels by the author, making it refreshing and all the sweeter. I also loved the relationships between siblings and friends here, bolstering the cast and giving it a sense of found family in addition to romance.

Final Thoughts

Bride is an engrossing and quick-paced romance, with mystery and paranormal activity and politics to fill it out. There’s a certain sweetness to it (though it does get steamy…complete with biting), and I enjoyed the whole story from start to finish. While I will absolutely keep reading Ali Hazelwood’s contemporary romances, I hope she’ll also continue writing paranormal romances and even explore other genres, too—her talent translates well to new kinds of stories, and I’ll follow wherever her writing takes us.

Get the Book

You can buy Bride here – it’s available as a hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook.

Bride by Ali Hazelwood
Audience	Adult
Genre	Paranormal Romance
Setting	Southern US
Number of Pages	416
Format I Read	Ebook (NetGalley ARC)
Original Publication Date	February 6, 2024
Publisher	Berkley

Official Summary

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 from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Love, Theoretically and The Love Hypothesis.

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.