Title: Bride
Author: Ali Hazelwood
Publisher: Berkley
Publish Date: February 6, 2024
Genre: Adult Paranormal Romance
Pages: 416
Format: Paperback

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.

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As my first Ali Hazelwood book, I gotta say that I really enjoyed it. It was a fast-paced read with romance, mates, vampires, and mystery. What’s not to love about that?

Misery is our main female protagonist who’s searching for her missing best friend – which is a plot thread I’m glad wasn’t forgotten about throughout the whole book. I thought that she was an enjoyable character who had a lot of quips for whoever she talked to, a soft spot for kids, and a drive to make sure her best friend is alive. Throughout the book I believe I found myself laughing out loud to some of the things that Misery says because she’s got a dry sense of humor.

Lowe is very much what I expected for the main male protagonist with his heart of gold, fierce protection of his people, and his drive to stay away from Misery as long as possible. I actually really enjoyed him as a character and felt that he was done well in terms of the werewolf thing – which isn’t like a classic werewolf, nor like the ones from Twilight back in the day.

The plot focuses on this marriage of convenience and how it’s the driving factor for much of what happens, except for Misery’s missing friend. It just so happens that being in wolf territory helps her more than hinders her in her search. There’s also other underlying plot points that can be seen throughout the story, and though I felt that some parts weren’t fleshed out quite like how I would like, it was still entertaining regardless.

The romance between our two main characters is believable because it’s gradual. There’s reluctance at first, and then a spark, and then slowly over time the two are drawn together like moths to a flame. I enjoyed that aspect of the story a lot.

(Also, since I’m sure some of you may have heard this is an “omegaverse” story, it’s not. As someone who has read her fair share in her time, this is not omegaverse at all lol)

If you’re looking for a vampire/werewolf romance in your life to fill your old Twilight heart, I definitely recommend this book. It was a quick, fun read that I’m sure I’ll enjoy again whenever I decide to reread it.

★★★★☆