Bride
- Jan 18
- 7 min read
Bride, Book One
by Ali Hazelwood
"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."
I had my eye on this when it released in 2024, since I do love myself a good shifter / fated mates story — but I hesitated because I went through a massive Vamp era in my teens, and am still a bit hungover all these year later. So I admit that what finally pushed me to actually buy and read it, was the hype around book 2, “Mate”. Even the synopsis sounds way better than this first one — so needless to say, I have very high expectations, since this was absolutely fantastic. It turned out to be exactly what I needed at the time to draw me in and distract me from… life? It’s such a funny book with many laugh-out-loud moments, while still managing to explore the romance properly as well as themes such as duty and isolation.
It’s basically about Vampyre “bride” (LOL) Misery, who is married off to the enemy — the Werewolf Alpha — to keep the peace between the species. Misery agrees to the arrangement, because she believes the Weres are behind her friend’s disappearance. Having grown up away from her family and kept as a hostage with the Humans as a child, her friend Serena is the only family she knows. Her father, a Vampyre leader, and her brother Owen, are both almost strangers to her.
So she comes to stay with the Werewolves, and is of course treated as the enemy there — at the start. But she and her Alpha husband, Lowe, quickly form a hesitant alliance and friendship, and his pack members are slowly won over. Meanwhile, the pack is dealing with a rebellion from other Weres, as well as the frail alliance with Humans and Vampyres.
Despite actually loving the book, there were a few things I would have liked to be fleshed out a bit — I would not at all have minded 100 extra pages.
First, I would have loved more time spent with Emery’s Loyals, especially considering that they actually were bad guys, if not the ones responsible for the kidnapping attempt. We were just kind of told at the end that they’d been dealt with, super vague. Even when they were actually visiting them, there was hardly any on-page interactions, so the whole plotline feels like a convenient misdirect from the Vamp plot — and a convenient excuse to get the sexy feeding started (no complaints about that part, though). It would just have been nice to have Emery be more of a personality, I guess. Will she be back in the next book? When we left off they were “dealing with her” and had her locked up, I guess, but since she is Koen’s relative it doesn’t seem impossible.
Another character I wish would have gotten more “screen time” is Juno. She and Misery finally made up, and then we were told they had movie- and game nights, but we never got to witness it, and they never had any real interactions on-page after that. Such a shame, because I had high hopes about her from the start. I wanted her to turn into a real friend and maybe a major character, and that just didn’t happen.
Also, the whole ending with the capture and following escape, as well as the confrontation with Dad and the aftermath — just as with Emery, this major plot point felt really rushed and compacted, and the resolution way too convenient.
For example, the fact that Serena had been locked up for literally months and they escape… what? 5 minutes after Misery gets there? I can’t take that seriously.
And then they’re taken to Dad to do the whole villain monologue-thing, and Owen and Lowe just pop in out of nowhere, there’s a quick fight we barely witness, and then Misery basically goes to sleep and that’s it. The whole thing was very rushed and a bit odd. I know we’re only doing Misery’s POV until the epilogue, but there could have been, like, a moment of eye contact with Owen across the building while they were lead to the office, which then prompted him to contact Lowe and act out their play. Or something.
… I’m wondering whether Owen will be the MC of a potentially upcoming threequel? I rather enjoyed him, and I think I can’t be the only one. Also, a bit fun (despite the hangover) to change the MMC’s species after doing two Weres, unless we’re going the Human route with one of the MCs, I guess.
P.S. What the hell was that green gunk from the wedding — it never got explained, and I thought for sure it was gonna be this big thing. I had so many questions: scent enhancer or transformer? Why did they smear it on her? To entice him? Repel him? Make him think she was his mate? Disguise the fact? I feel like in the end, it made 0 impact on the story since he always knew they were mates, and loved her scent without it. Lingering question that is giving me an unreasonable amount of frustration.
Having read a lot of arranged marriage-stories, something I did like was that it wasn’t just a forced marriage, but Misery had her own motives to agree. I feel like it leant an easier dynamic to their relationship from the start, and meant they didn’t have to be enemies, or Misery be some kind of captive. While she was obviously still an outcast, and the rest of the pack took some convincing, at least they didn’t need to be dicks to each other. (LOL, why is that unusual for my reads?)
Besides the misunderstandings and lies around the mating, which nearly drove me up the wall with frustration at times, Misery and Lowe had some really lovely and open moments. I loved how they spoke to each other and respected each other, and how I saw their friendship growing as well as their attraction to each other. Reading from Misery’s POV, it wasn’t an insta-love situation, but a build-up of respect and a really comforting presence, which had really been lacking for her before. And I really loved that.
Sometimes I’ll feel his low voice vibrate through the walls. Firm orders. Long, hushed conversations. Once, memorably, right as I slid into my closet for my midday rest, a deep laugh followed by Ana’s delighted screams. I drifted asleep moments later, second-guessing what I heard.
The book also talked a lot about Misery’s isolation, both with her own kind and then with the Weres. It was actually really well done, and though often baked in with a lot of humor, it still felt raw and real.
He seems beloved. Accepted. Belonging, and I wonder what that feels like.
His fingers close softly around my ankle, the metal of his wedding band hot against skin and bones, and for the first time in more than I can remember, I feel held.
I also loved the little epigraphs, with tiny glimpses into Lowe’s mind. I found most of them really sweet, and the concept felt new and fun. Sure, it’s obviously not uncommon with a header, but the ones I usually see are little poems or quotes as foreshadowing elements, and most of these were just Lowe simpering over Misery. I at least can’t recall a specific book that’s done the same (don’t fact check me, please, in case there are actually many, many that I’ll think of later).
A couple of examples:
The scent is growing into more than just a problem. It invades. It swirls. It travels. It sticks to his nose. It concentrates, sometimes. They rarely touch. When they did, her wrist accidentally brushed against the front of his shirt, and he found himself tearing off the piece of fabric where her smell was most intense. He slipped it in his pocket, and now carries it everywhere. Even as he leaves to avoid her.
She’s not like he imagined. She’s more, in every possible way.
⭐⭐⭐⭐ 🌶️🌶️🌶️.5
~🖤~ FAVOURITE QUOTES ~🖤~ |
We all want to think that we’re important to the people who are important to us. |
“Maybe there is something devastating about the incompleteness of it. But maybe, just knowing that the other person is there…” His throat bobs. “There might be pleasure in that, too. The satisfaction of knowing that something beautiful exists.” His lips open and close a few times, as though he can only find the right words by shaping them first to himself. “Maybe some things transcend reciprocity. Maybe not everything is about having.” |
“I would take anything she chose to give me—the tiniest fraction of her entire world. I would take her for a single night knowing that I’ll lose her by morning, and I would hold on to her and never let go. I would take her healthy, or sick, or tired, or angry, or strong, and it would be my fucking privilege. I would take her problems, her gifts, her moods, her passions, her jokes, her body—I would take every last thing, if she chose to give it to me.” |
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