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.
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.
Title: Bride
Author: Ali Hazelwood
Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group
Expected Publication Date: February 6, 2024
Review:
Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for supplying me with an egalley of this book to read and review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
What happens when a vampyre and a wearwolf get throw together for a marriage of convenience and alliance? Not only do sparks fly but the lies that have kept their two cultures fighting for years come to the surface and put everyone's lives at risk.
Ali Hazelwood is the queen of writing quirky, nerdy, and fun characters. So sinking my teeth into this one was a no brainer. I will say, I was worried about the paranormal aspect. I love some good paranormal characters but I wasn't sure how Hazelwood would work that into her romance writing. Let me tell you, she did a fabulous job. This book is her best romance yet. Close proximity, forced companionship, enemies to lovers, and forbidden love turn into sexy, melt your heart attraction and a fabulous plot line to boot!
I love the world building Hazelwood has given us: Vampyres, Wearwolves, and Humans living on the brim of constant war. She easily creates their territories and then the tension that accompanies these groups as enemies. This tension leaves you wondering how there will ever be any romance in the book when these cultures have lived with hate for each other all their lives.
I don't want to compare this to Twilight, but I just have to do it because it definitely has a bit of that feel. And I loved every minute of it. Hazelwood creates that same type of atmosphere flawlessly. There is the tension between the different groups, the fear of a clash that will end in someone dying, and also the forbidden romance that you cheer on! But there's also the theme of having a mate or being linked to another being in some way that cannot be broken. Think Jacob and Renesme. At the same time, this is so much more grown up. And there is zero love triangle!
The chapter headings! Hazelwood didn't make this book dual POV BUT the chapters headings give you all you need to know about the male main character., Lowe Moreland I don't know how the author was able to choose just the right words to introduce the chapters in just a sentence or two, but boy did they help build the relationship and tension between the MMC and the FMC.
Lowe Moreland, oh Lowe! He is powerful and protective. I love this Alpha who takes his job so seriously he is willing to sacrifice himself for anyone in his pack. His pull to Misery is unmistakable. I love how Hazelwood created this strong, confident, loyal character that, despite being forced to be in the presence of Misery, is determined to keep her safe. Oh and can I mention that his personality just makes him all the more sexy? He's super perceptive and this allows him to really see people and know who they are without having to ask a lot of questions.
Misery Lark truly fits Hazelwood's quirky female character theme. Misery, who chooses to live apart from the other vampyres, with the humans, because she just is not like her counterparts. But she's also a character who refuses to truly let anyone in because of her past experiences with being a pawn for her father and the vampyre community. And she's a character who doesn't feel she is worthy of ever having anyone love her or lean on her. I love her character arc in this book. She's not a typical vampyre, though, which you can tell right off the bat. She even alludes to it, that her culture is stoic and does not have any emotion or true connections between each other beyond keeping their race gong. She cares, which is not typical for her people. So you know from the very beginning there will be some rebellion from her.
And the side characters really gave so much to the story and were also well thought out. Anna is adorable and her relationship with Misery is so much fun to watch. Alex makes me laugh with his fear of Misery but at the same time his want to be her friend. Misery's brother Owen is fearless and I love how his character arc happened. Serena, her best and only friend, is just as fun and quirky as Misery, it's no wonder they get along so well. And there are so many more I could name but then we'd be here forever. So you'll just need to read this one to meet them all!
I will say, I kind of figured out how things would play out between Lowe and Misery from the wedding scene at the very beginning of the book where he backs her into a wall asking why she smells like she does. I won't get into more on this except to say I knew exactly where that particular sentence was going to lead us (despite Misery's interpretation) and I was very down with finding out how the story would take me there!
Aside from the romance, there is so much more happening in this story. I love a good romance but I'm a stickler for there being some kind of story that goes along with how that romance proceeds, not just scenes where the characters are all over each other. I love the political plot Hazelwood weaves into this one. There's a of underhanded and scheming things as well as betrayal that happens which create some twists and turns you will not expect! There are many areas of action, which really picks the pacing up and creates amazing tension between the complex characters she develops.
If you are looking for sexy, this is Hazelwood's sexiest book yet! She truly incorporates what we have been taught about Vampyres (teeth, sucking blood, hearing heart beats) and Wears (changing and morphing into wolves, scenting) and throws that into all the tense, sexy scenes for the characters. Those details make the romance even more amazing and had me squirming in my seat at times! It was delicious!
And that ending? I'm excited to see where the next story will go because that epilogue definitely shows us there will be more books in this paranormal romance series! I can see so many characters that are worthy of their own stories: Kiran, Owen, Serena, Alex, and many more. I need to read all their stories!
Overall, this is definitely in my top 5 reads this year. I flew through it and really didn't want to put it down. I may have stayed up way too late finishing it and been exhausted the next day, but in the best way! Give me all the Ali Hazelwood as she has quickly been elevated into my favorite romance author!
Author:
I’m originally from Italy, lived in Japan and Germany, and eventually moved to the US to pursue a Ph.D. in Neuroscience. I recently became a professor, which absolutely terrifies me. When I’m not at work you can find me binge-watching shows with my three feline overlords (and my slightly less feline husband), running, or eating candy.
I’m represented by the amazing Thao Le of the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency.
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