After really falling for The Love Hypothesis, I saw Bride by Ali Hazelwood and thought this was an absolute must read for me. I picked it up not knowing a single thing other than vampire, werewolf, Ali Hazelwood. It did not disappoint! This is a pure, paranormal romance and if you’re expecting something more, something greater, you’re in the wrong genre. The story was fun, the characters great, and the romance smutty.
Now, despite only being told through Misery’s POV, the parts of Bride that really just tore through my heart were the small snippets we get from Lowe at the start of each chapter. It’s just enough to show us the tiny sliver of insight into what’s going through his mind without giving everything away. It was such a clever way to include Lowe, to give readers that ugh punch to the heart, but not make this book even longer than it already was or stretch things out unnecessarily. And yes, despite really loving this book, I think 400 pages was a bit too much. I don’t know why all of these romances suddenly have to be epic length.
The plot itself is interesting. It isn’t super strong, but compelling enough to make the romance work. Misery wants to find her friend. Lowe wants to avoid an all out war between vampires, werewolves, and humans. They agree to marry and things proceed as they are wont to do. There is light world building and, if this were more focused on the paranormal aspects, I really would’ve appreciated more of it. However, since it is all just a backdrop to the romance, the morsels we get are enough. I think this would have been a really interesting world to set a series in were it in the hands of a paranormal writer first and foremost, rather than a romance writer.
All that said, the romance itself was great! It reminds me again why I enjoy Ali Hazelwood’s work so much. The drama and conflicts aren’t necessarily in the characters themselves, or the romance. It is based in the circumstances of the world they are in, and this is no exception. Misery wants to love Lowe. Wants to be with him and be what he needs. Lowe seems to want the same. Society tells them this is wrong. Friends and family tell them they are wrong. Cultural norms and history absolutely tell them this is wrong. Yet, the heart, and its hormones, wants what it wants. The smut was good, though fleeting. I wish there was more of it. For folks that grew up on a very different internet than I did, you’ll get to finally learn about knotting.
The one major factor to Bride by Ali Hazelwood not being a perfect 5 stars was the ending. It faltered a bit for me with just how rushed everything came together. For a book that is 400 pages long, the ending should’ve been better paced instead of cobbled together, frantically shoving everything together last minute. It is, otherwise, a really enjoyable paranormal romance and one I definitely would recommend to folks that love that genre or are looking to get into it without having been exposed to the more niche elements of vampire/werewolf romance.
