Bride by Ali Hazelwood Book Review

When I saw this book sitting on the shelf of the works, I initially thought, 'Ew', another vampire x werewolf romance that's probably going to be utter garbage. But then, looking slightly further down, I saw the author of the book, which was Ali Hazelwood, who has written The Love Hypothesis, which was one of my favourite reads of 2023. I then thought that, it couldn't be that bad if it was written by Ali Hazelwood. Not only was I correct in thinking that anything written by Ali Hazelwood could never ever be bad, but it truly shocked me by being total perfection and one of my favourite reads of 2024.

“Maybe you're not meant for me the way I'm meant for you, but I'm going to choose you anyway, over and over and over again.”

This book is a paranormal romance that intertwines political intrigue with a compelling love story. The fmc, Misery Lark, is the daughter of a powerful vampire councilman. She enters into an arranged marriage with the dreamy Lowe Moreland, the mmc and alpha of a werewolf pack. This union aims to forge a political alliance between their historically adversarial species.

Beyond political motives, Misery has a personal agenda for marrying Lowe: she wants to uncover the truth about her best friend, Serena's, disappearance, which she suspects is linked to Lowe. As Misery integrates into werewolf society, she grapples with her preconceived notions about werewolves and finds herself drawn to her husband Lowe's complex character.

Their relationship evolves from mutual distrust to a deep and passionate connection, challenging the boundaries between duty and desire. The book explores themes such as identity, belonging, and the sacrifices made for love and loyalty. Additionally, it includes plenty of humour and very spicy scenes that had me blushing on numerous occasions.

This book kept me completely on my toes, as I never knew what was going to happen next. Not only was the plot a complete ten out of ten, but the Ali Hazelwood humour was just the complete cherry on top of the already amazing read.

“That there is no world, no scenario, no reality in which I'll gracefully allow you to leave me. That if I don't let you go now, five years, five months, five days down the line, I won't be able to. Every second, I want you too much, and every second, I'm on the verge of wanting you more. Every second is my last chance to do the decent thing. To let you live your life without taking up all of it-”

The only criticism I have on this book is that, there isn't more. I mean seriously, I need more because it's that good!