Sarah O'Connor

“I’m terrified…that there is no world, no scenario, no reality in which I’ll gracefully allow you to leave,” (Hazelwood 379).

The alliance between Weres and Vampyres has been shaky for centuries, one that has disrupted into full-blown war and only sometimes pacified when a Were and a Vampire agree to a one year marriage to keep the peace. It’s what forces Misery Lark, daughter of a powerful Vampyre councilman, into marrying Were Alpha Lowe Moreland. Misery is used to being a collateral, had lived ten years of her life among Humans to keep peace with them. But Misery has her own reason for agreeing to marry Lowe, even though the risks of living in enemy territory are astronomical, but Misery will risk it all for the only thing she’s ever cared about.

Yes, I read the omegaverse book. This isn’t my usual type of reading material, but people seem to like Ali Hazelwood and I like vampires, so I thought, “why not diversify my reading?” And you know what? I liked this more than I thought I would.

The beginning was slow. Truthfully none of the characters are all that interesting. They all fall into the tropes they’re supposed to for a romance. I didn’t find any of them all that interesting or care much for them, and some of the dialogue was a bit cheesy (one character called the big baddie a fuckwaffle) and being thrown in right from the wedding was a bit jarring but maybe that’s normal. Again, I don’t read a lot of romance, maybe all “marriage by convenience” books start at the altar. All I know is that I started Bride not getting the hype and then found myself surprisingly getting into the story. I liked the world that Hazelwood built and she made it pretty easy to understand the dynamics between Weres, Vampyres, and Humans, and just when I thought I knew what was happening Hazelwood threw a curveball I didn’t see coming but which fit perfectly into the story (and maybe set up a sequel at the same time?).

And yes, this is a book about a vampire and a werewolf in a marriage for convenience, and yes they have sex. It’s a romance (and not an Amish ones) so yes, they’re going to have sex! And werewolf vampire sex gets KNOTTY and I’m not going to tell you what that means, you can put that into your own internet search history (welcome to the omegaverse!). Will they won’t they learn to like being married to each other in more than just a convenient way? Who’s to say, but if you’ve read a lot of marriage by convenience books then you might be able to guess!

Also, who knew Vampyres were so bad at Sex Ed.?

Bride is a fun read with some surprising twists (no that’s not a euphemism) I didn’t see coming. This is not to say whether or not I’ll dwell into any other werewolf/monster related reads, but I might have to give Ali Hazelwood’s other books a chance!

Publication: February 6 2024
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 400 pages (Hardcover)
Source: Library
Genre: Fiction, Romance, Paranormal
My Rating: ⛤⛤⛤⛤
Summary:

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.