Review

(Please be advised that this is an adult romance.)

Misery Lark is a Vampyre, living in Human territory and passing as Human, doing IT work. When she was a child, she was offered up by her coldhearted father as ‘collateral’ (like a hostage), to live with the humans as a guarantee of vampyre-human peace treaties… her life was on the line. Now she doesn’t feel like she fully belongs anywhere. But now, for reasons that will be revealed, Misery offers herself up as collateral again: she agrees to marry a Were Alpha in a year-long arranged marriage as part of a peace pact between Vampyres and Weres, usually mortal enemies. The Alpha, Lowe Moreland, has a visceral reaction to her from the beginning — apparently she smells funny — and his little sister strikes up a friendship with her. Before she realises it, she’s deep in Were territory, covertly investigating something that matters very much to her and caught in a complex web of Were/Human/Vampyre politics that will take all her courage and skill to unravel.

*

This is a departure for Ali Hazelwood — still a STEMinist romance, but this time a paranormal STEMinist romance. She handles it with absolute aplomb… she really is very clever, and this book is well written and very funny, as usual, which wins big points with me every time. Misery is cynical and hilarious, and the book is worth reading for her voice alone. Bride is also suitably romantic. The third act conflict could have been better handled, but I think it’s really hard to make this seemingly mandatory romance plot element appear authentic. So I’m giving her a pass on that, due to the high quality of everything else. She even depicts the ‘cute kid’ character with as little ickiness as possible. Good job. I often picked it up meaning to read one chapter before bed and reading three or four chapters instead — the best recommendation I can give it.

Age: 18+ (do NOT put in school library collection)

> Click here for content info — spoilers, enter at own risk.

Strained relationship between father and children; adult romance with scenes of an explicit & paranormal sexual nature; blood sucking, vampiric hypnosis (thrall), werewolves shapeshifting into wolves; violence including paranormal violence, hostages, kidnapping & kidnapping attempts, murder & attempted murder. Main romance is mlw and interspecies; depiction of a close and loyal best friendship. Frequent swears, particularly f- & s- words.

*

Hazelwood, A. (2024). Bride. Sphere.

Images are used on this blog post under the “Fair dealing for criticism or review” provision of the Commonwealth Copyright Act, 1968.