Review: Bride by Ali Hazelwood

Ali Hazelwood is mostly known for her fun and steamy STEM-romances, so I will admit it caught me by surprised when she announced she was diverting from her usual fare and making a foray into the paranormal genre. She is one of my auto-buy standard romance authors, so even if paranormal romance is not a genre I generally go for, I was intrigued. I will admit that I had my reservations, especially when the early reviews started mentioning a certain physiological phenomenon more often found in fiction of the Omegaverse variety, but I figured I should just face my fears and give it a go anyway. And after finishing Bride, I'm glad I did.

Our main character, Misery, is a Vampyre who has spent the majority of her life trying to lead a anonymous existance within the Human community. When her father, a powerful Vampyre councilman, asks her to partake in a marriage treaty that will secure peace between the Vampyres and their mortal Were enemies, Misery plans to refuse. That is, until she hears the name of her intended. Because her best and only friend is nowhere to be found, and Misery's only clue to finding her is the note Serena left behind with a single name scribbled on it: L. E. Moreland.

Lowe Moreland is the new Alpha of the most powerful Were pack in North America. After hundreds of year of animosity between the different species, Lowe is ready for a change. And what better way to secure peace than to marry one of their mortal enemies. The marriage is purely a political arrangement, a symbolic alliance meant to last a year and not longer. His pack do not trust his new bride for a second, but Lowe cannot help but being drawn to her anyway. Something about Misery calls to him, and when he finds out about her reasons for agreeing to the marriage, he realizes that it's in their mutual best interest to work together. Because there are bigger games at play, and certain truths hold the power to shake the fragile peace between the species to its very core.

Despite my initial reluctance, I really enjoyed this book. Ali Hazelwood is a highly educated woman, and her intelligence shines through in her writing. Although this is not a STEM romance per se (Misery is a computer engineer with a minor in forensic sciences, but except for her using her computer/hacking skills a few times, it is not really a major part of the story), we get scientific explanations of various biological differences between the three species. Learning all this small, somewhat believable information about the various species - from Were's having extra glands to the Vampyre species' inability to chew and digest most human foods - just makes the story seem more realistic. You know, despite its obvious paranormal elements. As for that physiological phenomenon I mentioned earlier, it makes its debut in the last few chapters of the book, and I am happy to report that it wasn't as traumatizing as I initially feared it would be.

Misery is a delightful main character. She has spent a large part of her life being used as a pawn in her father's games, and I enjoyed how the experience has shaped her into the person she is today. Not really belonging anywhere, she is initially quiet, aloof and unassuming, because that is who she had to become to fit in among the Humans. But she is also snarky, fun, brave and fiercy loyal - as seen in the lengths she's willing to go to to find her missing friend. I enjoyed seeing the Weres gradually warm towards her, and genuinely start to respect her as Lowe's partner. Lowe is also a very interesting character. He's got that tall, handsome and slightly threatening Alpha part down to a tee, and you can basically feel that quiet authority oozing from his very pores. He is also an actual decent human - well, Were - being, who cares a lot about his pack. The chemistry between the two of them is on point. Lowe was a bit hot and cold for a while there, and so I was on pins and needles just waiting for them to give in to their mutual attraction. When it finally happened, I certainly wasn't disappointed (though I was a little weirded out).

Although the romance between Misery and Lowe is definitely front and center of the story, there are intriguing political elements to the storyline, as well as a couple of interesting mysteries going on in the background. All these storylines mainly work to bring Misery and Lowe closer to one another, but they do all have satisfactory resolutions by the end of the book. The plot is fast-paced and exciting, and at around 400 pages it is a pretty fast and easy read. The end of the book leaves an opening for another story set in the same world, and if that happens, I will definitely read it.