All of Ali Hazelwood’s books follow pretty much the same formula. A smart, sassy, accomplished woman with some much-deserved baggage is forced to spend time with an equally smart, slightly grumpy, golden retriever of a man with baggage of his own. They are both, naturally, very easy on the eyes. Mix together a hefty helping of witty banter, some complicated feelings, a dash of angsty longing, and lots of sexual tension until you get a couple that finally realizes they are in love. Sexy time ensues. Introduce a small conflict or misunderstanding, have a brief yet terrible third-act breakup, and then finish it off with a glorious happily ever after. What can I say? Her formula works EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.
Misery Lark is a Vampyre - A super smart, slightly nerdy, tech-savvy, drop-dead gorgeous Vampyre. Let’s face it, she’s a blood-bag-drinking, sun-avoiding, cold-blooded STEMinist. She knows her way around a computer and can code like no other - a hacker of sorts. She’s funny, strong, sarcastic, self-deprecating, and exactly the type of Vampyre I could be friends with. If Vampyres were a thing.
Lowe Moreland is a Werewolf - a very powerful, dangerous, ruggedly sexy, Alpha Werewolf. He is fiercely dedicated to his pack, loves his little sister more than anything, and can draw up the plans for your dream home in no time. He’d 100% be my kind of empathetic, artsy, strong, wolfy dude. Again, if Werewolves were a thing.
Unfortunately, Vampyres and Werewolves are mortal enemies. Misery’s father, head of the Vampyre Council, and Lowe, Alpha of the Southwest Pack, agree to an age-old tradition of inter-species marriage in hopes of forming a peaceful alliance between the Weres and the Vampyres. If you think this sounds like the perfect setup for a delicious marriage of convenience turned forbidden love, with some witty banter and tension you could cut with a knife, you’d be correct! If you think this might be a little fishy, a tad too easy, and that there is probably something nefarious going on, you'd also be correct.
But Misery has her own reasons for agreeing to this arranged marriage and moving into enemy territory. Her Human best friend, Serena, has gone missing, and Misery is the only one who cares enough to find her. She finds a piece of paper, torn from Serena’s planner, that seems to have Lowe’s name written on it in their special sister-from-another-mister language. So now Misery's convinced the Weres have kidnapped Serena, and she’s got to get into Were territory to rescue her.
After an eventful wedding where several fights break out, Misery almost gets stabbed, and the word mate is thrown around quite a bit, Misery and Lowe come to an understanding. 1) They will not kill each other; 2) Lowe will protect Misery while they are married; and 3) Misery will stay out of trouble and out of Lowe’s way.
We can all agree that #3 was never going to happen.
Ali’s books have always been an insta-buy for me, but when I saw that Bride was going to be a paranormal romance, I seriously thought about skipping it. Monster love isn’t usually my thing. I thought about it for approximately 2 minutes (give or take 53 seconds) and decided to give it a shot. I’m delighted I did. Ali had me wanting to be BFFs with Misery by the end of chapter 1, and absolutely smitten with Lowe by the end of chapter 2. There’s a cat named Sparkles, some loveable side characters, an adorable little sister who mixes up words, and a found family anyone would be lucky to have. After another assassination attempt, some major betrayals, and lots of twisty turns, I can safely say I’m a fan of Mrs. Hazelwood's foray into paranormal romance. I could KNOT put this book down (see what I did there? IYKYK).