Bride by Ali Hazelwood

Narrated by Thérèse Plummer and Will Damron

“You’re not a problem, Misery. You’re a privilege.”

I have enjoyed Ali Hazelwood’s books in the past, and had put Deep End on hold at my library. After a recommendation, grabbed Bride by Ali Hazelwood while I waited. I think I knew at one point, but I had forgotten it was a paranormal romance until I started listening and was pleasantly surprised by the change of pace.

Misery (the name almost ruined the book for me) is the daughter of the head of the Vampyres (why are we using a Y?). She has been commanded to marry an Alpha Were in order to form an alliance between the two groups. It’s not the first time Misery has sacrificed herself for the Vamps, but this time she has a really good reason: her friend Serena is missing, and she thinks the weres may be part of it.

Misery and Lowe are supposed to be enemies, but they’re not really. Both are trying to prevent war, and neither is upset about playing their part. What throws them off is how drawn they are to each other, almost instantly.

Remember in Twilight, when Edward makes that horrified face after smelling Bella for the first time? She thinks it means she stinks, but really, her scent is irresistible to him because they’re fated. That same idea shows up here for a while, until it’s clear that Misery and Lowe can’t resist each other, no matter how hard they try.

“Of all the good things I’ve felt in my fucking life, you are the best.”

As kidnappings, poisoned blood bags, and mysterious disappearances stack up, the two work together to uncover what’s really going on. It’s not a deep or complex vampire/werewolf story, and the world-building and character descriptions are light, but the plot hooked me from the start and held on until the end.

Likes:

Lowe’s relationship with his sister and adorable niece.
Super likable main characters.
Listened straight through—I didn’t want it to end.
Fun, light, and a refreshing change of pace.
Found family.
Misery is still an Ali Hazelwood STEM woman as a computer programmer.
Actually giggled out loud a few times.

Dislikes:

Knotting? Let’s leave that to the omegaverse crowd.
Could’ve used more character depth and world-building.
The second half had some issues that pissed me off.
Knot (lol) overly memorable…well except for the knot.

The Narration:

This was my first time listening to Thérèse Plummer and Will Damron, and I really enjoyed both. Their performances added energy and emotion, and I think they made the book even better.

The Down & Dirty:

After not even remembering Bride was a paranormal book, I was pleasantly surprised at how I was sucked in immediately and didn’t want to stop reading. The book was not without its problems, but with likable characters and a fun and different storyline, I was hooked from start to finish. Bride gave retro vibes, like the paranormal books I read in the early 2000s and it for sure has me wanting to get back into reading more of that. I am so excited for the next in the series, Mate (10/7/25), but don’t worry, Bride stood alone just fine. When I first finished this book a couple of weeks ago I wrote 4.5 stars in my notes, but now I’m really struggling to remember it, and with the lack of physical descriptions in the book, I am having trouble visualizing the characters, which usually helps me remember the book. So I’m lowering to 4.25, but may go back up on re-read before Mate.