Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Bride by Ali Hazelwood

70 reviews

just_one_more_paige's review

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

 
I was recently between a few heavier nonfiction reads (Solito and Ordinary Notes) and needed something to escape into. I mean, those were both 5-star nonfiction books, so please note: I highly recommend them. Normally, though, I try to space out those more intense reads a bit more. However, the timeline for library holds coming in is its own special beast - even us professionals can't predict its workings. And thus, my need for something much lighter. I read Hazelwood's breakout romance, The Love Hypothesis, and I thought it was pretty good. But some critical reviews of follow-up books have left me on the fence about reading more from her. This one, though, has all my so-called "guilty pleasure" soft spots - vampires, enemies to lovers, spiciness - and a review from a library coworker that said it was fast/entertaining that overrode my question marks, and here we are. 
 
Misery Lark, the daughter of a powerful Vampyre leader who is pretty much an outcast from her own people, agrees to marry Were Alpha, Lowe Moreland. Even though their people are enemies, and she'll essentially be alone in dangerous territory, with a high chance of death...Misery has her reasons. And to her, they're worth it. For his part, Lowe is trying to do something new for his people, attempting to build new alliances and create more stable living conditions than under the previous Alpha. Thus, the choice to have a symbolic political marriage with a Vampyre. So basically, neither of them expect the pull towards each other, the slowly melting ice (and deeply heated connection), to grow like it does. And very possibly, that connection may also lead to better Vampyre-Were relations for everyone. 
 
This is pretty basic read, as far as plot and world-building go. Like, if you are looking for epic new worlds and majorly creative new takes on vampire and werewolf lore...this may not be the book for you. However, if you are looking for some smaller new angles on these "species" (a la My Roommate is a Vampire, though more science-y than funny), with an easy and entertaining story that won't really surprise you with its twists, but will keep you interested in turning pages, then give this a go. I tend to think the genetic mutation, with attendant separately developed values in response (and fear of "other" does the rest - apparently no species anywhere can escape that weakness), as an explanation for species differences, is an interesting one. It's similar to the feel of the Psy-Changling series, though of course, being about thirty less books, doesn't have quite the same depth. In fact, I would have loved just a little more on this, to give more context. There is a major plot point based on genetic possibilities, but the background info we get on it remains...very surface-level. One other note, there is a...sexual...genetic difference that is also explored. And it was weird. Like it might have been ok, but it was explained so vaguely that I never really "got" it. I mean, it seemed to really enhance some of the spicy scenes, but not quite in a way that extended into me, as the reader, feeling/following it, if you catch my meaning. So, yea, a weird sex organ thing, but like whatever. It wasn't really part of the novel that much/for that long. Plot-wise, there was enough drama and intrigue and action to keep me invested, which is about all I needed from it. 
 
Now there were a couple things I did really enjoy and appreciate. Like, I can’t help but love Misery’s snarky sarcasm. It’s clearly a protective mechanism, but it’s so well done that I actually laughed out loud a couple of times, so I have to acknowledge that as well done. Really, in fact, it seems that  Hazelwood has cracked the code on dialogue overall. It was so good throughout and that's a major hit-or-miss thing for me in liking a book. So, that’s freaking great. As for Misery herself, as a character, I also was grateful for her maturity. I mean, there was the snark, of course, but also, she put a lot of things together, and figured out a number of things, on her own. I hate when the MC needs to be handheld through all realizations...especially ones that are obvious to the reader. It made me respect both her character and Hazelwood's writing of it, more than I was expecting, out of a vampire-werewolf spin-off romance-fantasy situation. Similarly, I thought the relationship development between Misery and Lowe was actually like, pretty solid, for a romantasy (believability wise) and I can’t help but respect that too. Mate situations usually lead to needy-dumb character interactions, and attachments that form so fast and therefore seem pretty shallow. This felt much mroe like a very real growth of connection and feeling and respect between the two. Lowe’s holding back to center Misery emotionally, was honestly the most actually-accomplished-of-it variation that I’ve read in awhile, re: mate tropes. Likely that was helped by this being told only from Misery's POV and that not being a connection she could quite understand in the same way. It might have been more insufferable if we got more than little snippets starting each chapter from Lowe's voice, so thank goodness for that narrative choice. 
 
A final few notes. I loved Ana. Similar to dialogue, child characters are realllllly hit-or-miss for me, and can totally ruin a whole book for me, even if they aren't central (and Ana was central), so I was thrilled that I liked her on-page persona. And the (reluctant, from one side) relationship she builds with Misery was fun to watch unfold. The rest of the side characters were fine, did what they needed to, if nothing special/standout. Alright look, I was promised spicy and didn't get any til the last like, quarter. And I mean, it was solid, but I thought there’d be more? Was hoping for more, really. So that was a small miss for me. 
 
However, I have to say, I enjoyed this *much* more than I had anticipated. And since I see you, sequel setup, I’ll probs be back the next time I need something this quick, light, entertaining and a bit spicy. Escapism at its finest. 
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sheriffrockyraccoon's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

This book is definitely outside what I usually read and I found it incredibly stupid, but that’s part of its appeal. It’s a silly romance with heavy fanfic inspiration, a regular part of Hazelwood’s works. I would definitely recommend this read if you’re looking for something easy and lighthearted, there’s nothing new here but still an incredibly fun story!
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torturedreadersdept's review

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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britt33's review against another edition

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adventurous funny fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

5.0

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linnybear's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

It was my first Ali Hazelwoods’ ever and because I’m not a romance type of girlie I was so glad she introduced a fantasy theme into one of her books so I could read it myself. I went into it pretty much ‘no thoughts, head empty’ though being fully aware she’s known for her ‘gigantic men + small women’ couples and a bit of cringey dialogue. Not gonna lie, this type of approach saved my whole experience with this book. The outcome (meaning my enjoyment and final review) would be SO DIFFERENT if I decided to treat this book seriously from the beginning till the very end. 

The book itself is written in a very unserious almost satire-like manner and I enjoyed how self-aware it was.  I am used to heroines playing dumb, constantly asking the wrong questions and jumping to ‘made up from thin air’ conclusions so seeing Misery speaking her mind so openly and thinking what I was thinking was like a breath of fresh air. The writing wasn’t anything spectacular, definitely more ‘fanfiction like’ but I had an insane amount of fun reading all the banter and realistic(!) dialogues between characters (and these spicy scenes, damn). The characters fit the vibe of the book perfectly, each one of them adding some value to the main plot whether it’s for the mystery, drama or the family relationships. Basically we get the funny moments, thriller or found family bits when it feels necessary so there was no chapter where I felt it’s too  heavy to digest.  

Now to the romance itself, I definitely could feel lots of chemistry there to the point I found myself giggling and laughing out loud many times (the comedy style of the book definitely adding to that). I think Misery and Lowe worked really well together as a couple without losing their individual personalities in all the other scenes they were not seen together. The introduction of more heavy topics and conversations really helped me see them as more than just a fling but as a long term relationship that could get through all the hardships together and not break up right after the book is finished (looking at you Emily Henry). 

Overall it really felt like a palette cleanser for me,very lightweight and fast paced, perfect when you’d love to stay up all night reading fanfictions but in a standalone book form. I definitely won’t actively avoid Ali Hazelwood’s books from now on, even if they are just contemporary romances. 
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katiemetzroth's review

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adventurous funny medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Read this book in like a day. Hoping there’s a sequel!!!!
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zombiezami's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense

4.0

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smilagros's review

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funny tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

This was fun. Like if you need a book to get you out of a reading slump, pick this book up. There was a couple of things that stood out to me. 1) there was so many big words that I have no idea what their definitions were. I read this on kindle and thank god because I had to click on a bunch of those words to get the definition. 2) there were scenes that just needed to be fleshed out. Especially the sex scenes. I was like is he facing her or behind her???? 3) I didn’t love the mystery part of the book. I felt like it focused on their marriage and her being there for a year rather than the extra things. 4) this EASILY could have been a standalone. I am not against the second book couple but I could have just had this been a standalone.
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unicornofthesea's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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doahdancer's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This was a great, easy read. If you're looking to try a paranormal/shifter romance, but want to dip your feet without jumping in, this is the perfect choice. That said, if you're a longtime paranormal/shifter reader, this might be too contemporary to entertain.

The story worked for me. I have the context of having read some paranormal/shifter books (Patricia Briggs, one example), but wouldn't describe myself as well read in the genre. 

The only thing I wanted that I didn't get was more tension between the couple. The author chose to have the MMC stay away from the FMC for a significant amount of time after they get married, but the mystery doesn't start to really unfold until much later. This lull where the FMC is mostly exploring the new culture she's been dropped into created tension in the sense that I was waiting to see when the thread would start pulling, but the story itself was very day to day, contemporary interactions.

All in all, I really enjoyed it and once the mystery got rolling I was truly invested. Misery is a delightful, snarky character who is astute but not perfect. She's been hurt, but she's not toxic.

This standalone makes my list of fabulous pallet cleansers.
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