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funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
TLDR Review for Bride
3.5/5 Stars
Starts slow. Middle moves well. Ends like it left the oven on back at home.
Highlights:
š§š»āāļø Vampires
šŗ Werewolves
šØ Political Turmoil
š Forced Marriage
š¤ Missing Person
š§¬ Hybrids
šŖ¢ Smut
ā¤ļøāš„ Fated Mates
āļø Kidnapping
š Friendship
3.5/5 Stars
Starts slow. Middle moves well. Ends like it left the oven on back at home.
Highlights:
š§š»āāļø Vampires
šŗ Werewolves
šØ Political Turmoil
š Forced Marriage
š¤ Missing Person
š§¬ Hybrids
šŖ¢ Smut
ā¤ļøāš„ Fated Mates
āļø Kidnapping
š Friendship
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Kidnapping
Minor: Blood
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
As an aroace enby who is sometimes sex-repulsed, I always find myself amused and simultaneously horrified when reading extremely cishet romance novels ā¦ but maybe not for the expected reasons.
Things I liked: Serena, Sparkles, and Owen. That Owenās final speech to their father is basically soft-coded for āI plan to not make America great again, I plan to make America comfortably insignificant again,ā which, *finger snaps.* That none of the women in this book are in any sort of competition with each other. That platonic same-sex friendship is maybe the only major plot point. (I donāt consider sex a plot point, but thatās me.)
Things I didnāt: Basically, the main Romance (and specifically Omegaverse) Thingā¢ļø where really good sex is a) the whole point of the book, b) fundamentally transformative, c) what every normal person is built for, and d) where all the meaning and belonging of life is stored up for folks to experience.
As I mentioned, Iām an aroace enby. I will never experience romance or sex the same way as an allosexual, and I have been raised like everyone else to see romance and sex as extremely meaningfulāmore meaningful than platonic friendship, because the book never climaxes or ends on platonic friendship even if the author considers it important. The book never ends with someone trying to figure out if life is going to ever be as meaningful for them as everyone else, simply because theyāre not built to experience love the same way. And in a book where that *exact* question is raised repeatedly, as a result of biological difference, itās even more heartbreaking for the conclusion to be āIād totally still love you if you didnāt love me back or experience love the same wayābut isnāt it awesome that we do, in the end, feel the same way for each other and were silly silly people for thinking we were biologically incompatible and *didnāt* experience sex in all its mind-blowing fullness in essentially the same way?ā
Itād be nice if someone were biologically compelled to really really like me, sexually and/or romantically, because then I could know for sure that life was meaningful and worth continuing for no other reason than that such relationships apparently make us feel it is worth continuing. Itās not Ali Hazelwoodās fault for amplifying this narrative since literally no one else Iāve ever read has managed anything else, but it does feel particularly galling here, perhaps because she *knows* and she wants to *try* at an inclusive romance. And we quite literally pay for romance books to be the way they are.
Iām not saying I hate being me right now, but I do always hate myself at least a little bit for being such a ā¦ (Iām laughing at myself here a bit) ā¦ misery melon about the whole thing.
I do dream of a world where a misery melon like me can find a meaningful ending in a romance book that doesnāt involve being transformed by mind-blowing sex, though.
Things I liked: Serena, Sparkles, and Owen. That Owenās final speech to their father is basically soft-coded for āI plan to not make America great again, I plan to make America comfortably insignificant again,ā which, *finger snaps.* That none of the women in this book are in any sort of competition with each other. That platonic same-sex friendship is maybe the only major plot point. (I donāt consider sex a plot point, but thatās me.)
Things I didnāt: Basically, the main Romance (and specifically Omegaverse) Thingā¢ļø where really good sex is a) the whole point of the book, b) fundamentally transformative, c) what every normal person is built for, and d) where all the meaning and belonging of life is stored up for folks to experience.
As I mentioned, Iām an aroace enby. I will never experience romance or sex the same way as an allosexual, and I have been raised like everyone else to see romance and sex as extremely meaningfulāmore meaningful than platonic friendship, because the book never climaxes or ends on platonic friendship even if the author considers it important. The book never ends with someone trying to figure out if life is going to ever be as meaningful for them as everyone else, simply because theyāre not built to experience love the same way. And in a book where that *exact* question is raised repeatedly, as a result of biological difference, itās even more heartbreaking for the conclusion to be āIād totally still love you if you didnāt love me back or experience love the same wayābut isnāt it awesome that we do, in the end, feel the same way for each other and were silly silly people for thinking we were biologically incompatible and *didnāt* experience sex in all its mind-blowing fullness in essentially the same way?ā
Itād be nice if someone were biologically compelled to really really like me, sexually and/or romantically, because then I could know for sure that life was meaningful and worth continuing for no other reason than that such relationships apparently make us feel it is worth continuing. Itās not Ali Hazelwoodās fault for amplifying this narrative since literally no one else Iāve ever read has managed anything else, but it does feel particularly galling here, perhaps because she *knows* and she wants to *try* at an inclusive romance. And we quite literally pay for romance books to be the way they are.
Iām not saying I hate being me right now, but I do always hate myself at least a little bit for being such a ā¦ (Iām laughing at myself here a bit) ā¦ misery melon about the whole thing.
I do dream of a world where a misery melon like me can find a meaningful ending in a romance book that doesnāt involve being transformed by mind-blowing sex, though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Xenophobia, Blood
Moderate: Cursing, Abandonment
Minor: Confinement, Death, Incest, Self harm, Vomit, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Very fun book. Thoroughly enjoyed this. I have read werewolf romances and vampire romances but never of the two together. š
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Abandonment
emotional
funny
hopeful
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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent
dark
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping
challenging
emotional
funny
tense
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Bullying, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Medical content, Death of parent, War, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Blood
Moderate: Kidnapping
Minor: Death of parent
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
āYouāre not a problem, Misery. Youāre a privilege.ā
For my first Ali Hazelwood book, I am not disappointed. I can see clearly as to why so many readers love her writing, and I am going to happily join the on the Ali Hazelwood express!
This is the first time I have read a story focusing on vampires and werewolves in a novel format, before I have only ever read them on an interactive app. While a lot was confusing at first, it is something that I have turned out to really enjoy and would happily read more of in the future.
At first, I felt that the story was okay, but it was fairly slow and as though the characters lacked chemistry between them. I understood why the marriage took place, but at the same time, I felt that the marriage was going to be a track wreck. Despite the lack of chemistry, I did guess early on about why Lowe felt a certain way about Miseryās scene, but then proceeded to be confused and intrigued when it was believed he had another mate.
I think something that made the chemistry more clear between Lowe and Misery was Ana. Ana is an absolute sweetheart and I love that she played such a big part in the story, even if her scenes were somewhat limited. You got to see a vampire start to care for someone youād never expect her to care for, and you got to see this sweet side to Lowe that personally had me slowly falling for him.
With the story progressing and my knowledge growing, I was starting to get into things. I was constantly having questions come to the forefront of my mind while coming up with silly little theories around Serenaās disappeared (yes I got them wrong like usual).
Then came the plot twist! Boy, was I angry! I feel that SOME of the plot twist could come across pointless to some readers but I think all of it was really thought out, and it became hard to know who to trust. Needless to say, the outcome of the plot twist had me š„ŗš„ŗ and super happy. Itās a shame that it did leave a little plot hole for me though in terms of a certain someone!
The first sex scene was a little weird to me, but now I understand it, and as they began to happen more, I was down for them. They were unique to me but I do feel that the whole āknottingā thing couldāve been made a little clearer (especially to those who are new to these kind of books). Truth be told, it makes me desperate to know whatās next for Lowe and Misery as they navigate this life that isnāt known to be normal within their worlds.
Finally, the ending better mean we get another book otherwise I will steal Aliās laptop and break it, because I need another book. Especially if we can get another werewolf like Lowe, yum!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing, Blood
Minor: Kidnapping
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Abandonment
Minor: Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail