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A review by suicana
Bride by Ali Hazelwood
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I am furious at this book. I really, really liked it; it was well on it's way to 4 stars or higher, and I would've thought fondly of it as something not incredibly special but still special enough to feel different and memorable. And then the last ~80 pages happened and my opinion skydived and forgot to bring its parachute because boy did it splatter on the asphalt.
Beware vague spoilers from here onwards.
Let's get this out of the way: I didn't like Lowe. I don't like that cliché alpha male type, and yes he's the pack alpha, but he doesn't have to behave like a cliché. I've read other books with (wolf and other kinds of) alphas, and they managed just fine. Granted, Lowe doesn't do it often, but enough times that it irked me. Worse, he's the self-sacrificing kind. Why is that bad? Because he's the type that forgets that other people have a free will too and can make decisions for themselves, and don't need his fucking ass to decide what is best for them without taking a fucking second to wonder if they agree. Yes I'm seething and I don't think Misery was nearly mad enough at him. If he pulled that stunt on me, I would have punched him and then told him to fuck off, fated mates or not. I could NOT bring myself to ever trust him again. Fuck that.
The ending was also incredibly rushed. After 300 pages of a relatively slow pace, the plot was resolved in maybe 10 pages by the main villain monologing about all their evil deeds. I couldn't have imagined a more boring way to bring the plot together and answer all the questions than by having someone summarise to me how they've been pulling all the string all along. Really? Did the author run out of pages or what? And is that ending supposed to tease a follow-up book or is that just for funsies?
Honestly, I'm so mad that it just had to (and I cannot overstate how absolutely unnecessarily) use a trope that I loathe from the bottom of my heart that I'm tempted to give it even fewer stars, but I DID really enjoy about 75% of it and I really like Misery, so. Take your 3 stars and go.
Beware vague spoilers from here onwards.
Let's get this out of the way: I didn't like Lowe. I don't like that cliché alpha male type, and yes he's the pack alpha, but he doesn't have to behave like a cliché. I've read other books with (wolf and other kinds of) alphas, and they managed just fine. Granted, Lowe doesn't do it often, but enough times that it irked me. Worse, he's the self-sacrificing kind. Why is that bad? Because he's the type that forgets that other people have a free will too and can make decisions for themselves, and don't need his fucking ass to decide what is best for them without taking a fucking second to wonder if they agree. Yes I'm seething and I don't think Misery was nearly mad enough at him. If he pulled that stunt on me, I would have punched him and then told him to fuck off, fated mates or not. I could NOT bring myself to ever trust him again. Fuck that.
The ending was also incredibly rushed. After 300 pages of a relatively slow pace, the plot was resolved in maybe 10 pages by the main villain monologing about all their evil deeds. I couldn't have imagined a more boring way to bring the plot together and answer all the questions than by having someone summarise to me how they've been pulling all the string all along. Really? Did the author run out of pages or what? And is that ending supposed to tease a follow-up book or is that just for funsies?
Honestly, I'm so mad that it just had to (and I cannot overstate how absolutely unnecessarily) use a trope that I loathe from the bottom of my heart that I'm tempted to give it even fewer stars, but I DID really enjoy about 75% of it and I really like Misery, so. Take your 3 stars and go.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Blood