A review by beautiful_articulate
Bride by Ali Hazelwood

funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

Alright, well, I don't think I'm the target audience for this book, so let's start with that. I feel like if I had a stronger penchant towards romance and tropes around fated mates, I would've enjoyed it more. If that's your thing though, I think you would really enjoy this book. I mainly read it because I was looking for a more lighthearted read, and this is something that I've seen people recommending everywhere. As a more lighthearted read, it was a pretty fun experience. 

That being said, there were some things that I did enjoy about it, in no particular order: 

• I thought Misery was a fun character. At times she felt a little bit too sassy, but I've come to expect that from FMC in romance novels. I found her pretty easy to get attached to in the end.
• I liked the dynamic between Misery and the other characters. Her friendship with Serena was very sweet to read about and felt very realistic, and her attachment to Ana was also part of what me like her character
• The political intrigue was pretty bare-bones (but again, this is a romance novel, so that's honestly fine with me), but it felt like it had a pretty satisfying conclusion and a somewhat realistic outcome. It also had a fun reveal at the end that was hinted at from the beginning, but that I genuinely didn't expect (
  Serena being a Were/human hybrid all along
  )
• The world that Hazelwood created in which Weres and Vamyres live alongside humans was pretty neat. There wasn't any major detailing of the worldbuilding, besides that the two species are kind of at odds with each other and that they're pretty territorial and have failed at creating alliances for the longest time

Now for the stuff that I didn't really care for: 

• Yeah, fine. I went into this knowing this had knotting in it. I still kind of hated it. I won't yuck anyone's yum, so if this is your thing then this is the book for you, go nuts. For me however, some of the sex scenes just felt a little bit awkward and off in a way that I can't really articulate for some reason. 
• I did get occasionally annoyed at how snarky or how girlboss-y Misery could be at times. These moments aren't super common, but there were a few times where I wanted to step through the book and tell her to please shut up.
• I really wish that the ending was a little bit less rushed. It felt like it went by really quickly and all of intrigue got resolved over 20 pages towards the end. I'm not someone who's a big fan of prolonged, graphic sex scenes, but I do feel like some of them could have been cut to allow for the intrigue to develop at a better pace. 
• The reveal of
  Misery being Lowe's mate all along
  was fairly predictable. I remember telling myself a few chapters in that this would be the case, and from other reviews I've read, it seems other people have had similar thoughts. 
• Please, Mrs. Hazelwood, there are other adjectives than 'delicious'. This is such a tiny detail but I get so put off when the word 'delicious' is used to describe anything but food. Okay, that's it.

Overall, if you're just looking for a nice standalone romance novel between a pretty badass Vampyre and an overprotective Werewolf, then you'd enjoy this. Don't go into this expecting crazy world building or political intrigue, just let yourself be taken along for the ride. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood