A review by lizanneyoung
Bride by Ali Hazelwood

5.0

 

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

TROPES

🪢 Fated Mates

🪢 Marriage of Convenience 

I have read very little omegaverse or shifter romance, and that is something I’m trying to fix. I read a ton of vampire series as a teen, though. When the author announced this book, I was excited to see her write in a different genre and to dip my toes back into the paranormal.

I read this book in a single sitting that kept me up until midnight. If that doesn’t explain the rating, I’m not sure what does. I enjoyed the worldbuilding. It felt natural and believable but also didn’t go to extreme lengths to try and make it something super different from a society we already know. Though it wasn’t super expanded on, I loved the passing note that the Vampyre/Were/Human society dynamic we’re seeing is simply how it is in North America and that it is different in other parts of the world.

Like the author’s other books up to this point, it is a single POV, but that doesn’t mean we don’t see the MMC Lowe’s thoughts, albeit briefly. Each chapter starts with a quick line or two usually, just below the header. These are his thoughts about Misery, which was a nice touch. 

Misery is such a fun character to be in the mind of. Her choice to enter the marriage is rooted in an underlying mystery that only continues to open a can of worms as the story unfolds. I love books with a secondary mystery and this story delivered. Besides that, Misery is sassy and unforgivably herself, even in times that call for diplomacy, and that’s always fun to read. 

While this isn’t a straight omegaverse (from what I know of the genre), it incorporates elements of it in a way that I thought worked. The vampyre lore is also a bit different from what I’ve read before, which I appreciate and like.