Book Review: Bride by Ali Hazelwood
Bride by Ali Hazelwood
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Published: February 6, 2024
Series: Bride #1
Genres: Adult // Romance, Paranormal
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Quick Thoughts: Bride was a fun, entertaining read that delivered exactly what it promised—a quick paranormal romance with good spice and banter—but nothing particularly memorable or groundbreaking. Overall, it's a good read if you're an Ali Hazelwood fan or just want a fun palette cleanser.
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Past child abuse/neglect
Trauma
Blood
Violence
Kidnapping
Abandonment
Death of a Parent
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Werewolves
Vampires
Omegaverse
Forced/Arranged Marriage
Enemies to Lovers
Found Family
Political Intrigue
Fated Mates
What is Bride by Ali Hazelwood about?
A dangerous alliance between a Vampyre bride and an Alpha Werewolf becomes a love deep enough to sink your teeth into in this new paranormal romance from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Love, Theoretically and The Love Hypothesis.
Misery Lark, the only daughter of the most powerful Vampyre councilman of the Southwest, is an outcast—again. Her days of living in anonymity among the Humans are over: she has been called upon to uphold a historic peacekeeping alliance between the Vampyres and their mortal enemies, the Weres, and she sees little choice but to surrender herself in the exchange—again...
Weres are ruthless and unpredictable, and their Alpha, Lowe Moreland, is no exception. He rules his pack with absolute authority, but not without justice. And, unlike the Vampyre Council, not without feeling. It’s clear from the way he tracks Misery’s every movement that he doesn’t trust her. If only he knew how right he was….
Because Misery has her own reasons to agree to this marriage of convenience, reasons that have nothing to do with politics or alliances, and everything to do with the only thing she's ever cared about. And she is willing to do whatever it takes to get back what’s hers, even if it means a life alone in Were territory…alone with the wolf.
Pre-Read Thoughts
Bride has been sitting on my TBR forever, and with October finally here, it felt like the perfect time to crack open this paranormal romance. I went in with pretty high expectations because I've heard so much hype about Ali Hazelwood's books. I usually stick to romantasy and paranormal romances, so her contemporary stories just never pulled me in. But the forced marriage between a vampire and werewolf was enough to make me want to pick this up.
Bride Review
Misery Lark is a vampire who gets forced into an arranged marriage with Lowe Moreland, the werewolf alpha, as a peace deal between vampyres and weres. There are centuries of bad blood and politics between the two, so it's a good set-up for a quick, enemies to lovers story.
What I Liked
I really enjoyed the characters, especially Misery. Her sarcastic, self-deprecating humor is my exact taste in comedy, so she made the book readable even when the plot lagged. Lowe fits the brooding, reluctant husband archetype pretty well. They also worked well together. Their dynamic was great and I found myself smiling at the banter between them. I appreciated that Misery wasn't afraid to take up space in Were territory and challenge Lowe. While I didn't find the romance particularly memorable otherwise, the spice scenes were frequent and well-written. So if spice is what you're interested in, you won't be disappointed.
The writing is also accessible, which makes this a quick read and good for beginners. The omegaverse elements are present but not overwhelming. There's also a mystery plot woven into the romance that added some intrigue, and while the political tension between the vampires and werewolves could have been deeper, it's still enough to support the story.
What Could Have Been Better
Like I mentioned, the world-building itself is pretty basic. The lore exists but doesn't feel particularly deep or original. If you're hoping for a rich supernatural world, you'll probably feel like it's watered down.
Without spoiling anything, the third act was jarring. The characters' actions didn't feel consistent with their established personalities, so the tension felt contrived while also being totally unnecessary. The main storyline was already providing enough tension, so this forced third act yanked me out of the story.
So, Should You Read Bride by Ali Hazelwood?
Overall, it delivered on being an entertaining story, but it's not a book I'll be thinking about weeks from now.
If you're an Ali Hazelwood fan or looking for a light palette cleanser between heavier reads, I’d still recommend picking up Bride. If you’re looking for a shifter romance with lots of world-building and a lush setting, I’d skip this one.
Check out this review on Goodreads or Storygraph.
Happy reading!
Kim
Bride FAQs
Some of the answers may be spoilers if you haven’t read it already. Proceed with caution!
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No, Bride is separate from Ali Hazelwood’s other books. Her other books are contemporary romance set in completely different worlds.
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The second book in the Bride series, Mate, was just published on October 7, 2025.
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Bride is an adult romance due to explicit sexual content and mature themes.
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Yes, this is a 4 🌶️ (explicit open door). Spice scenes are detailed and happen multiple times throughout the book.
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Here are the spicy chapters in Bride:
Chapter 17
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 25
Chapter 30
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It incorporates some omegaverse elements like pack hierarchies, alpha dynamics, and mating bonds, but it's not hardcore omegaverse. If you're new to the trope, this is a gentle entry point.
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No, this is just Misery and Lowe's story.
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Yes, happy ending for Misery and Lowe. No cliffhanger.
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Technically yes, though the "enemies" part fades pretty quickly.