#4 [2026/CBR18] Bride by Ali Hazelwood

I realize that Ali Hazelwood does not write perfect books, but I find them highly entertaining and I usually go out of my way to read them. However, I've never had much interest in paranormal romance novels with vampires, werewolves, and the like. So, when I first heard that Hazelwood was branching out of her normal STEM romance novels, I figured I would skip them. But then I ran out of things to read, and I decided they were worth a try after all.

I started with Bride (2024) by Hazelwood because that's the one that became available at my library first. Fortunately, it also turned out to be the first book in this world, and I accidentally read them in the right order.

Misery Lark is a vampyre and a crack computer programmer who is living incognito in the human world. She had a pretty rough childhood. When she was only 10 years old, her father sent her off to be used as collateral to keep the peace between humans and vampyres. Having grown up with humans, and used by her father, she doesn't feel much connection to vampyres.

The one person Misery cares about more than anyone is her best friend, a human woman named Sabrina. Sabrina was thrown in with Misery when they were young girls--as someone who could ease her loneliness and perhaps help her behave. The two became incredibly close, but a couple weeks ago, Sabrina went missing without a word. Misery is desperate to find her friend, when she finds a scribbled note in Sabrina's place that says: "L. Moreland". It just so happens that her father asks Misery to marry Lowe Moreland, the Alpha of the nearby Were clan, as part of a peace deal. He obviously cares nothing for his daughter's happiness or safety, and only cares what he can get from her. But Misery thinks the L. Moreland must relate to Lowe, and he must have something to do with Sabrina's disappearance. She agrees to marry him in a desperate attempt to find her friend.

Weres and vampyres are lifelong enemies, and Misery doesn't have an easy time of it in the beginning. Fortunately, she's used to insults and being a loner, and Lowe is fair--even if he avoids her like the plague. As her time continues there, Misery makes herself useful, and she and Lowe start working together. Misery also grows closer with Lowe's young, half-sister, Ana.

There's a lot going on in this book. First, Misery and Lowe are falling for each other. Sabrina needs to be found. Killers are coming after both Misery and little Ana. And there is a lot of politics between vampyes, weres, and humans.

I know I am not big on fantastical creatures, but on the whole I liked this book. Did I sometimes wish we could just have normal people? Yes. But it wasn't too distracting. And humans don't have "mates" like Weres, which certainly helps push the romance forward. There was good chemistry between Lowe and Misery; I liked them together. However, my favorite part of the book was the humor, including Misery's sarcastic sense of humor. I found myself laughing a lot.

Was this a gateway book into more paranormal romance for me? Probably not, but it was a fun diversion.