Bride (Bride, #1) by Ali Hazelwood

Synopsis (via Goodreads): 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.

I haven’t read a vampire or werewolf story in forever, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I picked up Bride. I’m happy to report that it didn’t disappoint! Misery and Lowe were fantastic characters, and I really enjoyed watching them overcome the obstacles in their respective paths. No one expected them to work — even their biology seemed incompatible — yet they defied the odds and learned to love one another despite their differences.

My one issue with the book was Lowe’s secrets regarding Misery. I felt he should have been honest with her from the start and avoided the miscommunication trope altogether. He allowed her to believe what she wanted without correcting her assumptions, even at his own expense. He trusted her with Pack secrets — literal life-or-death knowledge — yet didn’t trust her to handle something that directly concerned her? Dude, come on. I didn’t buy his justifications, and his hurtful denial didn’t feel fair to Misery.

Misery is supposed to be this unfeeling Vampyre, yet she cares deeply for her foster sister and for Lowe’s niece. She doesn’t process emotions the same way Humans and Weres do, but she’s nothing like her father or the other Vampyres she grew up with. I really loved her personality and the unique way she sees the world around her. 

Overall, I thought the story was very well done. I loved the main characters (though I would have appreciated a bit more development for some of the secondary ones), and I didn’t anticipate several of the twists. Bride is a fantastic book that I enjoyed immensely, and I appreciated how the author set up the next one. I can’t wait to see what happens next! (★★★★☆)