Bride by Ali Hazelwood: A Spoiler Free Review
Working Title: Bride is a fantastic story, but is it romantasy?
This post is dedicated in loving memory to my mother-in-law, Dianne Geier, who was always incredibly supportive of my writing journey. While she wasn’t a fan of my judicious use of the f-word, we had a good laugh over my potty mouth at the end. Being able to giggle and say I love you is really all that matters in this world.
The hype surrounding Bride on Bookstagram and TikTok is real. Many of the reviewers I follow on the socials have had nothing but praise for Ali Hazelwood’s foray from contemporary romance into romantasy. A quick Google search for “best romantasy books of 2024” inevitably includes an image of the cover featuring vampyre Misery Lark in her white bridal pantsuit, along with her husband Lowe in menacing wolf form beneath the full moon. Add some blood red font and you have a cover that perfectly conveys what to expect from Bride. After reading some heavy epic fantasy, it was exactly the escapist story I needed.
Bride is set in an alt-America divided in Vampyre, Werewolf, and human territory. Protagonist Misery Lark spent her youth as a political hostage in human territory as part of a peace treaty negotiated between humans and vamps, who happen to be ruled by her cold-hearted, politically calculating father. Upon her release, Misery remained among the humans, disguising her violet eyes and pointed ears with the help of some tinted contacts and a fabulous haircut.
She would have happily remained among humans working in IT security, but daddy calls upon her to serve as hostage once again. And as badly as she would like to tell her father to fuck off, she realizes this is the ticket into were territory that she needs in order to get back the one thing that does matter to her.
Bride’s prologue does a time jump, starting off with the wedding itself, introducing us not only to Misery but Lowe, a tall, muscled, broody, protective-of-his-pack Alpha-Were husband. Chapter one goes back in time to explore Misery’s history (although her dreadful name is not explained until later). Hints are dropped about why she agreed to this arranged marriage. I’d like to say WHY, but honestly, including any information beyond the prologue veers into spoiler territory. While that makes writing a spoiler-free review difficult at best, it is also indicative of the fact the plotting, pacing, and overall writing of Bride is tight as a drum. Kudos to Hazelwood’s editor. That’s too bad for this review, however. I loved the mystery plot Misery becomes involved in, as well as her scenes with Lowe’s little sister Ana. There is a lot more to sink your teeth into (ha ha) beyond the marital relations of the romantic leads.
But the real question I’d like to ponder is “Should Bride be considered romantasy?” Let’s take a look at the romance and fantasy worldbuilding elements to come to an educated conclusion.
Bride by Ali Hazelwood
Romance: 🌶️🌶️🌶️ 🌶️ 4 out of 5 hot peppers.
👰🏻🤵🏻Wedding of convenience
🔗Forced proximity
🔥Slow burn
🛏️One bed
💖Mates
Worldbuilding/Fantasy Elements:
🧛🏻Vampires
🐺Werewolves
🏨 Set in an alt-American west
Trigger Warnings: Nothing here one wouldn’t find in a traditional bodice ripper romance.
The Romance: Interspecies Love Gives Off Queer Vibes
Hazelwood is well known as a romance author featuring traditional cisgender relationships, usually between a short, brainy woman and a tall hunk of a man. Aside from Misery’s statuesque height, one might think that Hazelwood continued to use this formula.
Actually, she did. It just so happens that the female is a Vampyre and the male lead is a Werewolf.
There is no doubt right from the start that this was written by a giant in the romance publishing industry. Misery and Lowe are attracted to each other from the start, and Hazelwood’s adept use of tropes gives the romance minded reader everything they expect in a story. Forced proximity is always fantastic for showing the growth of affection between two characters who, in other circumstance, would be enemies rather than lovers. As attraction morphs into mutual respect, it’s not surprising to find that lust isn’t far behind, along with the question “Can this be love? It goes against everything I was raised to believe.”
Yes. If you’re like me, you were rooting for Misery and Lowe every step of the way.
And when they finally get to sexy time? It turns out that two folks who are in love can make do with the anatomy they are blessed with. Honestly, their vampire/werewolf intercourse was no different that what might be experienced by human partners with one notable (knotable?) difference.
The social stigma, in contrast, was far worse than anything these two lovers experienced in each other’s arms. The manner in which their union was greeted by others—ranging from disgust to confusion—is no different than what same sex couple currently face from homophobes. (A sad, unfortunate truth). Interspecies relations is TABOO in this world. As Misery’s brother Owen states, “Stop eye-fucking each other in front of me—this is incest. Bestiality at the very least.”
Not the kind of words one wants to hear when videoconferencing their brother.
Of course you’ll need to read the story to discover if it works out.
The Fantasy, or Lack Thereof
As I’ve noted in several other posts, romantasy is a genre in which the main character’s arc of growth is spurred on through interactions with a lover, while the setting and worldbuilding adheres to the devices seen in epic fantasy and/or legend and myth retellings. The plot beats and tropes are pulled from both the romance and fantasy genres. Readers expect both to be blended seamlessly.
With that said, Ali Hazelwood is noted for writing books that have a scientific worldview.
Bride stays true to the author’s comfort zone. Hazelwood’s Vampyres and Werewolves are not a product of magic or woo, but genetics. There is a scientific reason behind a vampyres diet, their aversion to the sun, and their ability to thrall. The same is true of werewolves, though their ability to suddenly grow a tail and sprout hair on the entire surface of their body does not hold up to the little science I recall from my BIO 101 course in college.
The American setting, the modern technology, and lack of magic makes me wonder…why is anyone calling this romantasy? Is Bride’s appearance in a Google search of best romantasy of 2024 an accident of AI? Folks just using the term to sound like they’re one of the cool kids? Are some readers unaware that the term “paranormal” in the publisher’s blurb is actually the correct genre classification?
I don’t know. What I can say is that there IS a lot of crossover between readers of romantasy and readers of paranormal romance. As such, I had no issue writing about Bride here to help those writers out there that might be struggling to determine what genre label—romantasy or paranormal romance—fits their manuscript best.
My Favorite Steamy Quote
“My heart slows to a thud just as Lowe’s picks up, three beats of his for every one of mine. Our bodies, screaming how different we are a the most basic, fundamental level.
I don’t care, though.”
Final Thoughts
I loved Bride and happily recommend it everyone here in our little romantasy realm. The pacing is fast, the plot is engaging, the main characters are likable, and the smut is pretty hot. Some folks also thought perhaps this was somewhat inspired by Edward/Jacob fanfic. That is a convo all Twihards are welcome to have in the comments.