Reviews with content warning for Grief - Bride

Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Bride by Ali Hazelwood

48 reviews

louisepea's review against another edition

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dark funny lighthearted mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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emilywemily6's review against another edition

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lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This book was an entertaining intro to the omegaverse! The politics and backstory of the vampires vs weres vs humans was really interesting, and I loved seeing Misery come to love the werewolves and their culture. I wish some concepts had been explained a little more. I enjoyed these characters but they didn’t have a lot of depth. While I liked the romance for the first 3/4 of the book, I really hated the relationship dynamic toward the end and how Lore lied and gaslit Misery once their relationship progressed 🙄 obviously that resolved but I just didn’t like how the relationship evolved overall when things got sexual, or how easy it was for her to forgive him, or how clueless he was about his poor decision. Overall, this was a fun read, but I feel like there is more that could have made this a really great book in this paranormal romance category.

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nerd_kind's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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elledanie's review against another edition

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lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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waldtochter's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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lawbooks600's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Representation: N/A
Score: Five out of ten.

What an underwhelming reading experience. Again.

Let me get this straight: Ali Hazelwood is not the author for me. Bride is the third book I've read from her, but she always disappoints and never seems to improve. I gave her three chances when I read The Love Hypothesis and then Check & Mate, but Bride was at the same level, not above it. Perhaps I should stop reading from her.

It starts with a prologue that lasts for a few pages, then it cuts to the central storyline with Misery Lark, a vampire, sorry, Vampyre (I'm cringing at this) living in the Human (uppercase) world. The pacing is slow at first and continues to be so, as Bride is around 400 pages. Bride only appeals to three types of people, those who like paranormal romances, those who enjoy fantasy romances (romantasies for short) and Hazelwood enthusiasts. I am not any of them. Hazelwood's latest creation stumbles in every possible aspect, so I'm unsure where to start, but I'll try.

First, the plot. As implied by the term romantasy, the narrative revolves around the relationship between Misery and Lowe Moreland, a Were (uppercase, and presumably short for werewolf.) Is it me, or romantasies don't work for me? I like fantasies with strong worldbuilding, not novels about romances in a fantastical setting with no worldbuilding (contemporary and urban too.) It leaves behind so many unanswered questions. Expanding upon the world would improve the romantasy genre. Where do the Weres and Vampyres come from? Why are they at war with each other and the Humans? Bride doesn't explain that. The characters lack depth, so saying they had chemistry would be a stretch. Increasing depth and character development would've made me enjoy Bride more, but I can't recommend this one in its present state. Those also looking for compositions with literary value should look elsewhere. At least the conclusion is heartwarming, as the couple is together in the end.

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