A Vampyre bride, marrying the enemy to form an alliance that should never work.
Misery Lark is the only daughter of the most powerful member of the Vampyre council. She is an outcast from the southwest council, living among the humans instead of with the Vampyres, who offered her up as collateral for most of her childhood years.
Now, she is being called upon again, to be collateral to another alliance, this one with their mortal enemies, the Weres. Misery doesn't have much choice by to agree to marry the Alpha, and hope it doesn't end with her ripped to pieces.
Lowe Moreland is the newest Alpha for the Weres and is known to be unpredictable and ruthless. He agrees to the marriage to allow for an alliance that wouldn't have been possible with the old Alpha, but it means not being trusted by many below him. He tries to rule the pack with authority, but also with a chance for justice. He finds himself drawn to the Vampyre now living among him and his pack.
Lowe and Misery both need this marriage to work out, not just for the alliance, but for personal reasons they both hold close. Misery doesn't care much for the alliance, but she does care about finding out what happened to Serena, the only person she has ever cared about. Lowe wants to make sure no one learns about his younger sister, Ana, who is half wolf and half human, and could change the way alliances are handled in the future.
This book is definitely different from the other Ali Hazelwood novels we have had come out, but there are some overlaps I really enjoyed. Misery and Lowe are both intelligent characters and have interests and hobbies that show those smarts. They both value their education, even if emotionally they aren't as smart.
When it comes to the vampyre and werewolf dynamic, I didn't mind the way it was done within this text. All the species seem to coexist with alliances, though the Weres and Vampyres tend to be more isolated. There is definitely a lot of politics within the text and I liked how that played a role in the story overall.
It has been a while since I've read a vampyre/werewolf story, especially one with both species interacting. I really enjoyed having this kind of paranormal romance come back into my life. I know everyone does their vampyre and werewolf lore differently, but I didn't mind how it was done within this story.
Misery and Lowe both have their issues, and there is a lot of building trust between the two during the beginning parts of the story, which made sense. I think them growing into trusting each other and beyond was done well. Bonus points, there was a cat names Sparkles in this book and he is an absolute gem.
Overall, a really solid read and I'm excited to see if Ali expands more into this genre too.
4 out of 5 stars for me!
This book is scheduled to be published Feb 6, 2024!
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