I went into this novel knowing there were many mixed opinions from reviewers and readers alike. This book seems to have gone viral, judging by the fact that I had to wait almost a month on hold and when I did finally get a copy my library gave me a very strict two-week-only check out period. Not that I needed it considering I finished the book in two days, but I digress. I was excited to find out which side of the fence I’d be on: the side who loved this paranormal romance, or the side who loathed it.

This story takes place in a relatively urban setting, which is pretty par for the course with paranormal, vampire or wolf shifter, romances. We learn that this world is separated into three factions: humans, werewolves, and vampires. Tensions are high, and casualties from skirmishes seem to be relatively stable for the time being (thanks to a system put in place where one person from each faction is sent into enemy territory in an effort to keep the peace).

That’s how we meet our FMC. As a child she was sent into human territory, and now as an adult she’s being married off to a Were, while she herself is a vampire. Due to her upbringing she’s never really fit in with her kind. She didn’t grow up as a vampire, but she was simultaneously outcast by humans. Now she’s being sent to live among Were’s, and her newly wedded Were husband.

I’ve heard other reviewers talk about Ali Hazelwood’s writing and characterizations, alluding to their quirkier qualities that have about a fifty fifty chance of working for the reader. I thought our FMC’s quirks, banter, and inner monologues were fun and easy to follow along in this book. This kind of light, quick, back and forth between characters had me smiling through most of the story, and helped me settle into our main character’s overall vibe.

There are many aspects to this romance that make it feel forbidden. The biggest and most obvious being that he’s a were and she’s a vampire (“he was a boy, she was a girl, can I make it any more obvious” - Avril Lavigne), and the runner up being the selective discussions about mates. I won’t go into too much detail on the latter for the risk of spoilers, but overall the sense of we-shouldn’t-be-doing-this was a strong selling point for their romantic suspense.

If you’ve been a patron of my reviews for any number of years you might have noticed that I tend to review a handful of shifter romances every year. It’s one of my favorite genres, and I use them as palate cleansers when I need something that feels like home. Shifter romances have held my heart since I was a teenager watching Teen Wolf and writing word salad fanfiction for the show. Bride reads like baby’s first shifter romance, and I honestly love that a new generation of readers (no matter their age - although hopefully age appropriate for the level of smut in this book) will get a glimpse into paranormal/shifter romances and want to explore the genre further.

I can see why this aspect would be a turn off to many readers and reviewers who are more experienced in this genre if they were expecting a more developed shifter romance. This novel holds your hand as it walks you through what it means to be a werewolf, what it means to have a mate, and what it means to experience knotting. It’s truly an introductory course that sets the stage for what’s to come when you advance deeper into the lexicon.

If you’re a seasoned paranormal romance reader this book might feel too juvenile for you. Aside from the few spicy scenes this reads like a Young Adult novel most of the time. As a seasoned paranormal romance reader myself I did enjoy the experience of stepping back into the foundations of shifter romances. I genuinely enjoyed watching these characters orbit one another, and solving a mystery together, through the course of this novel. My hope is that this book will be a gateway drug for more readers to explore paranormal/shifter romances, and to discover a genre that has held my own heart captive for well over two decades. Buckle up though, because this is just the beginning.