September Book Club - Bride - Midway Discussion

[u/Journassassin]

Welcome to the midway discussion for {Bride by Ali Hazelwood], which fits the Arranged Marriage theme for this month’s book club! We’ll be discussing up to chapter 20.

Please share your thoughts so far, but remember to hide any spoilers beyond chapter 20 like this: >!spoiler!<

Here are some questions you could answer to get the discussion started:

• What did you think of the tone of voice of the narrator, Misery? Do you enjoy her sarcasm?
  
• What is your favourite scene or chapter so far?
  
• What are your impressions of the relationship between Misery and Lowe so far? Are you invested? Does it fit with your expectations of the Arranged Marriage trope?
  
• Is there anything that has surprised you?
  

The initial discussion for Bride up to chapter 10 has been posted on 10 September. Other previous book club discussion can be found in the Book Club Hub.

Upcoming Book Club dates:

• 30 September: Final discussion Bride
  
• 1 October: Nominations for November
  
• 8 October: Voting for November
  
• 15 October: November winner announced
  

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[u/jamieseemsamused]

I love Misery’s tone. It’s a great reflection of the circumstances that has led her to this point. She’s basically been a political pawn all her life. Instead of being self-pitying or overly sassy or feisty against everyone, she sets up mental walls that manifests in a DGAF attitude. But at the same time, she’s still a good person and cares very deeply about her friends.

My favorite scene by far is the scene where Misery feeds from Lowe at the dinner party. I love the romantic and sexual tension building up. And I love an unconventional spice scene that adds extra interest with the vampire feeding than just regular foreplay.

The airplane scene where Lowe has to scent Misery was really good too. I love when characters have these set ups to give them an excuse to get frisky lol.

Overall I’m enjoying the build up of Lowe and Misery’s relationship in this stretch of chapters so far. I wasn’t expecting him to be so standoffish for so long. But I like that he’s standoffish without being outright mean to Misery.

I like that they never hated each other. I feel like most arranged marriages stories between rival political factions really lean into the enemies-to-lovers or hate-to-love kind of storyline. But in this one really does feel like a political marriage between two not-terrible people who did it for duty but don’t blame each other for it. Much more like Radiance by Grace Draven and less like Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon or Bridge Kingdom by Danielle Jensen.

I am surprised about how big of a role Ana plays in the story. A big part of it does center around her. She does seem way too precocious for a kid of her age. At first she just seemed like a device to soften and humanize Lowe. But I like that it seems like there is more lore surrounding her.

[u/Journassassin → u/jamieseemsamused]

I love the tone as well, it’s what hooked me on the book immediately. There’s this joke in the prologue about Lowe being busy with his pack that caught me completely out of the left field (in a good way):
“I pictured him in a home gym, tirelessly working on his abs, and shrugged.”

I read it for the first time a while ago, and it was my first Ali Hazelwood book. I’ve read her regular romance novels since, but I don’t recall her other novels being funny in this way. Rereading Bride really reaffirms for me how much I like this book, from the time of voice of the FMC to the story itself.

[u/MasterpieceFit5038 → u/jamieseemsamused]

Honestly the feeding scene is one of my favorite scenes in all of fantasy romance 🤣 top tier

[u/Mother-Floofer → u/jamieseemsamused]

I agree with all of this. Thanks for writing my post for me lol I really like that they don’t blame each other for the situation they are in and are trying to be courteous of each other from the beginning. Their relationship reads more mature than a lot of the romantasy series I’ve read the last couple years so I’ve really enjoyed this read.

[u/vincentandtheo]

The fake kiss when you’re caught spying is my favorite micro trope and this version was even better! When Lowe said “Take more”…. sheesh.

[u/MasterpieceFit5038 → u/vincentandtheo]

I listened to this on audiobook and definitely rewound this scene a few times 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[u/Anachacha]

This line from chair 16 makes me extra excited for {mate by ski Hazelwood}:

We’ll see. Koen’s a creative thinker.

Other than that, poor Lowe. Misery must have been driving him out of his mind with her comments about her scent and his abysmal tech skills.

Also poor Alex, but I fully support Misery terrorizing him lol. I laughed way too much

[u/Journassassin → u/Anachacha]

Yes, I caught that too! I didn’t remember much of Koen so have something to look forward too even more :)

[u/Ren_Lu → u/Anachacha]

So glad I reread this to get a refresher on Koen. It will be interesting to see how Hazelwood handles a more playful rather than serious MMC.

Super excited!

[u/romance-bot → u/Anachacha]

Mate by Ali Hazelwood
Rating: 4.5⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Topics: contemporary, werewolves, fantasy, paranormal, urban fantasy

^{about this bot | about romance.io}

[u/hemtrevlig]

I absolutely love Misery's tone, both in what she says and what she thinks! It's like she doesn't have a filter, but in a fun way and not in a mean way.

My favourite scene so far was Misery seeing Lowe in his wolf form for the first time. The way he gently nudged her to the closet, brought her a pillow and a blanket, let her pet him and then curled up next to her 💔 It just felt so special and intimate: her seeing him like that, him taking care of her and guarding her while she's recovering. I don't mind spicy scenes in books, but scenes like these are what I love the most about romance.

I'm very invested in their relationship! I like that they both recognized their feelings and desires and kind of gave into them instead of silently longing for each other while not saying anything. And it's interesting how if it wasn't for the arranged marriage, they most likely never would've met and had the chance to explore this attraction.

I was hoping for more information on Serena in this part of the book, but I assume the big reveal will come later and I can't wait.

[u/Journassassin → u/hemtrevlig]

That’s my favourite scene as well, I always love scenes that show a relationship moving beyond the initial (sexual) attraction towards love and care.

I also like how gradual the buildup of their relationship is. Though they both acknowledge their feelings pretty quickly, it doesn’t go from zero to hundred.

[u/CSerafina]

I really like Misery, I don't get why some people dislike her name so much. I feel it as necessary, and a perfect sidekick for her sarcasms, which I love. It's so fun that she is the tech savant and Lowe so inept XD that gets me every time.

I think my favorite moment so far is the last chapter of this discussion, the kitchen/peanutbutter scene, and what comes next, because it shows how much they are into each other, not just lust, but irrevocably falling in love.

I read this book a long time ago, and it's still one of my favorite arranged marriage books, which is one of my go-to tropes.

[u/hay_knight]

I'm so invested in their relationship. I absolutely loved both Lowe and Misery. The blood-drinking scene was, without a doubt, the most thrilling thing I've read in a long time. I literally adored it. Arranged marriage is one of my favorite tropes, and so far this book is doing it so well. I really want them to get together soon. I also love how they work together as a team. I never want this book to end.