Bride

I don't think...

I didn't get on with Bride.

Yeah.

I think it, that could've just been, like, a mood thing as well.

Oh, I didn't, I did not like Bride.

Oh, fun.

Interesting.

I, I do think Bride was, like, a very clear difference in, like, her normal...

Number one, Kelly Thompson and Mattia de Lolis, who I'm not very familiar with, but he draws a pretty bride.

Oh, cool.

Uh, And, uh, it, so it's, it's very interesting, right? When you look at, uh, throughout history, the bride of Frankenstein, who is, I think officially like a completely licensed universal monster.

I don't know that there is, is there a care? Is there actually a character in Frankenstein? That's like,

I think he wanted, I think he wanted Frankenstein to make him a bride.

Yeah.

Yeah.

But, uh, I mean, it's kind of true also of Frankenstein that what we always remember is a Universal Monsters version, but the Bride wholesale is basically a Universal creation.

So I guess I was, like, expecting the mates.

Hunt's not a fae, and so it's like the question is can they be mates if they're different species? But I guess that didn't bother me in the book Bride, when he was a vampire.

Or he was a werewolf and she was a vampire, and I was a clown.

Hold on.

[upbeat music] Welcome to Reading Smut, where we read horny books and talk to the people who love them.

I'm Bria Grant here with Mallory O'Meara, and this month it's spooky season, and we're talking about Bride.

Ooh.

Ooh, spooky.

Remember, folks, we have a lot of fun merch that you sh- should check out.

That's also in the show notes.

And we're gonna get into Bride after a short break.

Reading Smut is sponsored in part this week by Bellesa.

Amanda did pick this book.

We're reading Bride by Ali Hazelwood.

Which I know a lot of Glassers love.

I just started it last night.

I'm having a great time.

That is Runner by Ashton Lattimore.

And I'm reading Bride by Ali Hazelwood.

[typewriter clicking]

I seem to be oscillating between contemporary romance and romance.

fantasy romance these days I don't know what's wrong with me but hopefully I'll snap out of it soon but actually these two books are not books that I like read say and no I read them recently actually so I'll be reviewing Bride by Ali Hazelwood and also The Ballad of Fallen Dragons by Sarah A Parker both books that I sort of read in the last two to three months I read Bride sort of in April and The Ballad of Fallen Dragons was pretty recently literally within the week that it came out so let's dive right into it so first book Bride by Ali Hazelwood oh my god so I think Ali Hazelwood you know is like the queen of top tier banter I've been seeing Ali Hazelwood's name all around you know like when you see top lists of the year etc I see her name come up quite often but what I didn't realize was she's actually one of these few authors who can dabble into different genres because not only does she write no more like contemporary romance, she also writes fantasy and she writes fantasy really, really well.

And that's not something a lot of authors are really good at doing, being able to dip into those two genres really well.

So for example, Rebecca Yarris, who's the famous author of the Fourth Wing series.

Do you know what, I finished reading this and I went to look for another book.

When I saw another one of her books that was in people's top 2025 list, I picked it up immediately because she's now an auto buy author.

for me because i've read two or three of her books now and all of them all of them have been amazing So let's hear the blog for Bride, shall we? So Bride, I actually have as a physical copy.

I was in a bookshop recently, oh, well, I think months ago, and it was on sale.

And that's Mate by Ellie Hazelwood.

And now look, I completely understand because Mate and Bride and most things by Ali Hazelwood go against everything I usually enjoy.

Usually these tropes and these situations I usually hate.

And there is something about Ali Hazelwood's writing that to me it just feels like putting on, like, Gossip Girl or something like that.

Like, I do.

Yeah.

And that's why I did – I actually really – I don't want to say really loved, but I liked Bride a lot.

Like, I had a – I had a heck of a good time reading Bride.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And I've read Bride by Ali Hazelwood as well, which is actually a paranormal romance.

Yes, because Ali Hazelwood, I feel like I saw Alona Ma on her podcast that she has talking about...

Mate? Mate.

Yeah, which is the sequel to Bride.

Like being Australian, hearing a book called Mate is

like...