Excerpts-

• From the cover Chapter 1
  
  It's been storming for three days straight when he finally returns from a meeting with the leader of the Big Bend huddle. Two of his seconds are already inside his home, waiting for him with wary expressions.
  
  "The Vampyre woman-she backed out."
  
  He grunts as he wipes his face. Smart of her, he thinks.
  
  "But they found a replacement," Cal adds, sliding a manila folder on the counter. "Everything's in here. They want to know if she has your approval."
  
  "We proceed as planned."
  
  Cal huffs out a laugh. Flor frowns. "Don't you want to look at the-"
  
  "No. This changes nothing."
  
  They're all the same, anyway.
  
  Six weeks before the ceremony
  
  She shows up at the start-up where I work on an early Thursday evening, when the sun has already set and the entire bullpen is contemplating grievous bodily harm.
  
  Against me.
  
  I doubt I deserve this level of hatred, but I do understand it. And that's why I don't make a fuss when I return to my desk following a brief meeting with my manager and notice the state of my stapler. Honestly, it's fine. I work from home 90 percent of the time and rarely print anything. Who cares if someone smeared bird shit on it?
  
  "Don't take it personally, Missy." Pierce leans against our cubicle divider. His smile is less concerned friend, more smarmy used car salesman; even his blood smells oily.
  
  "I won't." Other people's approval is a powerful drug. Lucky me, I never got the chance to develop an addiction. If there's something I'm good at, it's rationalizing my peers' contempt toward me. I've been training like piano prodigies: tirelessly and since early childhood.
  
  "No need to sweat it."
  
  "I'm not." Literally. I barely own the necessary glands.
  
  "And don't listen to Walker. He didn't say what you think he did."
  
  Pretty sure it was "nasty bitch" and not "tasty peach" that he yelled across the conference room, but who knows?
  
  "It comes with the territory. You'd be mad, too, if someone did a penetration test against a firewall you've been working on for weeks and breached it in what, one hour?"
  
  It was maybe a third of that, even counting the break I took in the middle after realizing how quickly I was blowing through the system. I spent it online shopping for a new hamper, since Serena's damn cat seems to be asleep in my old one whenever I need to do laundry. I texted her a picture of the receipt, followed by You and your cat owe me sixteen dollars. Then I sat and waited for a reply, like I always do.
  
  It didn't come. Nor had I expected it would.
  
  "People will get over it," he Pierces on. "And hey, you never bring lunch, so no need to worry someone'll spit in your Tupperware." He bursts into laughter. I turn to my computer monitor, hoping he'll peace out. Boy, am I wrong. "And to be honest, it's kind of on you. If you tried to mingle more . . . Personally, I get your loner, mysterious, quiet vibe. But some read you as aloof, like you think you're better than us. If you made an effort to-"
  
  "Misery."
  
  When I hear my name called-the real one-for a split, exceptionally dumb second, I experience relief that this conversation is going to be over. Then I crane my neck and notice the woman standing on the other side of the divider. Her face is distantly familiar, and so is the black hair, but it's not until I focus on her heartbeat that I manage to place her. It's slow like only a Vampyre's can be, and . . .
  
  Well.
  
  Shit.
  
  "Vania?"
  
  "You're hard to find," she tells me, voice melodic and low. I briefly contemplate slamming my head against the keyboard. Then settle for replying...

Reviews-

• 

  January 22, 2024
  Misery definitely doesn’t love company in this funny and thoughtful urban fantasy romance from Hazelwood (Love, Theoretically). As the daughter of a leading Vampyre council member, Misery Lark is used to being used. She spent ages eight through 18 as the collateral in an uneasy Vampyre-human alliance, essentially held hostage in the human world. Just when she’s finally free to live her life as a computer security expert, her best friend disappears and Misery is summoned back to her father, who aims to use her as collateral once more, this time in a Vampyre-Werewolf alliance that must be sealed with a marriage. She’s ready to refuse—until she realizes her future husband may be linked to her missing friend and she sees a chance to get answers. Alpha Lowe Moreland isn’t a stranger to duty, but even he’s a bit surprised with this marriage of inconvenience and how much he enjoys having a member of the much-hated Vampyre race in his territory. With the specter of an interspecies war on the horizon as well as threats from within, he has to balance attraction and protection while still holding on to his sanity. It’s a new subgenre for Hazelwood, and she navigates it well, slowly teasing out the sweet and spicy supernatural romance. This is a treat. Agent: Thao Le, Sandra Dijkstra Literary.

• It begins with a wedding. ThŽrse Plummer depicts the politically motivated marriage between tech savvy Misery Lark, daughter of an influential Vampyre councilman, and Lowe Moreland, newly ascended Were Alpha. The nuptials will have to create mutual trust between the lead characters in order for them to find Misery's missing friend, uncover sinister plots, and figure out what they mean to each other. Plummer goes above and beyond acting out internal and spoken dialogue by enhancing the script with sighs, chuckles, groans, and strained vocalizations. Her character voices flow from deeply masculine to the nasal timbre of a stuffy child. Will Damron's one-sentence perspectives at the beginning of each chapter are beautifully juxtaposed with Plummer's femininity. S.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine
• 

  Starred review from June 1, 2024
  

  Narrators Th�r�se Plummer and Will Damron perform a love story starring two very different beings. Vampyres, Werewolves, and Humans have long been at odds, each seeing the others as enemies. When Misery, the daughter of the Vampyre Southwest council leader, agrees to marry Lowe, the Alpha of the regional Weres, they hope to maintain the peace; however, Misery has another, more personal motive for the arrangement. She's looking for her best friend, the only person she's ever cared about--and Misery suspects she may be lost in Were territory. The two foes reluctantly grow closer as other forces try to disrupt the tenuous treaty. Each chapter begins with short snippets told from Lowe's third-person point of view, which are expertly performed by Damron, who imbues the few lines with Lowe's intensity. Plummer, who narrates the majority of the story from Misery's first-person point of view, is expressive as she captures not only Misery's voice but also those of the other characters. VERDICT A unique take on the star-crossed lovers trope. Listeners who enjoy fun and funny paranormal romances, such as those by Molly Harper, will be delighted with this production.--Amanda L. S. Murphy

  Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Title Information+

• Publisher

  Books on Tape

• OverDrive Listen

  Release date:

Digital Rights Information+