Episode Title: Bride – Chapters 21–End

Description: The Romanty Roundtable sinks its fangs into the final chapters of Bride by Ali Hazelwood—complete with blood bag cocktails, Cheez-It ASMR, and a full breakdown of werewolf anatomy (you’ve been warned). As the book wraps up its steamy werewolf-vampire politics, the crew reflects on everything from consent and hybrid identity to disappointing twists and anatomically confusing soup. With equal parts chaos and critique, Rick, Amanda, and Kim bring laughs, hot takes, and heartfelt reviews in this finale.

Key Topics Discussed:

Consent in the Soup — The group appreciates how Hazelwood handles consent during spicy scenes, contrasting it with other monster romances. Lowe may be dominant, but Misery stays in control.

The Knot Situation — Yes, that scene. Confusion, Google searches, and too much canine anatomy lead to a collective existential crisis—and a firm line between monster romance and monster biology.

Ending Letdowns — Despite strong early chapters, the crew agrees the final twist fell flat. Misery’s dad as the villain? Meh. Gabby? Underused. The final battle? Mostly off-page. A lot of build-up, not much bite.

Misery: Smart or Dumb? — The hosts debate how someone so book-smart can be so romantically clueless. Is it endearing, frustrating, or just bad character development?

Serena Returns — The not-so-dead best friend is back, and the group enjoys her reunion with Misery. Bonus points for Sylvester the cat and the term “fuckwaffle” making a repeat appearance.

Lo’s Emotional Walls — “You're not a problem, you're a privilege” hits hard—but so does his hot/cold pushback. The final declaration of love is satisfying, but the road there is bumpy.

Werewolf Worldbuilding — The Roundtable digs into Council drama, political fallout, and the vampire/wear hierarchy—and the overarching message that maybe all systems are bad.

Blood Cocktails & Book Pong — The episode ends with a live game of book pong to pick the next read (Fantasmawins!), lots of wine-fueled laughter, and a debate about rating systems.

Insights Based on Numbers:

10 final chapters → 1 werewolf knot explained in horrifying detail

3 podcasters → 1 group braincell as they piece together plot, romance, and worldbuilding

3.5 stars from all three readers → Fun but flawed

4 soup cans for spice → “Good soup… except for the knot”

1 confirmed hybrid, 1 soft alpha, 1 villain dad, 0 epic on-page final fights