Okay I was skeptical about this one but @novels spoke so highly of it that I had to pick it up!

I really enjoyed this read. The genre shift for Ali was good and I thought it was well executed. It was unique and unlike anything I’d ever read. The disappearance paired with the romance definitely kept me engaged. The only thing I struggled with was understanding the rules of the world. This might have been pregnancy brain but I was a little confused on how some things worked. All in all I highly recommend this one!

Thanks to @berkley for this eARC.

(4.5⭐️) Thank you to my friends at @berekleypub and @prhaudio for the free #gifted copies of this book.

The banter! The tension! Oh man did I SWOON over Misery and Lowe.

I thought I knew Hazelwood and the stories she writes. But this book proved me so wrong. (No teeny tiny female lead to be found here!) Hazelwood has broken out of that mold, and totally won me over again.

I was needing a good romance. And this book fit the bill. It was SO MUCH fun. From the beginning, I was easily absorbed by this story of forbidden love, and I managed to binge it in less than 24 hours.

Enemies to lovers is my favorite trope. It tends to bring the heat. And this vampire/werewolf pairing did just that. There’s a certain plane scene that had me 🔥!

Completely aside from the swoony, spicy romance, I was besotted with Lowe’s 7-year-old sister, Anna. She kept me laughing, and I had a strong mama urge to protect her.

I thoroughly enjoyed this new side of Hazelwood. And I have to admit, I’m hoping for a sequel featuring a certain pair of best friends!

🎧 The narration for this one is oh-so-good. Primary narrator, Therese Plummer fully embodied the snarkiness and sass of Misery. She had me hanging on, one more chapter, until I reached the end. Sadly, Wil Damon only narrates short snippets. But his narration… BOY was it good. He had me longing for more from Lowe.

This book was everything!!! My first paranormal romance and I ate it up!! It had a mixture of all my favorite things: marriage of convenience, tension, a dash of slow burn and great banter!! I loved this book and I love Misery and Lowe! This book hit!❤️

This was a blast! I feel like you can tell when a writer had fun writing a book, and I really felt that in this story, that Ali just enjoyed writing this one so darn much. I think my favorite part of this romance was the recognition that Lowe and Misery are fundamentally very different people, and rather than dismiss the significance of those differences, they worked very conscientiously to be thoughtful of and accommodate and care for those differences. That effort and the acknowledgement that their relationship took and would continue to take effort really enriched their romantic dynamic and emotional intimacy:

"We’ll try, then. Isn’t that what any relationship is, in the end? Meeting someone and wanting to be with that person more than with anyone else, and trying to make it work. And I . . . maybe I don’t have the hardware, but the software is here, and I get to program it. Maybe you’re not meant for me the way I’m meant for you, but I’m going to choose you anyway, over and over and over again."

Swoon.

Thank you, Berkley and NetGalley for the advance review copy! All opinions are my own. I love Ali to bits, but this review is unbiased and solely based on my genuine enjoyment of her writing.

Misery Lark, the daughter of a powerful Vampyre, is called upon to serve as a “Collateral”, a guarantee of peace between the Vampyres and the Werewolves, but instead of just residing with the enemy, she’s to marry the Alpha of a powerful pack, Lowe Moreland.

Tensions are high between Humans, Vampyres, and Werewolves, with casualties on all sides, but this isn’t the only reason Misery agrees to this arrangement. Misery’s foster sister has gone missing and Lowe Moreland’s name has come up in her search for her.

Misery was so wickedly fun with her clever, ironic humor, and big heart! And Lowe was everything you want in an Alpha: protective, caring, and lethal!

I’ve enjoyed Ali Hazelwood’s contemporary romances, so I was excited and more than a little curious about her venture into paranormal romance. Bride features all the fun features in shifter/vampire stories: mates, primal instincts, and supernatural abilities! This marriage of convenience between opposing sides/species was sort of a fantasy Romeo and Juliet without (thankfully) all the horrid tragedy! I loved everything about this slow burn romance! Misery and Lowe were deliciously hot together! Bride does not disappoint!

This is about Misery, a Vampyre having a contract marriage with Lowe an alpha Werewolf to keep the peace between their species. I love to read romantasy so I was lookinf forward to this story. I enjoyed the banter and tension between the characters. Ali Hazelwood excels in that. However there were too many cringeworthy moments in the book that I could not get past. This Thank you #NetGalley for my ARC.

If you told me I was going to love a vampire/werewolf romcom, I would have said you were nuts but 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗗𝗘 was the paranormal love story I didn't know I needed. It's got Ali Hazelwood's signature banter and steam, and the enemies to lovers and marriage of convenience tropes are two of my favorites. I devoured (werewolf pun intended) the book - it was truly fang-tastic (couldn't resist!).

I was pleasantly surprised with this. I had my doubts, I grew tired of the itty bitty FMC but my girl Misery. Now that's a woman. All the tropes hit so well. The spicy scenes landed, HARD. MMC is the perfect amount of dominant.

Definitely looking forward to more from this series, please tell me a sequel is already in the works.

SHE WROTE AN OMEGAVERSE!!!

Could Ali be anymore amazing?

I was so beyond excited to read this book. I am a sucker for omegaverse shifter romances and Ali gave us that a more.

Romantasy? Check.
Paranormal Romance? Check.
Forced proximity? Check.
Spice? Check!

I loved this book. It was just so much fun and addicting, I couldn’t put it down. I want to recommend it to every person I know!

Hands down, this is my favorite Hazelwood read!

I love some paranormal romance and love to see it being accepted into traditional publishing!!!

This quirky little vampyre/werewolf romance was so much better than I had anticipated. There was wonderful world building and the paranormal aspects were well done! The romance was enjoyable but it felt a little predictable at times (even more than you'd come to expect with romance reads)

This was a beautiful change of pace from her previous releases.

Words cannot describe the absolute ecstatic joy I felt when I found out that one of my all time favorite authors Ali Hazelwood was dipping her toes into the Romantasy/Urban fantasy genre with Bride. I went into this ARC with so much hope because I literally couldn’t imagine anything better than my favorite STEMinist leaping into my favorite genre and boy did Ali come prepared to knock my socks off! We get the beloved wit, charm, relatability and honesty that she injects into everything she touches while seamlessly stepping into the omegaverse. There’s nothing heavy handed or new feeling here, it’s like she’s been writing Fantasy her whole career. She nailed the pacing, world building, explanation of complex magical and political systems without feeling like an info dump. She masterfully played out the tension until it’s just ready to snap and has you furiously turning pages because will they or won’t they?! Our girl knows what she’s doing and does not belong stuck in just one genre, fling the doors open Ali is here to deliver!

Bride is quite literally everything I had hoped for and so much more! I didn’t dislike a single thing. We get some of my absolute favorite tropes like he falls first, forced proximity, found family and touch her and perish. We get a FMC who you just can’t to scoop up and love and remind that she is so incredibly powerful even if she doesn’t know it yet. I altogether felt seen and heard by Misery in ways I haven’t felt since I read Love on the Brain last, (which is a constant reread for me) and as always Ali Hazelwood will have you closing this book feeling that much less alone in this world, even if ours isn’t filled with the paranormal. I just hope that this isn’t the last of her ventures into this genre (and others, go for it Ali!) because I’m ready to devour anything and everything she has to offer after she came out of the gate with this triumph. Can Ali write a bad book? I’m pretty sure the answer is a resounding absolutely not!

Thank you so much for this dream ARC Berkley, NetGalley and Penguin Random House. My views are entirely my own. Please excuse the technical errors that lead to this review not fully posting here on NetGalley.

Thank you for the ACR copy.

I love all things Ali Hazelwood. I have now read all her books and am still in love with her writing. I am always so drawn into her characters and themes. I love the new take on romance for her and ate this book up! The humor and mystery was all perfect!!
This book is perfect for anyone who loves romcoms and romance.

Although Misery Lark is the daughter of a high-powered, prestigious Vampyre leader, she prefers to live secretly among Humans with her foster sister Serena. However when she’s told she’s to marry the Alpha Werewolf, Lowe Moreland, in order to maintain a fragile peace, she accepts her fate because Lowe may hold the answers to finding the missing Serena.

I cannot adequately express how much I enjoyed Bride. A slow-burn romance coupled with an engrossing mystery, the book is familiar yet different from every werewolf/vampire story I’ve previously read. I loved every minute of it! Because the story is shared mostly from Misery’s first person POV, I quickly became invested in her life, which hasn’t been kind to her. She’s used by her father as a pawn in his political machinations. As a child, she was forced to live among the humans as Collateral, and instead of being heralded as a hero, she is spit on and hated by her own kind when she returns. Her only friend is the human orphan raised along side of Misery while she lived as Collateral.

Hazelwood’s world is shared by Humans, Vampyres, and Werewolves, each with its own territory and peace accords. Because they live separately, Vampyers and Werewolves only know rumors, myths, and urban legends about the other species. It’s funny how each species believes such silly truths about the other. Now that Misery lives among the Werewolves, I love that she and Lowe take the time to learn from each other and not just assume and railroad over the other. Their bonding over peanut butter is precious. And what starts between them, spills over onto much of the Pack. It’s great that two people who are different species and grew up in different cultures can connect so wonderfully.

Lowe and Misery start with a marriage of convenience, but it grows into friendship and love. Hazelwood pens emotions that are raw and real. I love how Misery uses sarcasm to hide her loneliness and that she’s so incredibly loyal. I love her openness and honesty, especially as she learns to fit in and trust others, and to finally make friends. And Lowe is such a noble guy. He wants what is best for everyone, but especially Misery.

The mystery of what happened to Serena is exciting and a great bonding tool for the couple. I love that Misery decides to confide in Lowe and he in her for the mutual reason of finding Serena and protecting a young member of Lowe’s pack. Hazelwood kept me guessing, and I loved realizing the truth moments before Misery.

Bride is a beautiful romance, rich in details and quality storytelling. I laughed a lot, cried a bit, and enjoyed every moment.

My Rating: A+ LOVED IT!!

Seeing authors branch out from what they normally write, is usually an anxious and exciting time. I love seeing authors challenge themselves and break the mold that they might have formed for themselves. I have to say, I’m glad Hazelwood broke out of the mold to write this one.

While a slow start for me, Bride picked up and became rather addicting in so many ways. Part of it, was me diving back into a paranormal romance. Two species who probably shouldn’t love each other and do, so this was wonderful for me to see that be explored throughout here.

Misery was a character I instantly fell in love with. She has this snark that had me chuckling. An incredibly quick-witted individual who always had a comeback, and one you might not always expect. I wish I could find the words to properly express my love for this character.

The world building, for being primarily focused on the romance, is good. Readers and get a good sense of how Weres, Vampyres, and Humans all interact in this world as well as their differences from other media with the same supernatural creatures. It’s blended together well and every addition to the world feels very natural, to the point where it took me a second to realize that this was world building because it was all so tied together with everything else.

I had so much fun reading this. It was a wonderful story to devour. I truly hope Hazelwood writes more like this. If you’ve liked Hazelwood’s other books, give this a try. While it does feel different from what she had written, there is still the Hazelwood feel to it. If you like werewolf fanfics on ao3, pick it up. Bride is an enjoyable ride.

Ok, I’ve decided. Ali Hazelwood should write all Paranormal Romance now! This was so brilliant, witty, smart, and sexy. It’s hands down my new favorite Ali book. I don’t have a single negative thing to say about this story. Absolute perfection.

At this point I’ll read Ali Hazelwood’s grocery list, and I’m so excited to see she is branching out from her STEMinist novels. Bride is definitely for the Twilight girlies and I’m only slightly embarrassed to admit that I ate this up. Like, once I started it I couldn’t put it down or sleep until I finished. I loved Lowe, Misery all of the side characters, and just had so much fun reading this. Seriously give me another book in this series ASAP, Ms. Hazelwood.

I’ve read all of Ali’s full length novels and she’s just so good at writing steamy romance without losing the plot. The relationship between Lowe and Misery progresses at a good rate and even though they start the book as strangers who are thrown together in a marriage, I loved seeing the friendship that develops between them. The banter and funny moments they shared had me kicking my little feet. I loved seeing Misery grow and realize she’s worth a whole lot more than she’s been raised to believe.

Finally, thank you for spelling out the knotting for us omegaverse virgins. I was momentarily confused and then, uh, yeah. I get it now 😂

Read if you like:
-Paranormal Romance
-Marriage of convenience
-“My Wife” moments
-The best kind of found family

WOW, what a rollercoaster - I loved it and I’m so excited for possibly more romantasy from Ali Hazelwood (PLEASE ALI)?! Funny, slightly clueless, and quirky FMC as per Ali Hazelwood’s usual style. Maybe it’s the same as her previous STEM romances except in a fantasy world setting, but I truly don’t care - I enjoyed, I laughed, I kicked my feet giggling, and that’s all that matters really 🤷🏻‍♀️

It’s been 110 days since I finished Bride by Ali and there has not been a single day since that I haven’t thought about this book.

💍 Arranged marriage
🐺 Vampire x Werewolf
🫦 “Bite me”
💻 STEM FMC
🪢 Knotting

I could not be more ecstatic for everyone to read Bride.

Bride is a fantastic paranormal romance full of witty dialogue and moments you will certainly laugh out loud.

Misery, our FMC, is such an amazing character. I’ve read a lot of books where there’s a male character who is clueless about children and reluctant towards them (and then realizes they love them), but Misery fully embodies this trope. I loved everything about it. Misery estimating that a child she encounter was anywhere between 3 and 13 was ICONIC 😂

I know many people have been craving a dual POV. While this book isn’t fully dual POV, you do get snippets from Lowe’s viewpoint!

I could read 1000 more pages of Misery and Lowe, so I’m BEGGING you to read these 400ish pages. And then please let me know how feral you become!!!

Book Review for Bride by Ali Hazelwood

First Impressions: Meh
What’s Your Type? Mixed Species Romance, Vampires vs. Werewolves, Team Edward Marries Team Jacob, Oblivious Partners, Marriage of Convenience (Contrivance?), Fated Mates
Meet Cute: Do You Take This Vampyre?
The Lean: *Dramatic Sigh*
Dirty Talk: Knotty
We Need to Talk: Shifting … Genres
Was it Good For You? Made An Impr … session

First Impressions: Meh
There’s nothing all that special about this cover. I don’t hate it, but it just doesn’t really do anything for me, you know? I really could have used an old-fashioned-style cover, with a vampire in the embrace of a burly werewolf. That would have caught my attention.

What’s Your Type?
- Mixed Species Romance
- Vampires vs. Werewolves
- Team Edward Marries Team Jacob
- Oblivious Partners
- Marriage of Convenience (Contrivance?)
- Fated Mates

Dating Profile
Misery Lark is the daughter of the head of the council of Vampyres, and has been treated like a pawn her entire life. As a child, she was shipped off to the humans as Collateral, or a reason for the Vampyres and humans to remain on peaceful terms. Her only friend during that time was a human named Serena and the two quickly became as close as sisters.

Long after their shared childhood, Misery and Serena remained close. In fact, Serena was the only person (or thing, really) Misery ever cared about. So when she goes missing, Misery will do just about anything to figure out what happened to her friend—even if it means putting herself back into a pawn situation, this time by marrying the new Alpha of the Were community, a man she’s never met and doesn’t really care to get to know.

Meet Cute: Do You Take This Vampyre?
Misery and Lowe Moreland, her husband-to-be, meet for the first time at the altar. She finds him attractive in an objective way (and large, natch); he finds her repulsive and stinky. Or so Misery assumes.

The Lean: *Dramatic Sigh*
Lowe’s a busy guy. He took over his pack after the former Alpha started losing his wits (and killing Weres for going against him). He never wanted to be Alpha, but he was born for the job. That said, he doesn’t have (or make) much time for Misery at first. She’s fine with that, given her preoccupation with investigating Serena’s disappearance whenever and however she can, but the two slowly form a relationship that’s based on more than keeping the peace between their two species.

They’re both surprisingly caring about each other from the start, even though they were raised in societies that hated each other. There’s a bit of an insta-love vibe when you realize what’s actually going on with Lowe (which is super obvious from the very start to the reader), but it takes Misery FOREVER to figure it out, so the book doesn’t get to any spice right off the bat.

Dirty Talk: Knotty
I have apparently not read enough Were or shifter romance, because I did not know about knotting until reading this book. I’m not sure I fully understand the, uh, physicality of it all, but Misery certainly enjoyed experiencing it when the two eventually gave into their “unexplained” attraction for each other. (I roll my eyes at Misery’s obtuseness, but truth be told, I’d probably think the same way were I in her shoes.)

A moment later I feel an impression of immense pressure. He fills me slowly, thrusting languidly once, twice, until the swelling at the base of his cock is too big to slide back out. Then he’s shaking, grunting from deep inside him. I run my teeth down his neck, and he moans, cradling my face to his trhoat and my hips to his groin. The bulge of his knot grows larger and larger.

I feel strange. Full. Nice. I might even feel …

I’m not entirely comfortable with the idea of being stuck to someone like this, but whatever works for them!

Ms. Perky’s Prize for Purplest Prose
I 100% do not mean to yuck anyone’s yum, but I was nearly too distracted by thoughts of how knotting literally worked to fully into the truly spicy scenes that took place later in the book, although the earlier ones were laced with a delicious tension that often comes with undeniable chemistry.

This—

“I’m going to do it, Misery. I’m going to come where I’m supposed to.” His voice is barely comprehensible. “I’m going to pop a knot in your tight little—” A sudden shift, and the pressure increases. Lowe is coming, his orgasm a powerful thing that neither of us is ready for. … Another wave of pleasure crashes over him as he spurts inside me, and his neck strains back, eyes glazed.

—just doesn’t quite hit (pun intended) the same when you’re not familiar with the act.

We Need to Talk: Shifting … Genres
Ali Hazelwood has made a name for herself in the STEAMy community (if that’s not already a genre, I’ll take full credit), and Bride is her first foray into a more fantastical world. (Although, some might say that relationships between giant men and tiny women who can somehow physically take everything their man gives them even though their hands are literally bigger than Mickey Mouse’s gloves veers into fantasy …) Bride doesn’t feel all that different from her other books, in a good way, other than the fact that there are Vampyres and Weres and the different physical things that come with being different species. (Can you tell I’m caught up on the whole knotting thing? I’m sorry. I should have done my research before diving in.) I truly liked Misery, for all her curmudgeonly nature, and Lowe’s a total dreamboat. (His caring nature and continual need for explicit consent is truly hot.) Basically, even if you like your romance more on the realistic side of things, if you’re a Hazelwood fan, you’ll like this book.

Was it Good For You?
Although I get a leetle tired of the repeated themes of Hazelwood’s novel, I still enjoy them for their witty characters and fluffy spice. Bride was a departure—both for her and me—but still had all of the hallmarks that make her books enjoyable. Plus, there was a moment at the very end that had me laughing. I won’t spoil it here, but it relates to a certain series involving vampires and werewolves and humans. And mates. If Hazelwood didn’t do this on purpose, I’ll go read more knotty fan fic eat my hat.

if the spicy scenes were taken out of this one, it would have been an easy 5 stars from me!! as I typically go into books blind, I had absolutely no idea what to expect from this paranormal romantasy!! and let me tell you, I was so invested in the plot!!

ali hazelwood’s first dabble into the fantasy genre was such a success! she did a wonderful job world building in this magical realism world of humans, vampyres, and weres - and made it totally believable!! her writing style always combines characterization with plot in the best way possible, and BRIDE was no exception

I’m a sucker for marriage of convenience and arranged relationships 😍 and having that arranged marriage be between a vampyre and a were was just the tension I needed!! misery was the perfect MC to be thrust into this situation - and her motivation behind everything was the perfect story to go along with the political plot of the universe!!

what really threw me off were the spicy scenes 😅 it was … a lot to take in. and while yes this felt a lot like twilight fanfiction, the spicy scenes (especially at the end) were borderline beastiality and gave me a huge ick

nonetheless, ali hazelwood’s grumpy sunshine duo prevails again, and I would love spin offs in this world! thank you to berkley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review 🥰

rating: 4 stars
wine pairing: bordeaux zinfandel