Bride by Ali Hazelwood is an absolute delight, combining the best parts of supernatural romance and the natural charm and. "unputdowness" she is known for.

"This war of ours, the one between the Vampyres and the Weres, began several centuries ago with brutal escalations of violence, culminated amid flowing torrents of varicolored blood, and ended in a whimper of buttercream cake on the day I met my husband for the first time. Which, as it happens, was also the day of our wedding."

There is a cold war between humans, Weres, and Vampyres, a truce held onto by the thinness of a knife blade. One wrong move, one word spoken in anger, could set off a battle between these three forces where Weres and Vampyres could die out and be lost forever. Enter our protagonist, "Misery Lark, the only daughter of the most powerful Vampyre councilman of the Southwest." She is an outcast, shunned by Vampyres, living in semi-blissful anonymity among the humans. Misery is called on again to uphold a peacekeeping alliance, this time with the wolves, where she is asked to marry the leader of one of the strongest packs in their community led by the unpredictable and ruthless Alpha, Lowe Moreland.

Misery and Lowe are opposites: Were vs. Human and cold vs. hot. She likes to sleep in the closet and drinks blood; he has a vast bed and basks in the sunlight while chasing and feasting on deer. However, parts of the two are so similar and have enigmatic chemistry that blisters every page you read that by the end of it, you are clamoring for more. It is a real tragedy that only one book is in this series so far.

As someone who has read all of Hazelwood's books and thoroughly enjoyed them all, Bride fits perfectly in her catalog. But unlike her other books set in our everyday lives, Hazelwood has created an exciting world where these two characters live outside the standard paranormal paradigm.

Also, Bride has plenty of romantic tropes, pardon the pun, sink your teeth into: marriage of convenience, fated mates, opposites attract, forbidden romance, and a bit of "Romeo and Juliet" thrown in for good measure. None of it is saccharine-sweet; you know that the author has a solid grasp of the romance genre and what makes a good story.

"What I am is an adult woman with agency and the tools to make choices. Feel free to, you know, treat me accordingly."

Bride is fantastic; it was an excellent book to start this year's reading. I cannot recommend it enough, especially if your tastes run to the paranormal. However, even if you are not a typical romance reader, Bride will be joyous. Indeed, this should not be missed.

Bride by Ali Hazelwood was an unexpected delight! I devoured this, going back and forth between listening and reading so I never had to stop. Interspecies arranged marriage has never been so intriguing.

The story is told from Misery's point of view, but we get occasional glimpses at Lowe's thoughts. Misery, a vampyre, has been a pawn for her father for her entire life. Every species hates her-she grew up as the "collateral" in human territory, so she was despised by her own people and the humans. The weres hate all vampires, and are not thrilled that the alpha of the pack has decided to enter into this arranged marriage with a vampyre. I really loved Lowe and Ana, his sister. Misery ends up winning many of the weres over because she is bright and hard working. It's the first time she has felt wanted anywhere. By the end, Lowe does something monumentally stupid and I wanted to punch him in the nuts. Hard.

This book was a surprise. I wasn't sure what I expected, but I am in love with the result. I hope this turns into a series! The audio is phenomenal! Therese Plumber does an amazing job. I will probably relisten to this one because it is just that good!

Ali Hazelwood is an author that’s been around for a couple of years, known for her contemporary romances. Despite that I haven’t been compelled to pick up of any of her work. Then I spied the cover for Bride, read the blurb, and pretty much felt like I needed to dive in and see what the fuss was about. Let me tell you, I started this book before bed, around 9 pm at night–and then did not stop reading until I finished at about 2 am. I just couldn’t put this book down.

The premise for Bride isn’t that original or unique, a vampyre woman, Misery Lark, is married to a were alpha, Lowe Moreland, as an alliance between their two factions to hopefully bring a measure of peace. What kept me turning pages was the secondary plot of Misery searching for her human best friend. Also, Misery is my kind of heroine, I adored her sarcastic, dry sense of humor and loyalty to the only person who she really trusts in the world.

This is very much an enemies to lovers, opposites attract, fated mates, forbidden love romance. While the premise isn’t that original, the worldbuilding is quite complex and well done. Misery herself has lived a life outside of Vampyre society thanks to being a thrust into the human world at a very young age as collateral for good behavior between humans and vampyres. Because of this she’s never fit in with her people and has made the choice as an adult to live among humans with her childhood best friend, an orphan raised with her to keep her company.

Her marriage to Lowe puts her smack dab in the middle of enemy territory. But she soon comes to realize all is not as she expected. Especially Lowe himself and his reactions to her. There is turmoil in the werewolf pack and it doesn’t take long for those issues to collide with her search for her best friend.

This is an action-packed romance, with enemies at every turn and mysteries around every corner. The complex power dynamics between humans, werewolves, and vampyres is what drives the conflict, but there are divisions within each community as well. The romance itself builds slowly, even though as a reader you know that the signs of matehood are there with how Lowe is reacting to Misery. I didn’t think the many plot threads overshadowed the growing relationship between this couple. Yes, it’s open door with quite a bit of steam… which I appreciated. There IS a third act break-up, but it didn’t last too long and was resolved pretty quickly.

The epilogue leads me to believe that this will be a series, and I will absolutely be reading. If the hints on the last page are sincere, I am 100% invested in seeing these character’s path to love.

Vampyre FMC Misery and Alpha Werewolf MMC Lowe are thrown into a marriage of convenience that's anything but conventional. Beyond politics and generations-old conflict, their union unravels a tapestry of mystery and suspense in a world where Vampyres and Weres form an uneasy alliance. As they navigate political schemes and calculated plots, sparks fly and a slow-burn, forbidden romance takes center stage.

Bride is a departure from Ali’s typical STEM-centered contemporary romcom stories, but it still very much felt like an Ali Hazelwood book. Her hallmark storytelling, character development, and swoony romance skills were paired FLAWLESSLY with her savviness for paranormal world-building. And even though the characters are other-worldly, she still managed to sneak in some fab low-key STEM elements.

I adored the characters here.

Lowe is a cinnamon roll in wolf’s clothing, and IT. WORKS. Possessive werewolf shifter? Pack leader? Family-centered? Alpha MMC? With level 10 caretaking skills?? Say less.

As much as I loved Lowe, I am beyond obsessed with Misery. She is wonderfully quirky, loyal to a fault, quietly courageous, and a genuine badass. I prefer dual POV, but I could live in Misery’s solo POV mind forever. She’s hilarious, relatable, and I want to be her BFF.

And the MCs together? Perfection. The tension, chemistry, and spice are off the charts. It’s a mash-up of opposites attract, fish-out-of-water, mates, and marriage of convenience tropes, and Ali does a fantastic job fitting all the pieces together, so the evolution of their romance leads to the best HEA.

Other stuff I loved about this book: found family (literal wolfpack!); inter-species nuances; mystery & suspense; set up for book 2!; probably more, but I’ve just hit my character limit.

If this is the start of Ali Hazelwood’s paranormal/fantasy era, then sign us the f*ck up because I AM HERE FOR IT.

This was almost exactly what I would expect from Ali Hazelwood writing a vampire/werewolf shifter romance-- in the absolute best possible way.

Misery is traded as a bride to the Weres, marrying their Alpha, Lowe. As she's traded for one of the Weres, she's basically collateral for peace between their people, something she knows all too well. Lowe is a new alpha, having taken out his predecessor. And he reacts poorly upon meeting Misery, for some unknown reason (to her, at least).

This brings a fun forced proximity romance with a marriage of convenience that is in the omegaverse, which I would love for more books to include. There are political plays, a missing person Misery is searching for, and found family-- I loved every moment, especially Misery having a weakness for peanut butter and Lowe having a weakness for Misery.

He falls first, anyone? Our author does it so well, just as she made sure Misery is a STEM girlie, a talented computer programmer.

Misery and Lowe's romance was perfect. Spicy, slow burn, and utterly believable as they literally begin as enemies and wind up in a much more satisfying place. The differences between their people couldn't keep them apart, and it was no less than beautiful.

There's a setup for another book about another couple, and I'm here for it. Bring on more books in the world of Bride, and let's please, for the love of STEM, encourage Ali Hazelwood to continue writing omegaverse books!

RUN, don't walk, to go pick this up! I give my highest recommendation here.

Ali Hazelwood dips her pen into the paranormal romance genre and pulls out a winner with Bride. This Vampyre-Werewolf romance has everything from an arranged marriage to plenty of suspense and twists. Come see why I loved this and hope we get more stories from this world.

I enjoyed Hazelwood’s stem romances and was curious to see what she would create in the paranormal genre. She did not disappoint. We have a world with three controlling factions divided into territories. The humans, vampyres and werewolves. The three have been at war and, while currently at peace, things remain volatile. An arrangement was made for each to send one of their young to live in the other’s territory. A trade to ensure peace.

Misery Lark, the only daughter of the most powerful Vampyre councilman of the Southwest, spent ten years as a child with the humans. This is where she met her best friend, Serena. She now lives with Serna in the human territory and knows very little about vampyre ways. When her friend goes missing, she is desperate to find her, but all that is cut short when her father demands her return.

Her father has arranged a peace treaty marriage with the weres. Misery will marry and remain with the weres for one year. She will marry their Alpha, Lowe Moreland. Misery agrees to the marriage as a clue to her friend’s vanishing pointed towards an individual with the initials L M.

I loved this story from the mystery to the romance. Hazelwood’s storytelling skillfully combines world-building, unexpected twists, political intrigue, and a constant sense of danger. Combine that with complex & compelling characters and you have the makings of a great series. Hazelwood pulled me in and held me captive until the end.

Having read a lot of paranormal and urban fantasies, the romance and its elements did not surprise me, but I love how it slowly unfolded. Having been raised in the human world, Misery doesn’t know much about her own vampyre instincts and romantic inclinations. In fact, she has never really been attracted to someone until now. She knows nothing about the weres, outside of the horror stories of battles, and I loved learning it all with her.

The romantic tension, trust issues, character growth, and building sexual tension were divine. Lowe, the Alpha, is complex and caring. We learn about the pack, his struggles and the secrets he protects. I became caught up in their struggles and watching them skirt the chemistry.

The pacing was well done and the suspenseful threads and mystery added to the story. While this is currently a standalone and events wrapped up, there were hints of stories yet to be told and I want them. I hope we return to this world soon.

Perfect for fan of paranormal and urban fantasy. This may be the perfect book for contemporary romance readers to dip their toe into the genre.

This is different from other Ali Hazelwood books, and I loved it. It’s a fantastic enemies to lovers read with a spicy romance, paranormal beings, and a richly detailed fantasy world.

The book opens with hacker Misery Lark’s Vampyre father marrying her to the Were Alpha, Rowe Moreland. The Weres and Vampyres are mortal enemies and the marriage signals a truce. Misery has spent most of her life around Humans, filing down her fangs to fit in.
Lowe is nothing like Misery had imagined, he’s about her age and very handsome. He also has an unexpected kinder side towards her, but he doesn’t know that the real reason Misery agreed to the marriage. Her best friend has disappeared and Lowe Moreland’s name is her only clue.

It’s such a fun read, I highly recommend it. 5 stars

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed as in this review are completely my own.

bride is Ali Hazelwood at her finest! this follows Misery, a vampyre, and Lowe, a werewolf, who enter into an arranged marriage to broker peace between the two groups🤭

this is SO fun and has something for everyone. the plot is intriguing and keeps you guessing, while the chemistry and tension between the MCs builds and builds until a point where they just become inevitable. this was SO STEAMY, i was giggling, gasping, and living my best life. this had some fun side characters as well; Alex was so funny and Ana was just the sweetest. i hope this was a setup for a series because i need more immediately!

This my first book from this author and the story was a slow burn with mysterious twist. I adore the building of the main characters relationship while really trying to stay away from stereotypes while trying to build a interspecies relationship. This was a very good book and it’s giving I would read another book from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing the ARC.

I think it's safe to say that I will devour any book written by Ali Hazelwood. And this book was no exception.

I'm generally not a fan of ABO pics, mostly because there are a lot of weird dynamics and language in play that kind of hit high on the ick factor for me. But I thoroughly enjoyed this book from start to finish.

The characters were compelling - I enjoyed Misery's story and seeing how she learned to navigate her unbelievably crappy lot in life. I loved how Lowe was so hard and stoic around everyone else, but right from the get go he was so soft with Misery. I loved seeing tha dynamic on the page - it really endeared the characters to me and I really wanted to see more of their story.

A bit predictable at times, the plot was solid and the writing is exactly what you would expect from Ali Hazelwood. Overall this book was a fun read with an interesting take on werewolf/vampire dynamics in the modern age.

Thank you to NetGalley, Berkley, and Ms. Hazelwood for the opportunity to read an ARC of this title. An honest review was requested but not required.

I am SHOCKED (or should I say shook?). Is this normalization of omegaverse I'm reading?! This is apparently the 2023 version of the 50 Shades revolution. Ha. Seriously though, the Hazelwood treatment on an omegaverse werewolf/vampire political marriage of convenience? SIGN ME the F UP. I have to be honest, even as I was downloading the NetGalley ARC to my Kindle, I was pre-ordering this for actual $. So I am happy to report that I enjoyed it thoroughly.

There's an actual plot happening - more than one, technically - which I appreciated. A common pitfall in omegaverse stories is, well, there's not much happening outside the smex. That's not the case here. We do have the Hazelwood (TM) stock hero who has it hard for the heroine practically from the get-go, but is too noble to follow through, and a heroine who thinks her feelings are unrequited even though the truth is as plain as the nose on her face. (Is that still a phrase people use?)

Anywho. This may not be everyone's cuppa tea but I liked it a lot. Good thing too because now I have to wedge yet another keeper onto my overstuffed bookshelf.

I think it LOVED this book!!!! I was getting a bit tired of the Ali Hazelwood formula. Her books are enjoyable, but it was getting repetitive. However, Bride breaks that spell for me. It might be my favorite of all her books now and I’m not an avid fantasy reader. I think this is a great entry level fantasy books for people who want to try a new genre.

Bride follows Misery Lark a vampyre whose father arranges a marriage with the alpha of the werewolves, Lowe, in order to maintain peace between the 2 species. But Misery has her own reasons for accepting this arrangement, her missing best friend Serena. Misery marries Lowe and goes to Were territory to find her Serena. Misery believes Lowe hates her, but things are not as they seem.

I loved Lowe and I loved Misery. The tension between them was wonderful and the will-they-won’t-they of it all was deliciously frustrating. I finished this book yesterday and immediately checked out the audiobook from my library today so I can listen to it too.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkeley for this ARC!

I am pretty sure ai have read everything written by Ali Hazelwood and when I heard she was doing a Vampire/Werewolf romance, I knew I had to read it!! I am so glad it didn’t disappoint!!! Urban fantasy and Paranormal Romance have always been some of my favorite genres and we don’t see a lot of new ones coming out, hopefully this propels more authors to go back to these as I love them! 

This one follows Vampire Misery as she gives up her life in the human world to wed the leader of the Werewolf pack, Lowe to broker peace between the two nations. Misery has more than one motive for this and hopefully it doesn’t ruin the alliance. 

I really enjoyed everything in this book. There was romance, friendships and politics with a little mystery in it as well. This was so fun and I hope everyone picks it up!!  Thank you @Berkley and joyful chaos for my #gifted copy for review!!!

Bride by Ali Hazelwood is unequivocal proof that Ali Hazelwood has done it again with this bloody fangtastic paranormal romance. The daughter of the most powerful Vampyre, who has spent most of her life living with humans, enters a rocky marriage of convenience & alliance between species with an Alpha Werewolf. This hasn’t happened in two centuries & now she must live with the big bad wolf…Howl could this possibly go wrong?!

I honestly didn’t think it was possible, but I think this just became my favorite Ali Hazelwood book! This has her trademark captivating writing style, but it’s also sparkling & unique. I personally felt like you could feel the author’s passion, joy & just beautiful weirdness come through the story in the best way.

Bride is perfect for fans of…
🖤Paranormal Romance
🖤Marriage of Convenience
🖤Vampyre Meets Alpha Werewolf
🖤Forced Proximity

I was enraptured with the world building at the beginning & the learning of all things that a world with humans, vampyres & werewolves entails. I so appreciated the politics, the drama, the mystery & the intrigue that their shaky alliance created.

This is a book that enchanted me with all my favorite things including a strong & sassy heroine, banter galore, sizzling & spicy chemistry, opposites attract, curious suspense & a majestic slowburn romance. That is not even mentioning the pawsitively swoon-worthy being that is the Alpha Werewolf. When you take all of that & place it in a world with multiple species that are intriguing & awesomely weird, I am so there. I could write a whole thesis on this & I could read more books set in this world.

I also listened to the audiobook of this & what a treat it was. Therese Plummer & Will Damron brought this story to life. I would suggest you say yes to this audiobook because it had me in the grins, gasps & giggles.

If you’re looking to escape into the next phenomenon of paranormal romance, I highly recommend saying ‘I Do’ to Bride by Ali Hazelwood!

Massive thanks to NetGalley, Berkley Publishing & PRH Audio for the gifted copy, which I voluntarily read & reviewed.

I’ve submitted my Amazon review & once it goes live, I will add my link.

4.5 ⭐️

I guess I’m in my paranormal romance era? I loved this one. Misery (what a great name btw) was such a fun, sarcastic FMC. Ana stole the show and was the sweetest thing ever. And I couldn’t get enough of Lowe (seriously, I needed more of his POV). I especially loved how the story was wrapped in a mystery and lately I’ve also been loving arranged marriage/fake dating so overall another fantastic story from Hazelwood! Highly recommend!

I’m obsessed. Ali Hazelwood blessed us with a vampire and werewolf marriage of convenience romance that had everything I loved and I’ll never recover!!

4.5-4.75⭐️

Lowe & Misery were so beyond perfect but also so soft and SOO hot 😭 The pining, the tension, the love confessions?? IM GONE. Perfection. Misery was a great FMC and I loved that it was mainly in her POV because it made the reveals so worth it 🤭 Lowe of course served boy obsessed, he falls first and in classic werewolf fashion 🪢!! The side characters were so fun and made the whole book. This felt more mature for Ali Hazelwoods writing and I loved it.

The 🪢 and 🩸 scenes changed my life ngl 🥵 the spicy scenes are etched in my brain for life now.

I did wish just a little that we got more from the end and one thing I wished happened (cant say without spoiling) but overall, LOVED this!! Interested to see if there will be more books in this universe 👀

Who knew a werewolf and vampire could be so soft for each other??!!


Thanks Berkley for the ARC

This is pure Ali Hazelwood joy mixed with the paranormal romance we all wanted. Lowe and Misery are a vibe. I love Ana she is adorable. This book definitely one of my favorite's by her when I've read all her books and loved them.

Out today! [Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with an eARC!]

Rating: 5/5 stars

Vampyre Misery agrees to enter into a marriage of convenience with Were Alpha Lowe in order to preserve an alliance between their species.

I swear every time I read an Ali Hazelwood book I think “this is definitely the best one, she will never top it” and every single time she DOES in fact top it. I expected to enjoy this book a totally normal and regular amount, but instead it CONSUMED me. I literally could not put it down (and read almost the entire thing in one sitting), and I absolutely cannot stop thinking about it.

I honestly never really got the “my wife” microtrope, but when Lowe Moreland said it????? I get it now. The way this man (Were? Were-man?) absolutely DESTROYED me with almost every single word that came out of his mouth was absolutely top tier. I’ve also learned that I will absolutely die for a fated mates trope every single time. Add in some fantastic world building (I LOVE the scientific take on explaining vampyres/weres) and a super fun and suspenseful political/mystery sub-plot, and you have a book that I can absolutely guarantee will end up being a favorite, if not THE favorite, of my reading year.

CW: Kidnapping/violence

Bride is a standalone adult paranormal romance by romance powerhouse author Ali Hazelwood. Ali is one of my all time favorite romance authors, and being that I love her books and I love paranormal romances, I was PUMPED when I first heard about Bride. And I am happy to report that Bride did not disappoint. I loved this book so much! I am convinced that Ali Hazelwood can do no wrong. She writes addictive stories with characters you fall in love with hardcore.

Bride is an arranged marriage featuring Vampyres and Werewolves- who are true enemies. Misery is the daughter of the most powerful Vampyre on the Vampyre council and Lowe is the alpha of a very strong werewolf pack. Lowe and Misery completely captured my heart- I can't even tell you who I like more. They are each so wonderful and selfless and good to their cores. The world set up felt like an urban fantasy with werewolves and Vampyres living in our human world. Misery grew up around humans because of a pact that the Vampyres have with the humans so she is unique in that regard, and she agrees to the marriage for ulterior motives of her own. Her best friend went missing and she thinks the werewolves have some of the answers as to where she is.

Heavy on the romance, Bride is also a mystery that I loved. I would love to see more written in this world because I feel like these characters are now my friends and I don't want to say goodbye to them yet. If you are a fan of super cute and sexy romances and you love paranormal romance, you need to read Bride. If you are a contemporary romance girlie and you love Ali's other books, you should let Bride be your entryway into paranormal. I think you will love it!

When I learned Ali Hazelwood was coming out with a paranormal romance I was both excited and nervous! I remember clearly when my excitement for paranormal romances kind of peaked back in the heyday of Sherrilyn Kenyon and Christine Feehan. I haven’t revisited many paranormal romance books since but I’m such a big Ali Hazelwood fan, I had to take a risk! I am so glad I did.


Misery Lark has always felt like an outsider—as the daughter of a Vampyre councilman, she’s been volun-told to sacrifice her freedom and needs for the good of her kind for her entire life. The newest sacrifice? Upholding a historic peacekeeping alliance between the Vampyres and their mortal enemies, the Weres, by entering an arranged marriage with the Alpha Were.
So, this book did a lot of good things for me. Great chemistry between Misery and Lowe! There is a cute baby werewolf sister that I found very charming. And this book kind of had the feeling of another famous “Bride” book “The Bride” by Julie Garwood. (This may just be me feeling this so don’t read too much into it.) But there is betrayal, there is a union between two warring “clans” and there are some very dastardly villains. Lowe is big into the smell of Misery. But he also knows their marriage should not be happening.

I liked Misery a lot as a character. Her father is pure evil but somehow she has managed to put up with him. Believe me, I wanted her to take him out. I read this book quite a few months ago so I admit, my memory is kind of vague of all the plot details but I greatly remember enjoying the book. I just really connect with Ali Hazelwood’s writing. I am excited to explore this new paranormal world more in the future (hopefully).

Bride is available now!