I really really enjoyed this book! And after reading it, I can confidently say I prefer Ali’s fantasy/paranormal romance compared to her contemporary ones. Misery Lark is the daughter of one of the most powerful Vamprye councilmen. In an effort to create peace between the Vampyres & the Werewolves, she’s been chosen to be wed to Alpha, Lowe Moreland. Misery would be more upset about this but she has her sights set on uncovering a mystery that may connect her best friend/sister’s disappearance with her new hubby.

The writing was superb, and while I did predict a couple things, it was so fun. I was actually surprised to see how heavily plot focused it was, so that’s something to be noted. But I loved both Misery and Lowe as characters and despite not getting Lowe’s POV, I still felt super connected to him through the snippets we did see. It’s a slower burn with the best tension 👏🏼 like this is tension done RIGHT. There was one specific scene where the main characters have to do *something* to go along with their fake marriage, these two barely touched and it was super hot 🔥

And I cannot end this review without mentioning Ana 🥹 Her and misery’s friendship was so sweet to watch! And her and Lowe’s connection is even more special. Some of the best one-liners when Misery’s constant sarcasm goes right over her head.

I loved that the ending kinda left some hints for a potential other book in this world! Really crossing my fingers for it 🤞🏼

When I heard Ali Hazelwood was dipping her toe into romantasy/paranormal romance, I was excited but stoked! I adore all of her STEM romances and since enemies to lovers is my favorite trope ever in romance novels, Bride quickly shot to the top of my list of most anticipated reads of 2024. I was beyond thrilled when I was reached out to by the publisher about an ARC and joining the blog tour, and am happy to say that Bride keeps the trademark Hazelwood wit, humor and writing style with the fun twist of a paranormal, urban fantasy setting (that still incorporates a woman in STEM protagonist!)

The premise of the novel is an age old one in the paranormal romance genre: vampires vs. werewolves. Protagonist Misery (yes, Misery, I too took a second to digest her name) is married off to the Alpha of the werewolves to help broker a peace treaty between their people. Misery is a vampire who doesn’t quite fit in with the rest of her society and is also the daughter of the corrupt head of the vampire council. The love interest, Lowe, is a rather new Alpha who is trying to change vampire-were relations and has a bit of an unorthodox past and approach as an Alpha.

I really liked Misery. She’s truly a loner except for her BFF Serena (who goes missing and is a catalyst for a lot of what drives Misery into this marriage) yet she’s still open minded and not very prejudiced when it comes to the weres, unlike the rest of the vampires. She’s also a woman in STEM, like Hazelwood’s other protagonists, as she is skilled with computers and can do everything from cyber surveillance to pen testing. I liked this nod to Hazelwood’s reputation for writing STEM romances. I also thought her take on vampires was interesting, especially in an urban fantasy setting. They’re definitely the most tech-savvy race, ultra-modern and polished but still do have some of the more traditional vampire limitations (sun sensitivity, etc.). I also found the idea of them having “evolved” past the need or want to feed directly from a person interesting.

I have less experience with shifter romances so I didn’t have a whole ton to compare the weres too (except maybe Twilight, lol). Lowe was fine, he wasn’t my favorite of Hazelwood’s love interests but I appreciated his integrity and natural leadership. I adored his sister. He’s really not a bad guy at all, which made the story feel less like an “enemies to lovers” story and more like a “somewhat suspicious not quite allies” to lovers story. Despite this, I still enjoyed it and really liked seeing Misery integrate slowly into the were world and finally find a place where she feels (somewhat) comfortable after never really feeling at ease among vampires nor humans.

Though this is a paranormal romance with supernatural creatures on the brink of war, and therefore higher stakes than Hazelwood’s contemporary romances, I found the writing to still be pretty funny and snarky. Misery’s vampire nonchalance is honestly hilarious at time, and I loved the things that gave her a flicker of amusement (like baiting Alex when she knows he’s terrified of her, lol). Her dry sense of humor is a good balance to Lowe’s fairness and stoicism, yet didn’t feel like it was overdone in a “not like other girl vampires” way. I also really liked her brother and thought he was hilarious too in his own way in the small bits where we got to see him.

Sometimes the story felt less like a romance and more like a fantasy that includes a romance, which I was totally fine with. I think it suited Misery and Lowe’s personalities well (they both seemed like “quieter” characters who’s presence didn’t need to steal the show on every page, which was refreshing as a romance reader). Honestly, I’d love to see this continue as a series (which the book definitely sets up for in my opinion with another couple) mostly so I can learn more about the politics, alliances, and how the US is split up by territories in this universe (it’s noted that they’re in the Southwest pack and the Northwest pack is brought up too).

Overall: A fun, new foray for Hazelwood into another genre, I will definitely keep reading this if it turns into a series!

Thank you Penguin Random House Audio and NetGalley for this complimentary audiobook.

I need to be honest, I had my doubts about this one and wasn’t sure it was for me. I’m so glad I gave it a chance because I loved it. I guess Ali can’t write a bad story.
A paranormal story with werewolves and vampires that was simply addictive.

𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗲 by Ali Hazelwood releases tomorrow February 6, 2024.

https://www.instagram.com/booksandcoffeemx/

I DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH MYSELF RIGHT NOW OTHER THAN SIT HERE IN SILENCE AND THINK ABOUT THIS BOOK FOREVER. It is so exciting to see ali doing new things (first YA, then paranormal romance) and THRIVING. I am genuinely in awe of her writing and how she maintains her very distinct and unique voice across genres and age groups. I love knowing that any book I pick up of her is going to feel so distinctly ali hazelwood. There is something just addicting about her writing.

Bride was absolutely incredible. perfectly executed. 10/10. no notes. This book is tension, banter, and slow burn at its finest. I absolutely DEVOURED it. It was delicious. I am going to be thinking about Misery and Lowe for a very very long time

Spoiler free review!

Four very enthusiastic stars for this book which consumed me. While the book doesn’t have a lot of world building, it does have sexual tension in spades. I adored the early nod to Twilight and was here for all the pure fun and found family. I hope contemporary readers try this light paranormal rom com, especially if you like Ali’s writing. I hope PNR readers go along with the lark it is. I will definitely read more in this world if she writes more.

Bride was such a great romantasy! I was not expecting to enjoy this book since I hadn't clicked with one of Ali Hazelwood's previous books. But Bride blew my expectations out of the water. The world-building was excellent, and I couldn't be more invested in Misery and Lowe's romance. I especially appreciated that there was constant fleshing out of the whole story. It didn't just create the basic premise and then focus only on the romance. The political dynamics and friendships helped pull the story together. I can't wait to try out more of her books and see if the magic I felt when reading this can be replicated.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the opportunity to review Bride. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Ali Hazelwood ventures into the Omegaverse with her latest release, Bride. Misery Lark, daughter of a prominent Vampyre councilman, finds herself in a political marriage of convenience with Were Alpha, Lowe Moreland. She is once again being used as a pawn to keep the tenuous peace between species.

Misery doesn’t quite fit anywhere—not with her own kind, not with the Humans, and not with the Weres—but she finds herself living in Lowe’s house, under his watch (even though he appears to be repulsed by her), and with the dawning realization that he is not what she expected at all.

There’s political and social unrest within and amongst all three species. There are machinations going on behind the scenes. And there are instances where Lowe and Misery must fake being in love as part of the political game. (Oh gosh, moments like that are my catnip.)

I LOVED this one. It has that trademark Ali Hazelwood heroine that is clueless as to how the love interest truly feels about her but with a paranormal bent. Hazelwood delivers a delicious amount of snark, smirks, laughs, tender moments, and, of course, STEAM. (*Stops to fan self*) Are you familiar with the concept of knotting?

You can tell that Hazelwood had fun with this one, and I mean that in the best way. It’s her best book yet.

I received an advance copy from Berkley and NetGalley. All review opinions are my own.

I will say this is going to be my last time trying an Ali Hazelwood book. The Love Hypothesis was SO great, but I grew tired of her STEM books because it was pretty much the same story, different characters. So I was EXCITED to start this paranormal romance by her. I LOVE a good romance with fantasy ties to it and the prose was right up my alley. But unfortunately, it was not for me.

But just because I didn't vibe with this book, doesn't mean it's not for you.

I couldn't handle the info dump and inner monologues, and this happened so much in the beginning that I felt so disconnected and at times, lost. I also didn't feel any connection towards the MC's. With fated mates as a trope it sure didn't FEEL like it was.

I think this is where I'll stop with my review. I would like to thank Netgalley and Berkley for this e-arc.

Misery Lark is the daughter of a Vampyre councilman. She’s forced into an alliance with their mortal enemies, the Weres, and must marry their Alpha, Lowe Moreland. These two hate each other from the get go, but Misery has to make this work so she can find her best friend Serena, who went missing weeks ago. Can Misery and Lowe work together to find Serena and protect his younger sister?

I don’t read a lot of paranormal romance, but when I saw Ali Hazelwood was writing one I knew I’d have to read it. I’m glad I went outside of my comfort zone and gave this enemies to lovers story a try because I really liked it. The chemistry between Lowe and Misery was great, and I really liked the two of them together, even if their kinds shouldn’t mate.

Fantasy isn’t always for me so I liked that this was more low fantasy and that I could read it without being sent into too much world building. Since the main characters also interact with humans, I found it easier to relate to. I liked the mystery aspect of finding out what happened to Serena, and how that all came together at the end.

There were definitely some steamy scenes in this book, and I learned something new while reading them (iykyk)! I thought the relationship with Lowe and Misery was well done and liked how it was a slow burn progression for them.

Although not my typical genre, I really enjoyed this story and would read more like it written by Hazelwood.

Thank you Berkley Publishing for an advanced copy and including me on this blog tour.

An inter species romance for Valentine’s Day is just what the doctor ordered. Told in hazelwood’s trademark humor, Bride is the first in a paranormal series for her that I think she did extremely well. There’s intricate world building, Savvy heroines, Brody heroes and lots of species tension. I loved the new concepts of vampires and wolves and humans inter mingling through alliances and political spying but also Misery our heroine delivers her opinion on it all through witty barbs. She’s had to toggle between worlds for so long that when her best friend goes missing, she finds herself in a bit of a pickle. Lowe is an interesting hero and the best kind of romance partner with the silent reassurances, the hulking body and also paternal caregiving. The plot also kept me on my toes and i cant wait to dive in for more.

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Read if you like:
▫️urban fantasy
▫️found family
▫️arranged marriage
▫️enemies to lovers

Guys. Ali Hazelwood is a literal queen and can do no wrong. I LOVE all of her books, but this might be my new favorite. All of her heroines are women in STEM, and this one is no different! She is a Vampyre who writes code and is a hacker in her free time. I am obsessed.

First of all, the heroine’s name is Misery. I. Freaking. Love. That. She is so strong and has survived horrible, awful things. But she hasn’t let it make her bitter. She’s loyal and surprisingly sweet, but she is also so so sassy and has no filter. She’s constantly misreading social situations and using humor to deflect. I love her.

Lowe is absolute perfection. He is the Alpha of the Weres, so he is huge, imposing, scary, and badass. But he is also tender and sweet and a total cinnamon roll. He makes his younger sister PB&Js with the crusts cut off. He gives up his whole life and identity to become the Alpha that his people need; he is the most selfless person ever. My favorite part of the entire book was the beginning of every chapter where we got a sentence or two from Lowe’s perspective.

The chemistry in this book is off the charts!!!! Misery and Lowe are forced to live together and be around each other all the time, even though their species hate each other, and it leads to the best tension. The spicy scenes will live rent free in my head for the foreseeable future.

In closing, this book is perfection, read it ASAP.

Thank you to Berkley, NetGalley, and Ali Hazelwood for the ARC. I received an advanced copy for free, and am leaving this review voluntarily.

✨ Review ✨ Bride, by Ali Hazelwood; narrated by Thérèse Plummer, Will Damron

Kudos to Hazelwood for breaking out of her patterns and trying something new with this vampire-werewolf romance. It stretched just a little long for me, but overall, I thought this was fun and binged through it in a day!

Pros:
-the world building was enjoyable
-the instant connection between the characters, even from the prologue, you could feel it
-the slow build enemies to lovers
-naming a character Misery, A++ move
-Anna, the almost-7yo sister of Lowe was a fantastic addition to bring some humor
-Misery's attitude and sass
-Thérèse Plummer's narration sucked me in - I read one or two chapters on ebook and then never went back.
-all of the side characters made this world feel richer

My quips:
-I'm not sure this setup was anything truly revolutionary - the world felt comfortable and familiar (okay, so maybe not a con for me, but will be for some people?)
-Will Damron's narration was FANTASTIC but only occurred in little pieces - I wanted more of the book written from Lowe's POV
-it was a little long maybe? toward the end it felt just a little stretched out.

Overall, I really ejoyed this and am glad Hazelwood is branching out!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: f/m fantasy romance
Length: 12 hrs and 47 mins
Setting: sort of the contemporary world or adjacent to it?
Pub Date: 06 Feb 2024

Thanks to Berkley, PRHAudio, and #netgalley for the gifted advanced copy/ies of this book!

𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘺 • 𝘍𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘺 • 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘭 ⁣𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦
𝘌𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴 • 𝘍𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘨𝘦 • 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴
𝘈𝘙𝘊 • 𝘗𝘶𝘣 𝘋𝘢𝘵𝘦: 6 February 2024

I am so glad I waited for this book to be my first foray into Ali Hazelwood’s writing. Short version: it was the perfect fun romance for me and I loved it!

Longer version: In a near future world, 3 largely incompatible species are attempting to peacefully co-exist: humans, werewolfves, and vampires. Misery Lark (yes, Misery) is vampire royalty who spent her whole life living amongst the enemy. That is to say, she was raised by humans away from her own kind. Upon returning home, she finds herself once again voluntold as tribute (“Collateral”), but this time she’ll be marrying into the more dangerous species, the Weres, and not only that but to the Alpha of them all.

Although I’d characterize the primary genre as romantasy, the book’s plot is driven forward by a mystery. Misery also happens to be a hacker-type who looks to leverage her newfound proximity to the Weres to install spyware in their midst and thereby uncover the whereabouts of her disappeared bestie, who left no clues other than a note linking her to the werewolves...

I did not expect to laugh as hard as I did. Although this leans more romcom than high fantasy, the sarcasm and witty banter between Misery and everyone else in her life had me rolling. You can expect slow burn tension that results in a couple of open door spicy scenes and possibly even knotting and leeching. 😳🥵

This books comes out tomorrow, Feb 6. Read it!

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 @netgalley 𝘢𝘯𝘥 @berkleypub 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘈𝘙𝘊.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing for the free book! #berkleypartner

A world where Vampyres, Werewolves, and humans live in tenuous coexistence, Vampyre bride, Misery, is married off to a Werewolf Alpha, Lowe, for a political alliance. Misery has her reasons for agreeing to the marriage but must be careful not to let her secret slip out. However, this marriage of convenience between natural enemies might turn into a genuine love match.

Hazelwood has put a fresh spin on several paranormal tropes and mixed them with mystery and romance to create a fun, bingable read! The plot features forbidden romance, intrigue, found family, and spice. Also present is Hazelwood's trademark women in STEM, as Misery is a computer expert.

Misery and Lowe are well-developed characters and have sizzling chemistry together. Some aspects of their personalities play against type, and their banter is fantastic. Lowe had a sensitivity I didn't expect, and the glimpses of his POV throughout were pretty swoony. Misery has been an outsider, used by her powerful father as collateral before. That experience left her cynical but with keen observational skills, a sharp wit, and, underneath it all, a soft heart. Despite being a Vampyre, Misery experiences emotions that are all too human, making her a relatable FMC. She also gets many of the best lines in the book, particularly in response to a 7-year-old scene stealer named Ana, whom she meets after coming to live with the Weres. Hazelwood hit all the right notes for me. I laughed, swooned, tried to figure out the mystery, crushed on Lowe, loved Misery, and rooted for their relationship.

This is well-paced, with some suspense and twists, and it kept me hooked from the start. I hope Hazelwood has more paranormal romance coming because this was so much fun. Quirky, escapist, and entertaining! I adored this!

Weekend vibessssss

📣 a PNR that didn’t totally sell me on the entire plot but did sell me on vibes!

📖 what are you reading today?

Thanks to the publisher + Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

This book is such a delight. IMO it’s not perfect. But the vibes are close to it.

If that doesn’t make sense, maybe my review will clarify.

In Bride, vampyre Misery agrees to a marriage of convenience with an alpha shifter so that she can find out more info about her missing sister.

Vampyres & weres have been long-standing, often violent foes & to make matters more complicated for Misery, she’s never been fully embraced by Vampyres either.

Misery & Lowe’s meeting doesn’t go well in her opinion, but the reader can sense something else going on (PNR readers where you at 👀). This book gets a lot of mileage from undercurrents & from significant moments in shifter / vampyre dynamics: marking, knotting, feeding OH MY.

This book is quite hot & really delivered for me in all of those moments (still not quite sure I understand knotting though 🤣).

Added to those tensions & heat are some humor & compassion & found family elements. I adored it.

Are there some things about the plot that I did not adore? Yes. But I didn’t hate them & in a way, they did some work for the vibes too.

So the end, this is just a fun, relatively low angst (despite all of the threats of violence & acts of violence in the story) shifter tale that satisfies on basically all levels. Gimme more.

4.5 ⭐️. Out 02/06.

Please see a trusted reviewer’s list of CWs.

[ID: Jess, a white woman wearing sunglasses & a pizza sweatshirt, holds the ebook & sits in front of a lake.]

Misery, daughter of lord Vamyre and Alpha Werewolf are forced into marriege that can temporarlly save war between Vampyre and Werewolf. I loved connection between them, but would liked if they showed a little more of the fantasy world/and family dama. I wanted more of Vampyre family and Werewolf family.

I have a confession to make, I am not typically a fan of Vampyre/Warewolf stories so I was hesitant to read this. However I am a HUGE fan of Ali Hazelwood so I took a leap and requested and ARC of this story and I am so glad I did.
Overall the story had a slow start, it took a while to build the world the Misery and Lowe inhabit. However, once the setting was established the story really hooked me and I found myself thinking about these characters when I wasn't reading!
Misery is a lovable heroine with a complicated upbringing and some complex family dynamics. She agrees to marry a Ware, seemingly to help the Vampyres maintain diplomacy. However her story is so much more complicated. While Misery was a fabulous heroine, I adored Lowe even more-swoon! He's layered and complex and a true Alpha male, without being obnoxious.
The enemies vibe between these two and the protectiveness of Lowe led to some sizzling chemistry. This book definitely had a hefty dose of spice, much more than I expected! There were so many wonderful characters, and by the ending, I believe Ms. Hazelwood must have a sequel (or multiple) planned. With the world building established, I can only imagine the next book will be action packed and I am here for all of it!!
Pick this one up if :
~you are open to urban fantasy with Vampyre/warewolf
~you are into romance packed with spicy scenes
~you enjoy complex characters with a blend of humor and heart
4.5 stars

Ali Hazelwood's novels never fail to disappoint with her swoon-worthy romance and lovable characters you can’t help but fall for along the way. Bride had all that and more with subtle (but incredible) Twilight references, a tension-filled marriage of convenience love story, and an adorable found family pack that had me giddy and falling in love with this story.

Vampires and werewolves have been mortal enemies for centuries. So when Misery agrees to an arranged marriage to the new alpha of the werewolves, she’s thrown into a world full of new discoveries, friendships, and maybe even love.

Hands down, I LOVED this book! From beginning to end, it was so hard to put this story down and come back to the real world. I adored the witty banter and cinnamon roll-like persona that was Misery. Her inner commentary had me laughing and chuckling throughout her journey, and also empathizing with her during her struggles and hardships.

And this ROMANCE. Whew!! Sparks flew, then simmered into a precious friendship, then a super sweet partnership and love story. I especially loved the theme of found family in this novel and how Hazelwood showed it in different ways, from childhood friends to siblings to enemies becoming unlikely allies. It was a very beautiful, heartfelt addition to the story.

This fun paranormal romance is a new favorite by Hazelwood, and it’s the perfect read for February.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.*

Short answer? I loved Bride. Hazelwood could publish her shopping list and I would still read it.

Long answer? Bride felt very much like baby’s first vampire/werewolf romance. I am not a big fantasy reader, so the topic of werewolves and vampires in a modern fantasy setting had me a little nervous, but I knew if Hazelwood was writing it, I would find some enjoyment in it. Similar to Love, Theoretically, I enjoyed the politics of the world. I felt that Hazelwood did a great job in expanding and explaining the lore and the history of vampires, werewolves, and human relations.

I was a little too young for Twilight and never got into other fantasy books like the ACOTAR series, so I loved this dip into fantasy romance. The emotions and the relationship between Lowe and Misery shine through everything, which makes this such an enchanting read as they transform from political enemies to husband and wife. It’s cheesy and dramatic at times, but Hazelwood is so talented at writing romance and relationships that I care about that I couldn’t put this book down.

Misery is so different from Hazelwood’s other protagonists, and I loved it. Intelligent, quick on her feet, emotionally cold, with a dry sense of humor, unlike the overly bubbly or incredibly awkward Steminist heroines of past works. My one gripe with this book? I did not like her name. It was explained in the novel why her name is Misery, but I never got used to it, and it stuck out like a sore thumb when her twin’s name is Owen.

I feel like Bride might divide fans and casual readers of her other romance novels. It is so different from her previous works. Fans of fantasy romance will instantly fall into the rhythms of this world, but if you are not a fan of fantasy, then you might not love this book. Fantasy, especially fantasy romance books, take a level of suspension of disbelief to immerse yourself into the world.

Until now, I’ve only known Ali Hazelwood for her contemporary romances highlighting women in STEM—usually in an enemies-to-lovers setup. But Bride breathes new life into her love stories, both with its paranormal world and characters and with its new romance trope: a marriage of convenience. Sure, Misery Lark and Lowe Moreland are technically from two different species that have been rivals for centuries. But they only first meet during their wedding to each other, and despite some initial distrust (especially on Misery’s part), they get a tentative slow burn romance within their unconventional and politically motivated marriage.

I’ve only just started reading paranormal romances in the past few months, so I can’t speak to how Bride stacks up against the major books within the genre. But personally I really enjoyed this. It’s not trying to present too much that’s new; rather, it’s working within the scope of well-known paranormal beings, in this case Vampyres and Weres (vampires and werewolves). The setting is a contemporary southern United States, in a world where Humans, Vampyres, and Weres have lived side-by-side for centuries, though not necessarily harmoniously. Misery spent 10 years of her childhood as a Collateral living with the Humans—basically, a hostage meant to keep relations between the two species benevolent. Now she gets to repeat that experience, albeit under a new title: wife of the Were Alpha. While she’ll spend a year living in Were territory, a Were Collateral will be living with the Vampyres for the same duration (though apparently not as a bride).

While I went into this expecting it to be focused on the romance, Bride also surprised me with some extra plot points. Misery’s main reason for accepting this position as wife of a Were is so she can look into the mystery of her missing best friend. Something happened to her childhood friend, and Misery thinks Lowe (her new husband) may have some secret knowledge about that. Misery plays detective, snooping as much as she can whenever the Weres aren’t guarding her too closely. I enjoyed the mystery element throughout Bride, including the eventful ending sequence when all is revealed.

Despite the paranormal aspects and the inclusion of some mystery, Bride is still identifiable as an Ali Hazelwood romance. It still has her signature sense of humor and lightness. Misery is an engaging first-person narrator throughout the novel, and she has some background in STEM, making her a bit more familiar to devoted readers. The love story between Misery and Lowe unfolds differently from previous novels by the author, making it refreshing and all the sweeter. I also loved the relationships between siblings and friends here, bolstering the cast and giving it a sense of found family in addition to romance.

Bride is an engrossing and quick-paced romance, with mystery and paranormal activity and politics to fill it out. There’s a certain sweetness to it (though it does get steamy…complete with biting), and I enjoyed the whole story from start to finish. While I will absolutely keep reading Ali Hazelwood’s contemporary romances, I hope she’ll also continue writing paranormal romances and even explore other genres, too—her talent translates well to new kinds of stories, and I’ll follow wherever her writing takes us.