"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."

I'd just like to know what Ali puts in her books because I become absolutely feral and obsessed from the first chapter. I didn't know I needed a marriage of convenience between a vampire and werewolf in my life, but boy oh boy am I glad this exists. It's one of those moments where you ask yourself, "Did I finish the book, or did the book finish me?"

I'm not being dramatic when I say that I was giggling, blushing, kicking my feet and literally barking while reading this book. I was hooked from the start and instantly felt connected to Misery and wanted to give her the biggest hug. She never felt at home or accepted while growing up in any of the three territories (Vampyre, Were and Human) and only has her best friend/foster sister, Serena. They're basically platonic soulmates and I love them. I really enjoyed the mystery and investigating and think that helped drive the story and quicken the pace.

You know what else I really enjoyed? Lowe mf alpha Moreland. I am simply on my knees for that man and if he said to jump, I'd ask how high. The tension between him and Misery is so thick and the banter between them is phenomenal. I swear, Ali always writes amazing banter between the love interests and never disappoints. I've never read an alpha/omegaverse book before, but Lowe is probably one of the softest alphas I've ever read. I absolutely adored his relationship with Ana and loved how quickly Misery warmed up to her, even with her strong dislike of kids.

The last 20% was giving me whiplash (in the best way possible) and I was screaming the whole time! Because what the actual f*ck??? I am like 99% sure there will be a second book following new characters, because that ending?? I need answers yesterday. But if we don't get a second book, I think the ending would be just fine on its own too!

Lastly, the knotting?? That may have convinced me to look into more omegaverse books...so just mind your business, okay?

I could go on and on about how much I love this book and I'm already itching to reread it. Please go pre-order this. This is one you NEED to have on your shelf. Thank you Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for the arc for my honest review!

Tropes:
-marriage of convenience / mates
-found family
-"Apologize to my wife"
-THICK tension and witty banter
-"Use me" / "It'll fit" (knotting🥵)
-he wears size 14 shoes (idc, I'm making this a trope)

I have not been conflicted over a book like this in such a long time! I truly struggled with the first 40% of this book and contemplated dnf'ing, BUT once I hit a specific turning point in the book I was HOOKED.

My biggest issue with this one and why I think it took me some time to get into is the fact that the first half is VERY info dumpy instead of character driven. Due to this, I really disliked our main female character. She did grow on me, but for a while she was too "quirky" / "not like other girls" for me.

I loved our main male character and he really shined for me. The found family trope in here was also one of my favorite aspects! I will add that this book has quite a large mystery subplot in it, which I was not expecting. (And when I say large subplot, I mean it was essentially a secondary plot, like 45%:45%)

Even though this was not the highest rated book for me, I did enjoy the second half of this book and am open to read more paranormal romances by Ali Hazelwood in the future!

This was so good?? I knew it was going to be good but fantasy was new for Ali but I should not have had any concern. I really liked the world cause it wasn't a very confusing magic system. I loved Misery and Lowe and their dynamic. When past Hazelwood FMCs sometimes borderline on annoying Misery thankfully was not. I enjoyed all the side plots and I am super excited for the next installment!! I know everyone is going to go feral over this book when it comes out. Vampires and werewolves are just iconic and Bride is added to my list of favorites.

Thanks to Berkeley publishing I was able to read this as an ARC and oh man I’m ready for the next one!

The world building was on point!

The slow burn was perfect!

Oh and don’t even get me started on the knotting !!!

The characters draw you in and hold on to you till the very last page!

I cannot wait for y’all to read this book!!

5/5 ⭐️ rating
Spice Level: Serrano

I really love that Ali Hazelwood is experimenting beyond her usual romance subgenres, this time taking on a paranormal romance between a werewolf and a vampire and all the complex and layered lore that comes with it. The dialog is still snappy and quippy, which I have come to expect of her books, but I really enjoyed the mythology and world that she created that blends the supernatural with the contemporary. The forced proximity romance between Misery and Lowe has the exact kind of slow burn that I love with the right amount of conflict, longing, and fire, and then the added complexities of the were and vampyre politics makes it all the more intriguing.

BRIDE is another entertaining romance from Ali Hazelwood. I love that she's expanding her genres and doing something new. I can't wait to see what she does next!

“You’re not a problem, Misery. You’re a privilege.”

♥️THINGS AND STUFF♥️
-marriage of political convenience
-forced proximity
-forbidden love
-a where in the world is carmen san diego quest
-vampires, wolves, and humans
-magical mind control powers
-pbj with the crusts cut off 🥹
-the smell a la bella swan
-fated mates
-tech skills
-oh no, you’re wounded!
-#IsThisAKissingBook: open door. dm me for content questions. “He leans forward and presses a kiss against my nose. “I’ll have to do it more often.”

thank you berkley romance for an advanced copy!

I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. I was in no way compensated for this review.



Ali Hazelwood's paranormal debut Bride was what I like to call a soft paranormal read!There's great political intrigue, warring factions between the vampires, werewolves, and humans, an arranged marriage, romance, and some attempted murder to spice things up! I obviously had never read one of Hazelwood's novels before but since she was dipping a toe into the paranormal pool, I decided why not?

The beginning sets us up for the world we are dealing with. There are three territories and each one is ruled either by the vampires, werewolves, or humans. Each territory is given a child of another territory to have as sort of living hostage, so to speak.While these groups are not currently at war, they were once and peace remains tremulous between them. Having a vampire child in the human territory is merely a sign of continue peace. It's a weird kind of setup but Hazelwood explains it better than I am so that it makes sense enough to just roll with it.

Misery, because yes, that is her actual name, was a vampire child who was sent to live with humans for ten years. Misery has never really know her own family, other than that when she and her twin brother were born, her birth killed their mother. So you get an idea of the tension that runs between her family. Hazelwood also writes a different kind of vampire, while she sticks to some of the more common rules, she does take creative leave to make her own and I always enjoy this aspect of vampire books. No two vampires are ever the same!

The story really takes off when Misery finds herself being sent to the werewolf territory, but not as the child hostage, this time she's going to be the bride of the Alpha werewolf, Lowe. The wedding was far from the type to bring about emotions as it's purely a marriage of politics. Misery just has to stay one year with her new husband and then she can return home...if she wishes to, as in that her home is actually among the humans where she has her best friend Serena.

This factor is actually something that drives Misery to agree to the marriage in the first place, as we soon learn that Serena has gone missing and Misery is determined to find out what happened to her friend who was writing an article. Among Serena's notes was one name and you can probably figure out whose name that is!

I will admit that things were weird between Misery and Lowe. There's tension for sure, as we strictly get Misery's point of view in this one, with a chapter header that gives insight to Lowe's thoughts. Both of these two have their secrets and will do anything to protect the ones that they love most. It's not too long before the sparks begin to fly and things really heat up, but of course, it's not a fast track to happily ever after after that. There are still a ton of issues they need to work out emotionally, plus the fact that there is something nefarious afoot.

What I enjoyed about this one was how it had a nice blend of quirky and edgy! I've read a ton of paranormal novels and I've loved them all! But there's always something really nice about diving into a paranormal world that is not completely dark and gloom. I suppose that's why I am drawn to the Urban Fantasy genre. I love the edginess, but coming into a paranormal romance with a shade of quirky is like a breath of fresh air! I still get that delightful paranormally goodness but with a plot that is a little lighter.

The pacing was a bit of an up and down affair. At times I felt like it was moving along nicely with some mystery seeds being laid out then it would dip back down into too much normalcy for my taste, but it would pick back up again with other quirks of being a paranormal book. It was never slow enough that I found myself needing to skim. If anything I needed to read fast just so that I could get to that ending that I knew was coming! Lol.

The mystery is naturally resolved, issues are worked through and all ends happily! Although, there was a bit in the epilogue that has my head spinning! I was just about to close the chapter on reading Hazelwood again when I noticed a teeny tiny window for the possibility of more! Time will tell!

All in all, Bride was a quirky kind of paranormal romance! It was sweet, it was cute, it was mysterious, and it had lots of heat! It made for quite the entertaining read. I definitely won't shy away from Hazelwood's name should she choose to write another in this genre!


Overall Rating 4/5 stars


Bride releases February 6, 2024

4.5 stars! I loved this book SO MUCH!! From page one I was invested, excited to see where the story would go. I absolutely loved the 2 main characters. Misery is now one of my favorites!! I adore Lowe and how much he adored Misery. I really enjoyed Ali’s writing in this book. It still felt like her but different enough for a fantasy / paranormal story. The story was fast paced and entertaining with enough twists and turns to keep me guessing and reading. I couldn’t put this one down. I didn’t find the world building confusing or info dump-y, I thought it was all very entertaining and well written. It was all around a good time with an amazing romance, excellent characters, and the best banter!! Absolutely loved this.

4.5 stars
Oh. My. Goodness. I am obsessed. I've really enjoyed Ali Hazelwood's contemporary romances and I was suuuper intrigued when I heard she had written a paranormal romance. I haven't read a paranormal romance in quite some time, but in Ali Hazelwood we trust. And then I saw it was a marriage of convenience and fated mates, and I was completely sold.
From the get go, this book had me completely hooked. I loved learning all about the Weres and Vampryes and how the species exist together with Humans. It was fascinating world building, and still very easy to comprehend all of the politics.
And then there were the main characters - Misery. I love her so much. She has the best sass, the best wit, she might be one of my favorite Ali Hazelwood female main characters I've encountered so far. She made me laugh constantly, and at the same time, twist my heart for the tribulations she's gone through in her life. There is a distinct line between all three species in this book, and Misery is an outcast to all them, but with this deep down desire to have someplace she could belong. I loved seeing her growth over the course of the book, learning about her true desires and finding somewhere that she can call her real home. And that's just what I loved about Misery as an individual.
Then we have her and Lowe together and. Oh. My Goodness. The banter, the chemistry, the attraction between these two. I was flying through the book desperate to see more of their encounters on the page. I was obsessed with the two of them.
All of this rambling to say, that I so thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. This was perfect, fantastic, and hoping she keeps writing more paranormal romances in the future.

*ARC Review- written 1/4/2024*



Do I love Ali Hazelwood? Yes! Are her books my favorite? Yes! Although this book is HIGHLY different from others that she has written (such as "The Love Hypothesis") it was just as addicting. Ali's ability to hook me from the first chapter is still strong. Misery is Vampyre royalty (according to her best friend) who has found herself wed to the Alpha Were, Lowe. The marriage is a way to finally ease some of the tension between the two groups, at least that's the reason everyone thinks that Misery has agreed to the arrangement. Misery has her own reasons to enter Were territory (and a marriage to their Alpha), and soon finds that she may find more than what she's been searching for... and that Lowe may not be who she was taught to believe he is. Although this book is a paranormal romance (Weres and Vampyres) it follows the same flow of her other contemporary romances- lots of tension that is well worth the wait. BUT there is also a lot of mystery that differs from her previous books. I will warn you- there were *some* things that I did not anticipate that kind of threw me for a loop. Not enough to not enjoy the book, but enough for me to later realize I just initially needed more of an explanation. (spice related- *ahem*) Ali was able to balance the romance with world building in a way that had me begging for the book to never end. Can't wait to read what Ali Hazelwood writes next! #NetGalley #NetGalleyARC #Bride #AliHazelwood #Romance #ParanormalRomance

This was a lot different than normal Ali, but the bones still were the same. The grumpy male being completely in love with the FMC and I am here for all of that. Misery is a vampire, but grew up with humans so she is sort of an outcast in her society. Her father is a powerful man and to bring an alliance to the vampires and wares, he marries her off to the alpha, Lowe. Lowe is a leader and has no time for his vampire bride, but as soon as he smells her at his wedding, he knows he's a goner.
Wares find their mates and that is it for them, but vampires don't have this same practice. Misery didn't sign up for this life and he doesn't want to keep her against her will. There is an underlying mystery as Misery's best friend has gone missing. She thinks Lowe has something to do with it and is determined to find her friend. Lowe and Misery were the perfect pair though and I loved how they grew to love one another and all of the sweet things they did.
I really enjoyed this fantasy and I love changing it up with my reads and I am happy that some of my favorite authors write in different genres as well.
Thanks to Berkley, Ali Hazelwood and Netgalley for an early copy.

4.25 ⭑ i present to you: ali hazelwood’s hottest couple

this was so fun!!! the first few chapters were a little slow and some of the mystery element felt a little clunky, but the dynamic between lowe and misery was everything!!! this book is full of tension, pining (our mmc falls first, ofc), and super hot vampy and wolfy activities.

ali really knew what she was doing by giving us a glimpse into lowe’s mind at the start of every chapter..

Misery is the only daughter of the most powerful Vampyre in the southwest and an outcast among her kind, and when she is called to preserve a historic peacekeeping alliance between the Vampyres and their mortal enemies, the Weres, she sees little choice other than surrendering herself... again. This time, she has to marry a "ruthless and unpredictable" Alpha, Lowe Moreland. They don't trust each other and Misery has her own reasons for agreeing to such a marriage.

I fell for this book from the first page; the writing had me hooked and wanting more and more. Lowe’s "my wife" this, “my wife" that—had me screaming and kicking my feet. The way he was so caring towards his little sister was so sweet and cute. The only part that broke with him and Misery was that he hid a certain and important truth, not necessarily miscommunication. And Misery had my heart torn multiple times. I want to give her a big, long-lasting hug. and I want to kick her father in the head... multiple times. I already want to reread this book!

Thank you to netgalley for the arc of Bride

While I am a big Ali Hazelwood fan, I wasn’t totally sure what to expect from Bride, given that it is such a different premise from her other works. That being said, this book was a really fun read. I had never read something quite like this before, but I did enjoy it and it has encouraged me to seek out other books within the genre. If you’re on the fence about reading this one, I would say go for it! It was a light, quick read and still had a lot of Hazelwood’s characteristic flair and charm.

I have had this book on my radar since I heard about it and normally I'm not a huge contemporary romance reader but if you throw a little paranormal in there...I'm going to want to read it. No spoilers here so hopefully everything doesn't sound super vague and there's enough here to encourage you to pick it up...if not, just go read it anyway.

Misery Lark is the only daughter of the most powerful Vampyre councilman and she is also an outcast. Having spent her younger years with humans because of an agreement between the two groups, she is not comfortable with her own kind. So when she is released, she and her best friend Serena make a life for themselves amongst the humans. When the story picks up, we find out Serena is missing and Misery's father has requested her presence at the Nest. As we quickly learn, he wants her to marry the Were's Alpha to help uphold an alliance and as she has in the past, she agrees. But this time, she's doing it for her own motives because she found a clue in Serena's stuff that makes her think the Weres may know something about what happened to her.

Lowe Moreland is the Alpha of the Weres and he will do anything he needs to in order to protect his sister and his pack. Not only does he have to have a Vampyre in his home/territory, he's also trying to stop some internal pack conflict that occurred when he challenged and beat the old Alpha so to say things aren't exactly easy right now would probably be an understatement.

Immediately when Lowe and Misery tie the knot, there is some tension but I loved the way Hazelwood built up the relationship. Neither of them trusted the other...not fully but that quickly changed. In part because of Lowe's sister Ana. When Lowe and Misery finally share their secrets, they become fast partners and even more. I loved the banter between them and Misery as a character is one of my favorites so far this year. Despite all the things she has had to deal with, she still has a sense of humor and a heart.

Eventually, things start to become more clear around who is threatening those important to Lowe and what happened to Serena. Right alongside that, Lowe and Misery need to make some decisions about what they want their relationship to truly be. I do have to call out that the secondary cast of characters were very well done too and with the way this one ended, I'm optimistic that maybe there is hope for another book in this world...my fingers are crossed.

If you're looking for a contemporary/paranormal romance with witty and well-developed characters, look no further. Be sure to grab this book when you can, you won't be sorry.

This was not quite what I was expecting but was still so SO good.

‘Bride’ is obviously different from the other books Ali Hazelwood has published thus far. It’s a little more out there, bringing omega-verse and shifter romance to the foreground. Clearly, she’s proven she can sell books and is going to write whatever she wants to. Still, once you get past that aspect I found that a lot of what’s charming about Hazelwoods’ romances is still intact, smart heroines and dynamic chemistry between the leads.

That’s not to say I think you need to look past the concept to enjoy this though. As a fanfic addict of the 2000’s-2010’s I love seeing this type of romance get a mainstream publishing breakthrough. I’m absolutely a fated mates kind of girlie. ‘Bride’ has a great balance between building the paranormal aspect of the story and also just being a super cute romance. A really solid 4 stars!

Go off Ali!

This was so fun. It’s the perfect vampire/werewolf love story for anyone who loved Twilight in middle school, only better written and a thousand times less toxic. I’d recommend this to anyone who would like their affinity for paranormal romance to be resurrected, or for anyone who enjoys a romantic little romp now and then. I read a digital ARC from NetGalley and Berkeley Publishing Group.

If this had not been written by Ali Hazelwood, I never would have picked it up. BUT I'm so glad I did. I never thought I would love a book about werewolves and vampires, but here we are. This was INSANELY GOOD. Can Ali Hazelwood do no wrong?? I'll be posting a full review on my socials closer to pub date, but wow. I loved this one so much!

I love Ali Hazelwood and I love fantasy, so of course I have nothing but good things to say about this book. The characters are just who you want them to be, the plot is engaging, and I'm left with wanting more at the end. If we don't get more of this world, we riot.

This book had me in an absolute CHOKEHOLD. I was feral throughout the entire book. Lowe and Misery were so hot!!!
I ate this book up toh. I'm not sure if it's because it's the first paranormal romance book I'm reading but I was highly intrigued with the plot and world. I think the world building was fairly simple to follow, for someone who doesn't read fantasy/paranormal very often.
In typical Ali fashion, this book was filled with humor that I enjoy. A bit sarcastic, and I really love it!
I loved the relationship between Lowe and Misery. It grew gradually and naturally despite their circumstances. Lowe was so gone for her and i LOVED seeing it play out
I also LOVED Ana. So much.