As a big fan of Ali Hazelwood and Vampires I was super excited for this one and I was knot (i couldn’t resist the opportunity for that joke) disappointed. Ali’s first foray into published fantasy/paranormal romance was a strong debut into the genre and I can see where fans of her previous work and new readers would enjoy.

It did start off a bit slow for me and it wasn’t fully invested in the story and our characters until the 30-40% mark but once I was invested I was reluctant to put it down whenever I had to stop reading and focus on the real world. This is a slower build/burn than precious works from Ali but the pay off was well worth it.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for this earc in exchange for my review.

Let me start this out by saying that this is the FIRST Ali Hazelwood book I have ever read. Yes, you heard right- and I have no regrets since this seems to be her first paranormal novel. I was HOOKED for the first chapter. A vampire werewolf relationship in a society divided by species? What could possibly go wrong?

Misery has spent most of her vampire life in the human city, growing up as "collateral" for her vampire species. She grows to detest her own species, and finds living as "human" is much easier when it's with her childhood best friend Serena. When the one person in her life goes missing, Misery begins searching for answers- doing what needs to be done under the guise of acting on her father's behalf. She once again finds herself acting as collateral, opting to marry the Alpha werewolf Lowe in order to find out what happened to her best friend. After learning of Misery's true plan, Lowe decides to help her in his own way. The two soon find each other in close proximity, and no matter how much Lowe pushes Misery away, she just seems to keep reeling him back in.

I really enjoyed this paranormal romance from Hazelwood. She builds a great world to set our scenes, and does well to progress the relationship in the timely way. We read from Misery's POV, seeing her thoughts and plans laid out added a lot to her character development. I enjoyed seeing how the couple grew into one another, eventually aligning their feelings in the end. For the most part, this is a healthy fated mates romance with hints of found family, discovering a new world, and a fun happily ever after. The only thing I really would have liked to see is the ending scene written out. It felt rushed over, and "fade to black," whereas other similar scenes were graphically depicted. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

Addictive, sultry and extremely binge worthy!

Thank you Berkley for my digital arc. I am not kidding when I say the only break I took is the nightly sleep(4hrs) while I read the book, it is so unputdownable. Ali Hazelwood delivered a smooth Vampire/Werewolf romance with no fuss for everyone that is starving for a good supernatural romance(my inner Twilight loving teen rejoiced). I loved how she blended science and romance instead of totally relying on fantasy elements, I absolutely enjoyed the forbidden romance/marriage of convenience , I ate it up like there is no tomorrow

Misery is a computer wizard as much as she is a vampire, after spending her life mostly as pawn in the political alliance drama between species she is resigned to live a quiet life as a fake human until her soul sister literally disappears without a trace.Enter Lowe, the Alpha of were's that enters into reluctant alliance with vampires by marrying his vampire bride-who may have her own motives for her actions. The romance that ensues is seductive, angsty and swoon worthy, I loved how Ali added a mystery aspect to the story as well. I see a lot of potential for more stories from the world and I am here for it, overall a pleasant surprise from Ali Hazelwood that I thoroughly enjoyed

If you were to tell me that I would actually enjoy a vampire-werewolf romance read, I would say you were lying. This was my first ever read - yes you read that correctly; no twilight prior reader here - and I really did like it! The first 15% I’d say really lead the reader into the political perspective to understand the rest of the story. Once you get to 20% you’re in it for the ride! I still couldn’t give it five stars just because I am so new to this type of fantasy romance with vampires and werewolves that some scenes just didn’t lay well compared to real humans. ;) But I do think for readers who enjoy this type of read - they’ll easily give it five stars!!!

Thank you to NetGalley, Berkley Publishing, and Ali Hazelwood for this digital ARC.

The scream that came out of me when I got early access to this book. Reader, I nearly passed out. Ali Hazelwood giving us a supernatural romance - my life was made. I read this in practically one sitting and promptly wanted to re-read it. It was SO GOOD. I loved that we got a fresh take on vampire and werewolf mythology, and perfectly blended Ali’s STEMinist writing style.

Misery was honestly such a fun character’s head to be in. Her dry wit, her joy at jokingly scaring the werewolves, and general badassery was a delight. Lowe was another delicious lead. The way he begrudgingly fell harder and harder, the peaks we got of his feelings, how he wanted to do right by everyone in his life and the packs that he led. All absolutely amazing. I hope Ali writes a million more stories like this.

Absolutely beyond grateful to the Berkley Romance team for this eARC.

4.5* rounded up!
This is, without a doubt, my favorite Ali Hazelwood book so far. It was a super quick read that had me not wanting to put it down as soon as I started. Vampires and werewolves? Absolutely, yes. The slow burn was burning and I was here for it. I was so invested that I ended up staying up all night to read it and had zero regrets. Misery and Lowe's dynamic had me smiling at my kindle and also internally screaming to just love each other, which made it even more fun to read. I cannot stress how excited I would be to read more from this world!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for the digital arc in exchange for my honest thoughts!

This book was a very fun concept but the execution was not up to par. First, I did overall enjoy the concept because I think these kinds of romance/sci-fi novels are a great time. The world was in modern day America with the addition of werewolves and vanpyres and all the fun tensions between those species and humans. However, I felt the plot dragged in many places and the reveal of Misery and Lowe being mates (which wasn’t really a reveal) took way too long. I think this could have been a really solid and entertaining novella. I also think the writing was not the best quality and would have benefitted from a stronger editor.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for supplying me with an egalley of this book to read and review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
What happens when a vampyre and a wearwolf get throw together for a marriage of convenience and alliance? Not only do sparks fly but the lies that have kept their two cultures fighting for years come to the surface and put everyone's lives at risk.
Ali Hazelwood is the queen of writing quirky, nerdy, and fun characters. So sinking my teeth into this one was a no brainer. I will say, I was worried about the paranormal aspect. I love some good paranormal characters but I wasn't sure how Hazelwood would work that into her romance writing. Let me tell you, she did a fabulous job. This book is her best romance yet. Close proximity, forced companionship, enemies to lovers, and forbidden love turn into sexy, melt your heart attraction and a fabulous plot line to boot!
I love the world building Hazelwood has given us: Vampyres, Wearwolves, and Humans living on the brim of constant war. She easily creates their territories and then the tension that accompanies these groups as enemies. This tension leaves you wondering how there will ever be any romance in the book when these cultures have lived with hate for each other all their lives.
I don't want to compare this to Twilight, but I just have to do it because it definitely has a bit of that feel. And I loved every minute of it. Hazelwood creates that same type of atmosphere flawlessly. There is the tension between the different groups, the fear of a clash that will end in someone dying, and also the forbidden romance that you cheer on! But there's also the theme of having a mate or being linked to another being in some way that cannot be broken. Think Jacob and Renesme. At the same time, this is so much more grown up. And there is zero love triangle!
The chapter headings! Hazelwood didn't make this book dual POV BUT the chapters headings give you all you need to know about the male main character., Lowe Moreland I don't know how the author was able to choose just the right words to introduce the chapters in just a sentence or two, but boy did they help build the relationship and tension between the MMC and the FMC.
Lowe Moreland, oh Lowe! He is powerful and protective. I love this Alpha who takes his job so seriously he is willing to sacrifice himself for anyone in his pack. His pull to Misery is unmistakable. I love how Hazelwood created this strong, confident, loyal character that, despite being forced to be in the presence of Misery, is determined to keep her safe. Oh and can I mention that his personality just makes him all the more sexy? He's super perceptive and this allows him to really see people and know who they are without having to ask a lot of questions.
Misery Lark truly fits Hazelwood's quirky female character theme. Misery, who chooses to live apart from the other vampyres, with the humans, because she just is not like her counterparts. But she's also a character who refuses to truly let anyone in because of her past experiences with being a pawn for her father and the vampyre community. And she's a character who doesn't feel she is worthy of ever having anyone love her or lean on her. I love her character arc in this book. She's not a typical vampyre, though, which you can tell right off the bat. She even alludes to it, that her culture is stoic and does not have any emotion or true connections between each other beyond keeping their race gong. She cares, which is not typical for her people. So you know from the very beginning there will be some rebellion from her.
And the side characters really gave so much to the story and were also well thought out. Anna is adorable and her relationship with Misery is so much fun to watch. Alex makes me laugh with his fear of Misery but at the same time his want to be her friend. Misery's brother Owen is fearless and I love how his character arc happened. Serena, her best and only friend, is just as fun and quirky as Misery, it's no wonder they get along so well. And there are so many more I could name but then we'd be here forever. So you'll just need to read this one to meet them all!
I will say, I kind of figured out how things would play out between Lowe and Misery from the wedding scene at the very beginning of the book where he backs her into a wall asking why she smells like she does. I won't get into more on this except to say I knew exactly where that particular sentence was going to lead us (despite Misery's interpretation) and I was very down with finding out how the story would take me there!
Aside from the romance, there is so much more happening in this story. I love a good romance but I'm a stickler for there being some kind of story that goes along with how that romance proceeds, not just scenes where the characters are all over each other. I love the political plot Hazelwood weaves into this one. There's a of underhanded and scheming things as well as betrayal that happens which create some twists and turns you will not expect! There are many areas of action, which really picks the pacing up and creates amazing tension between the complex characters she develops.
If you are looking for sexy, this is Hazelwood's sexiest book yet! She truly incorporates what we have been taught about Vampyres (teeth, sucking blood, hearing heart beats) and Wears (changing and morphing into wolves, scenting) and throws that into all the tense, sexy scenes for the characters. Those details make the romance even more amazing and had me squirming in my seat at times! It was delicious!
And that ending? I'm excited to see where the next story will go because that epilogue definitely shows us there will be more books in this paranormal romance series! I can see so many characters that are worthy of their own stories: Kiran, Owen, Serena, Alex, and many more. I need to read all their stories!
Overall, this is definitely in my top 5 reads this year. I flew through it and really didn't want to put it down. I may have stayed up way too late finishing it and been exhausted the next day, but in the best way! Give me all the Ali Hazelwood as she has quickly been elevated into my favorite romance author!

2.5⭐️

honestly, I was let down by this book.

I'm a huge Ali Hazelwood fan & I LOVE fantasy romance, so I had high hopes! I was grateful to get the ARC and I read it super fast.

the plot was confusing most of the time, and a lot of things weren't properly explained or built-up. It was more of a paranormal mystery than fantasy, which is not what I was expecting...

the romance was weird. the tension wasn't strong and the slowburn was TOO slow to not have that searing chemistry.

there were elements of this book that I did enjoy, but for me the bad overpowered the good.

overall, I wouldn't call it a bad book—but also not a good one.

This book was everything!! I ate it up and had a very hard time putting it down. Everything about this book was entertaining, fun, and so romantic! I can’t wait to get my hands on a physical copy!!

Bride by Ali Hazelwood effortlessly blends the allure of paranormal romance with the author's signature storytelling finesse. Despite my initial skepticism towards the genre, Hazelwood's narrative prowess drew me into a world where Vampyres and Weres navigate complex alliances.

The story revolves around Misery Lark, daughter of a powerful Vampyre councilman, thrust into a political marriage with Lowe Moreland, the Alpha of the Weres. Hazelwood deftly subverts traditional vampire and shifter lore, creating a captivating universe filled with intricate world-building and multifaceted characters.

Misery, a refreshing and intelligent heroine, adds depth to the narrative, while the slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers romance between her and Lowe unfolds amidst political turmoil and a compelling mystery. Bride stands as a testament to Hazelwood's ability to transcend genre conventions, delivering a symphony of supernatural elements, love, and redemption that secures its place among my top romance reads of the year.

As always, Hazelwood's writing is addictive and binge-able. However, I felt frustrated by the conflict and the fact that Misery was so unaware that she was his mate. I hated how Lowe used some of Misery's insecurities against her as part of her "protection" or whatever you want to call it toward then end, and then Misery just accepted it.

This is definitely a departure from Ali Hazelwood's usual STEMinist romance novels, but I think she does a really good job with her first foray into paranormals.

Misery Lark is the daughter of a powerful Vampyre councilman, and to keep the peace between the Vampyres and the Weres (werewolves), she is to be married off to the Alpha Were, Lowe Moreland. After having spent most of her childhood serving as a symbol of peace between Vampyres and Humans (in a sort of long-term-child-hostage exchange situation), she is really not interested in becoming collateral again. However, her childhood best friend Serena has recently gone missing, and Misery suspects the Weres of having something to do with it, so she agrees to the marriage, thinking this will be her chance to do some snooping in Were territory and discover what happened to her friend. It's clear that the Weres don't trust her, and Misery will have to keep up her guard to protect both her life and her heart as she spends more time with Lowe and starts to see another side of the Alpha.

I love a good arranged marriage romance and this one has all the Hazelwood hallmarks--strong female characters, witty dialogue, slow-burn romance, and lots of steamy scenes. I really enjoyed the contemporary romance setting, and while parts of the paranormal world weren't terribly well-explained, I didn't have any trouble following the plot. There's a lot of very cute scenes with the male main character's little sister, and some other secondary characters that were really enjoyable. The romance is definitely slow burn, even with the "fated mates" trope included, but the book was fast-paced and enjoyable. She sets the scene for more books in the series, and I'll definitely be watching for those.

Thank you for the eARC.
Publication date: Feb 6th, 2024

Okay okay OKAY.
I don't know what happened. I've never read Ali Hazelwood because contemporary romance isn't my genre but I saw werewolves and vampires and decided.... yes.

This is great for fans of Twilight and bonus points because no one falls in love with a baby. You can also expect:

• found family
• fake marriage
• plenty of humor
• fated mates

The structure could have been less formulaic but you know what? It was still fun. Here's for straying outside of your comfort zone.

This book really piqued my interest! Vampires and werewolves; say LESS i’m SAT!! This book was filled with classic silly elements, typical for a paranormal romance, and of course the cliché but noticeably Ali Hazelwood characters.

A political marriage between an Alpha Werewolf and a Vampyre councilman’s daughter makes for an interesting…. relationship. When they discover that they have a common goal, they quickly become unlikely allies, and their marriage becomes one of… more than convenience.

Misery Lark has never really felt like she’s belonged, after spending much of her life hidden among the humans, being thrown into the world of werewolves isn’t that different. I really did like Misery, her character had a lot of potential that I felt wasn’t fully developed, especially regarding how she feels like an outcast. She was strong and resilient after being underestimated by those around her, her whole life, and I wanted the best for her!!!

Alpha Lowe Moreland has recently stepped up into his role as leader among the packs. He learns early on that maybe his new vampyre bride is more than he bargained for. I enjoyed Lowe as the love interest and would have enjoyed reading more of the story from his POV, especially his feelings throughout. I enjoyed the chapter headers from his POV, it helps build the dynamic and I would have liked for him to have more of a voice, I felt like he wasn’t a strong enough character, especially with the way his actions towards Misery could have been more prevalent!!

This story was such a good concept and I was really giggling at the start. However I felt that the plot developed slowly and I was waiting, waiting, waiting for some action to develop. I see how this was meant to be a bit of a slower burn than previous Hazelwood titles, but it felt like the relationship wasn’t truly developing until about the halfway point.

I did very much enjoy the friendship and teamwork that Misery and Lowe reached as they shared a common goal. I think this was a fun paranormal twilight-esque romance that actually felt innovative and like it can stand as its own. My only few downfalls came with the pacing.

Thank you Berkley and Netgalley for the advanced copy.

This book took a while to start up, but once the plot got started up, it was so interesting. The romance, the drama, and the mystery! It was so much fun to enjoy.

Bride was only my second Ali Hazelwood book (after The Love Hypothesis), and while I could not get past the cringe in Love on the Brain, I DEVOURED Bride in less than 24 hours. It was my exact same scenario with The Love Hypothesis, so I don't know if it was the perfect time to read this or if it had the same writing drug—who knows. I just know I couldn't put it down. I couldn't stop myself. I think this genre was meant—destined for—Ali in a really interesting way. There's still a hint of stem in the book too, and Ali's focus and details in this supernatural world was fascinating. Is it the next high fantasy 10/10 world building? No. But it was a super fun ride that I look forward to experiencing it again, especially after that epilogue scene.

Now Bride follows Misery "Missy" Lark as she's tasked with forging an alliance between the Vampyres and the Weres, specifically by marrying the Alpha of the Weres, after the alliance with the Humans and Vampyres starts to crumble. In the past. Missy has been the Vampyre Collateral to the Humans for nearly all of her childhood, so this task is not much different because she's used to being in enemy territory. But on her wedding day, Missy doesn't realize that her future husband Lowe Moreland maaaaay have some extremely complicated feelings towards her... *wink wink*

The characters are truly what shine in this book the most along with the hearty romance. I could not stop laughing at Missy's wit, nor could I stop loving Ana (Lowe's younger sister) for even a second. The characters simply made this book and enhanced the romance in a superbly, wonderful way. Also, I'm VERY intrigued to see the hinted at sequel involving Serena (Missy's best and only friend) and Koen (friend & his role model in Lowe's youth). For one thing, Serena was only in the last 15%, maybe 10%, of this book, and I loved those few precious pages with their friendship. The whole reason Missy accepts the marriage when her father tells her about it is because Serena has gone missing, and Missy saw Lowe's initials in Serena's notes in their friendship code. If it wasn't for Serena, the relationship between Lowe and Missy would probably not have been as successful initially because Missy would not have gone into it as willingly. When we do meet Serena, she immediately reminded me of my own best friend, so I'm craving more interactions of them. Same goes for Koen and Lowe, honestly.

Finally, let's gush about this romance for a second. Readers know nearly from the get go due to the heavy hinting from Ali that Misery and Lowe are mates. Lowe has this very visceral reaction upon seeing her, feeling her presence, but Missy misinterprets this reaction for revulsion instead. It's definitely the miscommunication trope in a way, but it actually did not bother me as much as this trope usually does. Now on the flip side, I did hate Lowe for lying straight to Missy's face when she confronts him about being mates. THAT was very upsetting. I was enraged for sure. It knocked him down a few points for doing that because it just was a stake through the heart.

Anyway, Lowe and Missy give off such a heartwarming vibe throughout this book. They're both so empathetic and compassionate to not only their own loved ones but the people around them too, villains even. They both have such healthy, open views on the world, and you can tell that they'll usher in a new era of peace between the Humans, Weres, and Vampyres. Their external experiences with the human world specifically formed them into these versions of themselves where they can love another species as their partner. There's a lot of subliminal messaging of how we ourselves could be better at uniting humankind around the world in this more supernatural setting.

The steamy scenes were in fact jaw dropping. I don't know if it's the fact that I've only read Ali's debut book or the fact that this is a supernatural book... But Ali did not COME TO PLAY with this smut. My jaw was on the floor as I read, and my cheeks were cherry tomato red. She certainly did not hold back in the slightest, which was quite interesting to read. The marking and blood feeding during sex was something I expected. It makes sense for both Weres and Vampyres to do this in intimacy, and Ali was VERY successful at conveying the feelings of attraction, euphoria, and pleasure whenever Missy bit Lowe. Honestly, one of my favorite scenes is when Emery and her Weres find them together in the office while Missy is feeding from Lowe. It was truly the most genius decision the two could make to not get caught bugging Emery's office, and it was our first taste of their intimacy. Truly genius on a comical, cunning, and intimate level. I definitely think I missed a couple of the supernatural trends and tropes like werewolf knots because I'm not as well versed in this genre, but I'm excited that I started with this book in this specialized genre first. It's opened the doors for me in terms of other supernatural romance.

As you can see from this review, I will definitely recommend this book to not only my audience but romance friends. I really want to see what happens in a second book surrounding Serena and Koen because Ali Hazelwood is certainly not done with this world. Maybe she'll make a Ali Hazelwoodverse and have Bride crossover with her Stem romances. Who knows what she has in store?

Thank you to Berkley, Berkley Romance, and NetGalley for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I liked Ali Hazelwood's first couple books but then I felt like they were very similar and repetitive. I loved Check and Mate because it was a little different. This one was VERY different, as it was fantasy! I liked it a lot and it was really different than her usual books.

Rating: 4.25 stars

Misery Lark wants nothing more than to live anonymously among the humans, but her father thwarts that plan by requesting her presence. He’s a powerful Vampyre councilman, and he needs his outcast daughter to take one for the team. They need someone to form an alliance with the Weres, and Misery sees no other choice but to agree, despite them being mortal enemies. Lowe Moreland is the Alpha of the Weres. He doesn’t trust Misery, but he can’t help but be captivated by her.

Ali Hazelwood has become an auto-buy author for me. Although I preordered a copy of Bride, I jumped at the chance to read an early copy. I’ll admit I was skeptical of how this story would pan out, but I ended up being very impressed! Ali does such a wonderful job world-building and creating dynamic characters. I couldn’t help feeling extremely sad about Misery’s circumstance and still wanting to shake her sometimes. As for Lowe, he is a formidable and likeable Alpha. Yet, he also has flaws. These characters balance each other out well, and I really enjoyed the banter between the two of them.

While I’m typically not a fan of slow burn romance either, but the angst in this story had me all the way dialed in. When it finally came to a head; it was sweet, and worth the wait! The other characters in the story were great as well! There’s a bit of mystery in this read, and it was nice to see it get solved. As for the ending, I did not see it coming. I’m hoping that means we’ll get another chance to see these characters again!

Overall, I think this was a really strong paranormal romance. I cannot wait to get my finished copy next year.

Thank you to Net Galley and Berkley Publishing Group for the ARC!

As if I wasn't already a huge fan of Ali Hazelwood, she goes and steps into the paranormal world, creating a story I had a splendid time reading! She even managed to sneak in a female main character with nerd-like tendencies... a big reason I gravitate to this author so much!

🧛🏼❤️🐺

Somebody called this a Jacob x Renesmee fanfic and I could definitely pick up on the Twilight vibes, so now I can't unsee it! Misery and Lowe, our love interests at the forefront of this story, had so much fun banter and an evolving romance that I was hooked from the get-go. We went from enemies to lovers, with the back half of this story becoming horny as hell. 🌶️🔥🥵 There were a few times I had to put my Kindle down and take a deeeep breath before I jumped back into the romance scenes. Ali wrote a wonderful character in Lowe, a patient, loyal, and wonderful Alpha!

A fun addition I wasn't expecting with this book was the mystery aspect that transpires between the Weres, Vampyres, and Humans. I like that this allowed for a story line for the secondary characters that didn't overpower the paranormal romance that this book is advertised as but also added just enough of a plot that the reader was entertained. The whole ordeal made me like Misery a lot more as a character and the found family trope left me very satisfied in the end! I also wonder if the little cliffhanger Ali leaves us with indicates a possibility of an additional story in this universe.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing and Netgalley for an early peek at this new story by Ali Hazelwood. I can't wait to pick up a physical copy when this comes out on my birthday in February!