Listen up, vampire lovers: when I tell you that BRIDE is an unmissable addition to the paranormal canon, I mean drop everything now and sink your fangs into it. In BRIDE, sisterhood and found family are thicker than blood; the romance that blooms from a marriage of convenience is both tender and foxy, indisputably sexy and brimming with heart. I adored it.

This book has it all! An interesting story, fantasy elements, solid world building, good "show, don't tell", a genuine romance, spice, and a great plot. Usually, I find it difficult to have a fantasy story with romance and good writing, but Hazelwood nailed it with Bride. It was also set up nicely for a sequel, which I'm really excited about.

There was a miscommunication trope here that I didn't *love*, but it definitely worked in the story and wasn't drug out for too long. Misery was an interesting MC with a sharp wit that didn't feel overdone or pushed too far. Lowe makes for an excellent love interest and I really adored sweet Ana.

Overall, I would recommend Bride to romance and fantasy readers. This will be especially popular with the rise of romantasy and I can definitely see this being a BookTok favorite! It gets a 5/5 from me.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review Bride. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Misery Lark is just a normal vampyre living amongst the humans. After serving the majority of her life to help her kind, she has decided life is just easier with the dull boring humans. Thankfully she has her best and only friend by her side every step of the way. That is until Serena goes missing and Misery will do just about anything to find her. That includes marrying the Alpha of the Were’s, Lowe, and living with him as collateral.

It is clear to Misery that Lowe can’t stand her. But all she needs to do is try to find more information on Serena. But while snooping around the Were home, she ends up becoming attached to Ana, Lowe’s little sister. What started as a search mission quickly turns into more when she discovers Ana and Serena are connected. She is even more surprised to find out the Alpha she married isn’t as terrible as she thought he would be.

Review
At first the world building in Bride felt a little hard to follow. There are three species in the novel, Were’s, Vampyre’s and Humans. These three species are all mortal enemies and have created “collateral alliances” to help keep the peace between their kinds. Understanding how the Were’s and Vampyre worlds, their alliances and their genetic makeup was a journey Ali did a great job building the world and the details that went into it. The different species even had different blood types.

I love when a fantasy world has “mates”. There is something so pure and enticing about there being one true mate for someone. Misery’s character was my favorite of Ali’s MFC. Her inner dialogue had me grinning from ear to ear. Her personality was relatable and funny. I also adored Lowe, he was truly the perfect leader of the pack. His kindness and patience just goes to show why fictional characters are so amazing.

This book was not just a romance but a whole fantasy experience. Some of the twists and turns I did see coming, while others threw me through a loop. I loved the ending and look forward to more books in this fantasy world. Ali has definitely shown us she can rock writing romances with women in STEM, young adult novels and now fantasy worlds.

Will post to chapterswithchan.com in February!

I was so thankful to receive this highly anticipated ARC, and to read my first novel by Ali Hazelwood. I've been curious about her other books, and was excited to pick up her first paranormal romance.

I'll begin by saying that I think this book will be very popular, and I think it will be a great read for readers who are new to paranormal romance because it's a very approachable introduction to vampires and shifters.

Maybe it's because I am very familiar with Shifter romances and have read other books that I enjoyed more, but this felt very surface level for me. I felt the whole thing could have been dialed up a bit – especially the mystery aspect, the vampire/werewolf tension, and the Shifter instincts.

𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘥:
⟡ Quick and easy read
⟡ While this book was single POV, I did love that there were one-liners of the MMC's thoughts as the headers for each chapter so we do get a glimpse into his headspace
⟡ The MMC is raising his younger sister, which is adorable. I love a Cinnamon Roll.

𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦:
⟡ Use of big words that felt forced
⟡ Predictable plot points
⟡ I felt like a huge aspect of Shifter qualities weren't utilized to their full potential

While I didn't love this book, I did enjoy it and would especially recommend to contemporary romance readers who want to dip a toe into paranormal romance. Look for this book in February 2024!

While I am a sucker for any vampire story, I am also incredibly critical of them. But I have to give BRIDE 5 stars. I devoured the book in one day, absolutely enamored with the two main characters and the tension/chemistry between them. The banter and evolution of their relationship is enjoyable, supporting characters are fleshed out, and Hazelwood brings some of her STEM roots to the creature origins.
Side note: as soon as I saw the dedication I thought, "No, she did knot...." But yes. Yes she did.

OK ALI. I see youuu!!!!!! Fantasy romance by Ali hazelwood? Sold. It was everything I wanted it to be. The vibes were immaculate, Misery was so so so funny, Lowe’s pack had great personalities, and Lowe…. My sweet tender alpha male 🤌🏼😍 he was so sweet and attentive to Misery and what can I say? I’m a sucker for a feral werewolf 🤌🏼 thank you to Berkley romance and Netgalley for providing me the arc! 4/5 ⭐️’s

Ali Hazelwood has entered the fantasy chat and it was STUPID fun 🤪 I had such a good time reading this I literally could not put my kindle down.

Misery Lark is the outcast, sassy, uses-sarcasm-as-a-way-to-cope-with-her-feelings heroine of my dreams and Lowe! Moreland! can! get! it! He is a devoted other brother to his eight year old sister, FIERCELY loyal to his pack, walks around with the weight of the world on his shoulders, and a man who is truly there to worship his “wife” 😮‍💨🤪🤠 We stan 💅 I ADORED Misery and Lowe together and the way they seamlessly begin to grow to trust and rely on one another, and there was no shortage of protective “MY WIFE” moments that had me giggling and kicking my feet.

There was a really engaging political/who dunnit subplot throughout the whole book that blends together the world building and Misery and Lowe’s need to work together so seamlessly. I cant lie it honestly made me feel like i was reading crescent city if crescent city was a fun silly romcom. The vibes and the atmosphere felt so similar to me and it ate it up.

ANYWAYS I have once again completely
adored a book that ali hazelwood has written. I feel like she DEFINITELY has more books planned in this universe tho. I won’t say much, but the ending is giving interconnected standalone romances and I’m here for that

Thank you @berkleyromance @netgalley @alihazelwood for this eArc!! 🫶🏼

This book was fantastic! This is the first omegaverse book I’ve ever read. And I for sure didn’t know I needed a book about werewolves and vampires but this was in fact EXACTLY what I needed. Not only is it different than Ali Hazelwood’s other books, it’s different from what I usually read but not SO different where I wasn’t going to be into it. It was a little more heavy on the mystery and paranormal elements, the romance was VERY much a slow burn.

The world building was so good. Everything was so complicated between the Humans, Weres, and Vampyres. And while it was sometimes a little hard to sort through and somethings could have been explained better, I thought it was mostly easy to follow!

I am in love with Misery. She was so funny and witty and honestly someone pretty functional for being used as literal collateral for the majority of her life. She’s a Vampyre but lived most of her life with Humans, and now she’s off to be married to a Were.

ALSO MISERY AND LOWE. Perfection. I loved watching them figure each other out, questioning each other, teaching each other things, becoming comfortable with someone who is seemingly an enemy. They were GOOD together.

I also loved Lowe so much. He is the softest alpha, in my very limited knowledge of alphas but like the man cuts the crust of his sandwiches I mean COME ON. He cares SO much. About the pack, about Ana, about Misery. I loved watching Misery notice how much he sacrifices and tries so hard to help him. I WISH we had actual Lowe POV chapters, but I did LOVE the little chapter subheadings that were his thoughts so much.

And a very special shout out to Ana because that little girl has my WHOLE HEART.

Thank you so so much to Berkeley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! This is the first book I’ve read since being accepted into their 2024 romance influencer program and I am so excited for this year!

Absolutely ADORED this book. Ali Hazelwood’s first paranormal romance and she crushed it. I read this book in two sittings.

The FMC was a breath of fresh air & the MMC was swoon-worthy. I could read 10k words of them just chatting.

Addicting. Fun. Everything I want in a romance.

I’m not going to lie, when I heard that Ali Hazelwood was writing omegaverse paranormal romance I was a little skeptical. But Bride surprised me in a really good way.

The first ~13% of the book definitely felt a little fanfic-y, but once I got to the meat of the story the writing significantly improved. I’m hoping that that’s the section that got the most work between ARC distribution and publication.

The little bits of species science stuff was pretty interesting, the steam and the spice were WORKING for me, and the cultural differences between species were pretty well developed. I also really liked the characters, and (hopefully) look forward to seeing more of them in potential future books.

Despite the beginning feeling a little silly, I read this book in one sitting. I will never doubt Ali Hazelwood again. 4.5 stars

I will post my review to Instagram in early February, and post it to Amazon on publication day.

#NetGalleyArc I wasn't sure what to expect with this book, it's definitely different from what Hazelwood usually writes...but also not. Once I got a few chapters into it I really enjoyed the book. I thought the characters were a bit predictable but they're also very likable. Will I buy it for my HS library? Probably not. There were a few times that I just got a little bit icked by the terminology/vocabulary used and it made me cringe a little bit. Overall though it was a fun read and I did enjoy it .

"I f*c*ing love your scent."

And I f*c*ing loved this book! An arranged marriage between a vampire and a werewolf that turns into so much more. The story line was so entertaining, the chemistry so good, and the spice so hot! Misery's character was funny, fearless and unapologetic! And Lowe, he took the whole scent thing to another level! 🥵 It was one of those books that was good from start to finish!

In an inventive and intriguing world Hazelwood has created, our protagonist Misery Lark must uphold an old peacekeeping tradition… she is a Vampyre who must marry a Werewolf. She is the daughter of one of the most powerful Vampyres and Lowe Moreland is the alpha of his pack. Together they will attempt to broker a sense of peace, even if the marriage is a sham. All she wants is to find her missing best friend, and he seems to hate everything about her.

The inner workings of their societal structure was interesting. I enjoyed the dynamic between humans, Weres, and Vampyres in general. Throw in tons of family drama and a scintillating forbidden romance just for funzies… This was a fun read!

Ali Hazelwood loves strong independent women and tough guys with marshmallow-y insides. It’s a system that works and I will never complain. I do think I will stick to Hazelwood’s contemporary romances though, as the paranormal romance (the sexy times) doesn’t float my boat anymore.

*4.8

Thank you to Berkley Publishing & NetGalley for providing me an ARC of The Bride.

Dear Ali Hazelwood,

You have made a monster out of me, I am obsessed with this omegaverse that you have created and I simply must request MORE 🧎🏻‍♀️.

I read this book in 1 whole day. Yes, u read that right, ONE ☝️😃.

I honestly didn’t know I needed this book in my life but I can confirm that my life has been changed! 🙌

The first few chapters of this book are heavy world-building but once you surpass them and get an idea the plot, characters, and romance becomes ADDICTING. 😮‍💨

Misery is such a funny FMC, I loved reading from her perspective. She’s the sickest vampyre I know 😎

As for Lowe… 💥💳

How much do I need to pay or manifest to get him in my life?!?

He is everything I wanted from a werewolf MMC & MORE. This man is SEXY, OVERPROTECTIVE, & SLUTTY 🥵

I will be dreaming up my own omegaverse in my sleep featuring Lowe 🤭, but fr, the chemistry between Misery & Lowe was sooooo hot. Oh and the tension?!? I was gripping my sheets in DESPERATION.

I am still thinking about that damn tub scene, it’s ingrained into my memory and I will never not think about it LMAO.

I am super excited for you guys to read this book, Ali is a true genius and like her previous books The Bride did not disappoint. In Ali Hazelwood we truly trust 🙏

Ali Hazelwood has become a popular romance author with her contemporary romances set in academia. I enjoyed The Love Hypothesis . I haven't picked up the rest of those partially because I heard the sequels/companions are essentially the same toupes. I figured it'd be easy to turn back to those if I was in the mood for them.

I was intrigued by her coming out with a paranormal romance book, though. Her contemporary book was a lot of fun, so why not see what she does with vampires and werewolves? Unfortunately though, as a fantasy reader, I am just bored of the worldbuilding here. The main character is a vampire that needs to get married to a werewolf in order to create a truce. There's this long history of vampires and werewolves not getting along. There's also some human politics thrown into the mix. It's not really unique-- of course these creatures don't like each other as many other fictional books have done, and it's not done in an interesting way. It's a lot of info dumping thrown at you. I'm not really invested in the main couple, either. I wasn't really feeling this, so I'm putting it aside.

Thank you to the publisher for providing a free eARC via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Consider this my official petition for Ali Hazelwood to only write paranormal romances from here on out. I devoured this book, it was perfect!!! I also really appreciate that the heroine was tall and not built like a Polly Pocket doll.

Joking aside, this was everything I would want in a romance novel. Misery is such a compelling main character and I found her relatable in many ways.

Pure gold!!

Ali Hazelwood does it again. This might be the best book she has written so far. It was so good. Found family, angst, forbidden mate, and having to work together in the midst of sexual tension???? Sensational

Vampires ✔
Werewolves ✔
Marriage of convenience ✔

Misery's life has been spent at the whim of others, so it's no huge surprise that her father is once again manipulating her, this time into a marriage of alliance with the Weres. At least this time the manipulation works for her own personal needs, as she's been searching for her missing best friend, and the trail leads right to the pack she's to live with.

After living with humans for most of her life, Misery doesn't really feel like she fits in with anywhere, including with her own kind, so living with the Weres shouldn't be much different, though it will be a little more dangerous. What she didn't count on was a growing attraction to her Were alpha husband Lowe. And he certainly didn't see her coming either.

This venture out of the STEM contemporary romance realm into a fantasy world was an enjoyable change from other books from Hazelwood. The world-building was well done, and the politics between the different groups was easy to follow. However, the sex descriptions on the part of the Weres was a little awkward and off-putting and didn't really add much to the story. Maybe that works for some readers, but wasn't for me.

This was much more enjoyable for me than the last couple of STEM books that seemed to be copies of the same storylines, while still involving some technology and showing the power of smart women. I would love to see more worlds/stories of this nature in the future.

I thought that I would love this book because it’s sexy, but what I really loved is the found family! Mates. Shifters. 🪢 (if you know, you know).
I am Misery and she is me!

Misery Lark may be the only daughter of a powerful Vampyre councilman, but she's spent most of her life trying to fly under the radar. She's spent years living amongst the humans, trying to blend in, until she's called upon to help broker peacekeeping ties between the Vampyres and their nemesis, the Weres. Unable to do anything but submit to her father's demands, Misery finds herself married to Lowe Moreland, the Alpha of the Southwest Weres. But Lowe isn't the ruthless, brutal wolf Misery expected. Unlike her father, Lowe rules with fairness, not fear, and despite the lack of trust, neither can deny there's a pull between them. But Misery has her reasons for agreeing to this marriage, and she can't let the growing attraction towards her new husband distract her from her goal of finding out what happened to the only person Misery has ever cared about.

Listen... I'm a fan of Hazelwood's, but what the heck did I just read? When I read the premise, I knew it would be unhinged, but good grief. It was like a bonkers Tumblr Renesmee and Jacob fanfiction. There's barely any world-building, so there's no clear sense of what's going on or why there's such conflict between these supernatural beings. The characters are one-dimensional, at best. The romance was so cringey. We can all agree that Hazelwood's writing can be corny when it comes to the steamy scenes, but I was squirming with how uncomfortable they were here. I thought the plot would save it, but no. It was all over the place and left me going, "WHAT?!" on more than one occasion. It's one of those books where you have to go in not taking it seriously and just give in to the camp factor. I applaud Hazelwood for stepping out of the box, but it didn't work for me.