Ali Hazelwood's BRIDE was a quick fantasy romance read transporting the reader into an age-old vampire/werewolf feud in a surprisingly contemporary setting. I found the book engaging and the world-building interesting. Readers new to paranormal romance will receive a pleasant introduction to the genre.

I read this book in less than 24 hours. The feral energy coursing through this book was very hot. I’m not sure what Ms. Ali put in this book but I’m here for it! Who knew biting and marking one’s scent could be so hot??

The tension and pacing of the book was phenomenal. The smut was off the charts.

I will be suggesting this book to everyone with a pulse. And we better get a book starring Serena!

This was the first Ali Hazelwood book that I have read and I was not disappointed. A lot of werewolf books focus on the idea of alphas and omegas and those dynamics. This book demonstrated a fresher new idea for werewolf dynamics as well as vampyre society as well. I finished this book in less than a day because I just could not put it down. I highly suggest reading this book if you like werewolf romances and a kind of weird mafia vibe as well.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for this absolutely fantastic arc!!

4.5/5 stars

Ali Hazelwood is popular for a very good reason. She writes believable, funny, relatable characters. She writes romance that makes your heart go all mushy. And she writes 'deliciously filthy' sex scenes ;D

Lowe and Misery are some of my favourite protagonists I've read in a while. Misery is just so funny and reading her character development was both entertaining and touching. Lowe and Ana just make my heart smile, their relationship is so sweet.

I would like to personally thank Ali Hazelwood for writing a sex scene that involves knotting that doesn't make me want to vomit *standing ovation and vigorous applause*

A very complex and action packed story, which I believe many will appreciate. The political elements surrounding Misery’s story are alluring but I would prefer a bit more world building.

This was fun but lacked much substance - which is fine! - but the world-building and the chemistry weren't enough to make up for surface-level characters and story.

Misery Lark has been chosen by her father to keep the peace between Vampyres and Weres. In order to do this she must marry the Alpha of the weres Lowe Mooreland.

Misery has always been an outcast. She only has one friend her sister Serena. Her sister goes missing and the only clue is the name LE Moreland. In order to find her sister she will go and live with the enemy. Hoping she will uncover clues and find her sister.

She learns that there are so many things she doesn't know about weres. They are more social and sharing and gather to enjoy meals together. This is so foreign to her as she usually eats alone in private. She is use to hiding her fangs and being invisible. I thought how the described each species and the myths that were wrong about each very interesting.

Lowe is not what she imagined. She finds she is attracted to him. The chemistry between them is off the charts. She lets her self be seen and cared for by him. She also learns to care for Ana his sister and will do anything to protect her. She will learn to trust her gut and that she just may fit in after all.

Baby’s first OmegaVerse!
So this was… an experience
I can genuinely say I’ve never read anything like this. I’ve kind of always known Omegaverse wouldn’t be for me, and even as tame as this was, this book definitely cemented that fact in my mind—however, it is Ali Hazelwood and everything Ali Hazelwood writes I will surely become obsessed with.
I am so in love with her writing and her characters, and I was curious to see how that would translate into world building. The world in this book is sort of our world, in the sense that cities had the names of cities and they had modern technology and some pop culture references, and yet it was wholly distinct in that the geopolitical atmosphere revolved around interspecies relations, countries didn’t seem to exist the way they do in our world, and of course, Vampyres and Werewolves exist. The worldbuilding was a little muddied in terms of real world vs fictional aspects and the why and how of what was the same or different, however I really enjoyed the politics of the world and how Ali explored the science of Weres and Vampyres.
I also absolutely adored Misery—although it took me ages to get over her name because why would you do that—as a character and narrator. She was voicy, relatable, and far too easy to love. She had so much depth and drive and I felt completely sucked into her head the entire time I was reading. Characters who come off as frosty and closed off but are actually the world’s biggest softies are my personal cryptonite—and seeing her interact with Ana? I was obsessed and read their scenes with a huge smile on my face.
I enjoyed Lowe as a hero, though he didn’t feel quite as strong as the heroes in Love, Theoretically or Check & Mate. Though he was far from a cardboard cut out, I still felt he could have used a little more depth to his character outside of Alpha.

The spice in this book is definitely way beyond anything in any of Ali Hazelwood’s previous books. Not only does it venture into the realm of knotting, but there were a lot more scenes than there have been in any of her prior work. The omegaverse aspects didn’t work for me, but I definitely think that’s a personal preference thing. I have no understanding of the trope (genre?), but I do think this is a pretty mild iteration of it. There are some discussions and semi-vague descriptions of knotting, but nothing more than that. I definitely won’t be picking up any OmegaVerse books in the future—with the exception of anything Ali writes. She will always be the exception.
This book ended in such a way that makes me think that there will be further installments in this world (Ali also confirmed she has another paranormal romance coming in 2025 at her recent Seattle event) and I’m actually really looking forward to it. I really enjoyed this world and these characters and would LOVE to see more of them in the future!
I truly just adore everything this woman writes and I was grinning like a fool and laughing out loud throughout the entire book.

Thank you Netgalley, Berkley #joyfulchaosbookclub for the e-Arc in exchange for my honest review. I Love Ali Hazelwood writing style and am super few the the Vampyre and were books. I loved the forbidden love and felt that it flowed and moved quickly. Will be adding a copy to my shelf.

To start, thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC of this novel. However, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Within the first two chapters of this book I decided to make a choice. This choice is what is going to color this review. If I had made the opposite choice, this review and the rating that I would give this book would be very different. What is this choice you may ask? I chose to believe that Ali Hazelwood knows that this book is a little bit ridiculous, but had fun writing it and just wants to share that with the people. So, based on that I decided to embrace the somewhat ridiculous aspects of the story and just roll with it. I was here for a good time, not to be overly critical and think too much on any given aspect of this book. And so, because I went in with that choice and mindset: I had fun.

Bride has a lot of things that the "fun" paranormal romance girlies are going to love. It's got slightly quirky vampires, large werewolves, and of course fated mates. If you're not into the fated mates trope, this is probably not for you. If you find vampires and werewolves to be stupid on a normal day, this is also not going to be for you. It is paranormal romance, with a dash of mystery from a side plot, and some not particularly well developed political intrigue. It is a romance book through and through. You choose to embrace and have fun with it or it will drive you mad, especially since it rolls in at over 400 pages.

Even though it clocks in at over 400 pages, I just soared through it. It was an excellent distraction from other things going on in my real life, which is one of the reasons I read. And since I wasn't feeling particularly well, it gave me something that didn't take all of my mental capacity to read in bed. I enjoyed learning about vampire and werewolf culture and customs in this world. I liked Misery and Lowe slowly developing (sort of) feelings for each other. I wasn't particularly invested in the mystery side plot, but whatever. It worked its way in just fine. Also, Hazelwood tries to flip the fated mates trope around a bit by making some character decisions with Lowe, which I also really enjoyed. It was just good, not so clean at times, fun.

I will say, this is my first adult romance book that I have read from Hazelwood and I'm not sure what the STEM books are like, but I think that some readers that have more normal romance tastes are going to be in for a bit of a rude awakening. I think the monster romance girlies may find this too tame, but the STEM romance girlies may be like, "WTF mate?" It's not furry, but choices were made. That's all I'm going to say about that.

Anyways, have fun with this if you decide to pick it up. Maybe embrace your inner Twilight goth teen and just go with it. I'm still intending on reading at least one of Hazelwood's STEM romances, but just haven't gotten there. I'm curious if I'm going to like her usual books or just her odd children. This book has left itself open for a sequel and I'm not mad about it. Anyways, happy reading and enjoy!

I want to start by saying thank you to; Netgalley, Edelweiss+, and Berkeley (especially Kim-Salina for allowing me to give feedback and taking the time to read it) for allowing me access to digital ARCs on multiple platforms.
I wanted to start off my review by mentioning how much I love that the FMC is the Vampyre in the book, MMC Vampyres are a little overdone lately and that alone sets this book apart for me. I loved getting to know Misery and why she has such a grumpy exterior. Overall the creativity in this book alone had me hooked, and I love a good marriage of convenience tropes as well as enemies to lovers that Ali does so well. I loved that there was a deeper reason ( Misery's missing best friend) as to why she agreed to go along with the arranged marriage to Lowe. And because this is Ali I have to talk about the SMUT, omg the SMUT! It did not disappoint, it was spicy, it had a good build up and it was well done, but that did not surprise me as Ali has always done that well. Though I loved all of that, there were a couple flaws that stood out to me that I know without a doubt Ali will master quickly in her next few books (REALLY hoping there are more!) One of those flaws that stood out to me was the world building, I know this isn't a fantasy novel and so world building isn't as crucial but this is still slightly a made up world, and I do wish there was a little polish in the set up of the environment we were reading about. Another one that stood out to me was towards the end where Lowe and Misery are suddenly (or it sure felt like it) mates, even after reading almost the whole story that Lowe was mated to this other werewolf... and now he suddenly isn't. It just felt like that could use a little more time/work to hammer out.
Overall I cannot wait to see where Ali goes if she stays in the genre for a bit, because she never disappoints in her stories and as she writes more her stories always get more captivating. I will definitely be recommending this to all my friends, library patrons and bookstore customers/book club members.

I was so excited to read this new book by Ali Hazelwood. Her other books were what convinced me I do actually enjoy romance books after a lifetime of steering widely around them.
The paranormal premise and noir-looking cover had me convinced, this was going to be my next favorite read. However, it definitely was not. I'm not sure if I needed it to have more fantasy elements or none at all, but overall I thought this was kind of a boring read.
I think I am just not into Romantasy books, and others might love this title. However, readers who love Hazelwood for

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️️⭐
️️🌶️🌶️🌶️

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆:
- Forbidden Romance
- Werewolves
- Vampires
- Marriage of Convenience

Berkley, please let Ali Hazelwood keep writing paranormal romances because Bride had me in a chokehold and I need more.

We all love Ali for her STEMinist stories and while Bride is far from that, it still delivers everything that you have come to love Ali for - all the wit and banter with the slow burn pay off at the end.

IMO, Ali’s books have progressively gotten spicer and I gave this one three preppers because of the added paranormal elements - blood sucking and knotting - that make it super hot.

There is some worldbuilding that really sets the mood for this marriage of convenience story and the more you learn about Misery and Lowe’s worlds, the more you crave.

Bride also gives off major Crescent City vibes with Misery’s journey to finding her best friend.

This book is a must-read for any fantasy/paranormal lover!

Thanks Berkley Romance for the ARC!

I received an advance copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Ali Hazelwood, that magnificent woman, has brought knotting to a major publisher.

Set in contemporary times, Misery is the daughter of a vampiric council head, used as the Collateral to keep the peace with humans. Raised among them, never quite comfortable with vampires or humans, Misery's closest friend, her person, was an orphan named Serena. Even after their contracted time together, they were BFFs... until Serena disappeared. And then Misery is informed she's still collateral, this time in a wedding to Lowe, the Alpha of the local werewolf pack.

Living in enemy territory, married to a man she barely knows, Misery is determined to find Serena. But in the process, she'll find secrets everyone wants to keep, including Lowe.

These two dummies are butt-crazy for each other and Misery's the only one smart enough to admit it.

Bride is by no means a perfect paranormal romance book. BUT. I loved how Ali Hazelwood approached this one. I think with a few more books under her belt and a little more polish, I feel like she will nail this genre. In my opinion, I saw that with her contemporary romance STEM novels, and I feel that this can be the same as well. It is sorta hinted at the end that there are more paranormal romances coming our way.

I really love that our Vampyre is our FMC. Lately, the vampires in the books I have picked up are always the MMC. I guess it makes them more foreboding and desirable I guess? Also, the FMC is as tall as the MMC. Thank goodness.

Our Vampyre lady Misery is well you guess our grumpy MC. I love it. She has a reason to be, her species, yes, you got that right, always handed her off like she never meant anything. So she created a tough exterior to not let anyone in. Then one day, her father, head of the Vampyres, decided that they needed an alliance with the werewolves. So an arranged marriage was created. But Misery didn’t totally not volunteer without a reason, her best friend had gone missing. Lowe, head of the werewolf clan and the one she is going to marry for the alliance had something to do with it. There is danger, a mystery, and of course steamy romance.

Now, I really loved this book for its creativity and approach that was taken in this genre. But, I will say there are flaws.

There is one part of the plot that is not super important but I wanted to point out. Misery is super techy and couldn't get into the werewolves computers because of their amazing firewall. When Misery brought it up to Lowe, he said that he was the one who did it. He was head of security after all. Then down the line, he is suddenly taping at the keyboard like a caveman and learning to code unsuccessfully? Mmmm...like I said, not super important but not consistent.

Let's talk about the smut in this:
I had never seen a werewolf and vampyre mate before so that was nice. The last smut scene towards the end was a little weird. Kind of reminded me of Ice Planet Barbarians when I was reading it. I wish there was a little more explanation why we are having a particular smut scene like this one.

A little more time world-building:
I know this isn't a fantasy, but this world is slightly made up. There is a lot of beauty going into learning this world. I do wish there was a little more time to polish the world-building aspect of this. But you eventually get the gist of how it works as you go.

The Third Act Break Up:
I would be honest, I didn’t like it. I couldn’t understand Lowe’s behavior towards the end nor was it explained. It was like an unexplained third-act break up that felt weird.

All in all, this has the potential to be better. I am looking forward to Ali Hazelwood’s future books in this genre.

I never thought I'd be the person who was out here reading every release from the good Dr. Professor Ali Hazelwood. Wasn't on any bingo card I would have made for myself, let alone that I would be eager enough to ask for an advance copy of the books, but here we are.

In this one we follow Misery the daughter of a high-ranking Vampire who is pulled from living amongst the humans to marry the Alpha of the local Werewolves. The Werewolves and Vampires aren't exactly besties, but they've done this sort of thing before to broker peace between the two of them and when the Humans don't seem that eager to continue their peace talks with the Vampires the two species broker their own agreement sounds like a good idea. Misery is no stranger to being used as a bargaining chip as that's how she spent some of her childhood, being the Vampire held by the Humans to make sure that each side upheld their end of the peace deal. Now as an adult, she has even more reason to agree to this marriage and that has to do with the disappearance of her only real friend.

Listen, I was eating this up. I love a longer romance, this was right around 400 pages I think. I love a romance with an external plot and Misery looking into what her bestie was investigating was right up my alley. We also got a tease of the hero's perspective with a sentence or two at the top of each chapter. I just was eating this up.

I do think that the ending of the book is a little bit bonkers, the narrative starts to derail slightly and that was the major reason that I had to deduct a star. It's not so much that the narrative no longer makes sense or that it's completely unbelievable, but that it felt like we were crashing into the climax and not like we were easing into the final moments. It's a bad description, but when you read it it definitely feels more abrupt than it should. That said, all the pieces for it are there, it just needed some massaging.

This was still a delightful time and I'm certainly appreciating this era of Hazelwood releases and I will continue to look forward to their next release.

Y’all. I liked an Ali Hazelwood?! I LOVED an Ali Hazelwood?! Like is the world ending? I mean Ali’s penchant use of teeny tiny smoll women who yes are so smart but also SO DUMB and big giant fridge size men really annoys me. And although the MMX is large, Misery is TALL. A TALL AH HEROINE!!!! Plus her frequent mistakes and confusion make sense because she was sheltered, raised with humans, and doesn’t understand werewolves. PLUS, she is smart and a bit of a badass. I loved Misery and I loved Lark. Now was it obvious from the jump that Misery was Lark’s mate? 100%. Like come on. Was she dumb for not realizing it? Yes and no. Did it bother me???? NOT At all. This is AH in her element. Give me more omegaverse. And that ending better be hype for a book 2!

I actually loved this? Like, way more than her other books. Maybe she should only write supernatural romance now?

Seriously, this book is all that is promised and more. I like how Hazelwood plays to her strengths while exploring new areas in this book. It isn't like anything she's published before, and I think fans will enjoy it.

I think this is a really great indicator of things to come for Hazelwood as she branches out into new places. I love Misery and she's a badass (complimentary) and I think the plot works really well. It's not super predictable, while still paying respect to the genre's conventions. Lowe does still fit the mold Hazelwood works from, but he has tangible motivations and strong characterization outside of "he's shy and hot for her." He's not an alphahole and he manages to be selfless while also being a real person, which is a hard balance to strike. Overall, I have no criticisms, which is a first for me. I think future books will probably focus a bit more on world-building, which you do need in this genre.

IMO, her best yet.

I would love to interview Ali Hazelwood on my podcast. Ali’s writing style is so engaging and it really pulls a reader in. Every time I pick up an Ali Hazelwood book I know I’m going to have a good time.

Misery Lark is the daughter of a powerful Vampyre councilman and has been chosen to uphold an alliance between the Vampyres and their enemies, the Weres. To do this, she must surrender herself in exchange. The Alpha of the Weres, Lowe Moreland, is tracking her every move and doesn't trust her. However, Misery has her own agenda and is willing to do whatever it takes to get back what she cares about, even if it means living alone with the wolf in Were territory.

"Misery." He's saying my name like a prayer. Like I'm the one thing standing between him and heaven on Earth.

I went on a social media campaign to get this ARC in my hands one way or another and it eventually paid off. So thank you to Berkley Romance for sending me an E-Arc of this book to review. Now onto the review.

When Ali Hazelwood announced that she was going to be venturing into the paranormal romance realm, I was so excited. I was a teenager at the height of the whole vampire/werewolves in media so to hear that one of my favorite authors of all time was going to be giving us a romance book that was vampire/werewolf and enemies to lovers, I immediately started foaming at the mouth. Everything about this book ticked my boxes: a political marriage of convenience, found family, slow burn, and knotting? Say less basically.

This book brings Ali's quirky and fun writing into the world of paranormal romance in such a fun way that I think it'll be a great way for readers who don't necessarily read books like this to dip their toes into the genre. I think that it's going to introduce Ali Hazelwood to new readers but also Ali Hazelwood's readers to potentially a whole new genre of books which is always great in my opinion.

I absolutely loved Misery. Which is a hilarious sentence to type out. Her character was relatable in a lot of ways despite being a literal vampire in a fictional take of our world where paranormal things like vampires and werewolves exist. The way that she moved about the world and her internal dialogue specifically spoke to me and I just love her to pieces.

Lowe? Another Ali Hazelwood man that I wish I could date in real life. He is devoted, loyal, understanding, and a bit broody, he carries the weight of the world on his shoulders because he doesn't want to burden anyone else with it. I love him so much and I know that everyone else will love him as well.

This book had me going through it, more so I think than any of Ali's other books but it was phenomenal and I really enjoyed myself and absolutely loved how it set up as the beginning of a series that I am very much looking forward to continuing.

- vampire/werewolf
- political marriage of convenience
- slow burn
- enemies to lovers
- forbidden love
- fated mates
- opposing sides
- knotting