Although Misery Lark is the daughter of a high-powered, prestigious Vampyre leader, she prefers to live secretly among Humans with her foster sister Serena. However when she’s told she’s to marry the Alpha Werewolf, Lowe Moreland, in order to maintain a fragile peace, she accepts her fate because Lowe may hold the answers to finding the missing Serena.

I cannot adequately express how much I enjoyed Bride. A slow-burn romance coupled with an engrossing mystery, the book is familiar yet different from every werewolf/vampire story I’ve previously read. I loved every minute of it! Because the story is shared mostly from Misery’s first person POV, I quickly became invested in her life, which hasn’t been kind to her. She’s used by her father as a pawn in his political machinations. As a child, she was forced to live among the humans as Collateral, and instead of being heralded as a hero, she is spit on and hated by her own kind when she returns. Her only friend is the human orphan raised along side of Misery while she lived as Collateral.

Hazelwood’s world is shared by Humans, Vampyres, and Werewolves, each with its own territory and peace accords. Because they live separately, Vampyers and Werewolves only know rumors, myths, and urban legends about the other species. It’s funny how each species believes such silly truths about the other. Now that Misery lives among the Werewolves, I love that she and Lowe take the time to learn from each other and not just assume and railroad over the other. Their bonding over peanut butter is precious. And what starts between them, spills over onto much of the Pack. It’s great that two people who are different species and grew up in different cultures can connect so wonderfully.

Lowe and Misery start with a marriage of convenience, but it grows into friendship and love. Hazelwood pens emotions that are raw and real. I love how Misery uses sarcasm to hide her loneliness and that she’s so incredibly loyal. I love her openness and honesty, especially as she learns to fit in and trust others, and to finally make friends. And Lowe is such a noble guy. He wants what is best for everyone, but especially Misery.

The mystery of what happened to Serena is exciting and a great bonding tool for the couple. I love that Misery decides to confide in Lowe and he in her for the mutual reason of finding Serena and protecting a young member of Lowe’s pack. Hazelwood kept me guessing, and I loved realizing the truth moments before Misery.

Bride is a beautiful romance, rich in details and quality storytelling. I laughed a lot, cried a bit, and enjoyed every moment.

My Rating: A+ LOVED IT!!

Seeing authors branch out from what they normally write, is usually an anxious and exciting time. I love seeing authors challenge themselves and break the mold that they might have formed for themselves. I have to say, I’m glad Hazelwood broke out of the mold to write this one.

While a slow start for me, Bride picked up and became rather addicting in so many ways. Part of it, was me diving back into a paranormal romance. Two species who probably shouldn’t love each other and do, so this was wonderful for me to see that be explored throughout here.

Misery was a character I instantly fell in love with. She has this snark that had me chuckling. An incredibly quick-witted individual who always had a comeback, and one you might not always expect. I wish I could find the words to properly express my love for this character.

The world building, for being primarily focused on the romance, is good. Readers and get a good sense of how Weres, Vampyres, and Humans all interact in this world as well as their differences from other media with the same supernatural creatures. It’s blended together well and every addition to the world feels very natural, to the point where it took me a second to realize that this was world building because it was all so tied together with everything else.

I had so much fun reading this. It was a wonderful story to devour. I truly hope Hazelwood writes more like this. If you’ve liked Hazelwood’s other books, give this a try. While it does feel different from what she had written, there is still the Hazelwood feel to it. If you like werewolf fanfics on ao3, pick it up. Bride is an enjoyable ride.

Ok, I’ve decided. Ali Hazelwood should write all Paranormal Romance now! This was so brilliant, witty, smart, and sexy. It’s hands down my new favorite Ali book. I don’t have a single negative thing to say about this story. Absolute perfection.

At this point I’ll read Ali Hazelwood’s grocery list, and I’m so excited to see she is branching out from her STEMinist novels. Bride is definitely for the Twilight girlies and I’m only slightly embarrassed to admit that I ate this up. Like, once I started it I couldn’t put it down or sleep until I finished. I loved Lowe, Misery all of the side characters, and just had so much fun reading this. Seriously give me another book in this series ASAP, Ms. Hazelwood.

I’ve read all of Ali’s full length novels and she’s just so good at writing steamy romance without losing the plot. The relationship between Lowe and Misery progresses at a good rate and even though they start the book as strangers who are thrown together in a marriage, I loved seeing the friendship that develops between them. The banter and funny moments they shared had me kicking my little feet. I loved seeing Misery grow and realize she’s worth a whole lot more than she’s been raised to believe.

Finally, thank you for spelling out the knotting for us omegaverse virgins. I was momentarily confused and then, uh, yeah. I get it now 😂

Read if you like:
-Paranormal Romance
-Marriage of convenience
-“My Wife” moments
-The best kind of found family

WOW, what a rollercoaster - I loved it and I’m so excited for possibly more romantasy from Ali Hazelwood (PLEASE ALI)?! Funny, slightly clueless, and quirky FMC as per Ali Hazelwood’s usual style. Maybe it’s the same as her previous STEM romances except in a fantasy world setting, but I truly don’t care - I enjoyed, I laughed, I kicked my feet giggling, and that’s all that matters really 🤷🏻‍♀️

It’s been 110 days since I finished Bride by Ali and there has not been a single day since that I haven’t thought about this book.

💍 Arranged marriage
🐺 Vampire x Werewolf
🫦 “Bite me”
💻 STEM FMC
🪢 Knotting

I could not be more ecstatic for everyone to read Bride.

Bride is a fantastic paranormal romance full of witty dialogue and moments you will certainly laugh out loud.

Misery, our FMC, is such an amazing character. I’ve read a lot of books where there’s a male character who is clueless about children and reluctant towards them (and then realizes they love them), but Misery fully embodies this trope. I loved everything about it. Misery estimating that a child she encounter was anywhere between 3 and 13 was ICONIC 😂

I know many people have been craving a dual POV. While this book isn’t fully dual POV, you do get snippets from Lowe’s viewpoint!

I could read 1000 more pages of Misery and Lowe, so I’m BEGGING you to read these 400ish pages. And then please let me know how feral you become!!!

Book Review for Bride by Ali Hazelwood

First Impressions: Meh
What’s Your Type? Mixed Species Romance, Vampires vs. Werewolves, Team Edward Marries Team Jacob, Oblivious Partners, Marriage of Convenience (Contrivance?), Fated Mates
Meet Cute: Do You Take This Vampyre?
The Lean: *Dramatic Sigh*
Dirty Talk: Knotty
We Need to Talk: Shifting … Genres
Was it Good For You? Made An Impr … session

First Impressions: Meh
There’s nothing all that special about this cover. I don’t hate it, but it just doesn’t really do anything for me, you know? I really could have used an old-fashioned-style cover, with a vampire in the embrace of a burly werewolf. That would have caught my attention.

What’s Your Type?
- Mixed Species Romance
- Vampires vs. Werewolves
- Team Edward Marries Team Jacob
- Oblivious Partners
- Marriage of Convenience (Contrivance?)
- Fated Mates

Dating Profile
Misery Lark is the daughter of the head of the council of Vampyres, and has been treated like a pawn her entire life. As a child, she was shipped off to the humans as Collateral, or a reason for the Vampyres and humans to remain on peaceful terms. Her only friend during that time was a human named Serena and the two quickly became as close as sisters.

Long after their shared childhood, Misery and Serena remained close. In fact, Serena was the only person (or thing, really) Misery ever cared about. So when she goes missing, Misery will do just about anything to figure out what happened to her friend—even if it means putting herself back into a pawn situation, this time by marrying the new Alpha of the Were community, a man she’s never met and doesn’t really care to get to know.

Meet Cute: Do You Take This Vampyre?
Misery and Lowe Moreland, her husband-to-be, meet for the first time at the altar. She finds him attractive in an objective way (and large, natch); he finds her repulsive and stinky. Or so Misery assumes.

The Lean: *Dramatic Sigh*
Lowe’s a busy guy. He took over his pack after the former Alpha started losing his wits (and killing Weres for going against him). He never wanted to be Alpha, but he was born for the job. That said, he doesn’t have (or make) much time for Misery at first. She’s fine with that, given her preoccupation with investigating Serena’s disappearance whenever and however she can, but the two slowly form a relationship that’s based on more than keeping the peace between their two species.

They’re both surprisingly caring about each other from the start, even though they were raised in societies that hated each other. There’s a bit of an insta-love vibe when you realize what’s actually going on with Lowe (which is super obvious from the very start to the reader), but it takes Misery FOREVER to figure it out, so the book doesn’t get to any spice right off the bat.

Dirty Talk: Knotty
I have apparently not read enough Were or shifter romance, because I did not know about knotting until reading this book. I’m not sure I fully understand the, uh, physicality of it all, but Misery certainly enjoyed experiencing it when the two eventually gave into their “unexplained” attraction for each other. (I roll my eyes at Misery’s obtuseness, but truth be told, I’d probably think the same way were I in her shoes.)

A moment later I feel an impression of immense pressure. He fills me slowly, thrusting languidly once, twice, until the swelling at the base of his cock is too big to slide back out. Then he’s shaking, grunting from deep inside him. I run my teeth down his neck, and he moans, cradling my face to his trhoat and my hips to his groin. The bulge of his knot grows larger and larger.

I feel strange. Full. Nice. I might even feel …

I’m not entirely comfortable with the idea of being stuck to someone like this, but whatever works for them!

Ms. Perky’s Prize for Purplest Prose
I 100% do not mean to yuck anyone’s yum, but I was nearly too distracted by thoughts of how knotting literally worked to fully into the truly spicy scenes that took place later in the book, although the earlier ones were laced with a delicious tension that often comes with undeniable chemistry.

This—

“I’m going to do it, Misery. I’m going to come where I’m supposed to.” His voice is barely comprehensible. “I’m going to pop a knot in your tight little—” A sudden shift, and the pressure increases. Lowe is coming, his orgasm a powerful thing that neither of us is ready for. … Another wave of pleasure crashes over him as he spurts inside me, and his neck strains back, eyes glazed.

—just doesn’t quite hit (pun intended) the same when you’re not familiar with the act.

We Need to Talk: Shifting … Genres
Ali Hazelwood has made a name for herself in the STEAMy community (if that’s not already a genre, I’ll take full credit), and Bride is her first foray into a more fantastical world. (Although, some might say that relationships between giant men and tiny women who can somehow physically take everything their man gives them even though their hands are literally bigger than Mickey Mouse’s gloves veers into fantasy …) Bride doesn’t feel all that different from her other books, in a good way, other than the fact that there are Vampyres and Weres and the different physical things that come with being different species. (Can you tell I’m caught up on the whole knotting thing? I’m sorry. I should have done my research before diving in.) I truly liked Misery, for all her curmudgeonly nature, and Lowe’s a total dreamboat. (His caring nature and continual need for explicit consent is truly hot.) Basically, even if you like your romance more on the realistic side of things, if you’re a Hazelwood fan, you’ll like this book.

Was it Good For You?
Although I get a leetle tired of the repeated themes of Hazelwood’s novel, I still enjoy them for their witty characters and fluffy spice. Bride was a departure—both for her and me—but still had all of the hallmarks that make her books enjoyable. Plus, there was a moment at the very end that had me laughing. I won’t spoil it here, but it relates to a certain series involving vampires and werewolves and humans. And mates. If Hazelwood didn’t do this on purpose, I’ll go read more knotty fan fic eat my hat.

if the spicy scenes were taken out of this one, it would have been an easy 5 stars from me!! as I typically go into books blind, I had absolutely no idea what to expect from this paranormal romantasy!! and let me tell you, I was so invested in the plot!!

ali hazelwood’s first dabble into the fantasy genre was such a success! she did a wonderful job world building in this magical realism world of humans, vampyres, and weres - and made it totally believable!! her writing style always combines characterization with plot in the best way possible, and BRIDE was no exception

I’m a sucker for marriage of convenience and arranged relationships 😍 and having that arranged marriage be between a vampyre and a were was just the tension I needed!! misery was the perfect MC to be thrust into this situation - and her motivation behind everything was the perfect story to go along with the political plot of the universe!!

what really threw me off were the spicy scenes 😅 it was … a lot to take in. and while yes this felt a lot like twilight fanfiction, the spicy scenes (especially at the end) were borderline beastiality and gave me a huge ick

nonetheless, ali hazelwood’s grumpy sunshine duo prevails again, and I would love spin offs in this world! thank you to berkley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review 🥰

rating: 4 stars
wine pairing: bordeaux zinfandel

Bride by Ali Hazelwood is an absolute delight, combining the best parts of supernatural romance and the natural charm and. "unputdowness" she is known for.

"This war of ours, the one between the Vampyres and the Weres, began several centuries ago with brutal escalations of violence, culminated amid flowing torrents of varicolored blood, and ended in a whimper of buttercream cake on the day I met my husband for the first time. Which, as it happens, was also the day of our wedding."

There is a cold war between humans, Weres, and Vampyres, a truce held onto by the thinness of a knife blade. One wrong move, one word spoken in anger, could set off a battle between these three forces where Weres and Vampyres could die out and be lost forever. Enter our protagonist, "Misery Lark, the only daughter of the most powerful Vampyre councilman of the Southwest." She is an outcast, shunned by Vampyres, living in semi-blissful anonymity among the humans. Misery is called on again to uphold a peacekeeping alliance, this time with the wolves, where she is asked to marry the leader of one of the strongest packs in their community led by the unpredictable and ruthless Alpha, Lowe Moreland.

Misery and Lowe are opposites: Were vs. Human and cold vs. hot. She likes to sleep in the closet and drinks blood; he has a vast bed and basks in the sunlight while chasing and feasting on deer. However, parts of the two are so similar and have enigmatic chemistry that blisters every page you read that by the end of it, you are clamoring for more. It is a real tragedy that only one book is in this series so far.

As someone who has read all of Hazelwood's books and thoroughly enjoyed them all, Bride fits perfectly in her catalog. But unlike her other books set in our everyday lives, Hazelwood has created an exciting world where these two characters live outside the standard paranormal paradigm.

Also, Bride has plenty of romantic tropes, pardon the pun, sink your teeth into: marriage of convenience, fated mates, opposites attract, forbidden romance, and a bit of "Romeo and Juliet" thrown in for good measure. None of it is saccharine-sweet; you know that the author has a solid grasp of the romance genre and what makes a good story.

"What I am is an adult woman with agency and the tools to make choices. Feel free to, you know, treat me accordingly."

Bride is fantastic; it was an excellent book to start this year's reading. I cannot recommend it enough, especially if your tastes run to the paranormal. However, even if you are not a typical romance reader, Bride will be joyous. Indeed, this should not be missed.

Bride by Ali Hazelwood was an unexpected delight! I devoured this, going back and forth between listening and reading so I never had to stop. Interspecies arranged marriage has never been so intriguing.

The story is told from Misery's point of view, but we get occasional glimpses at Lowe's thoughts. Misery, a vampyre, has been a pawn for her father for her entire life. Every species hates her-she grew up as the "collateral" in human territory, so she was despised by her own people and the humans. The weres hate all vampires, and are not thrilled that the alpha of the pack has decided to enter into this arranged marriage with a vampyre. I really loved Lowe and Ana, his sister. Misery ends up winning many of the weres over because she is bright and hard working. It's the first time she has felt wanted anywhere. By the end, Lowe does something monumentally stupid and I wanted to punch him in the nuts. Hard.

This book was a surprise. I wasn't sure what I expected, but I am in love with the result. I hope this turns into a series! The audio is phenomenal! Therese Plumber does an amazing job. I will probably relisten to this one because it is just that good!

Ali Hazelwood is an author that’s been around for a couple of years, known for her contemporary romances. Despite that I haven’t been compelled to pick up of any of her work. Then I spied the cover for Bride, read the blurb, and pretty much felt like I needed to dive in and see what the fuss was about. Let me tell you, I started this book before bed, around 9 pm at night–and then did not stop reading until I finished at about 2 am. I just couldn’t put this book down.

The premise for Bride isn’t that original or unique, a vampyre woman, Misery Lark, is married to a were alpha, Lowe Moreland, as an alliance between their two factions to hopefully bring a measure of peace. What kept me turning pages was the secondary plot of Misery searching for her human best friend. Also, Misery is my kind of heroine, I adored her sarcastic, dry sense of humor and loyalty to the only person who she really trusts in the world.

This is very much an enemies to lovers, opposites attract, fated mates, forbidden love romance. While the premise isn’t that original, the worldbuilding is quite complex and well done. Misery herself has lived a life outside of Vampyre society thanks to being a thrust into the human world at a very young age as collateral for good behavior between humans and vampyres. Because of this she’s never fit in with her people and has made the choice as an adult to live among humans with her childhood best friend, an orphan raised with her to keep her company.

Her marriage to Lowe puts her smack dab in the middle of enemy territory. But she soon comes to realize all is not as she expected. Especially Lowe himself and his reactions to her. There is turmoil in the werewolf pack and it doesn’t take long for those issues to collide with her search for her best friend.

This is an action-packed romance, with enemies at every turn and mysteries around every corner. The complex power dynamics between humans, werewolves, and vampyres is what drives the conflict, but there are divisions within each community as well. The romance itself builds slowly, even though as a reader you know that the signs of matehood are there with how Lowe is reacting to Misery. I didn’t think the many plot threads overshadowed the growing relationship between this couple. Yes, it’s open door with quite a bit of steam… which I appreciated. There IS a third act break-up, but it didn’t last too long and was resolved pretty quickly.

The epilogue leads me to believe that this will be a series, and I will absolutely be reading. If the hints on the last page are sincere, I am 100% invested in seeing these character’s path to love.

Vampyre FMC Misery and Alpha Werewolf MMC Lowe are thrown into a marriage of convenience that's anything but conventional. Beyond politics and generations-old conflict, their union unravels a tapestry of mystery and suspense in a world where Vampyres and Weres form an uneasy alliance. As they navigate political schemes and calculated plots, sparks fly and a slow-burn, forbidden romance takes center stage.

Bride is a departure from Ali’s typical STEM-centered contemporary romcom stories, but it still very much felt like an Ali Hazelwood book. Her hallmark storytelling, character development, and swoony romance skills were paired FLAWLESSLY with her savviness for paranormal world-building. And even though the characters are other-worldly, she still managed to sneak in some fab low-key STEM elements.

I adored the characters here.

Lowe is a cinnamon roll in wolf’s clothing, and IT. WORKS. Possessive werewolf shifter? Pack leader? Family-centered? Alpha MMC? With level 10 caretaking skills?? Say less.

As much as I loved Lowe, I am beyond obsessed with Misery. She is wonderfully quirky, loyal to a fault, quietly courageous, and a genuine badass. I prefer dual POV, but I could live in Misery’s solo POV mind forever. She’s hilarious, relatable, and I want to be her BFF.

And the MCs together? Perfection. The tension, chemistry, and spice are off the charts. It’s a mash-up of opposites attract, fish-out-of-water, mates, and marriage of convenience tropes, and Ali does a fantastic job fitting all the pieces together, so the evolution of their romance leads to the best HEA.

Other stuff I loved about this book: found family (literal wolfpack!); inter-species nuances; mystery & suspense; set up for book 2!; probably more, but I’ve just hit my character limit.

If this is the start of Ali Hazelwood’s paranormal/fantasy era, then sign us the f*ck up because I AM HERE FOR IT.

This was almost exactly what I would expect from Ali Hazelwood writing a vampire/werewolf shifter romance-- in the absolute best possible way.

Misery is traded as a bride to the Weres, marrying their Alpha, Lowe. As she's traded for one of the Weres, she's basically collateral for peace between their people, something she knows all too well. Lowe is a new alpha, having taken out his predecessor. And he reacts poorly upon meeting Misery, for some unknown reason (to her, at least).

This brings a fun forced proximity romance with a marriage of convenience that is in the omegaverse, which I would love for more books to include. There are political plays, a missing person Misery is searching for, and found family-- I loved every moment, especially Misery having a weakness for peanut butter and Lowe having a weakness for Misery.

He falls first, anyone? Our author does it so well, just as she made sure Misery is a STEM girlie, a talented computer programmer.

Misery and Lowe's romance was perfect. Spicy, slow burn, and utterly believable as they literally begin as enemies and wind up in a much more satisfying place. The differences between their people couldn't keep them apart, and it was no less than beautiful.

There's a setup for another book about another couple, and I'm here for it. Bring on more books in the world of Bride, and let's please, for the love of STEM, encourage Ali Hazelwood to continue writing omegaverse books!

RUN, don't walk, to go pick this up! I give my highest recommendation here.

Ali Hazelwood dips her pen into the paranormal romance genre and pulls out a winner with Bride. This Vampyre-Werewolf romance has everything from an arranged marriage to plenty of suspense and twists. Come see why I loved this and hope we get more stories from this world.

I enjoyed Hazelwood’s stem romances and was curious to see what she would create in the paranormal genre. She did not disappoint. We have a world with three controlling factions divided into territories. The humans, vampyres and werewolves. The three have been at war and, while currently at peace, things remain volatile. An arrangement was made for each to send one of their young to live in the other’s territory. A trade to ensure peace.

Misery Lark, the only daughter of the most powerful Vampyre councilman of the Southwest, spent ten years as a child with the humans. This is where she met her best friend, Serena. She now lives with Serna in the human territory and knows very little about vampyre ways. When her friend goes missing, she is desperate to find her, but all that is cut short when her father demands her return.

Her father has arranged a peace treaty marriage with the weres. Misery will marry and remain with the weres for one year. She will marry their Alpha, Lowe Moreland. Misery agrees to the marriage as a clue to her friend’s vanishing pointed towards an individual with the initials L M.

I loved this story from the mystery to the romance. Hazelwood’s storytelling skillfully combines world-building, unexpected twists, political intrigue, and a constant sense of danger. Combine that with complex & compelling characters and you have the makings of a great series. Hazelwood pulled me in and held me captive until the end.

Having read a lot of paranormal and urban fantasies, the romance and its elements did not surprise me, but I love how it slowly unfolded. Having been raised in the human world, Misery doesn’t know much about her own vampyre instincts and romantic inclinations. In fact, she has never really been attracted to someone until now. She knows nothing about the weres, outside of the horror stories of battles, and I loved learning it all with her.

The romantic tension, trust issues, character growth, and building sexual tension were divine. Lowe, the Alpha, is complex and caring. We learn about the pack, his struggles and the secrets he protects. I became caught up in their struggles and watching them skirt the chemistry.

The pacing was well done and the suspenseful threads and mystery added to the story. While this is currently a standalone and events wrapped up, there were hints of stories yet to be told and I want them. I hope we return to this world soon.

Perfect for fan of paranormal and urban fantasy. This may be the perfect book for contemporary romance readers to dip their toe into the genre.

This is different from other Ali Hazelwood books, and I loved it. It’s a fantastic enemies to lovers read with a spicy romance, paranormal beings, and a richly detailed fantasy world.

The book opens with hacker Misery Lark’s Vampyre father marrying her to the Were Alpha, Rowe Moreland. The Weres and Vampyres are mortal enemies and the marriage signals a truce. Misery has spent most of her life around Humans, filing down her fangs to fit in.
Lowe is nothing like Misery had imagined, he’s about her age and very handsome. He also has an unexpected kinder side towards her, but he doesn’t know that the real reason Misery agreed to the marriage. Her best friend has disappeared and Lowe Moreland’s name is her only clue.

It’s such a fun read, I highly recommend it. 5 stars

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed as in this review are completely my own.

bride is Ali Hazelwood at her finest! this follows Misery, a vampyre, and Lowe, a werewolf, who enter into an arranged marriage to broker peace between the two groups🤭

this is SO fun and has something for everyone. the plot is intriguing and keeps you guessing, while the chemistry and tension between the MCs builds and builds until a point where they just become inevitable. this was SO STEAMY, i was giggling, gasping, and living my best life. this had some fun side characters as well; Alex was so funny and Ana was just the sweetest. i hope this was a setup for a series because i need more immediately!

This my first book from this author and the story was a slow burn with mysterious twist. I adore the building of the main characters relationship while really trying to stay away from stereotypes while trying to build a interspecies relationship. This was a very good book and it’s giving I would read another book from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing the ARC.

I think it's safe to say that I will devour any book written by Ali Hazelwood. And this book was no exception.

I'm generally not a fan of ABO pics, mostly because there are a lot of weird dynamics and language in play that kind of hit high on the ick factor for me. But I thoroughly enjoyed this book from start to finish.

The characters were compelling - I enjoyed Misery's story and seeing how she learned to navigate her unbelievably crappy lot in life. I loved how Lowe was so hard and stoic around everyone else, but right from the get go he was so soft with Misery. I loved seeing tha dynamic on the page - it really endeared the characters to me and I really wanted to see more of their story.

A bit predictable at times, the plot was solid and the writing is exactly what you would expect from Ali Hazelwood. Overall this book was a fun read with an interesting take on werewolf/vampire dynamics in the modern age.

Thank you to NetGalley, Berkley, and Ms. Hazelwood for the opportunity to read an ARC of this title. An honest review was requested but not required.

I am SHOCKED (or should I say shook?). Is this normalization of omegaverse I'm reading?! This is apparently the 2023 version of the 50 Shades revolution. Ha. Seriously though, the Hazelwood treatment on an omegaverse werewolf/vampire political marriage of convenience? SIGN ME the F UP. I have to be honest, even as I was downloading the NetGalley ARC to my Kindle, I was pre-ordering this for actual $. So I am happy to report that I enjoyed it thoroughly.

There's an actual plot happening - more than one, technically - which I appreciated. A common pitfall in omegaverse stories is, well, there's not much happening outside the smex. That's not the case here. We do have the Hazelwood (TM) stock hero who has it hard for the heroine practically from the get-go, but is too noble to follow through, and a heroine who thinks her feelings are unrequited even though the truth is as plain as the nose on her face. (Is that still a phrase people use?)

Anywho. This may not be everyone's cuppa tea but I liked it a lot. Good thing too because now I have to wedge yet another keeper onto my overstuffed bookshelf.

I think it LOVED this book!!!! I was getting a bit tired of the Ali Hazelwood formula. Her books are enjoyable, but it was getting repetitive. However, Bride breaks that spell for me. It might be my favorite of all her books now and I’m not an avid fantasy reader. I think this is a great entry level fantasy books for people who want to try a new genre.

Bride follows Misery Lark a vampyre whose father arranges a marriage with the alpha of the werewolves, Lowe, in order to maintain peace between the 2 species. But Misery has her own reasons for accepting this arrangement, her missing best friend Serena. Misery marries Lowe and goes to Were territory to find her Serena. Misery believes Lowe hates her, but things are not as they seem.

I loved Lowe and I loved Misery. The tension between them was wonderful and the will-they-won’t-they of it all was deliciously frustrating. I finished this book yesterday and immediately checked out the audiobook from my library today so I can listen to it too.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkeley for this ARC!