I wasn't a fan of Ali Hazelwood's previous works, so I went into Bride with reservations, but goodness was I wrong to have doubts. This book is so interesting, engaging, and steamy! It's helping to bring a/b/o and monster romance even more forward into mainstream and I'm delighted that we're all heading this way.

While this book did start quite confusing, it quickly made lots of sense and in the best way. The lining was incredible, the smut was hot, and the love as there. I loved the little glimpse we got in the beginning of each chapter that expressed how Lowe felt. It added a lot and I really loved this book.

Reading updates on Goodreads <3

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Ali Hazelwood hasn't dipped into paranormal romance, she dove head first and made the biggest splash. This story was amazing from the very first page. Ali writes characters that feel like friends and family. Plus, her spice is SPICING. Stunning work.

Bride was excellently done and I'm looking forward to more paranormal romances from Ali Hazelwood! I really enjoyed the dynamic between Misery and Lowe - how they built things from utter mistrust of each other into a real partnership. The enemies to lovers angst was perfect! This take on vampirism was very interesting and fit the setting well. There was enough mystery and deception to keep the story going. I'm excited to see what the second installment brings!

I want to say no notes and end it with that!

You can totally hear Ali’s voice as Misery. The snark. The swoony bits. The spicy bits as well! I love a fake/marriage of convenience. I love a vamp story. I love a bridal jumpsuit moment ;)

I want more in this world and with these two!

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley for the Advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

I LOVE MISERY. She is perfect. Lowe? I love him too, but only when he's with Misery. He creates all the things Misery has never had. A true family, a place to call home, and a love that is unyielding.

Misery is exactly what I expected for a vampyre. Outwardly, she is cold, aloof, and distant. But inside she is full of emotion and strength. And let me tell you, she is DETERMINED. I love her.

Pick this up. You'll "knot" regret it.

4.5⭐️ I was so excited to see beloved author Ali Hazelwood dip into the paranormal romance pond! Bride was a slowburn romance that made for the perfect escape read as a vampire named Misery pairs up with a werewolf named Lowe in a marriage of convenience that turns into much more.

I loved the world building and gothic vibes, and the audiobook was fantastic!

WHAT TO EXPECT
-paranormal romance
-slow burn romance
-marriage of convenience

*many thanks to Berkley Romance, PRH Audio and Netgalley for the gifted copy for review

𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬💭:
So here’s a little disclaimer, I think my mood affected my overall enjoyment of this one. I’ve been in a bit of a slump so when I read this, I struggled. I did the audio and it was great! But when one narrator does different intonations for the guy MC, I have a hard rime getting into it. Thank you @prhaudio for my audiobook!

𝐁𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐛📝:
Misery is thrusted into a marriage to keep the peace between the vampires and the werewolves. She marries Lowe, the alpha of the werewolves and things become interesting…

𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.💫/5. There were several things I enjoyed about this book. The world, the found family trope, the political issues and all the suspense in between. The romance was so so for me. I feel like it lacked some build up and went straight to the spice. They did grow on me towards the end cause of Lowe’s sweet gestures and the little twists that came with it. I appreciated the little Twilight references on this one too. I still enjoyed it overall, but it’s KNOT my favorite by the author. IYKYK😂 I’ve read some of her other ones and perhaps because it’s not her typical genre, so i think i might stick to her usual STEM contemporary romances!

𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚: 𝘝𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴, 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘸𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴, 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺, 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘦

Ali Hazelwood can write it all! A vampire/werewolf romance? Sign me up! I loved it! It’s also guaranteed to make you swoon and laugh out loud!

I will be completely honest with you, people. Although I am a big fan of Ali Hazelwood's work I turned out to be a sceptic as soon as I heard that she had announced a fantasy novel. I was not trusting Hazelwood‘s ability to write a fantasy novel, no matter how urban the setting but I have to say: Shame on me!🫣

Because this! - this was brilliant! I devoured it in a matter of two days! While it isn't leaning too heavily on the world building, the characters are as always nerdy, sarcastic and funny. The story is entertaining, had me engaged and the pages just flew by due to her usual light writing style!

It was the first time ever I read a story centred around werewolves and I had to laugh when I realised that Ali did in fact include the classic abo dynamics many may know from fanfic. It was so refreshing and funny to read this in an original story! So far, I had always put off reading these kinds of alpha stories because I'm first and foremost a feminist and the whole concept of "submitting to a guy" doesn't sit right with me. Then also believing that people can overcome their basic instincts and therefore not liking the overall spicy vibes these books usually have - I really don't enjoy reading lots of smut. HOWEVER, this book only featured two spicy scenes which were well-written and not awkward at all! Because of the slow built-up of Lowe's and Misery's relationship, it seemed to fit the plot. So there's that.

Like all of Hazelwood's other books, I really recommend this story to everyone who wants to have a quick and light read that takes your mind of your daily problems for a while. Charming Lowe and awkward Misery who always ends up in the most unfortunate situations but manages to navigate her way out by an unhealthy use of sarcasm (is there such a thing even?!) will definitely not fail to entertain you. You'll surely love them as much as I do by the end of the book.😊

Not sure I would've picked this one up if it hadn't been written by Ali Hazelwood, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Same heroine who doesn't believe the man who's deeply obsessed with her could possibly be in love with her as in all Ali Hazelwood novels, but this time they're vampires and werewolves trying to end an interspecies feud. Yes, it's spicy. Yes, there's knotting. No, I'm not explaining what that is. Go read this book or some fanfiction and you'll soon find out 😂

I've been hearing about Ali Hazelwood for a while and I am kicking myself for not starting her books soon! I really enjoyed this read... Found family, force proximity, and enemies to lovers are my favorite tropes and Ali did these soo soo well. Late to the game but so happy I showed up. The writing felt fresh and new and I was entertained and intrigued the entire time. I actually was sad that this book was so short... I wanted more of their stories, more of their love, and more of their new lives together.

I've only tried one other Ali Hazelwood book and I was lukewarm on it. I like fantasy so thought this might work well for me.

It did not. I could feel the author straining to do the world building. Misery didn't feel very vampiry to me. I didn't get any feeling of chemistry between her and the alpha werewolf Lowe. These two were forced into marriage at the beginning of the book. I never really believed in the why of it. Also, the book just dragged for me. I was ready to be done with the wedding scene long before the book was. Basically, I was bored.

Will readers ever grow tired of werwolves and vampires, I think not, Then you add in a favorite trope of forced marriage and I am all in. Loved the urban fantasy world that was established and would not be sad is Hazelwood returned here in the future.

vampires, werewolves, and sexy time…i could knot ask for anything more

okay but on a serious note I LOVED THIS! once i pushed through the beginning i genuinely couldn’t put this down. all i know is that i need ali to write more paranormal romances IMMEDIATELY

It’s been a long time I read a paranormal romance and returning to it with ‘Bride’ was a refreshing. The blend of romance, political intrigue, and suspense, wrapped in my favorite marriage of convenience trope, made Bride an enthralling read.

Set in the world where Humans, Vampyres, and Werewolves coexist amidst perpetual tension and skirmishes between the species resulting in the dwindling Were and Vampyre population resulted necessity of alliances that came in name of ‘collateral’. Collaterals, individuals exchanged as tokens of trust between the species, are the linchpins of these fragile agreements who has to stay in other species species territory for duration of term and if something goes wrong its the collateral who pays the price first.

Misery is the victim of it. Once a collateral in Human territory, Misery finds herself thrust back into this precarious position when her powerful Vampyre father arranges for her to wed the new Were Alpha. Another alliance forged but this time through marriage.

Misery isn’t the obidient child. she never fit in among Vampyre ever since she was a human collateral and Humans never accepted her except her best friend Serena but now she is missing and only clue she left was, “L.E. Moreland” and her groom to be happens to be Lowe Moreland. Assuming he is behind the disappearance of Serene she agrees to get married to figure out what happened with her friend.

Misery’s determination and resilience shine through her character. Despite never truly fitting in among the Vampyres or being fully accepted by Humans, her unwavering compassion, especially towards her missing friend Serena and Lowe’s sister Anna, reveal her true nature beneath the hardened exterior.

Her hallucination gift and coding expertise, add layers to her character, making her a formidable heroine. I loved how calm and collected she was among Were even when threats lurked constantly and Were despised her. I admired her for speaking her mind no matter who was standing in front of her.

It was touching to see her internal battle and reading that last fight with Serena made me want to hug her. I loved her gradual sense of belonging among the Werewolves, fostered by her growing bond with Anna and Lowe. She deserved all love in the world especially after that twist in climax.

Lowe was hard to read at first but it was clear he had feelings for Misery from the beginning. I enjoyed snippet of his POV at the beginning of every chapter. Torn between his duty to his pack, leader of Were, his passion he had to put behind, and his growing feelings for Misery make him an intriguing counterpart.

I liked him for being different than other Were, seeking change and peace after century old feud, and believing in Misery, understanding her and loving her for who she is. His love for his sister made him even more adorable. One thing I didn’t like about him is what he did just before climax and for that I wanted him to grovel a little more.

All secondary characters were as interesting as main characters. I loved finally meeting Serena in Climax. Koen is sure interesting and the way book ended it hints at potential future arcs that I’m already anticipating.

The romance between Misery and Lowe crackles with tension and passion, capturing the essence of forbidden love and the complexities of a marriage of convenience. However, that Knot thing was disturbing. I wish I can forget that whole part. I’m pretty sure I read a Werewolf romance before but never such thing was mentioned in any of them. Also, the third act break up just before climax was unnecessary.

I enjoyed the twist and turn. I couldn’t guess the real culprit and it was shocking to read what the culprit did all these time and was willing to do for one ridiculous reason. I liked what Lowe and Misery decided to do at the end. I loved Serena and Misery’s little time together. As I said I wish there was more groveling from Lowe but Misery deserved HEA so I was fine with the end.

Overall, Bride is a captivating blend of romance, intrigue, and supernatural elements, with characters and that Knot would stay in the my mind for long time. I recommend this to fans of paranormal romance.

I am a huge lover of Ali Hazelwood books and was so excited to see this book was releasing! And it did not disappoint! I knew as I started it would be a new favorite of mine! I love how Ali adds her in usual elements in her books but with this one approached it in a new way. The plotline was so interesting!! I enjoyed having a bit of mystery and action while getting to understand the world and how things work. Ali never misses with her men Lowe Moreland was everything and more!!

Also I absolutely need a book two in this universe!!

This book was not for me. I appreciate the publishers and netgalley giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

"You're not a problem, you're a privilege!"

Good LORD!! What a story!! What a book!! I loved this!! I loved the world building! The characters!! Just everything!! This is what I want when I say enemies to lovers, forced marriage and throw in a werewolf and vampire!!! Like sign me up for ANYTHING else in this world!!! I just!!! YEP!!!