Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the ARC.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 5/5 stars

Just when I thought my Fantasy reading days were behind me, Bride comes along and makes me OBSESSED. Ali Hazelwood steps way out of her comfort zone and I absolutely loved it. This marriage-of-convenience romance has all the world-building, all the action, all the banter, and all the swoons.

I could not stop reading this book. Lowe and Misery were so fun together. This really does feel like a romcom set in a Fantasy world where the world-building never slows the pace or gets frustratingly complicated. I will happily read as many books set in this world as possible!

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for providing a DRC of this title.

Despite their unconventional start as an arranged marriage, Vampyre Misery and Alpha Werewolf Lowe find themselves becoming friends and maybe something more… But when mysterious events begin happening that threaten to jeopardize vampires’ and werewolves’ tentative truce, Misery and Lowe must get to the bottom of these events and determine if what they have is built to last.

Wow, Bride was so much fun! All of the charm you’d expect from an Ali Hazelwood romance with a fun new paranormal twist, I think this one will appeal to a broad romance readership. 5 stars, and I’m really hoping for more books in this series!

This was the first Ali Hazelwood book I’ve read and, to be honest, it’s what I expected based on reviews of some of her other books.

This is the story of the unfortunately named Misery whose life has never been her own. Since she was a child, the vampire has been used as political pawn between her people and humans, as well as her people and werewolves. Meanwhile the Alpha werewolf, Lowe, is working to root out dangers in his own pack. They both try to resist the pull of the other when they’re forced into an arranged marriage, but they can’t stop the inevitable conclusion.

This story seemed to suffer from an identity crisis to me. It is deadly serious at points, but then completely changes tone with snarky comments from one of the characters. That detracted from the dramatic tension that was supposed to be building. There was also a secondary storyline regarding Misery and her best friend. I thought that was going to be the main story based on how the book began, but it quickly became secondary. The storyline popped up at points throughout the rest of the book, but it was random and had a tacked on feel for me.

The sex scenes, while intense, read like a teenager’s fantasy. I felt like there was no real connection between the characters during the inevitable sex scenes and the author stumbled through them with overused dialogue and descriptions of the act itself. I thought it was written as a teenager’s first stab at an erotic story.

This book started out strong, but then seemed to lose its way. This was an easy middle of the road fantasy romance for me.

Do not start reading this book if you have responsibilities that require immediate attention because, once you start reading, time will lose all meaning. This is a novel to devour. This is not hyperbole, I swear. Do whatever you have to do to carve out a half-dozen-ish hours to read Bride uninterrupted—send your kids to their bestie's/dad's/auntie's house, ignore the dishes and laundry, call in sick to work, hire a dogwalker, run away to an off-the-grid cabin—whatever it takes so you don't have to put this book down until you've read the final page...at which point you *might* throw the book across the room, shake your fist, and shout, "Damn you, Ali Hazelwood, now I have to wait for an effing sequel?!" (Full disclosure: I will organize a riot if there isn't a sequel.)

So basically, this is a five-star read for me. I'm honestly still a little bit book-drunk and fully incapable of not gushing. I can't think of anything I don't love about this novel. I love the premise and the plot development and the smutty scenes and the twist. I love Misery, her snark and resilience and the way she grows into herself where she least expected she could. I love Lowe in all his ethical Alpha glory. I love all the ways they grew together, and was fully invested in their relationship from the moment Lowe caught her scent and I knew, I just knew, she was it for him. But I also love how carefully Hazelwood has drawn Misery's non-romantic relationships and how, through all of them, she explores themes of loyalty, otherness, and belonging.

Gush, gush, gush, gush, gush. This is one of those books that I may never stop talking about. Hazelton's best novel yet, hands down.

Misery Lark is a vampyre who is about to embark on a marriage to a Were, her species' swore enemy, in order to bridge the gap between their people and find her missing best friend.

This wasn't terrible, but it wasn't good. If anything, this felt like a rather mediocre and too long read.

Overall, it was very meandering. I didn't understand where the plot was going for most of the book.
The world building is lack luster and doesn't make too much sense.

The FMC isn't tied to much of anything or anyone, so it's hard to connect with her. Plus there are so many obvious things that happen around her and she picks up on none of it?? And I mean her name is Misery?? Like be so serious...

The mystery at the center makes little to no sense and doesn't get solved until the very end, but it is solved in less than 5 pages despite taking up 80% of the book in lead up. And the betrayal and big bad feel so obvious and underwhelming when everything is said and done.

The side characters are boring, underdeveloped, and mostly plot devices - we meet half of them and never hear from them again until the very end.

AND THE ROMANCE???
It is not non-existent, but it feels out of nowhere and underdeveloped. Like she smells good to him and that's it?? It feels like all he knows and loves about her is through her scent and the file they give him on her background. And she's just grateful someone gives her a chance?? And he's so boring??
NO! I just can't get behind it.
Not to mention the smut was so random (she's also a virgin but no need to talk about it??), I got whiplash!

I love paranormal romance and I've loved Hazelwood's work in the past, but surprisingly this one just didn't work for me due to an unsubstantial world, main character, and plot.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for my free e-copy in exchange for my honest review.

The first time I read Bride, the only coherent thoughts I had afterwards consisted of screaming into my pillow, panting, barking, and feelings that could only be summed up by “feral”.

I was determined to give this book a more thoughtful review so I read it a second time. And let’s just say that all of those feelings are still true but just magnified by a million. I truly feel like I need to run a ultramarathon to work off the frenzied energy that is living inside me.

But in all seriousness, this book is truly a work of art. I have deeply loved all of Ali Hazelwood’s literary works and this one has soared to the top of my favorites list. I was constantly laughing at the brillant banter and fell deeply in love with both Misery and Lowe. Everything about this book worked for me from the pacing, to the plot, the cast of characters, humor, the spice, and the anticipation for more from this world.

A few of my reasons for absolutely salivating and loving every second of this book are as follows:

🪢vampires and werewolves
🐺arranged marriage
🪢forced proximity
🐺sharing blood that gets 🌶️😈
🪢mystery subplot
🐺a lovable, grumpy FMC
🪢a tortured, self sacrificing, broody MC who says “my wife” CONSTANTLY 🥵
🐺oh and it’s hot, like deliciously so. *cue panting*

I genuinely have plans to read this once a month until I die. Honestly just bury the book with me at this point.

Many many thanks to Ali’s publishers for providing me and my cohost, Alli, with eARCs of Bride on behalf of the Bibliovert Podcast.

Ali is amazing a Goddess that can do no wrong everything she writes is gold. I loved this.


That being said, he was really mean to her after they had sex, I am glad she was mad at him, I did. Red more groveling from him.

A solid 3.5 stars!

This book was in itself pretty fun to read, but there were moments where the plot lost me a little and I had to do a few rereads of certain points in the book before I got what was happening. Despite that the plot was slightly boring and dragging for me personally, I enjoyed the smut, in typical Ali fashion, you'll get exactly what you expect, ✨ size kink ✨ - no complaints though, I vibed with it.

Bride was not a typical Ali kind of book and I liked what she did in this book as a step outside of the typical rom-com realm. It's not the best paranormal romance I've ever read, but I did have fun reading it!

The only quote I'm still left thinking about: "Of all the good thing I've felt in my fucking life, you are the best."

Thank you NetGalley & Berkley for an eARC of this in exchange for an honest review.

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