Ali Hazelwood can do no wrong in my eyes. This was paranormal romance perfection, I hope she gives us more like this in the future!!!

Tropes:
🐺 Slow Burn
🐺 Paranormal Romance
🐺 Romeo and Juliet retelling
🐺 Marriage of Convenience
🐺 Mystery Romance

I absolutely loved Misery! She’s very innocent about love and friendships. She’s very spunky! I really didn’t think the knotting was needed because it felt outside of regular mating. Lowe really tried my patience but I felt like we needed his POV to get into his mind.

Bride by Ali Hazelwood is the author’s first young adult paranormal romance novel between a vampire and a werewolf. Misery Lark, the daughter of a powerful vampire councilman is to be married to werewolf alpha Lowe Moreland as a sign of a peacekeeping treaty between the two species who are been mortal enemies since the dawn of time.
I thought I had grown out of such stuff but Ali Hazelwood proved me wrong, her way of writing this story, her character portrayals are so addictive and mature that I was deeply engrossed in the book. Specifically, the slow-burn romance was the strong essence of the book and the surrounding conflicts for the couple due to their different species. This author somehow makes cliched, cheesy romance not at all cringe and I cant help but keep reading the book. Both the characters, Misery and Lowe are well-developed characters each having their own issues but bringing out the best in each other.
This plot is not unique, it is the same story that you might have multiple times but the way of presentation of the story is what is enjoyable. This may sound repetitive as I have previously mentioned in my reviews that somehow it is this author, who even if writes the same romantic stories with known tropes I still enjoy them which usually doesn’t happen when I read many other books. If you are fan of the author, you need no reason to pick this book up, and if you are someone who is looking for a good romance novel with a paranormal setting then this is for you.

This book was a little unexpected and surprisingly hilarious! This is my first Ali Hazelwood book so I’m not sure if most of her writing is humorous like this was, but I highly enjoyed the jokes throughout and the banter between the MC’s. I also enjoyed the overall plot and little bit of mystery it had. The romance did fall a little flat for me, especially some of the spicy scenes. The FMC was also quite immature at times which irked me, but overall a good book and I’m glad I read it

Oh Ali! Loved this weird paranormal world! If we don’t get more I will be disappointed! There was a moment at the end I didn’t enjoy, it didn’t feel authentic to the characters, but overall this was so wonderful! I loved Misery and Lowe and wish I could have more of them!

I went into this blind simply because I love everything Ali writes, but WOW this blew me away. It was more than I could have ever have hoped for, and I want more. I want this to be a series. I need it to be a series.

Ali manages to craft an entire world that’s both realistic and fantastical, reaching into Vampyre and Werewolf lore while creating intricacies on her own to allow these worlds to co-exist. Or as much as they can co-exist when there’s also humans involved and no one trusts each other.

The dichotomy between “worlds” and beliefs in this book is easy to get sucked into. I never wanted it to end, and yet I needed to learn more. I needed to know how a Vampyre was going to survive marrying an Alpha werewolf in an arranged marriage trade-off where she was in danger and not trusted by any other werewolfs in the land she was forced to live on.

And yet we of course grow to love our two main characters together. How they care for one another despite the fact that they shouldn’t and have been warned not to. I loved the banter, the tension, and their desire to overhaul everything in their societies…because how else are we ever meant to move forward?

I cannot recommend this one enough. You will love the story as much as you will love Misery and Lowe together.

Tropes:
- Rivals/enemies to lovers
- Enemy families
- Forced proximity
- Arranged marriage
- Paranormal romance

Happy release to Bride!! It looks fabulous on my bookshelf and in our libraries. I've loved Ali's "awkward turtle social media campaign" as well. It's hilarious.
 
****

I adored Misery and Lowe. They were both just so thoughtful toward each other and overall enjoyable to spend time with.

Portions of the book felt a bit “Big Reveal Scooby Doo” which I wasn’t a fan of, but overall, I enjoyed the ride.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC.

I started reading Ali Hazelwood's STEM romances because I work in STEM. It was amazing to finally see accurate representation of science based positions portrayed in books. Though I've loved all of her STEM romances, I JUMPED, and I mean, literally jumped, at the chance for the ARC of Bride because this scientist is a PNR obsessed super fan. While many will notice how different this book is from the rest of her popular romance books, I have to say I loved it. You get a great romance plot with nuisances of politics, world history, and plenty of mystery and suspense to keep you enthralled in the story.

This enemies to lover/forbidden romance is exactly what I wanted to find when I received the ARC of this book. The combination of a vampire bride and a werewolf is a new concept to me in the world of PNR, and that is VERY refreshing. If I were to look back at all of the PNR books I've read over the years, I can't say that I have read one about that combo, and that is saying something considering I've probably read thousands of PNR books in the last twenty plus years.

I hope this isn't the last PNR Hazelwood writes because I honestly want more.

I absolutely love Ali's writing style and after reading her The Love Hypothesis series and seeing this was a paranormal story, I did not hesitate at all to jump on this one.

I truly don't know what to say other than what keeps repeating in my head, "THIS IS BOOK IS FUCKING AWESOME!!"

Ali delivers a very entertaining paranormal romance about forced marriage. I FREAKING LOVE Misery and Lowe and their entanglement. Everything between them unfolded exceptionally well and left me wanting more each time.

This is completely outside Ali's normal STEM based books but she knocks this book out of the park. Her writing ability is uncanny and I absolute love that I am so easily able to picture each scene in my head.

Bride is highly recommended paranormal read that anyone will enjoy.

Ali absolutely knocked it out of the park with Bride! This still had the same feel of Ali's writing in her Steminist romances but more refined - it felt very well thought out and I think contemporary PNR is hands down Ali's calling. It's a great intro for those who are new to the genre and a very welcome addition for those of us who are long time fans. It's just dark enough but still funny & sexy & everything I hoped it would be.

Misery may be my favorite Ali FMC to date & Lowe is absolutely up there in the top 3 MMCs with Levi & Jack. I absolutely adored Ana, Lowe's little sister, who Misery begrudgingly begins to care for. She also plays into one of the key plot points which led to a twist I didn't see coming at all.

Super easy 5/5 star rating & I am begging for a second book for Serena & Keon! Also hoping we get to see more of Misery's brother as their sibling relationship was a great inclusion to the story.

(Thank you Berkley Romance for the gifted copy)

I was a little bit hesitant coming into this book because I've had mixed results with this author's other books, and because this is a new genre for her. However, I quite enjoyed this book and its characters. The mystery aspect also really helped moved the plot forward, and it also helped show us the two leads together and interacting in ways that weren't just purely romance plot related. I liked both Misery and Lowe as characters, although I do wish we got a POV from Lowe - I think that really would have helped with the world building here.

I'm going to start by saying that paranormal romance isn't my thing. I'm not huge into fantasy as a whole, so I was definitely hesitant to dig into this one. But my love for Ali Hazelwood extends beyond my preferences.
While I don't think this has changed my thoughts on paranormal romance, and I probably won't reach for the genre more, I did thoroughly enjoy this book! I read it in two sittings and didn't want to put it down! It was cute and a breezy read, and I think if Hazelwood were to write more (not really a spoiler alert, but the ending hinted at maybe another book in this world? Or at least left the door open for the possibility), I would definitely pick it up.
All in all, I'm pretty impressed with Hazelwood as a whole! She's only been publishing for a few years now, but she has a good number/range of books out (I mean, they're all romance, but I've been impressed in her forays into YA and paranormal).

It’s been a long time since I’ve read anything having to do with vampires or werewolves, but I knew I wanted to read this the moment Ali Hazelwood shared the synopsis. Bride lived up to every bit of hype and all my expectations! I will say the beginning of the story was a bit slow moving as Hazelwood set the scene and introduced us to the characters. Around 40% the pace picks up and I basically devoured the rest of the book. I absolutely loved Misery. She’s strong and yet a bit vulnerable as she ends up aligned with Lowe. And each chapter has a little glimpse of Lowe’s perspective which is just *chef’s kiss*. Ali Hazelhood hit it out of the park (again) with this one!

I liked this paranormal romance! It had Ali Hazelwood’s classic flair and hilarity, but I didn’t connect to the characters as much as her non-paranormal romances.

Nostalgia for Paranormal Romance Fans: Bride - An ARC Review

Having spent a cringeworthy amount of years devouring Nalini Singh’s books and an unhealthy dose of various paranormal romances (some so obscure that I cannot remember the titles), I initially wanted to avoid reading Bride. But after hearing multiple positive reviews, I braved the embarrassing onslaught of memories and dived right in.

And the reviews did not lie. Bride was fantastic. It was a well-written nostalgic walk down memory lane, taking me right back to the romances I devoured religiously. I read the entire book in one sitting and sacrificed precious sleep because I refused to put it down.

What I Liked:

For centuries, a precarious peace is balanced between the Vampyres, Weres and Humans. Misery Lark, the only daughter of a powerful Vampyre councilman and, Lowe Moreland, newly-crowned Were Alpha, find themselves in an arranged marriage, dedicated to maintaining peace between the two races by way of the Collateral agreement. They only have to keep up appearances for a year.

That’s all you need to know because Bride does nothing new. If you’ve ever read a paranormal romance, you will know that Bride is the beginner’s guide to the genre. There’s the dissent amongst the three prominent races, the rival wolf packs, sterile vampire politics, evil machinations, an over protective Alpha wolf and lots of funky wolf sex. It’s an introductory level of sorts and the most vanilla cliches ever to the genre. Coupled with Hazelwood’s trademark writing and humour style, you’ve got a winner in our hands.

I particularly liked that there was a lot more storyline here besides your typical romance, even though it seemed a little overdone and boring. But the romance and the plot flowed together really well. Although, I did feel the ending was rather rushed. I would have preferred just a little more depth.

Misery is the perfect sassy vampire to combat Lowe’s big, scary werewolf. While there are a couple of things I didn’t like about Misery (mainly how stupid and ignorant Hazelwood seems to have written her), I did enjoy being inside her head and applauded her steadfast focus with finding her missing best friend, Serena. I admired her relationship with her brother and I love how adorable she was with Lowe’s younger sister, Ana. I loved how Misery is a white hat hacker and worked in tech (a nod to Hazelwood’s other STEM heroines) before the marriage of convenience but disappointed that this was pushed aside to accommodate the paranormal plot and romance. She just became “spouse”, “mate”, “wife”. Did I appreciate Misery going from hyperindepence to being a soft-life girlie? No. We need less of this rhetoric and instead, champion a woman’s independence and capabilities. Or maybe I’m just projecting. I hope we see more of Misery’s tech background being utilised in future novels.

Lowe, on the other hand, I wasn’t a fan of. Only because I’ve grown out of these overbearing Alpha wolves and their overprotectiveness in paranormal romances is suffocating. Like, Misery has proven herself to be an extremely capable Vampyre/woman, having lived and survived amongst the Humans since she was young but werewolves insist on treating their womenfolk like precious cargo. And, with the prevalence of masculine and feminine energies in current social media discourse, it’s not surprising that Hazelwood with her one-dimensional male main characters would channel the same energy. But that has always been the trope of the genre and just something I have to deal with. Like, the only Nalini Singh book I truly appreciated is Branded By Fire, only because the main characters were evenly matched in dominance and skill.

But, criticism aside, I did love his overprotectiveness and dominance. It was more kind than the others in the genre and most respectful of Misery.

What I did think was wonderfully written is the chemistry between Misery and Lowe. I loved that there seems to be a very respectful note in how Lowe treats Misery while she throws sass at him every opportunity she gets. It didn’t help that their interactions felt rather natural rather than forced; and, the initial hints of the mate bond (if you’re familiar with the genre, you’ll get it almost immediately) drove the tension sky high. When they finally sealed the deal, you can best believe I was figuratively screaming and jumping (more like silently screaming at 4AM).

I also really loved all the other characters introduced from the snarky Owen, spicy Juno, to the scaredy-cat Alex, the absolutely heart-grabbing Ana, the sassy Serene and the mysteriously charming Koen. Each character absolutely screamed sequel and future novels but at the same time, all were so beautifully written with their own individual personalities despite the story focusing on Misery and Lowe.

What I Didn’t Like:

My major criticism for Bride lies in Hazelwood’s writing cliches: an unnaturally huge male main character and the nonsensical third act conflict.

It’s becoming laughable and almost expected at this point that any and all of Hazelwood’s male main characters will be uncharacteristically huge, oversized and big in every way with a giant dong to match. I’m wondering if Hazelwood does this for laughs because it’s unrealistic. I cannot understand this obsession with unnaturally large men; is it her fetish? I just imagine a pumped up, inflated muscular Spongebob every time I read these descriptions. At least this time we don’t have the delicate, tiny, petite female main character. Misery is described as tall and being a Vampyre, delicate and small-boned is a given trope.

I can deal with muscular Spongebob depiction of male characters but what I refuse to accept is a lazily written third act conflict, or even the inclusion of an unnecessary third act conflict. I’m completely fine if the conflict stems from an external factor, affecting the main couple if it’s well-written and it makes sense to the overall plot and has been building since the beginning. I absolutely detest when it stems from a lack of communication between the characters, especially ones like Misery and Lowe who have been working on honesty and openness throughout the plot. Then, Lowe suddenly hits us with a, “leave me”, “it’s for your own good”, “we can’t be together”, “I only enjoyed the sex”, all because he wants Misery to choose him of her own volition instead of being influenced by mate bonds and a lonely upbringing. It’s right at the 80% mark on my Kindle which makes it even funnier, in a sarcastic way. Like, could you not have vocalised this to her and discussed it like adults? There were a multitude of other ways to split Misery and Lowe up to move the plot forward; this ridiculous set of circumstances is not it.

Did I Enjoy It?: Conclusion

To sum it all up, I enjoyed Bride immensely. I read the majority of it in a singular sitting because it was just too good to put down and only left the last hour of the book till the next day because it was 6AM and I needed some rest before work. For those familiar with paranormal romances, Bride takes us back to familiar grounds as not much of what was written, described or played out on the page is anything remotely new to the genre. But Hazelwood’s characteristic wit and charm make Bride so entertaining and engaging. I’m honestly hoping that Bride turns into a full-fledged paranormal romance series, minus the muscular Spongebob men, please I beg of you, Ali.

Amusing writing and creative use of vocabulary make "Bride" a delight. And it's great to see Ali Hazelwood move beyond academics! This paranormal story struck me as more political intrigue than romance, but I couldn't put it down. I loved the mystery and the little hints of romantic tension.

First-person, single point-of-view from Misery with just the tiniest hints of Lowe at the start of each chapter was a great choice. It added to the slow burn and allowed Lowe to shine through actions instead of thoughts and words. And when we get there, it sure burns hot!

Misery has the usual Hazelwood heroine flavor: a little sarcastic and irreverent, maybe trying a little too hard. One thing I would love to see from Ali Hazelwood's main characters is physical descriptions that move beyond small and thin women and broad and tall men. If we can have wolves, we can have body diversity!

I would LOVE to see this become a series!

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

ali hazelwood's first venture into YA fantasy! while it's not my favorite of her's, i do enjoy stories like this and would recommend it to others.

#PRHInternationalPartner

This is the first book I have read by the author and the truth is that I was afraid because it has a lot of hype and I didn't want that to work against me. The truth is that his other stories caught my attention a lot but when I saw that he was going to publish a fantasy one I said... it's this way. And I was not wrong.

Bride is a story where humans, vampires and wolves exist... and maybe something else that I won't be able to tell you so as not to spoil it. I really liked how it combines the different factions and how they are linked to each other, it is not a "we all live happily" and it presents the push and pull of the interests of each of them.

And in the middle is our protagonist: Misery. I loved his character, his comments, his way of seeing the world, his ideals, his values. I found him to be a super awake, lively character who made me laugh with his witticisms. It gets all the applause from this review. Mind you, I like Lowe, but I didn't connect with him as much as I did with Misery.

We have many characters in this first book (there will be others - I don't know if it will be a series or saga, but I already want the next one-) and each one has their particularities that makes you grow fond of them. Ana is one of them.

What did not convince me at all and that is why the 4 stars and not the 5 is that it leaves MANY things loose, there are reunions that I expected that never happened, the ending was a little abrupt and I felt that I was missing a little emotion .

Beyond this, it was a book that I really enjoyed, that I read very quickly and that I stayed up until 3 in the morning reading because I needed to know what was going to happen.

Thank you Berkley Publishing Group; PRHIS for the digital copy I read on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I don't think I have a single bad thing to say about this book! I loved the whole story- and it was a nice change from the Steminist books we all love from Ms. Hazelwood.
I loved the relationship between Lowe and Misery. Some may find her naivety to be annoying, but I found it endearing that even with all of her set backs, she had the strength and gall to persevere- and accepted love when she was given it (finally in her life!)
I am anticipating a second book, so yay with that :)

So, I think Ali Hazelwood writing Paranormal Romance works for me. This is very lightly Omegaverse, so if you have been curious about Omegaverse, this is a great way to dabble into it a little bit. I really loved the dynamic between Misery and Lowe. Neither really wants to feel what they feel for the other, but also want the acceptance that this political marriage can give to them. The found family that Misery finds with the pack was very sweet as well.
Now, if you don't like Ali Hazelwood's other books, I don't think this one will necessarily work better for you. A lot of her descriptions of characters still track in this one. But with that said, this one worked better for me. Probably because they weren't human, so it was easier for me to suspend my disbelief.
The hint towards another book in this world truly makes me happy, and I am READY for it!