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annick's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I got so bored with reading this. So unlike the reading of the four other books I’ve enjoyed by Hazelwood. I wanted to enjoy this. But I was bored with the characters and slow pace of the plot in the first 50%
I liked:
- the brief extracts from the MMC’d perspective at the start of each chapter
- the biology reasoning of the different species and the atypical quirks like green blood.
- the compassion and masculinity of the alpha
- the FMC being tall.
- the absence of omegaverse tropes in this paranormal contemporary romance
I was bored because a number of elements didn’t line up to make this interesting to read and be invested in the characters and plot:
- the romance and sexy vibes left me meh
- the slow burn of the hookup and the romance and their uniting
- the paucity of jokes and banter
- the contrived miscommunication: the FMC not clocking the “mate” and the MMC deciding the FMC shouldn’t know because he “knew best” what she needed
- the absence of Lowe for much of the book.
- the lack of depth and limited volume of secondary storylines in this plot. The last 20% needed to start earlier and get more time. Say, more than 50% of this books. And trim more of the first 40%.
- the knotting. Overhyped BDE.
I liked:
- the brief extracts from the MMC’d perspective at the start of each chapter
- the biology reasoning of the different species and the atypical quirks like green blood.
- the compassion and masculinity of the alpha
- the FMC being tall.
- the absence of omegaverse tropes in this paranormal contemporary romance
I was bored because a number of elements didn’t line up to make this interesting to read and be invested in the characters and plot:
- the romance and sexy vibes left me meh
- the slow burn of the hookup and the romance and their uniting
- the paucity of jokes and banter
- the contrived miscommunication: the FMC not clocking the “mate” and the MMC deciding the FMC shouldn’t know because he “knew best” what she needed
- the absence of Lowe for much of the book.
- the lack of depth and limited volume of secondary storylines in this plot. The last 20% needed to start earlier and get more time. Say, more than 50% of this books. And trim more of the first 40%.
- the knotting. Overhyped BDE.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Violence, and Blood
salinafloye's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Idk how I ended up reading two books in a row that involve knotting but maybe it's just a 2024 trend for me. I'm surprised how much I liked Ali Hazlewood's first foray into fantasy, the world was engaging and not overly complex but not dumbed down either. I think if you like Nalini Singh's Psy-Changeling series you will like this too. The main characters are pretty much the same as all of her main characters (absolutely nothing wrong with that they're some of my favs too), but now they're werewolves and vampyres. I read it in a day and enjoyed every minute of it and I'm assuming we're getting a sequel with that tee up at the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Sexual content
Moderate: Kidnapping, Child abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Confinement and Death of parent
lapon's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Well that was fun !
Of course the"he hates her and finds her repulsive" contrivance is paper-thin but who cares ?
I had lots of fun with the premice, and found the emotional moments really touching.
Of course the
I had lots of fun with the premice, and found the emotional moments really touching.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment
Moderate: Child abuse and Blood
neatens's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This story is a romance fantasy that follow Misery Lark, a vampire, getting married into the hands of the enemy, Lowe Moreland, an Alpha Werewolf. A dangerous alliance between the two mortal enemies.
She has always been the collateral among alliances without much of a choice as she is the daugther of one of the most powerful vampire in their community. She has always been an outcast in all sides but she met a friend in Serena and everything turns upside down until her friend disappeared without a trace. Misery and Lowe hated each other but this is her only way to find out what happened to her friend and she will do everything even get married out of convenience and find out the truth.
PS This was everything I wanted for years. I am probably such a sucker for Twilight Series — the book series — because this was such a treat! Yes, I am a fan of Twilight. The spice level in this story was a chef’s kiss to me. It was everything. I love werewolf (shape-shifting — add to this is the ACOTAR Series) and vampire trope. This was an enemies to lovers trope but with mortal enemies at hand. This was so good. There was a lot of emotions and I couldn’t put it down. Although the action scenes were a little bit lackluster but oh boy, I can blindly ignore it because I love the story. The words exchange between the main characters was everything. Lowe Moreland is the depiction of control, discipline, and selfless love.
She has always been the collateral among alliances without much of a choice as she is the daugther of one of the most powerful vampire in their community. She has always been an outcast in all sides but she met a friend in Serena and everything turns upside down until her friend disappeared without a trace. Misery and Lowe hated each other but this is her only way to find out what happened to her friend and she will do everything even get married out of convenience and find out the truth.
PS This was everything I wanted for years. I am probably such a sucker for Twilight Series — the book series — because this was such a treat! Yes, I am a fan of Twilight. The spice level in this story was a chef’s kiss to me. It was everything. I love werewolf (shape-shifting — add to this is the ACOTAR Series) and vampire trope. This was an enemies to lovers trope but with mortal enemies at hand. This was so good. There was a lot of emotions and I couldn’t put it down. Although the action scenes were a little bit lackluster but oh boy, I can blindly ignore it because I love the story. The words exchange between the main characters was everything. Lowe Moreland is the depiction of control, discipline, and selfless love.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Child abuse, Confinement, Violence, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Murder
hazelgirl21's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Sexual content, Child abuse, and Blood
Minor: Death of parent
goldensisyphus's review against another edition
dark
funny
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Loved this story! At some points the dialogue was difficult to follow and the timeline skips a bit, but overall this was written with wonderfully witty banter, intelligent and "sciency" factoids (seriously, I had to look a few words up in the dictionary). This is a unique take on both vampire and were culture and characters, I loved it even though I cried a bit towards the end. The door is open for a sequel and I can't wait. PS - this is NOT omegaverse, but it is a dark romance!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Blood, and Classism
agoldstarforyou's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Violence and Child abuse
chronicallybookish's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Gore, Violence, Child abuse, Blood, and Emotional abuse
uranaishi's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Abandonment, Blood, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Kidnapping, and Racism
Minor: Death of parent, Child abuse, Violence, Murder, Death, Infertility, Ableism, Bullying, Alcohol, Pregnancy, Car accident, and Classism
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