Challenge Corner discussion

A dangerous alliance between a Vampyre bride and an Alpha Werewolf becomes a love deep enough to sink your teeth into in this new paranormal romance.

Misery Lark, the only daughter of the most powerful Vampyre councilman of the Southwest, is an outcast—again. Her days of living in anonymity among the Humans are over: she has been called upon to uphold a historic peacekeeping alliance between the Vampyres and their mortal enemies, the Weres, and she sees little choice but to surrender herself in the exchange—again...

Weres are ruthless and unpredictable, and their Alpha, Lowe Moreland, is no exception. He rules his pack with absolute authority, but not without justice. And, unlike the Vampyre Council, not without feeling. It’s clear from the way he tracks Misery’s every movement that he doesn’t trust her. If only he knew how right he was….

Because Misery has her own reasons to agree to this marriage of convenience, reasons that have nothing to do with politics or alliances, and everything to do with the only thing she's ever cared about. And she is willing to do whatever it takes to get back what’s hers, even if it means a life alone in Were territory…alone with the wolf.

Ch 1 - 10 (view spoiler)[ I’m really digging this book. I can’t wait for Lowe and Misery to get together. The little snippets at the start of the chapter is a nice teaser into what he’s thinking. So Ana is part human, part werewolf… I wonder how this might change their future of living together?

Where could Serena be?? Maybe with the loyal? (hide spoiler)]

I'll be starting this tomorrow! 😊

Mucia wrote: "I'll be starting this tomorrow! 😊"

Ooo I can’t wait to see what you think about it. Made it to 50% today and will finish the rest tomorrow

Ch 11-15 (view spoiler)[ ooof that scene with Lowe and Misery ahhh!! I was really thinking somehow Misery is Lowe’s mate but I guess not? Can you have two mates, how would that work? (hide spoiler)]

74 % (view spoiler)[ oof Lowe is seeing his mate in front of misery! I wonder how this is going to end up.

I can’t believe there was practically an entire chapter of a steamy scene that didn’t end in sex? What…

Still no answers on Serena… what is happening. I have a feeling Serena might be a bad person in the story?? I’m not sure (hide spoiler)]

finished (view spoiler)[ ahhh THAT ENDING!! I loved it!!! And Serena possibly has a mate oooo

I didn’t expect Serena to be a half were as well! Little Ana was my top fav characters in this book. Why did Lowe think it was smart to push Misery away… made no sense to me

Screw Misery’s father too!! Ugh… Shout-out to Owen for being the best brother too!!

Overall a spicy story with a good story line. It reminded me of my Wattpad days with alphas and packs. I enjoyed this one. (hide spoiler)]

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RESTARTING OCTOBER 8TH, 2024

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10 chapters

(view spoiler)[ interesting story so far. I like getting to know Misery and Lowe but I hate that he keeps smelling her! lol I wish we'd get more information from him.

I do like how feisty Misery is.

I wonder what happened to Serena and how it's tied to Ana. (hide spoiler)]

21 chapters

(view spoiler)[ wow, that attack against Ana was scary
but even more frightening was the attack that Misery took! Hard to know who was attacking and who they were trying to get

I love that he's helping still, searching for Serena.

and I totally think SHE is his mate. I don't think the other girl is. But I wonder when she will figure that out (hide spoiler)]

26 chapters

(view spoiler)[ Ugh, I feel like he's lying. why is he lying? Why did he just break both of their hearts?? (hide spoiler)]

and done!

(view spoiler)[ I love that we confirmed that she was, indeed, his mate. Something we knew but I hated that he broke her heart .

and WOW! that her dad was behind it all and had gotten Lowe's second in command to betray him

and I was shocked Serena was also a hybrid!! I had no idea all these twists would be at the end! I loved it!

and ANOTHER BOND?! I wonder if we'll get a book 2?! (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 9
(view spoiler)[I like it so far, it's fun. But Misery thinking Ana is anything between 3 and 13 is wild XD (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 15
(view spoiler)[I'm 99% sure Misery is Lowe’s mate. 1% is only because possibility of misdirect XD and guess this is going to be spicy just based of his scenting. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 23
(view spoiler)[We're going to meet "Lowe's mate"! Let's see how this is going to go. (hide spoiler)]

Finished
(view spoiler)[Are we getting another book? I would read it.

Overall I liked it. It was fun story and narrator did a great job. I didn't like Lowe lied to Misery about not being her mate. It made no sense for his character. (hide spoiler)]

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RESTARTING NOVEMBER 3RD, 2024

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Checkin in!
I might manage to start on Saturday night for me (Beirut time)
I will keep you posted Allie 😊

I'm ready to start :)

I'm starting now with the audiobook
I have a lot of cleaning and cooking to do

=> chp 5
I am not sure if it's the audio or if the chapters that long.

(view spoiler)[
I am guessing the headers under each chapter are Lowe's thoughts?

And I am also guessing she is his mate.
And that the girl that was sent as collateral is not his real mate, but maybe a chosen mate or something? There's obviously miscommunication there.

I am wondering if her mother has any relation to weres or is a descendant.

And also wondering (yes a lot of wondering) if her brother is planning anything like an attack, he obviously has something going when he asked for 6 months...
(hide spoiler)]

Yes Grace, the (view spoiler)[headers under each chapter are Lowe's thoughts. That's all you get from his POV in the book. (hide spoiler)]

Seriously? That's all? pffff I want more lol

Grace wrote: "Seriously? That's all? pffff I want more lol"

Yeah, I think the book fell short in that aspect for sure.

yeah so far in I definitely think a Lowe POV would have contributed a lot

Up to chapter 13, I honestly felt like this is one of my trashy werewolf novels and wasn't really feeling the romance aspect.

Now, chapter 15 onwards (chp 17), I kinda dig them
(view spoiler)[I guess Ali was trying to make them build up to it, but for me it felt empty before then
Not that it came suddenly, just that it was empty and we got the feels chp 14-15

The scenes between them, him marking her/scenting her and her drinking from him I could see the chemistry and attraction.
Though I am confused, did he mark her like a mate marks his mate? Or just rub himself on her to make her smell like him?

I am also unsure about why she has pointy ears... (hide spoiler)]

=> chp 20
(view spoiler)[ I don't feel we're making real progress to finding Serena.

I feel the assassination was on Misery not Ana.

And I hate her name 😂😅😅 I can't put it past me. Like give her another name, pet name, nickname, anything.... (hide spoiler)]

I finished

I flew by this while working around the house.
(view spoiler)[This is my first Ali Hazelwood book and probably my last.
Her style is not for me I think.

It felt a lot like trashy romance that doesn't belong on Goodreads.
Don't get me wrong, i read trashy werewolf romance. It's the kind of books that I read when I am teetering on the edge of a slump but not slumping and want to read.
The easy, quick-to-get-through, mindless read that I can stop whenever and not feel bad or that I missed something.

The plot was vague. Total of 30 chapters, romance started at chp 15, we knew the first clue about Serena on chp 22, and then Ana disappeared after cho 15.
A lot of fillers and no depth to the story even though the elements were there.
Both the MCs background are perfect case to show character growth and depth in their current emotions and states. But neither their romance, nor their character nor the plot delivered.

And what kind of worldbuilding was that? A dump in the beginning to become nonexistent and unclear after.

I'm glad I finally read this. It's been on my TBR for the entire year and I needed to go through it. (hide spoiler)]

I was trying to wait to start this one for after I finish Serpent but I need an audio to listen to so I will be starting this one tonight!

Hehe exactly what happened with me!
Waiting for your thoughts

10% (view spoiler)[ My thoughts so far are I am not a fan of how the story is written to try to make the vampires fit in a modern world. They lost me when Misery talked about how she could tell the difference between vampires and humans because they have fainter heartbeats. This made me stop and think for a minute because part of what makes a vampire is that they have no heartbeat. I think the vampires are supposed to be written as "different" compared to other vampires in other stories but it makes no sense to me the way the vampires are written. (hide spoiler)]

I wish that Lowe's POV was also included instead of only getting the one-liners from him in the beginning of each chapter. Usually, when I don't get a perspective from one person out of the couple that I am supposed to be rooting for I either don't get as attached to them as a couple or I don't get attached to the person that doesn't have a POV because I never know what they are thinking or feeling in certain situations. We will see if that is the case for this book but I'm guessing that I probably won't become as attached to Lowe as I could have if he had a POV.

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RESTARTING NOVEMBER 7TH, 2025

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Jamie wrote: "******************************************..."

Thank you Jamie!

Anytime! I may join ya'll for this one. I've already read it, but I just got Mate and I'm thinking I might need a refresher lol

Still waiting on the library. But as soon as I get it I'll update her and hop into the book! *fingers crossed*

Kala wrote: "Still waiting on the library. But as soon as I get it I'll update her and hop into the book! *fingers crossed*"

No worries. I will probably start tonight since I have another buddy read in a few days. Im a bit behind and need to play catch up.

I'll play catch up when I get it. I tend to read through books fairly quickly because I focus on one book at a time.

Ch 1-10 (view spoiler)[
Interesting so far but Im curious to why he is so forward with her. Misery is sturn and witty but not too over the top. Claiming its instinct doesn't feel justified enough especially with how little they have interacted so far. Intrigued by Ana and Serena's possible connection. (hide spoiler)]

I got it last night and started it.

Chapter 1-6 (view spoiler)[
I like the use of Ana as a way to break down the walls of the characters. I'm glad the Misery isn't trying to murder the wolves, but the story has me curious as to what happened to Serena, hopefully nothing bad. I like Lowe and don't want him to be bad. Max, on the other hand, may have something to do with the disappearance. I think her family needs to take a chill pill. Ruining her perfectly good job to tell her she needs to meet with her father. Owen seems to be a good brother, even though she says when she came back that he was cold to her. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 1-10 Response (view spoiler)[
I agree. I feel it should make Lowe more suspicious of Misery when he caught her looking for Serena - who knows more than she should about Ana. Her running out in the sun could very easily be a show, and he's too trusting when it comes to his little sister. (hide spoiler)]

Sweet! I had to finish a different book last night. Will probably continue this one today when I get home

Chapter 11 - 18 (view spoiler)[
I like how the relationship isn't super angsty. At the same time, the book is a bit more on the cozy side than my personal preference. Im still enjoying it. Very slow burn, should we/shouldn't we. Ana is adorable and Lowe's love for her warms my cold heart.
(hide spoiler)]

Chapter 19 - 22 (view spoiler)[
IM DYING XD!!! Okay okay I get it because she is not experienced in A) Sex and B) werewolf biology. It's such a cute scene, Lowe is a total romantic. His little confessions too. Interested to see how acquainted she gets with knotting. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 11-18 (view spoiler)[
Is Lowe mated with Gabrielle? I'm getting really confused because (and this could be different werewolf lore) he's acting like he's mated with Misery.

I'm enjoying the slow burn. But I'm struggling with the lack of communication. And even when they talk about things, such as mating, the conversations are so surface level and nothing is actually figured out.

I do love Ana and how it shows a softer side of both of them. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 19-22 (view spoiler)[
I'm as naive as Misery is about Werewolf biology xD (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 22 - 25 (view spoiler)[
No... not a third-act break up 🙄 That 180 came out of no where. From the start he has had feelings. Why he is lying I would love to know. (hide spoiler)]

I was getting on here to say the exact same thing!

Chapter 22-25 (view spoiler)[ I like Lowe as a parental figure for Ana. At this point I don't want to see him as a mate to Misery. There may be a reason but he needs to be truthful about it, not just lash out. I'm tired of relationships where there is no actual communication going on. (hide spoiler)]

End (view spoiler)[ Overall I think it took too long for the plot to come out. I didn't like Lowe constantly lying for no purpose. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 25 - End (view spoiler)[

The plot fell very flat for me. Lowe's blatant lying and that break up brought my rating down to 3.5-3.75. Typically I like more dark romantic fantasy. Since I wouldn't put it in the cozy or dark categories either but I still found some enjoyment. It's sometimes understandable why he lied but not at all justifiable. Overall it's charming and I love Hazelwood's writing. More action and things actually going on besides the internal battles would have been highly appreciated. (hide spoiler)]

I agree 100%!

I plan on rereading this one, but did ya'll get Twilight vibes at all in this one? I couldn't get it out of my head when I read it the first time.

Jamie wrote: "I plan on rereading this one, but did ya'll get Twilight vibes at all in this one? I couldn't get it out of my head when I read it the first time."

Yes! I knew something was familiar XD. That was ages ago. The first time I read it... I threw the book across the room when he sparkled. Permanently have tried to delete it ever since from my mind.

lol maybe subconsciously because I just brought Twilight up to my friend while reading this. I will say after reading this I want some Anne Rice in my life. This is only my 2nd Hazelwood book and currently I'm 50/50 with her books. I think I would have enjoyed this book a lot more if it was condensed. It felt like there was no movement in the plot until the last 20% of the book.