Book Review: Mate by Ali Hazelwood
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Mate by Ali Hazelwood
Published: October 7, 2025
Series: Bride #2
Genres: Adult // Romance, Paranormal
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ (Explicit Open Door)
Quick Thoughts: After struggling with Bride, I found Mate to be a much stronger story with more adventure, better worldbuilding, and engaging storylines about the Northwest pack and various groups in the territory. I loved the heartwarming sisterhood between Serena and Misery, and Koen's broody, but devoted character made for great romantic chemistry and tension. Definitely recommend even if you weren’t a fan of Bride!
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Past child neglect
Infertility
Terminal illness
Death/grief
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Grumpy, Alpha Male Love Interests
Forbidden Love
Age Gap
Werewolves
Mates
What is Mate about? (Non-Spoiler Summary)
A Human hybrid and an Alpha Were claw against the bonds of fate in the highly anticipated companion novel to the New York Times bestselling Bride.
Serena Paris is orphaned, pack-less, and one of a kind. Coming forward as the first Human-Were hybrid was supposed to heal a centuries-long rift between species. Instead, it made her a target, prey to the ruthless political machinations between Weres, Vampyres, and Humans. With her enemies closing in on her, she has only one option left—if he’ll have her.
As Alpha of the Northwest pack, Koen Alexander commands obedience. His authority is so absolute, only a fool would threaten his mate. It doesn’t matter if Serena doesn’t reciprocate his feelings, nothing will stop him from keeping her safe.
But power-hungry Vampyres and Weres are not the only threats chasing Serena. Sooner or later, her past is bound to catch up with her—and Koen might be the only thing standing between her and total annihilation....
Mate Review
I'll be honest, I wasn't the biggest fan of Bride, so I went into Mate unsure if it was going to be for me. But I'm happy to report that this one won me over! We're back in the same setting as Bride, this time following Serena and Koen, who were side characters from the first book, and their story had everything I enjoyed about Bride -- the quirky humor and the loveable characters -- plus an interesting side plot and great chemistry between the love interests.
What Worked
I really enjoyed the different storylines in this one. One of the reasons I didn't love Bride is that our view of the world felt narrow and the scenes were repetitive, but Mate felt like a real improvement. There was more adventure and we got to explore different aspects of the territory, like the history of the Northwest pack, the territory itself, and interactions with other groups living in the area. It just felt less repetitive, which kept me engaged throughout.
I also really loved the relationship between Serena and Misery. Their sisterhood is absolutely heartwarming and had me wishing I had a sister of my own. Their relationship added a lot of laugh-out-loud moments, mostly because Misery is absolutely hilarious.
Koen is the perfect broody love interest who doesn't want to care for Serena but can't help it. He is so down bad for her, and the yearning, self-control, and tension throughout was chef's kiss. His constant little acts of service for her had me kicking my feet and smiling throughout the book.
My One Issue
My only real complaint is that the illness plot took up a large chunk of the story, which meant the storyline about Serena's parents felt rushed and a little confusing at the end. I wish there had been a better balance between these two threads.
So, should you read Mate?
Overall, if you want a quick paranormal romance with humor, adventure, and a grumpy love interest, this book could be for you. Even if you struggled with Bride like I did, give Mate a chance!
Check out this review on Goodreads or Storygraph.
Happy reading!
Kim
Mate FAQs
Some of the answers may be spoilers if you haven’t read it already. Proceed with caution!
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Mate is the second novel in the Bride series. It follows different main characters than Bride but takes place in the same world.
As of right now, no additional books have been officially announced.
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Romance.io rates Mate 4🌶️, which means explicit open door. That means spice scenes are explicit and detailed.
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The spicy chapters in Mate by Ali Hazelwood are:
Chapter 23
Chapter 26 🫑
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Epilogue
A green pepper means that the scene in this chapter is steamy but not necessarily spice.
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Yes, it had a satisfying and happy ending.
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Mate is a companion novel to Bride and not a continuation of the plot in Bride.
While you don’t necessarily have to read Bride to read Mate, I’d definitely recommend it to get familiar with the characters and the world.