My review
My book review of Mate
- Author
- Ali Hazelwood
- Series
- Bride #2
- Release date
- 07.10.2025
- Read from
- 07.07.2026 – 11.07.2026
Book facts
Archetype
- Primary: Forbidden Flame (fated mates, irresistible attraction, forbidden desire, romance driven by instinct)
- Secondary: Dark Romantic (possessive romance, alpha dynamics, primal attraction, morally questionable relationship dynamics)
Tropes
Spice level
High. The romance is the main focus of the story, and much of the plot exists to build toward the intimate scenes. There is plenty of tension before anything happens, followed by several explicit scenes.
POV
Single POV following Serena.
Vibe
Paranormal Romance · Spicy · Fast paced · Addictive. A romance driven by fated mates, primal attraction, and plenty of tension, with just enough plot to keep the story moving.
What I loved
Ali Hazelwood somehow made some absolutely ridiculous concepts work.
I genuinely thought an alpha bound by a celibacy covenant and knotting sounded ridiculous. They were wild ideas that didn't make much sense to me at first. Somehow, Ali Hazelwood committed to them so completely that by the end, I wasn't questioning them anymore. The fact that she managed to sell those concepts to the reader is honestly impressive.
The book was surprisingly addictive. Even when I wasn't convinced by the story itself, I kept turning the pages.
There was plenty of tension throughout the first half of the novel before the relationship became physical.
The highlights
- The commitment to the paranormal world and its rules.
- The chemistry before the romance became physical.
- The fact that such bizarre concepts (like a celibacy covenant and knotting) somehow ended up feeling believable within the story.
Characters
Serena didn't work for me as a main character. I found her too gullible and too quick to trust the people around her.
She apologised constantly, even when there wasn't much to apologise for. After a while it became repetitive and started to feel less genuine.
I was also never convinced by how attached she became to Ana. She had only known her for a few weeks, yet suddenly cared about her so deeply. That emotional connection just didn't make sense to me.
The side characters are exactly that: side characters. Their personalities barely exist outside of supporting the main couple, and none of them really have any growth or development.
What didn't work
- The romance developed far too easily. I never understood what made Serena and Koen actually fall in love beyond being destined mates.
- The relationship felt unearned. Instead of showing why the characters liked each other as people, the story seemed to rely almost entirely on the fated mates trope.
- The emotional connection between characters felt rushed. The trust between the main characters developed unrealistically fast. They understood each other almost immediately despite barely knowing one another.
- The plot often felt like an excuse to move the romance from one scene to the next rather than telling an interesting story on its own.
- I kept feeling like every plotline existed only to get the main characters to the spicy scenes.
- Compared to Bride, the romance felt much less believable and emotionally satisfying.
My final thoughts
Disappointed.
My biggest issue was the romance, which is unfortunate because the romance is clearly the heart of the book. I never fully believed in Serena and Koen's relationship, and because of that, many of the emotional moments felt less believable. The plot also felt secondary, existing mostly to push the romance forward rather than standing on its own.
That said, I have to give Ali Hazelwood credit for fully committing to some genuinely ridiculous ideas. And somehow, she made them work within the world she created.
Despite my criticisms, the book was strangely addictive. It's the kind of story that isn't particularly deep, yet still keeps you reading because you want to see where it goes. Unfortunately, once I reached the end, I found the journey much more memorable than the destination.
Would I recommend it?
Maybe.
If you're looking for a spicy paranormal romance where the romance takes priority over the plot, you'll probably have a good time with this one. If you need a believable emotional connection between the main characters or a story that stands on its own outside of the romance, this may leave you disappointed.
