Zoey Marks is skeptical about marriage. She wants to wake up every day and choose to be with someone; she doesn’t need a marriage telling her this. After meeting the perfect man and him getting down on one knee, they are both left heartbroken.

I really loved this unconventional love story. The “bad luck bridesmaid” aspect was super fun. All three times that Zoey has been a bridesmaid, the bride didn’t make it down the aisle. I really appreciated Zoey’s free spirit. She stood up for what she wanted and didn’t bend to fit someone else’s mold. Zoey grew exponentially from the beginning to the end, and she stayed true to herself in order to find her own happiness.

I loved the writing — it felt like the words were flying off the pages as I read. Bad Luck Bridesmaid is a quick, witty, unconventional love story full of heart.

Bad Luck Bridesmaid is a fairly dismal look at love and future and marriage. Full disclosure, i have been married for 13 years so maybe I am not the target audience for this book. Zoey has been in 3 weddings and none of them have actually made it down the aisle, and now she has found a great man, fallen in love and but refuses to get married no matter what. I just could not connect with her and her decisions, I was just frustrated and the ending just was infuriating. Again though, I dont think I am the target audience for this.

I received a digital ARC via Netgalley from the Publisher though all thoughts are my own.

This is the story of a young woman named Zoey who truly thinks she's bad luck as a bridesmaid because she's been a part of two weddings and so far, she hasn't seen any of them make it down the aisle.

When she meets her best friend Hannah's cousin Rylan, she finds an instant connection with him and is certain that this guy could very well be her kind of forever. At first, all seems well and things are going along smoothly. When Rylan initially talks about getting married, Zoey states that she's not ready for that kind of thing yet and asks that they talk about it later.

After Zoey's third attempt at being a bridesmaid results in another failure to get the bride down the aisle, she's convinced that there must be something wrong with her. When Rylan pops the question the day she gets back from a disastrous weekend, she is thrown for a loop and she soon finds herself questioning everything and whether there truly is something wrong with her not accepting his proposal and breaking his heart.


When she finds herself being a bridesmaid once again, this time to her best friend Hannah, Zoey is determined to get her down the aisle one way or another, turn her luck and just maybe win back Rylan in the process. The journey to get Hannah down the aisle is full of surprises, heartache, adventure, laughter and a chance for Zoey to see that may be she's really not a bad luck bridesmaid after all.

I really enjoyed this book and I'm so glad how things turned out in the end! Highly recommend!

Trigger warnings: cheating, temporary homelessness, break up, some fighting

I was hoping for something sweeter and a bit of a happier ending than I was given here. I wasn't a fan of the romance in this or really reading from Zoey's POV, which is unfortunate since it is from her perspective.

This book was both hilarious and heartbreaking. From one moment to the next, it made me want to hurl it across the room and then grab it back and fiercely hug it to my chest. It wasn't an easy journey to take, but I'm so, so glad that I did. I wish I had this book when I was in my 20s and 30s when I was certain that I knew nothing for certain. Will absolutely read anything this author puts out in the future.

I'd like to thank Netgalley and St. Martin's Griffin for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun rom-com about a failed bridesmaid named Zoey. She was a bridesmaid for 3 of her friends who never made it down the aisle. She blames herself and believes that she is cursed. So much so that it effects her own love life where she refuses to walk down the aisle herself.

This story does have some funny moments, which you would expect. I just wish there were a little more on the romance side for Zoey.

If you are looking for a light-hearted romance then I would recommend you pick this one up.

I feel like I don't want to be a bridesmaid at all. From all of the movies, I have seen and the books I have read so far, being a bridesmaid does not look so fun. I already know the main character is going to be in a world of pain while she is a bridesmaid.
Zoey is tired of being a bridesmaid for the past years. Everyone is getting their happiest day except for her. It's not her lack of trying. She was just scared of commitment. And it does not help that she is going to see her ex, Ryan, again.
I feel like I was lied to. This is certainly not a romance book. It's more of a women's fiction book. And it's fine that it is. Just be honest about it. I would have not felt so disappointed about the lack of romance in this book.

Congrats to this debut author!
This is a complicated book. On one hand it is a romcom and on the other hand there are a lot of serious moments.
The main character, Zoey, had me alternating between liking her and being totally confused by some of her thoughts and ideas. She is a strong independent woman which I really liked. Zoey was very stubborn in believing she brought bad luck to brides and this idea clouded many of her other ideas. Rylan was a great character but he also was determined in his beliefs.
This was a compelling and well written book. I was definitely interested in seeing how everything turned out. I look forward to more from this author.

After finishing Bad Luck Bridesmaid by Alison Rose Greenberg, I'm torn about my thoughts and emotions. Zoey blames hers for being a trainwreck with forever love. She has been the bridesmaid for three of her friend, and 0/3 were successfully married, and Zoey blames herself. Rylan is the love of Zoey's life, but when he proposes, she cannot commit to marriage because she's "bad luck." Zoey is very dramatic throughout the book. There were moments I honestly had enough of Zoey, but then her friendship with Hannah kept me hooked. I loved their complete support and endearing bond and friendship throughout. Overall, I'm not sure it was the romance I was looking for, but Zoey and Hannah did give me some laughs.

Thank you, Macmillan Audio and St. Martin's Griffin, for my ALC/ARC for an honest review.

This book was sweet, but nothing really stood out about it to make it amazing. I was immediately drawn in by the title and cover of the book; they made the book seem like your typical '00s romantic comedy movie where you fall in love with the heroine immediately and grow to love her match as she does.

That didn't totally happen for me. Zoey spent the whole book deciding just how she feels about marriage in general while also pining for the man who once proposed to her. The love story was confusing, and I honestly wasn't sure who to root for throughout the course of the novel.

While it wasn't my favorite read, it did keep my attention enough for me to give it 3 stars!

This book was a nicely done debut. The main character, Zoey made me a little crazy. I felt that she continued to set herself up for failure throughout the book. I know that as women, we often tend to do that, but Zoey took it to the extreme.

Over time, Zoey gradually finds herself growing and maturing as life deals her one punishing blow after another. She believes that she, personally, has caused several of her friends' weddings to not go through at the last minute. All of this serves to damage her view of marriage and long-term commitment. Eventually, this will damage her own relationship. The question is can she find a way to conquer her bad luck and fix her broken relationship or is she destined to live under a dark cloud.

Even though I didn't enjoy all of Zoey's choices, I thought this book was a good read. I appreciate that an author can write their characters however they want. We don't necessarily have to like it. I look forward to reading more by this author in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to read and review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

I did not finish this book. It wasn’t written poorly but it felt like the character was telling a story of something that happened and i just didn’t like the tense it was written in. After 45% I couldn’t get over that and didnt feel invested enough in the characters to continue

Bad Luck Bridesmaid is funny and full of heart. But also it is full of steam!

The book follows Zoey on her journey to help her best friend Heather make it down the aisle, all while she struggles with her views on marriage and if it is something for her. While this is all going on, there are also some heavy emotions with certain ex-boyfriend whose proposal she rejected.

All in all, I was satisfied. I loved the emotions; I loved the steam sex scenes. Throughout the book, I viewed it mostly as a contemporary romance until the ending put me in my place. Its ending is very fitting for "women fiction".

Whew, what can I say about Zoey? She obviously needs to take a chill pill, IMO!! She thinks she can't get married because she is bad luck since the last 3 times she was a bridesmaid, it didn't end well. Although this is described as a rom-com and there are rom com moments this definitely has much deeper and serious topics and is way more than a rom com.

The redeeming grace in this book was the steamy scenes, the rest of it was meh. The story went on too long, the wallowing heartbreak was too much, the characters were too self absorbed, everyone was too perfect. There was no diversity other than Zoey being Jewish with curly hair everyone was white and rich and educated and untouched by reality. If it weren't for the sex scenes that gave me a but of a tingle this would be a 2 star at best.

Don't be misled by the chick-lit cover. This book might have some laugh-out-loud-on-the-subway moments and as many horrid bridesmaid dresses as you might ever imagine but it's got a serious core of questions about commitment, conflict, and the real meaning of happily ever after.

Zoey might have jinxed the last 3 weddings she's been part of and torpedoed the best relationship she's ever likely to have, but those minor details won't stop her working to make her best friend Hannah's Scottish wedding absolutely perfect. Even if she has private doubts about the groom. And public doubts about his best man. And MAJOR doubts about her own ability to cope with a wedding party that includes both her own much-lamented ex and his utterly un-lamented mother.

In between the pratfalls and the parties, the fabulous settings and the marathon sex, this debut novel is far more an exploration of Zoey's expanding self-awareness than a giggle-a-page rom-com. It's very readable and won't disappoint if you aren't expecting a fluffy romance.

Growing up in the 90s and 00’s I have a close relationship with all types of pop culture rom coms. I definitely love watching, reading any rom com trope, as I overall can’t get enough of the genre itself.
Bad Luck Bridesmaid was a page turner from the start, and enjoyed every quirk, every cringe moment, every romantic gesture, and of course every pop culture reference.. Swifties, hang on tight you’re going to want to read this one ASAP.
But aside from the romance, there’s a much stronger, more important message. In this sweet, humorous written novel, you’ll find you might learn a thing or two about yourself as well. I know I did.
They say third time’s the charm.. right? *wink*

I loved the character of Zoey and brava to Greenberg for letting her character stay true to herself from beginning to end despite the hard spots it puts her in. I'm going to recommend this book just for that happy little tidbit.
This book has a bit of a mixed personality in that it starts out a total rom-com, veers into sappy romance, drops into very heavy drama, and then ties it all up with perfect rom-com goodness once again. The heavy drama was unexpected but understandable as an important part of Zoey's character arc and a big reason why I ended up loving everything about her character. You walk away understanding all her choices and appreciating her desire to live her way. I'm also jealous of the wonderfully magical relationship she has with her best friend, Hannah.
Greenberg does an expert job of creating character relationships that feel true-to-life in a way that you can relate to and with. You can somehow walk away from each scene completely understanding why each character acted as they did and empathizing with all of them even when you don't agree with how they act.
I laughed, teared up, winced in shared embarrassment, considered my life choices, and just constantly felt a part of Zoey's journey. This book really does take you on a full emotional ride that you walk away from thinking about long after the last page while still being fun and entertaining. That's quite an achievement.

Many very happy thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the emotionally satisfying read!

I loved Zoey's character. She was so real and well thought out. I thought Bad Luck Bridesmaid was a cute and overall fun romantic comedy. It was a phenomenal debut for Alison Rose Greenberg and I am excited to see what she comes out with next!

Zoey Marks and everlasting love just don’t mix. Thrice a bridesmaid, every wedding she’s been part of did not go off without a hitch. In fact, NO ONE got hitched.😉 Applying the, “three strikes and you’re out” rule to her own love life, Zoey makes a different kind of vow all her own- to never fall in love.

Then Zoey meets Rylan and all the rules go out the window. Well, all except one- Zoey still shuns the idea of marriage. Of course Rylan feels differently and believes that in time, Zoey will feel differently, too. After all, they do love each other. One day, Rylan finally proposes, placing Zoey between a rock, and her ring finger. Suddenly the adage, “always the bridesmaid, never the bride” has a different “ring” to it.

Sadly, Zoey can’t commit, so the two heart wrenchingly part ways. Amazingly, the readers are only about a quarter of the way through the story. Quickly the plot changes course and focuses on Zoey’s best friend the hopeless romantic, Hannah and her whirlwind love affair. This culminates not only in a new engagement, but another opportunity for Zoey to serve a bride. But with a new destination wedding in the works, and her old ex boyfriend in attendance, will Zoey end up being the something blue?

I have so many feelings about this book, it’s hard to know what order to place them in. First, there’s the cutesy cover that does not match the inside, like AT ALL. Make no mistake. This is not your book club’s next swoon worthy romance. Some might even argue its an anti romance, romance. Readers going in expecting anything different will be disappointed.

That being said, what this story was not was predictable. I truly had no idea what was going to happen next, making this a much more thought provoking read than expected, but in a good way. Funny and sad, heavy on dramatic metaphors and verbose language, I still wasn’t sure how I felt about Zoey, or any of it really, when all was said and done. As a result, I walked away feeling a bit like a jilted bride left at the altar, trying to figure out what went wrong.

Simply stated, Bad Luck Bridesmaid is a complicated love story that’s flawed, but still worthwhile- a lot like marriage itself.