Thank you so much to @netgalley and @smpromance for my copy of BADLUCK BRIDESMAID by @alison.greenberg in exchange for an honest review l! This book came out yesterday, Jan 11, so you can go grab your copy now!

I have seen some mixed reviews for this book, but I’m here to tell you I REALLY enjoyed it! Here are my three reasons why:

1. Taylor Swift references. Anyone who knows me, knows I’m a huge Swiftie. This book deals with INTENSE emotions, specifically ones from Swift’s album RED. I loved it!

2. A falcon attack. While this would be absolutely terrifying for anyone afraid of birds (like Zoey), and I did feel bad for her, but the author did a great job of making it so it was more of comic relief. I laughed out loud picturing the scene!

3. All the emotions. Did I mention this book had RED level emotions? Ahh I felt it all. I laughed, I cried, my heart hurt, I felt all warm and gooey inside. Give me it all ❤️

I have a hard time believing this is the authors debut book! Alison sure knows how to pack an emotional read into a rom com!

The only thing I didn’t really like was the ending. Without giving anything away, I didn’t like how the author ended it, but I can see why she did what she did. But I will say, it was one of the really emotional part, where my heart hurt.

Fans of Taylor swift, emotional rom coms, read this book

Though this does have a romantic theme and some steamy scenes, this isn’t what I would consider a romance. It does have a happy ending but not necessarily a typical happily ever after that a rom com reader would hope to have. With that being said, it is well written, funny and filled with great millennial references. I think it would be a great pick for a book club or buddy read because the ending would lead to some good discussions and different points of view… at least I would have things to say about it!

🥰 liked || 🔥descriptive
🤟great writing, funny, twist on the traditional HEA
🎶Taylor Swift’s Red Album (TV)
⚠️infertility

Awesome read--this book was fun, quick, witty, humorous, and a great "chick lit" I suppose you could call it. This was not your quint essential romance--way better. I'm new to this author (I think I'm understanding it as a debut!) and can't wait to read more! The plot itself is humorous, besides the characters antics. Relatable, funny, and heart warming.

This book was a bit different from what I expected but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Zoey is a character that is a little different from her friends. She is fiercely independent and has focused her life on her career. As her friends begin to get married, she has been a bridesmaid at three weddings where the bride has failed to make it down the aisle. This has increased her skewed idea of marriage. When she meets the man of her dreams, the last thing she wants to do is marry him as she fears the idea of forever. As Zoey is again a bridesmaid for her best friend, she is determined to get Hannah down the aisle and face her own ideas about love and marriage.

Also reviewed on B&N under the name 1IrishEyes430 and Kobo under IrishEyes430

3.5-stars.

Bad Luck Bridesmaid by Alison Rose Greenberg was a fun and cute read. Zoey does not believe in marriage. So does that make her bad luck as a bridesmaid? After three attempts and no I do, she fears that may be true. Now she lost her boyfriend, Rylan, because she does not want to get married and her best friend is marrying a man she literally just met. She is going and this time things will be different, right? This was truly Zoey’s story about her journey and growth.

Happy reading!

So I don't think I can say Enough good stuff about this one. It had me laughing and crying and having all the feelings.
The Story is such a feel good , funny story that you just can not help falling in love with the characters,
Each character in book as its own personality and it made the story so nice to read.

OMG!! I'm wholly obsessed with this book. I devoured it in less than 24 hours and I am still thinking about it. I love how the story is told (in a true storyteller voice) and the emotion that I felt while reading about Zoey's experiences made me truly feel like I was there. There were so many amazing quotes that I took note of! It was just so well done. I don't feel like I can properly put words together to express my love for this book.

4.5 stars. Zoey thinks she's a cursed bridesmaid since no brides have made it down the aisle on her watch and questions if her own ambivalence towards marriage is rubbing off on those she loves.

Please don't let the cover trick you into thinking it's a traditional romance — while there are romantic connections and some steamy scenes, this story is more about the character's growth and journey. All that said, I really enjoyed this one. While Zoey sees couples around her who have long-lasting connections (her parents), she doesn't know if marriage is for her and this bridesmaid curse keeps her reluctant to commit to forever with anyone.

Zoey is such a complicated character and while she could be frustrating at times, I really enjoyed how she stayed true to herself and her beliefs. She is messy but so self-aware and can inject humor into any situation. I loved seeing the friendship between her and Hannah and the recognition that just because her beliefs/choices aren't what the majority believe in, they are still valid. While her journey has its ups and downs with heartbreak, humor, and conflicting emotions, I loved how it ended.

Highly recommend picking this one up and giving it a try for an unconventional story about marriage and being your authentic self.

Rampant Misandry Mars Otherwise Interesting And Compelling Debut. Up front: If you're looking at this as a potential romance book... it isn't that. It is more of a women's fiction book, with an interesting take on the genre and in particular the well-travelled bridesmaid trope. My biggest problem here is the truly rampant misandry - the main character here is *constantly* being so utterly bigoted towards men, to the level that if even a female author had flipped this and done the same thing with a male character towards females, every single review would lead off with how misogynistic the character was. Which is my own standard for bigotry: ok for me, but not for thee. If you can flip the demographics from the targeted to the targetter without issue, awesome. But if you would have a problem if that happened... then there is a problem, period. But again, fun and unconventional story outside of the blatant and rampant misandry, and thus one that truly is worthy of consideration. Just, again, do NOT go into this expecting a romance. More of a train wreck, really. Just a particularly entertaining one. Recommended.

Not my cup of tea. The heroine is immature, relationships seem nonexistent outside of sex. The rampant jealousy scenes are overblown. The only HEA is a bride, other than the heroine, who finally weds breaking the streak of bad luck for the heroine. The book is stacked with unrewarding negativity. Negativity towards both self and others. Unfortunately none of this was relieved by a sense of humor, tongue in cheek or broad.

Any book with the a wedding as a theme plus a strong female character and you got
me interested! This is not your typical love story, its details you through Zoey’s bad luck as a bridesmaid where are all three brides do not show up and then Zoeys journey! I liked this book, wouldnt say I loved it but it was a light fun read.

Zoey Marks is a free spirit. She realized young that she was not like those around her. She didn’t care about making people uncomfortable, as long as she was true to herself. She wasn’t willing to compromise her own happiness for someone else. And she didn’t want to be tied down.

The first time a friend asked Zoey to be a bridesmaid, the fact that the bride didn’t make it down the aisle wasn’t entirely her fault. Anyone could have opened the door to the closet where the groom was hooking up with someone else. The second time, it wasn’t Zoey’s fault that the bride was reminded right before the wedding of the woman she fell in love with during college and left her groom alone at the altar. But when the third time happened, and Zoey had been torn between talking to the bride about her cold feet or following the instructions of the wedding planner and heading down the aisle herself, Zoey worried during her whole trip down the aisle. And when she got down there, and the bride did not, she felt like she was cursed.

And when it came to her own relationships? She was honest with her boyfriends from the start. She wasn’t looking for forever. And as soon as they got too serious, she would remind them that she had been honest and left them behind. It wasn’t her fault that they didn’t believe her. And then she met Rylan.

Rylan was the cousin of her lifelong best friend Hannah, and as soon as Zoey saw him, she was done for. He was gorgeous and perfect, and he was as crazy about her as she was about him. Zoey didn’t know that love like that existed, and she lost herself in it. They dated, and then they moved in together, and then Rylan proposed. And Zoey, try as hard as she might, just couldn’t say yes. They slit up, and Zoey’s heartbreak was devastating.

Three months later, when Hannah is preparing to get married to Graham, a man she’d met just six months earlier, Zoey is once again asked to be a bridesmaid. Zoey is worried that her curse will cause Hannah’s wedding to be ruined too, but she still has to be there for her best friend. And when Zoey finds out that Rylan will be there too, with his new girlfriend, Zoey is convinced that she has to change. If she can just get Hannah down the aisle, than she can believe in marriage. She can believe that she isn’t cursed. And she can finally say yes to Rylan, if it isn’t too late.

But getting Hannah down the aisle won’t be so easy. It turns out that she has a big secret that she’s keeping from Graham. And he has a brother, Ezra, recently divorced, who is desperate to keep him from getting to the altar with a woman he’s only known for six months. But Rylan is there, and seeing him again keeps Zoey looking toward the prize. If she can get Hannah married, then she can believe in marriage and say yes to Rylan. It’s all on her shoulders. And it all goes wrong.

Bad News Bridesmaid is the debut novel of Hollywood writer Alison Rose Greenberg, and it is packed with great scenes. The story is complex, and the dialogue zings, just like you’d expect from an experienced screenwriter, but the true power of this novel is the characters. Zoey especially is a complicated woman, successful in business and incredibly confident but still struggling to find her place in a society that gives women such specific rules to live by. Her struggles are real and honest, and I think all women can find themselves somewhere in her doubts and strengths.

I loved this novel, but I’m not sure the cover does it many favors. I saw the cover and title and immediately thought that this would be a fun romantic comedy. It is, but the heart of this novel is so much more. This is the story of one woman’s self-realizations, of her journey to find her forever person and all the pain and heartache that comes into her life and the lives of those around her because of it. There is a genuine depth to this story, and to the character of Zoey, that makes Bad Luck Bridesmaid a powerful story that is so much more than a simple romance. It’s definitely worth your time, but keep your tissues handy. And cue up your favorite female power ballads to dance it out with Zoey and Hannah.

Egalleys for Bad Luck Bridesmaid were provided by St. Martin’s Griffin through NetGalley, with many thanks.

I can’t decide whether I would classify this more as women’s fiction or as chick lit with a feminist bent. I loved the humor of the opening chapters and initially found Zoey and her friends easy to like. Then the story became more complicated, and I struggled with why the various characters were making so many crazy decisions. I won’t give away details because I think readers deserve to see the craziness unfold without any spoilers.

Zoey has an amazing relationship with her friend Hannah, and her loyalty and devotion to her friend is touching. However, she can be self-centered and downright mean at times, and her choices regarding language, sex, and substance use felt immature for her supposed 31 years. Thankfully, she does mature by the final chapters. I actually really loved the ending.

This wasn’t the charming romcom I was expecting, but in some ways, it’s even better. I really like this story of a different kind of happily ever after with a good message about self-acceptance and authenticity. It’s nice to see a story that compassionately acknowledges that not everyone wants love then marriage then a baby carriage.

If foul language and explicit depictions of premarital sex won’t bother you, then I recommend this.

I was given a free ARC through NetGalley, which I volunteered to review.

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for this ARC

If you liked 27 dresses but wanted to see what would happen if none of the weddings had gone through, this is for you! Zoey is admittedly a curse to all weddings. Every time she is asked to be a bridesmaid, the wedding inevitably falls through. So naturally, she isn’t so sure any relationship is meant to survive matrimony. When her boyfriend proposes she is forced to make the decision to say no, retreat, and lick her wounds.

If you go into this book expecting more humour than romance, then you will be delighted. I think my biggest problem was that I went in wanting more romance.

I did however love the elements of self discovery and growth! Worth the read if you, like me, have found yourself questioning the whole idea of romance and marriage!

This is a quick-read work of fiction about a woman who thinks she has been bad luck to the friends whose weddings in which she was to be a bridesmaid. This is an easy read, but I’m a bit ambivalent about the story. If you are looking for more of a romance-based fiction, I hesitate to say this is for you. It’s not a bad book, but it seems a bit repetitive with little payoff, while I appreciated the underlying message of the book of the value we assign ourselves. I liked it fine enough, but just didn’t love it so this is 3 stars ⭐️. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy for review

One Sentence Summary: After failing to get three brides down the aisle as a bridesmaid, Zooey doesn’t believe in marriage, and risks losing the love of her life if she doesn’t get her best friend, and fourth bride, down the aisle.

Overall
Bad Luck Bridesmaid is about one woman who has failed to see three brides walk down the aisle, so now she doesn’t believe in marriage and Forever despite being head over heels in love with her boyfriend, who soon becomes her ex-almost fiance. Now they’re both in Ireland for her best friend’s wedding, who also happens to be her ex’s cousin. What has the makings to be a fun rom-com style story is actually very much women’s fiction. We really get to know the main character, Zooey, and her fear of marriage as she comes to terms with what it all means to her. Overall, I felt the story behind her being bad luck was flimsy at best, but her relationships with some of the characters were a lot of fun and it was nice to see her come into her own, to see her stand on solid feet about her feelings on marriage.

Extended Thoughts
Zooey Marks believes she’s cursed. She’s been a bridesmaid in three weddings, but none of the brides managed to walk down the aisle. Believing herself cursed and completely incapable of believing in Forever, she nevertheless falls hard for her best friend’s cousin. It’s magical and perfect, until he gets down on one knee and she says she can’t.

Heartbroken, Zooey jets off to Ireland for her best friend’s wedding, dead set on getting her fourth bride down the aisle to break her curse and make her agree to Forever with the man whose heart she just shattered. Except the bride’s mother doesn’t want her daughter to marry a man she just met mere months ago and the groom’s brother is recently divorced and is now absolutely cynical about marriage, and her ex has just brought another woman to the wedding.

I really wanted to love this one. The description made it sound like it had all the makings for a hilarious rom com, and I do love a good rom com. Sadly, it didn’t quite deliver. There wasn’t much humor, but a lot of serious, nostalgic memories that seemed to make Zooey too sad and wistful to have a fun time. As women’s fiction, it really delivered, but Zooey was kind of insufferable and I really, really wanted to shake her every other page.

Bad Luck Bridesmaid sounds like it’ll be a lot of fun. While there were some fun parts, they felt too few and far between. Instead, it sometimes felt like a montage of memories from Zooey of her childhood, adulthood, and only serious romance. There were so many flashbacks it got tiring after a while. I really didn’t need the first few chapters that detailed how successful Zooey became at such a young age and how she failed to get two brides down the aisle. I did enjoy the romance, but I couldn’t stop wondering when the actual story was going to get going. It felt like a really long setup to what the book was supposed to be about: Zooey trying to get her fourth bride down the aisle. Fortunately, that part didn’t feel rushed and I loved how real and emotional it was, but the first half was entirely too long.

As for the story of a woman who thinks she’s a cursed bridesmaid? It was absolutely ridiculous to begin with. I was hoping for something really juicy and interesting, but it really came down to how self-centered Zooey was. Her reasons were flimsy at best, especially since she really seemed to want to be with the man she’d just said no to, and I just wanted to scream at her to stop thinking about herself. Or to just be honest. I found myself scratching my head about where her nutty ideas came from. It would have been nice if it had made for an interesting, fun, and funny story, but it just made me feel exhausted.

As women’s fiction, it did deliver. Bad Luck Bridesmaid tells the story of a very self-assured and successful woman coming to terms with herself. She’s just lost the love of her life and is now facing some hard truths about herself. Of course she runs away and tries to deflect. I really enjoyed how in her head and wrapped up in her emotions the reader gets, even if it was exhausting. It’s all about Zooey trying to figure herself out and what she wants. The thing that clicked in her head felt a little rushed and too easy, but I was satisfied by how the story ended.

Bad Luck Bridesmaid comes off as romance for most of the book. I actually forgot it was women’s fiction until the end because the romance was so strong. If it had been a romance, I could have done without the romance with the ex. It would have been quite fun as a romance with the groom’s brother. I enjoyed their animosity, and this really could have been a fun enemies to lovers story. As a matter of fact, I enjoyed their repartee much more than her romance with her ex.

Zooey, well, I had a hard time sympathizing with her. I did like just how assertive and strong and self-assured she is, but much of the story also revealed her many weaknesses and her inability to be self-assured, usually exactly when I wanted her to be the opposite. I wanted to like her, but I really just didn’t. As much as I enjoyed her journey, she just annoyed me. I get a lot of it was probably to protect herself, and that clearly she’s self-centered, but it too often felt a little much. I kept wanting to see a redeeming quality in her, but it took most of the book and some really great realizations in the nick of time to get there. I really didn’t like how she made it all about herself, and I just felt like the men in her life were little more than collateral damage.

What was really enjoyable was the setting. Set partly in Ireland, I really enjoyed it. I wish it had felt a little more green to me, but it’s set at a castle at a lake. How much more charming could it get? And there’s a forest where Zooey attempts to shake her fear of birds. But I loved how sumptuous the castle sounded. Even though it was Zooey staying at the hotel, I really enjoyed fantasizing about being there myself and taking a nice vacation. The castle sounded lovely and the descriptions of some of the skies was absolutely gorgeous. I couldn’t say for sure I felt like I was in Ireland, but I did feel like I was on a vacation.

As women’s fiction, Bad Luck Bridesmaid was a lot of fun as it really offered a window in one woman’s thoughts and how she discovered more of herself. Some of the story was too much on the flimsy side for me to really believe it and I really just wanted to shake and scream at Zooey. Her friendship with Hannah, though, was lovely and sweet and the animosity with the groom’s brother was absolutely delightful. Overall, the basis of the story felt a bit on the unsubstantial side and the main character was clearly choosing to not see what was right in front of her face, but this novel still has some good bits and pieces that were a lot of fun.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

Zoey had been a bridesmaid 3 times, and all 3 times the bride never made it down the aisle. When her best friend asks her to be her one and only bridesmaid, Zoe is determined to get her down the aisle at any cost, This was a fun romantic comedy with some dramatic moments thrown in for good measure. It’s a story full of love, friendship and self discovery.

Thank you Alison Rose Greenberg, St Martin’s Press - St. Martin's Griffin and Netgalley for the opportunity to review this ARC.

Zoey has been asked to be a bridesmaid three times, and each time the bride does not make it down the aisle. When her childhood best friend asks her to be her bridesmaid, she of course says yes! But is super nervous that her bad luck will cause her best friends’s wedding to not go as planned.

Along the way Zoey also chooses to not get involved in a romantic relationship. That is until Rylan enters her life and starts breaking down her walls!

This story was fantastic! A great friendship that changed throughout the story, a romance that ebbs and flows like a real life relationship, and lots of personal growth!

|| 𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖

Bad Luck Bridesmaid
Alison Rose Greenberg
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Happy debut to Meg!

|| 𝐒𝐘𝐍𝐎𝐏𝐒𝐈𝐒:
Zoey is your typical bridesmaid for life. Except she has yet to see a bride make it down the isle. Is she bad luck? What about her own love life? Can Zoey change things around for herself or does she find a new life path?

|| 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄:
•Women’s Fiction
•Not your typical HEA
•27 Dresses the movie
•Jewish Rep
•Purple Books because that’s always a plus to me!

|| 𝐌𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒:
I didn’t like one part of the epilogue. I’m just throwing that out there. There was a kiss I wish didn’t happen. Otherwise I loved the ending. Okay now that I have confessed that 😂 This was a different HEA. It’s a women’s fiction not a romance, but it does have some romantic elements to the story. I loved the lessons Zoey learned about herself and her worth, her friend’s worth, and just life lessons in general. Her friendship with Hannah was one of my favorite parts of the story and I just adored their funny moments and serious moments. This is a book made for any women who just needs a reminder they are 100% enough just being themselves and going for things they want.

Thank your St Martin’s Press romance and Netgalley for an E-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

In Bad Luck Bridesmaid Zoey has been a bridesmaid three times, but they all ended with no wedding happening. That combined with her general hesitance about forever love, she can't get herself to say yes when the boyfriend she loves asks her to marry him. When her best friend chooses her to be her maid of honor for her wedding, Zoey decides that making sure that wedding happens will prove to Rylan and herself that she's ready for getting married.

I found this to be a very funny book that I had a hard time putting down. You should make sure to approach this as a women's fiction rather than a romance, though it definitely has romance in it. With lots of wit, sass and shenanigans, this was a delightful read.

When I say I related to the main character, I mean I RELATED to the main character. I also had a lot of fears around getting married, and it took me A LOT of looking internally to be able to even talk about the possibility of getting married. But I possibly related too much. Because I wanted her to resolve issues the same way as I did. It grated me that she wouldn't just talk openly with her boyfriend about her worries, or try to find any compromises. I also didn't like that the boyfriend was not willing to bend at all. For people who loved each other so much, it was frustrating to see that they weren't willing to work together. I was worried in the middle, but I think the story by the end wraps up very well, it feels authentic and strong. Until we get there, she does stumble a lot and makes a lot of bad decisions.

I loved the tone and language of the book. The storytelling, the humor, it was great. I got immediately sucked into the story. Even just the way the story was told felt unique and engaging. The main character, Zoey, is one of the main reasons for such great delivery. She's strong, smart, successful, sassy. She's also flawed. She feels a unique and real character, a Jewish woman, who doesn't want to get married, but loves romcoms, a fierce friend and a badass at business too.

I really liked the emphasis on friendships. Zoey has a lot of strong women in her life who are there for her, and I love her relationships with them.

Onto parts I didn't like,
I didn't like the way the main character kept referring to herself as a "complicated woman", just like "not like other women" sets this idea that there are these generic, basic women, instead of celebrating everyone's complexity. Like "generic women" is something positive/negative that you gotta separate from.

I alluded to this, but in the middle Zoey gets a little selfish, unreasonable, and obsessed. I do wish the book had avoided that. This is the point where I really slowed down reading because I was so worried about which direction it was gonna go in. I can easily say it does go in the right direction and I found the ending very satisfying, but I had a lot of doubts.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book for its voice, storytelling and its main character. I loved that the main character was someone that I could so easily relate to with her fears around getting married. I found the book to be very funny, and I highlighted SO MUCH! Would recommend to any fans of the women's fiction.