Almost as soon as I started this book I wondered if it wasn't for me. There was just something, maybe about Zoey, that just didn't sit well with me.

Boy, am I glad I ignored myself. I thought this book was really well done. It's the story of a woman in her 30's and her lifestyle choices that have gotten her to where she is today, and that is in no way a bad thing.

"But when the world tells you you're difficult, at some point, a little voice creeps inside and you start to ask yourself, Am I the mountain? Am I the very thing standing in my own way?"

That quote just speaks to me. I have thought this, I have felt this. It isn't the easiest life, not confirming to society's standards, but it is a beautiful life.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

3.5 stars
I can’t write this review without spoilers. I also don’t know what I fully think about this book. I went into this knowing this was not your typical romcom. I KNEW the ending. I thought I would absolutely hate this, but I don’t. I have mixed thoughts. Yes I wanted them together. I love Rylan and he seems like a great guy and perfect for Zoey. … but at the same time he isn’t perfect for her. In the end they both want something different out of a relationship. I don’t think she should have settled and gotten married if she doesn’t want to, and I don’t think he should settle and give up finding his true forever. As much as I would love to see them stay together and live forever without getting married, this isn’t what Rylan truly wants. It wouldn’t be fair to Zoey to be together and eventually maybe she changes her mind. No matter what someone is compromising what they want. This is what makes this so devastating. They both love each other sooo much, but in the end that just isn’t enough.

I wasn’t a huge fan for how this was written. I thought the beginning was super slow. I didn’t care for the background as much and just wanted to get to the part where she meets Rylan. Then I was just heartbroken for the entire last half of the book. I also just found it all pretty wordy and long paragraphs I tended to skip over. I just wanted the juicy scenes with Rylan and Zoey. I did enjoy how everything played out at the wedding, but him cheating of Mara was kind of just glazed over. I think Ezra and Zoey would be good together. They have an understanding that they both don’t want marriage, but it did seem pretty quick to happen. I know the real love story in this was between Hannah and Zoey, but I still wanted that happily ever after with Rylan.


I forgot to add that while I loved all the Red mentions, I think it needs to be updated to Red (Taylor’s Version)!!

Thank you SMP romance for my gifted copy!

First off, I’ve seen several places billing this as a second-chance romance. It’s most decidedly not; while Zoey’s romantic arc is a major feature of the book, it’s secondary to her own growth as a person.

Zoey is a self-proclaimed free spirit, perfectly content to be by herself. Her version of happiness is not having plans, not being tied down to anything, and the worst thing she can imagine is being permanently stuck with someone forever. But while she loves rom-coms, she’s never been in love herself – until Rylan. But when he wants what she can’t give him, they disastrously break up. Heartbroken and lost, she agrees to be the bridesmaid at her best friend’s wedding in Ireland, a wedding which her ex will also attend. But after watching three brides fail to make it down the aisle, Zoey’s decided that she’s the problem (oy, self-centered much?). Somehow, her fear of tying the knot is somehow subconsciously influencing her friends to have doubts. If she can get just one of her friends married, surely that will fix whatever’s wrong with her and she can say yes to Rylan happily. Fourth time’s the charm?

“I liked maps that didn’t lead to destinations. I was all about the journey, refusing to give intense thought as to where it would trap me.”


Zoey’s a complicated character. By that, I mean she’s a complete and utter mess (except for her career, of course, where’s she’s complete #bossbitch material). I vacillated between dislike and apathy for a good chunk of the book. She’s frequently self-centered, judgmental and rather shallow. So when she falls – hard – for her best friend’s cousin? Schadenfreude. Rylan may wear boat shoes, but he also owns an apartment in a brownstone that could frankly be featured in a Room and Board catalog and he seems to truly see and appreciate all of Zoey. While she’s prided herself on the fact that she’s always been upfront about her commitment to no commitments, with Rylan, she can’t quite get the words out. So when he proposes after over a year of dating? It’s a shock, but she should be able to finally say “yes” – if only for her curse. Frankly, I didn’t care much for Rylan, as he seemed fine with Zoey’s “quirkiness” until it clashed with his own expectations. Plus, his actions at the wedding – including showing up with a date who, it turns out, is clueless about his past relationship with Zoey – were so jerkish as to make him unredeemable to me.

There’s a lot of backstory that clogs up the pacing. The first 10% of the book covers Zoey’s first three attempts at being a bridesmaid, followed by the saga of her romance with Rylan. That part of the book was, well, aggressively fine. Sure, it was cute and everything, but as a romance reader, it just felt like it was missing something. It’s only during he second half of the book – once Zoey arrives in Ireland – that the pace picks up and I finally got engaged. There’s some truly funny bits (the Loch Ness monster had me laughing like a maniac) but what really kept me going was the train wreck-quality of watching all the messy characters interact. Because, while Zoey may be the messiest character in the book, the rest of the characters are all vying for second place. Hannah, a pinnacle of WASP perfection, has been Zoey’s best friend since they were tiny, and their friendship survived all of Zoey’s moves throughout childhood, despite their very different outlooks on life. They’ve been there through each other, thick and thin, but after a couple of truth bombs that could lead to marital issues down the line, Zoey’s determination to see Hannah walk down the aisle might not be the best thing for her best friend. Hannah’s future BIL, Ezra, who’s fresh off a divorce and deadset on convincing his brother that the marriage is a bad idea, is possibly the least messy, though he also gets points for being hilariously sarcastic.

Overall, 3.5 stars, rounded down to three, since it’s just aggressively fine. If you can get past the beginning, it’s a fun read, though most decidedly not a romance. Recommended if you like messy characters being their messiest at a destination wedding.

I received an advance review copy of this book from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

This book will be entertaining to those who love a steamy book that explores the expectations of marriage, love. and all of the complications that can intertwine. It is not a typical romantic comedy, but goes deeper into one woman's aspirations in life and love. Readers should be aware that there are frequent uses of four letter words, which may be offensive to some.
Thank you to Net Galley, St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin for the advance reader's copy and opportunity to provide my unbiased review.

I have to say Zoey is hilarious! She is so sassy and doesn't care what others think. She was great and definitely gave the book a unique spin. I thought the author did a great job examining the expectation of settling down and marriage. This book was a wonderful depiction of a strong and long lasting friendship. I am looking forward to what Alison Rose Greenberg writes next!

This was a DNF for me which is super disappointing to me because I was really excited about this book. I think my main issue is I found Zoey extremely self-centered and a bit unlikable. Only made it about 25% of the way through the book but the entire time it seemed like Zoey loved to talk about how superior she was compared to her "friends". Just could not connect to the characters at all.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

CW: cheating (side character and main couple), gendered language, unnecessary to plot mention of HP, anxiety/dression, panic attack (side character), fertility issues (side character)

SPOILERS just in case

This is a fiction read rather than a romance/rom com.

The author is clearly very talented and I really enjoyed her writing. This book was designed for me, tons of Taylor Swift mentions and other shout outs from my childhood and being a teenager.

Unfortunately I think there were stylistic things that made it so I couldn't fully immerse myself in the book. The MC seems very self absorbed. Rather than being sad her friends don't get married, or supporting them coming out, she makes their failed walk down the aisles about herself. While I don't mind an unlikable heroine, the extended prologue and then summary of her relationship with Rylan made it difficult to get invested in the story. Rylan while understandably angry (though much of this could be resolved by having a conversation) doesn't seem to understand/accept that some people just don't want to get married. It frustrated me that this book saw the world in such binary terms, that to not want marriage or anything else makes you "complicated' Love and family look like so many things, while I appreciated the MCs ARC it made this a very frustrating read.

Steam: 3.5

Getting friends down the aisle should be easy right? Well not for Zoey! The third time should be the charm…well, maybe the fourth!

Zoey Marks has been a bridesmaid for three of her friends over the years. Unfortunately, none of them have actually made it down the aisle! Zoey is pretty sure she is the reason. She swears she will not only never marry but will never be a bridesmaid again!

But then Zoey’s lifelong best friend Hannah introduces her to her cousin Rylan and all bets seem to be off! She falls in love…hard! So, when she knows Rylan is gearing up to ask her to marry him, why does she start sweating? She loves him with all her heart, but why does forever have to come with a document and a panic attack?

Then they break each other’s hearts, neither understanding the other’s reasoning as why they can’t have a traditional life together. She has now lost the love of her life.

Next Hannah drops a bombshell on Zoey. After dating a man, she sat next to on a plane, Graham, for only three months they decide to marry. And of course, if goes without saying that Zoey will be her bridesmaid, and oh by the way Rylan will be attending the wedding which is taking place in Ireland at a castle! Graham’s family it seems is well off.

But not everybody is happy with this arrangement including Hannah’s mother and Graham’s brother Ezra who seems to think none of this makes much sense. Zoey herself is confused as to how Hannah could know this man, unquestionably gorgeous, was the love of her life after only three months. Granted her fiancée looks at her with adoring eyes, but even so.

And during the wedding weekend with Rylan showing up with a plus one, Ezra constantly giving Zoey a hard time about Hannah being a gold digger and trying to sabotage their relationship and then to Zoey’s confusion Rylan declaring his love for her once again, could this wedding weekend get any worse? Why yes, it can!

Will Hannah get her happily ever after even though Zoey knows her back luck is beginning to seep into the festivities? Will Zoey finally realize what she wants for her ever after? And will it include Rylan?

Many life lessons will be learned in this funny, insightful, enjoyable romp of a story where friendships and love will be tested but hopefully for Zoey, she will see her bad luck change, although back luck in hindsight may actually be good luck!

Thank you #NetGalley #St.Martin’sGriffin #AlisonRoseGreenberg #BadLuckBridesmaid for the advanced copy. The book will be out in early January.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and St. Martin's Griffin for the advanced copy for review. All opinions are my own.

Bad Luck Bridesmaid was not the romance I was expecting, but I absolutely loved it.

Zoey believes that she is bad luck as a bridesmaid. Any time she's been a bridesmaid the bride doesn't go through with the wedding. This helps to cement her already non-traditional ideas about marriage and forever.

This book has so many highs and lows, love and sorrows. But the reigning theme is to be true to yourself and Zoey does that.

I loved the characters, the writing style, and the journey of the story. I will definitely be reading more by this author in the future.

I will leave a review on Jan 11 on Amazon or Barnes and Nobles

I found this to be a cute and entertaining read, not to heavy like so many books are that drag you down. This book just allowed me to laugh when I wanted too. I would recommend this book to others as a fun read.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher all opinions expressed here are my own.

Bad Luck Bridesmaid by Alison Rose Greenberg is a story about one woman’s search for happily ever after on her own terms. Zoey Marks believes she is cursed. Ten years and three weddings as a bridesmaid and no bride walking down the aisle. After the third failed wedding, she wonders if her own doubts about marriage haven't quietly influenced those she loves. When she turns down a proposal from her perfect All-American boyfriend that leaves both Rylan and herself heartbroken. She wonders what about marriage makes her want to run? When her best friend, Hannah, announces that she is getting married, to a guy she just met, at a gorgeous, romantic Irish castle, everything will be fine…right? Determined to undo this curse, she accepts yet another bridesmaid role and with more determination to get Hannah down the aisle. Zoey finds herself overwhelmed with more questions than she can answer. Can you be a free spirit and want a certain future? Can you love and be loved on your terms?
Bad Luck Bridesmaid is marketed as a “whip-smart” and a “celebration of complicated women and a power anthem to live your truth.” The premise sounded interesting to me so I picked it up. And it is an edgy romance. Edgy all right. It set my teeth on edge. Zoey is a completely unlikeable character that I could not relate to at all. I lost count how many times I cringed or rolled my eyes at something she said or did. She is supposed to be a modern woman in the modern world but I found her very toxic and self-centered. I kept with the book hoping that Zoey would have a lightbulb moment, a revelation that she can pinpoint “This is what I want” whether it is marriage or not. Unfortunately, she really doesn't. No real character growth at all. I also didn’t like that the writing felt off with a lack of cohesiveness and I felt disoriented while reading it. I do not recommend Bad Luck Bridesmaid.

Bad Luck Bridesmaid will be available in paperback, eBook, and audiobook on January 11

A character who uses Taylor Swift's Red album to cope with her breakup. A wedding at a castle in Ireland. A choreographed dance to Celine Dion's "It's All Coming Back to Me Now." There were so many aspects and scenes in this book that I enjoyed.

However, this book was a slow start for me, and it took me a while to get into the story. The beginning starts with a lot of backstory, and I would've enjoyed it more if this backstory was dispersed throughout the book instead of dumped at the beginning. Once I got a third into the book though, I started to enjoy the story lot more and I couldn't put the book down once our main character travels to Ireland for the wedding.

In terms of characters, I found Zoey to be a strong character, and how she processes her heartbreak was very relatable. However, I found her internal monologue repetitive and annoying in a lot of places. I loved Zoey's relationships though, especially her friendship with Hannah. Alison Rose Greenberg uses this relationship to explore many themes related to friendship and feminism, and I appreciated all of the themes this book chose to explore. However, in some places, the book became a little preachy with its themes, rather than letting its strong character relationships and arcs speak for themselves.

Outside of friendships, the romance in the book was also well written. I really believed Zoey's love for Rylan, their chemistry, and her heartbreak. While I loved the romance and friendships in this book, I had some issues with the pacing and our main character Zoey. Still, if you're intrigued by the synopsis of the book, I'd recommend it. It was overall an enjoyable read for me, and I think it delivers on the promise of the synopsis.

Thank you for providing me with a copy of this book to review!

This was an enjoyable book. A woman thinks that she is a bad luck bridesmaid and is panicking when her best friend is about to be married. I really enjoyed the story plot line. It's unique and different at the time I was reading it. The writing from the beginning is very easy to be hooked into which I think the author did an amazing job with. The author's writing style was very well done with how she paced the book, plotted it and dropped in some amazing twists. The setting was one of the best parts of the book has a good chunk takes place in Ireland. There is also a lot of comedy in this rom com book so be ready to laugh.

I enjoyed the main character, Zoey, in this book. The book is written in her pov and she talks about how she thinks she is bad luck. She develops throughout the story which I enjoyed because of the way she had to think about her love life. There are many side characters in this book that I also enjoyed like Zoey's best friend but I wished the characters were more involved in the book. Now I have to say that this book kind of lacked the romance in the rom com. There is this love triangle/ enemies to lovers trope that I wished I saw Zoey with her new love longer then it actually was. I didn't really enjoy the fact that she focused too much on her ex throughout the novel.

The ending was very well done with a hawk being mentioned. It was cute but I wish there was more cute scenes in the middle of the book too. Overall this book was a great read. I really enjoyed this book with the story plot line and comedy. I just wish there was better romance as that was what I was mostly expecting. I can't think of any book that is similar to this one so consider it being a unique read which you will never find except here!

This one was just ok for me. I thought the main character was very tough to root for and unwilling to compromise or have a conversation about what upset her.

I feel like this book was a bit of a conundrum for me. I liked it and I needed to know what happened, but I don’t feel like it fit as a rid a traditional romance, It wasn’t a romcom, but it wasn’t literary fiction either. I had the traipsing of a traditional romance, but the ending threw me. This was a very character driven book, but some of the characters felt a little light…I wanted Graham and Ezra to have a little more depth. Once Zoey got to Ireland I could not put it down!

*I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. I received this copy free in exchange for my honest review.*

going in I thought this book would be fun and about a rekindling romance at a wedding but the roller coaster of emotions really left me feeling like I was played... while a taylor swift playlist was on.

from the start I didn't mesh well with the writing, it felt too dramatic and the amount of time spent on the recap of ALL the failed weddings zoey had been apart of was taxing. we not only heard the backstory of zoey meeting each friend but also the full scene of the wedding day unraveling. simply the information I didn't think was necessary to get the point of the story's title across. and even with all that explanation we never get the full picture of why zoey lets others' feelings in their relationships influence her own view on marriage. as mentioned many times, even her own parents are an example of a lasting marriage. (it made me wonder if zoey had ever been invited to a wedding that she wasn't part of the wedding party??? why does she think it's her?)

besides this, we get introduced to the long-term relationship with rylan and he was her guy. she loved him so much and found him to be the perfect man in comparison to her complicated flaws (a fact that was repeated many times in the book). as we already know going in, he proposes and she says no, they meet again at zoey's best friend's wedding - who also happens to be rylan's cousin - and the feelings are still just as strong for both of them even though rylan came with a date.

the story is just messy after this. and I love some mess in a story BUT we literally get put through so much tension, feelings, touches, and cheating (!!!) that the ending?! excuse me?! I have no problem with the fact that zoey knows she doesn't want or need marriage and rylan and her just have to part even though they do love each other, they just want drastically different things. (though in their years together this conversation should've come up seriously before. why didn't she properly reflect earlier and talk with him, not just saying she's bad luck?) the thing that left me feeling played is how abrupt everything felt. the last two chapters were so short and didn't explain much. I was still processing the last 2% of the story and zoey is in the arms of the best man? living her best life like it was nothing? what? there's no real assessment of why she feels that way. she's just told she's actually good luck once and yea, that must be it. lol.

the best part of this was the friendship between hannah and zoey. I think if the focus should've been more on her being the best bridesmaid and not getting rylan back as the summary states. I loved how down for Hannah zoey was. she didn't care if she had to look ridiculous for her best friend to be comfortable and have her moment (thinking of the rowboat scene). and if the pacing had been better - especially at the end when I think more inner monologue would've been good - the ending wouldn't have felt so bad for me as a reader.

Zoey Marks is a cursed bridesmaids. Every time she's been someone's bridesmaid, they end up not going through with the wedding. After the third strike, Zoey is starting to wonder if her ambivalence towards marriage has began to rub off on her loved ones. Zoey prides herself on dodging the bullet that is long term relationships. She eventually gets coerced by her best friend to go on a blind date with her cousin, which ends in her letting her commitment issues completely destroy their relationship when he proposes 2 years later and she turns him down. It seems that in all their time together she was never able to explain her extreme dislike of marriage or that their versions of forever are VERY different. Just so much unnecessary heartache that could have been avoided. She leads him on believing that they have a future where she is just enjoying the time and putting off any commitment. If you like messy characters and relationships this book is for you. Overall I enjoyed this one but it wasn't the story I was expecting.

Bad Luck Bridesmaid publishes January 11. Thanks to St. Martin's Press, Neygalley and the author for an advanced copy of the book.

I could not finish this book. It started in the worst possible way and then proceeded to give a ton of backstory. A good romance novel is able to get the current plot going while mixing in backstory. In the few pages I read the main character was a bit full of herself and I hated how she talked about her friend's relationship. I could tell right away this was a book I would not like and did not want to force myself to read it.

It also weirded me out that the main character has the same name as the author's daughter.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic copy to read and review.

Zoey doesn't exactly hate love. She just doesn't like marriage. After being a bridesmaid in 3 non-weddings, Zoey knows that she is a bad luck charm. She doesn't trust the concept of marriage; so much so that she rejects the proposal from the 'perfect' man; her love, Rylan. After being asked to be a bridesmaid again, Zoey is determined to fall in love with marriage and prove she isn't a bad luck bridesmaid. This was a pretty good read - fast, funny, and enjoyable. I liked the ending quite a lot even though it wasn't what I expected.

Alexa, play Champagne Problems by Taylor Swift.

I could NOT put this book down! It was funny and had some swoony moments, but be warned this is NOT a rom-com. I do think the title and cover are misleading - the tone of the book was not at all what I expected, but actually better. While in line with the illustrated cover trend, I think this one does the book a disservice. I would classify this book more as general Women's Fiction than a romance. I've heard that this has been optioned for a film adaptation which I am ALL for - I think it would make a fantastic movie, especially if filmed on location in Ireland!

All in all this book is much more about Zoey living her life on her own terms and the pressure on women to fulfill certain milestones in their life. You can feel the bond between Zoey and her friend Hannah and how at the end of the day the most important relationships in your life do not have to be romantic.

The book is actually laugh out loud funny one moment and then soul crushing. Thanks to Alison Rose Greenberg's writing I was so engaged with Zoey and her ups and downs. To be honest I'm shocked this is her first novel - I'm ready to read what she does next!!