At the end, I did enjoy this book. But the journey through could've been much better. I felt that the beginning was far too slow and the ending was far too fast. The relationship dynamics weren't built enough and the ending was entirely too rushed. This could've been a great book but it was just mediocre.

“Bad Luck Bridesmaid” by Alison Rose Greenberg
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: 1/11/22

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC! I would not consider this a romcom, but more contemporary romance/fiction. I had zero expectations, but was pleasantly surprised. This was a fast fun read. This book shares the story of Zoey discovering her wants and needs for her future.

Zoey Marks believes she is a cursed bridesmaid. In the last decade Zoey has been a bridesmaid in three weddings and all were cancelled before “I Do.” Zoey has spent her adulthood bouncing from one man to the next not believing in long term relationships until she meets Rylan. Rylan is making her say “Yes” to everything she always says “No.” The only problem is Rylan wants marriage and that is something Zoey isn’t willing to compromise on. When her best friends Hannah gets engaged and once again Zoey is asked to be a bridesmaid she is wondering if the curse is ending or if she has to view marriage as something more than a lifetime commitment.

Zoey Marks is THE Bad Luck Bridesmaid. After accepting the title of Bridesmaid in three different weddings, zero of the brides have managed to make it down the aisle. She starts questioning the concept of love at all - until she meets Rylan Harper III. After falling hard and fast, Zoey has to ask herself: if love is real, can marriage be ever lasting, too? And will her fourth time as a bridesmaid, at her best friend Hannah’s wedding, be any different than the last?

This book is not quite what I expected, which for me is a good thing! I tend to enjoy, but not absolutely love, most romance books. However, this one had so many more layers than a typical romance book, featuring a main character who, instead of dreaming about finding a husband her entire life, has questioned the idea of marriage. I enjoyed the principle that someone could be fully in love with another person, and yet still question marriage. This is perfectly juxtaposed with the story of her best friend Hannah, who has always been comfortable with the idea of marriage, and yet struggled to find someone to adequately love her. In a way, the story is saying that however you choose to carry out your life, it’s perfectly valid, which I really appreciated. (I can also appreciate that some people might be rubbed the wrong way about this if they’re expecting a typical romance novel, but for me it hit home.)

The character of Zoey Marks was a hoot right from the start. From the first chapter, I was impressed with the way that her personality came straight off the page. I could tell she had some sass to her, yet still cared about the people around her. Yes, over the course of the book she got in her head a bit, but for me that was something I connected with. Like most of the people I know, she swore occasionally and questioned what she was doing ever so often. She messed up and tried to fix it, sometimes failing even still. I loved her relationship with her best friend, Hannah, and the idea that love can be shared through friendships, too. The two of them together was the perfect story that I needed in my life at this very moment.

Bad Luck Bridesmaid hooked me from start to finish. I could barely put it down, and breezed through it in two days. The most addicting thing to me was that, unlike a typical romance, you truly didn’t know how the story was going to end - even 75% of the way through, I didn’t know what Zoey would do. While it did contain a few very steamy sex scenes, this book was more about finding yourself through your relationships to others. To me, the author’s twist on the classic romance genre was *chef’s kiss*. I would read from this author again in the future without a second thought!

I was expecting this book to be more of a rom-com, but it was more serious than that. It referenced Taylor Swift a few times, including All Too Well about a breakup, and that seemed appropriate to me. It was just a little more dramatic and melancholy than I expect my rom-coms to be. I’m not sure what genre this should be in… I’m guessing more “women’s fiction” than romance, but the cover and title are deceptively rom-com-y. I struggled with the book at the beginning because of my misconceptions, but then once I accepted it for what it was, I enjoyed it. I liked the character development and complexity. I’m not sure I’d recommend it unless I knew the person liked reading about relationship drama.

Zoey is a fantastic heroine. She's strong and independent. The book is full of laugh out loud moments. I enjoyed the journey. I was pulled into the emotions of her journey through all the wedding events. I loved how she stayed true to herself through it all. I received an advance copy from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy for review.

I got to 23% in this and decided to give up on it. I don’t like or feel a connection to anything and it doesn’t seem like anything is happening. I do not want to keep reading this. Not for me.

#BadLuckBridesmaid:

“Had I become every protagonist in every rom-com? Was I Sandra Bullock, Julia Roberts, Katherine Heigl... but with a rib cage tattoo?”

Zoey is bad luck. No, really. She’s a badass at life, but every time she’s a bridesmaid, the bride never makes it down the aisle. Does she believe in love? Sure. Does she believe in marriage? Based off the last 3 walks to “The Luckiest”.. not so much. Can she make it 1 for 4 with her best friend now walking and she’s nursing the hardest heartbreak she’s encountered?

I thought this was a fun book. First off, these musical choices between Mazzy Star, hating U2, to Ben Folds, I was swimming in all the feels. I enjoyed Zoey as a character and really loved watching her in different relationships. Sarah Naughton is the reader, and I’ve come to enjoy Sarah after listening to Float Plan. She brought Zoey to life and had me laughing at the best and right times. The snark played out so well with her reading.

The only thing that really didn’t sell me on was the love and heartbreak for Zoey and Ryland. I didn’t really feel so “bad” for Zoey because I felt I couldn’t connect to their romance to really long for that rekindle after the breakup. I felt like all the flashbacks were fun, but didn’t really grip to me long for them to get back together. It helped mold the complacency she felt, but I felt we could see her grow better without with less of the book about that.

Overall, the book was a wonderful depiction of love and long lasting friendships, but I wished it was more about said relationships instead of pining over what was lost. There are funny and inappropriately hilarious parts, that I couldn’t help but think these were my people and my friends.

Thank you so much MacMillan Audio!

3.5 stars. I liked the plot of this book, I just didn’t care for the main romance aspect. it dragged on a little too long for a kind of meh resolution. otherwise I rather enjoyed zoey’s internal monologue, her best friend, and ezra. I just wish we had a little more of him

The premise of this sounds great, but whew, that Zoey is cranky. This one just didn’t land for me. Thanks for letting me give it a try.

Zoey Marks has been a bridesmaid 3 times... to brides who have not made it down the aisle. Crowning herself 'Bad luck bridesmaid', her view on marriage has been tainted, making her realize that its not for her. When her perfect boyfriend Rylan proposes, she is desperate to have her mind changed, but is unable to take the plunge, leaving them both heartbroken. Her bestfriend Hannah comes to her, asking for her to be the only bridesmaid in her upcoming marriage to a man she just met, in Ireland. Zoey is convinced that if she can get Hannah down the aisle, it means that she will be ready to make it down the aisle herself.

I liked this a lot more than I originally thought I would! The writing style is addictive, and very easy to read. I enjoyed Zoey as a main character, especially because she was flawed and she knew it. I loved the self-discovery journey she began and how her story concluded. I also loved Hannah, Zoey's bestfriend and how supportive they both were of one another. I was not the biggest fan of the way Rylan and Zoey acted at Hannah's wedding - but I don't want to spoil anything. I listened to this on audiobook, and I thought the narrator did a great job with these characters and their story!

Zoey Marks believes she is the reason that all of the weddings she has been a bridesmaid in have not happened. That she alone has the power to control other peoples lives and she uses it as a reason to explain why she abhors the concept of marriage. She has basically weaponized her being bad luck and wears it like a shield. Even if I let go of all conscious thought, emotion and logic, this did not work for me. It is not a romantic comedy or a romantic anything. Women’s fiction yes, romance not even a little. Zoey is incapable of speaking her truth that she just doesn’t want to be married and she treats the men in her life terribly. No one is a mind reader and she just strings them along without sharing her feelings or even acknowledging what her truth really is. I’m not sure she is even capable of accepting the responsibility or owning her own feelings and emotions. I felt badly for all the people she left in her wake of selfishness. No one should be in a relationship of any kind if they don’t want to be there, but they should be honest and decent with those they claim to care about and love. She was neither off these. My heart broke for Rylan. Good narration.

Thanks NetGalley & St. Martin's Press for the preview of this book! This cute, quick read isn't your typical meet-cute love story; it takes different twists and turns and is less predictable than most. This story follows Zoey, who has been asked three different times to be a bridesmaid, all resulting in 0 marriages. Zoey is an edgy go-getter, but is somewhat hard to like. It's hard to understand why she decides certain things, or what motivates her. While I found the story engrossing, it was hard to follow at points and you don't feel so inclined to root for Zoey. However, I loved that the story wasn't cliché, all the way through the ending.

After being a bridesmaid in three unsuccessful weddings, Zoey is convinced she's cursed. She's smart, funny and successful, but she runs away from the mention of marriage, hesitant to get into a lifelong agreement. It eventually costs her her relationship with Rylan. When she travels overseas to be a bridesmaid in her best friend's wedding, Rylan happens to also attend, Zoey must face her fears on marriage, love, and everlasting relationships - or she will miss out on happiness. This book was very cute, and I enjoyed it despite not reading much romance. I always think romance plots are tiring, but Bad Luck Bridesmaid was non traditional and kept me wondering what would happen. I think this would be a great book club book!

If you are looking for a sweet romcom where a complicated woman discovers just the man for her, keep looking. This is not your book. If, however, you are looking for a book with a complicated heroine who spends several hundred pages deciding how she really feels about the sacrament of marriage, then this is your book. I can't say I am a big fan of Zoey Marks. She uses the F-word way too frequently and I just couldn't relate to her. Her decision-making is flawed and I find it hard to believe that she really is as highly placed in the career world as the plot indicates. There are some truths revealed regarding friendship and our relationships to our mothers that were worth catching. So, I am rounding up to 3 stars.

Thank you to St. Martins and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

As much as I wanted to enjoy this one - I had to DNF around the 42% mark. I wanted to hold out hope for Zoey that she would reach her own special version of happily ever after but I couldn't handle it. Listening to her thoughts and just the constant monologues blaming her severe case of anti-marriage on her being a bridesmaid at failed weddings.

I'm sure if I kept on going with it, I might've continued to have a soft spot for Zoey but it just wasn't happening. Her cynicism was just too much for me to handle right now - so maybe it's a me thing?

I hope others read this one and enjoy it way more than I did! :)

Zoey has been a bridesmaid three times and all three times the bride has not gotten married and reinforced her decision to never get married. When her best friend Hannah asks her to be her bridesmaid, she really does not want to do it, but Hannah insists. How you view events in your life is a matter of perspective and this story shows different ones and goes in interesting directions.

Ok, this was a fun and sexy rom com/women’s fiction. I really enjoyed seeing the evolution of Zoey. I liked seeing how she was unapologetically her and was such a badass in her professional life.

I enjoyed seeing her relationship with Rylan progress. From the beginning to the end.

Ultimately this book was more about Zoey’s friendship with Hannah and how that relationship meant the most to her.

I did feel a little frustrated about Zoey’s reasoning for not wanting to get married. I feel like for the longest time she didn’t have a “good” one and it took her a while to be able to verbalize her decision.

Overall this was an enjoyable book. It felt broken into a few parts that didn’t quiet connect fully, at least to me. But I would still recommend. (3.5/5)

Who doesn't love a wedding??

This book was definitely interesting and entertaining at times. I personally love dialogue and unfortunately this book didn't have much of it.

Thank you to NetGalley and St.Martin's Press for the earc innreturn for an honest review.

Just no.

While this appears to be a fluffy, light-hearted rom-com, it is not.

Zoey is a 31-year-old who is a curse because she has been a bridesmaid in three weddings that never happened. Okaaay…not sure why she thought she was even considered as a curse as she had absolutely nothing to do with the aborted weddings. She falls in love with Rylan (a GQ of a man), and they date for two years before he pops the question. She says no…even though he is her soulmate, and she’ll love him “Forever”. They break up only to meet back up three months later at her bff’s wedding (yes, she’s a bridesmaid, and he’s the bff’s cousin). He has a new girlfriend. Will they get back together? Will Rylan agree to be strung along Forever while Zoey remains free to live her best life and “be herself”? Do I really care?

I hate to say it, but I honestly have not disliked a book this much in a long time…the characters, the plot, the cheating, the zero growth of said characters. Zoey is probably the most selfish character I’ve ever read. Annoying and immature characters, foul language and a 180-degree turn at the end that made no sense…just no.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #StMartinsGriffin for providing me the free early arc of #BadLuckBridesmaid for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

“I wasn’t a fragile, bleeding wound. I was an authentically confident woman.”

Zoey is a self-proclaimed “bad luck” bridesmaid after being in three weddings where each bride fails to walk down the aisle. She internalizes this and begins to have doubts about marriage. Rylan takes her by surprise, but can they survive her aversion to marriage?

With nods to pop culture like Taylor Swift and Titanic, Greenberg weaves a story of self-reflection, self-love, and the love of Forever friends. There’s very much a Meredith and Christina vibe between Zoey and Hannah: “ Anytime life felt like it was punching back, Hannah and I had a ritual: turn the music up as loudly as possible, and dance it out.”. Side note: Grey’s Anatomy is my fave TV show and everyone needs “their” person!

It’s clear Zoey struggles with self-confidence at times, but I love that she’s not afraid to embrace her quirky, sarcastic side and people can take it or leave it. Because of the ending and the overall message of friendship and self-love, this is less of a romance and more of a Women’s Fiction book. There are definitely some well-written romance/sex scenes!

CW: cheating plays a prominent part in the last parts of the book

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy!