The writing quality left a lot to be desired. I sadly couldn’t go past my 50 pages rule. Her childishness and behavior was just unpleasant to read.

This was a fun and fast read! It was cute, very Hallmark-esk. I loved the funny moments, and growth our FMC goes through. This is a great book to read if you're in a slump!

This unfortunately was a DNF for me. I am a perpetually single gal myself and I don;t know if this is the hopeless romantic in my, but I [really really f*cking hope] think there is someone out there for everyone. So I get super excited when my friend - frankly, anyone, finds their romantic person.

And I’m saying all of this to hopefully try to explain my thoughts before I say anything constructive [negative] about this book. I’m a people please at heart and I know how much work is put into making a book. But I really struggled with this one. I only made it 30% - so if you have read and you really enjoyed it, please please reach out to me and tell me that it’s a worth while read! I really struggled with how negative and unsupportive Zoey was towards each of her friend’s relationships. It really felt like she was hunting for red flags and reasons for them not to get married. And it was really hard watching her intentionally, unintentionally sabotage her relationship with Rylan.

This just made me sad and want to pick up other books. It made me depressed and anxious that if I ever find the one that I will just self-sabotage the f*ck out of the relationship and make him runaway so fast. So in the name of self-care and still holding out hope that there’s a man out there for me, it’s a DNF for me

I requested this book based on the title & description. As I read through it I was enjoying the romance and spice and feeling like I wanted Zoey to be my spirit animal. I loved how for the most part she was who she was with no apologies. I also vaguely compared my life to the story. Zoey had been asked to be a bridesmaid for 3 friends who ended up not getting married so she convinced herself it was her fault. She was bad luck to weddings. I've been married and divorced twice and basically have the same mind set that it is all me and love isn't meant for me, In reality I know that it couldn't be all me but sometimes it's hard to remember that.

Zoey loved Ryland but was so terrified of her bad luck that she couldn't or wouldn't commit to him and lost him. Then her best friend, Hannah, (also Ryland's cousin) tells her she's getting married, they are having a destination wedding in Ireland after meeting a few months ago. Oh yeah, and Ryland will be at the wedding and he's bringing someone. Zoey sees this as her chance to break her bad luck cycle if she can actually get Hannah down the aisle, then maybe she'd deserve Ryland and could commit to him. Hannah's mother and Ezra, the groom's brother both thing the couple are rushing into it and want to prevent the wedding.

Even though the book didn't end they way a heavy reader would predict I fully approve and support the way the author went. It was wonderful.

This was my first book by Alison Rose Greenberg and I really enjoyed it!!! Such a cute and funny romantic comedy!!! I look forward to reading more by this author!!! Read and enjoy!!!

A cute romance for those who love wedding books. I am a bit over them myself but this was cute and I feel a lot of readers will LOVE this one.

This book was so cute, we need more love stories with 30-40 year old main characters. It felt like there were a few too many story lines going on at times, but the story was well plotted overall. Was a little confused about the main character’s motivation to not get married, but the author explained it in a satisfactory manner by the end.

Zoey is different from most women. She is unafraid to be exactly who she is: fierce, independent, and opinionated about everything. Her strongest opinions come in the area of relationships where she isn't a fan and has sworn of the idea of marriage and commitment from an early age. Her friendships and their failure to marry doesn't do anything to help her views on marriage. Not once, not twice, but THREE whole times she is a bridesmaid in a wedding that doesn't end up happening. This has to be a sign that she is doomed, and marriage is a farce, right? Then her best friend since childhood meets a man and in a whirlwind is getting married and asks Zoey to be her bridesmaid. Given her track record, Zoey is understandably concerned for the fate of her friend's wedding.

So, this book was exceptionally different from most romance that I read. For one, it was much raunchier than I am used to. I guess maybe I read more fluffy romance than I realized, but this was noticeably spicier and *ahem* detailed in certain areas than most romance novels I read. I really appreciated the level of depth in the characters. They were struggling with a lot of very deep and existential issues rather than just what man do I chose/sleep with which tends to plague so many romance novels. This book is still light, but it isn't a totally brainless romance novel. Zoey does a lot of self-exploration and comes to a number of profound realizations about herself and life in general. I also really appreciate the author not feeling a need to wrap everything up in a pretty little happy ending bow. I found the ending satisfactory and consistent with the character's personality without being "perfect".

A fun and funny romantic romp, that doesn't quite fall into the rom-com category. Zoey has decided that she is the bad-luck bridesmaid, having prepared for three weddings, all of them being called off at the last minute. Zoey worries that her own ambivalence towards marriage is skewing decisions for those around her. As her best friend Hannah's wedding approaches, shortly after she has broken off her own engagement to Ryland, she becomes focused on all the ways in which she will ruin Hannah's happiness.

This book had some laugh-out-loud moments for me (that darned falcon!). But I just couldn't get invested in Zoey's story. Her continual focus on being a jinx on Hannah became tiring. I had some moments of mumbling, "just get over yourself". On the other hand, I want more of Hannah, her story held my attention. I believe that this book will be loved by many, just not fully for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the complimentary eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I DNfED this one because. i am sorry how does a main character that earned 40k a year can afford a two bedroom apartment in the West Village. How?

At first, I really didn’t like the writing style of this book and was extremely frustrated with Zoey and her decisions. But as I started to read on and truly began the understand what was going through Zoey’s mind and feelings, I found myself invested. Zoey’s journey to find herself and what she wanted out of romantic relationships is full of great dialogue, entertainment, pop culture references (hello T Swift fans; we also love a book with Star Wars references), and as my friend put it, “casual Jewish representation.”

This isn’t a typical romance novel but I’m so glad it came into my life🤘🏼

Huge thanks to St. Martin’s Press for my copy of Bad Luck Bridesmaid. @stmartinspress

Zoey is a free spirited, living in the moment, and confident woman. She’s all about living in the now and not wanting to ever get married until she meets Rylan. She falls deeply and passionately in love with him.

Then, she experiences her third wedding as a bridesmaid where the bride doesn’t walk down the aisle. She feels like she is cursed. She comes home to Rylan proposing to her. Instead of saying yes she asks Rylan for more time. Both end up heartbroken.

Three months later Zoey must meet Rylan again at her best friend’s wedding. Hannah is also Rylan’s cousin. What develops is not only a romance, but a finding yourself and not apologizing for who you are type of journey. We don’t only see Zoey and Rylan’s journey but also Hannah’s.

What a beautiful story this ended up being. While I didn’t understand Zoey all the time, I did respect her for her decisions. She knew deep down what she wanted and what she needed. While I also wished the story ended just a tad bit differently it does end with hope and new beginnings.

I am still thinking about this book and I finished it days ago. You need to check it out. :)

After turning down a proposal from her longtime boyfriend, Zoe is afraid that her attitude about marriage is rubbing off on her friends. After 3 of her friends ask her to be a bridesmaid and they all break off their engagements, she wonders if she's bad luck! Can she figure things out so that she's not bad luck anymore?

Oooof. This book was a mess. Normally I love mess, but I pretty much immediately realized that Zoey's particular brand of hot mess express wasn't going to work for me, and I was (mostly?) right. Let's start with some positives because while I personally didn't love this one, I do think that this could end up really working for the right reader! Firstly, I listened to this via audio and thought the narration and the pace of the story was great! I definitely recommend grabbing the audio if it is accessible to you. Another thing I really liked? This book was surprisingly naughty, and never in a way that felt awkward or forced, which I very much appreciated lol. With those things being said...... I still was never really able to get over my general dislike of Zoey. She gave off big Not Like Other Girls energy right out the gate and never really stopped and it bugged the heck out of me. I do think I could like something else written by Greenberg in the future, but unfortunately this one was not at all the book for me.

cw: infertility, antisemitism, cheating

Really enjoyed this story! My favorite part was Zoey's self-awareness and the way she told her story. It made her so relatable and was an asset to the story. i was expecting a more traditional romance/rom-com, but was pleasantly surprised with the overall story.

I went in this one thinking this would be a romance book, and it is but at the same time it's not.
Let me explain.
Zoey Marks has dubbed herself the "Bad Luck Bridesmaid." She has been a bridesmaid for 2 of her close friends and in both occasions the wedding didn't actually happened. She's not convinced that marriage is for her based on what she has seen with these two failed weddings, and this is a sentiment that she holds near and dear. Enter Ryland, her best friend's cousin, and potentially the love of her life. After a couple years spent in bliss together, Ryland asks for more. But Zoey is not sure she can make the ultimate commitment, marriage, even if she does love him with al her heart. They part ways and Zoey is crushed, but another opportunity to win Ryland back presents itself at Hannah's (Zoey's best friend) Ireland wedding where Ryland will be in attendance. Can Zoey move past her fears about commitment in order to be with the man she loves?

This was an interesting premise that grabbed my attention' but soon I saw that the main character and I were just not going to get along. She continuously plays the "not like other girls" card and puts women who don't think like her down. It is possible to not want to get married, and still respect individuals who do, without making snide remarks about it every other page. It just got to be too much.
I also found the character of Hannah and her predicament a lot more engaging and enjoyable to read than the MC. Can we maybe get a book written from Hannah's perspective?
All in all this was a fun, light read but not the best imo.

Thank you to the publisher for granting me access to this arc.

I really enjoyed this book! There is a term for a complicated woman who embraces the parts of herself that others might not understand- a force of nature. I relate to this sentence so much! Absolutely loved Zoe as a character and her hesitancy to get married. I also loved how it ended! Perfect ending to this story!

Bad Luck Bridesmaid was an enjoyable read. Filled with angst and romance, there were times that I wasn't exactly sure where things were going to go. I do have to admit that the main character got a bit frustrating at times. She almost seemed to cruely play with her love interest at times.
The characters were intriguing and very well written, as was the location in which the story took place. I enjoyed this author's writing style and look forward to reading more by her!

Synopsis: Zoey Marks believes she’s cursed. She’s watched 2 of her best friends jilt their fiancee’s and believes it must be because of her. After the second failed engagement, Zoey meets Rylan Harper III, her best friend’s, Hannah’s, cousin who is too good to be true. She falls madly in love, but because she thinks she’s cursed, she’s unable to accept his marriage proposal.
When Hannah tells Zoey she’s getting married, in Ireland, Zoey agrees to be her bridesmaid thinking if she can watch Hannah successfully get married, she can get Rylan back and make it to the altar with him.
However, once in Ireland, Zoey meets the grooms brother, Ezra, and complications arise.
What I liked: I enjoyed watching Zoey and Rylan’s relationship develop. Rylan is a great character, and honestly, he is a little too good to be true, but I loved him. I also enjoyed Zoey’s relationships with her female friends. And of course, any book set in Ireland works for me.

What I didn’t like: I don’t believe anyone is cursed and so the whole, I’m the reason no one gets married, I’m the curse, was a little unbelievable to me. Especially because the reasons for the weddings being cancelled were revealed and very plausible to me (for the most part).
And going back to Ireland-this was a failed opportunity for me. Yes, the story is set in Ireland, but the groom wasn’t actually from Ireland, he was born there and then early on his family moved to the US. There wasn’t a lot of Irish charm in this story.
Overall, though, this book was a good romance. I enjoyed reading about Zoey, I loved Rylan, I liked Hannah, and I liked the ending of this story.
Thank you to #netgalley and #stmartinsgriffin for the advanced e-copy of #badluckbridesmaid.

Books with a travel aspect are my favorite… and this one was no exception! Zoey is a phenomenal leading lady who stays true to her beliefs and self throughout the novel. This was a fantastic debut novel and i cannot wait to read more from this author!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher & Alison Rose Greenberg for kindly sharing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.