Name: Bad Luck Bridesmaid
ISBN: 9781250791597

Alison Rose Greenberg

This is not a rom com. You’ve been warned. Whip-smart, heartfelt and joyful, Alison Rose Greenberg's Bad Luck Bridesmaid is a celebration of complicated women and a power-anthem to live your truth. It’s official: Zoey Marks is the cursed bridesmaid that no engagement can survive. Ten years, three empire waist dresses, and ZERO brides have walked down the aisle. After strike three, Zoey is left wondering if her own ambivalence towards marriage has rubbed off on those she loves. And when her building distrust of matrimony culminates in turning down a proposal from her perfect All-American boyfriend, Rylan Harper III, she and Rylan are both left heartbroken, leaving Zoey to wonder: what is it exactly about tying the knot that makes her want to run in the opposite direction? Enter Hannah Green: Zoey’s best friend, who announces that she’s marrying a guy she just met (cue eye roll). At a castle. In gorgeous, romantic Ireland, where Rylan will be in attendance, and Zoey will be a bridesmaid. It’ll be fine. Okay, the woman definition of fine (NOT FINE). Determined to turn her luck around, Zoey accepts her role and vows to get Hannah down the aisle—all the while praying her best friend’s wedded bliss will allow her to embrace marriage and get Rylan back. But as the weekend goes on, Zoey is plagued with more questions than answers. Can you be a free spirit, yet still want a certain future? Can you have love and be loved on your terms? And how DO you wrangle a bossy falcon into doing your bidding?

A Novel

Bad Luck Bridesmaid

sydney

** spoiler alert **
           *3.5

i received an arc through netgalley. 

I really wanted to like this book but I just didn’t. The main point of the book is that hannah can’t say yes to rylans proposal but there is never a good enough reason as to why she can’t. I figured they wouldn’t end up together but her just deciding that she can’t get married made no sense to me.

Skye

Bad Luck Bridesmaid is the contemporary I didn’t know I needed! It’ll pull you in with the witty, badass main character, and it’ll keep you there with the heart and absolute relatability. Even if you aren’t a Zoey Marks, you will be able to see pieces of yourself somewhere in this story. 

From start to finish, Bad Luck Bridesmaid serves as a reminder to women that it’s okay to be true to ourselves. It’s okay to grow and learn. It’s okay to let go of things and people that just don’t fit. But most importantly, it’s okay — and necessary — to accept who we are and respect the journey to who we want to be.

With an unexpected, yet entirely refreshing ending, this book has turned me into a true fan of author, Alison Rose Greenberg. Her storytelling is unapologetic, relatable, and empowering. I’ll just check the “auto-buy-author” box under her profile now!

Reader beware: Bad Luck Bridesmaid is not a rom com. Is there romance? Yes. Is there comedy? Yes. But prepare for a journey that doesn’t necessarily look like you might expect it to. 

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and SMP Romance for an advance copy of Bad Luck Bridesmaid! It will be available to everyone on January 11, 2022!

Lauren Sullivan

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.

Content notes: (view spoiler)[infertility, anti-semitism, cheating (main character), anxiety, panic attack (on-page), depression, alcohol (hide spoiler)]

Leah | @LeahsLittlePleasures

“Love, no matter how great, was not always enough.” // “Complicated women. We sure are fucking magical.”

Well, this was just amazing and an absolute delight filled with snark and so many feels and emotions and all the complications that come with just being a human. I LOVED IT. It is not your average rom-com - in fact, it's probably more like contemporary fiction with romance - and I'm so happy it’s being adapted for screen!

Zoey is officially a bad luck bridesmaid: 10 years, 3 bridesmaid dresses, and 0 brides have walked down the aisle. Have her complicated feelings towards marriage rubbed off on her friends and almost brides-to-be? Still reeling from some of these revelations, Zoey accepts a blind date by her matchmaking best friend, Hannah, where she meets and falls madly in love with Rylan, Hannah's cousin. But alas, some things don't always work out, especially when the guy you love asks you to marry him... wait... what? And when Hannah gets engaged to a guy she just met and asks Zoey to be a bridesmaid, Zoey must face not only Rylan but her internal struggles with marriage and the trajectory of her life. And will she win Rylan back?!

This was such a charming, hilarious, and intelligent story. There are fierce female friendships and some extravagantly crazy LOL moments, but there's also screaming in the face of societal norms and pressures and loving yourself for who you are no matter what others think and how society might tell you to be.

I related to Zoey on SO MANY LEVELS. And oh my, THE STRESS. My stomach was in knots during the whole middle of this journey. But it was worth it and PHENOMENAL. I'm really hoping we get more!

Ultimately, Bad Luck Bridesmaid is a tale of finding yourself, embracing who you are, and just you loving you all the more for it. After all, being human is COMPLICATED. Of course, there’s a beautiful yet very heartbreaking love story and witty, snarky banter and intense steam and all that goodness, but this book is also about the love story you have with yourself and never giving up on who you are. If you NEED a HEA with your romances or prefer those, this may not be for you!

READ THIS IF YOU ALSO LIKE:
— witty, snarky, fun, vivacious stories
— slight age gap
— internal heavy dialogue
— NYC and Scottish settings

“There’s a term for a complicated woman who embraces the parts of herself that others might not understand. A force of nature. That’s me, forever.”

Possible Content Warnings: infertility, family drama, cheating, breakups

Bad Luck Bridesmaid will be out on January 11, 2022! Thank you so much St. Martin's Press for the advanced review copy. One of my favorites of the year!

Summer Cashmore

I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and spent a rainy, dreary Sunday reading it from cover to cover and really enjoyed it. Do not be fooled by the quirky synopsis and the cute cover - this is not your standard chick-lit novel. It is romantic, yes, but also moving and insightful and funny. 

The protagonist, Zoey Marks, is smart, driven and successful, but also flawed, uncertain and complicated particularly when it comes to love. After spending her life determined never to fall in love and get married, Zoey meets Rylan and falls hopelessly in love with him. What follows is an examination of the social constructs of love and relationships and why expectations often lead to disappointment. 

I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it! Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing an advance copy of this book and thank you Alison Greenberg for writing a romance book that breaks all the rules!

SYNOPSIS
It’s official: Zoey Marks is the cursed bridesmaid that no engagement can survive. Ten years, three empire waist dresses, and ZERO brides have walked down the aisle.

After strike three, Zoey is left wondering if her own ambivalence towards marriage has rubbed off on those she loves. And when her building distrust of matrimony culminates in turning down a proposal from her perfect All-American boyfriend, Rylan Harper III, she and Rylan are both left heartbroken, leaving Zoey to wonder: what is it exactly about tying the knot that makes her want to run in the opposite direction?

Determined to turn her luck around, Zoey accepts her role and vows to get her best friend, Hannah, down the aisle―all the while praying her best friend’s wedded bliss will allow her to embrace marriage and get Rylan back.

But as the weekend goes on, Zoey is plagued with more questions than answers. Can you be a free spirit, yet still want a certain future? Can you have love and be loved on your terms? And how DO you wrangle a bossy falcon into doing your bidding?

Sharon Steinman

I was looking for something light to read and was happy to get this ARC on Netgalley. Thank you to forever publishing for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Zoey Marks isn't necessarily sold on marriage. Although her parents have a happy marriage and a great life together she isn't sure it's something for her. She dated casually and had a great time dating but she really hasn't had anything serious.

She's asked to be a bridesmaid at her friend's wedding however the bride goes and doesn't show up to the wedding. Zoey thinks how crazy this is.. it happens two more times so clearly this can't be a coincidence. So she is a definite jinx for weddings.

The story is a bit humorous at times and had me laughing a bit. It's a pleasant read and it is a feel good story and sometimes that's all you want to read. I would give this book 3.75.

It's a cute story that kept me reading and captured my attention.

Bad Luck Bridesmaid A Novel

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