The redeeming grace in this book was the steamy scenes, the rest of it was meh. The story went on too long, the wallowing heartbreak was too much, the characters were too self absorbed, everyone was too perfect. There was no diversity other than Zoey being Jewish with curly hair everyone was white and rich and educated and untouched by reality. If it weren't for the sex scenes that gave me a but of a tingle this would be a 2 star at best.

Don't be misled by the chick-lit cover. This book might have some laugh-out-loud-on-the-subway moments and as many horrid bridesmaid dresses as you might ever imagine but it's got a serious core of questions about commitment, conflict, and the real meaning of happily ever after.

Zoey might have jinxed the last 3 weddings she's been part of and torpedoed the best relationship she's ever likely to have, but those minor details won't stop her working to make her best friend Hannah's Scottish wedding absolutely perfect. Even if she has private doubts about the groom. And public doubts about his best man. And MAJOR doubts about her own ability to cope with a wedding party that includes both her own much-lamented ex and his utterly un-lamented mother.

In between the pratfalls and the parties, the fabulous settings and the marathon sex, this debut novel is far more an exploration of Zoey's expanding self-awareness than a giggle-a-page rom-com. It's very readable and won't disappoint if you aren't expecting a fluffy romance.

Growing up in the 90s and 00’s I have a close relationship with all types of pop culture rom coms. I definitely love watching, reading any rom com trope, as I overall can’t get enough of the genre itself.
Bad Luck Bridesmaid was a page turner from the start, and enjoyed every quirk, every cringe moment, every romantic gesture, and of course every pop culture reference.. Swifties, hang on tight you’re going to want to read this one ASAP.
But aside from the romance, there’s a much stronger, more important message. In this sweet, humorous written novel, you’ll find you might learn a thing or two about yourself as well. I know I did.
They say third time’s the charm.. right? *wink*

I loved the character of Zoey and brava to Greenberg for letting her character stay true to herself from beginning to end despite the hard spots it puts her in. I'm going to recommend this book just for that happy little tidbit.
This book has a bit of a mixed personality in that it starts out a total rom-com, veers into sappy romance, drops into very heavy drama, and then ties it all up with perfect rom-com goodness once again. The heavy drama was unexpected but understandable as an important part of Zoey's character arc and a big reason why I ended up loving everything about her character. You walk away understanding all her choices and appreciating her desire to live her way. I'm also jealous of the wonderfully magical relationship she has with her best friend, Hannah.
Greenberg does an expert job of creating character relationships that feel true-to-life in a way that you can relate to and with. You can somehow walk away from each scene completely understanding why each character acted as they did and empathizing with all of them even when you don't agree with how they act.
I laughed, teared up, winced in shared embarrassment, considered my life choices, and just constantly felt a part of Zoey's journey. This book really does take you on a full emotional ride that you walk away from thinking about long after the last page while still being fun and entertaining. That's quite an achievement.

Many very happy thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the emotionally satisfying read!

I loved Zoey's character. She was so real and well thought out. I thought Bad Luck Bridesmaid was a cute and overall fun romantic comedy. It was a phenomenal debut for Alison Rose Greenberg and I am excited to see what she comes out with next!

Zoey Marks and everlasting love just don’t mix. Thrice a bridesmaid, every wedding she’s been part of did not go off without a hitch. In fact, NO ONE got hitched.😉 Applying the, “three strikes and you’re out” rule to her own love life, Zoey makes a different kind of vow all her own- to never fall in love.

Then Zoey meets Rylan and all the rules go out the window. Well, all except one- Zoey still shuns the idea of marriage. Of course Rylan feels differently and believes that in time, Zoey will feel differently, too. After all, they do love each other. One day, Rylan finally proposes, placing Zoey between a rock, and her ring finger. Suddenly the adage, “always the bridesmaid, never the bride” has a different “ring” to it.

Sadly, Zoey can’t commit, so the two heart wrenchingly part ways. Amazingly, the readers are only about a quarter of the way through the story. Quickly the plot changes course and focuses on Zoey’s best friend the hopeless romantic, Hannah and her whirlwind love affair. This culminates not only in a new engagement, but another opportunity for Zoey to serve a bride. But with a new destination wedding in the works, and her old ex boyfriend in attendance, will Zoey end up being the something blue?

I have so many feelings about this book, it’s hard to know what order to place them in. First, there’s the cutesy cover that does not match the inside, like AT ALL. Make no mistake. This is not your book club’s next swoon worthy romance. Some might even argue its an anti romance, romance. Readers going in expecting anything different will be disappointed.

That being said, what this story was not was predictable. I truly had no idea what was going to happen next, making this a much more thought provoking read than expected, but in a good way. Funny and sad, heavy on dramatic metaphors and verbose language, I still wasn’t sure how I felt about Zoey, or any of it really, when all was said and done. As a result, I walked away feeling a bit like a jilted bride left at the altar, trying to figure out what went wrong.

Simply stated, Bad Luck Bridesmaid is a complicated love story that’s flawed, but still worthwhile- a lot like marriage itself.

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!