I was very excited for this novel but once started, found myself having to push through it. Had it not been for the fact that I don't DNF books, I would have DNF'd this one. I could not relate t other MC at all and found her to be quite insufferable at times. I found myself rolling my eyes at least a few times per chapter.

I read Bad Luck Bridesmaid well over a month ago now and I’m still sorting through what I thought of Alison Rose Greenberg’s debut novel. I enjoyed it. But did I actually like it? That, my friends, is the Big Question. Let’s prepare for a (likely rambling) analysis.

Here’s the book’s description:
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?
Everyone is, obviously, entitled to their own feelings. I just couldn’t help but think Zoey was an idiot. She honestly believed that she was bad luck and she was the reason that her friends weren’t getting married. And that somehow meant that marriage was evil and there was no way that she could ever take part in the institution. I’m not married and my boyfriend and I have no plans to get married so I can respect the choice to not go through all the pomp and circumstance and paperwork that is a wedding and marriage. But Zoey’s reasoning was just so…bizarre. I absolutely could not get inside her head enough to empathize with her. Is that a huge problem? No. Not really. But I expect at least a little bit of that with certain genres and contemporary fiction (especially those with a romance storyline) is one of them.

Rylan was also an idiot. He expected to be able to change Zoey’s mind about marriage just by being his wonderful self instead of, you know, talking to her. The problem was that they both thought they were right and instead of discussing it like rational adults, they just assumed the other would change their mind. Guess what. They didn’t. And it was painful for all involved.

I did like Zoey. I think that helped me like the book a little more than I would have otherwise. She seemed like someone I could be friends with, which is always nice feeling to have while reading a novel.

It was nice to have a bit of armchair travel with this novel as Zoey heads off to Ireland for Hannah’s wedding. They got to stay in a castle and wander around and experience the grounds. I would definitely be up for that right about now.

I’m still not really sure what I think about Bad Luck Bridesmaid but I do know others have adored Alison Rose Greenberg’s debut novel. I would definitely be interested in what she writes next so that’s saying something. Keep in mind this isn’t actually a romance (the Happily Ever After is…kind of absent) but give it a read if it intrigues you. And then let me know what you think!

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, SMP Romance (St. Martin’s Press), via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Zoe has been the bridesmaid at 3 of her friends' weddings. All three have ended up not making it down the aisle to get married. She feels she is cursed when it comes to marriage and love. When she meets the man of her dreams, Rylan, it makes her re-think everything. When he proposes, her fear of marriage ruins her perfect relationship, not only breaking her heart but his as well. When Zoe's best friend Hannah gets engaged to her relatively new boyfriend, it takes everything in Zoe to help this marriage not become failure number 4. This book was a mixture of witty, funny, and steamy. I enjoyed every minute of it. Zoe was a great lead character who was a strong woman and such a breath of fresh air. Her acceptance of her differences was a great portrayal of what every woman should be. 4 stars. Thank you, NetGalley for the eARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me an advance reader copy.

First of all, I am upset with myself for not picking this up sooner. It was so much better than I expected going in.

Zoey thinks she is the "Bad Luck Bridesmaid" because every time she is someone's bridesmaid, the bride doesn't make it down the aisle. She is 0-3 for seeing her friends get married. She takes this bad luck as a sign that real love is not really meant to be. She is in a committed relationship, but once the question is popped, she cannot say yes.

Zoey decides that if she can get one friend down the aisle, then maybe she can finally say yes to the man she loves. A destination wedding in Ireland leads Zoey down the bridesmaid path once more. Can the 4th time be a charm?

Through honesty with not only her friends, but with herself, Zoey learns it is okay to not conform to societal norms and accepts that marriage is not for her.

I loved that there was some spice intermingled within the story, without taking it over.
I loved the takeaway.. that you don't have to sacrifice your morals, or who you are in order to be happy. You don't need marriage to find happiness.

Zoe has been a bridesmaid in three weddings. None of those brides have made it down the aisle to get married. Therefore, Zoe doesn’t believe in marriage or forever. Then she meets Ryland and he is her perfect match and the other half of her soul. When he proposes, she freaks and they split. Hannah, her best friend from childhood and Ryland’s cousin, get engaged and asks Zoe to be her only bridesmaid. Can Zoe get this one down the aisle so she can change her own beliefs after forever?

After reading the description, I thought this had all l the makings of a romantic comedy, so I wasn’t prepared for how sad this novel left me feeling. It had plenty of laugh out loud moments, sweet, tender times and steamy sex scenes, but I absolutely hated the ending and the way it made me feel. The great thing is that several days after finishing it, I’m still thinking about it and my emotions surrounding it.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for his advance readers copy

Unfortunately I just couldn’t get into this book. I found the main character extremely unlikable thr beginning, and I felt like I was just being dumped a bunch of information vs being along for the story, I ended up DNFing

I started out absolutely loving this book. Zoey Marks has it all - a great job, loving parents, friends, and a wonderful boyfriend. But she believes she is bad luck after two weddings get called off while she is a bridesmaid. After the third called-off wedding, Zoey, for some reason, cannot bring herself to marry Rylan, who is pretty much the perfect book boyfriend. You feel her pain and how she wants to work through this and get back together with Rylan. Then her bestie, Hannah, announces she is marrying a man she just met in Ireland. Rylan is Hannah's cousin, so he will be in attendance - and SHOCK he will be bringing a new girlfriend (after ending a very long relationship three months ago?!). It's there where this book took a real turn for me. Zoey was a generally unlikable character, but I was still rooting for her to get over herself and win in the end. And I guess some may say she did win in the end, but I definitely did not feel that way with WHO she wound up with. I spent almost all of the book rooting for a reunion just for that to happen? I only finished this book because it was something I had to review. Sadly, it was not for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for the ARC.

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?