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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
I love mess. Maybe sometimes zoey is not a complicated woman so much as she likes announcing that she's a complicated woman and you know what I don't care.
slow-paced
Light on romance. Cheating scenes. Powerful message of living for you and living for your truth. Persevering friendship.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infertility, Infidelity
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
There was no slow burn in this book so it made me kind of mad. SO GLAD she broke up with Rylan though. They were definitely not meant to be. I was rooting for Ezra the whole time. THAT is an enemies to lovers situation right there. Much better chemistry.
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4/5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐
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Thank you to the publishers and Net Galley for giving me a copy of this book! This is my honest review, all views are my own.
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Bad Luck Bridesmaid is a laugh-out-loud rom-com that will remind you of all the marriage-themed chick-flicks, complete with miscommunication and romantic misadventures. The book follows Zoey Marks, a woman with “fuck you” honesty and a tendency to flee from any form of commitment. After being a bridesmaid with a 0-for-3 record of getting the bride down the aisle, Zoey thinks she’s cursed. Adding onto that is that pesky aforementioned aversion-to-commitment, which wildly disrupts her plans with the love of her life, Rylan, who wants to get married. Now, three months after the proposal disaster, her best friend is getting married, and Zoey is doing everything in her power to break her bad luck streak. What could possibly go wrong?
I laughed the whole way through this book! I thought that the casual writing style, filled with curses and internal monologues and music references (there was no less than three mentions of Taylor Swift’s Red album specifically, so good timing on that one! Though perhaps the book could be edited to specify (taylor’s version), haha) was super fun, if a bit heavy-handed. The pacing was an interesting choice; there was a ton of exposition that took up a quarter of the book, and I was not expecting it to be so long or detailed, but I enjoyed it for the context it gave the rest of the book. Most of the plot was based on miscommunication, and simply a failure to communicate, which is not a great trope in my opinion, but it was done nicely considering the genre. As for the characters and the main events of the romance plot lines: I liked Hannah and Graham with their whirlwind romance, but I wish there was more substance regarding their love instead of just their constant PDA; I thought Rylan was a very interesting and complex character, but he wouldn’t just *talk* with Zoey and put so many expectations on her/their relationship and it made me mad at him for a lot of the book, especially with the will-they-won’t-they attitude in Ireland; I liked Ezra but I think there should have been more getting to know him (read: flirting with Zoey) because it would add to the confusion and chaos and just be *so fun*; and of course, Zoey herself was a super fun character with a lot of complexities and interesting qualities, and I simply adored her… though don’t worry, I had my frustrations with her as well. She sometimes didn’t know when to put her foot in her mouth, and she bent over backwards to see Rylan as a perfect (or even near-perfect) man when he was definitely not. Generally speaking, this book had a lot of heavy-handed and over-the-top moments, which were at times enjoyable and other times aggravating.
At the end of the day, this is a fun book and I think it’s perfect for the cheesy rom-com lovers out there. 4 stars.
-
Thank you to the publishers and Net Galley for giving me a copy of this book! This is my honest review, all views are my own.
-
Bad Luck Bridesmaid is a laugh-out-loud rom-com that will remind you of all the marriage-themed chick-flicks, complete with miscommunication and romantic misadventures. The book follows Zoey Marks, a woman with “fuck you” honesty and a tendency to flee from any form of commitment. After being a bridesmaid with a 0-for-3 record of getting the bride down the aisle, Zoey thinks she’s cursed. Adding onto that is that pesky aforementioned aversion-to-commitment, which wildly disrupts her plans with the love of her life, Rylan, who wants to get married. Now, three months after the proposal disaster, her best friend is getting married, and Zoey is doing everything in her power to break her bad luck streak. What could possibly go wrong?
I laughed the whole way through this book! I thought that the casual writing style, filled with curses and internal monologues and music references (there was no less than three mentions of Taylor Swift’s Red album specifically, so good timing on that one! Though perhaps the book could be edited to specify (taylor’s version), haha) was super fun, if a bit heavy-handed. The pacing was an interesting choice; there was a ton of exposition that took up a quarter of the book, and I was not expecting it to be so long or detailed, but I enjoyed it for the context it gave the rest of the book. Most of the plot was based on miscommunication, and simply a failure to communicate, which is not a great trope in my opinion, but it was done nicely considering the genre. As for the characters and the main events of the romance plot lines: I liked Hannah and Graham with their whirlwind romance, but I wish there was more substance regarding their love instead of just their constant PDA; I thought Rylan was a very interesting and complex character, but he wouldn’t just *talk* with Zoey and put so many expectations on her/their relationship and it made me mad at him for a lot of the book, especially with the will-they-won’t-they attitude in Ireland; I liked Ezra but I think there should have been more getting to know him (read: flirting with Zoey) because it would add to the confusion and chaos and just be *so fun*; and of course, Zoey herself was a super fun character with a lot of complexities and interesting qualities, and I simply adored her… though don’t worry, I had my frustrations with her as well. She sometimes didn’t know when to put her foot in her mouth, and she bent over backwards to see Rylan as a perfect (or even near-perfect) man when he was definitely not. Generally speaking, this book had a lot of heavy-handed and over-the-top moments, which were at times enjoyable and other times aggravating.
At the end of the day, this is a fun book and I think it’s perfect for the cheesy rom-com lovers out there. 4 stars.
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A RomCom that veers off the beaten track. Sign me up! This will be a frustrating read for some who read RomComs for the inevitable HEA. There is a HEA, but its different from the one you are thinking. What surprised me most about this book was the deep look into friendship and the people we find along the way in life who hold our happiness and our well-being as close to their heart as their own.
Zoey Marks is a free-spirited, confident, unapologetic, successful woman. Growing up in a secure household with intellectual parents that let her be herself without too many expectations thrust upon her, she prides herself on her comfort in being single. She loves her creative brain and is proud of the career she has built in advertising. She has a hard time understanding the "spell" her friends fall under called love, willing to mold their lives and change their dreams to suit a man.
"I think that too often, women take pieces of themselves they have no reason to hate, and they carry those pieces around like failures. If enough women stopped apologizing, then may there'd be less of an expectation for us to always burn bright and stand still. Maybe our complications would become our backbones instead of our scarlet letters."
As she inevitably hits the stage in her life where she is called to be a bridesmaid, she leaves a trail of alters without the desired endings. She sees herself as bad luck and starts to believe that there may not be a "happily ever after" forever. In walks Rylan and makes her second guess her outlook. When a heartbreaking outcome happens, she is again asked to be a bridesmaid, this time by her best friend from childhood. The one person who knows everything about her, the ones who tell each other everything. Except when it may devastate one of them.
In the end, this story is about finding strength in embracing who you are, not trying to fit in the mold others try to put you in, and being confident that when you follow your heart, you are headed in the right direction. I was obsessed with the way this book took a situation that was hurtling toward one outcome and threw it on its head. There were a few things that frustrated me, but overall I finished this book in just a day and once I closed the cover I thought, now that's how you redefine a relationship. Is your most important relationship with another, or with yourself??
"When the world paints you one way, it's hard to throw out that canvas and start over."
I was so excited to win this book through the Reading Group Gold Sweepstakes. Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the advance copy to read and review.
Zoey Marks is a free-spirited, confident, unapologetic, successful woman. Growing up in a secure household with intellectual parents that let her be herself without too many expectations thrust upon her, she prides herself on her comfort in being single. She loves her creative brain and is proud of the career she has built in advertising. She has a hard time understanding the "spell" her friends fall under called love, willing to mold their lives and change their dreams to suit a man.
"I think that too often, women take pieces of themselves they have no reason to hate, and they carry those pieces around like failures. If enough women stopped apologizing, then may there'd be less of an expectation for us to always burn bright and stand still. Maybe our complications would become our backbones instead of our scarlet letters."
As she inevitably hits the stage in her life where she is called to be a bridesmaid, she leaves a trail of alters without the desired endings. She sees herself as bad luck and starts to believe that there may not be a "happily ever after" forever. In walks Rylan and makes her second guess her outlook. When a heartbreaking outcome happens, she is again asked to be a bridesmaid, this time by her best friend from childhood. The one person who knows everything about her, the ones who tell each other everything. Except when it may devastate one of them.
In the end, this story is about finding strength in embracing who you are, not trying to fit in the mold others try to put you in, and being confident that when you follow your heart, you are headed in the right direction. I was obsessed with the way this book took a situation that was hurtling toward one outcome and threw it on its head. There were a few things that frustrated me, but overall I finished this book in just a day and once I closed the cover I thought, now that's how you redefine a relationship. Is your most important relationship with another, or with yourself??
"When the world paints you one way, it's hard to throw out that canvas and start over."
I was so excited to win this book through the Reading Group Gold Sweepstakes. Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the advance copy to read and review.
What a fantastic and fun read!
Plowed through this book as I couldn’t put it down. I had to know what was going to happen next. It felt special to be a part of Zoey’s journey Yo self discovery. I liked that the book wasn’t predictable.
Lastly- what a pleasure to laugh while reading out of pure joy and humor! This was such a great book. I hope to read more by Greenberg in the future!!
Plowed through this book as I couldn’t put it down. I had to know what was going to happen next. It felt special to be a part of Zoey’s journey Yo self discovery. I liked that the book wasn’t predictable.
Lastly- what a pleasure to laugh while reading out of pure joy and humor! This was such a great book. I hope to read more by Greenberg in the future!!