Bad Luck Bridesmaid: A Novel

by Alison Rose Greenberg

Overview

Most Anticipated Romance of 2022 by Goodreads

"A compulsively readable, witty, and humorous novel about the pursuit of a happily ever after...with oneself." - Tif Marcelo

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.

Happy Ever After.
On Her Own Terms.

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?

"Laugh-out-loud funny in places and heart-rending serious in others, Greenberg's debut is a unique romance strong on friendships and the importance of being true to oneself that also explores an alternate route to a different happily-ever-after. " —Booklist

"An unconventional love story for independent women." —Kirkus Reviews

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250791603
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	01/11/2022
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	540,234
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Alison Rose Greenberg is a screenwriter who lives in Atlanta, but is quick to say she was born in New York City. While attending The University of Southern California, Alison took her first screenwriting class and fell head over heels. A journey from screenwriting led to marketing jobs, before coming full-circle back to her first love. Alison speaks fluent rom-com, lives for 90’s WB dramas, cries to Taylor Swift, and is a proud single mom to her two incredible kids and one poorly-trained dog. Bad Luck Bridesmaid is her first novel.
Alison Rose Greenberg (she/her) is a screenwriter who lives in Atlanta, but is quick to say she was born in New York City. While attending The University of Southern California, Alison took her first screenwriting class and fell head over heels. A journey from screenwriting led to marketing jobs, before coming full-circle back to her first love. Alison speaks fluent rom-com, lives for 90’s WB dramas, cries to Taylor Swift, and is a proud single mom to her two incredible kids and one poorly-trained dog.

Editorial Reviews

10/25/2021

Debut author Greenberg pairs a marriage-averse woman with a man looking for forever in this bittersweet treat. After serving as a bridesmaid in three weddings that never actually culminated in marriage, advertising exec Zoey Marks is convinced she’s “the bad luck bridesmaid.” Despite witnessing her parents’ happy, decades-long marriage, Zoey has no interest in spending forever with one person. Then she meets Wall Streeter Rylan Harper III, cousin of Zoey’s bestie, Hannah, and against her better judgement, she falls hard. But Rylan is laser-focused on the future, and when he proposes after about a year of dating, it’s the end of the road. Zoey’s heartbroken—until Hannah’s destination wedding, at which Zoey is once again a bridesmaid, gives her the chance to break her curse. Still, compromise may not be in the cards for these complex protagonists. Zoey is a nuanced heroine whose skepticism of commitment may grate on some rom-com fans, but the narrative thankfully never punishes her for her stance. The clash of ideals makes for meaty romantic conflict, though it’s painful to read some of the more fraught scenes. This multilayered, skillfully plotted novel won’t be for all romance fans, but it’s still a celebration of love in all its forms. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

"What do you get when you combine a lovable but complicated woman, her well-intended but somewhat flawed mission to marry off her best friend, and a stubborn falcon? A compulsively readable, witty, and humorous novel about the pursuit of a happily ever after...with oneself. Prepare for a night-in of reading!" - Tif Marcelo, USA Today bestselling author of The Key to Happily Ever After

"Bad Luck Bridesmaid is a hilarious, suspenseful, and romantic story of Zoey Marks, who discovers she's a jinx of a bridesmaid. Yep, she's zero for three when it comes to seeing her friends down the aisle. And yet, when she is determined to help her best friend, Hannah, get married—and realizes that she, herself, is in love for the first time, the fun begins. I read this book far into the night and kept my husband awake with my laughing. Alison Rose Greenberg has written a book that is a joy to read!" —Maddie Dawson, bestselling author of Matchmaking for Beginners

"Heart-thumpingly sexy and side-splittingly hilarious, this swoony gem features smart women who prioritize friendship over f*cks. Zoey Marks is not your average bridesmaid, and Bad Luck Bridesmaid is not your average happily-ever-after." - Kristin Bair, author of Agatha Arch is Afraid of Everything

"If I had to describe Bad Luck Bridesmaid as a drink, it would be an elderflower champagne cocktail—sparkling, fizzy, smart, and utterly charming. I recommend that you enjoy them together!" - Sam Tschida, author of Siri, Who Am I?

"Bad Luck Bridesmaid is a romantic romp, complete with a witty, unfiltered heroine who you just know would give the most entertaining (and scandalous) toast at a wedding - that is, if the bride and groom could ever make it through their “I do’s.” – Laura Hankin, author of Happy & You Know It

"An unconventional love story for independent women." —Kirkus Reviews

"Laugh-out-loud funny in places and heart-rending serious in others, Greenberg's debut is a unique romance strong on friendships and the importance of being true to oneself that also explores an alternate route to a different happily-ever-after. " —Booklist

From the Publisher

2021-11-16
After repeatedly serving as a bridesmaid in weddings that don't end up happening, a woman starts to worry she’s cursed.

Zoey Marks doesn’t believe in marriage, because she’s not sure it ever works out. At least, it doesn’t seem to work out when she’s involved. After being a bridesmaid for two brides who never made it down the aisle, she couldn’t be less interested in getting engaged herself. Especially not when she has her high-powered job running a nontraditional advertising agency with her friend Sara (one of the brides whose weddings Zoey may have cursed). But then she meets Rylan, her lifelong best friend Hannah’s cousin. Zoey quickly falls passionately in love with Rylan, enough to make her possibly think about questioning her anti-marriage stance. That is, until she’s in yet another wedding that ends before it begins. When Rylan proposes right after Zoey gets back home from the third wedding that wasn’t, Zoey turns him down, unable to promise a forever she can’t truly believe in. Wallowing in heartbreak, Zoey’s one comfort is that at least she won’t have to see Rylan again…that is, until Hannah announces that she’s getting married in Ireland, and she wants Zoey by her side. Rylan will be there, and now Zoey has to juggle seeing him, making sure Hannah’s wedding survives Zoey’s bridesmaid curse, and trying to figure out if she can commit to forever and the future she so desperately wants with Rylan. But the wedding weekend is full of secrets, betrayals, and a scheming best man, and Zoey’s afraid that both she and Hannah might not be headed for a happily-ever-after. Zoey’s narration is quick, clever, and full of zingers, but Greenberg often uses that narration to tell the reader things about Zoey’s relationship with Rylan rather than showing their love develop, which makes it difficult to become invested in them as a couple. The story is much more surprising and boldly messy than the cute cover implies, and readers who aren’t looking for a traditional romantic-comedy structure may relate to Zoey’s quest for happiness and her understanding that it can be found in places other than wedding ceremonies.

An unconventional love story for independent women.

Kirkus Reviews