Alison Rose Greenberg

Recommended: eh sure if..
you like music as a theme in a romance, you like a choosing-between-two-loves kind of story, you can handle an extremely nonlinear timeline

Thoughts:
This is a book that I guess I generally did enjoy, yeah. But most of my thoughts about it after a week or so of finishing it is about all the little things that annoyed me about it and kept it from being a five-star read for me. So even though that's a lot of what I'm going to focus on in here, it is still a decent book. It's fine. But there were just some things I had to deal with to get to that, and if they're things that -you- can't deal with, then you might be better of passing on this one.

In a somewhat chronological order, one of the first things that killed me was that the main character apparently has synesthesia, where one sense merges with another in an uncommon way. For her, she can taste music. However... this was barely addressed? Except to make some really over the top imagery descriptions? I feel like this could really fuck a person up and would interact in their life a lot more than was given in here. For example hearing music in the grocery store, wouldn't that be super annoying if the songs they played tasted terrible and you were just bombarded with it everywhere? It felt cheap to give the main character a condition and then only use it as a lazy plot point, sometimes. Just don't bother. It didn't add anything and it kind of pissed me off right from the start and then was solidified as it continued to have not mattered to the story.

The story is also -- what's the opposite of linear? Scattered? It was that. The "main" current story is her at age 35, but every other chapter or two you jump to a different age and what was going on then. It's usually an age that was referenced in the age-35 chapter, but BOY did it get kind of tiring. I felt like I had a hard time getting invested in the story because the story kept changing.

Maggie's whole thing through this book is how strongly she feels everything. She and Asher connected as kids because they both felt everything so strongly, and continue to as adults. This is reflected in the writing and the way Maggie describes this. On the one hand, kudos for really sticking to that character element. On the other hand, I hated having to read things like "the moment I saw you in fell into stars" because that to me is just mega stupid. If someone said that to me I'd probably leave soon after. SO the writing can be very... flowery and over the top (to me) in places.

Alright, now for the actual plot and not just the feel of it. The crux of a lot of these issues was just the tired old issue of them not talking, or not talking honestly / fully. Like instead of saying "no I can't" maybe fucking elaborate or at least add the word YET? There was meant to be this push-and-pull timing of tension but it just annoyed me because they were both idiots about it. Our other romance interest -- well it was a good thing that they had history because otherwise I would have felt that it was a bit of the Harlequin style where he's a rich and famous guy with the power to make your dreams come true and take you places on a private jet and rent out a whole fancy club just for you. That's a fine story angle, but it wouldn't/didn't fit the vibe that this story had. So I was side-eyeing some of that path, too.

Ugh.

Anyway, like I said -- this book really is fine. It's not TERRIBLE by any stretch. But it was kind of tiring, and I needed to take breaks from it. So if you're fine with the stuff I mentioned above and still interested then go for it! But if any of those sound like they would also tire you, just... be aware of what this is before deciding.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for a free advanced copy. This is my honest review.… (altro)

 Recommended: YES
For people who aren't sure love necessitates marriage, for folks who are working on figuring out what's important to them (and how to be honest about it), for a romance that handles some issues much bigger than just trying to get with the love interest

Thoughts:
ALRIGHT. I thought this would be a standard fair romcom. The premise of the bridesmaid whose brides never get married, which then makes her nervous about being in her best friend's wedding, sounds lighthearted and quirky and overall pretty gentle right? WELL THAT'S NOT THIS BOOK.

Here's how it differs. First, there's a whole third of the book dedicated to the main character's own relationship and life, all the things that shape her and her ideas of love, relationships, and marriage. Next, the lighthearted premise of the Bad Luck Bridesmaid has many more layers and impact than simply being a woman who's nervous in a silly way. Next, there are truly heavy questions included, like: IS love enough? do spouses need to know everything about each other before they get married? SHOULD they? is it okay to keep some things a secret? how do you truly commit yourself to FOREVER?

Personal side note: some of these are questions I'm currently asking myself now, so this all hit a little extra hard for me. Definitely affected my experience of the book, but I still think it was overall very well done.

I loved the deep dive into really painful and not-much-talked-about emotions and aspects of a relationship. The idea that at a certain age or amount of time together, people are just supposed to get married isn't one that I've ever seen a romance novel dissect and examine closely. If two people love each other, do they really have to get married? Can they just stay together and choose to stay together every day and see what happens? Looking at that feeling of being trapped brought an interesting angle to the usual sentiment of "commitment issues."

There were a few tropes, for sure: accidentally naked in front of The Guy, being trapped together, and a few other fun surprises. They were fun little tastes of familiar in a very raw story. And the ending? Loved it. Plans and expectations went out the window because I don't think I predicted a single element of this story, which I so look forward to. In this book, nobody is perfect.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's press for a free advanced copy. This is my honest review. … (altro)

I think we've all heard this one before: a character makes a promise with their best friend or their current significant other or just a random acquaintance that if you both find yourselves single by, in this case, 35 you'll marry each other and have the family you clearly want, but that's been eluding you thus far.

Well, if you're Maggie Vine you make that promise with two people at very different times in your life. And, for better or worse, they both show up. First there's Garrett. Garrett and Maggie met over ten years ago when he captured her attention at a bar during a musical set. They immediately clicked but have always been off when it comes to the timing - never seeming to both be available at the same time (whether that's emotionally or physically). Now, Garrett does show up to her 35th birthday, but he's engaged so clearly there's a line they shouldn't cross but also a lot of baggage left between them.

Then, there's Asher Reyes. Oscar winning, heartthrob actor - whom Maggie first met at summer camp when they were teens - is adapting Maggie's favorite book into a movie musical. It's too much of a coincidence, and Maggie is determined to compose the music for the movie. It would be the break her career desperately needs.

This book is, so far, one of the best descriptors of everything it takes to be a solo musician. The sacrifices, the uncertainty. Knowing you have the talent and the voice, but being just shy of actually gaining the fame you seek. It's a very lyrical story and I think this was done very well by Alison Rose Greenberg. The story is told from Maggie's point of view so of course we're going to get those lyrical flourishes and way with words that seem to be a staple of song-writers. Saying so much with just a few lines. And I would be lying if I said I wasn't playing Fleetwood Mac's Gypsy on my head on repeat while reading this.

For all that, this story is so full of angst. Maggie spends a good portion of the book pining away for what she cannot have with Garrett. It was difficult to get a sense of who he is because we're seeing him through Maggie's lens and there's a lot of fawning and adoration. She puts him and their bond on a high pedestal when clearly he's very fallible. By the time we get to the gut punch that he did not really come to her on her birthday in good faith, I'm ready for her to move on.

I think Maggie's a little more realistic when it comes to Asher, but to be fair, she's had years to come to terms with their ending which Garrett's it still fresh. The pivot from Garrett to Asher felt a bit jolting as were so focused on Garrett then all of a sudden there's Asher from her past being mentioned. I found a few jolts throughout the story. There's so much focus placed on one person, or event, then suddenly we switch gears and oftentimes it comes out of nowhere even though within the context of the story it makes sense.

I felt like these moments did Maggie's story a disservice because it removed the emotional impact. I couldn't get invested because oftentimes we're changing things up on the next page. There's no time to process what just happened.

I will say that looking back on the story in hindsight, by the end as Maggie's story has completely unfolded, we're given insight into how things could have been so different for her. It makes the story all the more heartbreaking and the fragility is noticed in how just the slightest curve can throw your life into a tailspin. We could have been reading a different version of the story which is an interesting concept idea. I almost wish Alison Rose Greenberg would give us that sliding doors-type book as a companion to this one.

Despite the angst and the unexpected pivots, I was very interested in how Maggie's story would end up. I didn't really mind the love triangle aspect of the story because while it is a romance novel, I'd say the biggest thing is Maggie's journey whether that includes Asher or Garrett is just one aspect of her overall journey and I think that was done perfectly.… (altro)

so much of this was bothersome for most of the book, but i really, really liked the ending.

the narration was a bad choice - it felt like so much of the book was just monologuing memories at the reader. like a backstory info dump so we understand her motivations and fears, but it didn't really work for me. maybe part of it was the first person writing, but i don't think so. mostly i was really bothered by the crux of this book - that she was marriage averse is fine, but why can't she tell anyone that? like she has all of these great friends, including a soul sister from like kindergarten, and never says aloud to any of them that she's not sure marriage is for her? she's dating someone for two years, lives with him, and loves loves loves him but has never once mentioned that she's not sure she can marry? like how does this never come up? the lack of communication about crucial things, with the people who needed to hear those things, was baffling to me, and made this hard to believe and get into.

the ending was great, though. i was afraid that she would see her friend get married and then she'd actually feel like she could say yes to her boyfriend herself. so i was really glad to see that she stayed true to herself, that at the end of this she wasn't in a relationship (although perhaps one was beginning), and that she understood herself in a way she didn't before. it was a really, really satisfying ending, and definitely bumps up the rest of the book, maybe as much as a full star.… (altro)