I liked the story but didn’t really care for Jessica. Was a quick, easy read.
“Just because some is from your past, doesn’t mean they have to be in your future”

I was given an ARC by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Never a Bridesmaid by Spencer Greene is a contemporary Sapphic romance where Jessica, an out Lesbian living in DC who abhors a lot of traditional structures, is given an ultimatum: be a bridesmaid at her sister’s wedding or lose access to her trust. Jessica agrees to be a bridesmaid but the maid of honor is Tanner, her sister’s best friend and the girl who outed Jessica to their high school.

The book delves in homophobia and preconceived notions as well stereotyping inside and outside of the Queer community. Jessica is a bit rigid in some of her views of her own community and has some black and white thinking of her own, thinking which Tanner pushes back on. Tanner is a lesbian herself and has been out most of her life, but works for a Christian mommy blogging site.

I think what I really loved was how much the characters’ flaws were on display, showcasing various opinions within the Queer community as well as opinions on the community from people not inside of it. It’s also nice to see a Sapphic who has a more androgynous style, likes femmes, and experiences body dysmorphia be the lead of a romance.

I would recommend this to readers looking for Sapphic romance and readers looking for an exploration of the Queer community in a Sapphic context

So this was a slow burn for me. It took forever for me to get into it…but once I was there, I was in it for Tanner and Jessica. What a fun sapphic romance that’s also a little cliche. But it’s probably one of the first cliched sapphic romances I have read (and I’ve read a few *wink wink*). I was definitely mad it was over. I want more!

I feel like I would have enjoyed this title more if it was told from Jessica's perspective in first person. I feel like some feelings were missing just because there was a third party narrator rather than Jessica telling the story herself. But overall, I did enjoy the story. I felt like all of the characters from the LGBTQ+ community were well represented and accurate to what I have seen from the community as an LGBTQ+ identifying individual.

3.5. Pretty quick read. Jessica’s mother holds her inheritance over her head unless she agree’s to be a bridesmaid in her sister’s wedding. Jessica is forced to be around her sister’s friends whom she did not get along with during high school, including her “nemesis” Tanner. There are obout 4/5 events Jessica must attend and is conveniently in Tanner’s orbit. Jessica has strong opinions about marriage and is pretty emo, some parts had me rolling my eyes. I think with any book dealing with this premise, you kind of know what’s going to happen. I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Review will be posted on Goodreads 2/7. Will be posted on Instagram on 2/8. Will post on Amazon on 2/11.

This book follows Jessica who is convinced to participate in her sister’s wedding despite her being completely against the ideas of weddings. Throughout the story, the author does a great job of showing how complex it can be to come to terms with your identity, especially when having to deal with homophobic people around you in life. You see Jessica work through how she felt in high school to how she feels now. During all of this, she has to navigate all of her different feelings toward the maid of honor, Tanner, who she has a complicated past with.

This was a short and sweet sapphic love story that I thought was really good. Jessica’s character is complex and flawed, I definitely found myself loving her at times and other times, getting annoyed at her. But I think this just made her character more real. She has a hard time letting things go. I found the storytelling to be done pretty well. Although, I do think there could have been more substance and build up between the characters. I really enjoyed the way the characters rebuilt different relationships throughout the story. Overall, I think this was cute and fun to read.

This was pretty good! Short and sweet, I figured out the twist pretty early on but I enjoyed the ride. The main ship was interesting and the sister relationship really got to me.

Parts of it did feel weirdly dated though? Like Jessica’s whole attitude towards marriage; obviously it’s still been less than 10 years since gay marriage became legal, but it made it feel like way less than that. Same with the mention of She-Ra as a “new” Netflix series when it came out at the end of 2018/over 5 years ago. If the book was written back then, that would make a lot of sense, but it was jarring.

Still, I had a nice time reading it. Thanks to Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley for the digital copy!

Six months. 5 events. One archnemesis.

Self confessed wedding hater Jessica Monroe has been talked into attending her sister Bernie’s wedding as a bridesmaid, which is bad enough (the two are like chalk and cheese), but to make matters worse Jessica’s archnemesis just happens to be Bernie’s best friend and Maid of Honor Tanner Caldwell. As we follow Jessica, Bernie and the wedding party over the 6 months and 5 events leading up to the big day we get a glimpse into the past, present and possible future of the characters.

I absolutely loved this book! It was so well written, the characters felt so real and I loved how the main characters, not all likeable, developed throughout. I really didn’t want it to end!

I found some parts hard to read due to having similar experiences so I’ve included trigger warnings below.

TW: homophobia, death of a loved one, suicide mention

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review

I always love a good romance, and this was definitely a good lesfic romance. Following Jess and Tanner through the run up to the wedding was a great read. The way the author keeps you engaged and pulling for them to get together was very well done. My only complaint is we don't get any resolution on what happens with the "evil" friend. Great read overall and a full on recommend!

4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Never A Bridesmaid
Author: Spencer Greene
Romance

This was pretty darn good! Thank you netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for this ARC! Fans of Delilah Green will eat this one up. Our FMC Jessica is forced into her sisters bridal party by her mother threatening to take away her access to her trust if she doesn’t participate. She reluctantly participates even though she hates weddings, and is forced to be in the bridal party with the girl who outed her to her entire high school and who she loathes. I have been a bridesmaid a few times and reading this was so munch fun for me. The characters were lovable and the enemies to lovers romance between Jessica and Tanner was slow burn, but well worth it in the end. I did think the mom threatening her entire inheritance was a bit harsh and unrealistic but it’s a cute romance book, who needs realistic right? This book releases 2/14/24 and definitely add to your TBR!

a fun queer twist on a classic rom com concept. the writing was very fun and engaging, but could be a little clunky at times. Overall this was a lovely, quick and fun romance i will be recommending to others !

A quick and easy read with the quintessential enemies to lovers trope. To be honest I found the main character frustrating and overwhelming judgemental. So much could have been solved if people would just communicate but that is obviously too much to ask.

2.5 stars rounded up to 3 - thank you #netgalley for the advanced copy.

I liked the very beginning but was a bit confused by the age of one main. As I’m not American some of the age references don’t register, but this person had been a journalist for 10 years, having attended college, and was in their late 20’s. Not a big deal of course but a confusion. I also didn’t quite get all the details of the trust fund inheritance aaaaand I didn’t quite gel with the relationship with the best friend, so not the smoothest start, and that is still chapter one!
Chapter 2 and I’m not really liking one main or at least her petulant behaviour, but then we’ve not really been told why she hates the other main so maybe I will change my mind.
The writing feels young, even for a late 20’s main character. I’m not sure however I can give concrete examples, it’s a feeling, but then all reactions to books are subjective!
I’m not really warming up to the main. The episode in the past happened slightly differently from I expected and I still don’t understand it, so awaiting a bit more perspective. I liked how there were times the mains got on, despite one mains best intention. We do not find out what the other main is thinking or feeling but I do like how we do get told the mains impressions of her body language or how in different situations there are (we are told) glimpses of another side.
There is a plot bump I didn’t like. However although I was irritated by it, it also showed I was a bit more invested in the couple than I thought I was.
I think, having finished the book I would have liked a bit more explanation about the other main, how did she end up at her job? A bit more detail about helping out her sister, why were she and the bride still friends with the other bridesmaid? Rounded up to a 3 from 2.9!

There’s trouble between bridesmaid Jess and the maid of honor Tanner. Jessica’s sister is getting married and Jess is forced to be a participant. She and Tanner have a history from high school and it’s spilling over.
But neither can take their eyes off of each other. Jessica doesn’t know the full truth about what happened then that lead to her being outed and bullied.
This was a nice fast read with good character development in such a short time. Most of the book happens at their first event, the bachelorette party which includes sharing a room.

In this story, the main character, Jessica, is forced to spend time with her high school bullies when her sister gets engaged. This includes Tanner, the girl that got away but also mega-traumatized her in high school. Parts of this story were hard to read, but it all just made Jessica's healing journey more real to me as a reader. I was really invested in Jessica, but I honestly didn't love her love interest, Tanner. While I did come around to her in the end, these girls had to start over again (and again and again) so many times to get it right. They both need a hug. And probably a few drinks.

This book might be a romance novel, but Tanner's job situation actually raised some really interesting points about morality that sparked a lengthy discussion with my friends. As someone who tends to see things more black and white, this raised some really interesting gray areas for me.

Thank you NetGalley for sending me this arc in exchange for an honest review!

This has been a story with more potential than final outcome.It is about the reunion of a girl, Jessica, with the group of girls who gave her a hard time at school. It is not a casual reunion but a forced one, since the group of girls will be the bridesmaids at Jessica's sister's wedding, and she will also have to be a bridesmaid, much to her regret and a little forced by her work needs.. The proposal is interesting, as is the development of the book. From the typical pre-marriage activities: bachelorette party, dress fittings, etc., in which Jessica will have to face her sister and her group of friends, including Tanner, her teenage crush who disappointed her the most. Through the activities Jessica remembers past situations and her reaction as a teenager and now as an adult things are not so radical and seen in perspective they become relativized.

My biggest disappointment during the book has been that the events have not been explained clearly, with different references in different situations and by different characters the events that traumatized Jessica are told, but they are not completely clarified.

And the ending also seemed rushed to me, Tanner's final decisions were sudden, what role Kayla has now and before in the story, everything has been resolved too quickly.

What a fun read!!!!

The character build was good, plot of the story was good and I liked the writing stlye!!!

Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review

Jessica has an aversion to weddings, but she must attend her sister, Bernie's wedding and lead up events, otherwise she will not receive her inheritance. She is so frustrated with her click bait journalism job that she needs her inheritance money to buy a bookstore and quit her job. So Jessica agrees to attend the wedding events starting with a bachelorette weekend get-a-way in Ashville, where she sees her high school crush, Tanner. Even though Tanner was Jessica's crush, Tanner did the unthinkable and outed Jessica in high school and she can never forgive her.

It was easy for me to invest in the main characters and their past history along with their current issues. In the long run, we find out that things aren't really as they seem. The closing of the book was fitting but I would have liked to see Kayla get some payback for her role in what happened as well as her continued homophobic attitude.

I received an ARC from Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

to get jessica to go to her sisters wedding and all the party planning her mother bribes her with her inheritance, its a bold move but necessary to get these sisters together

jessica has wounds from her youngers years not only was she outed to the entire school about her sexuality but she ostracized in such a way that she very nearly committed suicide and if it wasnt for the intervention of her dad she very nearly did it as she was that low

it took years to finally get to the mind space she was at now but going back to seeing those people who put in her in that black space wasnt something she was comfortable with

but she had a plan for her future and that included her inheritance so needs must and so she went

i have to say this book had its high and low moments for jessica and it was fun to see her put her ghosts to rest the dynamic between jess and tanner was interesting to read as also the beginning of her new relationship with her sister

have to say i thoroughly enjoyed every minute that jessica squirmed her way through the bridal shower and wedding

cant wait to read more from this author

Unfortunately I had to DNF this title. I think the premise is so interesting and I will always support more inclusion of sapphic stories in the reader space, however I just didn’t really like the writing style and felt no connection to the characters.

I enjoyed seeing the developing romantic relationships but also delving into the family dynamic in this book.