Book Review: “The Wedding Date” by Jasmine Guillory
“The Wedding Date” by Jasmine Guillory (2018)
Genre: Romance, Fiction, Contemporary
Page Length: 310 pages (paperback edition)
Synopsis:
Agreeing to go to a wedding with a guy she gets stuck with in an elevator is something Alexa Monroe wouldn’t normally do. But there’s something about Drew Nichols that’s too hard to resist.
On the eve of his ex’s wedding festivities, Drew is minus a plus one. Until a power outage strands him with the perfect candidate for a fake girlfriend…
After Alexa and Drew have more fun than they ever thought possible, Drew has to fly back to Los Angeles and his job as a pediatric surgeon, and Alexa heads home to Berkeley, where she’s the mayor’s chief of staff. Too bad they can’t stop thinking about the other…
They’re just two high-powered professionals on a collision course toward the long distance dating disaster of the century–or closing the gap between what they think they need and what they truly want… (description from Goodreads)
Review:
This book is long overdue as I’ve been trying to read it since its initial release, but it got pushed on the back-burner due to my ARCs/reading schedule. From the first moment of Alexa and Drew’s meet cute their chemistry was flying off the page.
The plot sounds like something straight out of a Rom-Com and I loved it. Though it’s a humorous and light-hearted novel Guillory also discusses some other serious topics that pop up in interracial relationships such as white privilege, growing up in ethnic backgrounds, racial bias from law enforcement. Alexa points these out to Drew to make him even more aware of thing that she’s had to deal with growing up as a woman of color. Drew uses that knowledge to reflect upon himself and to be more aware of what’s going on.
Though Alexa and Drew’s situation is a insta-love romance, they put a lot of effort into making their (somewhat) long-distance relationship work and getting to know each other on a different level. They relationship does need some work due to insecurities that arise and that fact that some of their fights could have been solved by better communication but without misunderstandings their relationship would have seemed unrealistic.
Each of the main characters shows smooth character development as they to heal from their pasts –Drew’s fear of relationships and Alexa wanting to make up with their sister due to their turbulent relationship. One of my favorite characters was Carlos and I can’t wait to read his story in The Proposal (follow up book) – he is such a great friend and I loved his humor. And both Alexa and Drew have good soundboards/supportive friends – I loved that about the book.
This was such a good contemporary romance novel! From the cast of characters to the romance, humor, and sweet tender moments. I adored it all! Loved the background setting of California; all the descriptions of the food trucks, restaurants, and nightlife reminded me of previous trips I took to California.
I think this is a fantastic debut from Guillory and I look forward to reading more this author!
Final Verdict:
I’ve heard positive things about this one! As you know, I don’t read much romance, BUT I appreciate that this book includes a interracial couple & seems to have a bit of depth to it.
I think you might like even though romance isn’t your genre. It’s such a cute story!
I liked this a lot! I thought the male lead was a little weird about getting angry out of nowhere, but apart from that it was a really satisfying read. I’m excited to read Guillory’s second book, which is now out at last.
I agree Jenny! Now that you mention it, it was a little uncalled for Drew threw a fit. But all in all, it’s probably one of my top faves of this year.