Author: Jasmine Guillory

I received this book for free from Berkley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

A groomsman and his last-minute guest are about to discover if a fake date can go the distance in a fun and flirty debut novel.

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...

I have no clue how I am supposed to start this review. I tried to explain to Nick how I felt about the book because we sorta buddy read it (she finished a day before I did) and it’s really hard to capture my overall reaction. There were bits that I loved but overall, The Wedding Date just didn’t make the impression I had hoped it would. It’s a total feel-good read and I want to see it on a big screen (this is the second time I am saying that about a book in the span of a month.)

I am a big romance reader but as Nick will tell you, I am really picky and want a very specific sort of vibe. I want the domestic scenes where people chill and watch Netflix. I want holding hands and long walks in the park. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love sexy-times in a book but, for me to really get behind a couple, I want to see those little things.

The Wedding Date doesn’t have many scenes that let us see the couple outside of their attraction for one another which made it harder for me to see how they worked together. I mean the reason why I did like this book was that the few scenes we did get were golden but there still weren’t enough of them to have made me fall in love overall.

My favorite favorite favorite thing about this book is the discussions about race that are had. Romance is, unfortunately, a largely homogenous genre. It is slowly evolving and becoming more diverse which brings me joy but for the time being, books like The Wedding Date are rare and important. Guillory writes a feel good romance because everyone deserves the romance of their dreams but is quick to remind readers that a white person’s experience is still worlds apart from a black person’s experience.

Alexa and Drew are both career-driven characters and I do love how passionate they are about their work and what they do. Their lives don’t revolve around each other and they both have a good support group of friends willing to do anything for them.

I did think Drew was a bit of a ho and had a lot of issues that I never quite understood but he was never an asshole except to my soulmate Carlos. I also lived for how Carlos picked up Drew because Drew deserved to be picked on.

Overall, The Wedding Date has received high ratings from many of my friends and even if you’re vary because I didn’t love it, maybe you will. It’s got a cute premise, good vibes and general fun shenanigans which leaves very little room for dislike.

3 Hot Espressos