This book is both fun and smart. If you love people who are very good at their jobs, you'll love this story. Alexa and Drew are both very functional and generally happy people, which I really love - their relationship doesn't fill some gaping need, it just complements their lives. And did I mention it's super fun and sexy? (Posted to Litsy; also thinking about a post on BookRiot.)

This is my second Jasmine Guillory novel this year and I think I preferred this to The Proposal. (It's really close, though; it's like choosing between The Godfather and The Godfather Part II, not like choosing between real food and McDonald's.)

This book is just a complete delight. On the one hand, I wish I had read it sooner but on the other, I'm really glad I read it when I did. It makes the world seem much less November-gray.

We didn't spend all that much time with Alexa in The Proposal and that's too bad because I absolutely fell in love with her in this book. She's fantastic and her job is in politics, which I am oddly jealous of. 

I am ALSO now even more excited about The Wedding Party, which is a companion novel to this and centers around Maddie and Theo. I am all in for that and everything else she writes.

Highly recommended.

I liked this one, but the more I read the less I was in love with it. If I'm honest I liked the wedding part the most. After the wedding there were things I liked and things I was meh on. Part of the problem I think was the hype. Some many people told me it was a me book and it just missed the mark. I look forward to reading more from this author through.

The Wedding Date was so fun! Reminiscent of lighthearted rom-coms. The main characters were so lovable, and their banter was adorable. Also I loved how much they ate in the book and it always made me hungry haha! I can't wait for more from Jasmine Guillory.

This was a cute, fun, quick read! I loved the concept and the characters were likable. But OMG SO MUCH FOOD. I almost got a stomachache trying to keep up with how much food everyone was eating all the time.

I read and decided not to finish The Proposal by this same author, but I'd heard so many great things about this book that I gave it a try. However, I felt this suffered from the same issues as her second book. The dialogue was unnatural and stilted, and the banter, while witty, was altogether too much. I think the story had the potential to be interesting, but the lackluster writing kept me from finishing it.

I've been putting off reading this because I got into the first two chapters the first time and felt a little underwhelmed with everything, so I put it aside for a better mood.

I finally finished this last night and um, I still feel underwhelmed. The character setup and the meet-cute should have been my thing, yet I felt disconnected with them and the story as a whole. Objectively speaking, this is a well-written book, and I'm bummed that I didn't love the characters and the story as much as I expected to.

Such a cute read. Can't believe this was a debut novel!?! Is that true? I totally connected with the characters, felt it, enjoyed it and would totally read this author again. I love me a cute, contemporary love story and this one hit all the marks for me. Thank you

I did not finish this book, and will not be posting an official review on my website. I liked the characters well enough, and I appreciated the diversity of the characters. I just wasn't connecting with anything, and felt the story to be pretty uneventful. I decided to throw in the towel when, at 37%, I still wasn't enjoying the story.

Though I liked the book, I made the decision at the time I finished not to review it on my site. Maybe in the future I will include it in a book list post or another article.

This enjoyable quick read felt like reading a quick romance but in an elevated form. The characters were real and experienced growth and they had sex and enjoyed it and it told us about it. Overall I highly recommend this selection.

Rounding up to 5 stars because it's hard to believe this came from a first-time novelist. I'm not the biggest fan of romance novels, but this book has been hyped all the way up and it deserves every accolade. It's super fun and frothy without being totally mindless.

Guillory is from the San Francisco Bay Area and oh boy does it show. As a Bay Area native, I can say this is easily the most Bay book ever. The characters are constantly eating and in great detail; In-N-Out gets namechecked constantly, and the handful of restaurants that aren't explicitly named are described so well it's clear where Alexa likes to get ice cream. I loved it.

After several tries, I put the book down. The author does a great job putting together a story, but I had problems with both characters and ended up not liking them enough to continue.

“Alexa Monroe walked into the Fairmont hotel in San Francisco that Thursday night wearing her favorite red heels...”

I loved so much about The Wedding Date! Like, oh my word, what a damn treat! Seriously friends, I know this cover screams Valentine’s Day, but this is the perfect summer read! Jasmine Guillory’s beautiful debut novel stars two people who take an elevator ride that will change their lives.

➽ Drew Nichols - Pediatric Doctor from Los Angeles, white, and freaking out that he is in San Francisco to attend the wedding of his best friend to his ex, dateless. Oh, and Drew doesn’t do girlfriends.

➽ Alexa Monroe - Lawyer, and now Berkley’s mayor’s chief of staff, black, and just trying to get to her sister’s hotel to celebrate her graduation. But Alexa is too busy with her career to risk her heart.

And while Drew and Alexa are stranded, and bonding over crackers and expensive cheese that Alexa had in her purse because she’s my damn idol, Drew realizes that Alexa might just make the perfect wedding date to the wedding he is dreading.

You all know this is a romance book, so you all know where this is going. And, Lord, it’s adorable. But you also know what it is? Important. Alexa constantly checks Drew on his privilege. And for the most part, he understands and learns from it. From Drew letting Alexa know if she is going to be the only black person at an event, to Drew realizing the different opportunities and free passes he had growing up just based off his skin color. This book has so much good inside it.

“White men hated it when you reminded them of their privilege”

This book also puts a spotlight on how important it is for us to work with underprivileged youth, especially from low-income areas. Not only was Alexa smart, beautiful, and successful, she also went the extra mile for what she was passionate about and what she believed in. Systemic oppression is real, and I loved how the author found a way to shine a light on it in a steamy romance book.

“I know, but Drew, you’re a white guy. Life is different for you. You were born with a benefit of the doubt that black kids never get.”

And even though I was completely living for this romance in every way possible, my only real “critique” of this book is that it has somewhat fade to black sex scenes that just kind of feel abrupt and disjointed. Like, the sexual angst, tension, and scenes are all there, but it just doesn’t feel as good getting a few sentences of what is happening and then *bam* they are back to doing whatever they were doing before, or whatever new activity after. This is honestly my only real complaint about this book. But this book is really sex positive, and I was here for that from start to finish!

The only other kind of side-eye I have going on is because Drew didn’t realize how amazing Alexa was right away. And sometimes it seemed like his friend Carlos was the best wing man in the entire world and deserved just as much credit as Drew! Also, side-note, The Proposal is about Carlos, Drew’s colleague and friend, and my heart is so damn happy.

Also, food is brought up constantly in this. Like, I was highkey hungry every time I picked this book up! In my opinion, I think this book is really food positive, too, but there is also a constant discussion about Alexa’s body in this book. And even though I think it’s super well done and empowering, I can also see how it could be triggering for some. Also, trigger and content warnings sexual content, for racist comments that are always challenged, and talk of disease diagnosis for a child (I know this is specific, but it’s one of two triggers that I personally have).

Overall, I loved this. And you know I’m always here for the fake dating trope done right! And Alexa was a treat to read about, and she deserves the entire world. Also, this is completely irrelevant and unprofessional, but Jasmine Guillory is honestly the cutest author in the damn world. Seeing her author picture at the end? Oh my word, what a confirmed angel! Also, I can’t wait to read the The Proposal and everything else this author creates, because The Wedding Date was such a blessing.

The ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I loved The Wedding Date! The pacing was spot on, I never lost interest in the characters, the relationship, or where the story was headed. I also liked that while the book didn’t hide the fact that the couple was interracial, it was just a fact of the relationship and not the reason for any relationship issues the couple encountered, and everything was handled in a believable, realistic manner. So glad it had a happy ending! I can’t wait for the authors next book!

A delightful romance! Fun and charming with likable, real characters. A perfect one day read. Recommend!

This book is good to read on a road trip or while on vacation. My library has purchased copies of this book. I'd recommend via readers advisory.

The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory is romantic, sweet, and so relatable--a shining star for contemporary romance!

Hype may have killed this book for me maybe. I'd heard so much praise for this one, which definitely raised my expectations. Though, honestly, I'm not sure if, even with low expectations, I would have liked this one much.

Romance is a hard genre to write, because pretty much everything depends on whether or not the reader believes in the love between the couple. If you're not invested in the leads or not invested in them together, there's generally not a lot to really make that reading experience delightful. And, unfortunately, I very much unshipped Drew and Alexa.

Alexa works for me on paper. She's Black, she's a lawyer, and she's working in government. Her biggest goal in the novel isn't landing a boyfriend but getting her community to agree to help at-risk teens. I absolutely love that, and I think the concept there is on point. I just don't think her characterization is totally solid, and she spends a lot more time thinking about how fat she is than being the boss that she is. I absolutely get body image issues, and they're a fucking bitch to deal with, but I wanted to see her make progress on that or at least have it not be her most significant character trait.

Drew on the other hand I didn't like much to begin with and hated by the end. Sure, he's a hot doctor who works with kids, but he's such a walking cliche. He doesn't do relationships and he's dated basically every hot woman he's ever met, but suddenly he has massive feelings for this woman he met in an elevator. This cliche can work, but Drew has so little characterization. He says/thinks a bunch of times about how he dumps women when things are going well because he doesn't want them to end up hating him, but there's no indication of where this comes from. His inciting incident (his ex-girlfriend from college and bestie from college getting hitches) isn't the source of this, because he dumped her while she was in love with him. Maybe it's related to his parents (most things are), but they're never mentioned. I don't know why he's like this, so he just seems like an asshole.

Together, Alexa and Drew lack any sort of chemistry outside of the physical. Their banter is lacking in vibrancy and I don't feel a real emotional connection between them. They do ask each other about what's going on in their daily lives and remember a few basic details, but other than that, they're constantly fraught. They don't communicate, instead bottling feelings up, acting out and then apologizing, or storming out. Alexa's a bit jealous, but Drew's massively jealous of every other guy in her life, including her male best friend Theo and Drew's best friend Carlos. They find jealousy a sign of caring, but it's actually more a sign of a lack of trust. In the end, they wouldn't even be together had Carlos and a patient's mom not given him pep talks to get his head out of his ass. I hate hate hate that the mom of a kid with cancer had to spend time talking the doctor through his love life.

I'm thrilled that an interracial romance with a Black heroine is so successful, but I think Alexa deserves so much more than a jealous asshat.

This is a super cute romance. When Alexa is stuck in an elevator with handsome stranger Drew, the spark is instant. He’s going to the wedding of an ex-girlfriend and former best friend, and he doesn’t have a date. After knowing each other for only a short time, he asks if she’d want to be his pretend girlfriend. She agrees because it’s only a couple days, and then he’ll fly back to LA while she stays in Bay Area.

There is a lot of sex, which I don’t normally like reading, but this isn’t raunchy, it’s tender and romantic. However, there was way too much of this stuff for my taste. While everything is well done, I found myself getting bored about halfway through and skipped to the last twenty percent of the book, which ends like you’d imagine.

If you’re looking for a cute, light-hearted read, Guillory does a great job of writing the race differences between the couple, and this is a fun book.