i thought this book was ADORABLE. really, really, really enjoyed it.

not quite sure if i loved it so much because it was really fabulous, or because i just finished a not great book. whatever i don't even care why.

this book started off.... a little clunky. like the writing was forced. i almost put it aside - not DNF, just to the side - and picked something else up but where i was i had to keep reading because i couldn't download anything else. i'm so glad i pushed through that first or second chapter. read this in one night! my husband kept laughing at me because i was smiling like a loon throughout (almost) the whole book.

the thing i love about this book is that it's very realistic, and sometimes that's not easy to read, but this author made it so. you know at the beginning of a new relationship and you're afraid to be like hey, is this a relationship? am i your girlfriend? did you mean what i think you meant when you said that? did you mean to move away? etc etc. uncomfortable at times, annoying because hello just communicate but so realistic and i personally loved it.

there's an adorable meet cute (i mean, stuck in an elevator with a hot guy? sign me up, as long as it's safe lol), a fake relationship trope (that obviously turns into not so fake). i loved the way they dealt with their careers, race issues, 'long distance' (shortest long distance relationship ever) and commitment issues. i loved the side characters and alexa's relationship with her sister. carlos was fun too.

my only small complaint is that though there are plenty of adult scenes in this book, they are mostly fade to black, but not in the way that it could be categorised as 'chick lit' in my opinion. those against adult scenes might be put off by them and those for adult scenes might be bummed at the lack of them. there is definitely chemistry and sexual tension though, and i love how they navigate their fake relationship into a real one.

all in all, i thoroughly enjoyed this book, so it gets 4 stars from me. is it absolutely perfect? who knows, who cares? i had a fun time reading it and that's what reading is all about. i loved these characters, i loved their story, i loved the ending (that epilogue gahhhhh) and i would not mind seeing them again as side characters in someone else's story. i will absolutely read more from this author. i definitely got hungry while reading though, i'm not annoyed about all the food mentioned but other people seem to be.

oh and that cover? gorg.

i will say though, sorry author, i loved it, but $11.99? you're on crack. it must be good crack, but crack nonetheless. i personally do not pay more than a few dollars for an ebook, unless i have some no-rush-shipping-credits, and even then i've never paid $11.99. i'm sorry! but you need to lower the price girl. so i can shout this book from the rooftops and tell everyone to buy it.

received copy from netgalley! i will absolutely buy it when the price goes down so i can have a copy for myself (i don't keep arcs).

This was so fun! I really enjoyed Guillory's writing. I picked this up because it was recommended by Roxane Gay and it didn't disappoint. The steaminess level is fairly low, so great for first time romance readers. The story is engaging and the characters very likable.

I really loved every minute of this book. I don’t typically love romance novels, but this one is funny and smart and sweet and I would absolutely recommend it to a wide audience of readers.

There were a lot of things I liked about this book: two career driven characters; timely, difficult issues that real world couples would likely have to work through; a fun and not too sappy plot. It felt like a realistic read - Reading this brought back a lot of warm, fuzzy feelings about the start of my current relationship, which I thoroughly enjoyed. What I didn't like were the actually characters themselves. Both of them seemed to have real trouble communicating in a clear and efficient way, especially to each other. Rather than see the characters work through that, we would see them blow up at each other and then let fate bring them back together. I'd rather have seen real apologies or heard their thought process as they thought before they spoke rather than be completely controlled by emotion, especially as they were both in two careers that truly require you to think before you speak (law/politics and medicine) and would likely have had a significant amount of training in that area.

DNF @38%.

I had a hard time buying into this romance, because I didn’t feel any chemistry between Alexa and Drew. Also, Alexa’s lack of self-confidence was disappointing. I didn’t feel engaged enough to continue.

A copy was kindly provided by Berkley in exchange for an honest review.

This books is so charming! The characters are lovable, the emotions are relatable, and the descriptions of food made me really hungry (tbh, I need donuts like right now). I love the way Guillory dealt with consent in sexy scenes and discussions about race between Alexa and Drew. Their relationship and miscommunications feel so authentic, and I was rooting for them the whole time.

Thank you to Net Galley for providing an ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book. A light, fun romance with believable characters and an interesting premise. I often become frustrated with romance novels when the characters have low self esteem and make assumptions, instead of speaking honestly to the object of their affection. This was the case here, but given the somewhat unique situation, I was more sympathetic than I might otherwise be. The ending was a bit predictable, but didn't take away from enjoying the story.

Writing this review pains me because I was so excited about this book. The premise sounded like the perfect rom-com and I was expecting to have so much fun while reading it. And while yes, the storyline was entertaining, I also found the execution wasn’t exactly what I was looking for.

But first the story. This I liked and I almost wish we could see this as a movie. It would be a hit! Cute guy gets in elevator at a hotel with a young woman who is preoccupied with her phone. Until the elevator gets stuck and they have to talk to each other for a while. She’s a local, meeting up with her sister at the hotel. He’s there to attend his ex-girlfriends wedding and doesn’t have a date. What better idea than to bring this stranger as his fake girlfriend? I was sold! And up to that point I was really enjoying this story.

Where it started to get on my nerves was with Alexa’s personality. She’s not very confident, she’s actually not even sure how such a hot man could want to date her. She feels she’s too curvy and not good enough. Not once does Drew make her feel that. She just constantly has these insecurities in her head and she projects them and picks fights. Because obviously he must be getting ready to dump her any second. I mean why would he want to go out with her? Arghhh, I mean once I can deal with. Two depending on the situations that sparked her insecurities. But she just kept doing it and it was getting aggravating.

That aside, I think this was a cute story and a quick entertaining read. Not quite as funny as I wanted it to be, and the sexy factor is on the low scale, but it was different and I’m glad I gave it a shot.

Link will be added next week when review posts.

The advance hype for this debut by Jasmine Guillory was one of the reasons I couldn’t wait to get my early copy. The Wedding Date is a sweet, at times cute ,romance. It starts out well enough with Alexa and Drew getting stuck in an elevator together. She’s at the hotel to visit her sister and he’s in town for the wedding of his former best friend and ex-girlfriend. As it happens his date backed out at the last-minute and when he and Alexa hit it off right away he asks her to play the part of his fake girlfriend. She agrees, expecting a night out with a cute boy, but ends up with much more.

You guys, I wanted to love this book so much, but in the end for me this is a read in three parts:
-The first 30% or so which I thoroughly enjoyed and gobbled up.
-The middle 60% which dragged on and on and felt like it had no real depth or character development.
-The last 10% (including epilogue) which was wonderful.

I almost put this book down several times. Everything felt like fade to black or off page, from the sex scenes to the getting to know you to these two spending actual time together. I never really got to know either character other than the fact that Alexa is the Mayor’s assistant who likes donuts and comes off as insecure at times (at least to me) and Drew is a pediatric surgeon who tends to break off his relationships before they get too serious. THAT’S IT. I wanted to get to know them better. I wanted to know why Drew is so afraid of relationships and why Alexa always thinks the worst is about to happen even though she’s obviously smart, and talented, and lovely. I wanted there to be long talks about their childhoods and intense, angsty communications between them because they obviously cared about each other.

I think my other issue with the middle 60% was that Alexa and Drew constantly, constantly, CONSTANTLY looked for something wrong in each other’s deeds or words. It drove me nuts. The first argument is because of something that happens over text and I honestly couldn’t believe that these grown adults even had this conversation over text message. It’s something a teenager might do with their girl/boyfriend. Toward the end it’s like they were both just looking for the other to mess up and waiting for something crappy to happen, then kind of willed it into being.

I’m not a big fan of the BIG MISUNDERSTANDING, because half the time I’m just annoyed that the H/H couldn’t find a way to communicate with each other, and that’s exactly how I felt reading The Wedding Date. With Drew and Alexa everything is just surface level until the big miscommunication. Surface level sex, surface level talks about their days and their likes and dislikes and childhoods and well, everything. Alexa has one conversation about her childhood and relationship with her sister with Drew and Drew leans on Alexa one time when he needs a sympathetic ear. I wanted more.

I feel like there was so much potential for this storyline. I loved the premise and enjoyed each of the characters (what I got to know of them), but wished the romance was executed better. Final Grade-C

Favorite Quote:

“I’m so glad I got stuck in that elevator with you,” she said.
“Me, too.”

This was such a fun sweet book I couldn’t put down. These characters were so easy to connect with.

Drew and Alexa are such a cute couple. They met in an elevator at a hotel that broke down. Their budding relationship continued long after that elevator ride when Drew asked Alexa to be his wedding date.

They both lived in different cities and loved their jobs. Drew is a doctor and Alexia is a mayoral chief of staff. The way they were able to make a relationship work long distance was remarkable.

This was a fun lighthearted read you wont be able to put down. This was the perfect debut novel for this author. I am looking forward to more of her work.

A sweet but predictable story of two people who fall in love and have obstacles along the way.

As I pull into the parking lot of my eight-year-old’s elementary school, mucky slush from the morning’s snow sloshing under my tires, I think of how welcome an escape from the interminable cold and blah of a groundhog-saw-his-shadow mid-February in Ohio would be.

And that’s what I was hoping for when I picked up the much-promoted Jasmine Guillory novel, The Wedding Date.

Featuring a realistic protagonist, complete with wiggly bits and a serious donut fetish, The events of The Wedding Date take place in a setting about as different from the one in which I live as can be – sunny California.

As the book opens, Northern-California native Alexa Monroe is stepping onto a hotel elevator, heading up to visit her east-coaster sister who is in town for an important business meeting.

It’s not until the elevator unceremoniously stutters to a stop that Alexa realizes she’s sharing the elevator – must be a big fucking elevator – with a full-fledged, chiseled-body hunk.

The trapped duo soon discovers that the power has gone out, but they are assured that a generator will kick on shortly, allowing them to continue their upward travel with only a slight delay.

As they sit, trapped in the elevator, they begin to chat – obviously, because standing silently with someone in the elevator for 15+ minutes would be awkward AF. Alexa learns that the hottie with whom she’s sharing the car, Drew, is a pediatrician – which, let’s face it, is the sexiest form of doctor there is… no offense, podiatrists.

Drew lives – and saves the lives of children – in LA, but has come into town for the wedding of his ex-girlfriend, which he won’t just be attending, he’ll actually be participating in. And as if being in the wedding of an ex isn’t enough, Drew’s pity date backed out at the last minute so he’s facing attending these oh-so-awkward nuptials minus a plus-one.

And so an idea is born.

Alexa can go as his date.

But it will be just that.

One wedding weekend, and then they part ways.

Well, if you’ve ever seen a rom com – most specifically the rom com with which this book shares a name – you’ve probably already guessed that it won’t work out as neatly as planned.

No, in the grand rom com form, this single weekend turns into one of many, as they develop feelings for each other that are so intense – so uncontrollable – so unexpected – that they have no choice but to fall, head first into a relationship.

So, in terms of an escape, did this book work?

That’s a hard – and disappointing – kinda.

Working in its favor was the fact that Alexa was a “real” woman.

In a bit of a break from the norm, we weren’t presented with another leading lady who “can just never find love” despite wearing a size two and having both Pantene Pro-V commercial level hair and flawless – read, poreless – skin. Nor are we given a we-are-going-to-pretend-she’s-fat-but-she’s-not-really-fat heroine, as in one of my personal favorites – sorry, Bridget, 130 pounds? Not on my best day.

The “flaws” and feelings the author attached to Alexa made her a largely likeable character so, despite how unlikely the relationship between her and Drew might be – and how inevitable heartbreak seemed – you really did want it to work out for them.

But the protagonist was pretty much all this book had going for it.

Okay, the protagonist and the cover. The cover was also pretty nice. Because I judge books by their covers. Because that’s a normal thing that all people do.

Anyways, the weaknesses were quite significant and unmitigated.

My first issue, the plot.

I had expected the elevator entrapment and wedding weekend to, essentially, make up the majority of this book.

But they didn’t.

Our protagonist and her love interest managed to both escape the elevator and navigate all the weekend’s wedding festivities by about a quarter of the way through the book.

So, what happened for the other three-quarters?

Well, pretty much just weekend after weekend of flying back and forth to see each other – doing nothing during these visits but eat (donuts, mainly) and have sex.

It’s all very fancy and very metropolitan and very something-that-a-rugged-successful-I-run-on-the-beach-in-the-free-time-wipe-the-sand-from-my-rock-hard-abs-pediatrician would do, but it also felt too divorced from reality.

Don’t you guys have things to do that don’t involve penises and pastries?

Aren’t you tired of sex now?

And, most importantly, how the fuck do you have so many frequent flyer miles?

The other impediment to my enjoyment of this book was just as significant – the overall writing style.

The prose as a whole was rather clunky and functional.

Let me preface that critique by saying I did afford what I would consider a substantial amount of leeway. Yes, this is supposed to be a simple and fun romance, not a complex exploration of the human condition, but even when a novel’s entire purpose is to provide an escape, I, personally, expect a bit more fluidity and grace in the writing.

Unfortunately, neither were present here.

The fact that I went into this book with such high expectations almost certainly intensified my eventual disappointment.

I wanted so badly for this cutesy-tale of an elevator-born love to be the escape that I sought.

But, alas, it fell short for me.

Way short.

As I read, I kept thinking, "Is this over yet?"

And that's never a good sign.

It's like when my son starts negotiating how many more bites of his casserole he needs to take before he can be done.

It means he doesn't like it.

When I long for the end of a book, it means I enjoyed it about as much as my 3rd grader enjoyed the tuna noodle concoction his father piled, a bit too enthusiastically, on his plate.

With a lack of keenness that surprises even myself, I give this one 2 out of 5 cocktails.

Four stars: A fun, flirty romance with memorable characters.

Alexa decides that if she is going to be trapped in an elevator, at least she is lucky enough to be caught with a drop dead gorgeous man, who also has a charming personality. Alexa and Drew quickly bond in the elevator over cheese and crackers. When the elevator power is restored, both find themselves reluctant to leave. Then Drew surprises himself and Alexa by proposing she be his wedding date. Alexa even more shockingly agrees. The weekend ends up being so much more than either of them anticipated. Despite their busy schedules, Drew and Alexa find themselves flying back and forth every weekend to see each other. Neither can deny the chemistry and the sparks, but how long can they keep up a long distance relationship?
What I Liked:
*The Wedding Date is a fun, flirty romance for when you want a romance without unnecessary drama. I loved the realistic and likable characters, the chemistry and watching the relationship unfold. This is a terrific pick me up romance.
*I adored both Alexa and Drew. Talk about opposites attract. I especially loved Alexa, she is a curvy, African American woman, who is smart, hard working and a bit insecure when it comes to her curves. However, that doesn’t mean she lives on rabbit food. It was so refreshing to see Alexa embrace the foods she loved, especially donuts and coffee. Drew is a handsome, Caucasian male, who doesn’t like spicy food or black coffee. He is a pediatrician, devoted to his patients. He is a sweetheart, but he can never commit to a long term relationship. I loved seeing these two try and balance work, real life and their relationship.
*Big props to the author for giving us a female protagonist who isn’t a gorgeous, stick thin blonde. I loved that Alexa was voluptuous, and that Drew was drawn to her curves.
*I liked Alexa’s confidence when attending events with Drew. She found herself as the only African American woman at the gathering, but she never let it get to her, she took it in stride. I was especially pleased when Alexa encountered all the beautiful, skinny blondes. I was expecting some cattiness, but the women were lovely. It was so refreshing!
Carlos was an amazing character. He was Drew’s best friend and confident. I loved him. I especially enjoyed the scene between Carlos and Alexa bonding over spicy tacos and comparing notes on Drew.
*I loved that both Alexa and Drew were successful and dedicated to their careers. In fact, their jobs play a big part in the story. It was endearing seeing Drew care for his patients, especially little Jack. I also enjoyed watching Alexa fight to create a program for troubled teens.
*The ending was lovely. I closed the book with a big, happy smile.
And The Not So Much:
*Even though I loved Drew, there was a time or two that he needed a good kick in the rear for his stupidity. Thank goodness Carlos was there to set him straight.
*Speaking of Carlos, I loved him, and I was disappointed that he didn’t play a larger role in the story. Perhaps the author will consider writing a book from his point of view.
*I was bothered that at the end as the book moves one year into the future, that there wasn’t closure on Jack. I longed to know how Jack was doing.

The Wedding Date isn’t your typical romance. I adored the down to earth, realistic characters with real jobs and distinct personalities. I also enjoyed the romance that starts with harmless flirting, and quickly moves into heat and passion. This is a romance with memorable characters and it is without the heavy drama. Grab this one for when you need something light and flirty.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for this review.
Posted@Rainy Day Ramblings.

Jasmine is on her way to meet with her sister at the Fairmount when she gets stuck in an elevator with Drew, a doctor (please, no Dr. Drew here) in town for his friends’ wedding. When they get stuck, Drew asks Jasmine to be his date to that wedding. Feelings are felt, chemistry is bubbling, and yes, sweet romance happens.

The Good, The Bad, and Everything In Between

The Good.
I’m a total sucker for the elevator plot device. Some of my faves have begun in an elevator. When Alexa and Drew meet there, it was definitely of the meet-cute variety and set the tone for the rest of their story. I could believe that these two clicked in a The diversity is such a plus. I love that she’s a curvy, black heroine, but she’s not the only person of color in the story. It’s a rich world, like something I would see in my everyday life. Even Alexa’s insecurity, which I’ll discuss later on, touches on colorism that exists in our society and gives you food for thought. Besides the insecurity, there are genuine long distance relationship issues that are handled believably, because above all, these two characters actually had some great conversations, genuine and heartfelt. It’s those conversations that make you believe in their relationship and in the viability of their HEA.

The Bad.
Alexa is an overthinker and usually insecure about her appearance, other people’s perception of her, and her insecurity is a constant. Even when I understand it, it’s just not something that I get alot of enjoyment out of when reading. Also, for a couple that actually speak to each other, when the inevitable occurs, the lack of a conversation was just meh, even if it served that romantic plot point.

Which brings me to this. Sigh. The romance itself didn’t hook me the way I wanted it to either. It’s cute, but it’s not compelling. I’m a big believer in the Firsts (meet, kiss, love scene) setting the tone for a romance, and here, they were just cute, fine, just ok for me. It was like they would build up to the sex, and then ....they're at the afterparty and I'm left wondering if I skipped a page.

Is it because the sex scenes were more PG-13, bordering on R, when I’m ready for some NC-17? Probably. So, this is a very subjective quibble, and really doesn’t reflect on the writing, more my personal taste when it comes to a romance where the leads hook up early and often.

But I imagine those who prefer sex scenes to be vague, or of the more fade-to-black variety, rather than descriptive, it may be more your cuppa than mine.

Everything in Between.
I touched on it briefly, but the professional lives they lead aren’t ignored and I did appreciate that. I loved that these characters don’t exist in a vacuum, solely for the purpose of romance. And that epilogue? As cute as the rest of the story.

The Bottom Line 3.25 stars
I liked alot of the elements in this story. It was cute, even if though the romance itself didn’t capture my attention the way I had hoped it would. However, I’m curious to see what she comes up with next and I would recommend this for fans of contemporary romances who like their heat on the mild side.


**ARC provided by publisher via netgalley for review**

I first heard about The Wedding Date when the the Berkley Romance team gushed about it during a Booze with Berkley episode and I knew it had to be one of my first reads of 2018.

I know it's very early in the year, and I'm going to be reading a lot more books, but I can confidently say that The Wedding Date is one of my top reads of 2018. So, skip that lame date this Valentine's Day and spend it with Alexa and Drew instead--seriously, if you're going to pick one romantic book this February, you can't find a more perfect one than The Wedding Date.

I love the premise of The Wedding Date. Alexa Monroe and Drew Nichols met when they both got stuck on an elevator and after a super cute banter about cheese and crackers, Alexa agreed to be Drew's plus one/fake girlfriend to his ex's wedding. Having more fun that either thought they'd have at the wedding and not wanting their time together to be over, Alexa and Drew ended up spending the night and the day together. As well as the next several weekends, flying from one end of the state to the other (Alexa is from Berkley and Drew lives in LA) as they fall into a long distance dating situation. Drew wasn't looking for anything serious and Alexa decided, for once, not to overthink things, but will their fling turn into something more?

I love everything Drew and Alexa! One of my favorite things about them was how secure they were and the satisfaction they feel in their chosen career. I found it very refreshing (and relatable) to read about people who are at a different point in their career--dealing with challenges on the job rather than struggling to get a job. Individually, Alexa and Drew were both wonderfully written characters. I so very much related to Alexa in her hangups about her body and her feelings of awkwardness when being the only PoC in a room of white people--some of the situations she experienced in the novel were almost the exact ones I've experienced. I do wish I have her confidence in public speaking and her ability to make small talk. As for Drew... I can only hope and pray that get stuck with my own Drew Nichols in an elevator. He's my new favorite book boyfriend. I love Drew and Alexa together! All their scenes, from their meet cute to them just hanging out and eating Mexican food/In-N-Out burgers/coffee/donuts to their fights and makeups, I ate it all up. They are my new favorite OTP!

I also enjoyed the secondary characters we met like Alexa's best friend Maddie and her sister Olivia, and Drew's best friend Carlos. It's been announced that Ms. Guillory's next book will be about Carlos, and I'm hoping the women will also get their own book so that we can spend more time with these group of characters that I've fallen in love with.

The Wedding Date was written with a very deft hand--it didn't read like a debut novel. The characters and plot were spot-on and we got a superbly charming and genuine novel about a mixed race couple. I both wanted to devour it and take my time with it so I can savor the story because I knew once I turn the last page I was going to miss Alexa and Drew (and I did--crossing my fingers we'll see quite a bit of them in Ms. Guillory's upcoming book The Proposal that features Carlos). Ms. Guillory has definitely made her mark in the women's fiction/contemporary romance genre with The Wedding Date and I have a feeling she will soon be a household name à la Emily Giffin or Jane Green but better because she adds sorely needed color to a very white genre.

Loved it! Our interview with the author is now live on iTunes and anywhere else podcasts are found.

This was a really sweet, fun, and super romantic story that had me smiling through almost the whole book. I really liked these characters and they way they met. Alexa was a fantastic heroine, smart, sexy, and successful. She had doubts and insecurities about herself but handled herself with class and style - I really loved her character. Drew was a good hero, he made me a little angry a few times but overall I liked his character. I really enjoyed this sweet romance and look forward to more by this author!

The Wedding Date was amazing!!! Thank you Berkley for a copy.

This is one of my most anticipated releases for 2018. It lived up to my expectations and it deserves all the love. I loved Alexa and Drew's relationship and the long distance aspect of it. We actually get all the aspects around this topic. I love their jobs and their relationship around them as well. Jasmine Guillory showed us that sometimes things might be more important but it's not impossible to try and make it work.

I related so much with Alexa, she's my favorite forever. She's power and I hope I can be like her and I absolutely adored everything about her.

If you love some fake dating, a weddings, cheese and crackers, lots of donuts and one sweet romance, The Wedding Date is for you!

Sometimes the universe conspires to throw two people together into a situation so they can meet and beautiful things can happen. In The Wedding Date, the two people would be Alexa and Drew, and the situation a stalled elevator. They chit chat, joke around and share cheese and crackers during the brief period they're stuck in there. Alexa's visiting her sister who's in town and Drew is there for his best friend's wedding though he's not looking forward to being in it. Since they got along so well in the few moments they were in a confined space, he's struck with the idea to invite Alexa to the wedding as his date. It's an unusual offer from a stranger but she accepts and ... voila! The last-minute wedding date turns into a few more weekend hook ups.


Alexa and Drew are both happily single and successful in their respective careers - she's the mayor's chief of staff and he's a pediatric doctor. The slight snag comes with distance - she lives in San Francisco and he's in LA. But since they hit it off so well that first weekend, they figure they could do the long distance thing and just see where it goes. No expectations, no pressure. At some point though it gets complicated. Even though they agreed to just have fun, the impulse to put a label to what they have going on and define who they are to each other is there. It's interesting how it's been sex-based this whole time and then all the awkwardness kicks in when they try to be serious about it. Funnier still how they can be physically intimate yet hesitant to initiate a conversation about where the relationship is headed. It just goes to show that even adults can't get it together sometimes.


I noticed some buzz in the last week about the fact that this is an interracial couple featuring a female POC. Personally, I'm glad for it because as one myself, it's nice to see something similar to my situation reflected in a story. Guillory joins the ranks of many of her fellow authors in giving POC a voice and showing them facing many of the same ups and downs that any couple faces. The Wedding Date doesn't make their racial backgrounds the main focus but rather how two individuals will navigate their relationship around their careers and any lingering fears of commitment. So what I'm getting at is that it's nice to see representation but for me, it's important that there's an experience within the story that anyone can appreciate.


The Wedding Date is an adorable story about two adults simply figuring things out and having fun along the way. It's one of those "good feels" books which I had a wonderful time reading. I cannot recommend it enough.


~ Bel

I was really excited to read The Wedding Date. I loved the idea that these two get stuck in an elevator together and in a time of need, Drew asks Alexa (his elevator buddy) to be his plus one at his ex girlfriends wedding that weekend. What starts off as a carefree night of pretend soon turns into a friendship and then into a relationship. The story sounds like something you would watch on the Lifetime channel and I was prepared to swoon my heart out. However, the story barely scratched the surface for me.

While I wasn’t expecting a whole lot in this story, other than an adorable romance, I was expecting there to be some sort of depth. I mean, you have two highly successful adults who have their lives and careers in two different cities. They have this crazy story of how they first met and became a sorta couple. Not to mention that they are a bi-racial couple which could pose problems down the road. There was just so many roads the author could have gone with this story. However, all we got were stolen weekends of sex. One would fly to the other on a Friday night and they’d bang like rabbits, maybe have an encounter with a third-party, and then fly back to their own corners of California until the following weekend. I just never felt much of a connection to them, their romance, or their friendships. If you took out the sex and them ordering out food… the book would probably be a fraction of the size. While I don’t mind sex in my books (I’ve been known to read erotica), I was hoping for more of an actual story. Something that would make me swoon, make me root for them, make me sad or upset when one of them was being stupid. Instead, I just felt ho-hum about it all.

One thing I did enjoy about the story was when you’d get to see them at their jobs. Mainly, when they weren’t on their weekend sex-fest. I liked getting to watch Alexa try to figure out how to get her program for the city kids approved, or watching Drew check up on his patients. Those were the moments that made me start to see the characters take shape instead of being a name on a piece of paper. They are both really passionate about their jobs and I loved what they did. I wish we had seen more of that and maybe less of them in bed, ordering in food.

The Wedding Date has so much potential to be an adorable read. Heck, it would make a great Lifetime movie. However, I wish there was more substance. All I took away from this story was that they don’t cook and instead only ever eat out or order in food, and they have sex… a lot. I guess I was just hoping for more. If you’re looking for a light, breezy romance than this would definitely foot the bill. However, the repetitiveness and lack of actual depth and story line left me wanting more.