Reviewed at our blog on July 18, 2019 by Kaetrin. You can find Kaetrin's review at the following link:

https://dearauthor.com/book-reviews/overall-b-reviews/b-minus-reviews/review-the-wedding-party-by-jasmine-guillory/

Maddie and Theo are both Alexa Monroe's best friends and they hate each other. When Alexa invites both Maddie and Theo to be a part of her wedding party, they both begin to spend more time with each other and realize that there may be more beneath the surface than meets the eye. I thoroughly enjoyed Maddie and Theo's story, and it was great to back track to Guillory's first two novels, The Wedding Date and The Proposal, to see what is going on with the characters from different perspectives. I hope we'll get another novel soon with Theo's little brother! If you like charming, well-written, and funny romances with diverse characters, give Guillory's novels a try. You won't be sorry. I'll be diving into her next novel, Royal Holiday, soon!

Absolutely THE BEST! I love this author and this series. So thankful to have had the chance to read an early copy and talk this title up with my coworkers and patrons.

The Wedding Party is another great book from Jasmine Guillory. This book is about some of the secondary characters in her first book and it is fun to see familiar characters. The plot moves quickly and the characters are really likable.

i really liked the wedding date and enjoyed the proposal, not as much as book 1, but i still liked it. i was excited for this one - enemies to lovers, yas, here for it. but, um, we seem to be missing the enemies part?

it was a cute book and a very easy read, but it was definitely missing something for me. maybe it was because i was expecting more of an enemies to lovers.

Another great romance from this great group of California friends. I love seeing diverse friends and relationships with characters who are strong personally and professionally. These men and women live real lives with real concerns.

I was looking forward to reading The Wedding Party since I enjoy Jasmine Guillory's writing style. However, I was let down by the book. I managed to finish it, but it was mostly out of frustration, if that makes any sense. If you've read The Wedding Date or The Proposal, you've read The Wedding Party. Guillory offers nothing new in terms of tropes and content. Here again, we have a relationship that begins as a casual no-strings attached relationship between Theo and Maddie, just as the first two books. Personally, it's not one of my favorite tropes, so perhaps that's why I was so over it in this one. Speaking of tropes, I thought The Wedding Party was supposed to be an enemies-to-lovers story, but I would not call it that. Sure the two of them disliked each other initially, but there weren't any strong enemies-to-lovers vibes. It was sorely lacking in that intensity and chemistry. I generally had a hard time feeling anything for Maddie and Theo's relationship. I did not think they shared any chemistry and I found their relationship rather bland. All they do is have sex and eat pizza (seriously, so much freaking pizza it's actually repulsive). There was no build up to an emotional connection which made it very hard to care for this relationship. I don't think I liked the characters all that much either, if I'm being honest. I found Maddie to be quick to judge at times, and Theo was rather flat. It's a shame because I think these characters had potential, but they weren't for me. What I did enjoy The Wedding Party was the friendship between Maddie and Alexa. It was actually so good that I almost wish the book focused on their friendship instead of the lackluster romance. Ultimately, The Wedding Party was a bit of a disappointment. I unfortunately think Guillory's romances are too surface-level for me so I'm unlikely to pick up more books from her in the future.

I just love Jasmine Guillory's books. They're so personable and relatable. They're also written in such nice, easy language where it doesn't try too hard to be flowery but isn't matter of fact.
I didn't realize that this book would include other characters we have met already. I thought maybe we would meet characters from the Wedding Party, but I wasn't expecting Carlos and Nik from The Proposal. It added more to the story that wasn't needed but not unwanted.
I don't think there is a Jasmine Guillory book I will not love.

<b>4 Hiding What Everyone Sees Stars
* * * * Spoiler Free
This was a very special entry of the books by Jasmine Guillory. You have the enemies to lovers theme and there is so much more than that. What happens between these two characters is the discovery of their actually realizing they like each other and fall in love.

The best part for me was the real way these characters talked about all of the challenges they had in the workplace of always having to be the best...I did feel the hiding of the relationship for as long as they did was a bit frustrating. However, this book was so worth the time I spent with it. The world Jasmine Guillory has created is one I will visit every time.

A gifted copy was provided by author/publisher for an honest review.

After reading others' comments, I realized I've read this book out of order -- I didn't know it was part of a series when I requested it -- but that didn't stop me from liking it. I really enjoyed the main characters; their personalities really shine through, and I was rooting hard for them as the book came to an end. I'm not a big "romance" genre reader, so I'm not sure if all romances are as steamy as I felt this one was, but *phew* there are some scenes! I loved the ending, and I found myself laughing throughout the book, so it's a win for me. I don't feel like I missed out on anything because I didn't read the books in the right order, but I do want to go back and read the ones I've missed!

Thank you to NetGalley, Berkley Publishing Group, and Jasmine Guillory for the advanced reader copy.

I generally do not read this genre of book, but it was the selection of the week for my email book club (First Look) and I was curious enough to keep reading. Jasmine Guillory is a great author and I'm glad I tried her book. It was an excellent contemporary romance and I loved following the story of the two main characters.

This was another fun addition to jasmine guillory's rom-com series. Love the wedding theme and the enemies to lovers trope. there were times when the book slowed down but in the end, I enjoyed this book a lot.

4 Stars / 3 Steam Fans

I was hesitant to read this book in the series because I didn't like The Proposal; however, this book was as if The Proposal never happened!! Theo and Maddie don't like each other but had to deal with each other because they were both friends with Alexa (MC from The Wedding Date). The start was a bit slow and flashback-ish but then the story started to progress. Theo and Maddie had sexual chemistry but were just as frustrating with trying to keep that chemistry a secret from the outside. Although, the frustration was throughout most of the story in the end I was completely satisfied.

This specific video review will be included in the July 2019 wrap-up.

For other video book reviews check out my YouTube Channel: Steph's Romance Book Talk.

What happens when instead of meet cute you get meet crap? When Theo and Maddie meet, they both think that the other is obnoxious. Theo is a Mayoral assistant who works with Alexa, Maddie‘s best friend. When Alexa starts to plan her wedding both Maddie and Theo are an integral part of the big day. In this case, familiarity eases contempt as both discover things they like about each other. The relationship starts with a one night stand and goes from there.
Jasmine Guillory is quickly becoming one of my must buy authors. Each one of her books is enjoyable and the relationships are quirky. The sexual tension factor is high in this book and it’s a delight to see these two fall in love. The snarkiness, the hiding of the relationship, and the delusion that they aren’t in love makes for a great read. Seeing two characters from a previous book added to my enjoyment.
A great romance read!

The Wedding Party is the third book in the Wedding Date series, after last year’s marvelous debut, that actual Wedding Date itself, and the followup, The Proposal.

The books in this series have interesting commonalities, as well as surprisingly different opening, but they are all a whole lot of fun.

So far, at least, all of our couples have begun their romances not thinking that they were romances at all. Rather, every single couple starts out as a fling with a time limit, only to discover at a much later date that they have drifted into a real relationship without intending to. Generally without being willing to reveal to their secret significant other that that’s what they have become. And misunderstandings, heartbreak and hilarity ensue in equal measure.

But this series also serves as a kind of lovely introduction to the various romantic tropes, not in a way that is ever cliche, but more as an exploration of the many different ways that people can meet, fall in love, and eventually find their happy.

The first book, The Wedding Date, worked with the “fake date” trope, along with a “trapped in a stuck elevator” start. The stories in the series since that introduction, at least so far, are wrapped around the preparations for the actually wedding of the couple who began as each other’s fake Wedding Date.

The Proposal featured his best friend as well as the woman he rescues from extreme public embarrassment by pretending to be her bestie. The opening of that one is a lesson in “how not to do it” – a lesson that the hero eventually manages to take to heart. The romance in this one is the “rebound turned real”.

And now we’re up to The Wedding Party, and the romance is between two of the people in that party, the bride’s two best friends – who hate each other. So this one is an enemies into lovers story, and a terrific example of the trope.

All three of these stories take place somewhat simultaneously. The Wedding Date kicks things off, but The Proposal and The Wedding Party take place during some of the “offscreen” moments in that first book. In other words, this probably isn’t the place to start. I think you could, but I’m not really sure why you’d want to – you’d miss a lot about the circle of friends that is wrapped up in this wedding.

Those two members of the wedding party are Maddie and Theo, who have both agreed to be the bride’s attendants at the wedding; Maddie as a bridesmaid and Theo as a bridesman. The bride, Alexa, had to make up a title for him, but she doesn’t care as long as he’s part of her party – and he’s happy to be there for her.

Except that he’ll have to spend an awful lot of time with Maddie – and vice versa.

Alexa may be their best friend, but they can’t stand each other. He’s all buttoned down and standoffish, and she’s all fashion and flair. They get along like oil and water. They don’t mix, they don’t want to mix, but they both mostly hold their peace for Alexa’s sake.

It’s going to be awful for both of them, until the wedding. When they can stop pretending to make nice and go back to sniping at each other every chance they get.

Unless all that animosity is a great big cover up for something a whole lot more explosive.

Escape Rating A-: The thing about the enemies to lovers trope that underpins The Wedding Party is that, of course, somewhere along the way the enemies have to turn into lovers. That does not mean they have to love each other, especially at first. But it does mean that at some point they have to fall into bed – or against the wall – or get drunk and horny – or all of the above.

Which leads Maddie and Theo to fall into another classic romance trope. They both figure that the chemistry between them will cool if they just explore it to death. Which never works. They both expect to get the other out of their systems in time for Alexa’s wedding – if not well before then.

Instead, the lack of expectations in their non-relationship relationship allows them to be their truest selves with each other – selves that are not much like the self-protective worst that they both fell into when they first met.

The tension in this story comes not from the “will they/won’t they” because they do. Frequently and often. Instead, it comes from Maddie’s desire to keep their whatever-it-is secret. She doesn’t want Alexa to know – not because their mutual best friend will hate it, but because she’ll love it a bit too much and then be unhappy when it fizzles out.

But it doesn’t fizzle. It keeps on sizzling. By the time they’re both all in, neither is willing to admit it to the other, and the secrecy becomes a monster of it’s very own. And it’s really then that the tension ratchets up to the boiling point – and explodes.

One of the terrific things about this author is that she makes her characters, and their romance, feel real and not contrived – whatever the situation turns out to be. We see Theo and Maddie get real with each other, and we understand why it happens. And then, they do what humans do. They get scared. They react. They overreact.

And it feels like stuff that would happen to real people who have fallen in love and are admittedly being real stupid about the whole thing. They’ve gotten to know the real person hiding behind the others mask, and they like that person and want to be with them.

And so do we.

Next up in the Wedding Date series is Royal Holiday, later this year. Maddie’s mother Vivian gets her chance to find her happy ever after – and I can’t wait.

Jasmine Guillory is one of my new favs!

This is the third novel for Guillory in a series that tells the love stories of a group of friends in California. This time it's Alexa's two best friends, Maddie and Theo who get their happily-ever-after together. These two have been acquaintances for a long time because of their mutual best friend Alexa but they've never seemed to have anything in common except their taste in friends. But one night, that changes when they find themselves hooking up. They chalk it up to temporary insanity and try to avoid each other but they just keep ending up in bed together. Finally, they realize that they will never be able to avoid one another because they are both going to be in Alexa and Drew's wedding party. So, they decide to give in and have a secret relationship until the wedding is over and they can go their separate ways.

I loved Guillory's debut book "The Wedding Date" so I was anxious to see if she was a one-hit wonder or if she had the chops to repeat and she knocked it out of the park. The book was funny and modern and so full of a real love story.

The Wedding Party is the third book in the series by Jasmine Guillory. It features an enemies to lovers couple, Theo and Maddie. Their mutual friend, Alexa - she of The Wedding Date - recruits them to be in her wedding party. Much to their chagrin, they find themselves drawn to each other and hooking up behind their friend's back -- but just until the wedding! As one might guess, feeling get in the middle.

Like the earlier two books in the series, I found a lot of the relationship building and conversation to be stilted and repetitive. They order pizza so many times in the book, I was tempted to do a search for the work pizza just to quantify it. We're told that Theo and Maddie hate each other. When we get a flashback to understand why, it's clear that it's not a misunderstanding, they're just both rude. It was disappointing, because a good enemies to friends to lovers is a favorite troupe of mine. This is my third Jasamine Guillory book and I believe it will be my last.

Overall, The Wedding Party is a quick, light summer read, but some suspension of belief and comfort with awkward conversation are necessary.

Alexa is getting married, and her two best friends, Maddie and Theo, couldn’t be happier for her. Even though they both know they will be in the wedding, unfortunately that doesn’t change the fact that they despise each other. Maddie sees Theo as a pretentious know-it-all show-off, and Theo sees Maddie as a superficial, fashion-obsessed princess. Alexa knows her friends aren’t fond of each other, but so long as they both swallow their pride and show up for her, she believes it will all work out.

After an engagement party one night, though, Maddie and Theo accidentally take their relationship to the next level. Amazingly, their drunken escapades are super hot and satisfying to each of them, and now they’re both…confused. Telling Alexa what happened is out of the question, so they decide to figure it out themselves. No way they’ll hook up again (right?), but since it was all pretty fantastic, at the very least they will need to reevaluate what they think of each other and decide how to stay chill and handle their awkward relationship until the wedding is officially over.

MY REVIEW
I’ve only read one other book by Jasmine Guillory, The Proposal, and it was just an okay read in my opinion. I started The Wedding Party with an open mind and a “just have fun” attitude, and I had a more positive experience. The book is light and fluffy, nothing too serious, and with just the right amount of steam. It’s almost completely centered on the sexual tension between Maddie and Theo, but I really loved the moments when Guillory explores issues of gender and race—for example, when Maddie talks about her job as a stylist and how difficult it can be to style women of color in a way that is true to their personalities without being “too much!” for a whitewashed business world. It was interesting to hear Maddie’s perspective.

One thing did drive me a little crazy about the book. It made no sense to me why Maddie and Theo couldn’t just tell Alexa about their relationship. I get that the secrecy adds tension to the story and makes it more tortured (and therefore more emotional). But it wasn’t necessary or really even believable, and I had a hard time getting past it. The book is still fun and engaging, but this odd dynamic made the story seem contrived and, eek, kinda lazy.

In short, you might have to suspend belief a bit while reading The Wedding Party. It’s still entertaining, just not up to the five-star standard.

The Wedding Party has a little bit of everything you could want as a romance reader. It has some great banter, chemistry, a unique slow burn, and the added bonus of returning favourites. The Wedding Date series continues to charm with this next installment while showcasing why Jasmine is a must read romance author.

The relationship between Maddie and Theo is a fascinating one. It isn't a slow burn sexually but it is in every other way. They begin sleeping together which leads to them feeling more tolerable towards each other which eventually leads to something more. This felt so natural to who the characters are. Their sexual compatibility clicks before everything else does and that slow burns makes every other element feel more earned.

There is a touch of Pride and Prejudice in this one. Both Maddie and Theo can be stubborn, proud people. They also both have very set opinions about the other without taking the chance of getting to know each other first. Snap decisions are made and those prejudices will not be easily changed. Each made judgements based on the other person's job, style, and perceptions and reacted based on those opinions. Seeing those opinions shift and grow as the relationship progresses was the heart of the novel for me.

Cameos in companion novels are always my favourite but it is even better when some of your favourite characters have a larger supporting role in a subsequent book. As the synopsis reveals the novel is leading up to Alexa's wedding to Drew (the couple from The Wedding Date) and Alexa is a significant part of the story. Seeing all of these characters was comforting and familiar. It made easing back into this world feel effortless and provided the most satisfying payoff for readers who have loved and followed the series. Past events are shown from a new perspective which created a dynamic that can only be enjoyed by someone who has read all the books. It feels like a secret the author is sharing with the fans of this series.

The Wedding Party works as both a fun romance read and a wonderful goodbye to these characters. It is like a wonderful thank you to the readers who have devoured all three books. It was a delight to read and I cannot wait to experience whatever Jasmine Guillory writes next.

A delightful third book from Jasmine Guillory! Loved the characters and their story of falling in love.