Jasmine is one of my favorite authors and didn’t disappoint with this one! I absolutely love Max and Olivia and all their little quirks. 4 star rating from me!

Another amazing read from Jasmine Guillory! I loved following along with Max and Olivia’s story from the start, and it was a fun surprise to see Alexa and Drew written in as well! Olivia’s character was so well written - she was strong and independent, worked hard for what she wanted and knew how she deserved to be treated - and she wouldn’t fall for a man who accepted anything less! I love reading Jasmine Guillory’s books because I always feel like I get sucked into the story and the characters are usually fairly relatable and hard not to love and root for. Thank you , NetGalley for the ARC!

This book read very quickly (would definitely be a good plane read), Almost to the point of their being limited character development. Its hard not to love Jasmine's writing, she's so good at telling stories. Waiting for the Kara and Wes get together story!

The book we all need right now. Light with a side a romance and race relations.
I love a good Jasmine Guillory and this one does not disappoint.

Olivia is making a change in her life, moving from her New York to Los Angeles and starting a new firm with her friend is all Olivia really has time for. She carefully and thoughtfully made all these plans and now she needs to focus solely and making it work. Until she meets Max at a hotel bar.
Max is a new Senator with grand ideas who tends to act on impulse.
A love story with fun characters and writing with difficult conversations thrown in. Guillory writes characters that you would want to be friends with in person.

This book was great. A fun romance between two strong characters. I loved how Olivia was so independent and didn’t give up her values just because she was in a relationship. It was great to see Olivia and Max’s relationship developed - how they worked together, supported each other, and also pushed each other to do better. This is a super fun read.

I'm so glad this was a return to form for Jasmine Guillory! I had been disappointed by The Royal Holiday so I went into this one with low expectations and ended up very pleasantly surprised.

This entry in the Wedding Date series focuses on Olivia, older sister to The Wedding Date's Alexa, and her relationship with Max, a California senator she meets after moving back to the west coast. I thought the characters were engaging and well-rounded, with believable flaws and great chemistry.

Can i just say I am so grateful I stumbled upon Ms. Guillory two years ago and happy that I was able to start her author journey with her. This is her 5th book and let's just say she keeps getting better and better. Is it possible that this is cuter than book 1 maybe? perhaps?. Out of her five novels three are interracial couples and am here for it. This is story is about Olivia.(heroine of book one sister)She has just moved back to California and started up her lawyer office along with her friend Ellie. While at a bar she strikes up a conversation with a stunning handsome white man but tried not to be too interested. She finds out later on he is the Senator Max. This novels had all the feels some comedic layers and talks about a whole lot cake and wine. I enjoy how Ms. Guillory does not hold back about the race difference between them. She does not sugarcoat it but yet is still able to make them believable and lovable. I enjoyed how Max was all in with Olivia before she even knew that she wanted that. Review on Goodreads and amazon.com

Another delightful entry in Jasmine Guillory's Wedding Date series. The capable and driven Olivia Monroe, older sister of Alexa from the first book, has just moved to LA to open a law firm with her best friend. She meets Max at a hotel bar, not realizing that he's actually US Senator Max Powell. The two hit it off but are both reluctant to get involved with someone because of their careers. However, their terrific chemistry and deepening friendship make it harder to stay apart.

Guillory does a great job of writing characters, especially women, who are passionate about their jobs, and not just biding time until a man comes along. This story had a similar plot issue to The Wedding Date, in which two people who both love their work have to figure out how to compromise to be together, without sacrificing their own priorities or identity. She's mostly successful, although I still have some questions about how this will work long-term. But I am 100% rooting for Olivia and Max!

Party of Two is an enticing romance destined to encourage you to keep reading to discover how Olivia and Max survive the media's 'reaction to the handsome bachelor senator from California dating again. When Olivia who is determined to succeed in her recently established law firm in LA and Max who is equally determined to get some of his bills passed in the Senate collide, fireworks explode. It is a great read.

Oh man, I just loved this. I stayed up waaaaaay too late last night reading, because I just had to finish it. Guillory writes romance novels that are like tasty, beautiful three layer cakes. You've got the decoration on the outside (it's like catnip every time she describes an outfit one of the main characters is wearing) and then on the inside, all the really good stuff (consent! issues of privilege! equity and parity! feminism!). I can't get enough of the way she's writing romance right now.

I think Guillory's gonna be one of my go-to beach reads this summer. I think I want to buy a couple more of this title for the library, just so I can hand-sell it to patrons. (Who am I kidding? No matter how many I buy, they'll be checked out all summer!)

Thanks so much to the publisher and to NetGalley for the digital ARC.

Loved this book. As an avid fan of Jasmine, it was an absolute joy to read about another character who we first learned about in The Wedding Date. Once again, we got a fun, swoonworthy romance that was contemporary by dealing race and social issues. It was fantastic and is a great summer read.

Charming little romance along the lines of Guillory's other recent novels. This time it's Alexa's older sister, Olivia, who gets the novel treatment. Not quite as heartfelt as the others in this series, but no less enjoyable for me. I just don't think my connection with Olivia is as strong as the other characters in this series, but I still flew through this book to get to the happy ending.

Jasmine Guillory never ever disappoints, are you kidding me? While I do think that she's got a bit of a playbook forming (a few of the inner conflicts here are similar to some of her other characters, but I think she pulled them off better this time. Olivia's emotional arc is a little more satisfying than Nikole's, in my opinion) it's a wonderful playbook to read. Olivia and Max have a lot of chemistry, even though they really are polar opposites. I loved to read a heroine that says multiple times throughout the book, "give me a few days to think about it." She doesn't let Max's puppy dog energy steamroll her or make decisions for her, they find compromises. Of course like any good Guillory novel, they are workaholics and eat a ton of food, but at this point, this is what you are signing up for! I would love to see Guillory take on a character that wasn't so ambitious or felt a little directionless, I feel like that would be an interesting turn for her. But for now, I'm happy to see some badass women of color making their dreams come true and falling in love in the meantime. Her books are always a fun, empowering, sexy escape.

Party of Two
by: Jasmine Guillory @jasminepics
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Thank you to @NetGalley and @berkleyromance for an ARC of #PartyOfTwo! *Party of Two comes out on 06/23/2020, and I may have already preordered my copy to go with all my other @jasminepics books!*
YES! YES! YES! Last week, I dropped off all of my Jasmine Guillory books with a friend (from a safe social distance), and I told her I loved them and was so excited for Party of Two coming out in June! I jumped on the chance to request this from @netgalley, and I was thrilled when I got the notice that I could get it! I downloaded it to my Kindle and finished it in a day!
This book focuses on Alexa’s sister, Olivia - I love how the familiar characters pop up, and I can’t wait to see who’s book is next...Jamilah or Wes or both?
After Olivia meets Max at a hotel bar, she sees him - or Senator Max Powell - on TV when she gets to her room. When they meet again, Max finds out she works at her own law firm and sends a chocolate cake instead of flowers (how smart!). They flirt, fall in fall, fight, but will they figure it out?
I loved the political spin on Max and Olivia’s romance. Her past and his present both contributed to their public problems, but privately, their relationship is pretty steamy! (🔥🔥🔥)
I really wish I could come up with a political pun to sum up how I feel about this, but I’ve got nothing except a quarantine joke... it wouldn’t be “right” if you “left” your house, so stay home and read Party of Two.
#callireads2020 #bookstagram #jasmineguillory #romcomreads @berkleyromance

I started and finished this book in the same day. I loved the main character so much. A strong and independent woman always makes for the best main character. I fell in love with their love and I didn’t want the book to end.
Thank you to Netgalley and Berkeley Publishing for the advanced copy.

Jasmine Guillory does it yet again with Party of Two, the latest installment in The Wedding Date series.

Party of Two re-introduces us to Olivia, Alexa’s sister who we met briefly in the first book, as she navigates a new love affair with a well-known politician. There are some light crossover characters and storyline with The Wedding Date, so while this book can definitely be read as a stand-alone novel, you may want to read The Wedding Date for some background info (the other 3 books in the series can be read out of order from these). ⁣
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🔥🔥🔥 Also, following suit with the previous books, this fun, super quick read offers some blush-worthy steam but not quite Fifty Shades level. Enter at your own risk. 🙃⁣

Thank you Netgalley and Berkley for the advance egalley of this book.

Everything Jasmine Guillory writes is excellent. It’s hard to get anything else done when I have a new book of hers, because I want to read it in one sitting if possible. Party of Two is a great new addition to her expanding cast of characters.

You guys! THIS ONE IS (so far) MY FAVORITE IN THE SERIES. I LOVED IT SO MUCH. As soon as this one comes out you should <i>definitely</i> read it. The protagonists are interesting and believably flawed, and end up together in such a nice way. Sometimes, when you read romance, the grovel isn't good enough, but this one was! SQUEE!!! The larger end problem fell completely within the characters explained flaws - it didn't come out of nowhere, and it wasn't so horrible you can't believe that it would happen, but it was also something that the characters can overcome. PLUS, the ending was super cute. So A+++++ from me!!!

This was a perfectly adequate contemporary romance. I was disappointed by Guillory's last two, but this one was much better. Max and Olivia are charming characters, their relationship is fun and sexy, and the obstacles in place are true to the character beats, but not so awful that you can't believe in the HEA.

This book is sweet, smart, entertaining, scandalous! ( the heroine is kickass lawyer and her name is Olivia, too but she doesn’t have any gladiator minions worshipping her and she’s not dating -thankfully- with first man Fitzgerald but privileged, wealthy senator and their chemistry is sizzling, hot as hell!) I may say this is one of the best books of the series and more realistic approach to the struggles having in a relationship when you’re dating with hotshot, rising star of political arena.

Both characters are well-developed and the opposite attracts situation well reflected: Max, charming, brilliant, intelligent and also romantic senator is like a dream come true. But he is impulsive, spontaneous, hot-blooded. When he wants something, he wants to get it whatever it takes. (It reminded me of a Leo or Aries man, ascendant could be Cancer because there is domestic side and lots of love of food!)

And when it comes to astro analysis of Olivia: she reminds me of Aquarius (Intelligent, visionary, independent, carrier oriented and her reputation is so important for her.) Her reluctance of taking risk and being poised, strategizing and planning everything help her to distance herself from the merciless blows of outer world but it also prevents her live her life fully.

But the best thing about the book: (at the same time it was the worst thing because even though I don’t have sweet tooth, I craved, screamed for cake! Now I understood and adored Marie Antionette so well. This book’s motto must be: “LET THEM EAT CAKE”) there are too many pies and cakes spattered around each pages and I literally bit my Ipad so many times and my teeth bled! At 3 a.m. I woke my husband( okay, I lied we’re in quarantine and we are up all night, watching Netflix like other regular people!) and forced him to bake some cake but unfortunately we stocked so many unnecessary things (like veggies, fruits) and necessary things (booze, new tequila shot glasses) but we forgot buying flour! (Actually throughout 14 years of marriage we never bought flour and we confuse it with chalk dust)

So my friends I advised you before reading this book: stock cakes and pies at your home to enjoy this book or you can turn into me a crazy redhead scream for additional sugar fix!
Overall: Characters are lovely and we welcomed two characters for first book of the series (Alexa and Drew) Olivia is sister of Alexa. Even though at the last part of the story: I found Olivia way too much stubborn and insecure, I still got their differences and her past frustrations. At some parts her lack of romantic look and so much realistic approach to their relationship bothered me as Max acted like enchanted puppy dog who worshipped the way she walked.

Pacing, angst, drama: It was well balanced and necessarily well told.

Ending: Conclusion is a little formal for old school romantic like me. I am always great fan of big romantic over exaggerated gestures. Epilogue was much better but predictable.

My stars: 3.5 (I cut some points that I mentioned at the top paragraphs) rounded up to 4 stars. It was still entertaining, lovable, moving, thought provoking, motivational book with great and important political, social messages. So far, my favorite of the series!

So much thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for sharing this sweet (cake craver) ARC with me in exchange my honest review.