This was a little slow to start for me but once it got going, I was totally on board! I've enjoyed this whole series so far and will continue to pick them up.

Ben Stephens is living his life and loving it. Everything is going the way it should and that’s just fine with him. Until Anna Gardiner lands in his world and all of a sudden, all bets are off.

Anna Gardiner is a successful actress looking to hit mega-stardom. The last thing she needs is a walking, talking, sexy distraction named Ben Stephens.

Business is business. Don’t mix business with pleasure, right? That goes south real fast.

Put two people in a high stress situation and it tends to strip away the pretense. That “mask” many of us wear around folks that we don’t know well enough to reveal our true selves. Then the plot starts to simmer because they are no longer just an executive and his client.

Ben and Anna are flesh and blood. Remember in Notting Hill when Julia Roberts tells Hugh Grant “I’m just a girl, standing in front of a boy”? One of my favorite cheesy movie lines – it’s kind of like that in While We Were Dating. What started out as a harmless flirtation is now very something real. Can Ben be Hugh Grant to Anna’s Julia Roberts?

Jasmine Guillory gives us another charming, very sexy, easy to read story in The Wedding Date universe. Yes, of course, we have the side characters, and pop ins from characters in previous books, but the two protagonists are the meat and potatoes. There are some real life issues woven into the story that are very relevant in today’s social construct. That just made it better for me.

Write on Jasmine! Write on.

This wasn’t for me. An ultimate slow burn kinda sorta fake dating? Just didn’t work for me. It was very slowly paced in the beginning and I wanted to like it, but ultimately wasn’t that into it.

WHILE WE WERE DATING is the sixth book in THE WEDDING DATE series, and I’ve read and enjoyed them all except for the fifth book, PARTY OF TWO, that I somehow missed and is now on my TBR pile. All can be read as standalone books.

The story held my interest from the first page to the last with likable characters that have a depth to them. This is Ben and Anna’s story, and we get to know them a little at a time. Their wants and needs, the stresses they’re under, as well as what makes them tick, really comes through. I enjoyed delving into their lives and how they came to be supportive of each other.

Anna is an actress dealing with anxiety who wants to be the best she can be and get the best roles to showcase her talent. Ben is in advertising. He’s unexpectedly tasked with being the lead of an ad where Anna will be the actress selling the product. They have instant chemistry, and the story only takes off from there.

The plot has a nice flow. While there is a lot of steaminess, it adds to the story. There are multiple stories being told, and they’re woven nicely together. Ben somehow fits into Anna’s life like no one else has before, but there’s an expiration date to their dating. I liked their interactions with their families and how they focused on the jobs they each had to do. There are laugh-out-loud moments as well as serious ones dealing with therapy and mental illness. The nicely portrayed happily ever after gives closure to the book, though I felt it ended a little abruptly. I hope that means there will be a seventh book in the series since there seems to be more story to tell.

Ms. Guillory is an author whose books I’ve enjoyed. Her characters have a realism about them, and I feel we get to know them. I liked the cover. It was spot on!

I read the first 2 in this series - The Wedding Date and the Proposal - and then stopped. Until I got my hands on While We Were Dating and I got sucked back in. It is the story of Ben, a marketing executive who can’t settle down and Anna, the movie star starring in the commercial being produced by Ben’s firm. It features the never gets old trope of fake dating but with a twist. And while I loved the slow burn romance and I loved both Ben and Anna, I really loved that the book tackled mental health with so much honesty, truthfulness and no sugar coating. It was two incredibly likable characters dealing with a storybook swooning romance but also working through real life anxiety, body image issues and stress. I applaud that a fun romcom dealt with real issues.

Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group
Pages: 384 pages
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Goodreads Rating: 4.09 ⭐️
My rating: I loved it! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for the e-arc!

SUMMARY:
Anna and Ben meet when Ben pitches an advertising campaign for an add that Anna is staring in. This is his first big break and he needs it to go well, and Anna is hoping this shoot will propel her fame into new heights so that she can land larger roles and eventually get her Oscar. A long road trip turns into forbidden love, which creates a real-life fake fling for the paparazzi.

MY THOUGHTS:
📸 I love Jasmine's writing and how her stories are so fun and light. They suck you in and you are just as much in love as the characters are.
📸 RomComs are predictable, but that's why we love them!
📸 The way that both Ben and Anna got annoyed with the little things as they were getting to know each other was very relatable. I did think there were a few steamy cringe moments that were sort of distracting to me, but I think this series are a good moderate steam series!
📸 I can't wait to do a ranking of these books. I know my favorite, but need to think on the order of the middle ones. I think this one will be near the top!

The fake-relationship trope doesn't really kick in until more than halfway through and I continue to find Guillory's dialogue a little stiff (I guess therapy speak in casual conversation is pretty commonplace but something about seeing it on the page still feels clinical), but otherwise there's lots to like in this romance! Guillory excels at writing warm, relatable protagonists and her well-drawn characterization of anxiety is especially accurate and empathetic. It's a fun ride and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a contemporary romcom or "beach read."

Ben Stephens does not get attached--he's able to keep the women he dates at arm's length, something he's working on in therapy--and able to focus on his work in an ad agency. When an opportunity to pitch a campaign for a phone with the talent, Anna Gardiner, present, Ben has a chance to shoot his shot professionally and flirt with a gorgeous actress. Anna is using the ad campaign to bolster her name after a terrible year filled with public anxiety attacks. She doesn't expect the flirtatious encounters with Ben to become such a fun distraction. However, the flirtation goes deeper as Ben and Anna get to know and trust each other after a family emergency.

This was such a sweet romance read set in the San Francisco Bay Area (interspersed with Los Angeles) with two Black protagonists and a bevy of the diverse cast all connected within The Wedding Date series who pop up intermittently. Ben is playful and uses avoidance-coping to deal with stressors in his life, Anna is genuine and giving, but both struggle with vulnerability. It was great to see their growth throughout the novel as it is told from each character's POV.

I think the ending was wrapped a bit too quickly especially with the logistics of everyone's lives (no spoilers). However, considering this is a series, it's always fun seeing where characters end up as they cross each other's timelines. Jasmine Guillory has proven to create complex, endearing, and sometimes frustrating characters.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Fun, lighthearted, and the perfect summer read, While We Were Dating had me laughing and smiling all the way through.

Premise

Ben Stephens is a young professional focused on his job and casual dates. Anna Gardiner is trying to get back to her normal self after a hard year and get some big acting roles.

But when the two meet during an ad campaign they're both working on, they're immediately distracted and want to spend more time together – no strings attached of course. That changes quickly when Anna and her manager convince Ben to be her fake boyfriend for the month to gain enough publicity to be casted a major role.

Characters

Neither Ben or Anna is ready for commitment, even though the two of them act like they're a married couple. This dynamic between the two was hilarious, because one second they'd have great banter and end up in bed, and the next they're awkwardly bouncing around each other due to their inability to commit.

In addition, both characters discussed mental health issues including seeing therapists, anxiety, and weight loss. Ben's dynamic with his therapist was also really interesting because of his commitment issues, he sometimes just didn't tell her key parts of what was going on in his life.

While both Ben and Anna were struggling, their own no strings attached relationship grew because of their ability to trust one another. They talked about fears, family, and more, and knew how to be there for each other during their struggles. It made their relation really interesting because it heavily added to the no strings attached vs married couple dynamics.

Overall

I highly recommend adding While We Were Dating to your summer rom com list! It's funny, sexy, and fast paced. It was great to see real mental health issues being discussed, especially with both main characters. This was my first Jasmine Guillory novel but it definitely won't be my last!

I've been looking forward to book six in The Wedding Date series ever since I finished Party of Two, and I was so excited when I saw that NetGalley had eARCs of it. So excited. Immediate request when I saw that. And it was worth it. It's not my favorite of the series (that belongs to Royal Holiday), but a very solid romance novel built on what is both a very unique and very common trope-filled plot, including there's only one bed, and fake dating.

Ben Stephens, brother to Theo from The Wedding Party, is not looking for a serious or full-time thing when movie star Anna Gardiner ends up as the lead actress for an ad campaign he's running. It's lust at first sight for both of them. They share an emotional drive from San Fransisco to LA one night, and learn that there's only one bed in the only hotel room left. Shortly thereafter, Anna's manager tells her that she needs to appear to be in a relationship, and she chooses Ben, who says he'll be good, he won't fall for her as he's playing her boyfriend and sleeping with her. Can he keep from falling for her? Can she keep from falling for him? Does her fake dating ploy get her the role she wants? Read to find out.

Jasmine Guillory’s “While We Were Dating” Is a Red Carpet Ready Rom-Com

What happens when an actress on the rise needs a boyfriend to push her image from A-list to A-list superstar? She picks the guy that’s pitching her the next ad campaign in which she’s featured. Ben Stephens is a junior executive for an ad agency that’s vying for this high-dollar mobile phone ad campaign. Anna Gardiner is the movie star that will be the face of the new phone. When they meet — by coincidence and luck — at Ben’s company’s pitch meeting, Ben falls in lust, and Anna is impressed … and a tiny bit attracted. Let the games begin.

While We Were Dating (Berkley) is the sixth book in the Wedding Date series by Jasmine Guillory. If you’re already a fan, you’ll remember Ben from the third book in the series, The Wedding Party. He’s always running late to … well, everything. He’s laidback, and he’s a bit of a playboy. But here, readers will also see his vulnerable side as he works his way through his feelings for Anna while dealing with a new-found sibling by his estranged father.

Anna also has issues to work through. For one, she’s a curvy Black woman in Hollywood, which means she’s extra-scrutinized and overly criticized. And since filming wrapped on her last movie, she’s been “in hiding” away from the cameras and the spotlight, dealing with anxiety and depression she wasn’t aware she had. But a role that Anna desperately wants has come up. In addition, the movie she filmed is about to be released, and Anna’s not sure what her character’s fate is in the movie. So, to up her profile as an A-list actress with a major fanbase, she’s got to prove she can garner personal buzz. So why not choose Ben Stephens? He’s handsome, charming and unfazed. A perfect fake boyfriend.

NOTHING’S FAKE ABOUT THE CHEMISTRY OR THE LAUGHS

Readers will love the chemistry between these two, laugh at the crazy antics they get into (with help from big brother Theo and girlfriend Maddie from book three), and live vicariously through this not-so-fake couple as they road trip along the West Coast and walk LA’s red carpet. But what I ultimately loved about this couple was how “real” they felt. If you liked Talia Hibbert’s Brown Sisters series or Helen Hoang’s The Kiss Quotient for the realness of the characters and felt for the struggles they have with mental disabilities and emotional and societal struggles while falling in love, While We Were Dating is for you. Guillory shows characters dealing with parental abandonment, anxiety and depression, and societal pressures of conventional “ideal” beauty. This adds a level of reality to an already entertaining romantic comedy.

But Anna and Ben aren’t just entertaining; they also make a steamy pair. The series has gotten progressively hotter from The Wedding Date with its fade-to-black love scenes to this installment, which is best described as steamy. Readers who have been following Guillory will be prepared for this shift, as her last two books have had at least one open-door love scene.

Overall, While We Were Dating is an excellent romantic comedy that effectively delves into the true-to-life social and mental issues of its main characters.

Thank you Netgalley and Berkley pub for this e-ARC! While We Were Dating was a highly anticipated summer release, Jasmine Guillory is one of my favorite authors and an auto-buy for me! I loved this romance between Ben and Anna. I had a hard time putting down this book and fell in love with this story and the characters. Cannot wait for more from Guillory!

I started this series and read all of them up to this one in about a week. I did not think they series could get any better and then it did. I love this author, I love this series and I love this book. The characters are so real and so complex. I feel like I am actually meeting them. The romance is good. It is funny. This book is the whole package. Read this book and series, you will not be sorry.

this felt kind of like "what if men were psychic and genetically enhanced to be perfect boyfriends" fanfiction, and in that sense i didn't really feel the romance like i like to. but i did like the characters. this was my first jasmine guillory and i'll probably give her another try!

I’ve read several Jasmine Guillory novels and they’ve all landed around the three star range (her covers are always worth five stars by themselves, though). I absolutely LOVE how diverse her characters are in each novel, but the chemistry always seems to fall a little flat for me. This one was no different. Something about the dialogue feels forced and awkward at times. However, the pacing and storyline held up. Three stars! Thank you Netgalley for my advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

This is my favorite book in this series. I’ve read all 6 books and I enjoyed the connections Guillory made between the characters in her little universe. The romantic leads in this novel were relatable and the romance is one you actively root for - which is what I wanted from this book.

Once upon a time in 2018 there was a book titled The Wedding Date. I picked it up on a whim. Honestly. I was looking for something happy and I got an offer for an advanced copy at just the right time. That was one of the best whims I ever indulged in, because that book was just an awesomely lovely and damn near perfect romance.

Fast forward three occasionally rather strange years and that wedding date has turned into an entire series that wraps itself around the friends of that original couple, and their friends and family, and hopefully and so on, discovering their own HEAs.

Quite often through either a meet-terribly-cute or a fake date or fake romance or some combination of all of the above. And this entry in the series is no exception.

Junior Advertising Executive Ben Stephens meets Oscar-nominated actress Anna Gardiner in what could best be described as a meet-cute professional edition. He’s supposed to be part of the team – meaning sitting at the table to represent diversity without being permitted to say anything – for an extremely important presentation to a big tech firm that plans to advertise their new smartphone as a lifestyle accessory. She’s the “talent”, the actress who will star in the commercials. Her contract gives her veto power over the campaign that no one seriously expects her to exercise.

But all his bosses are stuck at the airport, so he and an even more junior assistant are supposed to make the presentation they honestly created, all by themselves, at least until their corporate bigwigs finally show up. Anna is both wowed and charmed by Ben, and pleased as punch to see him take that unexpected chance and shoot for the win.

That all of the companies that present after him pull the same stunt that his intended to pull, bringing along an employee of color to fake diversity without letting them actually do anything puts Ben and his company ahead of the pack – even if it happened by accident.

But Anna, who knows first hand what it’s like to be picked second or third for a part because the powers that be just can’t believe that a black actress will have the same universal appeal as a white one, also knows how things work. So she firmly puts her vetoing foot down and says that she’ll do the commercials only with Ben’s company and only if Ben gets to be the lead on the project.

It’s a win-win-win from the very first day of production. But the sparks that Anna and Ben ignite behind the camera have the potential to cause them both no end of trouble – if they can’t resist indulging in them.

Both know that it’s bad policy to get involved with someone at work – or with someone they are working with – even on a temporary basis. Both have professional plans and goals that have the potential to be seriously derailed if they take their eyes off the prize they are seeking. Both of them have traumatic secrets in their pasts that they are afraid to share with anyone except their therapists. And they are both equally afraid of sharing that they even HAVE therapists because neither of them is in a position where they can appear weak. Ever.

When a family crisis pushes Anna into relying on Ben for a quick getaway and a long drive to reassure her that whatever put her beloved dad into the hospital this time isn’t serious, Ben and Anna let their walls come down much further than they ever intended.

And neither of them is able to put those walls back up. No matter how hard they try. Not even when Anna’s manager convinces her to pretend they’re faking it – to the point where they almost believe it themselves.

Escape Rating A-: My two absolute favorite books in this series are the first book, The Wedding Date, and the 4th book, Royal Holiday. But I’ve enjoyed every single book in the series because these are romcoms for readers who don’t necessarily love romcoms. The issues that arise between every couple in the series feel real, feel part and parcel of their personalities and their situation. There are no misunderstandammits here. What goes wrong is not something that could be resolved with a simple conversation because it goes much too deep for the solution to be nearly that easy.

Howsomever, unlike the first three books which take place almost simultaneously, the most recent books in the series stand very much alone. Not that there aren’t recurring characters – Ben’s brother was one of the members of The Wedding Party, after all. But it’s not necessary to know Theo from the earlier book to enjoy his cameo here. Especially the part where Ben and Theo are carrying a suitcase full of giggling actress.

As much as I enjoyed reading While We Were Dating – because I was really looking for a happy place and certainly found it here – it felt like I’d read bits of this story before – and relatively recently at that. I think if you put You Had Me at Hola by Alexis Daria, Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert and Girl Gone Viral by Alisha Rai into a plot blender the resulting story would have most of the elements of While We Were Dating.

Since I loved all three of those books, it’s not exactly a surprise that I’d enjoy something that blended the three of them. And if you liked any of those or any of the previous books in the Wedding Date series you’ll probably like the others too. Just in case you’re looking for something fun and happy to read like I was.

Back when I first read The Wedding Date I loved the hell out of it but never expected it to turn into a series. But every single follow-up to that first marvelous book has been a great big ball of fun, so I sincerely hope that there are more books on the horizon. For reasons that will be plenty clear if you read While We Were Dating, I would LOVE to see Anna’s manager get his romantic comeuppance. Even the Tin Man eventually got a heart..

Have you read Jasmine Guillory’s Wedding Date books? I enjoy them a lot and her newest book came out yesterday!
⠀
I enjoyed the chemistry between Anna and Ben and there was definite chemistry and some steamy sections to prove it! This is a workplace romance/fake relationship/star struck romance trope all in one and it worked, seamlessly transitioning from one to the other.
⠀
The best part of this fun book was how it normalized mental illness such as anxiety and made therapy sound like something everyone should do. Perfect characters are so boring, but there is no chance of boredom in this tale! Everyone should have someone like Ben around when we have our tough moments.
⠀
And everyone should read this latest book and all that came before it- they are all stand alone, yummy goodness.
⠀

I love a good celebrity romance trope (with a hint of fake dating) and I especially liked this one since the woman was the celebrity! Jasmine Guillory is the queen of romance and always creates strong, smart, independent modern women. I loved Anna and how she has overcome a some tough stuff in her life and how she fights for what she wants in her career. This character inspired me. And let's not forget about the kind and respectful Ben, who was the best book boyfriend!

I’ve loved Jasmine Guillory from book one and honestly, she just keeps getting better with every book she writes!!! I absolutely adored Anna and Ben’s story!! It’s my second book in a week with normal sized women, a body positive message, and a health focus on mental health - for both the man and woman!! Anna is such a great role model and BEN - what a sweet guy - he definitely made me swoon! This is top two of her books for me- it just doesn’t quite beat out Party of Two!

🧡Read it if you love:
Insta attraction
Celebrity romance
Fake(ish) dating
….and most importantly-ONE BED!!!!!!!!!!