A groomsman and his last-minute guest are about to discover if a fake date can go the distance in this fun and flirty multicultural romance debut by New York Times bestselling author Jasmine Guillory—author of the Resse Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club Pick The Proposal.THE USA TODAY BESTSELLER#5 LibraryReads Pick“A swoony rom-com brimming with humor and charm.”—Entertainment Weekly (The … rom-com brimming with humor and charm.”—Entertainment Weekly (The Must List)
“What a charming, warm, sexy gem of a novel….One of the best books I’ve read in a while.”—Roxane Gay, New York Times bestselling author of Hunger
Agreeing to go to a wedding with a guy she gets stuck with in an elevator is something Alexa Monroe wouldn’t normally do. But there’s something about Drew Nichols that’s too hard to resist.
On the eve of his ex’s wedding festivities, Drew is minus a plus one. Until a power outage strands him with the perfect candidate for a fake girlfriend….
After Alexa and Drew have more fun than they ever thought possible, Drew has to fly back to Los Angeles and his job as a pediatric surgeon, and Alexa heads home to Berkeley, where she’s the mayor’s chief of staff. Too bad they can’t stop thinking about the other….
They’re just two high-powered professionals on a collision course toward the long distance dating disaster of the century–or closing the gap between what they think they need and what they truly want….
One of…
Entertainment Weekly’s “12 Romances for V-Day” • Cosmopolitan’s “2018 Anticipated Reads” • Elle’s “2018 Must Reads” • Harpers Bazaar’s “New January Must Reads” • The Fug Girls’ “Best Books of the Year” • Elle UK’s “Books to Get You Through 2018” • Nylon’s “January Must Reads” • Hello Giggles’ “New Release Recs” • Electric Lit’s “Books by WoC to Read in 2018” • Bitch Media’s “2018 Must Reads” • BookBub’s “2018 Romance Must Reads” • Bookriot’s “Must Read 2018 January Releases” • RetailMeNot’s “2018 Must Reads”
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I read The Proposal last year. I wish I had read them in order only because if you read the 2nd one first, you already know how the 1st one ends. Although honestly, I think we all know that most romcoms are going to end with a HEA, so it wasn’t a huge spoiler. It’s how they get there that intrigues us.
In The Wedding Date, Alexa and Drew get stuck in an elevator together and somehow Drew ends up with Alexa as his date to a wedding he’s dreading. He ends up saying that she’s his girlfriend and the “fake dating” trope begins….which I love. Alexa and Drew immediately feel an attraction and a one-weekend fake relationship ends up being not enough for them. My only complaint about this book is how long they continue to see each other for hook ups and both pretend that it’s nothing more. I wanted to yell at them to grow up and communicate. But then, the book would have ended so much sooner. The book is steamy and Alexa and Drew just seem perfect for each other. I enjoyed reading about a smart indepedent woman. I loved how Drew made Alexa feel sexy and beautiful. This was a great read for February!
This is my second Jasmine book and I’m currently feeling gun-shy. It didn’t do it for me. The hero – and I use that term lightly – is ridiculous and arrogant. The heroine is better but – but! I happened to listen to the audio and I would have dnf’ed it under normal circumstances but it’s short and I’ve seen great reviews. I needed more than sex, food, and jealousy.
Cute
Ahhh I LOVE when I get a book that is really, truly 5-stars right from the beginning and The Wedding Date has it going on and then some.
What started out as a unique meet-cute ended up as a story that was truly heart-warming (as cliche as that is). I couldn’t love the main characters more, with all their insecurities and flaws. Honestly it was really refreshing to read a story with a strong (although slightly insecure… but aren’t we all) Black leading lady; I hadn’t realized until I started The Wedding Date how tired I am of monochrome characters. I love how Jasmine Guillory writes in some mixed-couple awkwardness, calls out microagressions in side characters, all in a very natural way.
I will absolutely be reading everything Jasmine Guillory and in fact already have The Wedding Date #2 in my Libby queue.
This was a cute book, my first by Jasmine Guillory. I listened to this in audio on Audible. The narrator did a great job bringing emotions to the characters. I’m more used to first person reading, and this being third person made it different for me. Drew is clearly your handsome doctor who sucks at relationships and so destroys them before they even have a chance to become anything. Alexa is a lot like me, not sure of herself at times and lacks confidence in certain areas of life. A chance meeting on an elevator when these two are trapped inside turns into Alexa being Drew’s date to a wedding. From there a friendship forms and more. I enjoyed these characters and the ups and downs with them. I am interested in reading the next book in the series.
Really sweet. The story moves at a good pace, and the characters’ actions are generally believable.
I don’t understand how this book received so many favorable reviews. THe characters lacked substance and the story was contrived. THe author spent a great deal of time telling what the characters ate during meal time and not enough time was spend on character development. I cannot in good conscience recommend this book.
The first book in a growing series (that can all be read as stand-alones; characters thread, but no prior knowledge is needed), Jasmine Guillory certainly reeled me in to a position where I’m now one of her biggest fans. This book centers on a male and female lead who end up trapped in a broken elevator together, and the man invited the woman to be his date to his ex’s wedding (ultimately as his faux-girlfriend). Ah, the faux-girlfriend. A tried and true romance trope. We could end here and think we know what happens, but this book is so much more than the old standard premise, and the twist of complete strangers taking on this adventure (rather than the typical friends who either secretly or don’t know yet that they like each other) keeps you hooked. The author offers well-developed, likable characters who you really want to root for. I also greatly appreciate books that alternate between the male and female perspective; sometimes when we just get the female perspective, it’s a bit too close to real life (“What IS he thinking??”). I want to know what the male protagonist is feeling! Nothing about the author’s book(s) are particularly groundbreaking or exciting, but they’re warm, funny, and dependable, which is sometimes just what we need. They’re eminently re-readable, feel-good books. And I like that.
I really enjoyed this book I love books that are happy
This review is for an ARC and is my unbiased, honest opinion.
I have pretty strong feelings on this one. I really thought it was going to be this happy, go-lucky book and it just wasn’t. We meet Drew Nichols, he is a groomsmen for an ex-girlfriend’s wedding. His date to the wedding backs out last minute and he’s desperate to find a replacement. Enter Alexa Monroe. They just happened to meet on an elevator in a hotel and when the elevator gets stuck, they hit it off. Drew asks Alexa to accompany him….and there the story begins.
First off, I really enjoyed this being about an interracial couple. I think we need more of these stories to be honest. I also liked that this book touched on deeper subjects while still keeping it light. Sometimes when books discuss deeper subjects, the tone changes and you just feel a shift. That wasn’t the case in this story. I feel like we were taught some things and didn’t even realize it was happening.
This couple had some real issues with self doubt and self consciousness. Their thoughts ran rampant the entire book. They constantly played what if scenarios and it was exhausting. Trust me, I get it. I’m the queen of what if scenarios, but it got to be what the entire book was about.
My major issue was Drew. Could not stand the guy whatsoever. Sorry, not sorry. It felt like all he wanted from Alexa was…..bedroom time. Have a problem? Fix it with bedroom time. Don’t want to talk?…bedroom time. He came off very immature but this was a grown man with a career. It takes time and dedication to become a doctor so I didn’t get it.
Overall, I feel like Alexa deserved better. She is an amazing woman who deserves to be treated as such. I loved her character and learning more about her family, friends, etc. She was the star in this one for me.
I am a total sucker for the fake-relationship trope, especially when it comes to weddings, so how could I resist this fun, flirty read?
Elevator meet-cute
Interracial couple
Long-distance relationship
All the food!! People, these characters love to eat! Off the top of my head, things mentioned-
I was pleasantly surprised by The Wedding Date! I loved Drew and Alexa’s banter and their chemistry was of the charts! I also think their budding relationship was nicely balanced against the stress of their individual daily jobs and living a fair distance apart. And the food! Donuts, coffee, dumplings, tacos, pizza etc …every time I turned a page, I felt like food was mentioned and I loved it! My only pet peeve was the almost juvenile lack of communication between these two. I just wanted them to sit down and lay it all out there to see where things could go Otherwise, very cute read and I’m looking forward to reading more from this author!
I actually read The Proposal first and I really loved the book. I then started to read The wedding date and everything was so similar I had to DNF.
Sweet story with good characters, but the romance did not blow me away. So it was just so-so for me.
I read this book in a weekend! It was that wonderful!
This was the second book that I have read in this series, and even though I was out of order, it did not matter whatsoever. I enjoyed Alexa and how strong, independent, and successful she is. I was impressed with her drive and goals and the fact that she knows who she is.
I also liked Drew, despite his initial flaws which actually made me like him more, and it was so endearing to see his love and passion for his career and for his patients.
I did enjoy the cast of secondary characters, and I also thought the initial meeting was unique and humorous.
The dialogue was easy, quick, a pleasure to read, and there were so many lol moments.
I also enjoyed the ending and found it fitting and satisfying. I do plan on reading the rest of this series.
In all 4/5 stars as I loved this book, however I truly enjoyed Royal Holiday more, and am looking forward to reading the rest of this series.
I love this story. Drew is so frustrating but at the same time he’s upfront about how feels about relationships. Alexa is just as equally frustrating but she’s just not the non-relationship type of woman. I like them both and I think they are both so overwhelmed with all the feelings that creep in while they are just enjoying one another. What an explosion waiting to happen, very entertaining too. They have great friends, Carlos is great hopefully he will get his own story. Feel good romance novel, I lucked up and found available to read at my local library, never read anything by this author but just decided to give it a chance. So glad that I did, I couldn’t put it down!!
unoriginal
If you’re looking for an easy, no-thoughts-necessary kind of book, you might like this one. I was in a mood for a little more meat to my story, so it felt a little lacking to me (they drink, they eat, they have sex; repeat). It was fun to see the characters work out their issues, I just would have liked to see them do a bit more. If you’re looking for a really easy beach read, though, this could work for you.
A entertaining read. I enjoyed the book but it seemed to be a little repetitive right before the ending.