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Darling readers, if there was ever a meet cute that was tragic yet amazing, isn’t it stuck in an elevator?  Perhaps stuck in an elevator isn’t anyone’s greatest desire, but I’m definitely here for it in The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory.  This novel is a 2018 Goodreads Choice Awards nominee for Best Romance, and came in at #3 (and we highly recommend #1, and the rest of the trilogy, if you’re in the market). 

Alexa and Drew legit meet when they’re stuck in an elevator.  Alexa is meeting her sister who’s in town, and Drew is in town to be in a wedding.  Shocking no one, Drew asks Alexa to be his date to the aforementioned wedding, and sparks fly.  They live on opposite ends of California and attempt a long distance… something, while also pursuing two very intense careers, and honestly, it was everything I wanted it to be.  

For me, the highlight of The Wedding Date is the supporting cast.  Both our leads have a BFF at work who is also a BFF in general, and call them on their nonsense.  If you don’t have one of those, HIGHLY RECOMMEND 15/10!  Truly, one of the best gifts my BFFs (work and otherwise) give me is calling me on my nonsense, usually in a spirit of love with a side of snark, and don’t we all need that from time to time!  Someone to push us to get out of our heads and just leap because the net will appear (or we’ll stop wondering what if at the least, and y’all, this is a romance novel, so we know how this is ending) and cheer for us when it does.  Because of the distance, following our leads through their relationship was more of an ensemble experience as each worked through until the next weekend they could be together, and I do love a good ensemble novel.

I’m giving The Wedding Date 4.5 stars and rounding down.  The writing was amazing, the story was fun, and I genuinely want to hang out with 95% of the cast of characters in real life.  I’m rounding down because while this is definitely a novel I’d recommend highly, it’s not a contender for book of the year, for me.  However, I am very likely to continue in the series, and in fact, have already read and adored The Royal Holiday, and especially recommend it if you’re looking for a novel featuring older leads (hear: Vivian is visiting her grown daughter who’s on a work trip).  

What’s a comfort novel that you really, really like, but don’t love?  (That’s still a glowing endorsement y’all!)

~Nikki 

Jasmine Guillory is a New York Times bestselling author of multiple romance novels including the Reese’s Book Club pick The Proposal, Drunk on Love, and today’s reviewed title, The Wedding Date. Her writing has also appeared in such publications as The Wall Street Journal, Cosmopolitan, and Time. A frequent book contributor to The Today Show, she lives in Oakland, California. In a previous career, she was an attorney and graduated from Stanford Law School.

Sometimes what one wants in a romance novel is for the book to just get started. And our meet cute between Alexa and Drew happens within the first few pages, little to no background is given on the characters, and we jump right into the story. This lack of exposition pulled me straight into the book and didn’t let me go until the epilogue was completed. I didn’t appreciate the semi-miscommunication trope that went on during some of the plot, but I can certainly understand how it happens from my just being a human being in the world. It doesn’t mean that I have to like it in my novels. As Nikki also stated, the cast of secondary characters is excellent, especially the surprise of some of the women in Drew’s life. I do want to give a little warning that Drew is a doctor at a pediatric hospital, and that job entails some difficult diagnoses to read about. Proceed with knowledge and caution if you need to.

I’m giving The Wedding Date a solid 3 star, meets expectations. The book was modern and realistic with little ‘hold my beer’ energy I love in a rom com. The intimate scenes started on the descriptions but then stopped before things could get deliciously juicy. And we know I’m a slut for the good sex scenes. There was no lack of opportunity, but we know that a New York Times Bestseller is not likely to have the type of scenes I prefer. I’m still interested in Guillory’s other titles, especially The Royal Holiday, but I will not be rushing towards finishing up her titles.

~Ashley

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