The Wedding Date, published in 2018, is the book that catapulted Jasmine Guillory to romance novelist fame (she’s since written seven more novels, each one more popular than the last). Filled with Guillory’s trademark wit and warmth, the novel follows Alexa and Drew—she’s the Berkeley mayor’s chief of staff, he’s a pediatric surgeon based in LA—as they try and make a real relationship out a fake wedding date. Like any good romance, it all starts with a meet-cute. Alexa is visiting her sister at the Fairmont hotel in San Francisco, the same hotel that Drew happens to be staying at for a friend’s wedding, when the two get stuck in the elevator together. The chemistry is instant, and after some flirty conversation, Drew asks Alexa to be his date to the wedding. Actually, he asks her to pretend to be his girlfriend at the wedding since his actual girlfriend (now, ex) bailed on him at the last minute, but regardless, Alexa says yes. The wedding goes off without a hitch, and after their night of pretend-dating, neither want to stop seeing each other. And so begins a whirlwind romance as Alexa and Drew fly back and forth between Berkeley and LA trying to figure out their feelings for each other… is this a fling being extended past its shelf life? Or could this be the real thing?
I’ve been a fan of Jasmine Guillory for a while—The Proposal is one of my favorites, and I recently read and loved Party of Two—but this was my first time reading The Wedding Date. Like all her other novels, I absolutely adored it. Guillory’s writing is easy and warm, the romance between Alexa and Drew is relatable yet swoon-worthy, and the protagonists’ surrounding elements—the foods they eat, their best friends, the issues they have at work—feel so authentic. One of my favorite things about this novel is the lack of dramatics; there’s plenty of conflict and resolution, but it all happens at a level that feels compatible with real life (or, at least, a charmed version of real life). I also enjoyed the way Guillory frequently alternates between Alexa’s perspective and Drew’s. Hearing both sides of the story made me immediately invested in their relationship and kept me rooting for their happiness until the very end. The Wedding Date is funny, steamy, insightful, and joyful—this is romance writing at its best.
I’d recommend this book to…
- Anyone who loves a good fake-relationship turned friends-with-benefits situation… it’s similar in theme to Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert
- Anyone looking for a romance with clear perspective and a sense of humor… it’s similar in style to Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan
- Anyone craving something comforting and optimistic… it’s similar in tone to The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams
