The Wedding Date
By: Jasmine Guillory
Published Year: 2018
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 320
Summary (Provided by Goodreads): A groomsman and his last-minute guest are about to discover if a fake date can go the distance in a fun and flirty debut novel.
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...
First Impressions
The cover and summary of this book are a 10/10. The first impression was so strong that this book immediately jumped to the top of my to-read list for 2018. Honestly, not much more to say for first impressions.
What I thought
This book is cheesy in the best possible way.
Alexa and Drew get stuck in an elevator. Drew is in town for the wedding of his ex-girlfriend and ex-best friend without a date, and asks Alexa to be his date. When she says yes, they are both pleasantly surprised. But when what is supposed to be a two night fling turns into something a little more, neither of them know the next step to take.
The concept of this is so freakin cute. I love that there are two attractive people that get stuck in an elevator, have immediate chemistry, and then just happen to act on it. Alexa is adorable and has a lot of spunk. She works for the Mayor as the chief of staff and is just an all around good person. I love that her career in politics/schmoozing helps her manage the wedding situation. Drew is also a heart melting character. He’s a pediatric surgeon with a heart of gold, but of course, commitment issues.
Alexa has some major self-esteem issues which can be a bit annoying at times. I was a little confused at times by her self-talk. She would freak out and internally talk about how uncomfortable she was with the situation and then she would manage herself perfectly. Drew also is a self-saboteur. He, for some reason, thinks he’s going to mess up everyone that dates, so he only dates them for a few months and doesn’t let himself get attached. He makes this pretty clear to Alexa when they first meet, but of course, that doesn’t stop Alexa from liking him.
I liked Drew’s friend Carlos a lot, even though Drew is a total jerk to him. I wish that Carolos could have been in the book a little more and that Drew could have been a little nicer and proved why Carlos continues to be friends with him. I also wish that Alexa had a little more interaction with her friends. The story starts off with her hanging out with her sister and hints at some issues they have, and then she isn’t mentioned again until more than halfway through the book.
If I could make this into a Hallmark movie I would! It was so cute and sweet and had the right balance of romance with stupidity. I connected with Alexa and Drew's relationship and was rooting for them from the moment they met. I would highly recommend this book if you enjoy romance stories and Hallmark movies. I'm also impressed that this is a debut! I'm excited to see what else Guillory has to offer.