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…

Goodreads

Title: The Wedding Date

Series: The Wedding Date, Book One

Author: Jasmine Guillory

Published on January 30th 2018 by Berkley

Format: Kindle, 317 pages

Genre / Themes: Contemporary | Realistic Fiction | Romance

REVIEW

I tried to write a short review, but I couldn’t. As much as I was expecting to adore this novel, Guillory’s fake-to-real romance story completely missed the mark for me.

The most infuriating part of this novel is how OVERLY DRAMATIC AND IMMATURE the two MCs are. They constantly have temper tantrums and run away from their problems rather than COMMUNICATING. Or they try to solve their issues with sex … ugh! The worst thing is ALL of their issues could have EASILY been resolved by TALKING! Instead, they CONSTANTLY jump to conclusions. There’s no real character growth until the epilogue, which I would’ve rather seen throughout the story.

I really didn’t like Drew. He’s clearly possessive and has aggression issues. When Alexa gets upset about things he’s said, he passes those off as jokes when they CLEARLY weren’t. Even though he was honest that he didn’t want anything serious from the beginning, he completely led Alexa on, acting more like a partner as the “relationship” blossomed. He’s WAY to jealous, especially when he’s been SPECIFIC on them NOT being in a relationship. And his lack of comprehension of women’s issues and racism was ridiculous.

I have mixed feelings with Alexa. I LOVE her passion for creating safe spaces for children and educating people on systemic racism. Her strong feminist vibes made me SO happy! But her immature behaviour towards solving her issues with Drew drove me nutty. Rather than talking or even letting Drew provide answers to her questions, she refuses to listen and runs away from her problems. I’m all for women standing up towards men who are manipulative, but Alexa also knew how Drew felt about relationships from the beginning. She should have told him her growing desire for a relationship rather than hiding it.

The side characters are what saved this novel. Carlos, Drew’s friend, is such a sweetheart. He’s constantly trying to help Drew, even when Drew constantly berates and acts aggressive towards him. And then there’s Theo, Alexa’s friend. He really cares deeply for Alexa, making sure she’s being safe, thinking about her wants and needs. I honestly would’ve preferred Alexa to end up with Carlos or Theo in this novel.

The Groundhog Day vibes DRAGGED ON! The book’s plot consists of: eating, sex, not talking about issues, repeat. So many wholesome sounding moments were just glossed over that I really wanted to read more about, such as the Santa Monica Pier and beach day. The sex scenes are also just skipped over, but in a really awkward manner. This book feels like it wanted to be romance but lacked depth, but also sensual but lacked smut.

Another disappointing factor was the lack of discussion on racism and interracial couples. Guillory hints towards discussing the complexities of these topics, especially with the amount of racism Alexa faces throughout the novel. But the depth was never there. I wanted Drew to really learn and show his understanding through actions as Alexa corrected him on his ignorance, but that never happened.

I wish I had more positive things to say, but this book really set me off. However, I AM going to try the other books in the series, especially since Carlos in the MC in the next novel.

I recommend this novel if you enjoy: fake to lovers trope; interracial couples; strong female lead; feminism; drama; alternative POVs.

 

 

 

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