Review | The Wedding Date

Title: The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory

Date Published: January 30, 2018

Dates Read: February 11-13, 2021

Current Goodreads Rating: 3.6/5

I started reading this while I was halfway through a different book (The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln - review coming soon, but BOY is that a different genre entirely) and I just felt like I needed something a little more lighthearted and easier to digest. You know me by now. I can't help but love a good literary rom-com.

Ok, what happens? Alexa Monroe and Drew Nichols have what can only be defined as a stereotypical meet cute. While sharing an elevator in a swanky hotel the power goes out. For about ten minutes Alexa and Drew - complete strangers - are trapped in a small space with each other. Within that short timespan Drew learns Alexa is there to celebrate her sister's new job in a kickass law firm and Alexa learns that Drew is dreading his best friend's upcoming wedding where he is not only a groomsman, but the ex-boyfriend of the bride. Taking a chance he asks this woman he's only just met if she would be his date so that he doesn't look pathetic going stag. From there hijinks ensue. Are Drew and Alexa both faking their feelings for each other? Will their (real? fake?) relationship survive the distance between Berkley and San Francisco?

Ok, what did I think? I love meet cutes and this is probably one of the most overdone ways, but I mean that in a good way. There's nothing quite like shoving two strangers in a confined space that really gets the romance going. In her shoes, I don't know if I would willingly share my cheese and wine with a man I just met in an elevator, but I thought the banter between the two of them was believable and even made me laugh out loud a couple of times.

From there the story progresses how you would expect, but what surprised me was the fact that the whole point of the title - The Wedding Date - happens and is over within the first third of the book. Don't get me wrong, the whole wedding scene is great. There's copious amounts of tension, both sexual and just general anxiety, and the night ends back up in Drew's hotel room. It's cute, it's quirky, and I loved it.

The thing I didn't expect was that there's a whole 2/3rds left in the book. The blissful wedding night is over, but Alexa and Drew's story isn't. For the remainder of the book the narrative flits between Alexa's point of view in Berkley as she tries to balance whatever her relationship with Drew is and her job as the mayor's chief of staff, and Drew's point of view as he struggles with how he feels for this woman while also handling the stress of being a pediatric doctor in San Francisco. There are lots of chapters involving arranging flights last minute (which in itself was unbelievable to me as a poor millennial, but I suppose not so unbelievable to a Chief of Staff and a Surgeon) and mutual pining with absolutely no discussion about each other's feelings.

Because of these repetitive scenes, I did find that the book dragged for a good chunk of the middle. There is only so many times I can read about how excited Alexa or Drew were excited to see the other and then about how much sex they had during said trip before I start rolling my eyes. There's plenty of usual drama: Drew is a stereotypical dude who doesn't want to commit because he doesn't want to have his heartbroken, and there's plenty of not usually seen drama: Alexa and Drew are an interracial couple and there are several times where Drew comes face-to-face with his own privilege while out with Alexa, but aside from that it's pretty much the same scene written over and over again.

However, the last chunk of this book really kicked into gear. (Some slight spoilers ahead so beware) The last section is really focused on Alexa. Throughout the entire novel Alexa has been hard at work trying to create a new program for at risk teens, something that is near and dear to her heart as she has personal experience with the success of those kinds of programs. It's in this section that Drew learns a lot about himself, how he feels about Alexa, and how to properly support her. This last section is full of heartwarming moments and not only bring Alexa and Drew closer together, but also Alexa and her sister. Because of this section I am glad that I powered through the slower middle section so, if you're like me, just keep reading.

Hey, if you haven't already, why don't you follow me on Instagram? @theliterarysomething

Also, this book made me realize that I really need to be better about reading diverse stories. This speaks to my own privilege as a white woman that I didn't realize what exactly I was missing. It's not like I'm actively avoiding reading stories with diverse voices, but I honestly don't think about that aspect of the storytelling when it comes to picking up books from the library. That is something I want to change. Back in 2020 I read more books that featured trans voices and I want to continue to hear from voices that aren't always heard as I read more through 2021 and into the future. I hope you all will do the same.

Long Story Short:

• Maybe go to that wedding with the cute guy from the elevator? I doubt he's a serial killer.

• Sometimes you have to power through to get to the good ending.

• Let's read about some more diverse characters.

My Rating: 4/5