THE WEDDING DATE – Jasmine Guillory
Berkley/Penguin Group
ISBN-13:  978-0-399-58766-8
February 2018
Contemporary Romance/Multicultural

San Francisco and Los Angeles, California – Present Day

Alexa Monroe is in the elevator in San Francisco with champagne and cheese and crackers in her purse to welcome her sister Olivia to the city and celebrate making partner in her law firm in New York, when the elevator comes to a halt and the emergency lights come on.  Then she spots a definitely hot guy in the corner...how had she missed him getting on the elevator with her?  They are talking and eating cheese and crackers and getting to know each other until the backup generator goes on and Alexa finds out Drew is in town as a groomsman for his ex-girlfriend's wedding.  Talk about awkward! As they are walking to her sister's room after the elevator starts up again, Drew comes up with the brilliant idea that Alexa go to the wedding rehearsal dinner the next evening and the wedding the next day with him as his girlfriend.  Alexa is often told she's not spontaneous, so she agrees, mainly, because Drew is way hot and has awesome abs and his butt…goodness gracious.

Drew is a pediatric surgeon in Los Angeles, and Alexa is chief of staff to the Mayor of Berkeley, both with high power jobs.  Working in politics, Alexa is able to easily fit in with Drew's friends and he enjoys every minute with her.  Despite his no relationships reputation, Alexa and Drew start going back and forth between cities on the weekends, gradually drawing closer and closer, but not so long that a relationship forms for Drew.  Alexa knows Drew's limits, but can't stop herself from her daydreams.

Jasmine Guillory intrigues us with the beginning of Alexa and Drew's meeting, and their quick connection, despite being of different races.  Drew always remains friends with old girlfriends; it's just that after a few months he doesn't want things getting too serious, so he's careful to end things before that happens.  Alexa is hard working and on her toes all the time as Chief of Staff to the Mayor; right now working on an arts program for at-risk teenagers like the one that helped her sister all those years ago.  Drew and Alexa both have a fear of telling the other how they feel, and as the weekends go by, every little thing sometimes strikes fear in one or the other of them that the other one is growing bored.

Secondary characters are so cute and funny:  there's Carlos, Drew's doctor friend, and Alexa's friend Maddie.  Abby is the mother of a patient of Drew's who helps him with clarity in what he should do to clear up their relationship.

THE WEDDING DATE is a cute and funny story, and at the end, you will even shed a couple tears at how hard a road Drew and Alexa must go down before one of them can admit to love, and that they need the other in their life.  Look for THE WEDDING DATE and enjoy a wedding without having to get a new dress or even wear high heels!

Carolyn Crisher