Jasmine Guillory and her ‘The Wedding Date’ series have become huge favourites for me. All of these books were among my favourites for 2020! I really enjoyed how they can all be read as stand alone books, there is some character overlap but Jasmine does a great job of including all necessary introductions that everything still makes sense.
The Wedding Date (3/5 Stars)
I wasn’t terribly in love with the storyline in this book but the writing (as with all of these books) really pulled me in! The plot is a little repetitive but I enjoyed reading about Alexa and Drew’s budding romance and appreciated Jasmine’s descriptions of her main character as a curvy girl who sometimes feels self-conscious of her shape. I liked the development of the characters outside of their relationship with each other as well – Alexa’s relationship with her sister is so sweet!
Drew Nichols is short a plus one to his ex’s wedding – until he gets stuck in an elevator with Alexa Monroe and he manages to convince her to attend with him. The two have endless fun together but eventually they have to return to real life – him to LA and her to Berkeley. When the two both realize that they can’t stop thinking of each other, they are forced to contemplate closing the gap between them while continuing on this long-distance dating journey.
The Proposal (4/5 Stars)
This was my favourite book in the series! While the theme stayed pretty close to the first book, I enjoyed the story of Nikole and Carlos so much and found the book to be a little less cheesy and repetitive. I really liked the diversity of all of the characters and loved that we got a peek of Alexa and Drew’s relationship as well without it being a sequel entirely. The ending of this book was pretty predictable from the start but otherwise a really enjoyable read!
Nikole Paterson is at a Dodgers game with her actor boyfriend when her worst nightmare comes to life – a Jumbotron proposal. To make matters even worse, her name is spelled wrong, which makes her “No” even easier. Sitting next to them, Carlos Ibarra and his sister come to Nik’s rescue, rushing her away from the camera crew and other spectators. Grateful for his help, and thinking that he is only interested in a hookup, Nik embarks on her new rebound. When their relationships starts to shift towards one that is more serious, they must decide whether they should pump the brakes or just go for it, full steam ahead.
The Wedding Party (3/5 Stars)
While this book followed a similar plot line and writing style as the first two, it was my least favourite of the series. I find the miscommunication tropes in romance books to be so frustrating and this book has so much of that at every turn. I felt it difficult to feel the chemistry between the characters and was left wanting more from both of them. Overall, I still enjoyed the continuation of all the characters’ plot lines and the progression of Maddie and Theo’s relationship (minus the tons of ups and downs).
Even though Maddie and Theo both share Alexa as their best friend, they hate each other, but not enough to avoid sharing a kiss that renders both of them unable to stop thinking about the other. Although they would both prefer to just avoid each other, Alexa’s wedding is rapidly approaching and they must form an alliance to take on all of their shared responsibilities. All this tension leads them to sneak off together when Alexa isn’t looking and soon the spark between them grows to a full-blown flame.
Royal Holiday (4/5 Stars)
This book was so adorable! I loved how Vivian and Malcolm were both so unsure of themselves because they have both been off the dating scene for so long. I also loved reading about the characters placed straight into Christmas at Sandringham – what a dream! The progression of the main characters’ relationship was probably my favourite so far and I loved the sweet letters that they sent back and forth to each other from Windsor Castle.
When Vivian’s daughter Maddie is given the opportunity of a lifetime – a work trip to England to style a royal family member – she decides to tag along and spend the holidays exploring Britain. When she arrives and is introduced to Malcolm, the Queen’s private secretary, she finds herself instantly attracted, and soon the two of them embark on private tours, making excuses just to spend time together. Although they first understand that there is a hard end date on their holiday romance, will they really be ready to say goodbye when Vivian returns home on New Year’s Day?
Party of Two (3/5 Stars)
I really enjoyed the healthy amount of scandal in this book as well as the incredible amount of food that is consumed by the main characters! I felt like Olivia was cold as a character and didn’t find her to be very likeable. I also didn’t really feel the chemistry between the characters and because of that, it seemed like their relationship wasn’t worth all of the drama that came with it. Aside from this, their romance was sweet and (at the risk of sounding like a broken record) the writing was fantastic.
Olivia Monroe moves to LA to start her own law firm and is not concerned at all with dating – until she meets a man at a hotel bar who turns out to be junior senator Max Powell. Olivia has no interest in dating a politician but she can’t resist Max’s charms. When the two start seeing each other secretly, they have to don silly disguises when out on dates until they finally go public and have to face intense scrutiny. Will their flame be strong enough the survive this spotlight?