“The Wedding Date” by Jasmine Guillory: A Lackluster Love Story

Where Elevator Encounters Lead to the Dullest Romance Ever

"The Wedding Date" by Jasmine Guillory is a contemporary romance novel that follows the story of Alexa Monroe and Drew Nichols. When Alexa and Drew meet in an elevator and initiate a conversation, Drew impulsively asks her to be his date for a wedding he's attending – which we'll get into more later.

Although they've just met, Alexa agrees, and their fake relationship becomes something more as they navigate the challenges of a long-distance relationship and confront their insecurities. The novel explores themes of love, trust, and the complexities of modern relationships, all set against wedding festivities. It's a heartwarming and engaging romance with a diverse cast of characters.

Now, let's get into the honest review. Please DO NOT READ IF YOU DON'T WANT SPOILERS!

I found the book "The Wedding Date" by Jasmine Guillory quite underwhelming in romance. It fell into the category of cringe-worthy novels. I chose to read this book because of BookTok (the word "book" combined with "TikTok") and the interracial representation of a black female and white male in a relationship.

Alexa Monroe, a successful and driven chief of staff for the mayor of Berkeley, is in San Fransico for work when she finds herself stuck in a hotel elevator with Drew Nichols, a pediatric surgeon. The power goes out in the hotel, which makes the elevator stop unexpectedly. While Alexa and Drew are stuck in said elevator, Drew asks her to be his date he's attending as his plus-one. Surprisingly enough, the wedding is hosted by his ex-girlfriend, whom his former best friend is marrying. Sounds lovely, right?

Do you want to know the reason he didn't want to go? He wasn't committed to a serious long-term relationship with the ex-girlfriend, so he decided to break up with her TWO DAYS before her birthday, then proceeded to have sex with other women just days after their breakup. Yeah, he should have declined the invitation and saved himself a headache.

Despite the unconventional start to their relationship, Alexa and Drew are drawn to each other. They navigate the challenges of the wedding weekend, including dealing with Drew's "complicated" emotions about his ex, and they share their own personal stories, insecurities, and dreams. After the wedding, Alexa and Drew continue to see each other despite living in different cities. They develop a long-distance relationship, taking turns traveling to spend weekends together. As their relationship deepens, they confront issues related to trust, vulnerability, and the fears that have held them back in their past romantic experiences.

This book gave me a headache and a severe number of eye-rolls, so I have decided to DNF ("Did Not Finish") the book. I loved the romantic scenes to a certain extent. Firstly, although they had romantic moments, the relationship moved faster than a speedboat. They are adults and can have sex on romantic getaways, but this felt different. It was less like a deal of being a date and more wanting to date. That is understandable, but that is not what the synopsis says. Next, trust and vulnerability are SO cringe and frustratingly annoying that they can't see how much they want to hump each other like rabbits. Adding to this, they completely ignore the dynamics of an unhealthy relationship of toxic communication and an immature connection.

Throughout the book – from where I stopped on page 189 – there were at least seven spicy scenes that went utterly nowhere. They were super underwhelming and irritating not to know what was happening. When I was younger and read historical romance or early romance novels, most did not describe or elaborate on the spicy sex scenes after the initial "lust" and "caress of skin." But they were the norm and considered raunchy, even mentioning certain body parts. It's the 21st century; we can handle more than a tease. The scenes in “The Wedding Date” bait you in, then...BAM! They are finished in the following sentence.

Throughout the novel, their short relationship has base-level ups and downs, including misunderstandings and miscommunications. They also deal with their own personal and professional challenges. Their jobs were mentioned but weren't the sole focus of the book. Everything seemed surface-leveled, even their relationship.

The number of misunderstandings and miscommunications was astounding, to say the least; as someone who is super indecisive, an overthinker, and a pessimist in relationships, I even understand how to ASK the other person about their feelings regarding the relationship. The one-sided conversations and the elongated wait time for responses irritated my soul. It's becoming frustrating and tiresome to hear the inner monologue of "Do they like me or only want me as a friend?" Sweetie, their actions will always speak louder than words. But don't forget to ask for safety measures. If they're giving mixed signals, leave them alone until they figure it out themselves. Alexa and Drew are grown adults; please stop with the guessing games.

I rate this book a solid two stars.

While the plot is solid and focuses on the development of Alexa and Drew's relationship, some readers may feel that the story has the potential for more depth and complexity. This book had so much to offer and fell flatter than a pancake. I would not recommend this book to anyone wanting more substance than "sex" as the precursor to EVERY. LITTLE. THING.