If You’ve Been Missing Rom-coms at the Movies, You’ve Got to Read Jasmine Guillory’s The Wedding Date
ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley
The Wedding Date, Jasmine Guillory’s debut novel is absolutely delightful. Alexa and Drew meet cute and get stuck temporarily in a hotel elevator in San Francisco. Luckily, she’s armed with champagne and cheese and crackers intended for a celebration with her sister. Instead of making uncomfortable chit-chat while waiting to be saved, they hit it off fantastically. And in a spur of the moment decision, Drew asks her to be his date to his ex’s wedding the next day.
My face hurt after smiling so much reading the Wedding Date. It’s the rom-com we’ve needed for awhile. Alexa is black, Drew is white and both have successful careers. She’s a lawyer/chief of staff in the Berkeley mayor’s office and he’s a pediatric surgeon in LA. After the wedding, they find themselves racking up the frequent flier miles as they make a go of dating long distance. Get ready for the pitfalls of dating in the texting age, compounded by distance and job commitments.
Just based on that, I’d pay to see this story on the big screen! After listening to this week’s Thirst Aid Kit podcast, I have to nominate Chris Evans as Drew. (Side note, go add Thirst Aid Kit to your podcast catcher now.)
The Wedding Date’s build is classic rom-com. This book is charming, smart and above all, real. Guillory skillfully and honestly addresses race and Alexa helps Drew realize how easy it’s been for him to take for granted what it is to be a white man in America. The other thing the Wedding Date does so well is address body positivity and the nerves and anxiety that can come with early days of a relationship, especially one where your boyfriend lives in LA.
There may already be a movie called the Wedding Date, but who needs a reboot? I’m ready for this one.
In the book, Alexa has a thing for coffee and pink frosted doughnuts with sprinkles, so to celebrate the release, I made baked double chocolate donuts with strawberry glaze (the real stuff!). They’d also be great for Valentine’s (or Gal-entine’s) Day. Get yourself a donut pan and make your own.
The Wedding Date is out January 30. Jasmine Guillory will celebrate the launch with a Bay Area stop on January 30 at East Bay Booksellers in Oakland and a talk and book signing at The Ripped Bodice in Culver City, CA on February 3.
Get The Wedding Date on Amazon | iBooks | the Ripped Bodice
