Nissa | Of Pens and Pages Book Blog's Reviews > The Wedding Date

I’m so glad I got stuck in that elevator with you.” she said.
“Me, too.”

The Wedding Date is an adorable romance about two people who aren't quite sure how to navigate a "relationship" that was never part of their plans. With a cuter than cute meet-cute, you'd expect things to go smoothly. But when you put together two people who aren't in their element, things are bound to get complicated.

It's serendipitous when Drew Nichols and Alexa Monroe first meet. Drew needs a plus-one last-minute, and after getting stuck in an elevator together, Alexa agrees to become the good doctor's date to the wedding of his ex-girlfriend. From there on out, things go neither of them expect, not that their first meeting is something you'd expect to happen on a daily basis anyway. From an elevator, Alexa and Drew end up in a wedding, a hotel room, and Los Angeles and Berkeley back and forth.

Things are going great, and they're having a lot of fun, but soon enough, reality catches up with them. Drew isn't quite sure how to be in a relationship, and Alexa has never been in a situation like this. Both stand on shaky ground and are afraid that any step they take might ruin everything. They need to figure out what they are to each other and if it's worth fighting for.

First of all, I love that they're both dedicated to their careers. Drew clearly loves being a pediatric surgeon, and he's a pretty great one at that. So is Alexa. As the mayor's chief of staff, she has the power to start change. She's working hard to lobby a project that will help at-risk teens and is doing everything it can for the project to get the green light. Issues about race, while not the main theme, is never set aside. It's sad how casually those issues came out in this story because it is how it is in real life. It's usually not a shout or a huge scene. It just is. So, I loved it that Alexa educated Drew about it, and that Drew was open to seeing things from the other side.

This book was as cute as its cover! The chemistry between Drew and Alexa was palpable throughout the story, and I honestly loved how the issues between them went about. It was exactly what would happen when a couple like Alexa and Drew are in that situation. Once reality came knocking down their sexed-up and infatuated bubble, they didn't know how to handle it since they've never been in that situation before. I have to admit though that somewhere in the middle, things became a little repetitive. The story gained traction again soon enough, and I kept crossing my fingers they'll finally figure it out.

Aside from Alexa and Drew, there are a lot of lovely side-characters that made this story even more enjoyable. There was Drew's best friend, Carlos, Alexa's officemate and friend, Theo, and her sister, Olivia. While they weren't always on screen, they helped keep the story going in their own ways.

This book was a sweet and lovely debut novel, and I'm definitely keeping an eye out for Ms. Guillory's future works. If you're looking for a sweet and charming book with intense chemistry and realistic tension between two promising characters, you might enjoy The Wedding Date.

Tropes: Fake Relationship, Long Distance
POV: Third Person, Dual POV
Standalone: Yes

*ARC received in exchange for an honest review.

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