Review: 'The Wedding Date' is light-hearted read

"The Wedding Date" (Berkley), by Jasmine Guillory

If you've ever met someone and felt an instant connection, you're not alone. It happened to Alexa Monroe, who was visiting her out-of--town sister at San Francisco's Fairmont hotel.

Shortly after she walked into the elevator, it stalled. Conversation ensued with the disabled lift's other rider, a hot doctor named Drew Nichols. This is the premise of "The Wedding Date," Jasmine Guillory's debut novel.

Readers are taken on a journey following the main characters' relationship. The elevator pair start by sharing cheese and crackers and a bottle of champagne originally meant for Alexa's sister as they wait for a repairman.

Drew is in town from Los Angeles for an ex-girlfriend's wedding. He has no date. After a drink and light flirting, he asks Alexa to accompany him to the soiree, to be held the next day.

"I am a dateless groomsman in the wedding of my ex-girlfriend and former best friend," Drew says. "My date bailed on me last-minute, so I'm going to look pathetic, and I'll probably get drunk and hit on a bridesmaid - the whole thing is going to be a nightmare."

"The Wedding Date" is a romance story with plenty of sex, though not on the scale of "Fifty Shades of Grey." Guillory, whose writing is clean, yet elegant, does a fine job of leaving much of the sexual content to the reader's imagination.

The book also explores, on a surface level, interracial relationships. Alexa is black; Drew is white. They have plenty in common: they're both highly educated, have successful careers and live in big coastal cities. Some modern dating themes are also explored.

The novel is a light-hearted and quick read with fully drawn characters, and it's likely to resonate with many readers.

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Online:

https://www.jasmineguillory.com/