*For my personal thoughts on The Wedding Date check out my review of the book.
Author: Jasmine Guillory
Title: The Wedding Date
Category/Type: Adult Fiction
Genre: Romance
Subgenre: n/a
Publication Date: January 30, 2018
Number of Pages: 310 pages of text; 2 pages of acknowledgements (at the front of the book)
Geographical Setting: San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles, California
Time Period: Present day
Series (if applicable): This book is part of a five book series following various side characters from The Wedding Date; more info can be found on the author’s website.
Plot Summary: A happily-ever-after hangs in the balance when a fake date between two people from different worlds begins to turn into something more.
Berkeley mayoral assistant Alexa is excited about a new city project and even more excited to meet her sister at a San Francisco hotel for champagne and snacks. Pediatrician Drew, who doesn’t do relationships, is visiting the same hotel from LA, for the wedding of his ex-girlfriend. Drew doesn’t have a date to the wedding and is desperate when an elevator malfunction traps him and Alexa together. Would this smart, charming, and beautiful woman be willing to pretend to date Drew for a weekend? Alexa isn’t sure what gets into her but she takes Drew up on the fake date offer and the couple winds up spending a steamy weekend together. One steamy weekend turns into more as the couple begins traveling back and forth between San Francisco and LA to see each other. But how long before Alexa’s time with Drew is up? Can Drew overcome his commitment to no commitment for this one-of-a-kind girl?
Wither overdone humor and tropes and two-dimensional characters, Guillory presents readers with a Romance where nothing is unexpected and little is done to break the mould.
Content warnings: Toxic relationships, racism, juvenile incarceration, discussions of severe childhood illness, descriptions of sex on the page.
Subject Headings: Romance— multicultural & interracial, Romance— contemporary, Women
Appeal/Characteristics of Romance Fiction
Emotionally satisfying, happy ending- This book’s ending follows the tradition of Romance novels with a happily ever after for the male and female leads.
A misunderstanding between the protagonists followed by a satisfactory resolution of the romantic relationship- Since Drew doesn’t do relationships, there is a major misunderstanding after Alexa meets some of his ex-girlfriends at a party. This leads to a fight and Alexa calling off the relationship. Drew later surprises Alexa at an important moment in her career which ultimately leads to a happy ending.
Love on all levels- Alexa’s friends, co-workers, career, and sister are all very important to her which showcases her love and passion outside of her relationship with Drew. Drew is strongly tied to his best friend Carlos as well as his career and the children he works with. This book showcases the variety of places where one can apply love in life.
Well-developed and interesting secondary characters- Drew’s co-worker and best friend Carlos, as well as Alexa’s best friend Maddie, Alexa’s sister, and her closest co-worker are all decently developed with some backstory. While the characters seem flat in this story, they do each get their own story throughout the series where they are likely more developed.
3 terms that best describe this book:
Steamy
Fun
Heartwarming
Fiction Read-alikes
The Singles Table by Sara Desai- This is an opposites attract romantic comedy that is culturally diverse. Jay and Zara keep meet again and again at various friends’ weddings and each time they leave fascinated with each other. When Zara offers to help Jay find romance, the two become closer than they would have ever imagined. From weddings as a backdrop for the characters to get to know each other to the diversity in characters, this book offers thematic connections for fans of The Wedding Date.
Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston- A US First Son and a British Prince are forced to pretend to be best friends after an altercation between the two leads tabloid headlines that could destroy their reputations. While on a fake friend publicity tour to repair the damage, the two might discover that enemies can make for great lovers. The fake friend/fake dating trope and different cultures colliding are a fun connections between this book and The Wedding Date.
Out of His League by Caroline Richardson- There’s an immediate connection the first time Gretchen meets her favorite baseball player, Joshua Malvern, at an airport in Vegas. She comforts him during a rough moment leading the two to engage in a steamy and passionate weekend. The steam boils over into love as each character struggles to determine if a relationship is really what they want. Fans of The Wedding Date will latch onto the attraction-at-first-sight and steamy-to-love elements that both of these stories share.
Non-Fiction Read-alikes
Mulatto America: At the Crossroads of Black and White Culture by Stephan Talty- There are multiple scenes in The Wedding Date where Alexa is concerned about being the only Black person at a party or event with Drew’s mostly white circle of acquaintances. In Mulatto America Talty explores the stories of people who broke racial barriers throughout America’s history forging early interracial relationships.
The Heart of Caring: A Life in Pediatrics by Mark Vonnegut- Pediatrician Mark Vonnegut spent over 40 years caring for children and uses this book to recount stories from his time doing this work. Vonnegut explores the healthcare system, insurance, disease and illness, as well as medical advances all from his own perspective as a doctor. In The Wedding Date, Drew is a pediatric surgeon who cares deeply about his patients, Vonnegut’s book will provide readers with a real life account of what Drew’s experiences could be.
Burning Down the House: The End of Juvenile Prison by Neil Bernstein- Journalist Neil Bernstein explores the ways the US juvenile prison system is harming rather than helping the youth that end up there. Bernstein discusses the abusive treatment children go through while in the system and points out how the system is failing and needs to be improved. In The Wedding Date, Alexa works for the city of Berkeley and is trying to gain support for a program that would offer support to troubled youth instead of arresting them. Bernstein’s book offers The Wedding Date readers an inside look at how harmful the juvenile justice system is, providing further support for projects like Alexa’s fictional one.
Citations
Characteristics of Relationship Fiction taken from
Wyatt, N. and Saricks, J. (2019). The readers' advisory guide to genre fiction. Third edition. ALA Editions.