Jasmine Guillory

I was starting to lose my pleasure in Jasmine's books, but she is back! This one brought back the fun energy of The Wedding Date, but added better writing to the mix. All in all just a pleasure to read. The main characters, Ben and Anna, are smart and hot, and they have issues but they also have fun. Anna is an actress and Ben is in advertising. They respect each other and one another's careers and family and friend commitments. They know how to have fun even when there is drama in their show more lives. Ben and Anna are dimensional people and its really fun to see grown ups who lead grown up lives.) I was delighted that Anna was allowed to be a smart woman who asserts her power with confidence, but is not cranky all the time unlike some other women we met in earlier installments of the the Jasmineverse (Olivia comes to mind, but no one beats Maddy for being a ceaselessly demanding judgmental bitch). Even better, the male lead in this actually has some backbone (without being a jerk.) This one also brings a lot more of the sexy than the last few books. I was about to jump ship, but While We Were Dating reeled me right back in. Book #7, I am here for you. show less

"She woke up a few hours later, her back pressed against his chest, his arms circling her. She felt like she was in a snug, warm, masculine cocoon. She had never realized how much that was the ideal place for her until just that moment. There was just one problem.
She had to pee."

Haven't we all been there? My favorite part of this book was how the main characters had more to their story than romance. They had needs, from career goals, to hunger, coffee addiction, and even a need to perform show more bodily functions at the absolute worst times. I saw humanity in these characters, which made me connect with and love them more. I can't wait to delve further into Jasmine Guillory's novels! show less

Oh my. I _love_ this story. There were predictable bits - I knew who was sabotaging her long before she figured it out, and I knew Beau's secret as soon as he told the Oscar story - and Michaela's, too. But the how and why, and the richness of the characterization, made even the predictable bits fascinating. The way they worked together, the way both of them pushed through hard and scary choices, and again, the rich characters - I dove in and didn't surface except when I had to. I can see show more the Beauty and the Beast bits - so could they, both Beau and Izzy made references to the story - but like the first book in this series, the story wasn't confined to those limits. I loved the sneaky bits, like the titles of the other books. And I only wanted to shake them once, near the end, for failing to communicate. So now I have _another_ new author to look for... Oh, there's lots of kissing and spending the night, but no details at all. Very non-explicit. That was part of what I loved - that they had lots better reasons for their relationship than simple physical attraction. show less

The premise: Man needs a date for a wedding. Man meets strange woman while stuck in hotel elevator. Man asks woman in elevator to be his date. Woman agrees. Hi-jinks and romance ensue.

When I first started this novel, I immediately thought of this commercial where a guy is playing with a beagle pup. If you've never seen it, it's the cutest thing ever in life! (Commercial link.) I could not get this commercial out of my head for the first several chapters (all during the actual wedding date). show more And the elevator scene is the cutest "meet cute" I've read in a while.

I loved Alexa and Drew! She's black, he's white, and there are some cultural differences the author brings out, but this is a ROMANCE front and center. I love that; there are just enough references to make this feel real for its setting (American, but contemporary, progressive CA) and to ensure if there's a movie made out of this, you know what the cast should look like. (And I hope to see this on screen--it's been a while since "Something New" and this would make a great Rom-Com.) After I was done, I was looking for a book 2 with these characters. Not yet. However, I am looking forward to The Proposal which I think features Carlos, Drew's work BFF, whom I also loved! (I dare anyone not to).

The story is sexy, fun, and full of food! I was craving a donut for the entire book!
donut
(Thank goodness it only took a few days to read.) These people seem to be eating amazing food all the time--I love that! But they definitely work it off, too. *wink* This is not even close to a YA book IMO.

For the writer side of me, the writing is good. This has dual POVs, which can be tricky, but they are also very different voices and separated with evident breaks. Although there was one instance where the POVs got put in the same section, and it was slightly confusing. In general, I wasn't stopping to "mind edit" as I sometimes do for novels. And that's a great thing, because the story is a page-turner.

So, get a box of donuts, take a weekend, and read this one! It's as cute as James Franco with a lap full of puppies!
Franco with puppies! show less