Party of Two

You can always rely on Jasmine Guillory’s novels for fun, romance and descriptions of delicious food. This time it’s the turn of pie and cake to hit the limelight, along with couple Olivia and Max. It’s not just a straight romance, with a number of issues involved like celebrity dating, starting a new business and having your past catch up with you.

Readers of The Wedding Date will know that Olivia is the sister of Alexa and appeared to be rather serious and straight in the first book. In this book, we get to know the real Olivia – driven, concerned for others and a load of fun. Party of Two can easily be read as a standalone, with only a few mentions of Alexa. Olivia has recently given up her job as a lawyer in New York to start show more her own law firm with a good friend. She’s thought it through very carefully, but it is still a nerve-racking time as they work on all parts of the business to build it up. The last thing Olivia needs is to complicate her life with romance. But a man she meets in a hotel bar is charming and knows his cake. They don’t exchange numbers, but Olivia finds out via the TV that she was chatting with Max Powell, a Californian senator. As chance would have it, they meet again and start dating. It’s something that Olivia thinks would never work long term – she’s a Black lawyer and he’s a privileged white male politician. (Not to mention that Max wears disguises when they are out to avoid recognition). But their attraction is too strong and they decide to go public with disastrous results as the press dig into Olivia’s past and others look to her for political favours. Can it work out long term?

Food is always a hallmark of Jasmine Guillory’s novels and this book has many descriptions of pies and cakes. Tacos, chips and pizza also get a look in with Max’s friend and Washington roommate Wes the lone voice pleading for salad. (I’d love to see what Wes could do in his own story. He seems very levelheaded, but I’m sure he has a secret food vice that’s not so healthy). Of course, Olivia and Max are the true stars here. Guillory makes Max a real person with flaws and a heart, not just a man who toes the party line (come to think of it, no political party is mentioned…). Olivia is much more vulnerable than I had expected from her previous appearances which made for a more interesting read. Her willingness to address her own concerns as well as call Max out on his character flaws makes Olivia stand out as a heroine. She’s relatable and strong. The media handling of their relationship was well done, looking at the effects on the non-famous partner’s life. I hadn’t really considered this beyond the photographers looking for an unflattering shot. And of course the finale was spot on – it was 100% in line with the characters.

Party of Two is a fun read, but has more than just the romance. It’s about the great characters trying to make the world fairer for everyone.

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So I have to say that this one was much better than the last two books in the series. I don't know if Guillory was rushed or what, but "The Wedding Party" and "Royal Holiday" left me wondering if there was anymore gas in this series or what. I also thought it was lame how the last two books kind of did a whole fade to black nonsense when it came time to love scenes. "Party of Two" reminded me the most of the book in the series which makes sense since the fifth book showcases Alexa's sister Olivia. I really enjoyed Olivia and Max in this one. I thought that Guillory did a great job of showing how hard it must be to date anyone with a high public profile. I also liked that you get to see both side's to this one and I had nothing but show more empathy when we got to the usual romance break-up.

"Party of Two" follows Olivia Monroe who has recently relocated back to California after a few years in New York. Olivia and one of her best friend's decide to open up their own law firm. Olivia has not had a chance to settle into a new place yet and is staying at a hotel. While going there for drinks and dinner she comes across a man named Max who she can't quite place. Cue flirty banter with both of them thinking of the other one. Olivia quickly finds out why Max seems familiar, that's because he's California's newest senator. From there the book just follows the two of them trying to get to know one each other.

I have to say that I loved Olivia. I loved that we already knew some of her backstory due to book #1, but we get to see more development of this character since it's her stand-alone. We get more information about the incident from her past and we see how that is/can be used against her in the future. She also has to decide whether she wants to go public with Max since doing that invites the press into her life in a way that she doesn't know if she has in her to deal with. Honestly all of this reminded me a bit of Michelle Obama' "Becoming" and how she went on how as a black woman she had to be so careful to not portray anger to not play into the angry black woman trope. I also wonder if I have it in me to date anyone in the public realm like this and realized I do not. I would just be on tv all day swearing and calling so and so a dumb***.

I also adored Max. He's impulsive and wants to just make things better. He is really into Olivia (which was great to see) and you can see how at times he is a bit impatient with her since she has to stop and consider things before coming to any big decisions. I am so like Olivia so I felt her on that one. But, what this book does great is shows how Max doesn't get why Olivia has to be that way and she has to explain it to him. It's a great scene in this book and I loved it.

We also get some great secondary characters with Max's best friend who is in the House of Representatives and Olivia's best friend/partner and a new friend she also makes. One of the things that killed me in the last two books it felt like the main hero/heroine had nothing else or no one else really in their lives unless it was to drive the plot. All of the other characters are worked in, in a much organic way in this one. Also we get to see Alexa and Drew which was nice. We also get a shoutout from Maddie and I went whatever to that.

I think the love scenes were great and I enjoyed the heck out of them. More love scenes romance authors!

The book ends on a very nice Happily Ever After (HEA).

The only reason why I am giving this 4 stars though is that I think that the book once again skips over things that makes no sense to me. You are telling me that Olivia starts dating a senator and her mother doesn't call her or ask to meet him? We hear references to Olivia and Max's parents and it's so odd how they are not shown in this. I have noticed sometimes romance authors either totally ignore the parents in their books or have them heavily involved to the point you are like okay whose book is this. I just wish we had an actually discussion going on between the families.

I also wanted a conversation between Olivia and Max that got more into how being an interracial couple was going to invite a lot of ugliness into their relationship. We hear off-hand about it, but I wanted more of that in this book. Considering the last book was about Maddie dressing the Duchess of Sussex and her marriage you think someone would have brought up racism. It was just odd to kind of leave it out. We get an aside that Olivia does look up Max's thoughts on BLM which, how about show them having a conversation about it? I don't know. Maybe that would have changed the tone of the book. show less

Guillory creates delightful falling-in-love portions of her stories: the simple joy of getting to know someone and getting along so well. But she's even better at creating a conflict that feels organic to the characters and, of course the insight and action necessary for not just reconciliation, but an improvement to the relationship that makes happily ever after believable. Also she writes about adults who have full, rich, complicated lives with friends, relationships, careers, and social engagement through volunteering.
More importantly, there is a lot of snacking, pizza and burgers and so much cheese! Cakes and pies get their due, and taco trucks, and take out. A person who appreciates breakfast cake is going to be good at enjoying show more life fully.

Library copy show less

I really liked the premise - lawyer meets and falls for up-and-coming Senator. Lots of food porn in here too which I didn't realize until recently how much I enjoy reading about people enjoying food. The writing wasn't my favorite, the dialogue was awkward to read far too often. All the writing about food, though, was stellar.

I have recently read several romance books with perfect, handsome, accomplished men who will give anything to be with their women. (I keep thinking of Caroline Bingley and Mr. Darcy discussing accomplished women -- this is much the same.) This serves to dehumanize and objectify men in much the same way women have been dehumanized and objectified for eons. I find no appeal in the prospect of a Prince Charming with no warts. (Figurative warts -- I can most definitely do without the viral type.) In addition to all else, how miserable would it be to be the only flawed person in the relationship. Otherwise this was a nice enough romance and I appreciated the focus on defining white privilege and the black tax. I do think I am done with this show more series though. The first two books were fun, but the others have been for me decidedly average or below. show less

An entertaining plane read, but I didn't enjoy it as much as Royal Holiday. Olivia and Max definitely have chemistry, but his reckless and impetuous attitude grated after a while. I can't imagine a politician having too much success if they make every decision with no forethought. I loved the focus on Olivia building a life in LA and finding new friends and a place to volunteer. A fun read, but not one I'll return to.

I really enjoy escaping in the world of a Jasmine Guillory romance novel. In this one, Olivia Monroe meets Max Powell at a hotel bar and they hit it off immediately. What she doesn’t know right away is that Max is the junior US Senator for California. Olivia is hesitant about dating anyone seriously, much less someone with a high profile position.
The story slowly builds their romance, has the inevitable problem which causes real issues in their relationship, and a satisfying conclusion.
If you enjoy romance, this is a good one. I also liked how Guillory weaved in the issue of criminal reform and issues that different races face. Well done!