When Alexa and Drew get stuck in an elevator together at the Fairmont Hotel during a power outage they pass the time by flirting and eating the cheese and crackers she brought to share with her sister. When the elevator starts moving they are both slightly disappointed. Arriving at their floor Alexa gets off the elevator but Drew stops her with a question. Would you be my date to a wedding and rehearsal dinner this weeken? Alexa, normally shy and insecure feels somehow confident in his company and agrees to this kind of strange blind date. When she shows up for the rehearsal dinner they totally click and she helps him navigate what could be a rather uncomfortable event. He’s a groomsman in his ex girlfriends wedding.

There were a lot of things that I really liked about this book. Alexa and Drew were a bi-racial couple. Seeing things through Alexa’s eyes while navigating the relationship were eye opening. Something as simple as going to a backyard barbecue can be difficult as the only black person at the party. I cringed in horror at some of the things Alexa had to endure. Crude talk from drunk white men hitting on her was normal to her, and it just shouldn’t be. Her job as Chief of Staff to the Mayor of Berkeley was a highly qualified position. She had a law degree and was beautiful and personable, but was denigraded by men because of her race. It pissed me off for her. How did Drew handle this? Extremely well. He was mad on her behalf and tried to save her from these unsavory characters, but being a part of a bi-racial couple was not something he was used to navigating. Although to give him credit, the mistakes he made in the relationship were normal man-woman mistakes and didn’t have anything to do with race.

Drew was also an adult with a big job. He was a pediatric surgeon, used to making life altering decisions in the blink of an eye. However, when it came to women Drew was a man-child. His only long term girlfriend being the bride whose wedding he was in. Both characters had their insecurities, but Drew’s were about his failure to make a commitment. It took having to fight for Alexa and for them as a couple to make him grow up.

The topics I talked about above make this sound like a serious book. There were moments that were eye opening and serious. But really, this was a fun romance. Drew was charming, as was Alexa. Their courting song and dance was similar to other books I’ve read, but it was the topics above that gave this book heart and these characters something to overcome to fight to be together. It didn’t take long for me to be charmed into reading the whole novel. Really, I think it was by page 3.  These two characters had great chemistry and the sex scenes (NC-17 rated) didn’t get in the way of a very good story.  This is Jasmine Guillory’s debut novel and boy did she hit a home run. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review and it was honest!

Jasmine Guillory is a graduate of Wellesley College and Stanford Law School. She is a Bay Area native who has towering stacks of books in her living room, a cake recipe for every occasion, and upwards of 50 lipsticks.

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