Friday, February 16, 2018

Book Review: The Wedding Date

By Sara Steven

Agreeing to go to a wedding with a guy she gets stuck with in an elevator is something Alexa Monroe wouldn't normally do. But there's something about Drew Nichols that's too hard to resist.

On the eve of his ex's wedding festivities, Drew is minus a plus one. Until a power outage strands him with the perfect candidate for a fake girlfriend...

After Alexa and Drew have more fun than they ever thought possible, Drew has to fly back to Los Angeles and his job as a pediatric surgeon, and Alexa heads home to Berkeley, where she's the mayor's chief of staff. Too bad they can't stop thinking about the other...

They're just two high-powered professionals on a collision course toward the long distance dating disaster of the century--or closing the gap between what they think they need and what they truly want… (Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads.)

I always appreciate an original beginning to a story, and you really can’t get much more original than having two individuals trapped inside an elevator, a delightfully unlikely pairing.

For Drew, it’s been a rocky road where serious relationships are concerned. I got the impression that a lot of it is self-inflicted. He has a hard time solidifying himself into a relationship, due to his own fears and baggage. And for Alexa, as self-assured as she portrays herself to be, there are some insecurities that lie deep within her. At times, it comes out when she’s with Drew, when she’s surrounded by his past. I really liked the honesty within their relationship. In the beginning, we all harbor rose-colored glasses for the person we fall head over heels for, yet as time goes on, the glasses slowly fade away, revealing who we really are.

It was interesting to see the dynamics between Drew and Alexa, when they’re faced with a long-distance relationship, when they try hard to convince themselves that there isn’t more beyond the fun time they’d had at the wedding. And it was great to see the way secondary characters are working behind the scenes to allow for the all important eye openers that make this couple tick. Just like reality, sometimes you can’t really see something for what it is, when you’re too close to the situation. Sometimes, you need an outside influence who’s looking in.

Can a long-distance relationship that began in a very unconventional way survive? And, is it worth it? Those were the two questions I asked myself while I experienced the ebb and flow with this romance, engaged and completely invested from the first page to the last.

Thanks to Berkley for the book in exchange for an honest review. The Wedding Date can be purchased here.

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