Happy I got to read an ARC of this book! Love following up with characters we already know for their love story. I loved how this one went, and how time was skipped in order to give us Maddie and Theo's whole story, not all the details of every single day. Guillory continues to give her characters authentic POVs, which is part of the benefit of having a series from the perspective of all different characters.

I’m having a hard time deciding whether my “it was okay” feelings about this one are about the actual story or about the tropes within. I honestly just don’t love enemies-to-lovers or secret relationships in books and since those are the entire premise of this story, I couldn’t fall in love like I did with the first two books in the series. The thought of being physically intimate with someone I detest is so off-putting to me that the initial relationship between Maddie and Theo felt very inauthentic. And keeping a relationship secret past high school just seems.....WHY?

But all that aside, I loved continuing with characters from The Wedding Date and The Proposal and spending time with all of these characters who just LOVE to eat. Seriously, the amount of pizza consumed in this book should win an award! There are current issues addressed and I loved Maddie’s professional evolution throughout the book.

So, while this isn’t my favorite in the series due to the tropes, I’m still a massive Jasmine Guillory fan and can’t wait to read her holiday story coming out in October!! And I love that it’s a continuation of this world!

Jasmine Guillory really turned up the heat in her newest book! Maddie and Theo start out hating each other but can’t deny the passion that exists between them. I enjoyed reading a smart, funny, and engaging romance story centering two black characters. The supporting characters were also well developed. Can’t wait to read the next Guillory book!

Theo and Maddie might be my favorite of Guillory's couples so far. When I read Theo in The Wedding Date, I think I imagined a Steve Urkel (though that's not really fair) or a Richard Splett (more fair), but his character gets fleshed out oh-so-nicely in The Wedding Party. Theo and the fashion-savvy Maddie are both in Alexa's bridal ("brodal"?) party, and while they can't stand each other in general, chemistry dictates otherwise. The keep their flings a secret--will their chemistry fizzle if their friends find out? Thanks to Theo, we get more action at the Oakland mayor's office, and the tension ramps up with some scary violence. But there are also margaritas and Carlos' cooking, so rest easy. I can't wait for Royal Engagement!

While I did enjoy this one better than The Proposal, The enemies to lovers could have been done better. Guillory kept them constantly denying their feelings for each other and it got old. Along with that, I had a hard time believing the chemistry between these two. We really didn’t get a lot of banter between these two other than when they are eating pizza.

With a too tame romance and the weird time jumps, this book was just okay. I’m just starting to think that Guillory just isn’t for me.

Jasmine Guillory has knocked it out of the park once again. She knows the tropes of the romance genre, but always manages to present them in a way that feels fresh and exciting. Her characters have such depth -they all read like real people!

The Wedding Party by Jasmine Guillory is the 3rd book in her The Wedding Date series. This story revolves around Maddie Forest and Theo Stephens whom we met in the previous books. Alexa, our 1st book heroine, is getting married, and both Maddie and Theo are her best friends; except they both hate each other. Theo is a bit arrogant, and Maddie, though very smart and outgoing. With Alexa depending on them for help, and that Maddie is a bridesmaid, and Theo a bridesman, they try to get along for her sake, and which forces them to be around each other a lot.

One night, after spending time with Alexa and their friends, one gives the other a ride home, and out of nowhere, they end up in bed with each other. To their shock, they enjoy the hot steamy sex and make a deal to enjoy the fun, but keep it a secret from everyone, including Alexa, at least until after the wedding is over.
What follows is an enemies to lovers romance that was fun, as well as very steamy. They both look forward to trysts, as they cannot resist the passion between them. As the wedding draws nearer, will they admit to each other about their growing feelings? It was fun to watch them slowly learn more about each other, and see things in a different light, as well as become aware that they have begun to fall hard. I loved seeing Alexa and Drew, as well as Carlos & Nik (2nd book), as well as Alexa’s sister; as they all made a fun group. A misunderstanding will break things up, but it was pretty funny when Alexa and their friends pulled a fast one on Maddie and Theo, to bring them back together, as the secret was never a secret all along. LOL You will need to read this part to enjoy.

The Wedding Party was a fast, fun and enjoyable romance. This does read well as a standalone, but why miss the fun, and start with the first book, The Wedding Date.

Any Jasmine Guillory novel is guaranteed to be a good time. The Wedding Party is another slice in that tradition; romantic, funny, sweet and easy to relate to, it’s a breezy read that will be like catnip for anyone who likes a good enemies-to-lovers story.

No two ways about it - personal stylist Maddie Forest and mayoral press secretary Theo Stephens loathe one another.  Maddie, outspoken yet homebodyish, can’t stand his snobbishness, the way he looks down on her job and past experiences.  Nerdy, sometimes-smug and opinionated Theo can’t take what he interprets as Maddie’s celebrity-obsessed shallowness seriously.  But they have one person near and dear to them in common – Alexa (last seen in The Wedding Date), who is their shared best friend and is about to be married.  Theo and Maddie are naturally part of the wedding party which means – for better or for worse – the two of them have months of events, dinners and parties to deal with in tandem.

There’s one very big reason Theo and Maddie don’t get along. On the same night Alexa met her Mister Right, Theo and Maddie also had a one night stand they immediately regarded as a huge mistake. And have continued to make that mistake repeatedly since that night, in multiple beds and on multiple surfaces whenever they’ve met again.  Vowing never to tell Alexa about their peccadilloes, the more time they spend together, the harder it is to suppress the truth and the sparks flying between them.  They try to limit the course of the affair, deciding to conclude it when the wedding is over. But then Alexa moves the date up when she scores her dream venue, leaving Maddie and Theo with only months to continue hooking up. They should be thrilled, shouldn’t they?  But a violent act changes everything, making them reconsider the strength of their bond and their own happily ever after.

The Wedding Party is charming in a perfectly relentless way, an incredibly human one.  Maddie and Theo are flawed people who act like real human beings – stubborn, loving, soft, giving and tough and stubborn as two cats dueling over a piece of tuna.

I liked the way they eventually came to friendship, then love – with lust, naturally, being the first emotion coupled with hate that faced them.

How much you love Theo and Maddie’s relationship will depend on how much you like love/hate tropery; the book has this in spades, and while normally these kinds of relationships don’t work for me, Guillory’s work sold it completely. Theo and Maddie never really deeply hate each other, and they do get to talk out the personality faults and insecurities that caused their negative impressions of each other.  They’re ultimately very cute and very dorky together.

The supporting characters are great. Alexa is frantic, adorable and a good foil for both of her besties, and I loved Maddie’s relationship with her mom (who is slated to be the heroine of the next book in the series; hooray for older leads!). It’s always fun to settle down and enjoy time with Alexa and the rest of the folks in their friendship group. Everyone’s unified support of her and the way they act as a ballast against some of her mother’s negative viewpoints is absolutely touching.

The protagonists have interesting careers; Theo’s political life (where he works with Alexa) is fascinating and well-constructed, displaying careful research, while Maddie gets to make her dreams come true as her stylist job brings her into the world of the candid reality television she so admires. I admit I wanted more of that movement to be explored, but the research for this is also impeccable.

My only quibble about the whole book isn’t even a quibble – everyone’s baffling obsession with pizza throughout was both hilarious and also eyebrow-raising.  I’ve lived this kind of situation within my own friendship group, where we love one thing and we will eat that thing for months, but in a fictional format I was waiting for the book-long reference to wrap up in everyone having steak or lobster or something!

The Wedding Party is adorable and easy to grab hold of.  It’s not my favorite Guillory (that’d be The Proposal, followed by The Wedding Date in close second), but it’s a very, very close third, and still a fizzy champagne toast of a cocktail that never flattens out.

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Guillory's witty writing style made this book really fun to read. I think this could translate well into a cute movie, and I love that Guillory is putting books with diverse characters into the world. I think being in a wedding party has a level of excitement and anticipation to it that this book really captures, and I think readers will love living vicariously through the sexy hookups and secrets. Thanks to Net Galley for providing a review copy!

I really loved this book! I enjoyed seeing past characters and new conflict. I think Jasmine Guillory is really good at describing situations and conversations that feel "real" to the characters and plot. Looking forward to her future books!!

Fun, Fast and Flirty describes Jasmine Guillory’s romantic trilogy that includes The Wedding Date, The Proposal and her latest The Wedding Party. The Wedding Party is a classic opposites attract centered around, wait for it, a wedding party! Maddie and Theo are both friends of the bride, but not friends with each other– until one night they are more than friends. Contemporary, sharp with likable characters and a fresh summer vibe. Enjoy with a glass of wine.

Another great book from Jasmine Guillory. I love how all her books have had interconnected characters!

4.5 Stars!

The Wedding Party was one of those books that was a joy to read. It was so much fun. I loved how Maddie and Theo had this previous dislike for each other that resulted in some heated chemistry between them. Their little pact to keep things simple and away from Alexa was entertaining. I loved all the ups and downs that created. I also loved how their personalities fit together and how their relationship evolved. Even their little bit of drama was enjoyable to read.

There were a couple of things I found a little odd about this contemporary romance. It didn't feel like a true enemies to lovers romance. I think that's because their time as enemies was in another book. In this one, they were immediately attracted and started hooking up. It also had several kind of "fade to black" sexual encounters. That's not something that bothers me, but it felt weird in this book because it's about two people whose relationship is based on hooking up when their best friend isn't around. It just struck me as odd. I'm also not really complaining about these two things because they didn't ruin the story. I more thought they were interesting choices for the author.

The Wedding Date was a great summer read. It was a lighthearted romance that would be perfect for the pool or the beach, or just simply read at home.

I really enjoyed this book - Jasmine Guillory has such a talent with her books! For anyone who wasn't a fan of The Proposal (...me...) this book is worlds better.

'The Wedding Party' was a feel-good book. And sometimes, you just need to feel good!

Do you remember Alexa's best friend from 'The Wedding Date"? This is Maddie's story!! I was so excited to read her story and I wasn't disappointed!

Maddie is funny, smart, and has a sharp tongue when feeling vulnerable. She's not opposed to relationships she just hasn't found anyone who accepts her for the "real" Maddie. She hasn't found anyone with whom she can be herself. That is until a moment of weakness has her in the arms of the one man she cannot stand.

Theo is Alexa's other best friend; although their relationship is more like brother and sister than friends. He can be pompous and arrogant and use his intelligence as a weapon at times when he's feeling vulnerable. Relationships? He can take them or leave them. But the idea of leaving what just got started with Maddie has Theo on edge and out of sorts.

The two have a deal. They will keep their tryst a secret from everyone, but especially Alexa, and once her wedding has ended, so will their tryst.

Guillory's stories are about relationships and the struggles that come along with them, about trusting your gut and having faith in others. In every story, the struggle is about having faith in their love interest. It is about being able to be vulnerable and being willing to take the leap.

Her characters seem so real, and genuine like they could be your sister, your best friend or your co-worker. They have real, troubles real fears, and genuine emotions.

However, I felt like this book strayed a little from the first two, in that both characters continuously questioned the other's actions and feelings. Admittedly, this drove me a little crazy. Because while I understood both characters were a little new to and leery of serious relationships, their constant inner monologue that questioned the other person made each character come across as immature and not smart, which could not be further from the truth.

Overall, I loved this story, it was a little sexy, a little funny and a whole lot of fun!

This was deeply disappointing. I really do love Jasmine Guillory but this felt incredibly disjointed and it was seriously hard to follow. There's a frantic, chaotic kind of energy running through the narrative that had me very confused. I kept having to remind myself which character was which. Its also never a good sign when you don't connect with the protagonists at all. I just didn't like either Theo or Maddie, neither of whom ever come across as more than the stereotypical girlie girl and super serious guy except they're really not!

Jasmine Guillory is a really terrific author but my sense is these books are being pushed out way too quickly to capitalize on that initial spark she created with the really outstanding "Wedding Date." Both this one and to some extent "The Proposal" feel very rushed and not nearly as finely tuned as that first book.

I was disappointed by this book. I really enjoyed the first two in this companion series, but I didn't connect with the characters at all in this one. The frequent fade to black sex and time jumps were jarring as the story kept skipping the reader ahead hours, days, weeks, and months at a time. It made it feel rushed and didn't give me time to dwell on the characters personalities or chemistry with each other, though there also wasn't much of a plot either. I felt myself rushing through it to find out the end and not invested in the characters. I hope her next books slow down and go back to focusing on chemistry and characters.

While I loved The Wedding Date and sped through it in a day, this one felt a little forced to me. It's formulaic, what romance isn't anymore, but I didn't love the flow of this one. We will definitely still be purchasing for my library because our patrons loved The Wedding Date.

One thing both Theo and Maddie have in common is Alexa their best friend. Well also that one night where the Tango in the bed happened. Maddie is attracted to Theo and they both think about that one night together but they have a love hate relationship. Since they will be seeing each other since their bestie is getting married and they both with be helping they embark on a secret lovers pact. Timeline ending as soon as their bestie says I Do. Well things of course dont go exactly as planned! Emotions are silly feelings right. Trying to keep their feelings under wraps ends up being challenging. Maddie and Theo are super cute and the banter is light and flirty. Great flow to the story and it is well written. Really enjoyed all the other characters in the story.

This book was enjoyable. I am not usually much of a romance reader, but every once in a while it is kind of fun. This was fun to read.