This book was so freaking good! I loved watching Olivia and Max's relationship develop. It was so sweet and their chemistry is great. I also really liked the humor throughout the story and the secondary characters were all awesome too. Highly recommend this one!

Jasmine Guillory does it again! This one was so enjoyable. Truth be told, this is one of the few series I’ve actually read over the years! I’m definitely a stand-alone kinda gal, but this series is great! I haven’t read the Royal Holiday yet because I’m holding off until Christmas time, but I heard I wouldn’t get any spoilers from this one, thank goodness.

Enough with my rambling - this book is everything we’ve come to expect from Guillory. It’s sweet, sassy, funny, has meaningful dialogue, and, of course, steamy! This is a perfect rom com for the summer.

Olivia Monroe is done with New York, back on the West Coast, diving into starting her own law firm with her bestie, and she's prepared to kick butt and take names in the courtroom. She's got everything planned out perfectly, and nothing will deter her from her plans. Not even the hot guy at the hotel bar she meets one night, who agrees with her on desserts, is super nice, and has a ready-list of all of the best places to eat in LA. Olivia regrets not getting his number... And then finds out that he's actually a U.S. Senator!

Maxwell "Max" Powell is serving his first term as senator of California, and when a broken water pipe means a night in a hotel, he's attracted to the beautiful woman at the bar who is disgusted by the lack of proper desserts. A woman after his own heart! Too bad he didn't get her number... until fate brings them together again at a function! Unable to get her out of his head, Max does what he does best: makes an impulsive decision and sends Olivia a cake.

This is the sweet beginning of... something. Neither are quite sure what it is, or what it can be. Opposites may attract, but will they be able to make a relationship work? Especially with the added hurdles of politics, paparazzi, and their respective pasts?

Jasmine Guillory's books never fail to make me happy (and hungry. Seriously, so much good food is described that you want to reach into the book and stuff your face with what the characters are eating). Guillory effortlessly blends in the fun, fluffy, and sexy parts of a relationship with the Hard Stuff. In this book, that includes: handling a relationship with someone of a different race and different economic classes growing up, coupled with that relationship being in the public eye and scrutinized on top of being mostly long-distance, all while also trying to achieve important career goals. Plus, Olivia and Max have two very different personalities. Olivia thinks long and hard about her decisions, while Max usually says or does the first thing that comes to mind. While these are factors that they both respect and like about the other, it can also make things difficult in a relationship as it can lead to frustration. However, Olivia and Max work together to find a happy balance without too much sacrifice on either end.

Without a doubt, Jasmine Guillory is the Queen of modern romance, showing the (all incredibly realistic) good, the bad, the ugly, and the fluffy of relationships and what love looks like, and "Party of Two" takes the cake. (See what I did there?)

This is my third Jasmine Guillory book & it might be my favorite. The romance was so sweet and the characters were so easy to like.
It's a great summer read for this year. The romance, the great characters, the talk of diversity and all the mention of cake. Max randomly surprises Olivia with cake & pies, SIGN ME UP!

I like Jasmine Guillory's books. This is the third in this series that I've read (not in order) and they are exactly what I like in a HEA romance/chick lit. I love the diversity, that they confront some social issues but not in a heavy-handed way, but in a way perfect for a light romance, they always have great dialogue and interesting, likeable characters. She is a good writer and I will probably read most of what she publishes.
This book was a little slow. It's brave to have your main couple not live in the same City because they aren't together as much as might be interesting in a book and you sort of need that to build a believable romance. To me it felt unnaturally fast that they were connected and in love, although I appreciate Olivia's reticence to just dive in. I enjoyed their communication challenges and the way they addressed those (and maybe even learned a thing or two myself) but felt the romance lacked a bit. I also thought she was a bad ass and he (Max) could use some work, but at least his privilege was addressed. She kept saying no one had ever loved her that way, looked at her that way, etc. which made me sad and also thought that he still wasn't the best and she could do better.
Overall, still enjoyable.
This was a 3.5 star for me and probably liked The Proposal better, but I would definitely recommend for a light and interesting read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Wow, this was the perfect summer read. An addicting, fast-p[aced story, with buzzing chemistry between the two MC's that will leave you rooting for the couple the entire time...and probably craving cake and pie.

The story follows Olivia Monroe, as she moves to L.A to start her own law firm. She meets a handsome man at a hotel bar, and they spent the entire night flirting before realizing he's senator Max Powell. She had absolutely no interest in dating, but when a cake shows up at her apartment from Max, she can't resist.

Party of Two definitely pulled off the "opposites attract" trope. I found myself flipping through the pages because of the intense chemistry and cute banter between the two characters. The characters were very likeable. Olivia is fun, witty, determined and smart. Max is charming, heartwarming, outgoing and sweet. They're also flawed characters, which I personally love. It makes the story realistic.

I also love how they are both foodies! That added a charm to the story.

Overall, I highly recommend this book if you love romance. It's a great book to pick up for a summer day on the beach.

**ARC provided by Netgalley for an honest review.
I can’t say enough great things about this author! She never fails us! The relationship between the two characters is something we should all be aiming for. Perfect read!

Party of Two is an opposites attract romance following Olivia, the sister of the MC in The Wedding Date, as she moves back to Los Angeles to start her own law firm. She unexpectedly meets Max, a junior senator who is charming and does well in the spotlight. This book feels very timely in terms of having a hero who is an elected official advocating for a criminal justice reform bill. And in fact, we get some great conversations about the unequal effects of the criminal justice system on those from low income or minority communities.

I liked the thematic content and thought the romance had a good arc and some great moments. The early part of the book where they have very different expectations was fun, and I liked that it showed a couple working through conflict from personality differences and finding ways to resolve it.

On the other hand, this felt very bloated and really dragged in the middle. I'm not often bored in a romance, particularly a political one with so much potential, but parts of this were rather bland. I think with some editing to make this faster paced it could have been fantastic. As it is, it was fine but less memorable than I had hoped. I received an advance copy of this book for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I love Max and Olivia. It's funny that when Olivia meets Max she has no clue he's the hot star senator! He's such a good guy and she's so likable too. She driven and right now a romance doesn't fit in her plans. He's busy wowing his constituents. They decide to keep their relationship under the radar and spend so much fun time together. Soon they're completely invested in their relationship but problems are inevitable. Their different races, her reluctance to live in the public eye, geographic distance, career demands all cause a great deal of conflict and create some heartbreaking situations.

I laughed, I cried, I enjoyed.

The best if The Wedding Date series to date! A great interracial romance read that has just the right touch of seriousness.

I really liked this one! From the strong female friendships to how the mains worked to learn from each other, I found it to be a solid story, while still being a bit cheesy (in a good way!). If you're a fan of her other books, for sure check this one out - won't be disappointed.

This book was very entertaining, easy I finished them in 3 days, I was able to finish it earlier, but I was presented with some activities. Well, what I'll say about this story is that the protagonists are too deference, sometimes I doubt what chemistry they might have. History reflects politics, humor and drama. The cliché is that we know that the protagonists will stay together, but here the dire day is that in history they try to struggle to know if the relationship is worth it and not force to have the relationship as most romances are located. The characters are very different, but I've always said. Opposites attract, I must accept that these characters are very mature and do not do nonsense as I am accustomed to reading teenage romances that even becomes toxic the relationship. you can not miss this great story if you are looking for romance outside of what you are used to.

Party of Two by Jasmine Guillory is the 5th book in her delightful The Wedding Date series. I have enjoyed the previous books, as Guillory writes such wonderful fun romances.

We meet Olivia Monroe, our heroine and sister to the first book’s heroine, Alexa. Olivia has just moved from New York to Los Angeles, where she and her best friend, Ellie, have started their own law firm. While staying at a hotel until her new place is ready, Olivia meets a cute guy at the bar. They spent the time having fun and flirting with each other, while discussing the best cakes and pies; after a few drinks, Olivia leaves. Later that night while watching TV, she realizes that t he cute guy was in fact the junior senator from California.

Max Powell, our hero, regretted not finding out Olivia’s name and how to contact her. A couple of days later, Max was giving a speech, and immediately noticed Olivia standing in the back of the auditorium. They meet, with her teasing him that he is famous and him asking for her address and where she worked. Later, she gets a surprise delivery…Chocolate Cake, and it was from her cute senator.

What follows is a lighthearted heartwarming fun story centering on a romance between two people in different stages of their lives and their struggles. Olivia was a great heroine, smart, fun, outgoing, lively, but also dedicated and driven in making her new firm grow. She is the kind of person who plans things ahead, always being prepared. Max was such a fantastic character, and I loved him with Olivia. He was smart, charming, fun, and also driven in his career in politics; but Max was the opposite of Oliva, as he was impulsive on how he reacted to various things. Their romance was sexy and charismatic, and they made a great couple. But Max’s impulsiveness and Olivia’s fear of being in the public eye caused major hardships. Will they find a way to stay together?

Party of Two was a delightful, charming, fun and sexy story. I loved some of the secondary characters, especially Max’s chief of staff, and Olivia’s partner Elle, and her new friend. Once again, Jasmine Guillory gives us a fantastic and enjoyable story, which you need to be reading.

Sexy and fun! This is a fav of Jasmine Guillory's books. It's flirty in it's dialogue, and the characters are spicy and strong. I enjoyed this book because it's very fiery and hot. The perfect summer romance book!

This is my favorite of Jasmine Guillory's books! Really enjoyed these two characters and their central conflict. Highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC. The opinions herein are mine alone and may not reflect the views of the author, publisher, or distributor.

Quick review for the day, as I'm rather busy. So, this was adorable. Not only do we have a seriously warrior-princess heroine (or should I say, lawyerly-princess, heh...I'll show myself out), we have a genuinely-sweet guy who pursues her because he likes who she is.

And, folks, that's hard to find in a lot of romance novels. There's a lot of digging involved to get to the gems, and not even The Bromance Book Club hit me with the sweet like I thought it would. Olivia was herself no matter what, and I appreciated that in a heroine. (Also, can I just mention real quick here, she was not ashamed of how much she loves food? Cuz girl, same.)

And Max? Cute. Super cute. I am SO GLAD Guillory doesn't believe in the creepy romance, where he comes on strong and then the woman's like, "OMG I hate you but I love you but I hate you." The mood swings give me whiplash.

Couple other notes:

1) Guillory's prose is great.

Her dialogue is natural and flows as if someone is actually talking to you. Her characters are easily distinguishable, and speaking of her characters:

2) They're flawed!

They felt like real people, even in the ups and downs of their budding relationship. Add to that the individual personalities of the characters shining through, and I'm now convinced Guillory should get way more attention than she does currently.

I enjoyed this!

I have read every book in the Wedding Date series that Jasmine Guillory has written, because I am a sucker for a cute, light-hearted rom-com. Like all of the other books in this series, Party of Two did not disappoint. If I am being completely honest, the synopsis got me at chocolate cake, regardless of who wrote the book!

One main thing I enjoyed about this book, just like all of Guillory's, is the fact that it is told from dual POVs. I feel like this adds so much more to a book, especially in a romance novel, so that you get the whole story from both perspectives.

I really enjoyed Olivia as a main character in this novel. You got a small glimpse at her in the first book, The Wedding Date, but this story shows you how strong and independent of a woman she is. She is risk adverse and spends most of her time strategically planning out her next move. In contrast, Max is a charming, spontaneous and intelligent senator.

As I have stated in a few of my other rom-com reviews, I tend to have a hard time if the male love interest comes off as controlling or overbearing. Luckily, Guillory seems to have it down and as always, Max was such a delightful male love interest and one that I found myself swooning over a time or two.

Lastly, the most surprising thing I loved most about this book was all the food talk. I am not sure you could go a single chapter without some sort of food being talked about. As mentioned before, the chocolate cake reeled me in from the synopsis and it made a few appearances throughout the book that made me want to run to the store and get one for myself!

Thank you so much to Netgalley, Berkley Books and Jasmine Guillory for providing me with an ebook review copy in exchange for an honest review!

I think this may be my favorite Jasmine Guillory book yet! I really enjoyed Max and Olivia's developing relationship; and the many delectable dessert descriptions. Olivia's hesitation to get involved with a prominent white politician in spite of her attraction to him was understandable, and the way Guillory explored those hesitations was believable and enjoyable.

When I think of powerhouse authors the name Jasmine Guillory immediately comes to mind. It takes a special gift to produce a great read each time you publish, and this lady definitely does that. Her latest, Party of Two, is a warm, sexy, charming masterpiece, perfect for escaping the stressful world we live in today.

Olivia Monroe loved her years as a lawyer  in New York, but  when she got tired of white male associates getting far more respect, older partners yelling at her, people doubting her ideas and intelligence and having to trudge through a bitter winter just to get to work and experience all that fun, she moved back to California. While she waits to move into her new house, she spends her days setting up her office, and her evenings hanging out at the hotel bar. Which is how she winds up devoting the better part of one night to flirting with a man named Max, whom she bonds with over the importance of quality cake being the staple of any desert menu. She assumes Max is an actor; they are in L.A. after all and he’s totally gorgeous. She tells him she’s an accountant because she “can’t deal with one more stupid lawyer joke.” They don’t exchange last names or phone numbers but part amicably at the elevator. She discovers just what kind of celebrity she was sharing small talk with when she turns on her television as she gets ready for bed.

Senator Max Powell is used to people recognizing him and becoming instant sycophants so he is delighted when Olivia clearly doesn’t know who he is and makes him work to win her approval. His one regret is that he didn’t have the good sense to get any of her details, so he’s delighted when, a week later, he spots her in the audience as he gives a speech at a fundraiser. He makes a beeline for Olivia at the earliest possible moment and learns she’s actually a lawyer who has just opened a new firm in the area. They chat some more but the experience is cut short when his staff drags him away to meet other constituents.

Olivia is surprised when later that afternoon, a package arrives at her office with a card containing a sweet message and a phone number. Max had remembered her favorite type of cake and had a bakery deliver one. She goes through several different text drafts before she finally decides to just leave a thank you message on his phone. To her surprise, he answers the call, their amazing chemistry once more ignites and she finds herself agreeing to a first date. And then a second. Before she knows it she’s falling pretty hard for the handsome, sexy, sweet, funny, and noble Max. The question is, does she like him enough to stand beside him when their romance becomes a public spectacle?

From the moment they met, these two had me smiling and I didn’t stop until the end of the book. There was so much I loved about this novel I could easily write a top 100 list of reasons to buy it, but I will try to limit this review to the top five.

One thing the author gets all kinds of kudos for is the wonderful way she builds a relationship between two extremely driven people. Olivia is strong, independent, and opinionated. A lot of writers end up making alpha females bitchy and touchy, quick to respond nastily to the slightest offense, but that doesn’t happen here. Olivia is a kind, reasonable person who is as quick to stand up for others as she is to defend herself. She’s a great listener and a wonderful, supportive friend. She knows the difference between someone asking for a favor and someone taking advantage and that serves her really well in this relationship, where both parties have to compromise in order to make it work.

Max is also good at compromising but his real strength lies in knowing how privileged he is and being happy to be called on it. One of the first things that draws him to Olivia is that she doesn’t treat him as though he is special; when she meets him, “She barely even smiled at him, and the one time she had, he felt like he had won a prize.” He finds it “Weirdly nice to have to fight for a smile for the first time in a long time”.  The two quickly establish a rapport and they laugh as they have deep intellectual conversations about desserts. This is another of Max’s strengths; his ability to be easy-going and attentive (he remembers Olivia’s favorite cakes and even what order they come in.)  He is willing to let others set the pace on some things but asserts himself when he needs to. He’s okay with being vulnerable to hurt in order to further a relationship, and isn’t afraid to do the heavy lifting in the romance department; he’s not aggressive but he does pursue the relationship. I loved everything about him; even his flaws and mistakes are endearing.

That’s because the author uses both characters’ mistakes and differences to help them grow, and bring out the best in each other. Insert fangirl squeal here - that is so awesome! I love it when two great people become even better together. I loved how fun their encounters are, how well they get along, how they are able to talk through simple problems, and I loved the solution they came to for the big issues between them.

The secondary characters are handled beautifully. They lend the exact right amount of balance to the growing romance between Olivia and Max and help add depth to them as individuals. Olivia and her work partner Ellie complement each other nicely and I loved Jamila, whom she meets while volunteering at the food pantry. Wes is both a wonderful friend to Max and a man of great wisdom. I sincerely hope his romance is the one this author pens next.

I was thoroughly delighted with how the politics of the story are handled. The primary issue discussed is social justice, specifically the school to prison pipeline. The author doesn’t speak to partisanship but shows how and why this is something about which Max and Olivia both feel deeply. Ms. Guillory also does a great job of showing the actual work of a senator, from meetings, to town halls, to press events to the endless travel - and the effect that work has on the relationship. Not just the intense added pressure of public scrutiny but the difficulty of actually scheduling time to be together.

Funny, warm and romantic, Party of Two is a fantastic, not to be missed romance. I recommend it to anyone who loves – or even just likes – contemporary romance novels.

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Another lovely, thoughtful romance by Guillory! I love her characters. They are always so rich and vibrant. Her stories are so engaging. Love this series!!