Jasmine Guillory’s books are reliably romantic, intimate, and full of unusual characters, and While We Were Dating is no exception.

Our two main characters are Ben, an up-and-coming advertising executive (who, BTW, used to be a backup dancer — hot!), and Anna, an Oscar-nominated actress who needs her next movie to be the big breakthrough that will take her back to the Oscars and send her home with the prize.

When Anna agrees to star in the ad campaign Ben is leading, they’re immediately drawn to one another and develop an easy rapport. But it’s not until Ben offers to drive her all night to reach her family at a Southern California emergency room that they truly connect, spending the long car ride sharing secrets and dreams. Their intimacy becomes physical, and they’re both wildly attracted to one another — but neither imagines that this can be anything but a fling.

Later, Anna’s manager comes up with a plan: In order for the studios to see Anna as a big enough box-office draw to land that next crucial movie contract, she needs to be more in the public eye. He convinces her to go public in a fake relationship with Ben, making sure the paparazzi are on hand to capture their every private-but-public flirtation. Soon, they’re featured in People magazine and are walking the red carpet together, but Ben knows that once the premieres have ended, so will this relationship.

I enjoyed a lot about While We Were Dating. Anna and Ben are both well-developed, flawed people. Sure, they’re super hot, but they’re also vulnerable, each dealing with his or her memories and past painful experiences, cautious about who they trust and who they allow into their lives. They have an easy chemistry together, and their banter is adorable and flirtatious and very down-to-earth.

This author also tends to go outside the societal norms of beauty when it comes to her heroines, and Anna is depicted as both stunningly gorgeous and plus-sized. And honestly, I love that about her.

I’m not a huge fan of “Stars! They’re Just Like Us!” kind of stories, so the Hollywood magic is, if anything, a minus for me when it comes to books featuring glamorous stars and their love lives. Here, though, we see Anna’s family and her roots, her struggle to adjust to her new reality, the invasiveness of the paparazzi, the need to always be “on”, and it makes her feel relatable, even if the day-to-day of her life — with stylists and gowns and borrowed jewels — feels like something from another world.

The books in The Wedding Date series are all loosely connected, but don’t worry if you haven’t read the others. Familiar characters show up, and you’ll be happy to see them if you know who they are, but it’s not at all crucial to know their backstories in order to enjoy While We Were Dating (or any of the other book in the series.) Each book focuses on a new romantic pairing and can stand on its own just fine.

If you’re a fan of Jasmine Guillory’s books, you’ll definitely want to read this one as well. Even if you’re new to this author, this would make a great pick for beach or poolside reading.

Yay I love books set in the Bay Area. I lived in SF, currently live in the East Bay and grew up in the North Bay. I totally related to all the lingo lol esp when he jumped on the muni in the beginning, I'm like is he in SF?

This book was so what I needed this week! And I have been collecting Jasmine's books but like all of us buy books and put them on my shelf and take pictures. I need to read all of them if they are little treasures of stories like this was.

The representation of mental health and how normal anxiety, therapy, just needing someone to help process overwhelming things in our life is wonderful. And the insight that you are never "cured" you learn coping and processing but you don't have to be perfect. There is such a stigma but it should be normal and not be something people judge.

I loved that they both eventually noticed eachothers weaknesses and what they thought was their own weakness the other thought was a strength.

And wow the steam🔥🔥 they just could not get enough of eachother!!! So so steamy! Loved it! 🔥🔥

What started as a casual relationship, then a fake relationship, can it become more?

I just loved so much about this story!

Thank you berkley romance and net galley for the e-ARC for my honest and voluntary review.

I'm a huge Jasmine Guillory fan--I've been reading her books since The Wedding Date was first released and own the complete collection. After two or three books, they began to get a little redundant and then, BAM, Party of Two blew me away and became my favorite of the set, reinvigorating the series. Unfortunately, While We Were Dating does not bring the same freshness that its predecessor did, and instead feels like a redux of previous novels with a celebrity element tossed in.

I think also contributing to my meh feeling about this book is my distaste for the hero. He's pretty much an admitted player who out of luck ends up with a hot, rich, famous actress. Like OF COURSE she's the one he finally learns to commit for. Just doesn't seem fair. And while would definitely happen in real life, I don't read romance to be grounded in reality. I think this book would have been more fun with a slightly more awkward hero. More hot professor and less charming playboy, you know?

It's still a good read, and feels extremely ~Jasmine Guillory~. She has an unmistakable voice that's easy to pick from a crowd, and it's entertaining and well-done. Just not her best work.

I should also note that, imo, this book was *significantly* steamier than her previous books. For some readers, this might be a positive, for others, a negative, but for me it just felt like it replaced plot. You know the saying about people swearing because they can't think of better ways to express themselves? Well... yeah... got those vibes here. And that is part of the plot in a way; our hero has some emotional baggage and deflects with intimacy. But it just read lazy on paper.

CW/TW: fatshaming, anxiety, long-lost sibling

Thanks to Berkley for my eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

4 stars - 6/10

Omg! This book was amazing from beginning to end. I loved it! Jasmine has definitely out done herself with this entire series. With the Wedding Date being my absolute favorite I think Ben and Anna is completely equal to that book. After meeting Ben in the Wedding Party I was definitely excited for him to get his own story. After all I loved his brother Theo. The instant attraction between him and Anna was seemless while he spearheaded the ad campaign in which stars Anna Gardiner. Along the way while cultivating a new friendship they agreed to a fake relationship in order to catapult Anna’s career. It just so happens in the grand scheme of things faking it was actually laying the foundation for their amazingly beautiful budding romance. Mental health is definitely an topic that many shy away from but Jasmine handle the subject matter with so much care but also brought some awareness to the illness especially as it regard people in the black community A+. This book was also very steamy compared to the others and I propose enjoyed that the most because it made the story more real and relatable. Definitely swoon worthy and I will have a book hangover. Five stars all the way. I would recommend this book to all my romance readers this is a good one.

I absolutely devoured this steamy romance novel. It was such a great fake to real relationship trope. I honestly found myself blushing during parts of this book. It reminded me a little of the Friends episode where Joey finds Rachels’s book she has hidden under her pillow.
The book was very fast paced and the characters are well developed!

Synopsis:

Ann Gardiner is the type of celebrity who goes after what she wants. She likes to control the narrative. When a tech company casts her for one of their advertisements she makes sure she gets a say in what advertising firm will land the account. She chooses the firm with the hot young executive named Ben. She liked his ideas and she sensed a spark between them.

This is Ben’s big break. The other people on his team are stuck in traffic so he gets to take the lead on this pitch. He doesn’t let Anna’s star power knock him off his game. When his firm is chosen it’s on the condition that Ben be the lead man on the project. Ben can’t complain not only does he get to prove his worth but he gets to work with Anna Gardiner, superstar celebrity.

Told from both perspectives the reader gets and inside look at the relationship from both sides. Sparks fly between them immediately. Not only is there a physical attraction but they both understand the other issues they are dealing with. It seems they bring out the best in each other. Anna’s trying to prove her star power to land a new movie. Her manager hatches a plan for her and Ben to have a fake relationship that will give her some buzz in the Hollywood press. Will this land Ann her dream part? Will she and Ben call it quits when the charade is up or do they have some unfinished business?

At times I felt both characters were a little shallow. Anna worrying too much about the press and her appearances to the public. Ben was at times too focused on sex. I enjoyed when their vulnerable sides were shown and they were authentic with one another. This is only the second Jasmine Guilroy book I’ve read in her Wedding Date series but I am definitely wanting to go back and read the rest.

I really enjoyed this story, and Jasmine Guillory has become such a reliable romance author. This is within the Wedding Date universe, so we get appearances from plenty of previous characters and their relationships, which is always fun. I loved the Hollywood behind-the-scenes stories in this one, and Anna's struggles with anxiety and the normalization of therapy in this book are really excellently done. Ben is also a great main character as he deals with his own history and complex feelings about relationships.

I enjoyed this book overall. I appreciate that the lead character had anxiety and the way that Guillory wrote about it, for me was very relatable. I have to admit though that I was not a huge fan of Anna and Ben’s relationship dynamic. I get that Anna was a beautiful celebrity that Ben was completely taken with, but it just did not feel like a relationship that in the normal world would have naturally progressed as it did. I know that sounds weird, because this is fiction, however, I was expecting a little more based on her previous books.

While We Were Dating is the sixth book into the Wedding Date series by Jasmine Guillory. This contemporary romance novel is a fast lighthearted read. This book features Ben Stephens, Theo’s younger brother, who meets Anna, a famous actress, and end up from secret dating to fake dating. Overall, this was decent read for me. One of of the strongest points in this book was mental health representation. I love the Bay Area and Palm Springs setting in this novel. I also liked that Theo and Maddie from The Wedding Party popped in the background and so did Nic and Carlos from The Proposal. The part that didn’t work for me was the conflict in this book which seemed trivial. There also a couple of California logistics that I was hung up on while reading. If you like the wedding date series, you may want to pick this up.

Love everything Jasmine touches, everytime she expands her rom-com world.. I am in. All the feels, black people in love brings me joy.

I received a gifted galley of WHILE WE WERE DATING by Jasmine Guillory for an honest review. Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review!

WHILE WE WERE DATING is book six in the author’s The Wedding Date series, but it works perfectly well as a standalone. Ben Stephens is a young man who hasn’t gone in for long term relationships. He’s also not the most reliable when it comes to timelines, but when a travel snafu has him making the big pitch for a new advertising campaign, he blows the star Anna Gardiner away.

Ben is instantly drawn to Anna, an true Hollywood star with big dreams of Oscar contention. The pair connect well and soon are enjoying a friendship and a lot more even though neither feels mixing business with pleasure is a great idea. Boundaries between friendship and romance get even more crossed when Anna’s manager suggests a bit of fake dating to get Anna into the papers.

overall enjoyed this read! I especially appreciated the mental heath representation it provides. Anna is dealing with anxiety that can be crippling at times and Ben also is in therapy. I love how normalizing this is!

I have read two of the previous books in the series, but I really enjoy that the author makes these books interconnected, but in such a way that you don’t feel you’ve missed out if you haven’t read the prior books. I did recognize a couple characters, but there may also have been some I never knew where in another book.

I struggled a bit here or there with situations where the plot needed some setup that felt a bit forced to me. Ben’s entire team missed the meeting because someone with knowledge of California thought flying into eternally foggy San Francisco was a good idea? The idea of bringing a fake dating trope into an already somewhat dating relationship also felt a bit awkward to me. But those details aside, I did think it was a fun read.

I love this series, and Ben and Anna were a perfect addition! While I was so happy to see past couples, these two kept the spotlight on them. Ben is just pretty much perfect, but not quite, which is just what I want in a hero. Anna is so strong, brave, and wonderful and Inloved how her storyline was so relatable! A great love story, and great book!

Another solid entry in Jasmine Guillory's The Wedding Party romance universe. This one features Ben Stephens, the brother of Theo from The Wedding Party. As always, there is good writing, great sex, and wonderful diversity.

However, I'd really like one of the many queer side characters to be the protagonist in the next book. Perhaps Penny and Nina will meet and sparks will fly...

I really enjoyed this contemporary romance featuring Anna who is an actress and Ben who works at an advertising agency. I liked their meet cute where Anna surprises Ben by showing up in the middle of his advertising pitch.

Anna and Ben have amazing chemistry and I loved the steamy scenes and fun banter.

This is the sixth book in the Wedding Date series, but I didn’t feel like I was missing out by not having read the entire series.

This was such a cute and easy contemporary romance. . . with actually a very intense and important undertone. It was also my first Jasmine Guillory!

We follow Ben, an ad campaign executive, and Anna, an upcoming and successful actress, in Hollywood when their paths cross during a high-profile, cell phone ad campaign. They hit it off pretty quickly and start finding more and more ways to be around each other as they fall in love (or do they?!) and live life in Hollywood. Told from both of their points of view, Guillory takes us on an unexpected journey of finding love, coping and dealing with anxiety, and ultimately, being true to yourself.

Overall, I really enjoyed this read! I love that while the romance was fun, vibrant, and meaningful, it was also layered with important topics such as positive self-image, body positivity, anxiety awareness and therapy advocation, racial disparities, and more. I loved the strong familial ties, the constant validation of feelings among characters, and just the overall fun atmosphere and energy of the book! Anna and Ben together are just incredibly swoon-worthy, too!

This was a fantastic rom-com from Jasmine Guillory that peeks behind the Hollywood curtain. I love how nuanced her characters always are, and Ben and Anna are no exception. The chemistry between these two just flies off the page, but between shocking life curveballs and mental health woes, their relationship is anything but easy (even if it IS easy in the bedroom). I loved seeing both Ben and Anna working through their issues thoughtfully and realistically, and the moments between them are just oh-so-sweet.

A well done romance novel by Jasmine Guilory. I loved the characters of Anna and Ben and enjoyed watching their story unfold. Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC.

Ben works in advertising and lands a HUGE career changing campaign featuring actress Anna Gardiner. There is an instant attraction between the two, but neither of them has any interest in dating anyone at all. But a little shameless flirting never hurt anyone, right? When Ben helps Anna with a family emergency, the two become closer and their flirting turns into something more. Eventually, they pretend to date to help Anna’s career, but what will happen when their deal is up?

Jasmine Guillory’s books make me SO happy and this was no exception. I love the strong female characters she creates. I love the cameos of characters from her previous books. And I LOVED that these characters openly discuss mental health issues and therapy from the beginning. As with all of Guillory’s books this one is very steamy, it has some laugh out loud moments (the suitcase scene anyone?), and the sweetest love story. What else can I say other than I loved this book!

Thank you to Berkley and Let’s Talk Books Promo for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

You can set your watch by Jasmine Guillory. Everything she writes is just solid. This book features Ben - brother to Theo from several earlier books - a former backup dancer turned marketing/advertising dude and Tinder hit it and quit it type and Anna, a movie star who ends up being the talent for a campaign that Ben lands. They flirt and eventually start hooking up with the idea that it will be a temporary fling. But Anna's manager decides that being seen with someone will be good for her career (she's been out of the public eye for a while due to some serious anxiety that she is still working through in this book), and he convinces her to string Ben along for a fake relationship. She genuinely likes Ben as a person, so she tells him what's up and he decides to play along. Of course, this is a contemporary romance novel, so things get complicated but then uncomplicated. The only minor issue I had with this was that it wrapped up way too quickly. Like, when the resolution started happening, my Kindle told me I had 8 minutes left in the book. I would have liked to see that drawn out a bit more to feel more realistic, but overall a great read.

While We Were Dating is the sixth book in The Wedding Date series. For some reason this is the only series that I've read out of order. I started with book #2, The Proposal and this was my second of the series.

Ben works in ad campaigns and Anna is an actress. They instantly have chemistry when Anna is to be the lead in a campaign Ben is pitching. An instant attraction tempts them to have a fling while working together. Will their fling turn into a publicity stunt to boost Anna's career or will it be happily ever after?

A few of my favorites things about this book were:
- The focus on mental health. Ben goes to therapy regularly and Anna has been working through panic attacks/anxiety over the last year or so. Ben talks about therapy really openly, there is never any judgement, and he's never afraid to ask the hard questions; whereas Anna is still living in a world where it's something to be embarrassed about. They way they connect, come to an understanding, and push each other relating to mental health is perfect!
- The relationships Ben and Anna have with their family. I loved Ben and Theo together, their closeness especially when they are very different personalities from one another. I also loved Anna and her pretty distant yet close relationship with her brother. The sibling relationships have different dynamics but are both super relatable.
- The call outs of how black, normal sized (non stick figure) women are mistreated and discriminated against in Hollywood. Ridiculous!

Jasmine Guillory has a way of bringing humor and heat to her books! I loved the added issues touched on in this one to go along with that steam and cute and fun banter. I'm excited to read the rest of the earlier books in this series!

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Need a break from reality? May I present the newest Jasmine Guillory title–a Hollywood romance between a burgeoning star, an ad exec, and a great “fake dating” scheme that goes…exactly how it always does. Plus, there’s a character with anxiety, men who go to therapy, a looming sibling you never knew existed, and two men carrying an Oscar nominee in a jumbo suitcase. Why not, right?

Anna is a star on the rise–a plus size, gorgeous woman trying to recement her career after a previous Oscar nomination and then a sort of spiral into anxiety. She’s the newest face of an ad campaign that Ben, a former backup dancer, happens to be helping with. They hit it off immediately, sparks fly, and Ben ends up driving Anna to Palm Springs–a multi hour drive–to see her Dad when he falls ill, cementing him as a Good Guy. Of course, sparks fly, and things get ~complicated~ when Anna’s manager decides they should fake date to help Anna get some good press. We all know how fake dating goes..but in Hollywood? Oof.

I did enjoy this book well-enough while I was reading it. Like…it is what it is. It’s not going to win any awards. It’s not going to change your life.It’s an interesting romance with some sexy scenes and drama and wholesome heartwarming moments. But…the character of Ben felt a little underdeveloped. The secret sibling email thing made….no sense, plot wise, unless it’s just to give us the next character to follow in the series. But you know what..that’s fine. I don’t expect life changing work from Jasmine Guillory, just a good time. And this was a good time.

While We Were Dating is on sale everywhere July 13, 2021.