More Jasmine Guillory

Earlier in the year, I read Jasmine Guillory's The Wedding Proposal as part of a reading challenge that called for a Romance by a Person of Color.  I don't read much romance in general, but I found Guillory's writing fun, and I enjoyed getting to know her characters.  Then I found out she's from the area where I live, and it seemed only right to keep supporting her novels.  So, I picked up The Proposal.  In the sequel to The Wedding Date, Nik finds herself in a rebound relationship with Carlos - neither of whom are looking for anything serious.  So, you know where this is going - lots of late-night meet-ups and casual dates that eventually lead to someone falling in love, but no one wanting to admit it.  In many ways these types of books are so frustrating - if people would just say what they're thinking and stop being idiots, a lot less time would be wasted.  But, then there wouldn't be a book.  So, every time I found myself aggravated and wanting to throw the book against the wall, I just told myself to breathe and enjoy it.  And I did.  The Proposal is also fun - nothing earth-shattering here - except maybe an appreciation that people of color can be desirable and human and full of flaws but also loved and beautiful and worthy.  And that's definitely a message worth picking up.

And so, I picked up the third in the trilogy - The Wedding Party - with Alexa (from The Wedding Date) planning her wedding in the background, her best friends Maddie and Theo find their mutual hatred of each other developing into a *surprise* full-fledged romance.  But, of course, it starts out as a casual fling for both of them, and as they're hiding their meet-ups from Alexa, they're hiding their true feelings for each other from themselves.  Same basic formula successfully used as a vehicle for romance.  It was fun to see this story line through, but I still wouldn't say that I'm sold on romance as a genre.  Again, I haven't read many, and my guess is that Guillory probably does it better than most.  I'm a fan and will keep reading her books as the come out (I know Royal Holiday is waiting for me at the library at this moment).