Jasmine Guillory Goes Hollywood With “While We Were Dating”

If you haven’t jumped on board with Jasmine Guillory’s Wedding Date series, what on earth are you waiting for? I mean, The Proposal was a Reese Witherspoon Book Club selection, so you know it’s a good time. (And that one wasn’t even my favorite!)

We’re now on the sixth book in this delightful series. While We Were Dating follows Ben’s journey. (If you need the connection to the first book, Ben’s brother Theo (of The Wedding Party) is Alexa’s (of the first book’s) best friend.

He’s an ad executive in San Francisco who gets the opportunity to pitch to a major company. Unbeknownst to Ben, the Oscar-nominated actress who will be the star of the ad campaign joins the pitch meeting. She’s gorgeous and smart and has the pull to get what she wants. Lucky for Ben, it’s his plan… even after the all-white higher ups on his team arrive. Things turn flirty, before taking a turn into a wild plan.

I love the little nods to race that are woven into Guillory’s novels. One that stands out to me is Anna asking Ben if the production team knows how to light brown skin. In the first book, Alexa asks if she will be the only black person at a party. It’s those kind of genuine details that make these books so rich.

Anna’s backstory involves a breakdown and dealing with anxiety. While this is a light romance novel, it isn’t flippant about her mental health struggles. I appreciate that Guillory handles this delicately, although I feel like it could’ve gone a little deeper without weighing down the story too much.

I give While We Were Dating four stars. It’s fun and steamy, with a dash of Hollywood glitz. Get your copy here and let me know which character(s) in the series are your favorite. I’m also curious who you think will be the next side character to take the lead.