Party of Two

Party of Two
by Jasmine Guillory 

This rom-com involves Olivia Monroe, a lawyer who has just moved from New York to LA to start a new firm with a long time friend, and Max Powell, the junior senator from California. Of course Max is one of those gorgeous "most eligible bachelor" types.

They meet innocently enough at a bar and flirt a bit and then go their separate ways. Olivia has no time in her busy schedule trying to build and market her new law firm, but thinks a quick fling with the man in the bar may have been fun. She later recognizes who he is when she sees him on a newscast. Max however is very intrigued by this 'mysterious' woman and can't get her off his mind. 

Olivia attends an event which Max is speaking at. He soon learns more about who she is and what she does which of course intrigues him even more. He follows up this encounter with a cake or pie, which becomes a theme for them throughout the book. I recommend not reading this when you are hungry. 

The book touches on some of the social issues we currently are dealing with and is one of the things I really liked about the story.  Olivia and Max are both passionate about helping people through their respective jobs as well as hands-on. 

Being a woman of color, Olivia thinks things through thoroughly before making decisions or commitments. Both her gender and her skin color could work against her if she missteps. She's known it all her life and behaves accordingly. Olivia has her doubts that this relationship could ever be more than a fling. Max on the other hand, has grown up a privileged white male. His actions and words are often spontaneous and not always thought through. While he would be comfortable 'rushing' into things, he's sometimes frustrated that Olivia is not. He does want to be with her in a very permanent way. 

Besides the basic personality differences, working on opposite sides of the country is not easy on a relationship. They see each other only on the weekends and try hard to keep their dating a secret. 'Going Public' is not just showing up together one day, but takes a team of Max's staff to plan press releases and photographers. Fortunately, he has prepped Olivia for that day. 

I enjoyed the story but I did feel like I wanted more drama.  There is an incident and of course the big question is will they make it or won't they, but it felt somewhat anti-climatic to me. For that I am giving this book 3 of 5 shots.  Of course if you know my rating system, that is still a good review. 

SPOILER ALERT!!

This is where I recount the story for my own poor memory... proceed at your own risk

Olivia has an incident in her past which she keeps secret. As a woman and a POC she feels it could make her be seen as less credible in her job. The incident is a high school break in when she was a teen. She has shared this incident with Max. 

Max puts her on the spot during a town hall meeting by revealing this bit of her past. Although not done maliciously, she can't accept that it happened and leaves the meeting. She breaks off with Max saying that his-speak-on-spur-of-the-moment style and her think-it-through style just are not compatible. Max is crushed and responds by sending her favorite cakes until she tells him to stop. 

It's Max's DC roommate, another junior senator and long time friend that helps Max see that he needs to fight and to start with an apology. As a result, Max sends a legal contract to Olivia, appealing to her thorough thinking side, with the seven things he will do to make the relationship work.  She counters, with a similar contract including changes to his. Both contracts to be revisited every August. 

Epilogue: A year later in August they are vacationing in Hawaii where he proposes to her - with champagne and a cake (of course!).