A meet-cute followed by real life: 'Party of Two' is about love in the real world

Summary

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NPR's Book of the Day

Episode: A meet-cute followed by real life: 'Party of Two' is about love in the real world

Date: January 29, 2026
Host: Lulu Garcia-Navarro (archival interview)
Guest: Jasmine Guillory, author of Party of Two

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Episode Overview

This episode revisits a 2020 interview in which Jasmine Guillory discusses her romance novel Party of Two, set against the backdrop of early COVID-19 and a nation deep in conversation about race. The novel follows the relationship between Olivia Monroe, a Black lawyer, and Max Powell, a white U.S. senator. The interview explores how race, identity, and real-world challenges weave into modern romance, and examines the realities of systemic racism in publishing and other industries.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Story & Its Characters (01:24–01:58)

• Party of Two centers on Olivia, a Black lawyer starting her own firm in Los Angeles, and Max, a white senator based in D.C.
• Their relationship begins with a "meet-cute" at a hotel bar and evolves into a long-distance romance that forces both to confront personal and societal issues.

2. Interracial Romance & The Role of Race (01:58–03:18)

• How race shapes Olivia and Max’s relationship:
  • Olivia’s perspective is shaped by her experiences as a Black woman who’s fought for every opportunity.
  • Max’s privilege as a white man influences his outlook, which is “happy go lucky,” and means he doesn’t face the same struggles.
• Quote:
  • “Max has a very kind of happy go lucky attitude towards life, which is easy for him because he grew up wealthy, he's a white man... Whereas Olivia has fought for everything that she's ever gotten. And so they just have very different attitudes towards how to get through the world.”
    — Jasmine Guillory [02:00]

3. Personal Histories and Blind Spots (02:40–03:18)

• Max, though well-intentioned and versed in racial justice (as a former prosecutor and now legislator), cannot fully grasp Olivia’s lived experiences—such as her being arrested as a teenager.
• Quote:
  • “[Max] doesn't understand viscerally what she went through.”
    — Jasmine Guillory [02:49]

4. Why Race Conversations Are Essential in Romance Fiction (03:18–04:29)

• Guillory believes that authentic relationships—romantic or platonic—can’t ignore discussions about race:
  • “I've never had a relationship, whether it's a romantic relationship or a good friendship, where we didn't talk about race.”
  • She embeds these dialogues naturally into her novels; it’s not always a “big deal,” but an ongoing, real conversation.
• Quote:
  • “I don't think that you can have a real relationship with a person without having those conversations and knowing where you stand. And I feel like my characters feel a lot the same way.”
    — Jasmine Guillory [03:52]

5. Food as a 'Third Main Character' (04:29–05:23)

• The novel features abundant, joyful eating scenes—Max first woos Olivia with a cake.
• Guillory incorporates food and snacks as a realistic and bonding element, noting the rarity of such details in romance novels.
• Notable moment:
  • “I think, like, a lot of times when I'm reading books, I kind of wonder, like, did they stop for lunch?...There's definitely a lot of snacking in this book.”
    — Jasmine Guillory [04:55]

6. The State of the Publishing Industry & Racism (05:23–07:58)

• Guillory discusses her experiences with racism in both law and publishing:
  • Reference to an industry statistic: “100% of black women lawyers leave their first law firm.”
  • Systemic racism is pervasive in many fields, including publishing.
  • Guillory emphasizes the importance of supporting and mentoring other Black writers via informal networks.
• Quote:
  • “The legal industry is very racist. The publishing industry is very racist. Like, name an industry and you'll say that. And that's what systemic racism means.”
    — Jasmine Guillory [06:22]

On Change and Accountability (07:00–07:58)

• Guillory sees hopeful shifts, such as publishers committing to audits and diversity improvements.
• Lasting change, however, depends on real efforts in recruitment, retention, mentoring, and representation.
• Quote:
  • “That's what people need who work in publishing, is they need people to have their backs. Like, they need to not be the only black person in a room when they're trying to fight for a book by another black person.”
    — Jasmine Guillory [07:44]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Authentic Romance:

  • “I don't think that you can have a real relationship with a person without having those conversations and knowing where you stand.”
    — Jasmine Guillory [03:52]

• On Systemic Racism:

  • “The legal industry is very racist. The publishing industry is very racist. Like, name an industry and you'll say that. And that's what systemic racism means.”
    — Jasmine Guillory [06:22]

• On Industry Change:

  • “It has heartened me to see places like publishing houses making commitments...”
    — Jasmine Guillory [07:03]

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Key Segment Timestamps

• 00:02–01:24 — Host contextualizes the original interview (2020) and sets the cultural backdrop.
• 01:24–01:44 — Book synopsis and character introduction.
• 01:46–03:18 — Discussion of race in relationships and characters’ worldviews.
• 03:18–04:29 — The indispensability of race conversations in romance fiction and real life.
• 04:29–05:23 — Food as a vital and unusual theme in romance novels.
• 05:23–07:00 — Guillory’s experience with racism in publishing and law; supporting Black writers.
• 07:00–07:58 — Reflections on industry change and continuing challenges.

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Episode Tone & Takeaways

The conversation is open, insightful, and rooted in personal experience. Guillory is thoughtful, warm, and candid, discussing both the joy of writing romance and the weightier realities faced by herself and her characters. The episode provides nuanced context for both the book Party of Two and the broader challenges Black creators face—in fiction and the workplace.

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For further reading:
Party of Two by Jasmine Guillory
Guest: Jasmine Guillory
Host: Lulu Garcia-Navarro (archival interview)

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Transcript

[A]

Hey, it's NPR's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbong. Something I love about doing this show, particularly when we get to listen to older interviews with authors, is that they're a time capsule of what was going on. Yes, great literature is forever, but these interviews capture a specific moment. So let's go back to summer 2020, deep in early Covid times and during the discussions about race and racism we were having as a country after the killing of George Floyd. At the time, author Jazan Guillory had just come out with her book Party of A romance, about a U.S. senator and a lawyer. One is black and the other is white. This wasn't Guillory's first go at writing a romance involving an interracial couple. And in this interview, Guillory talks to then NPR host Lulu Garcia Navarro about why the theme is so important to her. That's coming up.

[B]

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[C]

Monroe has just moved to Los Angeles to open her own law firm. Max Powell is a U.S. senator who spends weeks in D.C. after a meet cute at a hotel bar, they begin a casual weekend's only long distance fling. Or is it more? Party of Two is the latest romance novel by Jasmine Guillory, who joins me now. Hello.

[D]

Hello. How are you?

[C]

I am very well. I gotta say, this is a romance story with a lot of pretty timely themes. Olivia is black. Max is white. How does race play out in their relationship?

[D]

You know, race plays out in their relationship in the different ways they view the world and the different ways the world has impacted them. Max has a very kind of happy go lucky attitude towards life, which is easy for him because he grew up wealthy, he's a white man. He's sort of had everything he's touched turned to gold in many ways. And while he recognizes very well a lot of the struggles that other people go through, those have never been his struggles, whereas Olivia has fought for everything that she's ever gotten. And so they just have very different attitudes towards how to get through the world.

[C]

Max is well meaning, but he has some Blind Spots, for example. He doesn't understand what it means for Olivia that she was arrested as a teenager.

[D]

In an academic way, he gets it. He used to be a prosecutor, and he kind of had a big change of perspective when he was a prosecutor and recognized when what happened to kids who were arrested, he tried to reform within the office. He is now a senator and is trying to reform that way. But it's nothing that he's ever had to go through. And so he doesn't understand viscerally what she went through.

[C]

You have interracial couples in your other books as well, not just Party of Two. Why is it important to sort of touch on these conversations in your fiction?

[D]

It's very difficult for me, and I know for other people to write a book about people falling in love and getting to know one another without talking about something that is core to their identity. I've never had a relationship, whether it's a romantic relationship or a good friendship, where we didn't talk about race. My close friends and I talk about race all the time. You know, especially right now in all of the conversations we're having about race. I mean, I've had a number of conversations about race with my white friends in the past few weeks that have not felt stressful or fraught because I've talked to them about that before. You know, I don't think that you can have a real relationship with a person without having those conversations and knowing where you stand. And I feel like my characters feel a lot the same way. And so I wanted them to have those conversations, not in a big deal way every time, but just so that they keep referring to it and know that they're on the same page for everything.

[C]

Okay. On a less serious note, I want to ask about the third main character in this book, which is dessert. Max woos Olivia initially with a cake delivery. There's a ton of food in all your books. And it didn't really occur to me until after I'd read this book that you don't often get a lot of eating in romance novels. But I feel like Max and Olivia eat almost as much as they have sex.

[D]

Maybe more. I think, like, a lot of times when I'm reading books, I kind of wonder, like, did they stop for lunch? You know, like, I mean, partly. That's just logistically, you know, when I'm watching movies and they have this long action sequence, I think they must be real tired and hungry after that. Like, maybe they need a snack. And so there's definitely a lot of snacking in this book.

[C]

I want to end by asking you about this moment in our country, because, as you've mentioned, we're in the midst of these conversations about race and justice. And there has been a lot of attention recently on the publishing industry and how much it it pays black authors. And earlier this year, there was a huge scandal in the Romance Writers association after one author, Courtney Milan, called out racism in another author's book. You had already left the RWA some time ago because of racism. How do you deal with these issues within your industry at the same time that the whole country is reckoning with them on this huge scale?

[D]

These are issues that I have been dealing with and reckoning with in every industry I've worked in. You know, when I was a lawyer, I distinctly remember there was a survey that said 100% of black women lawyers leave their first law firm. And then I thought about all of the black women lawyers I knew, who I had known at the firm, who were all gone. And I was like, yeah, okay, that makes sense. The legal industry is very racist. The publishing industry is very racist. Like, name an industry and you'll say that. And that's what systemic racism means. And so all, you know, what I try to do is lift up other black writers, give them advice, because I think a lot of publishing is kind of a whisper network. If you don't get those whispers, then you don't know who to avoid or what's happening or what you should ask for. And so that's what I try to do. Sometimes it feels like that isn't enough, but the whole industry is above me, and so I'm just trying to fight as hard as I can.

[C]

Does this moment feel different to you?

[D]

You know, it does really feel different. It has heartened me to see places like publishing houses making commitments to saying that they're gonna, you know, do an audit of their staff and the books that they put out. So that's a. And then what are they going to do? What's the recruitment going to be? What's the retention going to be? That thing I said about 100% of black women lawyers leave their first law firm. It wasn't that they couldn't get jobs. It was because they left because the atmosphere there was too hard and difficult. And they didn't get mentors and they didn't get sponsors. And that's what people need who work in publishing, is they need people to have their backs. Like, they need to not be the only black person in a room when they're trying to fight for a book by another black person. You know, I'll be checking back in in a few months and then a few years and see if there's been progress.

[C]

Jasmine Guillory, her new book is Party of Two. Thank you very much.

[D]

Thank you so much.

[A]

And just a reminder that signing up for book of the day plus is a great way to support NPR's book coverage and public media. And you'll get to listen to every episode of Sponsor Free. So please go find out [e-mail] BookOfTheDay.

[E]

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