This was such a fun read! It was hard to root for Emma to end up with both guys at the same time but secretly hope for one over the other 😅

I loved the banter in the book and I loved the growth of Emma from start to finish. Solid read!

Emma, a successful couples therapist & YouTube personality, has just been left by her fiancé six months before the wedding. Devastated and confused, she decides to turn the situation into a social experiment called Operation: Save My Date, to hopefully prove that you don’t need years together to form a bond and get married. She decides to keep the date & everything she has already booked and find her groom. Will she prove that anything is possible or will she crash & burn with everyone watching her? A lot can happen in six months…

The concept for this book really drew me in but unfortunately, it didn’t hit it out of the park like I had hoped. In the beginning of the book, Emma started off strong but as it progressed I felt like she became annoying and whiny. Between Matt & Will, the only relationship I felt invested in was Will. I enjoyed their banter & the way he wasn’t afraid to call her out when necessary. Her relationship with Matt felt forced and like even she wasn’t enjoying it.

My main gripe with the book is that the storyline jumps without warning & there were many instances where I had to go back and reread because I was confused and thought I missed something. An example is that in one sentence Emma is out to dinner on a date & then the very next sentence she’s on Imani’s couch discussing said date. It’s the kind of transition that really should’ve been a no chapter because it just confused the reader.

Overall 2.5 ⭐️

***Thank you NetGalley & Harlequin for providing me with an ARC for my honest review***

Save the Date follows Emma, a marriage /family therapist, who thought she had her life all planned out. When her fiancé suddenly leaves her without explanation, she is determined to still live in the perfect timeline she had created. As she looks for a replacement groom, she learns that happiness doesn’t always need to follow a schedule.

This book is a typical cute rom-com with quirky likable characters and a predictable ending. It’s a quick breezy fun read!

Thank you Net Galley for the advanced copy !

Wowowow! The premise of this one -- a couples' therapist who has a broken engagement and decides to keep her wedding date and see if she can insert a new husband -- what a whirlwind! I enjoyed going on the journey with Emma and I could totally see this turning into an actual romantic comedy movie. The element of the social media influencer therapist culture was really cool as well!

This book follows Emma, a family therapist, whose engagement is called off. This commences Operation Save My Date, where she searches for a new groom for her original wedding. The premise of this book was super cute, and I really enjoyed the story line. I love the way her relationship with her family and her best friend were portrayed, however, Emma's character was a bit annoying to me, and I'm not easily annoyed by characters.

This is a light easy read with a great ending. It definitely wasn't a favorite, but I am still glad that I read it.

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC for my honest review.

What an interesting premise of a book from start to finish! When we meet our main character, Emma, she is a bit of a mess. Her fiance dumped her 6 months before their wedding day. And if that can not get worse, she has created a book and a YouTube series based on this relationship. Bound to no go down without a fight, Emma comes up with a plan to meet and marry someone and get married on that same date. Why cancel when she can substitute.? The reader goes on a journey with Emma to find out if a finance can be replaced, or if there is more to it than that. I love a story with funny comedic family members and this family did not disappoint. The few male leads were funny, kind, and just what Emma needs to find love again. This was my first Allison Raskin book, and will definitely not be the last!

As a relationship and marriage counselor, Emma Moskowitz thought she had it all figured out—she even had a book deal and was nearing her dream wedding date with her fiance Ryan. That is, until he abruptly pulled the rug out from under her without so much as a discussion about why. In a bold move, Emma decides to keep the same wedding date…and just find a new groom. Save the Date gave a heartwarming and, at times, humorous look into Emma’s adventure to find out whether or not this was even possible.

I enjoyed this story, I felt myself rooting for Emma to find what she was looking for (whatever that might be) and appreciated her eye opening dialogue both with herself and the other main characters about what it truly means to be in a committed relationship in a time when there are so many ideals on social media.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing | Canary Street Press for this advanced reader copy! You can find Save the Date on shelves near you on April 8th, 2025.

When Emma Moskowitz’s fiancé breaks the engagement 6 months before the wedding, the young couples’ therapist feels it will be the end of both her love and professional lives. Then an idea sprouts and she’ll be looking for a new groom rather than cancelling the upcoming wedding.
Then she finds a really good guy that thinks her idea is crazy or in her language “bananas”, but she rather keep looking for someone who will agree with her less than stellar plan.
I was really interested in this story upon reading the blurb, but it was not at all what I expected. Emma is riddled with anxiety and insecurities that prevented her from taking control of everything around her and, though she ends up finding the way, the road was very uncomfortable for me even for a fictional character.
The premise is original, the book entertaining, but not my cup of tea. I understand a woman not wanting to let someone else to basically change her future by unilaterally disrupting their plans, but I still feel the therapist in Emma should have been more aware of Mark’s behavior and let go of a wedding that was just not meant to be.

This was a fantastic romance debut from Raskin, who has written nonfiction and YA before. I loved Emma, who has really been through the wringer and deserved better from her shitty ex. I think the premise is solid and while it's usually hard to get away with similar plots in a contemporary romance, it works here. I loved Emma's family, her hi-jinx trying to find her replacement groom, and the HEA. It was also just very funny, Raskin's roots are in comedy so that tracks as well. It's a really strong debut and I look forward to more from her.

This book was just an okay read for me. I really enjoyed the premise of the book but I felt like a lot of the book dragged. It was difficult to get into.

Thanks NetGalley for an ARC.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc/alc.

I wanted to like this book and I had high hopes for it. Unfortunately, it fell flat for me. I kind of thought the plot was a little ridiculous too. I did think that the author/narrator had a good voice, I would consider reading more by Allison Raskin in the future even though I didn't love this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trading Company for the advanced digital copy of this book.

This book was just an okay read for me. I really enjoyed the premise of the book but I felt like a lot of the book dragged. One thing I keep puzzling over, which I’m not even really sure why it was put in the book is the call to Jackie when she is out in the club. I didn’t like the non resolution feel it gave me.

I loved Will, hated Ryan, and Matt was ok.

This was a good one. The banter, the hard decisions and sticking to the main characters beliefs. It’s a great book for those with those same types of beliefs and thoughts on marriage etc. very cute also!

DNF at 15%. Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

The writing was very choppy and didn't capture my attention. The premise is cute and gave promise of it being like a 2000's romcom but it fell short for me.

The first 30% was a bit of a struggle for me to get focused. I almost DNF'd but then we met Will and the story took off running. The concept is wild and executed in a fun way. I enjoyed the ride. The banter is good. Ryan sucks. I'd recommend for a light read.

This book was different than I expected, but I enjoyed it and finished it quickly. I’ve read one of the author’s other nonfiction books so it was interesting to see her try a new genre/style. I liked the chaos and search for identity, although I think the author could’ve better built up the relationship between the main character and her final love interest/shown more of that development and progression. A lovely and fun read with some meaningful elements! I’m excited to see how this author grows and improves her skills in writing fiction.

I was drawn to this book due to unique premise of our main character trying to find a replacement husband after her fiance leaves her months before the wedding. Our main character, Emma, is a therapist and I loved the scenes where she was with clients, talking on her YouTube channel, or even in assessing her parents marriage. These parts of the book really shined for me.

Where this book fell flat for me was Emma’s hunt to find a husband. Instead of finding a guy to spend the rest of her life with, it felt like a desperate attempt to find anyone who would agree. We spent a lot of time bouncing from guy to guy without spending any time to develop the male love interests or have our character sit with why it wasn’t a match. I think because this book was in third person we unfortunately missed out on this necessary introspection.

The romance in this book is unconvincing and I struggled with Emma’s morals. She gets engaged, while wasn’t convinced she should say yes in the first place, and then almost cheats on him with the other guy she was seeing. Our final love interest also just leaves his girlfriend for Emma once she breaks off her engagement. It just felt like everyone was sloppy in this book and instead of being an empowering take on marriage it ended up being a desperate attempt to find absolutely anyone to marry her because she couldn’t grapple with being alone.

If you do plan to pick this one up, I recommend the Audio! I had a better time listening to it vs. reading.

Allison Raskin's Save the Date is a delightful romp through the chaos of wedding planning and personal upheavals. The witty prose and sharp humor make for an engaging read that balances lighthearted moments with deeper emotional themes. Raskin's keen observations on relationships and societal expectations add depth to the narrative. The protagonist's journey is both relatable and inspiring, making this novel a must-read for fans of contemporary fiction.

great book. well done charecters.. it was so good. Loved the perspective. great job. Save the Date follows Emma, a family therapist who thought she had life and love all figured out. She has built her career on understanding successful relationships and giving advice to others. Then her fiancé decides it’s over with no explanation or discussion. Just like that, her previous insecurities and trauma come roaring back. Emma doesn’t see why she has to cancel her wedding when she can simply find another person who wants to be committed and working towards build a loving relationship with her. Thus “Operation Save My Date” was born. Problem is, there are two men and two very different paths she can take and it’s unclear which will make her happy and lead her to a fulfilled life in the long run. One of them represents the exact timeline she has decided she wants and a genuinely kind person but someone she is not really connected with. The other represents an unknown timeline but a person she is utterly herself with. So what’s better? Genuine connection and the possibility of love or a guaranteed commitment on her pre-determined timeline?

when emma gets dumped by her fiancé with no explanation, she finds herself lost but with a plan- to keep her original wedding date and find a new groom. only problem? the wedding is just six months away. I loved the slow burn romance and emma coming to turns with what she truly wanted in a marriage but some parts felt like DRAG. I also enjoyed that this book proved that maybe not all men should be banned from having a podcast. thanks for the ARC read NetGalley!