This was a re-release in English ARC from NetGalley in preparation for releasing the third book in the series. This gave me flashbacks to 90s teen romance movies such as She's All That and Cruel Intentions. It was entertaining, but fairly cookie cutter rich boy, girl from the wrong part of town. Definitely, solidly in the lane of YA narrative. It felt like the story could have resolved in this one novel, so not sure what is next in the series. #netgalley #saveme #yaromance #maxtonhall

Thank you Netgalley & Berkley Publishing Group for providing me early access to this title in exchange for an honest review!

I have been a HUGE fan of the TV show adaptation of this book and I have been dying to get my hands on the English translation of Save Me so I could get more insight on the characters. I was so shocked to see how accurately the show has been able to incorporate a lot from the book onto the screen, so reading this felt like I was watching the show again. I love Ruby and James so much together and watching their relationship blossom was probably my favorite part of this book. They both have personality, a very interesting relationship dynamic, and are just so easy to fall in love with as readers. I am definitely running to grab my hands on the second book ASAP!!

4.5⭐️
Thank you so much to Berkeley and Netgalley for giving me a copy of Save Me to review!
I was so thrilled when I saw the English translation of Save Me was released and knew I wanted to read book one before starting season one.
And OMG am I hooked!!!!
First off, the academic setting of Maxton Hall was so good, and really made me picture the book with such vivid images of lunch in the cafeteria, to the school dances, and the party prep meetings they had after school.
I loved Ruby and her dedication to work as hard as possible to get out of this rich kid private school and go to her dream school Oxford. She hates how people look down on her and others that don’t have money or generational wealth and cannot wait to go to a school with people more concerned about school than their image.
And then there is James. There are so many moments in this book where I was up and down about him. From his difficult relationships with his parents (mostly his father), the company they want him to work at, and his anger for not getting to choose his own path. I felt for him in those moments but hated that anytime something bad happened to him he would backslide into bad behavior and mess up the good he had around him.
There was serious chemistry with Ruby and James that had me binge reading this book in just two days and had me needing to know what comes next.
I think the only thing that was not great was the parent’s presence in this book. I feel like James’s mom is barely present and I did not get a good vibe on their bond and relationship before the end of this first book.
There are so many secrets these characters are keeping and I cannot wait for the chaos that book 2 will bring!
If you like:
🏫 Private School Setting
❤️ Enemies to Lovers
🔥 Slow Burn
You should definitely pick up this book just in time for season 2’s release in the near future!

3.5 stars

Ah, this was exactly the kind of trashy YA book I think I needed to read right now. And did I immediately start book two? Yup.

I love a walking red flag that starts turning to mush for the oh so obscure girlie pop at school, but then keeps being a shithead so that we keep getting some entertaining pages. It's like reality TV in book form. I'm happy this book got translated into English so more folks can read it. I think it definitely can appeal to a lot of readers because really, it just reminds of ALL the books I loved to read in high school: average high school setting but with rich people pizzazz, both interesting and terrible characters, lots of mini plot lines.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the ARC of this - the English version came out at the beginning of the month.

Money, glamour, luxury, power—Ruby Bell couldn’t be less interested in these things if she tried. After being awarded a scholarship to one of England’s most prestigious and expensive private schools, Maxton Hall, all she wants is to keep her head down, work hard, and get accepted to Oxford. She keeps her distance from everyone, especially the arrogant, rich, and extremely handsome James Beaufort, ringleader of the school’s party boys.

When Ruby discovers a scandalous secret about the Beauforts, she is suddenly on James’s radar. It only gets worse when James is forced to work with her to plan the school's annual gala. Yet the more time they spend together, the more they realize they share much more than they thought. Falling for James Beaufort was never part of her plan, yet Ruby can’t help but let her feelings sweep her away.

This was an interesting read for me. I enjoyed it quite a bit, but I enjoy literature from other cultures, and I wonder if the book will go over as well with English-speaking audiences as it did with German-speakers. I'll be interested to see how the book and the new show are received! 4⭐

I received an advanced complimentary digital copy of this book from Netgalley. Opinions expressed are my own.

After binge watching Maxton Hall months ago I was so excited that the books are being translated to English!

I literally devoured this book and was shocked at how much the show did it justice.

We get the rich behaving badly, old family money and a girl just trying to stay under the radar.

The relationship between Ruby and James came to life and off the page....I felt like another student on the planning committee just observing it all go down.

I can't wait to start book two ASAP!

I was intrigued when I learned this book was also a show. So I thought I would read it before watching the show. Mona Kasten is a new author for me. This story is centered around a British college prep school romance with an enemies-to-lovers twist. The female lead character stumbles upon the daughter of one of the UK’s wealthiest families hooking up with a teacher, drawing the attention of the male lead character, who urges her to keep quiet. As their lives become more entangled through forced proximity, the plot unfolds with partnership, tension, and plenty of upper-crust drama. It’s a slow burn that heats up toward the end and lots of emotional back-and-forth between the leads.
Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy! I look forward to watching the show and reading the next book.

3.5/5.0

Judging from the synopsis, it wasn’t really clear what audience is being targeted in this story. But I enjoy academia books, so I took a chance! Upon opening the book, I realized very quickly what the initial problem might be. The story was not originally written in English, but translated into that common language. And that slight disconnect might be a bit of a problem at first.

There are two main areas in which this shows through. As one begins the book, we find Ruby finishing up her two years at Maxton Hall Academy and prepping to get into Oxford University. Now the fact that she is still in High School (secondary school?) may be blatantly obvious to Europeans, but to Americans or others, never specifying is very confusing. It could be she is finishing up a high end college degree and dreams of going to the elite university for graduate studies (very common for Americans) or some other Ivy League education. SO, it took this reader a good few chapters trying to figure out where we were in this world! It wasn’t until the author actually mentions the ages of some of the characters (17-18) chapters into the book, that the mystery was put to rest. YA it is.

The second clue is the frequent use of words and/or phrases only Europeans would immediately understand. Here are just a few:
Ruby’s sister is wearing a jacket that Ruby mentions looks like “Bin Bags”…. Have no clue. Is it trash bags? But why would a jacket look like trash bags?
Ruby has an appointment at “half one”. I’m assuming that is half past one or one-thirty?
They need to take the “People carrier”. It’s not a bus because Ruby takes that all the time. So, *shrugs*
The author (or translator) refers to Math class as “Maths class” plural instead of singular.

Now, these are small, but it does stop the reader and consistently breaks up the flow of the story.

Once one get all the quirks settled, however, the story turns out to be a perfect read to meaningfully show the challenges, emotions and heartbreak of that turbulent era in life when everything seems so big and huge and unknown. It is truly lovely how the author captures that age. Ruby is a delightful character! She has grit and chutzpah in spades. Her character is the typical “girl from the wrong side of the tracks” in the world of the rich and spoiled. The captivating part that makes this stand out, however, is that she sincerely and believably doesn’t care! All the snubs and drama mean absolutely nothing to her. Her dream of attending Oxford is all she cares about and strives for. James, on the other hand, is the typical spoiled rich kid who embodies all the common tropes. He tends to be a more cardboard character and is intriguing only in how he interacts with Ruby. It is a very poignant story. It never succeeds in rising above the rest, but it does leave the reader touched and softened for all those angsty years that hone the people we eventually become.

*cracks knuckles* *taps microphone* I am a certified lover of Maxton Hall. Watched the show twice through like a madwoman, fell deeply in love, tattooed it onto my brain—the works. Reading Save Me as a fan was an IMMENSE RIDE. It’s quick and addictive, just like the show. I will say, I do think that having watched the show made the reading experience better. It’s a good time, but maybe not quite so the best time.

Ruby and James in this were the same characters I came to know & love from watching Maxton Hall, but they just felt a little less well rounded? Which is fine!! I think that when you’re reading a story like this, it doesn’t need to be the most perfect, raw & honest tale…it just makes it a little difficult that the actors fleshed out those characters so fabulously. There was a lot of good details and insights in this that I think fans will love to know more about. Also the ending being further along than the ending of the show!!!!!! JAMES!!!!!! I am actually so NOT excited to witness on screen what I had to witness at the end of this book. SIGH.

ALAS! It was fun!! Certainly not my favorite book ever, but definitely good for some mindless drama. A solid 3 star read!

Thank you so much to NetGalley & to Berkley for this earc!!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Spice: 🌶️.5/5

I could not put this book down! Save Me, book 1 in the Maxton Hall trilogy, had me hooked from the very beginning. James and Ruby had so much tension and they gave me all the feels. Ruby is so incredibly strong and her passion and determination is inspiring. She loves hard and therefore her heartbreak was unbearable to witness. James had great character development but the final 5-10% made my blood boil. He has lots of groveling to do and I'm so ready for it.

After finishing I immediately started book 2, Save You! I have not watched the show yet but now I'm really tempted to start it.

For fans of:
- Forced proximity
- Rich mmc x poor fmc
- Slow burn
- Dual POV

*Thank you to Netgalley, Berkley, and the author, Mona Kasten, for an ARC. Opinions expressed are solely my own.

i'm a james beaufort apologist.. IM SORRY GUYS!!! the ending took me by complete surprise because i was expecting it to match up with the ending of season 1 and... THAT happened... right when things were finally going well, something had to go wrong. all i want to say is FUCK MR. BEAUFORT! everything that goes wrong in this book all leads back to him. i knew things were going to go south because it was leaning towards a happy ending but i was not expecting back to back torture..

i liked lydia's mini redemption arc!! she (rightfully so) was very hesitant about ruby since she knew her secret relationship with sutton. but, once she did talk to ruby and saw how much james cared for her, she ended up opening up to her. the way she's the only one that knows about lydia's pregnancy is so cute to me. lydia cares so much for both her brother which in turn makes her care about ruby as well. u can see how divided and conflicted she was in the final scene bc she cares about ruby but it's also her brother that's the issue. UGHH HOW ARE THEY GONNA FIX THIS!?

So, I definitely binged the show on Amazon Prime prior to reading this and absolutely loved it! And as sometimes happens when you watch a show first, I did enjoy the show more than the book. The book was still enjoyable for sure and an easy ready, but I felt like the show added in some really good subplots that really helped build James’s character more.

James also had some BIG feelings at Oxford in the show that I wish were in the book. There is definitely more POVs than expected — getting Lydia and Ember randomly which does help with some background though it is sometimes unnecessary.

Overall, I’m gonna keep reading the series because I definitely plan to watch season 2. Going to read book 2 first this time though!

I could not put this down! I did a combination of digital and audio for this book and the narrators really brought the characters to life. It also helped with some of the Irish slang that I wasn't familiar with. This book follows Ruby and James at Maxton Hall. All Ruby wants to do at Maxton is remain a fly on the wall and finish out her studies without any more problems. That plan is all ruined when she sees something she's not supposed tto. Their unlikely friendship is certainly one for the books. In his attempt to protect his sister, It's very much Gossip Girl vibes and I honestly can' wait to finish all the books and see how the TV show compares. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the gifted eARC. All opinions are my own.

I grabbed Save Me because of the FOMO-I was seeing it everywhere! I haven't watched the Prime show based on the book either. Regardless of how I got it, I'm so glad I did!

Save Me is your classic coming of age love story. She is the poor scholarship kid attending the fancy prep school. He is the ultra popular, uber rich kid who is used to partying and having fun all the time. What I loved about Ruby is that she doesn't have the horrible trauma baggage. Her parents are poor, but she and her family are happy. They love each other and are very close. Something tragic happened to her and her dad years ago, but they haven't let it ruin their lives. James on the other had has cold, uncaring parents who demand he go into the family business. His dad is physically abusive as well. But, James hides it by partying with his friends and hooking up with just about anyone. He was a very typical MMC in these types of books, so it was really Ruby that made me love the story.

I honestly wasn't expecting to like this as much as I did, but its well written and the characters are well developed. Save Me was an excellent surprise and I immediately grabbed the next 2 books!

☆☆☆ (3,75)

“𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐰 𝐦𝐲 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞, 𝐑𝐮𝐛𝐲 𝐁𝐞𝐥𝐥.”

Ever since I watched the show I was obsessed with this story and reading the book with both James and Ruby’s pov was so much better.🗣️

James is quite different and more “human” in the book and Ruby is different too — in a good way thank God.

Save me was honestly so fun and enjoyable, getting to know the main caracthers stories and seeing their hate turn into love was soooooo good. ❤️‍🩹

James Beaufort the man you are omfg. obessed.

Although it was a good read the ending kinda sucked… I just didn’t like how it turned out bur it felt a bit off and just, well, dramatic. Which ended up ruining the book for me.

But still I want to read the rest of the series and I’m still optimistic.🤞🏻

3.5 Stars
I wanted to read this book because I'm interested in watching the TV show. It was a little slow to start for me, but once I got into the story I was addicted. This book was filled with high school drama and partying. There was also a surprisingly emotional aspect to these characters' romance. I found them both slightly unlikable, yet could find redeeming qualities and reasons to root for them. I felt for them as they dealt with everything life was throwing at them. The end left me wanting to start the next book right away. I'm happy this book was translated into English.

Oh yes! Save Me by Mona Kasten gets so the stars!
I literally can’t wait to read the second book.
Compelling characters, a good romance, a storyline that made me want to read more - I read this in a day and I'd do it again without hesitation!
It's very gripping from the start and in my opinion a must-read for passionate romance readers. This book is for everyone who loves YA/NA romances.
The chemistry between Ruby and James is palpable, and the author weaves beautiful moments seamlessly into the narrative.
I found myself still thinking about this book hours after I finished it and that tells me all I need to know about this story. Definitely a recommendation from me.

Thank You NetGalley and Berkley for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

This is the translated version of the original German book that was turned into the Amazon series Maxton Hall. I really enjoyed this book! The storyline and characters are addicting. It’s like every late 90s/early 2000s teen movie where the popular rich guy accidentally falls for the innocent, nerdy nobody. You really can’t go wrong with that formula. The alternating POVs between the FMC and the MMC added depth to the characters and the ending made me grab the sequel right away! This is marketed as YA but the spice was pretty explicit so I’d put it at the older end of the genre. Now I’m going to binge the show…

Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for this advance reader copy.

Tagline: "They come from different worlds, and yet they are meant for each other."

I fell in love with the story in Maxton Hall and hoped that they would translate it into a book for the US. How thrilled I was to get an email that I would be able to read the ARC of Save Me. I couldn't download it and get going fast enough. Despite being translated, it reads easy and is fairly on track with what we saw in the show. The character developement is similar, but you learn more in the book.s than we saw on the screen. On to book 2!

Thank you, Berkley Romance/Penguin Random House, the Author, & NetGalley for my gifted advanced book copy

I have had my eye on this series for a while and I held off watching the show until after I read this book and I have to say I have enjoyed it immensely. Ruby’s life isn’t terrible, she’s not floating in cash or does she have a trust fund, no, but she has a loving family and the value of hard work ethics. She tries to keep her head down at the school since she is a scholarship girl, but one incident brings her to the light or the attention of pretty boy, James. James is use to throwing money at things and people to get away with a lot and his life is lavish, but when Ruby isn’t falling at his feet, he knows there is something about her that makes him intrigued. These two are complete opposites and yet their struggles, not identical, are similar in the way they want to do the things they love and accomplish so much. With vibes of Cruel Intentions and Gossip Girl this story takes similarities and its own twists to create a fun twisted world for James and Ruby that I can’t wait to see where they go from here.