I was little nervous because I watched the show first. And I LOVED the show, like devoured it and thought about it for days. And I will say that it was incredibly close to the book.

I really loved that this was a dual POV and we could see the inner workings of James’ mind. And how he was feeling during all of the conflicts, family issues, and his feelings towards Ruby.

I loved Ruby, I love that she loves being organized and the little tidbits about her particular placement of objects was relatable and believable.

Ruby is a girl on scholarship with dreams of reaching Oxford, and she’s determined to keep her head down and achieve her dreams. But everything changes when she’s see’s something she shouldn’t have. Suddenly James is there to keep an eye on her and makes sure she keeps her mouth shut. Add a little forced proximity and Ruby begins to fall for James.

I watched the first season of Maxton Hall on a whim, thinking it was likely to be corny. I was completely obsessed by the end and just about cried when I found out (at the time) that the novels the series had been based on had yet to be translated into English. Now it’s 2025 and Maxton Hall has finally arrived stateside.

I couldn’t have been more pleased by this book, whether I hold it up to the screen version or if I just take it as an upper YA/new adult contemporary romance. If you hold it up to the series it practically matches up perfectly (which is usually the dream for most readers who seek out a screen adaptation of written works). As the first book in a romance series marketed towards readers in their upper teens and lower twenties, it’s hits that really sweet spot of wish fulfillment, forbidden romance, he falls first, enough chemistry to fill a lab, enough pining to fill a forest, and a light dusting of dark academia in how wealth can influence the futures of innocent people on a whim.

As a woman in her forties, I appreciate it for being exactly the kind of romance novel I wanted to read and write when I was a teenager myself but didn’t exist. I wanted to read romances that involved teenagers and acknowledged–even welcome the idea–that they aren’t perfect and that they are capable of deep love. The burn in this book is slow, and the one spice scene that occurs is open-door but not explicit. The romance between James and Ruby makes me swoon, even at my age, because the me of years ago would’ve been absolutely feral for these books and there’s something timeless about a sad, rich boy and an angry, poor girl fighting against everything and everyone to be together. 4⭐️


I was provided a copy of this title by the author and publisher via Netgalley. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: Book Series/Coming of Age/Contemporary Romance/Forbidden Romance/New Adult/Spice Level 1

Save Me by Mona Kasten is a compelling start to the Maxton Hall series, blending the allure of elite private school drama with a tender, slow-burning romance. Ruby Bell’s grounded, hardworking nature contrasts beautifully with James Beaufort’s privileged, rebellious persona, creating plenty of sparks and tension. Their journey from wary acquaintances to something much deeper feels authentic and emotionally charged.

Kasten’s writing is engaging, with well-drawn characters and a plot that balances romance, secrets, and social pressures effectively. Some moments lean into familiar tropes, but the chemistry and character growth keep the story fresh and satisfying. With its mix of glamour, vulnerability, and heart, Save Me is an addictive read that sets up the series for more drama and romance to come.

I first heard about the Maxton Hall books when the TV adaptation launched on Prime Video last year and it was all over BookTok. I didn't realize that the books were originally published in German and only recently translated into English and published.

Maxton Hall scholarship student Ruby Bell has two goals for her last year before graduating: get into Oxford and continue to stay invisible. Preferring to be a wallflower, Ruby stays away from the popular kids at her school, not that they'd want to spend time with her or her friend, Lin, anyways. But suddenly the attention is on her when Ruby discovers a secret about James Beaufort's sister and James is now everywhere Ruby is, making sure she keeps what she knows to herself. James is rich, arrogant, and unfairly handsome, plus he's the ringleader of the boys at the school. Things get worse when James is forced to join the schools events committee that Ruby leads. But the more time the two spend together, the more that each realizes they had the wrong idea about the other. Could Ruby actually fall for a guy like James Beaufort?

After reading the first book in the series, Save Me, I'm going to have to go back and watch the TV show now. But I'm glad I didn't originally watch the show when it premiered because it would've driven me crazy having to wait for the next season or the series to be translated to find out what happens after the end of this one. Thankfully, I have the next book, Save You, queued up and ready to go! New adult series like this one are always fun to read and this brought me back to reading the Gossip Girl series when I was younger. I kept expecting something to happen towards the end, but wasn't expecting the cliffhanger we get. I can't wait to find out what happens next!

Thanks Berkley for the ARC!

Did I read this book in less than 24 hours? 100%
Are the main characters and supporting characters well developed? 100%
Is the plot engaging? 100%
The push and pull of the relationship kept me wanting more! Thanks to NetGalley for a copy! Can’t wait for #2

Maxton Hall the show was such a huge hit. Everyone talked about it and was watching it. I started and got a few minutes into it but stopped. I was hoping to read the book. When I found out the original was not in English I was hoping we would get a translation and now we it is time! In the end this book is the typical high school romance. I can see why it did well as a show, and I am going to finally be watching the show after reading it! I can see why it is placed in the adult romance genre there is definitely adult themes that run throughout the book. There is spice, there is drug use, you get the picture.
While I did take German in college I do not speak or read it well enough to read this in it's original text. I would say that the translation is very good.
All said and done it was a good story. I am definetly going to continue despite the ending. Normally I would not with how it ended. I get it it with the circumstances but to me that still is not an excuse for it. I am still curious to see how this plays out and how James come back from it.
Thank you to Berkley for the complementary copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I absolutely loved this book so much and can’t wait to read the second and third one in its series! It’s gonna be so amazing!

After watching Maxton Hall, I was so excited to see that we were getting English translations of the series. It was new experience to read the source material after watching the adaptation.

Apparently the show followed the book very closely with a few changes that made sense to me. The conclusion does end at a slightly different point, though, and it might be a bit of a shocker! Save Me is written in dual POV which is generally my preference for contemporary. Teen drama abounds. I can't wait to see what happens in book 2!

Thanks to Berkley for an egalley of this book for an honest review.

Many thanks to Berkley Publishing Group, Mona Kasten, and NetGalley for the ARC of Save Me in exchange for an honest review.

To say I have been impatiently waiting for Save Me to be published in English after watching season 1 on Prime Video is an understatement! I am beyond excited to have early access to this book and this book DID NOT DISAPPOINT! Mona Kasten has an amazing way to bring the reader into the walls of Maxton Hall. Was the book as good as the show? Even better! The details written and the character development and familial situations were vivid off the pages of this book. Ruby Bell is European equivalent to Rori Gilmore for us American Gilmore GIrls fans. Highly recommend buying a copy of these books and add them to your TBR immediately!

4.25⭐

If you loved the show "Maxton Hall," you need to read the book!!

Blurb:
Ruby Bell and James Beaufort come from completely different families.
Ruby has a loving family and she works for everything she dreams of. Specifically the dream to one day attend Oxford University. She attended Maxton Hall, a prestigious school where the students are children of the rich and famous. Ruby does not fit in to the crowds but she doesn't care, as she is solely focused on Oxford.
James is the ringleader of the "popular" party crowd. He's is known for getting into trouble but never faces the consequences. He's arrogant, extremely rich, and very handsome...and he knows it. His family owns a very well-known company and he is next in line to take over from his father.

Ruby discovers a scandal in the Beaufort family and swears to keep quiet. However, James doesn't trust her and decides to keep an eye on her. The two already despise each other when James is forced to help Ruby plan the Halloween gala for Maxton Hall. Ruby and James are now meant to spend more time together, and as they do, they discover how similar they actually are. They find solace and trust in one another. Ruby never expects to develop feelings for James, let alone have them reciprocated. James has to figure out if he should follow is legacy or get the girl.

Review:
When I first watched the show "Maxton Hall," I was obsessed. Then I found out it was based on a book and knew I had to read it. The book wasn't translated into English yet so I knew I had to wait. When I saw the e-ARC pop up on NetGalley, I knew I had to read it. I can easily say I loved this book and they really nailed the show compared to the book.

"Save Me" is the first book in the Maxton Hall trilogy and I will definitely be reading the next books! I loved the build of Ruby and James's relationship. The yearning between the two of them was undeniable. I really enjoyed seeing more of James's p.o.v. regarding his feelings for Ruby and how they grew over time.

This book moves along very fast and I couldn't put it down when I would read it. I could see the whole story play out in my head and imagine every detail. I will be rewatching the show again now too haha!!

Thank you NetGalley, Berkley Publishing Group, and the author for this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I've really been loving the angsty young adult novels that end up being a series lately, despite the fact that they usually end with a cliffhanger. It's been adding to the drama and I cannot wait to read Save Us to find out where James and Ruby's relationship is headed. Save Me set the pace and the tone and totally drew me in to the Maxton Hall world. I loved listening to the audiobook and Will Watt and Marisa Calin did such a fabulous job bringing these characters to life. You definitely want to read this in whatever form works for you, but be prepared to be left wanting more immediately.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC, the first in a series about rich teens at a private school and the lone girl there on scholarship. Ruby Bell avoids all of her classmates by lying low and trying not to draw attention. But when she draws the attention of the one person she loaths the most, her life is upended in ways she never imagined. She sees and hears things she shouldn't. Originally, James sets his eyes on Ruby to keep an eye on her and to ensure she doesn't share any of the secrets she knows but the more time he spends with her, the more he wants to. The two have a growing attraction to one another despite their differences. But can they make it work, despite those differences? I really enjoyed this book and I can't wait to watch the TV series now (and read the next one!)

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for an advanced copy of this book.

Save Me was everything I expected from a "high-school teen drama" book - in mostly good ways. The FMC is sympathetic, and I enjoyed the rich family life the author gave her. The MMC is the typical rich, entitled elitist, and the two of them are drawn together in an enemies-to-lovers plotline.

I did appreciate that the author provided some surprises with regards to a couple of secrets other characters are hiding. Overall, an enjoyable read, but nothing groundbreaking. However, I *will* probably watch the series on Amazon Prime and follow-up with the other books in the series once they are translated.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️∞
Infinity stars. Holy shit, I’m obsessed.

Save Me by Mona Kasten gave me EVERYTHING: elite school chaos, rich boy drama, slow-burn enemies-to-lovers tension, and a heroine who’s smart, stubborn, and absolutely not here for the main guy’s nonsense… until she very much is 👀

Ruby Bell is your classic type-A good girl with her life planned to a T. She’s all Oxford dreams and color-coded notes. Unfortunately, her carefully crafted invisibility gets shattered when she accidentally walks in on a scandal and suddenly finds herself on the radar of James Beaufort, the golden boy of Maxton Hall. He’s rich, infuriating, emotionally repressed… and of course I was immediately obsessed with him.

Told in dual POV (aka the superior POV format), we get both sides of the chaos. Ruby is sharp, grounded, and not afraid to go toe-to-toe with him. James? A mess. A beautiful, infuriating mess. And watching him spiral while trying (and failing) not to catch feelings?? I was EATING IT UP.

I am not okay. The tension? The vibes? The subtle pining?? I blacked out and added the whole series to my TBR before I even finished the last page.
No notes. Just vibes. And pain. In the best possible way.

Tropes that rocked my socks off:

🎓 Enemies to lovers
💰 Rich boy / scholarship girl
🏫 Elite private school drama
🧠 Good girl x bad boy (but make it ✨emotional✨)
❤️‍🔥 Slow burn that hurts
👀 Dual POV
😩 He falls first and spirals
🤐 Secret that kicks everything off
🫠 Cliffhanger that made my stomach drop (I am unwell)

So happy the English translation is finally here! I read the book first, then watched the series on Prime, and honestly it made the whole experience even better. Seeing the characters brought to life added a whole new layer, and I loved catching all the little book details in the show. Highly recommend doing both if you can—especially with season 2 coming soon!

I don’t think I would’ve picked up this book if I hadn’t watched the series last summer. In fact, when it came out and I realized it was based on a book, I wanted to read it but it was only in German, so I was very excited to see Berkley had it translated! The show and book are very well adapted so if you’ve seen the show or only read the book then consume the other media, you won’t be surprised!

That said, are Ruby and James kinda toxic together? Yes. Is that more recognizable as a 31-year-old woman vs. the age I would’ve more likely enjoyed the story even more? Probably. Will I still read the next two books and watch the series? Duh, they end on a cliffhanger!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

RICH BOY x SCHOLARSHIP GIRL ✨
I ate this up like it was a fresh batch of bookish candy. The drama. The tension. The slow burn. The vibes. 😮‍💨

Save Me gave me everything I wanted and more—Ruby is smart, driven, and not here for anyone’s nonsense. James Beaufort is the golden boy with a tortured heart (yes, I said it), and watching their worlds collide was absolute chef’s kiss perfection.

This book had all the addictive energy of a CW teen drama but with richer emotional depth and that classic “we’re from two different worlds” angst. I originally read this in Spanish (¡me encantó!), but something about experiencing Ruby and James’s story in my native English hit even sweeter the second time around. Their banter? Their stolen glances? That ending?! I was feral. 🫠

Mona Kasten writes the kind of romance that keeps you flipping pages way past bedtime, and I am officially obsessed with the Maxton Hall world.

Huge thanks to the publisher for the ARC—this was such a treat! 🍓🖤

📚 If you love:
🎓 academic rivals
💸 rich/poor dynamics
💌 forbidden feelings
🔥 slow burn tension

…then you need this book on your endless TBR

This review will contain spoilers.

Ruby is someone I can relate to. I am the overachiever who puts in the work to get what she wants. James is the bad boy crush/boyfriend. Oh man. I have been in that situation before. I didn’t love how toxic the relationship was though. Manipulation, lies, impulse actions, and then trying to brush those actions under the rug instead of being held accountable.

I saw a post where someone shared some titles that would be good if you liked certain books from your teens. I realized that this is the book that I would put for people who liked the clique series.

However, this book kept my attention and I immediately read the second book. I’m crossing my fingers to get the opportunity to read the third one.

I also watched the first season of the Amazon prime show after reading this book. I don’t know if I would ever get used to the scenery. It was absolutely gorgeous.

I hadn’t realized the show and the book were connected—it’s definitely on my watch list now. I really enjoy stories set in a school environment, and I was honestly surprised by how much I liked this one.

I can see why they made this into a tv show and I think that’ll be a better way to consume this story. This wasn’t bad by any means but it also didn’t reinvent the wheel when it came to high school romance. I recognize that this was written in like 2016? 17? And you can definitely tell.

Unfortunately, I don’t have much to say, but I think if you enjoy the CW and that type of programming, you’d like this. The romance between Ruby and James I think could’ve had more …depth? He’s not really the nicest person and I understand it has to do with his background, but some of the stuff he does to her is low down. She’s better than me because I wouldn’t forgive that easily lol. I will say, I want to know how things continue once they get to Oxford so for that I’ll be staying tuned in to the series as the translations come out.

I received an arc from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Netgalley and Berkeley for the arc!

"That was a lie. I've belonged to you since you threw my money back in my face, Ruby Bell."
This one’ll be a small one

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He’s never wanted anything in his life before, doesn’t know how to, but he wanted her.
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I fell in love with the show immediately after it came out, and getting to finally the read the book was so amazing. I loved making the connections, pointing out the differences/similarities, and just overall being able to finally see where the show came from. I do however wish that I had read the book first because I think because I watched the show first it did affect the way I read the book, but there’s nothing I can do about that.

But anyways, there’s something that I just love about the book, the plot, idea, and finally Ruby and James. Reading this makes me happy, makes me laugh, and just makes me smile. I’d definitely recommend and if you haven’t seen the show yet then I DEFINITELY reccomend the book before the show.


Now. Onto the main event…
——-> James & Ruby 🤍

I love them, their dynamic from the beginning was so funny. Like that scene in the closet at the very beginning made me laugh in the middle of an airport-
*ahem but moving in* Though they don’t count as an enemies to lovers -I don’t care what y’all say that man was in love immediately- it still was such a good love story. I liked watching their friendship grow from dislike(more on Ruby’s side) to trust and eventually seeing their relationship blossoming was really nice. I mean, there’s nothing unique about them, but they’re still so loveable and everytime James would make a mistake you’d feel it like a stab because all you want is for them to be together and happy forever. AND THE ENDING FREAKING UGHHH, but we’ll get to that in a bit…

In the end she’s the girl that works for everything and he’s the boy who’s never worked, opposites attract, gorgeous dynamic, and so cute.


Onto my man: James Beaufort
Damaged, athletic, rich, and FINE. Do I love? Yes, yes I do.
And he cares, deeply, about those he’s close to. I mean he’d do ANYTHING for his sister, absolutely anything. He’s just so wonderful, and it hurt when he would shut down and I just wanted to grab his shoulder and tell him, “Don’t let them break you.” 🥺


Now Future Ms. Oxford —> Ruby Bell
First off let’s just say I love her name. I’m cursive it looks gorgeous, and it’s just so muah 💋
BUT ANYWAYS, though she was dramatic at times I did like her character. She’s hardworking, strong, and kind. She does however have a problem with keeping things in her head….but honestly who doesn’t?

She’s just overall so girl power. She has a plan and has been set on it for YEARS, and now it’s just out of her grasp and honestly it just makes me so happy. I mean she comes from, not nothing, but not much and she’s managed to score a place at Maxton Hall the school of the rich and an interview (+a hopeful place) at Oxford.

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The only thing that I did find a little disappointing was that there was so many added things that were left unfinished or unexplained that I found them unnecessary. But other than that I truly did enjoy this book and I think that ending killed me because what. I was not expecting that, like I thought the show ending was rough but this one…dear heavens kill me now. I CANNOT wait for the second book and I just KNOW I’m gonna devour the rest of the series both book and show.