This was a great light-hearted book with a sweet but predictable story! It was exactly the kind of book I was in the mood for and I’m glad I got to listen to it as an audiobook! The story kept me engaged until the very end and I liked the ending!

Save the Date is a funny, messy, and emotionally resonant exploration of heartbreak, healing, and hope—told through the lens of a woman determined to rewrite her own narrative after being left at the altar. Emma’s quest to still get married on her original wedding date is both cringe-worthy and compulsively readable, with moments of genuine insight into anxiety, self-worth, and romantic expectations.

Some decisions Emma makes are hard to watch, but that’s what makes her journey feel authentic. The podcast framing adds a modern twist and offers some of the story’s strongest scenes. The author’s note gives needed context, showing just how personal and cathartic this novel is. A great pick for fans of quirky rom-coms that blend emotional depth with humor.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for the ARC!

This book was okay - Emma is attempting to recover from being dumped (6 months prior to the wedding) by trying to rush to find someone else to marry still in that time frame. She then has this very intense desire to discuss it all and document it on social media; and well - she makes some REALLY questionable choices and decisions along the way. There are a lot of really cute moments, but there's a lot of moments that make you cringe as well. It was overall funny and really well documented about how to turn pain into something better!

I also highly recommend reading the authors note - as having an understanding of where the story came from and how it was mostly lived by the author? That made it really special!

I really enjoyed the audio, but don't feel as though the narration really helped me to feel more connected to the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for this e-alc in exchange for my honest review.

This was super cute.
4 stars e=rounded up to 5 to offset the folks giving bad reviews because heaven forbid a character have political thoughts.
I almost dnf'ed only because i thought the premise was too bananas to end up being good, but i fell in love with the main characters during their podcast scenes and had to finish it to see how it all played out. I was pleasantly surprised by a lot in this book and i am glad i stuck with it. It ended up being witty and emotional and a great read.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin Audio & Allison Raskin for the chance to read this book.

Okay cuuuutie book. Look at you! Written by a real life relationship therapist that was left by her fiance before her wedding. (Initial Author's note is CRUCIAL to appreciate the inspirado!) I love how this was an opportunity for her to re-write her next steps in a somewhat wild way- and we got to be entertained by it! What an exercise! She also narrated it! So well done there!

I loved the character development- she had so much emotional growth and self actualization during each step of her journey. I really loved the chemistry with the MMC.

I do have thoughts/questions about the sister's marriage. I feel like we needed more info there after the club scene? Or maybe we get a follow up book about them!?

Spoiler- Was this a 2nd act break up?!? I think it was.. and honestly that was great for pacing.

I loved the premise of this one! The author's note at the beginning was really interesting as well. While I found the characters lacking emotional development at times, I thought overall this was a fun read and an amusing premise.

It was particularly good on audio. The narrator and voice was captivation and held my attention.

This is a romantic comedy that follows Emma, a couples therapist who, after being left at the altar, decides to keep her wedding date and find a new groom within 30 days.

I deeply commend the authors ability to open up and share this story based on her real life lived experiences. It is undeniably a feat to be able to process and open up after such a heartbreaking instance, and it shows the strength of this author to use their experience for good.

The novel’s premise is quirky and engaging, leading to great potential in the rom com genre. Emma’s character, though flawed, is portrayed with authenticity, allowing her opportunities to struggle and grow. The story also delves into mental health topics, such as anxiety and depression, offering perspective and relatability in our current world. Additionally, the audiobook provides a storytelling experience with clear and expressive narration.

While I can recognize the potential of this story, I also had many annoyances while trying to enjoy the story. Emma’s decision-making and language to the world around her are very off-putting. A couple of examples that really threw me off below:

1. Her immediate choice to pursue a relationship with Tony as her first option is sad. Tony is described throughout the plot as a “serial monogamist” with questionable commitment and sometimes his monogamy “overlaps”. That’s not monogamy, darling, that’s just cheating. Despite them literally dating, he still has her in his phone as “girl from the rock show.” They even describe a scenario where she threatened to date his friend unless he posted her on his social media. Very toxic relationship as a whole, and her willing to subject herself to that again speaks volumes to her self worth.

2. Another great example of her low self worth is her tendency to blame herself for failed relationships, rather than recognizing the complexities of mutual incompatibility. She believes she can go back to prior flings and everything will work this time because she corrected herself acting as if she were the only problem in the relationship.

3. Another comment I hated was during a conversation with her sister. Emma is talking about her fears of posting this journey to find a new husband in 30 days online for views. She shares her concern that she doesn’t want to just marry someone at the end of the time to not look like a failure online, and the sister’s response was “there are worse reasons to get married.” What a gross thought process. You shouldn’t be aiming to get married for a “less than awful” reason - you should want to get married because you love that person through and through and want to be with them for the rest of your life.

4. Furthermore, the rapid progression through multiple romantic interests early in the story is overwhelming and detract from character development. By the time we got to 30% of the story, we were already on our third man, and that doesn’t include the groom who left her before the story even started.

Ultimately, I could see the idea and potential for this book. I did give this a light DNF at 41% meaning I may come back to this later to see how the story resolves, but I’d like to move on to another book for now. I do believe this concept and premise is a great opportunity for a rom com, and my hopes for this character are that at the end, she finds some self worth and loves herself. I will be disappointed if the only reason she finds some peace and worth is because she finds a man, but I have yet to finish, so I cannot say what will happen. If you choose to read this book, I do believe it can be enjoyable, but it needs a large sum of suspension of your belief to make this a fun story - such as believing you can find true love in such a short time.

Straight out from the romantic comedy gods, how the author wrote a book loosely based on her own fiancé left months before the wedding is amazing. It was entertaining and had lots of humor with some mental health awareness as Emma is a therapist and has anxiety.

To be honest. I thought the plot sounded cute and unique but in reality sounded a bit ridiculous and was over reacting. I was over it sadly after the first chapter

At first I wasn’t sure, but as the book progressed I found myself invested in the story. As a hopeless romantic, I feel seen by the characters. The development and their wants and needs was very relatable.
Did the FMC sometimes make me want to punch her? Yes she did, but in a your my bestie and I just want what’s best for you kinda way. That’s how I felt. Like I was there in the story as a best friend. Not everyone can do that and I just want to acknowledge the author for her great writing!

I would definitely recommend this book! The narration as also amazing!

I liked that the authors note gave background that this was written based on her own experience with a canceled wedding…… and that’s about all I liked tbh.

The tone was just off? And I wasn’t a fan of the “third person omniscient” POV. I think it would have been a much better story written in first person. TBH I didn’t get far into the audiobook.

3.5

After being unceremoniously dumped six months before her wedding, Emma is on a mission to save her date. She's not looking for a stand-in, it's more that she wants to cut out a long courtship and find a partner who will stay for the long haul. Her efforts spark interest from Will, a podcast producer, who wants to follow her journey without walking down the aisle with her. Soon, it seems like Emma has found her groom in Matt, but is he truly who she wants?

Read if you like:
-Classic 90s/early 00s rom-coms
-Banter/Chemistry
-Right Person, Wrong Goal

Save the Date was so fun! It reminded me so much of so much of the rom-coms that made up my formative years. I liked Emma and could relate to her "I'm not Crazy" crazyness. I found myself a little bit distracted trying to predict the twist (which I failed to predict by the way), and was a little let down by the ending (maybe I built it up too much in my head), but otherwise it was a good read (or rather a good listen since this is a review of the audio book).

3.75 stars.
I really liked this book!
The only reason that I didn't give this book 4 stars was that at the very beginning I had a bit of a hard time getting pulled into the story - and that was only the first 1-3 chapters. However, once I got past that, I loved the book! So I am glad I stuck with the story.
The plot was well structured and paced well throughout the book. Even the subplots are well done.
I loved the mental health representation with our FMC - Emma. So many women deal with functional anxiety, it was good to see anxiety so well represented.
I adored the MMC - Matt, he was so sweet.
The banter and chemistry between the two was so cute.
This is a quick and easy read, good palette cleanser.
The characters are well developed, the FMC more so than the MMC, but still well developed.
This was an interesting setting and was a unique book.
If you love a quick and sweet romance, go check this book out!
Thank you to NetGalley & Allison Raskin for the opportunity to review this book!

Narration: 🎧🎧🎧🎧🎧 /5
Story Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5
Spice: 0/5
Genre: Romance | Humor | RomCom
Theme: Love triangle | Political | Slow Burn | Banter
Author: Allison Raskin
Publication date: April 8, 2025
Book Cover first thoughts: Cute and fun
Audiobook Narrator: Allison Raskin
Audiobook Length: 8 hours 49 minutes

One Liner: Allison was a fantastic narrator. I was very surprised an author narrated a book so well!

Story Review / Summary: First some of the negative reviews are unfair / out of malice. I went in thinking the whole book would be political and it isn’t. The name “Trump” isn’t even used but “Trumper” is and it is used ONE time throughout the entire book. It fits with the dialogue in that chapter. It is based off a modern day relationship / dating scene so the context is very accurate to modern day dating regardless of your political views.

ANYWAYS. Now for the actual story. I enjoyed this story, banter and humor between Emma and Will! A story of finding someone after losing a relationship. With this loss, the podcast “Operation Save My Date” came to life. I enjoyed the modern day plot and that Emma is a therapist. I always have a running joke of all therapists need 5 therapists for themselves. 

Ending felt rushed, wish it was a little different. Would have loved another POV.

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Thank you to #NetGalley , Harlequin Audio and Canary Street Press for the Advance Reader Copy of #SavetheDate by #AllisonRaskin @allisonraskin
All opinions expressed in this review are my own. Publication date was April 8, 2025.
This review is being shared on NetGalley, Goodreads and Amazon (still processing).

I did not enjoy this book. I know it was a true story, but it felt too forced and did not flow in a realistic manner. I didn’t appreciate that the author interjected her own political beliefs in nearly every single chapter. I did not think that that was a necessary component of the book, and I honestly almost did not finish because of it. I did enjoy the ‘ how they met’ ‘ how they fell in love’ part of the story, though.

Because I did not enjoy the book, I do not feel right leaving a review in a public spot. So, I will not be reviewing this on Goodreads or Amazon. I don’t feel that it’s fair to the author!

The story has a cute premise and I overall enjoyed but the story didn’t knock me out of my boots. I also didn’t love the main character or her dilemma men. I’m glad home girl fell in love in the end though. I wish there had been more of the actual falling in love and romantic banter. Romance readers would enjoy this quick read!

Thank you for providing me with an advanced readers copy of this title via NetGalley.

The vibes:
coming of age
life falling apart
trying to find a husband

I liked the idea of this book and the premise was really fun. The family and friends surrounding Emma were such a highlight. I also enjoyed her failed and successful dates.

I really didn't like Emma and I felt like she was immature and unrealistic. There were also jabs at Republicans that a lot of my followers wouldn't appreciate.

The narrator did a great job and brought a lot of levity to the book.

Overall, I don't think I'd recommend this one!

Wow—what a book! Save the Date completely pulled me in from the very beginning. I loved that the author included a disclaimer at the start, letting readers know that she personally experienced something very similar to what her character faces. That touch of authenticity really shines through, even with the creative liberties taken.

The story follows Emma, a relatable and heartfelt protagonist, who is left right before the wedding by her fiance. Instead of cancelling the wedding, she decides she is going to try to find a new husband in six months. I loved how honest and raw Emma’s POV was; she perfectly captured the complexities of wanting connection while trying to maintain self-worth.

The chemistry between the characters felt natural and engaging, and the way the story unfolded kept me invested the entire time. The emotional highs and lows were beautifully done without ever feeling forced. I honestly hope there’s a sequel—I’d love to spend more time with these characters and see where Emma’s journey goes next!

If you love stories that are equal parts heartfelt, witty, and relatable, Save the Date is a must-read. Loved the audiobook version!

I could tell from the first five minutes that I was not going to like this book. I did not care for the narrator and I did not care for the premise of this book. The topics mentioned and how young and juvenile this book came along.All rubbed me the wrong way. The main thing that kept me reading this book was will. I really liked his character and the kind of person he was, but the main character and literally everybody else in this book drove me crazy. I would not recommend this look.And I did not like the narrative voice.

Thank you Harlequin Audio for this review copy of Save the Date.

Overall: 3.25 stars out of 5, rounded down for review purposes.

Save the Date tells the story of Emma, a woman who has been abandoned by her fiance 6 months before their already planned and paid for wedding. Instead of cancelling the wedding, she makes a plan to replace the groom.

Overall, the story was funny and quirky, but I had some personal issues with the narrative. I don’t like love triangles where she’s with one person even though she clearly loves the other guy. Also, I think it was wrong to make Matt forgive his ex wife for her infidelity, when it clearly hurt him enough to cause the divorce. While Emma was emotionally cheating on him. Personally I just didn’t like how blasé the characters viewed monogamy in this book.

Besides that I loved the humor, and the banter between Will and Emma. Honestly would have just preferred Matt was not in the story.