Boy, did this book take me back to my high school break-up days. Ruby was in mourning of her relationship for almost half of this book. Some people would read this and think that she was being overdramatic, BUT I remember those days. I remember being a teenager and getting your heart broken and feeling like it was the end of the world. I remember thinking you have cried as many tears as you can humanly cry, but you somehow cry even more. So my heart went out to Ruby.

I loved getting new perspectives in this story. We got Lydia's point of view throughout this story which helped understand how she got in the situation she did (pregnant with a teacher's baby). It definitely made me like her a lot more. I'm a little shocked that her pregnancy didn't come out by the end of this book. By this point, she is almost 20 weeks along and hasn't told any adult. I find it hard to believe that her going to all her doctor's appointments wouldn't have gotten back to her father. For how much they make her dad a villain (and how blunt he is with telling her what she can and cannot do with her future), that he hasn't commented on her weight gain. I wish Mona Kasten hadn't dragged out this secret into the third book.

I also really enjoyed getting Ruby's sister, Ember's, point of view also in this book. I actually wish it had MORE Ember in it. We only get a glimpse of her life. I'm very hopeful that the third book will have even more of her (and Wren).

James...James...James. The way that the first book ended, I really didn't think that James could make a comeback for me, but he did! He turned his life around. He made changes. He was remorsefully sorry. He fought hard to comeback from the mess he made. I was rooting for him and for Ruby to forgive him. Do I wish he stood up to his father more by the end of the book, yes. But we got a glimpse of the sorrow his father has been in the last few months which helped you not feel like he was a complete monster. I also agree with James's friends. He was being a shitty friend. Some of his friends had been going through some heavy stuff (Wren's family going bankrupt), and he didn't even notice or think to ask what was going on in their lives. Friendships are two way streets. You have to be there for them if you want them there for you. His friends showed up as best as they knew how to when James's mother died. He needed to do the same.

Again, I can definitely see how some teens are going to eat this series up with all the drama, secrets, betrayals and parties. But again, I would recommend this only for the mature teens in my community. There's more drugs, alcohol and sex in this second book.

Hoping to get my hands on the third book in this series as soon as possible!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group | Berkley for providing me with an advanced copy for an honest review.

listen I just love maxton hall and james and ruby. These books aren't amazing but I would read anything about them!! Can't wait for season 2 of the show!

I ate this up! Was it the best sequel ever? No but it still kept me invested! I will say I am a little burned out of all the back and forth between James & Ruby (there were literally some ‘MAKE UP YOUR MIND’ moments. I seriously think I am more invested in Ruby’s sister now.. like she gave serious MAIN CHARACTER energy and I am here for it!! While not my favorite I have high hopes for the next book!’ EKKK!

This book is jam packed with delicious drama. James, reeling from his mother’s death is struggling to function. Despite how much he hurt her, when Ruby finds out about his mother’s passing, she’s there for him. Her struggle to forgive James for kissing another girl rules most of this book while James realizes he loves her and fights to get her back. The book is a real emotional roller coaster with a massive twist at the end that turns everything on its axis. I couldn’t hard put this book down and can’t wait for the next one! Releases September 25th!

second chances, stolen glances, and so much angst 🖤

Re-reading Save You in English was everything. The heartbreak hit deeper, the tension burned slower, and the emotional rollercoaster? Still just as unputdownable. Ruby and James had me screaming into the void—again. 😮‍💨

I love how Mona Kasten doesn’t shy away from messy feelings, big mistakes, and the complicated road back to trust. Ruby’s strength and James’s growth? Ugh. My heart.

Still obsessed. Still rooting for them. Still not over that ending.

✨ Bring on book 3. ✨

I loved the second installment of the "maxton hall series" as I am a fan of the amazon prime tv show. It was everything I was expecting from Ruby, James and the rest of the characters. very good book

thank you for netgalley and the publishers for giving me a chance to read and review this book.

This review will contain spoilers.

Some of my feelings rolled over from the first title about how the relationship between ruby and James was toxic. However, I loved the friendship that Ruby and Lydia developed. Part of me wishes I could see what alistair was thinking about knowing that Ruby kept quiet about catching him with Kesh.

The ending of this book left my jaw on the ground. What did ember actually do. Things are swirling in my head but who knows what the truth is. How will ruby get others to believe the truth about her?

Long story short, I’m invested and I want book three just about now.

This second installment gives the right amount of tension and relief while ending on yet another emotional cliffhanger. This series is completely binge worthy.

★★★☆☆
Save You by Mona Kasten
Maxton Hall #2
Huge thanks to Berkley Publishing Group | Berkley & NetGalley for the eARC! 💌

I don’t know how else to say this, but this book gave very much pretty packaging, mid contents.
Did I devour it? Yes.
Was I dramatically flipping pages at 2AM? Also yes.
Was half the book just emotional damage with no major plot movement?
Yeah... unfortunately.

This sequel basically rode on the aftershock of heartbreak. Ruby is done. James is a mess. Lydia is pregnant. Ember is… just kinda there. We’re thrown right into the drama, and it’s like everyone’s running in circles trying not to drown in their own trauma.

🥀 Second Chance Romance
🎓 Elite School Drama
🥀 Love After Betrayal
🎓 Angsty
🥀 Slow Burn Progression
🎓 Multiple POVs

The vibe is very elite school chaos, rich kid scandals, silent hallway stares, and holding-your-breath kind of tension. It reads like Gossip Girl with a German edge.

The writing?
Easy to consume. I flew through it. Mona Kasten definitely knows how to write readable angst. But tbh… it felt like everything could’ve been said in half the pages. This was classic second book syndrome—a whole lot of vibes, not a lot of plot.

What I liked:

✧ Lydia’s POV was a slay. She’s raw, vulnerable, stuck in a situation too big for her, and honestly the most emotionally complex in the book. I love her.

✧ The Maxton Hall setting stays undefeated. There’s something fun about reading drama unfold in such a rich, polished environment.

✧ The side ships are giving potential. I need more of Wren/Cyril and Graham/Lydia like now pls.

What didn’t work for me:

✧ Ruby and James? ZERO development. He hurt her. She can’t forgive. Rinse and repeat for 300+ pages.

✧ Not enough groveling. Sorry, but James needed to work way harder to earn anything back.

✧ Ember’s POV? Sorry but I skimmed half of it. Her parts felt unnecessary.

This book was 90% emotions, 10% actual story movement, and I still can’t decide if I liked that. I wanted more growth, more tension, more consequence. Instead, it felt like everyone was just stuck. That said, the cliffhanger did its job—because I’m literally already reaching for Save Us.

Final thoughts:
If you’re here for teen angst, fancy uniforms, betrayal, reconciliation, and messy friendships, you’ll be entertained. Just don’t expect massive revelations or wild twists. It’s a slow emotional burn.

But also… if James fumbles one more time, I’m launching him into the sun ☀️

This book left me feeling a bit confused. While the story had moments that really worked and some characters I cared about, I struggled to understand some of their choices and reactions. The ending especially didn’t quite sit right with me, it felt sudden and left me questioning what I’d just read. Overall, it was an okay read with potential, but the lack of clarity in character motivation made it harder to fully connect.

Thank you so much Berkley Romance for gifting me an E-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was really excited to read this one because it was all new content I haven’t seen/read yet since the second season of the tv show hasn’t come out yet. While I did still enjoyed it a lot, I didn’t like it as much as the first book.

To start off, I thought the plot of this one was fine. It was a little bit annoying with some of the miscommunication type stuff. As well as the fact that they weren’t together for like half of the book. While I’m glad Ruby really made James work to get her back it was a bit boring to read at times. After all that was addressed though, I did enjoy their cute moments and appreciated all the effort James put in to show Ruby how much she meant to him. On top of that I liked that there wasn’t any explicit sexual content in this book and that the author really focused on developing their relationship emotionally to be stronger. However…that ending was CRAZY. And totally set everything back and now I’m sad again. However, I’m looking forward to the next book and really hoping for their happy ending.

Next up, I LOVED Lydia’s chapters in this. She is by far my favorite character. Her whole dynamic and personality is so interesting and I just really enjoyed reading from her perspective. I feel like it not only gave the reader a better understanding of her character but also a better understanding of James. I also really liked her friendship with Ruby throughout this one and I hope they continue to expand on that in the show as well. On top of this, I usually don’t like an accidental pregnancy trope but I feel like it really works here in relation to her character development and love story.

On the contrary, I did NOT enjoy Ember’s chapters. I actually don’t like Ember in the books at all. While I appreciate her character’s overall need to be in the books and the message she spreads I just can’t get over how annoying and immature she can be at times. She’s only a year or two younger than Ruby but at times it feels like more. I didn’t like her “connection” thing with Wren especially after what he did to Ruby. I also don’t really like how she acts or always treats Ruby. While there are plenty of times she’s a loving and fun sister, there are also times where I feel like she emotionally manipulates Ruby to do things, like taking her to a party for example. Her vibe in this book is just off putting to me.

Next up, Ruby’s parents are also pretty awful in this book. Like she didn’t even tell them what happened with James yet they have the audacity to judge him immediately without even knowing the full story. And then AT THE END her parents couldn’t even believe their own daughter. Like what kind of family is that? I just feel like the connection and depth with them is really lacking in this book. I wish they would actually let her explain anything or at least be more approachable. They just felt so cold and awkward in this book.

Anyways, this book was pretty crazy. Overall I loved the romance, Ruby and James, Lydia’s pov, and the stronger emotional connection. I did not like Ruby’s whole family and James friends (who btw acted like her relationship with Ruby is a load of BS. Like what kind of friends are you?)

I am happy to say though that I feel like a lot of what I disliked has been fixed in the show which I appreciate and understand. I also think it will all work out by the end of the last book. Once again I still enjoyed this and absolutely ate it up so fast. However, it just wasn’t my all time favorite due to side character intervention.

I’m still really looking forward to the next book that comes out in a few months and I gotta know what happens ASAP. I’d love to be considered for the next book as I do really enjoy this series. This one was just a bit difficult for me to like as much as the last.

I do still LOVE this series and 100% still recommend to friends and followers. Once again the translator did a fabulous job.

⚠️TW:
- alcohol abuse
- depression (early in the book)
- drug abuse
- allusion/brief mention of sexual content (never explicit)
- death of loved one
- lots of troubled relationships
- teen pregnancy

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for an advanced review copy. I did not read Save Me, but instead really enjoyed the Maxton Hall tv series and was able to get the gist of the story and a picture of the characters. I enjoy the private/elite school dynamic stories so this book checked those boxes. The beginning of the book was mostly back and forth on the same things between the characters which was not super intriguing but nearing the back half of the book and at the ending I was hooked. I was so happy there was a preview of Save Us and was interested in Graham's perspective. This was a quick read, I finished in a day. It is definitely geared more towards a young audience but an almost 40 year old I will still be picking up book 3 to see what happens next.

I received an uncorrected proof, however, I did not see a single flaw with grammar, sentence structure, etc.


I was a little disinterested with some things in this one—
For starters, I personally don’t love when there is more than 3 point of views. I like Lydia, because I felt like we didn’t get a lot of her personality in the first novel. I feel like she quickly matured after the death of her mother, knowing she will eventually be a mother herself. I like that she ditched the mean girl persona and fully embraced Ruby and Ruby’s friendship.

Maybe I wasn’t in the right mindset, but Ruby annoyed me at times with the going back and forth with wanting James, not wanting James. The miscommunication/lack of communication trope isn’t my favorite. But I still very much like Ruby as a character.

James spiraling in the aftermath of his mother’s death was expected, I’m not a James apologist though for kissing another girl. But I will say, he tried to win Ruby back in this novel. He didn’t change himself, but he showed up for her when he was still grieving. That’s love.

Love Ember’s character, but I didn’t care for her POV. I felt like she was just thrown into the storyline because we needed an outsider perspective. I feel like if we needed another POV, I would’ve chosen Lin.
I’m unsure of how her storyline is being set up for the third novel, but I’m curious about where she is going to be led.

I felt the story spacing was a little off too. It’s a continuation of the same school year, so they have their normal school schedule but I wasn’t sure about the timeline like I was with the first novel. But that cliffhanger!!! I can’t wait for the third novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for approving my request!

I really cruised through this book! It was definitely easier to read than the first one because I watched the show and I knew what was happening in the first one. I was dying to know what happens next.

This book introduces new POVs: Ember and Lydia. At first I found it really weird that Ember got her own POV, but getting to know her and witnessing some new love interests was fun to read. I liked the little side plots going on aside from Ruby and James' story. I love Lydia's POV. I just think she's such an interesting character and there's so much that is going on in her life which makes her POV much more entertaining. What truly got me was how much ruby grew in her relationships. More specifically with Lydia and James. I loved how much she grew to care for Lydia and the little moments they had together. The book had such a fun play at a redemption arc.

I would definitely like to get to know more of James' friends in the next book! I hope we get some more POVs from them in the next book since we got to see more depth to the guys, but I would love to see even more.

I just can't believe this book ended like that :( I need to read the next one soon!

Thank you to NetGalley & Berkley for this ARC!

Thank you to Mona Kasten, Penguin Publishing Group, Berkley Publishing Group, and NetGalley for allowing me access to Save You in advance to the official publishing date. Once again, this book had me in a chokehold. Not only did the author spend a perfect amount of time building on the emotion BUT she also kept us attached to the connections in the story. I really enjoyed seeing multiple POV's and being able to experience the story through everyone's eyes. It added a complexity that was much needed for the strong emotional plot throughout this book. I would 100% recommend this series to everyone. It is young and vibrant but it also feels real and honest. The experiences of each character are relatable and it makes the story feel so close to home. I HOPE AND PRAY I can get my hands on the third installment of this series SOON because I'm already feeling the absence.

I love Ruby and James <3

This book was amazing. To see how well the show follows the book was refreshing. This book had the right amount of trauma to romance. One of my favorite young adult reads so far this year.

Five stars!!! Soooo happy this was translated to English. Thank you for the arc!! Having seen the first book series on Amazon I raced to read book 2 and honestly it was like watching the series the writing flow was so smooth!!! Can’t wait to continue this series it’s amazing

I really enjoyed this book and how it picked right up after the cliffhanger that ended the first book Save Me. Ruby and James's love story is so angsty and romantic. It is OMG to the max! The author pulls you right into their drama and doesn't let you go. I honestly had to force myself to put it down. I was reading on the subway and I considered skipping my stop so that I could continue reading. Mona Kasten has created something addictive and I never want their story to end. I need to know all about their lives together - it can't end with the next book. It just can't! Don't get me wrong I need Ruby and James to get their HEA but if they're only 18 or so when the next book ends will they their HEA or will it be a HFN? It's torture! I also really enjoyed how she gave both Ember and Lydia chapters too. It really brought the whole world together and I hope it continues into the next book. Its just a really well done series and I'm so happy that it's finally being published in English in America! Bring on Save Us!

I devoured this book in just a day and a half—even with barely any free time! How can something filled with familiar tropes, a standard plot, teen drama, and minimal action pull me in SO hard?! 😭📚✨

I was completely hooked by the chemistry between the main characters—it was off the charts! 💥 Their connection had me rooting for them from the start, and even though some of the side character relationships felt rushed or underdeveloped, I honestly didn’t care. I forgave it all because I couldn’t stop flipping the pages! 💘

Yes, I would’ve loved a more powerful redemption moment from the MMC, especially considering how strong and grounded the FMC was for most of the book... but again, the emotional pull was just too strong. I was in it—fully invested in the story, the side characters, and everything in between. 😭💞

And that ending... WHAT A RIDE. 🎢🔥

I CANNOT WAIT FOR BOOK 3! I need it ASAP Berkley!

After watching Season 1 of Maxton Hall (and not having read Save Me yet), this book picked up almost perfectly where it left off. I really enjoyed reading this and given that I don’t read a ton of romance, I was glad to see there weren’t too many ups and downs within one book. I enjoyed Lydia’s POVs as well as getting to know Ember more. The ending was surprising! Though I can’t imagine how a school could handle that issue in that way,

Happy to note the spice was minimal, which feels appropriate when writing about high schoolers. Even though I’m not naive that it’s reality, it feels gross to read as an adult.

I do have a hard time with books normalising student-teacher relationships