The story kicks off with Emma being unexpectedly dumped by her fiancé, leaving her blindsided and without much of an explanation. This sets the stage for what should have been an easy opportunity to root for her as she tries to rebuild her life and go after what she truly wants. However, I found it a bit challenging to fully connect with her journey at first. Emma's whiny attitude and a string of questionable decisions made it hard for me to sympathize with her, which slowed down my initial enjoyment of the story. Things really picked up when Will and Matt entered the picture. Their dynamics added depth and energy to the plot, making it much more engaging and enjoyable.

This was such a fun book!
This is the story of Emma Moskowitz wanting to find a new groom for her wedding in 6 months after her fiancée unexpectedly dumps her. When I first read the synopsis of this book I thought it sounded ridiculous and that there is no way I'd actually care about her new love interest(s). However, Allison Raskin wrote this book in a way that made me understand Emma's reasonings and I ended up rooting for her to succeed in her ambitious plan. I also love the way Raskin portrays all kinds of relationships within the novel and expands on all of the side characters, making the novel feel more realistic.

This book was a fun and cute quick romance read. The FMC is messy and so relatable, struggling after being left at the altar. Such a cute cover too!

Emma’s finance leaves her right before the wedding claiming he’s wanting to find something else, stating that something is missing, which leaves Emma scrambling to find someone else to marry because she wants to keep her wedding date.

I was not a big fan of this book, I thought I would enjoy it by the synopsis I read but something about Emma rubbed me the wrong way.

I still like the concept of this book and enjoy the synopsis I just couldn’t connect to the book in the way I wanted to and felt like it fell short .

Thank you Netgalley Harlequin Trade Publishing | Canary Street Press

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this book!!

Wow!! What a great book!! This one was a page turner! Had me hooked from the first page! This was a first for me by this author but will not be my last. I enjoyed the plot, characters and the writing style!!

Okay when I saw Allison wrote a book that was loosely based on her own trauma about being left by her fiancée, I was SO IN.

How she was able to write this without sobbing and hating everything is beyond me, but she penned a lighthearted and comedic approach to life after losing “the one”

It was humorous, intelligent and a must read.

This book focused on minor YouTube Relationship Expert/Therapist Emma and her efforts to overcome a horrible broken engagement while remaining true to herself. The book was a perfect read--utter wishfulfillment that felt believable without being too cloy. I am a fan of the author Allison Raskin, and I appreciated that her voice and experiences were effortlessly woven in the book in without feeling too overpowering or heavy-handed. Overall, this was a great vacation read, especially for someone who loves reading romance about characters that are relatable and messy, but not toxic.

This is excellent popcorn romance. Raskin’s writing is easy to digest and very funny. I was smiling constantly while reading.

Save the Date by Allison Raskin is a witty and refreshing romantic comedy that explores the complexities of love, self-worth, and the pressure of living up to public expectations. Emma Moskowitz, a couples therapist whose career revolves around helping others navigate relationships, faces an unexpected crisis when her fiancé dumps her just six months before their wedding. Her world unravels as she realizes that her professional and personal identities are built on the very relationship that has just fallen apart.

In an attempt to salvage her wedding date and maintain her public persona, Emma embarks on "Operation: Save My Date," documenting her quest for a new groom in an effort to avoid disappointing her fans, her family, and herself. Along the way, she becomes torn between two very different men: Will, a podcast producer who is uninterested in being a rebound, and Matt, a kind-hearted recent divorcee looking for a fresh start.

Raskin delivers a sharp, heartfelt story about personal growth and the messy, unpredictable nature of relationships. Through Emma’s journey, readers are reminded that true happiness doesn’t come from fulfilling external expectations but from embracing one's authentic desires and learning to let go of the past. Save the Date is a delightful, laugh-out-loud read with moments of vulnerability and self-discovery that will resonate with anyone who’s ever struggled with the pressures of love and life’s curveballs.

This really did not work for me at all for a variety of reasons. First, the writing was super clunky and did not translate into romance well. I felt like the therapist-y/academic part of the book was well done but did not lend itself to a romance novel. The plot was clunky for me, I requested this ARC because I was so excited about the unique plot and really think it was such a good idea, especially made more interesting by the fact that the author experienced this in real life. In order for a romance plot to work, you have to be able to suspend disbelief and really be invested in why someone is doing something. I really struggled to get behind the why and often felt myself being annoyed with the characters and the plot. Overall, really super interesting ideas and perspectives based on the authors real life experience, which I appreciate the vulnerability to do, but just found the execution to be lacking.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review

Emma is unexpectedly dumped by her fiance with almost no explanation. This sets the book up for you to root for her to get what she wants, but it wasn't easy. I honestly couldn't stand the whiny nature of Emma and all the poor choices she kept making. After taking a break, I came back to the book, and it got better when Will and Matt came into the story. While the story was original and the characters felt real and fleshed out, I didn't enjoy them as people so it took away from the story for me.
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I really enjoyed this! As a long-time follower of Allison, she has such an authentic voice and it really comes through in this book. The writing is solid and funny! The plot is a little wacky, but fun enough that I could suspend disbelief. Being familiar with her story, it was fun to read this alternate universe plot that was still infused with so much of her real life, though I’d be curious to hear people’s thoughts that don’t know her. I thought the middle was a smidge slow and the end a bit rushed, but overall I was pleasantly surprised by her first romance! It’s also such an ode to her parents’ marriage, which felt really special.

Really cool premise and well written! I found myself so invested in the story, rooting Will on and questioning Emma’s determination to complete the wedding

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy of this book.

I really struggled to get into this book. The story has a lot of promise, just failed to deliver for me.

I felt like the main female, Emma, her character build was too messy. I understand trying to build a heartbroken anxiety ridden character; however, her actions didn’t make sense for someone who is supposed to be a licensed therapist. I get that she was a relationship (“couples”) therapist, but a lot of tools used to help couples are used for self-growth and development. Her character was just not believable.

Other than that, the book was good, almost like a Hallmark Movie.

*Thank you to author, NetGalley & Harlequin Trade Publishing for allowing me to read early and review!*

Save The Date by Allison Raskin
4/5⭐️

This story was so funny, heartfelt and definitely put me in my feels at times. It definitely brought me back to rethink those times where I didn’t feel good enough and made me realize it wasn’t the case. Having this story written by someone who is a therapist and has an expanse of knowledge of couples’ issues, really put emphasis on what the story was trying to tell the reader: that just because someone doesn’t work out for you, doesn’t mean that there isn’t someone out there who will.

I decided to apply to read the ARC of this because of the title & synopsis, and because I recently got engaged to my soulmate. People keep asking why we are waiting so long to get married, why we are pushing our wedding date to 2027 - one: for financial reasons, and two: because we don’t need to be on anyone else’s time but our own. And I felt this lesson given wholeheartedly throughout this story.

Our FMC, Emma, recently had her engagement broken off out of the blue when her ex-fiancé, Ryan, decided she wasn’t right for him. Instead of canceling their wedding date, our anxiety-ridden, couple’s therapist decides to keep the wedding date and begin “Operation: Save My Date” and find a new groom for her to marry within 6 months.

Our MMC, Will, meets up with Emma for a date when they match on a dating app. They have tons of chemistry & really enjoy each other, but when Emma reveals her plan, he disagrees and breaks things off…romantically. And decides it would be great to publicize this plan of hers on one of his podcasts, in addition to Emma’s YouTube channel.

Emma and Will begin working together and becoming more in tune with each other until a really promising potential groom shows up in Emma’s life and she realizes her true feelings on what she wants in life.

I also loved all of the side characters, except Jackie - I could not imagine having a sister like that 😂

Overall, this story was such a fun time and I loved going for the ride that was finding Emma’s true love! ♥️

Save the Date by Allison Raskin

When Emma’s fiancé calls the engagement off, she decides to give herself six months to find a man to marry her. Why call off a wedding when you can just find a new groom. Wild but in the best way.

When Imani says to Emma “Absolutely not. Nope. Unsubscribe.” Love that!

This was such an interesting idea/story. This would be such a good movie! Emma was very relatable. I also have an anxiety disorder which can make life difficult. I give her credit for really putting herself out there. That certainly isn’t easy. Out of the few guys she went for, Will was my favorite. I was rooting for them throughout the whole book. I was shocked by the ending. I absolutely loved it! A beautiful love story! I can’t recommend this book enough!

Thank you so much NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing and Allison for the ARC!

Publication Date: April 8th 2025
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#NetGalley #SavetheDate
This review will be posted on @thehomebodybooknook

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a very fun messy read! It was lighthearted but passionate, and I enjoyed it

I enjoyed this novel very much. I found it fascinating what the author chose to focus on: Emma and her why: Why should she keep her wedding date and venue and caterer and...all the wedding-y things, besides money? Why is it so important to her? Knowing from the preface that the author went through a similar situation was a clue.

I also found it interesting that Emma, in her character development, was focused on clear communication in spite of, and aided by, her anxiety issues. The honesty around that was very well done.

The middle part of the book, when she was building her relationship with Matt, tended to drag a bit for me (maybe because I was Team Will the whole time--give me banter over beauty any day). However, the things that were red flags for me were not for Emma, and getting into her head about it was an interesting process also. I would also have enjoyed a bit more about Emma's family's Jewish faith. It was just sort of ... there.

The end was very well done; no spoilers, though!

Closed door romance, but rated R for language.

Thank you to Harlequin, the author, and NetGalley for an eARC for review. All thoughts are my own.

I enjoyed the chemistry and relationship between the female and male protagonists. However, the premise that a professional relationship counselor would choose to do the Save the Date challenge was pretty far-fetched. It's hard for me to like a main character when I think they are being foolish or stupid. I also didn't understand how the male protagonist could propose in such short time after he spent the entire novel talking about how he needed a longer courtship. So, a few implausibilities, but the author writes well with a lot of humor. Library patrons should still enjoy.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc!

I realized after looking into the book more that I may have enjoyed it more if I was familiar with the author’s online presence more.
As it was, I found the book a bit shallow and two dimensional and in need of more development and the main character annoying. It doesn’t stand alone well.