4.5 stars
Thank you, NetGalley and Allison Raskin for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I had a great time reading this book! It was very engaging, the plot was very interesting and unlike anything I've ever read before. It kept my attention, and I found myself thinking about this book even when I wasn't reading it.

Wow! This book seemed personal. Although a work of fiction, it stuck a chord in me that was so relatable. Everyone knows someone that has had sporting that affects relationships in their lives. This is a touching and almost honest story election of one woman journey.

DNF’d at 27%. Bashing of political parties is a hard line for me.

•𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘊𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸.•

Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy of this book!

I have long held the belief that soulmates are made, not found. This is why I share in Emma’s (the main character) view that marriage is less about finding “the one” so much as finding someone who values marriage for the same reasons as you. I also agree that you don’t need a ton of time to get to know someone before getting married. You have your whole lives for that.
Which is why I was seriously worried while approaching the end of the book that she was going to compromise on her beliefs about marriage just to be with Will. But the fact that he in turn also compromised by proposing, and met her where she was at, was such a beautiful ending and a true testament to successful marriage. Comprise and understanding.
I gotta say there were some moments in this book where I seriously judged Emma’s decision making skills. But the banter was top tier and the chemistry was believable.

3.5 ⭐️

When Emma's fiancée walk out on her, it's not only bad for her personally, but professionally. As a couples therapist with a strong online following, and a book that's supposed to be coming out soon, she's dreading having to disclose that her relationship has failed. But then she gets a crazy idea: what if she finds another man to take her ex's place at the wedding in a few months? Emma embarks on a journey to defy traditional views of marriage and relationships, and find a lasting relationship.

I wanted so badly to like this book, but Emma's neuroses was too much and the second-hand embarrassment caused me to abandon this book. I understand it wouldn't be much of a story if Emma had thrown out her hair-brained idea the second she met Will, but the fact that she was an actual adult acting the way she did, let alone a therapist who should know better, was very jarring and beyond unbelievable. For someone who's less sensitive to these types of tropes, this could be a fun read, so my library will be purchasing a copy.

I devoured this book in less than 24 hours. I loved it! This is so unlike any other romance book I've read recently and I couldn't put it down. Alison Raskin took a painful topic that she has personally experienced and turned it into a delightful piece of romantic fiction full of witty banter and charismatic characters. This was a no-spice romance novel which was refreshing, but the characters had plenty of chemistry. This book has a great love triangle (square?) and fun side characters as well. I actually laughed out loud at some of the family interactions.

It was great and I absolutely recommend this book!

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing | Canary Street Press and NetGalley for this advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

ARC read - 4/5⭐️ loveeeeee this!!! Such a fun concept! Save the Date is a romantic comedy that tells the story of Emma, a couples therapist, who is dumped by her fiancé just months before their wedding. In the midst of grieving her relationship, Emma comes up with the brilliant plan to keep the wedding that she had planned and just find a new groom. Emma is relatable, hilarious, and witty in this book. Allison Raskin loosely based the events of this story on her own life; which I think makes this story even better. Again just loved this so much! Thank you so much to Allison and Canary Street Press for this advanced reader copy.

This book was so fun! I read it in one day. I love the humor and felt like I really want to be friends with Emma. I was cheering her on as she made her way through the dating process and discovered more about herself. I recommend this book for anyone who wants a fun read!

Save the Date follows Emma, a family therapist who thought she had life and love all figured out. She has built her career on understanding successful relationships and giving advice to others. Then her fiancé decides it’s over with no explanation or discussion. Just like that, her previous insecurities and trauma come roaring back. Emma doesn’t see why she has to cancel her wedding when she can simply find another person who wants to be committed and working towards build a loving relationship with her. Thus “Operation Save My Date” was born. Problem is, there are two men and two very different paths she can take and it’s unclear which will make her happy and lead her to a fulfilled life in the long run. One of them represents the exact timeline she has decided she wants and a genuinely kind person but someone she is not really connected with. The other represents an unknown timeline but a person she is utterly herself with. So what’s better? Genuine connection and the possibility of love or a guaranteed commitment on her pre-determined timeline?

Emma is a generally anxious person and I related heavily to her on that level. She is highly intelligent and has a logical thought process but the overthinking and the panicking can still take hold of her without much warning. Also watching this person navigate online dating was so familiar it brought me back to all the worst parts about those apps. And the best parts too since that’s how I met my current partner.

Allison Raskin’s writing reads like the thought process of someone who is anxious which made it immediately familiar and comfortable for me. Plus when I saw that Raskin had loosely based this on her own experience with a traumatic break-up, I was here for it and excited to dive in.
It was written in third person but still from the perspective of Emma which felt a bit odd to me. I think if it had been written in first person, it may have allowed me to really be drawn into Emma’s thoughts and feelings on an even deeper level.

At first, I was convinced this was a rom-com like any other but as I continued to turn the pages and allowed myself to be swept up by the story, it became something more for me. As a divorcee who is currently planning her second wedding to a wonderful man, it became something almost cathartic. I found it to be a painfully honest and truly captivating story about the loss we all go through while we search for the path and the people who are right for us. It captures how it feels to let go of the things we thought we wanted in order to grab onto the things that feed our souls and really help us fly.

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing for offering this ARC for review via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

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.

Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing | Canary Street Press and NetGalley for this advance readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

Save the Date follows therapist Emma after her fiancé abruptly ends their engagement and she is determined to find a replacement groom for the existing wedding. She explores dating, marriage, partnership, commitment, soulmates and the idea of true love eventually finding her happy ending but realizing it may not be exactly what she thought. This is a cute rom com that explores relationships beyond a strictly superficial level with plenty of laughs and swooning.

Save the Date Review

Thank you so much to Net Galley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC! I received this copy in exchange for my honest review and as always I’m so appreciative of the opportunity.

I will be posting this review in full on my goodreads profile account- Kateslitbookcase and featuring parts of this review on my Instagram account story- @kateslitbookcase on 2/22/2025.

I was drawn ro this book because the premise to me sounded super fun and crazy- Emma (a couples therapist) gets dumped by her fiancé and decides that she is going to review her past love life and try again with some old and new love interests all to find a way to still get married on her original wedding date. I mean it sounds amazing! Who doesn’t love second chance and revenge style romances? And as a big fan of romance novels I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth in.

However I do have to say that I was very disappointed in this book- I’d give it 2.5/5 stars. Emma the FMC had moments were she seemed confident and “evolved“, but honestly she came across as someone with super low self esteem while also having narcissistic tendencies. The instant love with every man followed by whiplash of emotions, the back and forth between the two main MMCs and her, Emma’s “white lies”, and the way she identifies the flaws/red flags almost instantly in every man yet still runs through them drove me crazy. Also the “twist” At the end could be seen from the middle of the book and felt anticlimactic to me. Overall the FMC made it hard for me to sympathize with her and frankly her actions didn’t make sense with her career as a therapist.

However I will say that I appreciate the authors bravery of basing parts of this book of her own life and I genuinely love the premise of this book. I also really did enjoy a lot of the supporting characters with my favorites being Emma’s best friend Imani- who had the best one liners and Jackie-Emma’s rich out of touch with reality sister. I would have loved to have seen them featured more. Thanks again to Net Galley and Harlequin Trade Publishing.

As always all opinions are my own.

I am grateful to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

I first heard about this story from a TikTok video by Allison Raskin, who I had seen around the internet but never actually followed or kept up with. It sounded like such a fun concept for a romance novel and I immediately requested it when I saw it in NetGalley.

The story is about Emma whose fiancé leaves her just months away from their wedding. Instead of canceling all the non-refundable vendors booked for the wedding, she decides to find a new groom. Emma is a relationship counselor and influencer whose content focuses on relationship advice. This makes her situation particularly sensitive.

I did enjoy the bits where Emma interacts with The One and the ending did leave me with a smile on my face.

Unfortunately I really had to force myself to read this. I found it really hard to like Emma and didn’t particularly care about her search for a new groom. Emma spends more time trying to maintain her influencer lifestyle than she does looking for actual love. The interactions between the couple made up just a tiny fraction of this book. Instead there’s endless repetitive scenes of Emma with her parents, sister, or singular friend. Almost all of these scenes end abruptly and there’s very little flow. The idea for this story is so cute and it’s a shame this wasn’t more polished.

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

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.