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.

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.
1 like

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! ♥️