“Pure fun – a romantic comedy that’s perfect for a day at the beach!” Lauren Layne, New York Times Bestselling AuthorCaroline Abbott knows her way around bridezillas.Working at a stationery store means helping engaged couples pick out the perfect save-the-date cards and invitations for their dream weddings–a dream job.Until the bridezilla of the day belongs to her first kiss, Alexander Wilder. … belongs to her first kiss, Alexander Wilder. He’s all grown up now, running his family’s luxury hotel chain, and even hotter than she remembers from that scorcher of a smooch.
So when Caroline catches his fiancée half-naked with another man, she has to tell him. And Alex has to break it off. And of course, the ex-bridezilla goes completely bonkers.
Good thing Caroline has plenty of experience–and friends to help save her.
She also has the sudden interest of Alex, who has a proposal of his own for her. Is it just a rebound for him, or does he also feel the same spark that drew them together all those years ago?
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SAVE THE DATE is the first instalment in Monica Murphy’s contemporary, adult, romance series. This is twenty-five year old, stationary salesperson Caroline Abbott, and twenty-eight year old, billionaire hotelier Alexander Wilder’s storyline.
Told from dual first person perspectives (Alex and Caroline) SAVE THE DATE follows the second chance romance (of sorts) between Caroline Abbott, and Alexander Wilder. Caroline works for a local stationary store, NOTEWORTHY, and her latest wedding client is none other than her ‘first kiss’ Alexander Wilder, her brother’s childhood friend, and the man with whom she will fall in love. Alexander seems oblivious to his fiancé ‘s actions, including the affair discovered by our story line heroine. As Alex prepares for a trip overseas, our hero is informed, by his father and company CEO he needs a ‘fake fiancé ‘ to improve his image as he negotiates the purchase of new property. With his fiancé no longer in the picture, Alex offers Caroline a trip to Paris in an effort to secure his business negotiations. What ensues is the building relationship between Alex and Caroline, and the potential fall-out as Alex struggles with the possibility of sabotage at a personal level.
The relationship between Alex and Caroline is a rekindling romance between two people who were one another’s first kiss, a first kiss where shortly afterward Alex ghosted our story line heroine. Years later Caroline will come face to face with her childhood crush only to discover Alex was engaged to someone else. The limited $ex scenes are passionate and seductive, without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text but I struggled with the lack of perceived palpable sexual chemistry.
We are introduced to Alex’s former fiancé Tiffany Ratcliffe, and his father Mr.Wilder; Caroline’s boss Iris, co-worker Cassie, and best friend Stella; and French businessman Alain Descheaux and his wife Sabine, as well as their son Louis, and his wife Manon.
SAVE THE DATE is a story of family, friendship, second chances and love; a story of perception, power, and wealth. The premise is engaging and inviting; the romance is tender and suggestive; the characters are captivating and colorful. SAVE THE DATE is a energetic and spirited story of fated love.
Super cute (and yes also steamy), friends to lovers, fake fiancé, second chance story. It is all of that. It also has some pretty funny moments and again, also some serious moments. It kinda has everything you need for a good story, including some great side characters that I guess I’ll learn more about in future Dating stories 🙂
A sweet and charming romance. Alex and Caroline are absolutely adorable. I enjoyed this story.
This audio was a fun start to this series. These narrators are new to me and they were hilarious!
This was a great read!!
I loved both the main characters in this book. Neither one of them had very many flaws. I mean they were human but they were both genuinely good people.
Caroline is happy with her job and has a great group of friends. Her job brings Alex back into her life in an unexpected way but it was fun to see them catch up. I loved that she stayed true to herself even though she was being his fake fiance.
Alex is a workaholic but yet he is still a good man. He wants to do well for his company and also make his father proud. He is a wealthy man but yet doesn’t act it. I loved reading about him watch Caroline when she first took in the plane and hotel.
I listened to this book on audio and though it was a cute and light story. The narrators seemed to capture the characters that I envisioned in my head and I like the accents when they had to use them. Not too shabby. 😉
Right at the beginning, I thought this was going to be a super meet cute and they would start to date from the get go. But oh no. That is not the case. It is a case of a taken man that is engaged, but these two people knew each other when they were children and lost touch for many many years. They even had their very first kiss together! How much cuter can it get? But you can’t go after a taken man. Especially one you are helping with a part of their wedding, right? Right.
Caroline and Alex’s journey to happiness isn’t one I would want to start out on, but overall it was a cute story. One that started when they were 12 and 14. Alex was Caroline’s brother’s BFF. And that is mentioned many times throughout the story. So what happens when the very busy and workaholic Alex discovers there just may be more to his connection with Caroline than something when they were young? And how will he become unengaged??
That was the only issue that bugged me a bit. The fact that our hero was engaged at the beginning and the way he moved on so quickly. I understand there was a history with the two of them, but was it enough to warrant jumping into any sort of relationship? For that reason, I’m glad that the majority of the story was slow burn for the main characters.
As for Caroline, she is a quirky and cute character. She has an amazing group of friends that will obviously have her back no matter what and I adored that. I love when we get a good group of friends that make you feel like you want to be part of their crowd. It engages me as a reader.
Overall, the book was light and cute as I stated before. It didn’t seem all that original, but I did enjoy it. A lighthearted beach read, if you will. I’d like to see how the rest of the series plays out. Monica Murphy has a great cast of supporting characters that are just waiting to shine. 3.5 stars
This was so fun to read. It’s the first in a series, and I can’t wait to get my hands on the rest of them.
It’s not super steamy, more of a slow burn, but I’m not complaining. There was still plenty of sexual – and romantic – chemistry between the two of them.
Very cute story and sexy read
Loved this story. Can two people connect again after a teenage crush ? Fun fake fiance story between Alex and Caroline. Quick paced and witty.
This book presents authentic-seeming people in a sort of realistic story. Very good read!
Conflict of interest has a whole new twist!
Save the Date is a sweet second chance romance with a whole lit of “bridezilla gone wrong.” I mean talk about stuck between a rock and a hard place, Caroline is a saint.
Despite their reconnection from awkwardville, Caroline and Alex are adorable. They are just what you want in a romance novel. Also with a plethora of friends to lean on and live, I just know there are more books coming in this series!
I ended 2019 reading Save the Date and started 2020 with finishing StD…..it is my first 5 star for the new decade.
I absolutely adored StD…..Alex…..Caroline….Iris….Kelsey….and Cassie. I laughed, I had my heartbroken right along with Caroline but I also felt all of her triumphs.
Before I had even finished, I ordered the next books in the series (now I’m just waiting for them to be delivered so i can dive in).
Save the Date
By: Monica Murphy
Narrated by: Ava Lucas, Jack DuPont
Series: Dating, Book 1
Looking for a funny and romantic book? This is the one for you. Monica Murphy has combined humor, love, second chances, childhood romance and all out passion into this fun filled story. Caroline helps people decide on their wedding stationary, from save the dates to invitations. When Alex, her brother’s middle school best friend walks in with his fiance to choose their items, Caroline’s life takes a turn. Catching his fiance with another man leads to the break up of an engagement, being pursued by Alex and stalked by his ex! Could this all lead to happiness? What fun this book is! I love stories that have history, and going back to that first love, when you are just hitting the teenage years brings back that butterfly in the stomach feeling! I love the banter between Caroline and Alex, their undeniable chemistry, the craziness of the situation and all the outcomes. It’s fast, humorous and just an all around great listen.
This narration team of Ava Lucas and Jack DuPont brings it all to life with their wonderful performances. I am a huge Ava Lucas fan, and with her sultry voice and comedic timing, she gave Caroline a personality that I easily understood and loved! Jack DuPont adds so much to the dual narration as Alex, with a warm and sexy voice, making him irresistible. Their interpretation of the story is incredibly entertaining and you don’t want to miss it.
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Loved it! Just the fun, light, romantic tone I was looking for!
This is going to be an fantastic series by Monica Murphy. Ive reviewed for her before on NetGalley and have only once not straight away connect with her stories. I will say that you should only read a book when your in the right place to get the absolute pleasure out of it. I did after with this authors book and is why Monica Murphy is without a doubt become one of my all time favourite author. She writes multiple genres and always keeps me wanting for. Even when there are currently many books to a series and makes it book tie together beautifully with the storyline, setting and characters. So after one story ends, you will mostly likely see these characters again in the next story you pick up. The best part about this series is they can be read as standalones but I just love/reading them in order as you get the absolute best out of the stories. So that means….no cliffhangers which I’m not a big fan of. So Yay! Honestly just go out and one click this book. It is well worth it and you will thoroughly enjoy every single minute of this fantastic book. Bring on Fake Date!! Happy reading!! (Also reviewed on amazon and goodreads)
Save The Date by Monica Murphy
Second Chance Romance
4 Stars
What a really fun, fast paced read!! Quite entertaining!
“We’re not perfect, and sometimes we argue, but never for long, and never over anything major. We’re pretty compatible. Like we were made for each other.”
Highly recommend this charming and sweet romance!
Save the Date by Monica Murphy is a story about a girl who works in the wedding industry and one day she gets a client who is engaged to someone she knows – her brother’s best friend from middle school and a guy she had a huge crush on, who also happens to be her first kiss. When circumstances put Caroline where she has to break some bad news to Alex, though it’s a tough time for Alex, he and Caroline are brought close and old feelings begin to arise that never went away.
First off this was a really great read and I’m becoming a fan of Monica Murphy.
Caroline’s character isn’t quite my favorite. I feel like before things really started up with her and Alex she gave off the impression that she was a tad bit too paranoid and couldn’t make decisions on her own. Like when she witnessed something major in the book, I feel like she told anyone she could about the scandal just to see what they thought she should do.
Alex. I loved his character so much. When the author described him and whenever he talked- man you just wanted to get a piece of him yourself.
I very much enjoyed Monica Murphy’s writing and I look forward to reading more of her work!
The PERFECT summer read!
This book was a surprise coming from Monica, that’s for sure!
Alex and Carolines’ story falls more under the chick lit/rom com genre, I’d say.
That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy it because I did. There was humour in it as well as a slight touch of angst in the case of “lusting after someone you can’t have” kinda thing.
Whilst it wasn’t a typical Monica book, that’s not to say she didn’t do the characters and their story justice. It’s just not my favourite Monica book and I found it a little predictable but having said that I enjoyed it none the less. I’m insanely excited for book 2 though, Fake Date.
Again, a perfect summer, beach type read to indulge in. Especially if you love this ladies writing, which I really do.
Reviewed by Ali at Fallen For Books.
Lighthearted, flirty and fun, this was the kind of book you read when you want to enjoy and smile. At the very beginning, my heart hurt because this fine specimen of a man, Alex Wilder, was wasted in a witch like Tiffany. But I had total faith that Caroline would be successful in claiming him as her own.
Caroline works in a upscale stationery store. They specialize in Save The Date cards and wedding invitations. When Tiffany has an appointment to choose her Save The Date cards at the ungodly hour of 8:00 am (gasp!), Caroline needed some caffeine boost to face the hour. She goes by her favorite barista where her bestie has her latte ready for her. A gorgeous man jokingly complains that he needs a fast-pass for coffee like she does. The chemistry is instantaneous and strong. Yet, Caroline had to leave him and scram for her appointment. When she’s into choosing styles with Tiffany, her fiancé arrives at their appointment and turns out to be the hot man from the coffee shop. Furthermore, when they exchanged names they discovered they were friends in their early teen years and had been each other’s first kiss. Talk about a missed chance!
But fate being what it is, and wanting true love to win, events occur that have them faking an engagement and traveling to Paris, the town where love flourishes. Perfect for escaping a psycho ex looking for retaliation!
The story is fantastic, the characters charming and lovable and the pace sparkly and snappy. I loved how Caroline is presented, a young woman who doesn’t have much in the way of money and possessions but she recognizes that she’s indeed rich: she has a job she loves and a bunch of friends who love her, support her, and are there for her whenever she needs. She lives a happy life with frequent socializing with her friends. What more can you want? This book left me with a happy feeling!
3.5 stars
SAVE THE DATE is the perfect read for the summer, it’s a light, heartwarming, drama free story that you can enjoy it in just one sitting. This is a romantic story, a very cute one and it can be considered as a chick lit, the kind of story you want to watch in a movies with all your girlfriends.
Caroline and Alex had a history together, they were friends and each other first kiss back then when they were kids, but they lose touch after of starting a relationship. Years later, they met again and the sparks between them were still ignited. Unfortunately Alex comes with his fiance to pick save the date cards for his upcoming wedding to the stationary store where Caroline works.
This is not a love triangle, there is no cheating here, just a little plot twist in order this two souls can find each other’s way again.
This is a sweet, romantic, second chance that will leave you with a smile on your face. Enjoy this summer read and you can thank me later.