Save the Date: A Novel

by Mallory Kass

A romantic comedy of manners about a lavish wedding weekend gone very, very wrong with the slow-burn romance of Emily Henry and the fizzy humor of Sophie Kinsella.


The Bride: Beautiful, seemingly carefree Marigold, is tired of being treated like a shallow it-girl. That’s one of the many reasons she’s excited to marry Jonathan—the handsome, kind, respectable doctor of her dreams. So, when a shocking secret from her past threatens to ruin her wedding, she’ll do anything to make it disappear...even if it means tracking down a man she vowed to avoid forever.


The Maid of Honor: As the bride’s best friend, all Natalie wants is for this wedding to go off without a hitch. There’s only one problem: Natalie has secretly been in love with the groom since college. When Marigold disappears, Natalie is forced to ask whether she can keep burying her feelings for the sake of friendship...or if she’s ready to risk everything to pursue her own happy ending.

The Sister: Olivia has spent her life cleaning up Marigold’s messes. So, she’s determined to keep the wedding on track for the sake of their mother, who’s battling cancer and longs for one last perfect weekend. But when Jonathan’s best man—a prickly academic with a heart of gold—ropes her into a fake dating scheme, sparks unexpectedly fly. Will Olivia sacrifice her own happiness again, or could this fake relationship turn into the truest choice she’s ever made?

Heartwarming, hilarious, and sparklingly romantic, Save the Date will have you cheering for love in all its messy, unexpected glory.

Genres: Romance, Adult

336 pages, Paperback

Expected publication April 14, 2026

Reviews

[TheConnieFox · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ Review to come.

[Mia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like books with multiple POVs but here characters are not interesting. I’m sure some people will like this but this books isn’t for me.

[PalmPages · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ✨
RTC

Thanks to NetGalley & Atria Books

[elsie (taylor's version) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5✨

⤷ 𝒷𝓇𝒾ℯ𝒻 𝓈𝓊𝓂𝓂𝒶𝓇𝓎

Marigold is getting ready to marry the man of her dreams...until she realizes her divorce papers were never finalized from her first secret marriage. Natalie, the maid of honor is credited for introducing Marigold and Jonathan, but no one knows she's been in love with him since college. Olivia has a lot on her plate during her sister's wedding, but fake-dating the annoying best man wasn't part of the plan.

⤷𝓂𝓎 𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓊𝑔𝒽𝓉𝓈

Listen. I love drama. I love weddings. I love Maine. But there was SO MUCH going on here. I was pretty hooked the whole time as the story moved between the three female leads each chapter. I just wish they were more likable. Marigold is vapid and irresponsible, but she judges all of her high-society friends for the SAME THINGS. Why does Natalie only have one friend?? She and Marigold might be super tight, but come on girl, meet some new people. Maybe stop JUDGING every person you meet SO harshly. Olivia's only personality trait is that she's a soulless bitch who never stops working and, you guessed it, judges every person she meets for every thing they ever do. And it's never explained why she hates Natalie so much either.

The drama was good though, I won't lie. There were a couple times I gasped. It was like watching a soap: highly unrealistic but extremely entertaining. I read this very quickly, considering I'm in a reading slump. Despite Olivia's annoying traits, her romance with Zach was my favorite to follow. I love a good fake dating and "only one bed" trope, especially at a wedding.

If you don't like cheating, this book is not for you. There is both emotional and physical cheating that takes place. Given the nature of the plot, I definitely saw it coming, but cheating always makes me less sympathetic for the characters. They knew what they were doing.

Also there way way way too many modern references in this book. I DO NOT WANT TO READ ABOUT AI GENERATED GIRLFRIENDS OR THE INSUFFERABLE MAN'S SUBSTACK, for goodness sake.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

[Lanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Save the Date was everything I never knew I needed in a romcom. Three women, a bride, the sister and the best friend all work through their own personal struggles as they prepare a giant wedding in Maine.
The bride Marigold has a secret and a dilemma she has to resolve asap. Olivia the sister also has a secret and suddenly a fake boyfriend. Natalie the bff and maid of honor has a secret crush and struggles with feeling the odd one out compared to the others in the wedding party.
It was messy and sloppy and hilarious. But it’s also sweet and sad and introspective. I loved this book and if I’m honest I wouldn’t mind watching a big screen version of this from my couch one afternoon cuddled up in a blanket and swooning over the leading men.

My only criticism is the epilogue. Kass made me love all these characters and I wanted more of a teeny tiny glimpse of them in their futures. Just a little one beyond the wedding.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

[Shannon H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Save the Date by Mallory Kass was such a fun and engaging read! I loved how the story switched between Marigold, Natalie, and Olivia, giving each woman a distinct voice and swapping between them at just the right moments. Marigold is determined to marry her perfect doctor fiancé, but her past threatens to unravel everything. Natalie, her best friend and maid of honor, secretly harbors feelings for the groom and has to decide whether to finally speak up. And Olivia, Marigold’s sister, just wants to make the day perfect for their mother. I really enjoyed how each romantic plotline unfolded differently but felt equally satisfying. The multiple perspectives added depth and emotion, and it was refreshing to read a love story that wasn’t just about one couple but a whole web of relationships, each messy, real, and heartfelt.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

[Sandrine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow ! I loved this book. This is everything I want in a rom-com. A messy situation that leads into more chaos. And that’s what this book is.
Marigold is about to get married to Jonathan but, the day before the wedding, she has to deal with an unfinished situation from the past. Natalie is in love with Jonathan, but has never told him, and Olivia sees her crush with another woman. It was dramatic in the best way. It takes place over the weekend of the wedding, the pace is fast. We get the POVs of the three women and I enjoyed reading all 3. Sure, they are not perfect, but they are real and I could relate to their struggles.
While this is still a light rom-com book, at its core it explored regrets and their consequences. Marigold, Olivia and Natalie are able to grow from this situation, and make better choices and I really enjoyed that.
I definitely recommend this book !

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an arc of this book, opinions are my own.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Save the Date is a romantic comedy set over a weekend at the extravagant wedding of Marigold and Jonathan. Told in three separate POVs; we meet Marigold the fun-loving bride and social media influencer, Natalie the maid of honor who is secretly pining for the groom, and Olivia the bride’s sister who finds herself fake dating the best man to make her crush jealous.

My favorite storyline was Oliva’s fake relationship with best man Zack. When her crush Andrew arrives at the wedding with a model, Zack suggests the perfect way to make him jealous is to pretend they are in a relationship. I am a sucker for the fake dating trope. Not to mention Zack and Olivia have great banter.

Beyond the glitz and glamour and hijinks, each of the women has a secret they are struggling to keep. And while it is a romance, the relationship I was rooting for most was the friendship between them.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC.

[Bookish_Aly_Cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a fun and engaging read about a weekend wedding where everything goes wrong. This intensely fast paced story had me smiling an awful lot and I was constantly wondering what drama would be stirred up next.

I loved getting perspectives from Marigold, Olivia, and Natalie, even if I didn’t always find them to be the most likable characters. I appreciated how easy it was to keep the three women straight since all of their voices were so different.

If you are looking for a plot driven romcom full of drama you may want to check this one out.

Read this if you like:
💐 Multiple POV
💐 Fake dating
💐 Only one bed
💐 Drama

Thank you @atriabooks for the gifted copy of the book.

[Abby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my goodness what a good book, I was hooked from the very beginning and didn’t want to set the book down.
I loved the multiple POV’s in the book, you got to see everything going on throughout and it allowed you to connect with the characters.
What is supposed to be a wonderful weekend wedding turns into everyone keeping secrets, lots of character growth and all the romantic entanglements.
If you want a fast, whirlwind, engaging romantic book, this is it.
Thank you so much to Atria Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this Arc!

Save the Date by Mallory Kass comes out April 14/2026

[Lisa Penninga · Rating 5 out of 5]

Save the date is such a fun whirlwind wedding weekend- from catastrophe to chaos to I do, we follow three women and their journey towards true love. I absolutely enjoyed all three women and their vastly different personalities but similar desire to be safe, accepted, and loved in a relationship. I laughed out loud, got teary-eyed in parts, and absolutely love how the ending came together. From the setting to the characters, this book will grab your attention and keep you interested until the end. I can totally see this book becoming a movie or series someday, especially with the author’s background! Here’s hoping!

[badger baddie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Insufferable from the get go. No thanks!

[Shireen Hakim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bashing Sally Rooney books in your debut novel is certainly a choice, and almost knocked down my rating from 4 stars to 3. But overall, I enjoyed this New Adult rom-com. The fast-paced plot with meaningful dialogue echoes THE WEDDING PEOPLE while the too-rich, complicated characters are reminiscent of any Elin Hilderbrand novel.

This twisty, suspenseful novel is definitely plot-driven with mismatched couples, unrequited love, and love triangles. While I enjoyed reading about the many characters mishaps' I did not actually like or sympathize with any of them (not the perfect shallow MC, her pathetic best friend, the clueless fiance, nor the mean snotty older sister).

I found this book entertaining and different from the many rom coms out there because it's rare that the bride to be has to run off because she's still married, and I will recommend this book to others.

Thank you Atria and NetGalley for the digital review copy.

[Marisa Suarez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book SO much! It's like Sweet Home Alabama meets My Best Friend's Wedding/Something Borrowed meets The Wedding Date. How could you not love this? I want to point out that I really loved how the story is tri-POV: 3 different girls, 3 different love stories, and beautifully interwoven! This was unlike any structure I've read before, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

We start with Natalie's story--she is secretly in love with/pining for Jonathan, her best friend since college, with their shared literary interests and quirky inside jokes! The problem? She's also the Maid of Honor in the wedding between Jonathan and her best friend, Marigold. Marigold's sister, Olivia, seems determined to point out all of Natalie's wrongdoings, disbelieving that she was made MOH over her! Natalie feels the need to make this day perfect, all while struggling with her own internal conflicting feelings. Marigold is her very best friend--she can't let her down!

Onto Marigold---she is a well-to-do beautiful brand influencer, though seen as flighty and unreliable by many. She is preparing to marry Jonathan, her pediatric oncologist fiancé, who seems perfect for her and can only make her be a better person. However right before she gets married, she is told she hasn't finalized a divorce from a secret whirlwind 2-week romance she had had years ago! She needs to handle this, fast, and on her own--since nobody knows about it and she needs to save face. She jets off to Canada to find Hugo, the man she loved and ran away from suddenly, but is stranded while a storm is brewing and is delayed in getting back to her wedding. Stuck with facing a flurry of feelings she thought were forgotten, and a love like no other she once felt coming back to the surface, she is starting to question everything...what should she do?

Olivia is Marigold's older, super in-control sister. She has always protected Marigold from hardship and is determined to make sure her wedding day is perfect. She knows Marigold is keeping something from her, but she refuses to let her wedding fall apart and will do anything to keep things on the right track. Unfortunately, she had thought this weekend would go very differently--planning to spark something with what she thought was a sure-to-be romantic interest, Andrew. When he arrives with another date, she leans on goofy yet dependable Zack, the groom's best friend, to help her make Andrew jealous. Of course, is it Andrew she truly wants in the end?

I couldn't put this one down. This book had me staying up at all hours, feeling like I was somehow getting to enjoy a mish-mash of my favorite romcoms in one book. What a joy! A bit of spice but nothing crazy, really more focused on the feelings, the relationships (also between the 3 girls), and the journey. How they all culminate at the end is truly fun to read as well! Highly recommend this one! 5 stars for sure meaning I would absolutely read this again! (So much so that I bought the book after reading the ARC!)

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced review copy in exchange for my honest review! Truly loved this one!

[Nicole Caligiuri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you, Atria Books | Simon & Schuster Publishing, for providing this digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 3.75 stars overall.

Save the Date is a romantic comedy about a wedding weekend that goes wildly off course. The bride, Marigold, is hiding a secret that could ruin everything; her best friend Natalie has been in love with the groom for years, and her sister Olivia just wants to give their sick mother one perfect weekend. But when Marigold disappears and Olivia gets tangled in a fake-dating scheme with the best man, sparks and complications fly. Heartfelt, funny, and full of messy love stories, this is a charming tale of finding happiness in unexpected places.

I read something recently with multiple points of view and loved it. But it wasn’t a romance. Nonetheless, I am completely sold on a dual POV, let alone three. It does make things more interesting, but the downside is that you don’t get enough from each POV.

I’ll admit, at first, I was like Ugh, I just want to know about Natalie, the best friend of the bride, and Jonathan, the Groom (their tension is crazy). But to my utter surprise, I turn the page to find Marigold’s point of view (the bride). I was like, Alright, sure, there are two main female characters, no problem. Guess what happened next. Well, you’re wrong. We get the bride’s SISTER, Olivia’s point of view. At this point, I’m completely shocked and thinking how random this is. Obviously, as I kept reading, I was glad this was how it all played out. Not only do you get one romantic story about long-time best friends & their unrequited love for each other, but you also get a second-chance romance, AND a fake-dating trope. These women had substance, depth, and exciting character arcs. There’s not much more you can ask for than that. Oh, I mean other than the three hotties involved in their romance journey—who I all adored.

Natalie, Marigold, and Olivia had an adventurous weekend to say the least, and all their storylines kept me extremely entertained. You can kind of tell whose POV the author favored or wanted to elaborate on more because their chapters were longer and their storylines had more detail. I didn’t love this, especially because I was mainly interested in Natalie & Jonathan's POV—which, unfortunately, we got the least of—compared to Marigold/Hugh and Olivia/Zack.” My fav couple by the end were Olivia & Zach—they were just to die for. Overall, this was a cute story & I really loved each main character in a big way.

[Amanrit Uppal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fans of witty, romantic, contemporary fiction, especially those who enjoy wedding day chaos and tangled relationships, will love this book! I normally don’t gravitate towards books with stories around weddings or event planning, however, I did very much enjoy this novel. There are three main characters that have their own stories building up at the same time, and the author did a wonderful job weaving them together. Each of the main characters were different but still relatable and likeable. There was a good flow to the book, and I appreciated that. My attention was held throughout, from the first chapter all the way to the last, and I found myself eager to carry on and read more.

“Save the Date” had good humor, yes, but the book also contained thoughtful remarks that would make me pause and re-read. For example, this part of Natalie’s speech the night before the wedding addressed to Marigold and Jonathon: “Sometimes looking for love feels like sending radio waves into the darkness of space. You can go years without any response, and then just when you start to wonder if we really are alone in the universe, you hear that voice. That 'someone' who’s tuned to your exact frequency.” How beautiful. There was also a reference made to the poem “I met a Genius” by Charles Bukowski that I’m still thinking about. Brilliant!

There was no shortage of witty humor that made the book fun to read. I found this wit throughout the book, and it highlights how talented (and creative) the author is.

The last chapters of the book were tense and had me at the edge of my seat but again, this kept me turning the pages!

This book left me smiling and reflective which is exactly what I hope for in contemporary fiction. Overall, a great book that deserves the 5-star rating that I’m giving it!

Thank you, NetGalley, for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Kate Laycoax · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, this book was the exact kind of chaos I sign up for when I pick up a rom com. A wedding weekend where everything that can go wrong absolutely does, and instead of rolling your eyes, you’re grinning like you’re watching your favorite guilty pleasure wedding movie.

We follow three POVs:
💍 Marigold, the bride, who is trying to marry Mr. Perfect Doctor but still has a pesky little problem (like, oh, maybe unresolved feelings from her past).
💐 Natalie, the maid of honor, who is secretly in love with the groom; yes, you read that right, the groom.
🍸 Olivia, the sister, who stumbles into my favorite trope ever: fake dating, with the best man to make her crush jealous.

It’s dramatic, it’s messy, it’s fast paced, and honestly, it’s so much fun. Sure, these women aren’t perfect; sometimes they make you want to throw confetti in their faces and yell “GET IT TOGETHER!”, but that’s what makes them feel real. I related to their struggles way more than I expected in a book about an extravagant island wedding.

Underneath all the banter, tropes, and champagne fueled disasters, Mallory Kass actually digs into something deeper: regrets, choices, and what it means to finally stop living for other people’s expectations. By the end, Marigold, Natalie, and Olivia each grow in ways that left me cheering for them more than for any single romance. (Though let’s be real, Olivia and Zack’s fake dating banter was absolute gold.)

If you love your rom coms messy, heartfelt, and sprinkled with just enough chaos to make you feel like you’re part of the bridal party, this one is perfect for you.

Thank you to NetGalley, Mallory Kass, and Atria Books for the eARC of this book.

[Mal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced reader copy

SAVE THE DATE centers around the lives of three women all at a crossroads in their lives, both figuratively and literally: Marigold is about to get married (and everyone has arrived at an island off the coast of Maine for the big event) but can't stop thinking about --maybe?--the one that got away; her sister, Olivia, who has lived the role of caretaker and being the person to keep everything together is also lonely and looking for her own love; and Natalie, Marigold's best friend and Maid of Honor, who is scraping by financially and has been the most loyal friend, but might be the biggest threat to Marigold's wedding. By the end of the wedding day, all three women will have to confront their fears and make decisions about what happily ever after could look like for them.

I found this to be a very sweet family drama, with romantic threads, like Maggie Shipstead's SEATING ARRANGEMENTS. The writer did a good job of skewering all the over-the-topness of two wealthy families coming together for this wedding while still making the family members feel sympathetic. Almost no one in the book is entirely faultless or the villain, which also made the story more enjoyable to follow, as it wasn't exactly clear what the happy ending for each woman would look like. If you enjoy the genre of "rich people problems" books or books set in idyllic New England settings this could be just the right run-up-to-summer read for you.

Save the Date comes out April 14, 2026

[Richelle Galbraith · Rating 3 out of 5]

The opening is intriguing and it still pulls you in. It keeps you guessing until the end of who it walking down the aisle and what’s happening. I don’t love that two of our love interest is getting married and the way Jonathan has strung his fiancés best friend along for about 12 years felt icky to me. This felt like a lot of cheating physically and emotionally and on Marigold’s end there was a lot of emotional cheating as well and almost physical. I loved the idea of Jonathan and Natalie together. I didn’t love he didn’t make a move until his wedding day without talking to the girl he was supposed to marry. And while I am happy they didn’t just get together right after the wedding I felt like we didn’t get a full ending for Jonathan and Natalie. We had all this building up between them and it just kind of went no where. I also wanted to see the Hugo and Marigold when they got to each other as well. It just felt down played when that was the big romantic moment. The spice was a little weird in that it felt like it was rushed into and I don’t love how it came about from her crying over her mom dying. It was awkward to me that the only spice was like a one night stand. so it didn’t feel romantic to me. Overall the story was interesting and help my attention. It was nothing that serious and felt light hearted and fun. Like those wedding romcoms in the 2000’s!

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

When you have an event ad big as a wedding, you’re bound to have a few hiccups. There’s just too many people, too many factors for everything to go smoothly as planned. Especially when everyone has their own secrets and feelings to sort out.

In this book, we follow three main characters: the bride, the bride’s sister and the maid of honour as they’re trying to navigate this wedding and keep everything together. I found all of them lovely and the story was addicting. It’s the kind of book that you’d take on a holiday with you for a fun read and you’ll just forget to put it down, so you decide to deal with the sunburn after you’ve finished it. Because you just have to know what comes out of all these messy feelings and from all of the drama, cause believe me, there is drama. Also i can’t believe that i didn’t guess the ending! Well i did some of it, but i truly was expecting something else. It was such a pleasant surprise, though.

Thank you Atria and NetGalley for giving me an earc from this book, although i have to admit i didn’t hear about it before. But when they send you a book, you answer, even if all you know about it (even after reading the synopsis) that it has some wedding in it. It was a surprisingly good read and i cannot believe how much i loved it. So thank you, really!

[M Soh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing this book, with my honest review below.

Save the Date’s plot takes place during a wedding weekend on a Maine island, which makes sense as the secluded setting was able to fast track an already dramatic times along with a Canada small town drop in.

Marigold, Natalie, and Olivia offer differing perspective while also starting shenanigans that get to the heart of the matter for the weekend - loyalty, friendship, love, and of course, lies. Marigold as the bride presented herself as shallow and flighty initially but quickly grew to be more complex while her older sister Olivia also underwent some growth over that short period. Natalie… well she wasn’t great but I’m imagining a world where she matures a bit with her arrested development conflict past her. This book definitely used the off the wall happenings to really explore its characters but one thing it never failed to do was stay entertaining and utterly engrossing. As a fan of fiction like this, the type that keeps you engaged and has funny moments but also goes just that little bit deeper, I’m delighted to have discovered Mallory Kass as another go to author I can recommend for others who love similar types of books!

[Samantha Iusi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book as an arc and I absolutely loved this story! The multiple points of view added so much depth, allowing us to connect with each character in a unique way. Mallory Kass crafted a well rounded cast. Each with moments that made us love them and others that made us frustrated, which felt authentic and real. Nobody's perfect, and that was beautifully portrayed.
Marigold initially seems like a flighty social media influencer, but underneath she’s just a young woman trying to figure out who she is in a world that keeps telling her who she should be. Natalie is incredibly intelligent and organized, always putting others first, so much so that she’s lost touch with the most important parts of herself. And Olivia, the lifelong caretaker, is so caught up in controlling everything around her that she nearly overlooks what’s been in front of her all along.
There were a few typos and at times and the writing felt overly wordy for a comedic romance, but overall the story was heartfelt, funny, and relatable. A great read about love, identity, and the beautiful mess of relationships.

[Teddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this on Netgalley and it was the first book I was approved for so it holds a special place in my heart. That being said, I didn't love the book as much as I thought I would. Let me break it down.
Loved:
Multi POV
Family dynamic (although annoying at times it felt realistic)
Comedic lines (made me chuckle at times)
Writing (easy to read and understand what was going on)

Leave:
Pacing (is it in the room with us)
Too many characters (at the beginning, I was very confused who everyone was and even throughout I would have to remember who is who because all the voices sound the same)
Bit boring at times ( I felt myself skimming at times to see if a story line was going anywhere)
Too many stories at once (Instead of it being one event and everyone has a POV about the event, everyone has their own thing going on, just felt like nothing was flushed out very well)

Overall, not a bad story and the ending was HEA so if you like that then you would probably like this book. I will probably be picking this up in stores to re-read it and maybe edit my rating then but for now, just due to the issues I had with it, I am keeping it at a 3 star.

[Kaitlyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up!
A big thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for my ARC!

Save the Date isn't anything new and the characters lack in complexity (especially the men) BUT it's a very good easy read! It offers some charm and cutesy banter that makes it a perfect beach read or palate cleanser. I love that we get three love stories rolled into one. Our POVs are with the bride, Marigold, the maid of honor, Natalie, and the bride's sister, Olivia. Our three leading ladies have their own issues to sort through with one thing in common being the question: "what do *I* want?"

I could easily see this being a movie and adding it to my favorite rom-coms. Just needs to polish the spelling errors and ship it off to Hollywood. It probably is suited better for a cute movie since the couple day span of the novel could be packaged up in an 1hr and 45mins. With the braided narrative I kept waiting for it to morph into a modern retelling of Midsummer Night's Dream or Twelfth Night (I would have welcomed that), but it stayed it's course. No twists and turns here, what you see is what you'll get and the ending is left on a high note.

[Olivia Pilling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Save The Date follows our girls Marigold, Natalie, and Olivia as we’re all on a tiny, rich people island in Maine for Marigold and Jonathan’s cool and expensive wedding. It’s a triple POV (love love love) so we essentially get three love stories in a single book. It was a fun, engaging read and I truly enjoyed myself!

Some parts of the dialogue felt clunky at times and I never truly felt super connected to any of the characters; wether it was because there was so much going on with all of the people or what but it very much felt like 3 stories piled into a single book. Love the idea, love all the love, but I didn’t always love the execution. It got cheesy at times and relied pretty heavily on history between the characters to convince us that the love they have will last. We never get to really see the whole story play out ourselves and that’s honestly a shame because by the end of the book I was just starting to fall in love with them!

Overall it was a solid read and I’m always going to be a sucker for a rich people wedding gone off the rails.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

[Michelle Entebi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley & Atria Books for the ARC!!

It was a three-star read for me unfortunately, but I did enjoy some bits!! Let me start by saying that I was about to DNF at about 10% because I found Natalie insufferable and very delusional. I did not DNF, however, because I loved Marigold and Olivia's POVs and was willing to suffer (honestly I skimmed) through Natalie’s to keep reading about these two sisters and their lovers.

I LOVED HUGO. You know how you just read a bit about a character and immediately love them? I felt that way about Hugo and would honestly read a whole book about his and Marigold's love. lol. And Olivia was also great—her character development was chef’s kiss. Also, Zach was such a teddy bear and I loved him!!

As I said, what I didn’t like about the story was really just Natalie and her insufferable victim–martyr complex and I would've loved to see more of an epilogue on each couple but you do imagine what happens so.

Overall, I had a great time and would definitely read more works from the author for sure!

[Candice · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was quickly pulled into this novel. Told in multiple POVs. The first few chapters take a bit to get into, it is setting the scene for the rest of the book. Then the book is off! This is a semi-train wreck of a book you just can’t look away.

I found myself rooting for some couples while not for others. The synopsis does a great job describing what the book is about. That is one of the firsts I’ve read in a while that is so accurate.

Marigold is getting married only to realize she was never formally divorced from her first husband. No one even knew she was married.

Olivia is trying to get the attention of Andrew. Zack, the best man, offers his help. They have good chemistry. Zack is such a golden retriever and I loved him!

Natalie has been in love with Jonathan, the groom, since college. She actually introduced Marigold to him.

All these women have to navigate their feeling and discover what they and their hearts truly want.

Thank you NetGalley & Atria Books for the advanced read copy. All opinions are my own.

[Laura Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

April 14th, 2026
Save the Date by Mallory Kass is like crashing the most chaotic, heartfelt wedding weekend imaginable—and loving every second of it. It’s messy in all the right ways: family drama, romantic misfires, and the kind of emotional revelations that sneak up on you between champagne toasts and seating chart disasters.

The vibe? Think rom-com with a soul. Kass doesn’t just serve up witty banter and swoony moments (though there are plenty)—she digs into what it means to show up for the people you love, even when everything’s falling apart. The characters feel like people you know, or maybe wish you didn’t, and the dialogue snaps with authenticity.

It’s not just about saving the date—it’s about saving yourself, your relationships, and maybe even your sense of humor. If you’ve ever wanted to laugh, cry, and scream into a bouquet all at once, this book gets it.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC!

[Alyssa Knappenberger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ahhh, this book was amazing!

This book follows three characters, each having their own POV. There is Marigold (the bride), Olivia (the sister of the bride), and Natalie (the maid of honor). Each character has their own POV and storyline in this book. Marigold is still married and needs to leave the day before her wedding to get her husband to sign divorce papers. Olivia finds out her crush brought a date to the wedding and decides to fake date the best man. And then there is Natalie, who is in love with the groom.

Usually, I am not a fan of books that have too many POVs or storylines, as it is sometimes hard to follow, and you don't always feel connected to the characters. That is not at all how I felt about this book. This book was written beautifully. I felt connected to each character and absolutely loved that the book had not 1, but 3 love stories! I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC and the opportunity to read this amazing book!

[Paige · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun and fast read! Gathered at a tony private resort in Maine for a lavish wedding, our characters are full of emotion and romance novel tropes. The maid of honor is pining for the groom, after pushing her best friend into a relationship with him. The bride is flighty yet with depth, and is coming to terms with a past decision she hasn’t quite left there. And her older sister is harboring a family secret and contemplating a fake relationship for the weekend. Each woman had her own flaws, but felt real on their emotional journey. A few typos that will be corrected before release and nothing that distracted from the flow and feel of the book. I will seek out more of the author’s work. 👀

*I was honored to read an ARC of this book via
NetGalley and the author/publisher. All opinions are my own.*