Save the Date by Monica Murphy
Release Date: June 25, 2019
Save the Date, an all-new standalone contemporary romance in a new series by New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Monica Murphy.
Caroline Abbott loves her job—helping engaged couples pick out the perfect save the date cards and invitations for their dream wedding. Working at Noteworthy means she has to deal with the occasional bridezilla, but Caroline’s always up for the challenge.
Until one particular bridezilla walks into the stationery store who’s fiancé happens to be the boy Caroline shared her first kiss with. Alexander Wilder is all grown up now, helping run his family’s successful luxury hotel chain, and is somehow even better looking than she remembers.
When Caroline just happens to catch Alex’s fiancée half naked with another man well, of course she has to tell Alex. Of course, he breaks off his engagement.
And of course, the ex-bridezilla has gone completely bonkers.
At least Caroline has her friends to save her from crazy ex-fiancées. But she also has the sudden interest of…Alex? Caroline knows they share a connection, but is he on the rebound? Or after seeing her all these years later, does he really want something more?
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My Review
I haven’t read a Monica Murphy story in quite some time, so after I read the blurb for Save the Date, I signed up for an ARC because it sounded like a sweet and funny summer read – one that meshed together quite a few tropes that I enjoy reading – a fake relationship, friends-to-lovers, and a bit of a second chance romance feel.
And after reading quite a few emotional and dark romances, I knew I could use a light hearted read to even things out a bit in my head and in my heart, and Save the Date did just that!
Caroline Abbott is a great heroine because she’s extremely relatable and her internal musings as well as her quirky personality fit who she was and how she viewed things and lived her life, and while I would have liked her to stand her ground a bit more and not allow Tiffany’s witchy behavior and antics to get to her the way they do, the fact that Caroline was flawed and always stayed true to the woman she had always been made her likable and the perfect girl for Alex.
At the beginning of the story, I didn’t know if I was going to like Alex that much; he seems focused on building his business and not much else and the fact that it was clear that he didn’t love Tiffany but allowed things to go as far as they did with her didn’t sit too well with me. But, I’m glad that Murphy provides readers with his perspective because it helped me to see the bigger picture where Alex was concerned and as the story went on, I found him to be a likable hero, especially when he was alone with Caroline, because it was those times that truly illustrated how he felt about her.
I loved that Paris was the setting for their fake relationship because its atmosphere actually allowed Caroline and Alex to explore their mutual attraction and growing feelings in a romantic place – one where no one knew who they were or the fact that they were supposedly faking their connection in order for Alex to procure a business deal. Besides, Paris is the city of love, and in the story, it’s the place where these two begin to realize just how perfect they would be together in an actual relationship not just a fake one.
Save the Date is a light-hearted, slow-burn read – one that delivers laughs, swoon worthy moments, and a palpable connection between the hero and heroine that proves just how good together they could be.
4 Poison Apples
Excerpt
I head straight for the pickup counter, where I see my skinny vanilla latte waiting for me, my name written on the side of the cup in Stella’s familiar scrawl. Without hesitation I grab it, inhaling deeply before I take a sip. Just a tiny sip so I can savor it. I close my eyes for a second, maybe two, and when I open them, I find a guy standing there.
Watching me.
And he’s not just any guy. He’s cute. Wait, no. Not cute. He’s…hot. Dark hair. Blue eyes. Wearing a suit that fits him perfectly. I know just from looking at the fabric that it’s custom. Expensive.
He’s smiling at me. And I’m scowling at him in return because the caffeine hasn’t quite hit my bloodstream yet, so I’m not on top of my game.
“You looked like you were having a moment.” His voice is deep. Rich. His face…vaguely familiar?
I stand a little straighter. Take another sip of my coffee as I contemplate the man in front of me, because for some reason I still can’t come up with anything to say.
Listen, I always have something to say. But this guy. This gorgeous, well-dressed maybe-stranger, is leaving me a little…
Dumbstruck?
Huh.
“That moment you were just having. With your coffee,” he continues, gesturing at the cup I’m clutching in both of my hands, like it’s my baby. Which this morning—every morning—it is.
“She loves coffee,” Stella says from behind me.
Glancing over my shoulder, I give her a look, one that says shush.
“I can see that.” The amusement in his voice is obvious. He thinks it’s funny. The sacred moment I was having with my latte made him smile.
I wouldn’t mind coming up with other ways to make him smile.
Whoa. Where did that thought come from?
“What I want to know is, how did you get such special treatment?”
I blink at him like I’m an uncomprehending idiot. “Excuse me?”
“Well, I’ve been here for the last fifteen minutes. First, standing in line.” He gestures at the line of customers that trails out the door. “And now, waiting for my order.”
Guilt fills me. Just a tiny bit. Sweet Dreams Café is the most popular bakery and coffee shop in Carmel-by-the-Sea. All the tourists love it. All the locals love it too. It’s been in Stella’s family for generations.
“Yet you skip past the line, walk straight in here and grab your ready-made drink within a few seconds of your arrival. Do you have a Fast Pass?” A brow lifts, and I’m hit with a quiver. Like Cupid just drew back his bow and shot that arrow right in my heart.
Or perhaps that arrow struck me in, ahem, other places.
Who knew a brow lift could be so sexy?
Meet Monica:
Monica Murphy is the New York Times, USA Today and #1 international bestselling author of the One Week Girlfriend series, the Billionaire Bachelors and The Rules series. Her books have been translated in almost a dozen languages and has sold over one million copies worldwide. She is both self-published and published by Random House/Bantam and Harper Collins/Avon. She writes new adult, young adult and contemporary romance.
She is a wife and a mother of three who lives in central California on fourteen acres in the middle of nowhere along with their one dog and too many cats. A self-confessed workaholic, when she’s not writing, she’s reading or hanging out with her husband and kids. She’s a firm believer in happy endings, though she will admit to putting her characters through angst-filled moments before they finally get that hard won HEA.
Connect with Monica:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MonicaMurphyauthor/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5934418.Monica_Murphy
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1YUl0Vm
Website: http://monicamurphyauthor.com
Newsletter: http://bit.ly/IW5U0y
A Texas native, Kate Stewart lives in North Carolina with her husband, Nick, and her naughty beagle, Sadie. She pens messy, sexy, angst-filled contemporary romance as well as romantic comedy and erotic suspense because it’s what she loves as a reader. Kate is a lover of all things ’80s and ’90s, especially John Hughes films and rap. She dabbles a little in photography, can knit a simple stitch scarf for necessity, and on occasion, does very well at whiskey.
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