Rebecca Halstead has never been a bridesmaid, but she can certainly relate to the expression “always a bridesmaid, never a bride.” As one of Chicago’s top wedding planners, Rebecca has had a front row seat to countless ceremonies, yet her own walk down the aisle has started to feel like nothing more than a little girl’s fantasy. She’s the wallflower who, thanks to a clean bill of health from her oncologist, wants to live life to the fullest. If only she knew how.
Brody Dixon hasn’t heard the word “no” since he was drafted by the NFL. With cover model looks and an arm that’s earned him two Super Bowl MVPs, Brody can have his pick of women. But as the next celebrity bachelor on American Sweetheart, both his agent and publicist want him to clean up his Wimage before the show begins. If only he knew how.
Then fate, and an impulsive wager, bring these two opposites together until an unlikely alliance is formed. For the next two months, Brody will get a crash course in romance. In return, he agrees to help Rebecca break out of her carefully constructed shell. On paper it makes perfect sense. But as they struggle to teach each other, Brody and Rebecca just might discover that falling in love is the most important lesson of all.
| Title: | Save the Date |
| Author: | Ann Marie Walker |
| Series: | Wild Wedding (Book 3) |
| Pages: | 271 |
| Genre(s): | Contemporary Romantic Comedy |
| Trope(s): | Friends to Lovers (Best) Friend’s Little Sister / Brother’s (Best) Friend |
| Point of View: | |
| Location: | Chicago, Illinois, US |
| HEA: | ✔️ |
| Release Date: | 2nd June, 2020 |
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Wonderfully marvellous
This is the first book I’ve read of Ann Marie Walker’s and, after finishing, I’ve already got more of her backlist in my Amazon basket, ready to get to reading. I loved every minute of this book and Ms Walker’s writing style.
Save the Date is the third book in the Wild Wedding series after Black Tie Optional (Cole and Olivia) and Icing on the Cake (Cassie and Hank). Both previous couples – and their friend Conor – appear quite a lot in this book as they’re related to, or friends with, Brody and Rebecca. I loved catching up with both couples – and that’s coming from someone who hasn’t even read the previous books! When reading any series, I love to read catch-ups with previously beloved characters and Ms Walker knows exactly how I like them to be. Still happy and still horny. As soon as I’ve read the first two books in the series I plan to re-read this one and I’m sure I’ll love the scenes involving the previous couples even more.
But onto the main show of this book – Brody and Rebecca.
I loved Rebecca. She was an enticing mix of lots of different contrasts. Sweet yet sexy. Shy yet ballsy. Confident yet filled with doubt. It made her all the more relatable as I think we’re all different depending on the situations we’re in or who we’re with. And that’s also what I liked – that Brody seemed to be the one that she could let loose and be herself with. That he could inspire such comfort to experience all her highs.
You could be forgiven for thinking that due to Rebecca’s previous illness, there might be melancholic moments in this book. Not so. Her cancer isn’t really touched on all that much and while it’s the reason for her desire to ‘live on the wild side’ – and obviously affects her outlook, and how others (okay, mainly just her big brother) treat her – it’s just another part of what makes up Rebecca. I was also pleased that I didn’t get too emotional over her cancer – but did find some of the statements quite poignant – and think I really should be following Rebecca’s lead in living life to the fullest.
“Very much a recommended read if you like fun, uplifting romantic comedies with great chemistry, banter and a smidge of sexiness.”
The first time we meet Brody – he’s pretty much a douche. Also a bit clueless and with an ego the size of Texas. But I still really liked him. He’s terribly cheesy and so damn cocky – but that just means I get to watch him fall further when he gets hit by Cupid’s arrow. Am I a wee bit sadistic? It would appear so! His ‘transformation’ was subtle but also a massive 180. It was lovely to watch. I’m going to go ‘off the charts’ sappy here, when I say that the whole thing really gave me the feels and made me really believe in love. Awwww!
The whole book was cute and quirky and funny enough to inspire some laughs. It was never silly – okay, maybe on occasion, especially with Conor! – but it just was so wonderfully feel-good. And a shout-out to the epic bro-banter. Love me some hilarious man chat!
If I’m being super picky – I’m going to admit that I’m not sure I really understood the logic of how a bet about a date turned into the pair spending every day together, going to work, looking at houses, learning to dance etc. But I also don’t care because I was enjoying myself too much!
And it was a wee bit of a shame that we only got a highlight reel page or so, about some of the fun things that Brody and Rebecca had done during the time of the television show filming. But again, just a small niggle that also didn’t change my rating of this book.
I wholeheartedly enjoyed reading this book – and it was definitely the kind of story I was thinking about whenever I happened to put it down – and even now I’m finished. Very much a recommended read if you like fun, uplifting romantic comedies with great chemistry, banter and a smidge of sexiness. 5 stars.
Ann Marie Walker writes steamy books about sexy boys. She’s a fan of fancy cocktails, anything chocolate, and 80s rom-coms. Her super power is connecting any situation to an episode of Friends and she thinks all coffee cups should be the size of a bowl. If it’s December she can be found watching Love Actually but the rest of the year you can find her at AnnMarieWalker.com where she would be happy to talk to you about alpha males, lemon drop martinis or supermodel David Gandy. Ann Marie attended the University of Notre Dame and currently lives in Chicago.
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Wild Wedding Series:
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