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00leah00's review
4.0
“Save the Date” is an appropriately timed anthology as here in states, we have moved into wedding season. “Save the Date” a series of 11 short stories where the theme is a wedding. In some the main characters are the ones getting married and in others, they’re just guests or part of the bridal party.
I find anthologies to sometimes be hard to rate as they’re mostly hit or miss. “Save the Date” followed that trend and while there were a couple misses, I found most of them to be hits. I’m not a huge fan of short stories but I wanted to read this as a couple of authors I’m interested in are part of the anthology so I got to get a feel for them as a writer.
I’m not going to give a review on each but I will mention a few that stood out to me. “The Wedding Party” by Kay Acker was especially moving and had me tearing up a bit. “Queen for a Day” by Celeste Castro was comical with a twist that while I saw it coming, still made me laugh in the end. M. B. Guel’s “Ground for Panic” was cute and probably my favorite of all. I was sad it was only a short story as I just wanted to read more.
This a good collection of short stories that I would recommend if you’re wanting an introduction to a new author’s writing or have a love of weddings.
I find anthologies to sometimes be hard to rate as they’re mostly hit or miss. “Save the Date” followed that trend and while there were a couple misses, I found most of them to be hits. I’m not a huge fan of short stories but I wanted to read this as a couple of authors I’m interested in are part of the anthology so I got to get a feel for them as a writer.
I’m not going to give a review on each but I will mention a few that stood out to me. “The Wedding Party” by Kay Acker was especially moving and had me tearing up a bit. “Queen for a Day” by Celeste Castro was comical with a twist that while I saw it coming, still made me laugh in the end. M. B. Guel’s “Ground for Panic” was cute and probably my favorite of all. I was sad it was only a short story as I just wanted to read more.
This a good collection of short stories that I would recommend if you’re wanting an introduction to a new author’s writing or have a love of weddings.
elvang's review
4.0
June Brides have been around since Roman times so what a perfect time of year for Bella Books to publish a collection of wedding centric short stories featuring some of their best authors. Like all anthologies, I had my favourites and now have a new list of authors whose books I want to read. Others may have different top selections and that is the beauty of short story collections, there is something for everyone in Save the Date.
I loved Jaime Clevenger’s New to Love. It was a great way to kick off this collection and a story I would love to see expanded to a full length romance. Kay Acker’s The Wedding Party showed us the impact a marriage license can have on two beautiful souls living on medical disability allowance. Melody and Nikki made their story memorable and right up there as my favourite in the book. Other standouts for me were Tagan Shepard’s Out With the Old, Celeste Castro’s Queen for a Day and Dillon Watson’s The Magic of the Coin. There wasn’t a weak book in the bunch and that speaks volumes to the calibre of the authors who have made contributions to this publisher and to the editors of Save the Date.
Slip on your fascinator or your cowboy hat and settle in for a sweet and sexy summer read.
A copy of this book was received with thanks from the publisher via NetGalley for review.
I loved Jaime Clevenger’s New to Love. It was a great way to kick off this collection and a story I would love to see expanded to a full length romance. Kay Acker’s The Wedding Party showed us the impact a marriage license can have on two beautiful souls living on medical disability allowance. Melody and Nikki made their story memorable and right up there as my favourite in the book. Other standouts for me were Tagan Shepard’s Out With the Old, Celeste Castro’s Queen for a Day and Dillon Watson’s The Magic of the Coin. There wasn’t a weak book in the bunch and that speaks volumes to the calibre of the authors who have made contributions to this publisher and to the editors of Save the Date.
Slip on your fascinator or your cowboy hat and settle in for a sweet and sexy summer read.
A copy of this book was received with thanks from the publisher via NetGalley for review.
justine_the_wandering_reader's review
3.0
Save the Date was a delightful read, I seem to be really getting into short stories at the moment at this anthology was great. A series of stories written by 11 authors all focused around weddings, where the main characters are in some way part of the wedding. Often many romantic stories around weddings are heterosexual, this collection focuses mainly on lesbian love and with a dash of non-binary and bisexual love.
The stand outs for me where ‘The Wedding Party’ by Kay Acker and ‘Queen for a Day’ by Celeste Castro, I would gladly read an entire novel for each one.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bella Books for an ARC.
The stand outs for me where ‘The Wedding Party’ by Kay Acker and ‘Queen for a Day’ by Celeste Castro, I would gladly read an entire novel for each one.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bella Books for an ARC.
mjsam's review
4.0
ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is a nice compilation of short stories with wedding themes. I hadn’t read anything by about half the authors, so it was also a nice intro to some authors I’ll check out further. My favourites though were New at Love by Clevenger and the epilogue to [b:Reaping the Benefits|52387955|Reaping the Benefits|E.J. Noyes|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1584203445l/52387955._SX50_.jpg|73057645] by Noyes. I also liked Trouble in Mind by Louise McBain, it sort of read like an epilogue to a book, and I would enjoy seeing how these characters met and their relationship unfolded. I found Castro’s Queen for a Day a bit weird, but most of the others were enjoyable enough. 4 stars
This is a nice compilation of short stories with wedding themes. I hadn’t read anything by about half the authors, so it was also a nice intro to some authors I’ll check out further. My favourites though were New at Love by Clevenger and the epilogue to [b:Reaping the Benefits|52387955|Reaping the Benefits|E.J. Noyes|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1584203445l/52387955._SX50_.jpg|73057645] by Noyes. I also liked Trouble in Mind by Louise McBain, it sort of read like an epilogue to a book, and I would enjoy seeing how these characters met and their relationship unfolded. I found Castro’s Queen for a Day a bit weird, but most of the others were enjoyable enough. 4 stars
erin_lovell's review
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
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