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emilyreads15 's review for:
Save You
by Mona Kasten
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you so much Berkley Romance for gifting me an E-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I was really excited to read this one because it was all new content I haven’t seen/read yet since the second season of the tv show hasn’t come out yet. While I did still enjoy it a lot, I didn’t like it as much as the first book.
To start off, I thought the plot of this one was fine. It was a little bit annoying with some of the miscommunication type stuff. As well as the fact that they weren’t together for like half of the book. While I’m glad Ruby really made James work to get her back it was a bit boring to read at times. After all that was addressed though, I did enjoy their cute moments and appreciated all the effort James put in to show Ruby how much she meant to him. On top of that I liked that there wasn’t any explicit sexual content in this book and that the author really focused on developing their relationship emotionally to be stronger. However…that ending was CRAZY. And totally set everything back and now I’m sad again. 😔
Next up, I LOVED Lydia’s chapters in this. She is by far my favorite character. Her whole dynamic and personality is so interesting and I just really enjoyed reading from her perspective. I feel like it not only gave the reader a better understanding of her character but also a better understanding of James. I also really liked her friendship with Ruby throughout this one and I hope they continue to expand on that in the show as well.
On the contrary, I did NOT enjoy Ember’s chapters. I actually don’t like Ember in the books at all. While I appreciate her character’s overall need to be in the books and the message she spreads I just can’t get over how annoying and immature she can be at times. She’s only a year or two younger than Ruby but at times it feels like more. To start off, her literally guilt tripping and emotionally manipulating Ruby into letting her go to Maxton Hall parties is absolutely rude. And then when Ruby does let her go she can’t even follow instructions or rules that are there for her own safety. On top of this she is always trying to get Ruby to talk about James but as soon as Ruby asks her about some mysterious boy Ember meets at a MH party she suddenly can’t answer or confide in her sister? Like heaven forbid your sister knows how these guys can be and cares about your well being. And I just don’t like her relationship with this particular guy at all and unfortunately I can tell it’s going to keep being explored. Smh.
Next up, Ruby’s parents are also pretty awful in this book. Like she didn’t even tell them what happened with James yet they have the audacity to judge him immediately without even knowing the full story. And then AT THE END her parents couldn’t even believe their own daughter. Like what kind of family is that? I just feel like the connection and depth with them is really lacking in this book.
Anyways, this book was pretty crazy. Overall I loved the romance, Ruby and James, Lydia’s pov, and the stronger emotional connection. I did not like Ruby’s whole family of James friends (who btw acted like her relationship with Ruby is a load of BS. Like what kind of friends are you?)
I am happy to say though that I feel like a lot of what I disliked has been fixed in the show which I appreciate and understand. I also think it will all work out by the end of the last book. Once again I still enjoyed this and absolutely ate it up so fast. However, it just wasn’t my all time favorite due to side character intervention.
I’m still really looking forward to the next book that comes out in a few months and I gotta know what happens ASAP so hopefully Berkley will accept my ARC request for that one as well. 🤞
I do still LOVE this series and 100% still recommend. Just be prepared for this book to be your least favorite. I feel like that is typical with middle books anyways since they are very much there to build plot.
⚠️TW(may be spoilery):
- alcohol abuse
- depression (early in the book)
- drug abuse
- allusion/brief mention of sexual content (never explicit)
- death of loved one
- lots of troubled relationships
- teen pregnancy
I was really excited to read this one because it was all new content I haven’t seen/read yet since the second season of the tv show hasn’t come out yet. While I did still enjoy it a lot, I didn’t like it as much as the first book.
To start off, I thought the plot of this one was fine. It was a little bit annoying with some of the miscommunication type stuff. As well as the fact that they weren’t together for like half of the book. While I’m glad Ruby really made James work to get her back it was a bit boring to read at times. After all that was addressed though, I did enjoy their cute moments and appreciated all the effort James put in to show Ruby how much she meant to him. On top of that I liked that there wasn’t any explicit sexual content in this book and that the author really focused on developing their relationship emotionally to be stronger. However…that ending was CRAZY. And totally set everything back and now I’m sad again. 😔
Next up, I LOVED Lydia’s chapters in this. She is by far my favorite character. Her whole dynamic and personality is so interesting and I just really enjoyed reading from her perspective. I feel like it not only gave the reader a better understanding of her character but also a better understanding of James. I also really liked her friendship with Ruby throughout this one and I hope they continue to expand on that in the show as well.
On the contrary, I did NOT enjoy Ember’s chapters. I actually don’t like Ember in the books at all. While I appreciate her character’s overall need to be in the books and the message she spreads I just can’t get over how annoying and immature she can be at times. She’s only a year or two younger than Ruby but at times it feels like more. To start off, her literally guilt tripping and emotionally manipulating Ruby into letting her go to Maxton Hall parties is absolutely rude. And then when Ruby does let her go she can’t even follow instructions or rules that are there for her own safety. On top of this she is always trying to get Ruby to talk about James but as soon as Ruby asks her about some mysterious boy Ember meets at a MH party she suddenly can’t answer or confide in her sister? Like heaven forbid your sister knows how these guys can be and cares about your well being. And I just don’t like her relationship with this particular guy at all and unfortunately I can tell it’s going to keep being explored. Smh.
Next up, Ruby’s parents are also pretty awful in this book. Like she didn’t even tell them what happened with James yet they have the audacity to judge him immediately without even knowing the full story. And then AT THE END her parents couldn’t even believe their own daughter. Like what kind of family is that? I just feel like the connection and depth with them is really lacking in this book.
Anyways, this book was pretty crazy. Overall I loved the romance, Ruby and James, Lydia’s pov, and the stronger emotional connection. I did not like Ruby’s whole family of James friends (who btw acted like her relationship with Ruby is a load of BS. Like what kind of friends are you?)
I am happy to say though that I feel like a lot of what I disliked has been fixed in the show which I appreciate and understand. I also think it will all work out by the end of the last book. Once again I still enjoyed this and absolutely ate it up so fast. However, it just wasn’t my all time favorite due to side character intervention.
I’m still really looking forward to the next book that comes out in a few months and I gotta know what happens ASAP so hopefully Berkley will accept my ARC request for that one as well. 🤞
I do still LOVE this series and 100% still recommend. Just be prepared for this book to be your least favorite. I feel like that is typical with middle books anyways since they are very much there to build plot.
⚠️TW(may be spoilery):
- alcohol abuse
- depression (early in the book)
- drug abuse
- allusion/brief mention of sexual content (never explicit)
- death of loved one
- lots of troubled relationships
- teen pregnancy
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Sexual content