Charlie Grant’s older sister is getting married this weekend at their family home, and Charlie can’t wait for the first time in years, all four of her older siblings will be under one roof. Charlie is desperate for one last perfect weekend, before the house is sold and everything changes. The house will be filled with jokes and games and laughs again. Making decisions about things like what college to attend and reuniting with longstanding crush Jesse Foster all that can wait. She wants to focus on making the weekend perfect.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32333338-save-the-dateSo, apparently all I do now is unknowingly read the companion novels to books I read the previous year. This is probably the fourth time in the past year I’ve read a book, the entire time thinking ‘huh, this reminds me a lot of…insert title of book I enjoyed but that didn’t impact me much.’ Then, it turns out it’s a companion novel with some of the same characters…? Geez Maddie, your critical thinking abilities are dwindling.
The only problem? The weekend is shaping up to be an absolute disaster. There’s the unexpected dog with a penchant for howling, house alarm that won’t stop going off, and a papergirl with a grudge.
There are the relatives who aren’t speaking, the (awful) girl her favorite brother brought home unannounced, and a missing tuxedo. Not to mention the neighbor who seems to be bent on sabotage and a storm that is bent on drenching everything. The justice of the peace is missing. The band will only play covers. The guests are all crazy. And the wedding planner’s nephew is unexpectedly, distractedly cute.
Over the course of three ridiculously chaotic days, Charlie will learn more than she ever expected about the family she thought she knew by heart. And she’ll realize that sometimes, trying to keep everything like it was in the past means missing out on the future.
So, this is actually the companion novel to The Unexpected Everything which I also just realized was written by the same author as Since You’ve Been Gone… Blonde moment, to say the least. Well, actually, I have a few things to say in my defense, which will pretty much be the entirety of my review… SO, let’s carry on.
This book was cute. It was fluffy, and a fast read. I read it in one sitting, only needing an hour and a half to get through it. It was the kind of book where everything was predictable, but cute. It was fun, and refreshing. However, it’s only been about a week since I finished the story, and it’s already fading from my memory. It wasn’t impactful; it was just light and fun.
Now, this isn’t a bad thing. And, the other two novels by Maston were the same way (which is why I think I didn’t realize they were all related haha). This is the kind of story I was okay with spending a winter break afternoon on. It passed the time, and was a fun story. Now, I am mildly disappointed because, as was with Maston’s other two works, there was some room to make it really interesting and a bit more complex, all the while keeping the original impact of the story. The MC’s family has been featured in a comic strip written by their mother for the entirety of their lives, and it has resulted in a lot of trouble in their home life.
This plot line was continuous, but kind of brushed aside. Everything fell into place and was fixed without any real effort or soul searching from the characters. The MC is also suffering from a bit of a Peter Pan Complex, and by the end of the story POOF, a few wise words from relatives have cured her and she knows exactly what she wants to do with her life. Don’t even get me started on the brother’s girlfriend; she was the most interesting and genuine seeming person in this novel and she was kind of??? treated like trash??? So that’s a bit of a sore point.
Anyways, like I said, it was a cute story. However, it did have the potential to be memorable and interesting, and it felt like it took a bit of the easy way. But, if you enjoy a simple rom-com, this is the perfect book for you!
3 out of 5.
maddie