bride gone wild

Marigold Harding is about to get married. When she was younger, she was known for jumping in headfirst and working out the details later, which is why her sister Olivia felt like she had to bail her out all the time. But now, she is doing the adult thing and marrying a great guy, Jonathan Stein. Her best friend Natalie had introduced them, and they hit it off. Now, they have an enormous wedding planned on Sandpiper Island off the coast of Maine, and nothing can go wrong. She is going to prove to her family that she’s not flighty. She’s strong and smart and independent.

And then her attorney calls.

He had been tasked with getting the marriage license, and there is a problem. It turns out that Marigold is already married.

Marigold is horrified. Yes, she married a guy she had just met years ago in Canada, but she had taken care of that. He had signed the divorce papers and sent them back. She had gotten the divorce papers and . . . . Well, she thought she had signed them and sent them back. But she has time. The wedding isn’t until tomorrow, so she can just fly to Canada, get papers signed, and get back in time for the wedding. Marigold tells her sister Olivia that she needs her driver’s license for the marriage license, and she forgot it in her apartment in New York.

Olivia thinks that there is something off about her sister’s story, but she has other things on her mind, so she lets Marigold go to the airport and deal with that herself. Olivia is the older sister, and she should be getting married first, but she’s spend her time focusing on her work. And there are family secrets about her mother’s health that she hasn’t told Marigold about, and she feels bad about that. But personally, she was hoping to meet up with her longtime crush, who was also going to be at the wedding. But she sees him with someone else and those dreams are dashed once again.

Meanwhile maid-of-honor Natalie, Marigold’s best friend, is wondering if she even could have come. She’s not very comfortable among all these incredibly wealthy people. But more importantly, she is in love with the groom. She was the one who introduced Jonathan to Marigold, but she only did that because Marigold was known for being flighty. She had no idea they would end up engaged. And now she has to stand up there at the altar with them and be happy for them. Even though her heart is breaking.

But when a nasty storm blows through the area, disrupting air travel, Marigold struggles to get back to Maine in time to get to her own wedding. Although, after spending time with her ex-husband again, she’s not so sure she wants to get to her own wedding. Will the bride make it back in time, and if she does, what will she choose to do?

Save the Date is a crazy roller coaster of a wedding story. Told in alternating chapters featuring the three main women of this story, it’s filled with secrets and self-doubts as these women decide when to do what’s expected of them and when to stand up for their own agendas.

I like this book a lot, but I didn’t love it. I found it a little confusing to switch from character to character the whole time, especially between three women of similar ages. But mostly, I wanted it to be funnier. It’s good and smart and interesting, but I wanted more laughs. I wouldn’t call this one a rom com, just a romance or a comedy-drama. I think if you go into this book expecting it to be fairly serious, then it’s a really good read. I liked the characters. I liked their journeys. I just felt a little let down by the marketing.

Egalleys for Save the Date were provided by Atria Books through NetGalley, with many thanks, but the opinions are mine.