Book Review: Save the Date by Jenny B. Jones

This week, I had the opportunity to borrow and read the book "Save the Date," by Christian author Jenny B. Jones.  I had previously read one of Ms. Jones' other books, entitled "There You'll Find Me," which I absolutely LOVED.  There You'll Find Me was intended to be a sequel to Save the Date, but both books stand alone quite nicely.

PLOT

In Save the Date, Lucy Wiltshire is a young woman operating a nonprofit organization to help teenage girls in need.  However, the funding for her organization is pulled, and she has no idea why, nor how to keep the project running. 

Enter Alex Sinclair.  Alex is a former football star, heir to Sinclair Enterprises and is now running for Congress.  He has also agreed to fund Lucy's organization, in exchange for one favor.  He wants her to pretend to be his fiance in order to win him votes.  

Lucy can't stand Alex, and the feeling is mutual.  But through a series of events, the two find their hearts being pulled closer together.  

It's a plot that's been used over and over again.  But I enjoyed it.  It was cute, fun, and really worked for a storyline.  There weren't any major plot twists, such as, "OH NO! The main character is really an alien!" or "The whole thing was just a dream!" but there were a couple of moments that made me say, "Whoa!" and blink hard.  Characters have secrets, and these secrets come out over the course of the novel.  The plot progressed nicely.  No moments seemed rushed, and none seemed as if they dragged on and on.  It was a cute storyline and well developed.  I knew which characters were going to end up together and what was going to happen, but I had no idea how they would get to the end.

  

CHARACTERS:

One thing that really makes a good book is good characters.  Alex and Lucy were phenomenal.  They had real problems, and addressed them in real ways.  There were no horribly cliched moments for either of them, and I was very impressed by the level of characterization and personal growth.  They really developed as characters, and I felt like their best friends by the end of the book.  

I also loved Jones' minor characters.  In many books, minor characters slip between the cracks and become nothing but cardboard cutouts of each other.  Not so with Save the Date.  Each character, even if they had no relevance on the story or were only mentioned for a couple of pages was enjoyable to read about.  They all had their own issues and their own personalities.  

ROMANCE:

This is a romance novel, and the romance did not disappoint.  It was very sweet to see how the characters grew to love each other over the course of the story.  It was incredibly fluffy, with lots of wonderful, "AWWW, too cute!!!" moments.  But at the same time, it was believable romance, which I enjoy.  It took its own sweet time to develop, and it was definitely worth it.  

Overall, lovely, beautiful book.  So glad that I read it.  I would love to own it at some point, and I'll probably be buying it with a gift card I have.  Definitely recommended.  

4.5 stars out of 5!