Save Me by Mona Kasten: What Readers Love and Criticize

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A scholarship student at an elite English school, an arrogant son of a wealthy family and a secret: Save Me by Mona Kasten is the first Maxton Hall book and one of the most successful German new adult novels ever. Since the Prime Video series, almost everyone knows it. We analysed reader opinions and reviews and summarise what readers love and what is criticized.

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What is it about?

Ruby Bell has a scholarship to Maxton Hall College, wants to go to Oxford and would rather not stand out. James Beaufort, rich, arrogant and the leader of the school, is the last person she wants to deal with. But Ruby learns a secret that could destroy his family’s reputation. From then on, James notices her.

What readers love about Save Me

• Feelings and drama: Readers praise the real emotions and the pull that keeps them reading.
• The setting: The elite English school with its rules and class divides fascinates many.
• Ruby and James: The path from rejection to love between two such different worlds is a genre highlight for many.
• A comfort read to return to: Many fans pick up the series again and again.
• Award-winning: Save Me won the 2018 LovelyBooks Leserpreis in the romance category.

What is criticized

• A familiar pattern: The Süddeutsche Zeitung compares the book with Twilight and Fifty Shades of Grey and calls the hate to love story a familiar scheme.
• Traditional roles: The same review criticizes traditional gender roles and a simplified picture of wealth.
• Predictable: Some readers found the book too predictable and long-winded.
• Literary ambition: From the review pages‘ point of view, Save Me is entertainment rather than literature. Fans hardly mind.

Content notes

We did not find an official list in our sources. The publisher recommends the book from age 16, and it contains explicit scenes.

Success

According to Wikipedia, Save Me and Save You held the top two spots on a German paperback bestseller list in 2018. According to Amazon, the adaptation Maxton Hall: The World Between Us was the most successful launch of a non-American Prime Video original and reached number 1 in more than 120 countries. Rights to the series have been sold to around 20 countries.

What writers can learn from it

• A clear contrast carries a whole series. Poor against rich, rules against freedom: the sharper the contrast, the stronger the tension.
• Setting is part of the brand. Maxton Hall is as famous as the characters themselves.
• Familiar patterns are no flaw. Readers want their favourite tropes, told well. More in How to Write Enemies to Lovers That Readers Believe.

Conclusion

Save Me is a textbook example of German new adult: emotional, dramatic and with a setting you will not forget. Fans of enemies to lovers between two worlds should know Maxton Hall. Readers expecting literary depth are more likely to side with the critics.

Sources

For this overview we analysed the following reviews and articles:

• Wikipedia: Mona Kasten
• Wikipedia: Maxton Hall, the series
• Perlentaucher: Save Me (with SZ review)
• Bastei Lübbe: Save Me
• LovelyBooks: Save Me
• Smart Bitches, Trashy Books: Save Me

Ratings as of November 2026.

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