This has all the fun, sweet elements I wanted in a book, so cute! I’d definitely recommend it to my family and friends.

Wow! I wasn't expecting to love this book as much as I did! I couldn't be more impressed with One Last Gift. Emily did an amazing job talking about grief and how people handle it. This book was much heavier than I was expecting, because I went in basically blind, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. This book was a heart-warming, heart-wrenching, beautiful story of grief and love! 10000% recommend everyone to pick this up when it releases on October 11, 2022! This is the perfect book if you are looking for a good cry! #OneLastGift #NetGalley

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing for providing me with an ARC.

Last year I picked up Always, in December on impulse and it quickly became one of my favorite books of all time. I'm so glad I got to read an early copy of One Last Gift, which truly is a gift of a book.

Cassie and Tom lost their parents when they were young and have always had a close relationship because of it. Every Christmas, Tom would set up a scavenger hunt for Cassie that would lead her to her gift at the end, a tradition which they continue to celebrate into adulthood. Cassie has also always had a bit of a crush on their best friend Sam, but could never be sure if her feelings were reciprocated. Following the unexpected death of her brother, Cassie discovers that Tom has left her one last scavenger hunt that will take her through grief, heartbreak, and make her reexamine what she wants to do with her life - including her feelings about Sam.

Just like Always, in December, I absolutely loved One Last Gift. It is heartbreaking (truly, who has their readers sobbing at only 22% of the way through the book?) but it is also an ode to the people, places, and life-altering events that shape us. One Last Gift left me a bit of an emotional mess, but also quite hopeful that, through a combination of fate and our own choices, life brings us to exactly where we're meant to be when we're meant to be there. I also believe that Emily Stone writes some of the best nuanced characters in contemporary romance. All of these characters say and do the wrong things, even hurt other people while processing their own grief, but none of them are bad people or undeserving of love. Cassie and Sam's stories are sometimes ugly and devastating, but ultimately they are humans capable and worthy of love.

4.5 stars, round up to 5. What an emotional rollercoaster that I'd gladly take again.

This book follows Cassie throughout her young adult years as she navigates romance, adulthood and grief during the holidays. She has always had a crush on her brother’s best friend Sam, and there seems to be a special connection between them. But can it be more? When Cassie’s brother Tom unexpectedly dies, he sends her on their traditional Christmas Treasure hunt. Throughout her quest to find the clues and complete the hunt Cassie has to decide how far she is willing to push herself outside of her comfort zone both physically and emotionally. Most important of all, will she ever be able to let her guard down and trust Sam after everything she has been through? Only time will tell. This book brought pictures of London and the UK back to me, and I am so grateful for that! I am dying to go back, and this book is probably one of the best substitutes until I’m able to. Emily Stone paints a picture of the locations in vivid detail making the book such a comforting read, even while dealing with difficult subjects such as grief and how it affects us all differently. A perfect Christmas in July read!

A beautiful novel of the love between orphaned siblings as they navigate the adult world without parents. It brought up such powerful emotions for Mr as an adult orphan. A lovely heart warming read.

This book was okay. The pacing and timeline just didn’t flow that well and I didn’t like the romance at all. Though I did love the premise of the scavenger hunt from her brother. That was really sweet and cute and I really liked it- especially given the location of places on the scavenger hunt.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC of Emily Stone’s One Last Gift for an honest review.

This book revolves around family, friends, loss, survival, and being brave. Let me tell you, bring your tissues along with you.

Cassie lost her parents to an accident when she was 5 years old and ever since that she has relied on her older brother Tom for everything. They are as close as can be and do everything together. They also spend most of their time with Tom’s best friend Sam. Many years later, Cassie has lost Tom, a loss that has devastated both her and Sam. In fact, they have lost each other as well. Cassie is given the first clue of the annual scavenger hunt that Tom makes her and it sends her on a wild goose chase throughout various areas in the United Kingdom with Tom teaching her lessons as his legacy. Will she and Sam find their way back to each other?

5/5 stars for this book! Stone does an amazing job writing the feelings that all the characters are experiencing. The anger, loss, devastation, as well as regrets they have. She explains how they all react to loss at all levels of life. While Sam hasn’t lost either of his parents, he has his own family struggles to deal with.

This is not the first book of Emily Stone’s that I have read and it certainly won’t be the last. I’ll just make sure I’ll have a box of tissues next to me when I start back the next ones.

#EmilyStone #TheLastGift #Romance #RealisticFiction #ContenporaryFiction
#Family #FriendsLikeFamily #Loss #Death #SiblingLoss #ParentLoss
#July #2022

This was a beautiful story of loss, grief, hope and love and all the ways of getting back to the way you were. I really loved the idea of searching for your gift and going by letters and clues to get to it. It was so fun watching Cassie go from one letter to the next that Tom had left her and has been doing for Christmas since they were young! Watching Cassie grieve and work her way through her feelings, especially about Sam was interesting. I definitely recommend picking this up during a nice snowy night in winter.

Thanks so much to the publisher and NetGalley. I really tried with this book. Similar books I've loved, but I just couldn't get into this. I found myself a 1/4 of the way through and struggled to keep going. I'm really sorry!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-arc.
This started out very slow for me and didn't pick up until about halfway through. I'm glad I kept going, as the second half was much better. Even though I hated how Sam treated Cassie for most of the book, he did redeem himself in the end, and it was clear how much he also loved and missed Tom.
The relationship between Cassie and Tom was so beautiful, and that is the reason I give this 4 stars instead of 3. So wonderfully written, you can feel the emotion jump off the page. Having lost a big brother myself, I"m sure that's what made me relate to these characters all the more. The strength Cassie showed that last year....amazing, and brilliantly written.
I also loved the relationship between Cassie and her best friend, Hazel, who was there for Cassie through good and bad, but didn't hold back when Cassie needed to hear the truth.

I wasn't sure what I expected with this book, but I got so much out of it. It was heartbreaking but wholesome and I enjoyed it.

Cozy and comfortable. The characters seem likable and real. Stopped at 10%, but if it continues as it has, it should go over well with our patrons.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC.

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy. I couldn't get into Emily's first book, but thought I would give this one a chance. However, this one also fell short. The descriptions are good, but they are long, not super interesting, and I just skim to get them done. Don't think I will try any more. Just not for me.

This was such a lovely story and I didn't expect anything less from Emily Stone. She has such a way with words and knows how to perfectly explain the hard things we experience in life. There's so much love, pain, and grief in this book and it's all tied into such a beautiful story. Cassie needs to find motivation to continue without her brother Tom. Then Sam has to try and move on without his best friend. Through their own grieving processes, Cassie and Sam find their way back to each other you can't help but fall in love along the way. I loved how we got to see their relationship change and become more complex throughout the story.

A huge fan of Emily stone already she didn’t disappoint with this book either. I adore the fact that Tom have her her one last gift that ultimately changed her life. I thoroughly enjoyed going on that journey with her.

Thank you Netgalley and the Publisher for my ARC in exchange for my honest review. This was an enjoyable book.

Thank you NetGalley for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

I feel like I am having a tough time with contemporary romances lately. There's certain features to them, I think, that are necessary in order to pull me in (tension, banter, slow burn). It was an okay romance, but I wasn't dying to finish it.

Cassie and Tom are close - they lost their parents at a young age and were left to be raised by their Aunt Claire. Every year, since she was little girl - Tom has sent her on a scavenger hunt to find her Christmas present. When Tom unexpectedly passes away, Cassie is shocked to realize that he planned one last hunt for her.

Sam is Tom's best friend. They were essentially inseparable. When Tom passes, Sam is left to deal with the guilt and pain in the only way that he knows how - to run from it.

Will Cassie finish the hunt to find her last gift? Will Sam ever forgive himself? Will they both heal?

This is a book of love, loss, betrayal, heartache - but also of healing, forgiveness, and friendship. It's a beautiful story that will have you both laughing and crying. The writing is impeccable and will leave you wanting more.

I wanted to love this story especially after loving this authors first book but it took me almost a month to get through because every time I picked it up the story did not pull me in enough.

The overall plot of the story (I won’t go into detail so I do not spoil it) was a great plot the story just felt like it dragged and wasn’t exciting enough for me.

I’m going to be honest, I was a little skeptical about how I would feel reading a holiday book during the summer. HOWEVER, One Last Gift made me feel like it was winter outside as I sat inside in the AC. My favorite thing about a book is when it can transport you to somewhere completely different, and Emily Stone’s latest novel did just that. The story follows Cassie, as she embarks on a scavenger hunt that her brothers designs for her for a Christmas gift each year. This year, it’s different and not only is she navigating the hunt to find her gift, but she’s also navigating a newfound journey of love and loss in her life. This book made me feel alllllll the feels and I already can’t wait to give it a re-read during the holiday season!