Thank you Emma, PRH and NetGalley for this eARC!

I absolutely devoured this book. Having read Emily’s previous book “Always, in December” and balling like a child - I was bracing myself for another heart wrenching book. I felt so bad for Cassie, the amount of loss she endured throughout her life was beyond anything anyone could go through. There are parts during this story line that were heartbreaking, but I am happy to report this is a HEA that will immediately put you in your feels and set you up for a great holiday read.

Emily Stone's novel "Always in December" swept me off my feet last year, but unfortunately this one wasn't quite as moving.

From the beginning I was not that compelled by the premise - Cassie and Tom were orphaned at a young age, and every year Tom creates an elaborate Christmas scavenger hunt for his sister. While this is sweet I do feel like it's a bit overdone. Tom's best friend, Sam, is usually with them at pivotal moments in their lives. Cassie is, predictably, in love with Sam.

Despite the predictability of these plot elements, Stone's characters are compelling. They talk like real people, have real problems, and deal with those problems in both frustrating and satisfying ways. I would have happily read more about the lives of Cassie, T0m, and Sam (and even more so, of the secondary characters of Hazel and Josh). I especially liked seeing the scenes with Cassie at her job. I thought her struggles at work were realistic - she's good at her job, but struggles with her boss's management style but feels like she's a bit stuck.

I can't quite put my finger on why this book overall didn't quite work for me - I felt it lacked some lightheartedness that her first book, while also sad, brought to the table. I was also completely caught off guard with the twist in "Always" whereas I didn't have to guess at what would happen at all in One Last Gift. I do think the scene with Cassie and Sam at the lighthouse was lovely, but I found myself rushing at the end and skimming passages.

Still, I think this was a fine book and I would definitely read another book by Emily Stone in the future.

Not the typical holiday read, but in the best way. This is an emotional read with a romance element, but one that does not consume the entire story. It is beautifully written, tugs at your heart strings, and makes you root for each character's success.

Cassie and Tom lost their parents at a young age, and while looking after her year after year, Tom would do a Christmas scavenger hunt for Cassie that was filled with clues to guide her to her gift each season. After he dies in an unexpected accident, Cassie realizes there was one last scavenger hunt left for her. And perhaps, this was his biggest one of all.

I loved the writing of this one, I felt like I was sitting in an English cabin by a fireplace reading their stories. Both Cassie and Sam had their own individual path to take, and while doing so somehow kept finding each other in the smallest ways. I appreciated that they at times had romance, but most of all focused on their own individual healing and grief. The way Emily Stone handled grief and it's all consuming pressure was so well done, and also helped demonstrate that healing can come from even the darkest places if you just keep putting one foot forward every day.

The reason I couldn't give a full five stars is just there was something about it that was slower for me, despite being fully engaged in the story. But at no point was I not fully in it, wondering how the scavenger hunt would play out and rooting for Cassie (and Sam's) happiness.

Thank you to Random House Ballantine (Dell) and NetGalley for my DRC in exchange for an honest review!

Every once in a while, I crave an emotional read because a doctor once told me that tears can be a healing mechanism. One Last Gift by Emily Stone turned out to be the perfect prescription. The characters and storyline tugged at my heartstrings producing many tears, both sad and happy. I look forward to reading this author's previous book and hopefully many more to come. Thanks to NetGalley and Random House-Dell for an advance copy to read and review.

I absolutely loved @emstonewrites Always in December and knew I definitely needed this one! I won't say too much about it because I went in blind and am so glad I did. This one will once again rip your heart out before putting it back together and I loved it! I enjoyed the mystery of the treasure hunt and watching Cassie become an even stronger person throughout the story. Definitely go pick this one up if you haven't already!

After reading Always, In December last year, I couldn't wait to read another Emily Stone book. I expected to feel all the emotions possible while reading One Last Gift (I mean, come on, that title alone hits hard). I was not disappointed - Cassie's story of living life through major loss was an emotional journey. And Sam, oh Sam, he made you want to love him in one moment and throw the book across the room in the next.

I adore a story that has history between the characters woven into it - and One Last Gift had that at its core. After losing her brother, Cassie has one last gift from him - a scavenger hunt that will take her on a journey, as she steps into a life without him. Sam, who lost his best friend, also re-enters Cassie's life. He just happens to also be her crush from so long ago. As the history between these two blends with the current day, you find yourself flying through the tear stained pages. Another fantastic emotional holiday read by Emily Stone!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing - Gallantine for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was so excited to get this ARC since Emily’s last book was the only book I’ve ever cried while reading. I liked this one! It’s hard for me to picture a sibling bond like Cassie and Tom have since I didn’t grow up in that kind of environment. It was really endearing to see their relationship and the love they have for each other. I loved the scavenger hunt! How fun would that be?! The relationship between Cassie and Sam was tumultuous to say the least. It felt like slow burn but instant love at the same time. Although this story is a “Christmas romance” it is not solely focused around Christmas. This could easily be read any time of the year. Overall a cute, easy romance read that I would still recommend.

What a beautiful, yet heart wrenching story. This was more of a contemporary fiction with a hint of romance - it was done so so well! I thought the characters were very relatable and their development was *chefs kiss*!

How Cassie kept getting up and going every day after everything she went through really showed her strength and courage. I loved that she had Linda, Hazel, and Josh by her side to love and support her - what beautiful people she had in her life. And sweet Tom - what a remarkable big brother he was to Cassie. His final “treasure hunt” for her had my heart aching with each clue she uncovered. I had tears in my eyes several times through this book, it was so emotional.

Then there was Sam. I think I enjoyed his development throughout the book the most. He made me so mad a few times, but he came around and really became the person Cassie knew he could be. Grief is funny that way though - it takes each person on a different journey.

Overall a very beautiful, touching story!

This book feels like a long hug after a good cry. It’ll leave you a little weepy and a whole lotta sappy, but it all of the best ways. I went into this one expecting things to be emotional based on the blurb, but oh my heart. This pulled at ALL of the heartstrings. I loved the scavenger hunt aspect, and the little touches of her brother, Tom, that popped up everywhere. I have four sisters and three brothers and I can’t imagine losing any of them. This books made me want to text them all long, overly sappy texts when I finished reading at 2am.
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The romance part of this book was... not my favorite. I don’t love super angsty romances and these two were a bit of a roller coaster at times. The emotional whiplash between hurtful words and heart wrenching moments made things a little heavy for me personally, but don’t let that deter you for a second! This is worth the read!!

I am a person that hates surprises so my friends find it strange that I love *surprising* myself by rarely reading a book’s synopsis. As such, I didn’t know anything about the plot of this book but I was warned that it was more emotional than the average rom com. The prologue opens up with a smidge of melancholy and I thought okay, our main character, Cassie is very young. She’s reminiscing about events that happened when she was even younger. This is sad but I’m not going to need to buy tissues or anything. And then… it just kept getting more depressing.

I don’t really know how I felt about this book. As women’s fiction, I think I enjoyed it. It’s a story of a young girl who has been hit with unimaginable hardships but I liked seeing Cassie grow into her own and learn how to live with her grief. On the other hand, I didn’t care for the love interest and while he also grew up, he wasn’t my favorite. Also, there are some necessary time jumps and the characters seemingly spend about 50% of the book apart (at times working on themselves- yay!) so their relationship, at least as adults, almost felt insta-lovey to me.

One Last Gift was definitely an emotional story, but I didn’t experience the depth I was expecting. Things felt a little too surface level for such a gutting story. If you’re looking for a sweet and swoony holiday romance, I would skip this one. If you’re in the mood to feel emo, maybe you’ll enjoy this more than I did. The good news is that while certain scenes take place around the holidays, it can easily be read any time of year.

ARC Review

𝒪𝓃𝑒 ℒ𝒶𝓈𝓉 𝒢𝒾𝒻𝓉

By: Emily Stone

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Read if you love:
Brother’s Best Friend
Second Chance Romance
Time Jumps
Strong brother/ sister bonds
Friends to Enemies to Lovers
Treasure Hunts

This is my first book by Emily Stone…and let me tell you she ripped my heart out and put it back together again! If you are looking for a heart warming and emotional Christmas book this one’s for you.

I adored everything about this book. You learned about the Grief Cassie and Sam were going through. To more exciting things like treasure hunts throughout the whole book…to lead you to the most beautiful ending! I couldn’t put this book down it was so good! Definitely will recommend this book to everyone.

Thank you NetGalley for sending me an E-ARC for my honest review.

This was a very heartwarming and somewhat sad story. It did take me a bit to get into it, and I kept thinking this is sad for a holiday read, but overall the story was really sweet. I’d recommend reading something more uplifting right after though haha.

This isn’t a cheery Christmas time read; it’s full of raw emotions and love. Cassie feels adrift when he brother suddenly dies but can’t seem to open the final gift he’s given her- her annual Christmas treasure hunt. When Cassie finally opens the letter it leads her on a journey of self discovery, sadness, acceptance, adventure and ultimately peace. Along the way she tries new things, repairs old friendships, and takes the ultimate leap of faith and does something for herself- something she’s always dreamed of but never had the courage to do.

There’s a bit of a second chance romance between Cassie and Sam (her brother’s best friend) but the romance part was secondary to them repairing their friendship and helping each other through their grief.


Thank you @pengiunrandomhouse and @netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

A beautiful, thoughtful and reflective story to settle in and enjoy this winter. I loved Cassie and was cheering her on as she took this final journey with her brother's memory. Soulful and so rich in detail. Thank you for the chance to preview this title for our bookstore. We featured this title at our Winter Preview Event and continue to sell it this holiday season.

This book was really fun to read. I loved how Emily tells the story of loss and of hope. I loved the growth in the story. I felt like the writing was done well and that the story kept me engaged.

this BOOK. my HEARRRRTTT. 🥺❤️

as with most of what I read, I went into this book blind. needless to say, my heart was ripped out about 30% in, and I truly was NOT mentally prepared for it. I’m struggling to give a full synopsis of this book without giving things away, in case some of you are like me & prefer to go all in without any previews (for those of you who like to know what you’re getting into, the Goodreads synopsis includes what I am choosing to leave out).

to put it vaguely, the premise of this story is about a girl named Cassie who completes a yearly Christmas scavenger hunt, typically with the help of her close friend group. but as the years go on, the friend group’s dynamic changes, and Cassie must learn to lean more on herself and a few new friends (and perhaps a few old) in order to solve her latest clues.

the emotional rollercoaster of this book paired with its many time lapses had my head and heart all over the place, feeling joyful, then sad, then hopeless, then hopeful, and truly everything in between. despite this, @emstonewrites managed to convey all the joy one hopes to find in a Christmas book, even when it wasn’t always so feel-good. this was a beautiful book about rekindling relationships, honoring the loyalty and love of both family and friends who become family, and discovering your own journey of self-love and worth. while this book may not shove Christmas cheer in your face, it still left my heart all warm and fuzzy by the end 🥹

thank you to @netgalley & @randomhouse for my #advancedreaderscopy of this book! I highly recommend checking this one out before gathering with your loved ones this Christmas. 🤍

I was not fully prepared for how this book would affect me. I knew there was going to be moments of sadness but whoa. This was a great story and I loved reading the evolution of all characters. I also loved that this focused on all relationships within the story and not just Cassie and Sam.

I thought this was beautiful and heart breaking and heart warming all at the same time.

Cassie was such a strong character to go through the losses she had and the loss of Tom is the worst of all. I loved that he had one last gift for her though and how lovingly he cared for his sister.

This book was not a light hearted romance by any means but I think that finding yourself being the central message of this was hugely important and sometimes we need a reminder to not take our loved ones for granted and to live our lives to the fullest.

I highly recommend Emily Stone and this book. I hope that it finds the people who need it the most.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the opportunity to read and review.

Cassie's brother Tom left her one last gift before he tragically passed away while exploring the world, but Cassie will have to follow his mysterious trail of breadcrumbs to find it. Cassie, however, is no stranger to Tom's games - he has been leaving her scavenger hunts to follow every Christmas since their parents died when Cassie and Tom were just children. This was his last, although he didn't know it, and Cassie is both elated to have her brother in her life again, at least for as long as the hunt lasts, and also saddened that she will never experience this holiday tradition with him again. Where will the clues lead her and what will she find? What is Tom's one last gift to her?

Emily Stone has written a poignant and touching tribute to grief revolving around one of the most difficult times of year for those who are suffering loss - the holiday season. While also a light romance, this book captures what it means to move forward in life while still clinging to the past and all you leave behind.

One Last Gift takes readers into the lives of Cassie and Tom, as well as that of Tom's best friend and Cassie's crush Sam, and envelops them in their world, showing their incredible bond and how it is all ripped apart after Tom passes away. This novel highlights how both Cassie and Sam navigate the world in the wake of Tom's death, while Cassie also attempts to puzzle out the clues that Tom left behind for her to find.

One Last Gift is a novel of self-discovery and acceptance. It is a story about holding those you love close and living each moment to the fullest because you never know when it will be your last. This holiday-adjacent novel is more about grief and being true to oneself than it is about the season, but it does have little glimpses of Christmas here and there. The perfect book to read at the end of the year as we reflect back and look forward.

I tried with this, I really did. I read about 25% and kept hoping for it to get better, but it just felt really juvenile and not engaging.