I absolutely loved Colliard's debut novel, The Last Encore. It had everything I look for in a romance, including real life issues where everything is not always sunshine and rainbows.

I particularly enjoyed the Toronto setting, with so many places I recognized from growing up in the area.

I'm looking forward to the next book in the series coming out later this year!

Really enjoyed reading this book. It was so deep. I was also glad the author put trigger warnings before the book started. And Avery and Josh had so much chemistry.

This was sadly sweet.

~Avery needs a well-deserved break. Between her anxiety, failing photography business, family drama, and her ex best friend reentering her life after 10 years.. She’s not even sure which way is up. She wants to let Josh in but after he broke the only promise he ever made her, she’s not sure she can go through that again.~

No question about these two. They’re meant for each other.

Honestly, my heart broke for their younger selves. Especially now knowing what Josh was feeling. Literally the epitome of “right person wrong time.”

*I received an ARC of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review with my honest opinion.*

This book was very promising because it had a few of my favorite tropes, second chance romance and childhood friends to lovers. However, the writing was quite a struggle for me to get through sometimes and it did not feel like completed, well thought out novel. It did not leave me satisfied at the end, and its not something I would recommend to anyone.

This one sadly wasn’t for me. It was sweet and the writing was fine but I needed a little more emotional depth to grip me

This is a steamy romantic debut novel by fellow Bookstagrammer Elodie! She put her heart and soul into these characters and made me feel the angst and romance between them! And can we discuss the cover? It's so beautiful. I can't wait for her next book!

To me it felt like the target audience for this book was younger than me. A lot of the writing was very simplistic and cheesy. It’s set up as a second chance romance but the main characters never really dated, they were just friends as teens. The story seemed to move too quickly, like we got to the ending before we learned enough about the characters to really appreciate the ending. Overall, I think it would be better suited for younger audiences.

I enjoyed the realistic pacing and the well-developed characters, particularly Josh, who was patient and assertive.
"The Last Encore" seems like a heartwarming and emotional friends-to-lovers romance novel that explores the complexity of human relationships and the challenges of moving on.
Overall, if you enjoy character-driven romance novels with a slow-burn romance and themes of self-discovery, "The Last Encore" could be an enjoyable read.

There was a lovely author note at the start of the book and I appreciate the trigger warning. I love the second chance romance trope and the cover, however it was a bit too instalove despite the aforementioned trope. Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the eARC. This in no way impacts my rating.

The Last Encore drew me in with it's cover, but it kept me reading with Colliard's fantastic writing. I love a good second chance romance and Avery and Josh had a great story. I loved these characters so much! This is one of those books that you do not want to end.

Not your usual cutie romance with friends-to-lovers trope, The Last Encore is also bravely telling a story about past traumatic events and learning how to trust again. It’s a story about loving yourself, physically and emotionally, dealing with your past wounds and a battle with your trauma.

First thing first, I LOVE that it has song playlist and it available on Spotify. I’m gladly listen to it while reading. And the fact that all the chapter titles are the song titles and it matches the story so well? That was brilliant!

I love that this book being real. Many details showing how vulnerable these MCs are. Like when Avery worked up the courage to speak with Josh's father about a thing that seemed like crossing the boundaries. In that quick talk, she gave a gentle blow to him. When it happened, she seems strong and brave, but actually after that she felt scared and overthinking about what she had just done. I think that is so real. She's real. Vulnerable, overthinking, but brave.

One thing that often bother me is that the scene changing too hastily. I often felt confused. Say like the characters are having conversations in car, and then I blinked and it's like suddenly they're outside the car. Besides that, I think Josh and Avery's work side needs to be explored further, because it's actually interesting to see them in their respective elements.

Good for a debut book. If you like childhood friends to lovers with a mix of second chance romance this book is for you. It deals with heavy issues such as S.A. and I appreciated the trigger warning. Very much an easy read that I'd recommend for chilling out while on holiday vibes.

Thank you to NetGalley, publisher, and author for giving me this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Amazing debut! My heart couldn’t take it. Highly recommend

What a beautiful debut this was!! I loved Avery and Josh’s story, and I am a sucker for second chance romance. This was a story of love, growth, and loss.

I loved and appreciated the anxiety and mental health representation in this book as it is something I struggle with in my daily life and I felt like the depiction was so accurate. The female MC was so strong and I loved that she had her own goals and dreams for herself.

I would have liked a little more tension and build up to the MC’s getting together but other than that I really enjoyed their love story and the steam was 🔥

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the chance to read this ARC! I look forward to whatever else Elodie writes in the future!!

Although a bit slow at times, I think this book features some great anxiety rep which is so important to see featured in more and more romance books lately. I do love second chance romance as well, so that’s always a win. I look forwarding to reading what Elodie Colliard writes next!

I'm going to rave about this book until the end of time.

Apart from absolute perfection of Avery and Josh, this book has everything. I would recommend reading the authors note at the beginning for CW before you read on, but the way in which the author handled some more difficult and sensitive topics was so well done. Anxiety and I are old friends, and the authors' depiction of living with anxiety, panic attacks, and the constant struggle to keep your equilibrium was spot on. I really relate to Avery's struggles and she is one of the best FMC I've read; she's strong and ambitious yet sensitive and vulnerable. And Josh. Ho-ly. He is just it.

Estranged best friends who are reunited after 10 years. He falls first. Forced proximity. Only one bed. All the best tropes 🙌🏻 A well paced burn with plenty of realistic clinches, tonnes of chemistry, and some seriously steamy spice, this book is now one of my all-time favourite romances. Friends to lovers can be a hard one to get right, and sometimes the MCs are a bit clueless (which can be frustrating and feel like neverending miscommunication), but this one does it *so* well. Apart from Avery and Josh, there are some fantastic side characters, too. I adored this book from the first page to the last.

Synopsis: Avery is a photographer who has spent years building her own business. Set in Toronto, Canada, Avery is on the cusp of bringing her business to the next level. Cue her estranged best friend, Josh, reentering her life and bringing back cherished memories, but also the reminder of broken promises. As they get to know each other again, old feelings begin to stir, and Avery tries to figure out what it all means while promising herself she'll never put herself in the position of being left again.

Thank you to @netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I'll be purchasing a hard copy to reread many times over!

This is the author's debut book and I'm still shaken because it is just that good! I ADORED Avery and Josh so much. I loved the plot of this, the friendships, second chance love, and family. The chemistry between Avery and Josh was *chefs kiss* absolute perfection. I loved the premise and the main characters. I also really loved the mental health representation

I LOVE slow burns that have tangible tension. This did not fail me in that regard. Colliard also had me second guessing my previous disdain for second chance love tropes. Highly recommend The Last Encore!

This was a cute story with tropes that I love such as childhood friends to lovers and second chance but sadly, it didn’t live up to my expectations.

Well, this was a book.

What I liked: the mental health rep. Josh's sister Julia was a delight. The discussion of being tested for STIs did not include the word "clean", which was a plus.

What didn't work for me: most other things. The biggest thing is that Josh is Mexican and uses a Mexican slur to describe racism he experienced in Europe. That really didn't sit well with me, since, as far as I know, the author is white. The scene could have been exactly the same without the use of that word.

None of the characters felt fully fleshed out. Usually I can overlook that with side characters, but with BOTH of the main characters? Avery has this big realization how she isn't living her life at the end, but I honestly didn't see that emotional journey for her. She's not wrong when she tells Josh that her life is in Toronto, because it IS. Nowhere did I see that she wasn't living life to its fullest potential until Josh told her that she was.

Josh...was a time. His dialogue during sex was cringey and if I ever have to hear someone tell someone "there's no God, it's just me" during a sex scene again it will be too soon. His emotional arc felt a bit more fleshed out, but again, there could have been more of it seeded throughout the book.

I saw some other reviews say that this felt like a first draft, and I agree. There was a good amount of potential in this, but I think it needed more editing. As someone who loves an emotional romance, that was the most glaring hole for me. And even in the most non-emotional romances, I still feel like the characters end up in different spots from where they start. I don't feel like Josh and Avery grew as people through this book. And if they did, it was literally in the last chapter.

Like I said, I do think there is future potential, but this was just a miss overall for me.