📸 One Last Shot - Betty Cayouette

3.75 ⭐️ - I was pleasantly surprised by this one. A friends to lovers, second chance romance set in Italy is bound to be lovable. It was sweet, funny, and light with some added extra struggles for our characters.

The storyline was sweet and I enjoyed the flashbacks to our characters love story in high school. The flashback and present day timeline allowed us to see the growth the characters made and understand their love for each other. I loved the model/photographer aspect too. The middle got a tad slow for me, but overall, it was enjoyable. Definitely one to add to your summer reading list!

Thank you Netgalley, St Martin Press, and Macmillan audio for the early ARC and ALC! This beauty is out now!

dnf 19%. I literally groaned when the miscommunication trope of it all was set up and continued on but just found myself just slowing down because I was not feeling it. I hate miscommunication as the main trope of a novel. I checked reviews and found that it continues throughout the whole book. I can't do it. On top of the trope there were pacing issues and after the author's note I was dreading when the sexual assault reflections would begin. this one wasn't for me.

I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked this book. This is the perfect book for summer if you are fan of cute rom-coms. I loved being able to see the characters grow throughout the book, especially with the dual timelines and dual POV.

Thanks to SMP and Netgalley for providing an ARC in return for an honest review.

A second chance romance gets me every time! Loved this so much. The characters were so appealing to me and I binged it in a day!

A debut childhood friends to lovers, second chance romance between a photographer and a model in Italy.

Emerson and Theo met as teenagers and became inseparable for the entire of their high school years. The stayed in the friend zone for the entire time, but found a way to move into a romantic relationship at the end, only for it all to implode the minute they declared feelings.

Now a decade later Emerson gets an alert of her phone reminding her of the marriage pact they made as teens if they hadn't found love by their 28th birthdays. Emerson takes it as the push she needs to get in contact with Theo again and hopefully rekindle their feelings. She even goes against her agents advice and gets herself booked on a shoot he is photographing in Italy. They are both convinced the other doesn't have feelings still but have 4 days to figure it out between them.

This was such a beautiful and authentic love story. It is weird to say that a romance between 2 childhood friends turned famous celebrities would be so relatable but it is truly a reflection of how talented the author is in making this such an unforgettable love story. The characters were so real and down to earth and i rooted for them from page one. The dual timeline is a favourite plot device of mine so I was so happy to see it. It is so impressive that this is a debut but the author clearly has the talent.

DNF at 4% or chapter 2.

i had a bad feeling about this one right after reading page one but thought it would get better. i did not vibe with this writing nor did i like the premise. the premise in the summary sounded good but after touching the surface of the story, its just not something i would be interested in continuing.

in just the first chapter, the author does a ton of telling instead of showing and the female main character has a lot unhappiness going on in her life which leads her to the conclusion that she should seek out her high school sweetheart that she hasn’t spoken to in years for a “last chance at love”.

i really would have preferred the female main character focus on herself then go on a ridiculous random quest to seek out someone you haven’t spoken to in years.

thank you to netgalley and st. marten’s press for an e-arc of this book.

One last shot was a fun summer read! I’m glad I got the arc from NetGalley!

Though I’m not a huge fan of the miscommunication trope (which was pretty much present throughout the book), we love a second chance romance (and set in Italy for most of it). I thought this was great debut novel for the author, and if you like celebrity romance mixed with high school angst, this is the book for you!

I rarely enjoy second chance romance but really enjoyed this one. The flashbacks really showed how close these two were and I really enjoyed it!

Thank you to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for my complimentary eARC of One Last Shot. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Miscommunication is my least favorite trope and it reared its ugly head in chapter 5.

Looking past that. The growth of Emerson and Theo left me with a satisfying ending. I love how the title of this book actually represents the story within.

Estranged high school friends become coworkers and possibly lovers? Such a fun premise for a book!

Emerson and Theo were the best of friend in high school, and the pair even made a marriage pact saying they would marry each other if they turned 28 and were still single. When supermodel Em’s alarm reminding her of the pact goes off, she decides to request to work with photographer Theo on a shoot in Italy to get back in touch and see if they still have a connection.

The setting and plot are fun, and I enjoyed seeing Theo and Emerson slowly find their way back to a friendship and possibly more. Emerson had a dark experience in her past that has shaped her to this day, lending a serious tone to a portion of the story. Otherwise things are pretty lighthearted and almost frivolous feeling, with photo shoots and premieres galore. It was fun to see behind the glamorous curtain and take a peek at these events.

I liked this one but didn’t love it, and I’m rating it 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

I had high hopes for this audiobook. At the start I wasn't thrilled with the narrator but she grew on me, the story however did not. I am all for a friends to lovers and second chance romance but it just didn't do it for me. I felt like something was missing in the current day timeline.

I received an ARC of this debut from the author and I really enjoyed it! It was heartfelt and poignant, kept you on the edge of your seat, and feeling all of the emotions right along with the main characters! You can’t help but fall in love with Emerson and Theo, their first and their second love stories, though seemingly they are on and the same and never really ended! Seeing the struggles and trauma Emerson went through when she was younger really informs her actions and reactions today—making her stronger and more resilient, both in a positive way and to her detriment. The same could be seats for Theo, whose own traumas kept him from really reaching his full potential. And while their trauma has a bit of a thread, neither really knew or understood that. It’s so tension filled seeing them reconnect, struggle internally, face a ton of (relatable) self doubt, and also get some helping hands and hard slaps of reality. But, the most endearing and pervasive theme of this story and of their lives is their love for each other—true, abiding, no hold barred, fully in and fully free of any restraints love. With their true selves. It was such a reward to see things all come to fruition, as we know happens in romance reads, but it doesn’t make the ending any less sweet. And I absolutely ADORED that ending. It was so perfect for them and I just loved it so much! Can’t wait to see what this author has coming next!

A sweet story about refound love. Cayouette's first novel is an accomplishment. I enjoyed reading it.

Theo and Emerson meet at high school orientation and become best friends. They make a marriage pact. Things happen (no spoilers!) and they are torn apart. 10 years later their marriage pact reminder pops up on their phones. Theo is a photographer and Emerson is a very famous supermodel. So she gets herself booked on his next shoot. But will he be happy to see her?

This book is a friend to lovers, second chance romance with secrets and a slow burn. It’s dual POV and has a now and then timeline. There is such deep character development. Most of this book takes place in Italy, and it was so stunningly described. I felt like I was there. The intrigue of what happened to tear them apart and the aftermath of it, kept me turning the page. It was the perfect about of mystery. The longing and the tension made the slow burn so enjoyable. But do check the trigger warning.

If you’re looking for your next summer read, pick this one up!!

📷 dual POV
📷 marriage pact
📷 childhood friends to lovers
📷 second chance romance
📷 model and photographer
📷 dual timeline
📷 Italy setting
📷 debut novel

BIG Theo and Emerson fan!! Gah I love them.

I’m SUCH a sucker for dual POV romance and friends to lovers!! The audiobook was great - I love it when we get multiple narrators! I flew through this one because I was hooked. I did think that the pacing was a little off towards the end, but overall it was an enjoyable read! Some parts had a big of cheese, but don’t we all love a little bit of that in a romance novel? I enjoyed the celebrity aspect since Emerson is a famous model.

There’s some spice, but it’s not overly descriptive in my opinion. Theo and Emerson have a lot of history together, so their story is very layered, which I liked. This book also tackled some more serious issues - I appreciated the author’s note at the beginning.

A big thank you to St. Martin’s Press for my eARC in exchange for my honest review! One Last Shot is out now.

“One Last Shot” by Betty Cayouette
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Release Date: 5/7

Thank you Netgalley for this arc! Sometimes the best books fall into your lap. This is one of them! Thanks to a marketing manager at St. Martin’s Press for emailing me this as an exclusive read! This had everything I love friends to lovers to friends to enemies back to lover, celebrity romance, and destination (based in Italy.) It also was dual timeline with dual POV! I was never bored and flew through the story of fashion model Emerson and photographer Teddy.

Emerson and Teddy met at their high school freshman orientation. They became best friends and spent the next four years growing their friendship. Fast forward and they are 28 and both famous for different things, but no longer friends. One thing they may bring them back together is the pact they made at 18. If they are not married by 28 they will marry each other. Will that happen? What happened ten years prior?

A second chance love story set against the scenic backdrop of Cinque Terre with a dash of fashion, a heavy dose of pining, and a plenty of swoony romance.

I was a little hesitant about this one when I saw that the main trope is miscommunication. I often get frustrated with this trope and so I was worried about liking this one. I can now honestly say, my worries were not brought to life!

I thought the pacing of the story was good and the plot flowed really well! The characters tugged at my heartstrings many times and the resolution at the end was so heartwarming!

There were certainly still a few moments where the miscommunication was bothersome, but I felt like the story was done so well that those parts didn't bother me as much as they could have.

I picked this book up in a moment when I wanted something with less depth and more just wholesome content, and it certainly didnt let me down. Emerson was very vain at times and there were little things throughout that I think would have bothered me more if I went into this looking for a read that I get deeply connected with or something, so I think state of mind had lots to do with it, but overall it was super enjoyable!

I really enjoyed Emerson and Theo’s story!
It was cute and summery read! I loved the setting in Italy. I think this was a great second chance romance! I enjoyed having the flashbacks to both Theo and Emerson’s childhood and seeing their POV/thought processes through the things they dealt with. The character development was great- I do feel like Emerson was superficial at times but maybe that just came with the high profile supermodel life. I’m usually not a fan of miscommunication but in this story I didn’t mind it and I found myself hooked to see how the characters would resolve everything.
The narrator’s were great for this one and I loved how well they portrayed the characters! Thank you NetGalley, St. Martins Press, and Betty for the ALC/ARC to read and review!

A second chance romance story between high school sweethearts.
I loved the flashback when they met and how their romance blossomed. It was really the most wholesome and most fun part of the book.
I do think the intent of rekindling their romance was cute. How Emmerson got a notification that if they were still single at 28 to meet up again and marry. It was force proximity in the making with her taking on a week photoshoot in Italy to be shot by Theo.
Each day after the shoot, they would play questionnaire games to learn about each other and they can tell they never stopped loving each other.

There is warning disclaimer about sexual abuse that I read at the beginning that the author noted. I think it was handled tastefully.
When she confused and he comforted her, I teared up.
There is miscommunication in this story. I wish it told in such a way that a lot of things could have been avoided.
It is not the worse miscommunication trope I've read.

Overall, like Emmerson said. She needed to heal. It just took her ten years to really heal.
I like the story I would recommend it. I think what I liked the most was the nostalgic innocence of high school love.