3.75 ⭐️
If you liked the book, Happy Place, celebs, fashion, or photography… you might enjoy this book!
This is a second chance, friends-to lovers story. It does rely a bit heavily on the miscommunication trope, which is among my least favorite tropes, however, I still enjoyed this book.

This story follows our FMC, Emerson, and our MMC, Theo- who, after 10 years apart, reconnect on a fashion shoot where Theo is the photographer and Em is the model. The story goes back and forth to their high school years and to present day. We also get to see each main character’s point of view from both points in time.

I really enjoyed how this book gives us a glimpse of a photographer’s life, and that of a celebrity (a model, in this case), and also how they were before they were famous. I used to be a photographer, many years ago, so this was interesting to me. I also ADORE the book, Happy Place, which is similar in many aspects- specifically the second chance love story, along with the flip/flop in past and present timelines.

My only criticism is that I did feel this book was a little bit long. I felt that some scenes might’ve been shorter, or eliminated. I enjoyed the story overall. This is excellent for a debut novel!

As a second chance and celebrity romance, this book really had an uphill battle for me personally, but it's an Illumicrate Afterlight pick and I like to try to read those ahead of time to see if I want the special edition. While this wasn't totally a hit for me for a few reasons, I did actually like it much more than I expected to based on the main tropes! I think the writing was good and I'm interested to see what the author does next.

Things I liked/loved:
- The Friends to Lovers aspect
- The Italian Setting
- The Writing
- The grand gesture!
- The Author's note in the beginning which acted as a trigger warning.

Things I didn't love:
- The CONSTANT miscommunications
- Emerson's immaturity
- The Celebrity aspect
- The use of the word "clean" in regards to STD testing results

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Emerson and Theo met in high school and became the best of friends. They make a pact that if they're not married in 10 years, they'll marry each other, but after graduation Emerson disappears for an unknown reason and pursues her modeling career. 10 years later, she isn’t married, so has her agent book a photoshoot in Italy with Theo, who is now a photographer. Can they fall back in love?

This was such a beautifully written read! I loved how the story was told from both viewpoints and flashed back to their high school days to give their backstory. Loved both of the main characters, but Theo won my heart! Also loved Emerson's friendship with Harry and Georgia, as they both believed in Emerson and wanted what was best for her. And the setting in beautiful Italy was the icing on the cake!

I knew nothing about this author before reading the author's note, but apparently she is a huge BookTok star who followed her lifeling dream of writing a book and this is her debut novel and I'd say she has nailed it! Definitely will be following her and reading everything she writes in the future.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the chance to review this book ahead of publication in return for my honest review!

Emerson and Theo grew up as childhood best friends that eventually grew into something more. Just as they confessed their shared feelings something tore them apart. Years later, they each receive a reminder of a pact they once made that if they found themselves single they would marry each other. Emerson is now a successful model at the top of her game. Still in love with Theo, she takes a job as a model on a week-long photoshoot to see if there is a way the two might be able to re-connect. The story alternates between the two perspectives.

I can’t say that their professions endeared me to their characters or their story, although I will admit it’s more intriguing than the florist or baker positions that a female main character usually has in a romance book these days. I just found Emerson’s discussions of size, skin care and body as how it pertains to a model not something in the realm of what I personally care about. It’s not like it eventually changed and was a part of her character growth.

When they were teens something significant happened to her (my absolute least favourite plot device) and she turned away from the one person she loved most in the world as a way to protect him. Call me an idealist or a romantic but I just don’t see how you couldn’t turn to him when you needed him most, how you think he will be your person years later. How does he overlook that and know you won’t do it again? For me I think it’s a pretty insurmountable hurdle, especially one that you deal with in a week. However, alluding to it and then only revealing it at the end of the book doesn’t give it adequate time to be addressed. It kind of felt like the author was hesitant to see it all the way through. The running away ten years prior aside, their dynamic made for some sweet moments.

This personally wasn’t the book for me but I’m sure there are many others who will feel differently. The cover art sure is cute though.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for providing an advanced reading copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

It pains me to write this review because Betty is one of my top parasocial relationships, but this book just didn't do it for me. I DNF'd around 33% and skimmed from there. The main reason I DNF'd was the pacing, I felt like I was getting whiplash from going from reading scenes that were longer than they needed to be to reading scenes that were way too quick to reading scenes that were missing story beats and felt like I was suddenly propelled through time to a later part of the scene. There is a lot of potential here, the plot was interesting and had some unique elements that I've not read before, the setting is beautiful and exciting and I was drawn to the flashback scenes. If you follow Betty you know she's a natural storyteller and I think that this story could have developed much further if more time had been dedicated to the editing process. All of that being said, I hope this book finds its audience and I will read anything that Betty puts out in the future.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

This was a cute but kind of bland book that made me want to travel. It felt like a Hallmark movie at times, which is a good thing because I happen to like Hallmark movies. They're cute and sweet and comfortingly bland. Which this book was at first. Then it took a bit of a turn (a past rape) that I thought felt out of place in this kind of story.

This was, for the most part, a pleasant enough read. The characters, main and side, were likable and I enjoyed the flashbacks the helped flesh out the main relationship. The miscommunication was frustrating but par for the course in this kind of story. At least the main characters' exes weren't major obstacles in this one.

I read an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All comments are my own.

Miscommunication is present from beginning to end, proceed at your own risk. The book had lots of potential to be emotional, I was prepared to cry, but it never got there for me. The heavy topics mentioned in the book were discussed in a few short sentences then were avoided. A little more detail would help understand the characters.
The flashbacks helped explain the romance between Emerson and Theo from the beginning, while they got to know each other as adults. The love was still there after all those years. The miscommunication at the beginning helped put some tension between Em and Theo.
I scratch my head at the use of “mi media naranja” and its explanation in the book, the other ways that the author translated this phase to, “todo de naranja”, I’ve never heard this phrase. A little more research on this phrase and it’s translation or how it’s translated would have helped.

I may be biased since I am very familiar with Salem and the North Shore (Boston) mentions! It was a pleasant surprised to hear specific details like *Bagel World*.

This is a great second chance love trope. I love having contemporary romance as a *palette cleanser* with all the murder and mayhem stories I read. This did just the trick.

It gave a little hint of Emily Henry vibe, but I enjoyed this more!

When Emerson, a super model, is reminded of the pact that she and Theo, a photographer, made in high school, she finds a way to get hired for Theo’s next shoot. This is the last chance for her and Theo to rekindle whatever is left of a friendship and possibly, a romance. This was such a fun book. I loved it! I know nothing about the life of a model and a photographer but the dual POVs and the alternating timelines made it so relatable. The yearning was beyond any other romance I've read before—I really ached for them to finally get together!!! Out on 5/7/24. Thanks to SMP Romance, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars. This was a decent debut novel with some cute moments while also balancing some heavier things the characters faced.

Emerson and Theo loved each other as teens but haven’t spoken in a decade. As adults, Emerson is now a supermodel and Theo is a photographer When reminders go off in their phones of a pact they made to marry at 28 if they were still single, Emerson decides it time to reconnect and books herself into a campaign Theo is shooting for in Italy.

What I liked:
- Theo and Emerson’s reconnection scenes. It’s clear they’re both wary to open up too much due to their past hurts, but as their walls start to come down their connection glows.
- The other models on the shoot. It would have been very easy to write catty, jealous characters into those scenes, and I liked that they were welcoming, observant, and kind.
- The obvious knowledge of the industry. The scenes written for the various days of the shoot were detailed and felt authentic (not sure how much that means coming from someone who’s entire knowledge of photo shoots comes from ANTM but I appreciated the detail and authenticity anyway.)
- The setting. It was used in multiple different ways for both the campaign shoot and Theo and Emerson getting to know each other again.
- Emerson’s friend, Georgia and Theo’s brother, Owen. Their were great support and offered sound insights.

What didn’t work as well for me:
- The dancing around communication. For people (specifically for Emerson) to be so determined to fight for someone, there was a great deal of wavering back and forth about actually doing and saying what needed to be said.
- The heavier issues that were included felt almost glossed over. The way they affected the characters absolutely made sense, but the depth of those effects were more told rather than really shown. I also don’t think the one key to the separation was given enough time to be worked through in a way that felt more genuine.
- The third act. It felt like drama for the sake of drama for the reason right above this one. It deserved for than a last 15% reveal and resolution.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was absolutely enchanting. This is going to be one of The Best Books For Beach Reading this year! It was so good and I was absolutely hooked from the beginning and didn't want to put it down til I knew how it ended. I loved it!!!! This was a definite 5 star read for me.
I just reviewed One Last Shot by Betty Cayouette. #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

This was a cute book I like where it took place and I liked the story line and the characters it was a nice first book for me to introduce me to this author. I do intend to get more of her books when they come out.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

Emerson is a world renowned high-fashion supermodel that has her choice of jobs in the fashion industry. Emerson leaves a relationship that wasn't working for her, and decides to pursue a marriage pact that appears on her phone. It involves her best friend, Theo, from high school with whom she was attached at the hip. They promised that if they weren't married to other people by the time that they were 28, they would marry each other.

Theo is doing a photography job with a large retailer in Italy and Emerson wants in on the job, especially to reconnect with Theo. It's not as easy as "hello" between the two of them as they have plenty of past complications to work through while they are in Italy.

This book was a surprising read for me. I liked the way that Betty Cayouette wrote Emerson to have more emotional depth than one would expect from a supermodel (yes, I realize that I'm going off of a stereotype, but I digress). Second-chance romances are my favorite type of trope in the contemporary romance genre, and this one didn't disappoint either. It had the right amount of spice and a great cat-and-mouse game between the two main characters that kept me interested to know their outcome. I also liked getting each character's point of view so that I could get a well-rounded understanding of the story.

This will be a great book to pick up once it's released in May, especially for the upcoming summer beach and vacation trips.

3.5 stars!

Cute, fast pace second chance romance! I love the premise of the book and how it calls out the miscommunication trope. I love how the past chapters were placed, it really added to the present day chapters. I love how strong the beginning and middle was but the ending fell flat. This was a great debut novel for Betty Cayouette.

A modern best friends to lovers story. I really enjoyed the overall storyline but at times I cringed at how cheesy dialogue or fight were. The romance is very tame and tasteful, with you rooting for the main characters to find their happily ever after.

I enjoyed it but unfortunately you could tell it was debut. There was kinks and things that needed working out. The story line felt like it was all over the place. The development of the story felt forced and I think just needed a little more time to work on.

I adored this second chance romance. The emotion and build up of tension is perfect. Em and Theo were best friends in night school who secretly loved each other and now after a marriage pack alarm goes off 10 years later they reconnect and the chemistry is amazing. Definitely loved this cute romance.

The Last Shot transports you to Italy with a glamorous romance filled with wanderlust and gorgeous setting of Cinque Terre. Emerson and Theo were high school sweethearts who made a marriage pact at 18, and then fell out of touch. Now, 10 years later, that they are 28 they reconnect to reignite their friendship and maybe give love a chance?

This book was a feel good happy read. I do think reading the authors note in the beginning of the book might have made me a little biased but I appreciated how the author wanted to address finding love after surviving sexual assault and not having the SA happen on page. This was written for all the survivors to feel seen and optimistic.

I normally am not a fan of second chance love and rekindling relationships but this one just kind of worked. Both characters Emerson and Theo were really sweet together. They were High school best friends who always loved each other. While they did have a falling out, it didn’t feel as frustrating as some miscommunication tropes. They were both very young and Emerson had a very traumatic SA. She shut down and built walls around herself and shut Theo out. The story is told from alternating timelines past and present. It was fun reading about their past friendship and watching them rekindle it. I loved seeing their friendship click back into place and them start to build a romance.

I definitely think this is one of those just kinda silly but make you happy books you can’t think too hard about it or else it’s not as fun. It’s hard to describe but it’s a quick cutesy read that felt a bit Taylor Swift coded.

Thank you St. Martins Press for providing me with an eARC

Loved the premise but the writing fell a bit flat for my liking. I think there is a great deal of potential her but it could be sharpened a bit more. Overall I like the plot and the characters were likeable. Great first novel to start out with! Keep going, you’ve got way it take!