Unfortunately, this book was a DNF for me. I made it a couple chapters in and was just not hooked. The chapters that I read were well written, and I liked the characters, but I just found myself not interested in their story. Thank you so much for the opportunity.

I LOVED THIS ONE - I'm already looking forward to Betty Cayoutte's newest release. This was wonderful....thank you for my copy!

I enjoyed this glimpse into the worlds of professional models and photographers. Emerson and Theo met as teenagers and made a pack to reconnect in their 30s, but misunderstandings abound. Things bogged down a bit for me with the amount of interior dialog the two main characters engage in - we spend a lot of time in their heads and I found that frustrating at times.

I really liked this one! This is a second chance romance between a famous model and a photographer and it's set in Italy. I thought it was the perfect summer romance and loved the setting so much. For a debut novel this was really impressive to me! My only complaint was that the miscommunication trope was leaned on heavily and it's one of my least favorite tropes so that is mainly a me problem

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to be able to read and review this book!

3/5

A swoony second chance love story of a model and photographer with Italy in the background! Fans of People We Meet on Vacation would also probably fly through this book.

I'm a sucker for anything set in Italy, and was so excited to read this book. Upon first glance it seemed to fit the bill for romance books I like as well which is what put it at the top of my list.

The second chance romance/friends from the past storyline was so fun, and I feel like there was solid development and history given to create a believable storyline between the two characters. The plot was extremely modern/current, and I loved all of the scene description. Such a fun read

I enjoyed the beginning but found myself overly anxious for the fall apart between the main characters and it’s one of those situations where you think “why don’t they just talk to each other?!?”. Didn’t love the ending, it felt forced.
Nice writing, good characters but I needed more from the plot.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started ONE LAST SHOT, but enjoyed this debut romance between Emerson and Theo, that featured friends to lovers, second chance, and celebrity fiction.

WHAT TO EXPECT
-friends to lovers
-dual timelines
-second chance

*many thanks to SMP, and Netgalley for the gifted copy for review

I didn't quite like this, the communication between the main characters felt off and they weren't people I particularly wanted to be in the heads of.

This book was a DNF for me. I got to 30% and decided it was not for me. Hopefully it will be a good fit for someone else!

The premise of One Last Shot intrigued me. Unfortunately, I was disappointed by this book because of the heavy miscommunication trope. It's one of my least favorite tropes because communication is so important for me and my relationships. I bet others would enjoy this book, but it wasn't for me.

Really enjoyed this story of a reunion of old friends and soul mates, the picture of the life of a successful model and her terrible secret. Loved the two of them together and the flashbacks to their youth.

despite being one last shot, this was Betty Cayouette's first shot into romance writing, and it was an INCREDIBLE first shot with some incredible chemistry.

This debut romcom surprised me. I wasn't sure what Cayouette would deliver but the characters were delightful, I loved the European setting and the slow burn second chance friends-to-lovers romance was entertaining. I'll defintiely read what she writes next.

Thanks to St. Martin's for the copy to review.

This was an adorable second-chance friends-to-lovers celebrity romance. Emerson and Theo were both super sweet and it was fun to watch them trying to navigate their friendship even though they both wanted more. The high school flashbacks were a great addition and helped explain Emerson’s past trauma. I liked that this was set in Italy for the majority of the present day timeline, super cute.

*Provided a DRC (digital review copy) from the publisher for review. All opinions are my own.

Two young friends make a promise to marry each other if they don’t find anyone else before they turn twenty-eight. They didn’t foresee that they would date, break up, and not talk to each other for ten years. When they each get the alert on their calendar about the pact, they decide to contact each other. What happens next is a series of misunderstandings and a trip around Italy while they figure out what they could have been and whether they can still be friends…and something more.

Betty Cayouette gives us a sweet former friends-to-lovers romance. Luckily for us we get both main characters' points of view which makes the series of misunderstandings work for the plot. A lot of the drama of course could be avoided if everyone just spoke their truth, but then we wouldn’t have a romance in Italy (chuckle).

I think for me, personally, this was a sticking point. After the fourth misunderstanding, I was like just clear it up already. Then there was an illumination point that was immediately ignored. So, for me the story ended up dragging a bit.

There is a darker subject behind some of the reasons and Cayouette handles the discussion and the aftermath with sensitivity and intelligence. I like how this is done in regard to the romantic relationship and the sexual one.

Overall, One Last Shot is a sweet romance.

Thank you St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for the eARC of One Last Shot. All opinions in this review are my own.

I absolutely love this author's page on Instagram so I was really excited to read her debut novel. I appreciate that she opens with an Author's Note explaining her own healing experience and how that factored into the main character's experience.

I wanted to love this one but I had a hard time from the start with the pacing. After not talking for a decade, both Emmerson and Theo want to immediately reconnect because of a bet they made to get married at 28. I wish there had been more tension or more thought on both their parts to decide to reconnect, especially since they then spend the rest of the book not talking about their feelings and it takes so long for them to actually get together.

While this one wasn't for me, I still support this author and I look forward to reading her next book!

Unfortunately, I did not like either of the main characters. I could not connect to the story, I struggled to get through this book. I wanted to like this book but I didn't.

I have been following Betty on IG and Tiktok for about 2 years now, and I really trust her reviews. I love the way she portrayed Italy in this book, but after three times of trying to read it, I simply cannot get through it. Would give another chance, though.