It’s been a while since I binged a book in a day, but thankfully I had an ALC and an E-ARC to this one thanks to Macmillan Audio, NetGalley, and the Publishers!

I absolutely LOVED this one and I can’t wait to add a physical copy to my shelves! This is a story about a supermodel and a photographer with a past marriage pact who meet again ten years later on a photoshoot in Cinque Terre, Italy.


If you love dual POVs, then/now timelines, high school friends to lovers to strangers with a time gap setting this story up for the sweetest second chance romance- then this is for you!

I’m a sucker for the friends to lovers trope so watching Emerson and Theo meet and fall in love as teens was so tender, especially juxtaposed with them as adults trying to heal old wounds and find their way back to one another!

Now, supermodel Emerson is nearing her twenty-eighth birthday, and she’s tired of looking for love in all the wrong places. When the calendar reminder for the marriage pact she and Theo made as teens goes off on her phone, she realizes this is it—her chance to rekindle the only romance that ever really made sense. Emerson convinces her grumpy agent to book her as the face of the fashion campaign that Theo, now a fashion photographer, is shooting. The good news: the campaign is being shot in ridiculously romantic Cinque Terre, Italy. The bad news? Theo might not be as happy to see her as she'd hoped.

This was angsty, full of sweet moments, and just darling to read as well as listen to! The audio is dual narration making the dual POVs really pop and feel distinct! I couldn’t stop listening once I started and found myself spacing out in the middle of busy Saturday things for my family while my mind really snuck into the story!

Highly recommend!

1 🌶️ nothing on page, some kissing.

CW for SA, not on page and delicately addressed by the author at the beginning of the book so you understand the actions and feelings of the FMC the entire novel!

I do love the “if we’re not married by a certain time let’s marry each other” trope and this was no exception! The friends to lovers/second chance was done really well. A fun summer romance!

good mystery and i loved the friends too. I really enjoyed the romance and how it solved . I also loved reading this author. Really enjoyed her friends. Great book.

I had to DNF this at like 30%. I was so bored and there were so many typos. I feel I would get lost while trying to read it because some wording was off.

I enjoyed this book! Emerson and Theo were both likable and had me rooting for them from the very beginning. I love a second chance romance and all the angst that comes with them ... that said, there were times where I wanted a bit more emotional depth (but I don't think book lacked that). Would happily read another Betty Cayouette!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC!

I enjoyed this one and it had some of my favorite "tropes". Second chance romance, friends to lovers, etc. I even thought that there were some heavy topics that were tastefully done. I wish maybe there was a bit more communication in the middle of the book. It was a slower moving story, but I did enjoy the dual timelines.

I think if you are looking for a romance that is a bit heavier than a mindless chick-lit, you'll really like this one.

Thank you to NetGalley & the Publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review!

3.5 stars rounded down. I have admittedly never heard of this author until I read this book, and found out in the acknowledgements that apparently she is a viral TikTok star. That being said, I found this book to be good but not great. I love the famous/not famous troupe and appreciated the friends to lovers aspect of this book. It was the miscommunication and complete LACK of communication that bothered me at time. I felt the plot moved forward quite quickly at the beginning, slowed significantly in the middle but the end did wrap up nicely. I liked the portions of the books that showed the past relationship of Emerson and Theo, but at times they almost felt a bit unnecessary. This review seems critical, but I did enjoy the book. The positives were definitely the setting, the author transported us immediately to Italy in the summer which I appreciated, and I did enjoy the story itself. Overall, I enjoyed this book, but it might not be one that is remembered forever.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy of this book. All opinions within this review are my own.

I was really pleasantly surprised by this story and enjoyed the second chance aspect of the story.

I found the flashback scenes to be very well written and really helped to set the scene for the relationship.

I loved the characters and the plot and the setting of Cinque Terre, Italy was just amazing and had me wishing I was visiting Italy soon.

Loved it! The perfect summer romance highly recommend!

I really wanted to like this book. It was everything that I loved. Childhood best friends turned estranged turned lovers, but then there's the miscommunication trope which isn't my favorite. I loved Theo as a character by himself. He was the best cinnamon roll MMC, Emerson wasn't my favorite FMC, I just felt that they didn't have a connection once they grew up. She's holding on to the idea of how Theo was as a teenager and with her modeling career of course there's bound to have problems with them two. It felt like the book dragged on too long and I think it could've ended earlier.

This book was meh. While I didn’t hate it, I didn’t love it. I kept reading it and at times found it enjoyable. I don’t have strong feelings either way. I don’t think you will be mad at me if you read this but you also wouldn’t want to chatter a jet, fly to my house, and give me a high five either. And that’s the review.

Smut- meh
Romance- meh
Story- meh
Meh- 5 stars

#meh #smuttybookreviews #smutbooks #romancestagram #summerreads #modelsandphotographers #marriagepact #romancebooks

I enjoyed this second chance romance between a model and photographer. The story follows Emerson and Theo, who fell in love as kids and made a pact to marry when they turned 28 if they were still single. Fast forward ten years later and the two of them end up on a photo shoot together in Italy. I loved the past and present chapters, forced proximity, friends to lovers, and dual POV. The only thing that bothered me was all the miscommunication…it drove me nuts at times. All in all, this was a cute read. Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy.

This was such a sweet book. I honestly wasn't sure what to expect, but their story was beautiful! I loved getting the past story too! They are a swoony and the mutual pining was just everything!!

Theo and Emerson were best friends in high school. They were completely inseparable and agreed that if neither one was married by 28 (not so old, by the way) that they would marry either other. They even went so far as to put a calendar reminder on their phone so they wouldn't forget. For reasons that aren't entirely clear throughout most of the book, they do not end up together despite how much they care about each other.

Fast forward 10 years and Emerson is a celebrity model and Theo is a professional photographer. Emerson decides she has to give it one last shot and see if she and Theo can be together, so she arranges to be a model for an upcoming photo shoot he's doing in Italy.

After not seeing each other for ten years the sparks are still there when the reunite, but neither one will admit it. This trope drives me bonkers. Just tell each other how you feel and stop denying you are in love!

I did enjoy the setting and imagery described, and the book touched on some more serious topics beyond the romance and I think the inclusion enhanced my reading experience. I also really liked Theo and found him to be immensely likable and an overall caring and thoughtful character. The chemistry between the two was also well written.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Title: One Last Shot
Author: Betty Cayouette
Genre: Romance
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

From the moment Emerson and Theo met as teenagers, they were inseparable. But just when they finally expressed their feelings to one another, they were torn apart.

Now, supermodel Emerson is nearing her twenty-eighth birthday, and she’s tired of looking for love in all the wrong places. When the calendar reminder for the marriage pact she and Theo made as teens goes off on her phone, she realizes this is it―her chance to rekindle the only romance that ever really made sense. Emerson convinces her grumpy agent to book her as the face of the fashion campaign that Theo, now a fashion photographer, is shooting. The good the campaign is being shot in ridiculously romantic Cinque Terre, Italy. The bad news? Theo might not be as happy to see her as she'd hoped.

The two embark on a four-day campaign that tests not only their feelings, but their ability to keep their hands off one another. But as roadblock after roadblock keeps them apart, Emerson starts to will this photoshoot be the key to getting one last shot at love, or will it be a final goodbye?

This was a decent read, but not anything unexpected. I liked the glimpse into modeling life (that I assume is somewhat realistic), and I actually enjoyed Emerson’s friendships with her two besties quite a bit. The miscommunication trope was, I felt, a bit overdone here. To a ridiculous degree. Come on, people, just talk to each other, already!

Betty Cayouette is an author, viral video content creator and cinematographer. One Last Shot is her debut novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

Meh this was average. Nothing special. It had some solid points but nothing to run home to mama about.

🍩 🍩 🍩 🍩 / 5

A marriage pact, the fashion industry (one MC is a supermodel and the other is a photographer), childhood friends and a beautiful setting in Cinque Terre Italy made this book a really fun read! Emerson and Theo were childhood besties who had some wonderful and special times but fell out of touch. They had a marriage pact that if they aren’t married by 28 they would marry each other - the time has come and both are single!

I really enjoyed many aspects of this book but also will say some parts fell a little flat for me - I find it a bit hard to believe an 17-18 year old boy would be so thoughtful and pensive hanging on every word she said but that is the beauty of books! They give you the chance to escape to a world that perhaps you wish you had!!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s press, and Macmillian Audio for the opportunity to read and listen to this book! Brittany Pressley and Sean Patrick Hopkins, the narrators of the audiobook, were amazing to listen to! I felt the emotion in both of their voices! I also absolutely loved and adored the author’s note.

I was so excited to read Betty's debut novel as I was a fan of hers prior to her writing this novel. I was even more thrilled when I found it out it was set in Cinque Terre as I'm Italian and have been there myself. I really enjoyed Emerson and Theo as individuals but they shone even more together. I loved their dynamic, especially in the flash backs. Those really gave the story a heart beat and the pining and angst was sooo good.

I loved getting both POV's as well as the flashbacks as it allowed us to grow with them and see their dynamic change throughout the book. I also liked seeing how their dynamic shifted in Italy, going from being a little unsure of the other but the undeniable chemistry still being there. It was lovely and I look forward to Betty's next book!

This book unfortunately wasn't a great fit for me, it leaned heavily into some tropes that I really don't enjoy.

I think that it will do well with it's intended audience and I look forward to checking out more releases in the future.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Net Galley for allowing me to read this early.

I both read this book and listened to the audio narrated by Brittany Pressley and Sean Patrick Hopkins. Both narrarors did a fantastic job of portraying the different characters. I do feel that the audio enhanced the experience of the book.

This is a friends to lovers and second chance romance, Emerson and Theo were best friends in high school and made a pact to marry each other if neither of them was already married when they turned twenty-eight. There is a disruption in their friendship in high school. They lose contact, and Emerson goes on to become a super model, and Theo becomes a fairly successful photographer. Emerson decides she wants one more shot at a forever relationship with Theo and arranges to work on one of his shoots in Italy.

The development of the main characters is fantastic. The dual timeline shows the personal growth of the characters through the years and the maturity and growth in their relationship.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio, St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for the copies. All thoughts are my own.

As much as I wanted to read a book set in Cinque Terre where two beautiful people fall back in love, this book fell flat for me. Within the first few pages, the plot seemed very predictable & miscommunication was everywhere. It seems highly unlikely that two people who have been pining for one another for ten years would have engaged with that level of radio silence. Plus, there was very little description of the famous Italian coast which might have been the greatest offense.