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.

I have followed Betty on social media for the last few years, and I was so excited to hear she was writing a novel! This was a great debut! I loved the way she handled the insecurities of the main characters! A really great read.

4.5 rounded to 5 ! I have been so excited to read this book ever since I saw Betty was writing her own book! This book was super cute…

*Dual POV and timeline
*childhood friends to lovers
*second chance romance
*set in Italy
*celebrity romance
*slow burn

LOVED! and the ending was just like the movies- so swoony !

Also, the narration on this book was amazing !! Brittany Presley and Sean Patrick Hopkins did a great job bringing Emerson and Theo to life

DNF @ 36%

This may be for some, but its not for me.

I can't stand Emerson (and honestly everyone surrounding her) and miscommunication is the WORST trope imo. I just don't have patience to read this trope, and life is to short to read books with tropes you dont care about.

Unfortunately I missed the date to download this - but I have heard great things about this one! Thank you to NetGalley anyway.

This book irritated me so much. I can understand miscommunication in a romance book because people sometimes hide their feelings, get things wrong and so on. BUT this book ONLY exists because of miscommunication. If Emerson and Theo were to talk for five minutes there would be no book. I understand the miscommunication for when they were teenagers and about everything that happened to her. But they couldn't even talk about their own feelings when they are 27?

There are so many instances. It's one after the other. Theo's gets a text saying Emerson doesn't want anything to do with him but then she appears on his photoshoot. But he never asks her about it. But keeps thinking about it and how it is inconsistent with her behavior. TALK TO HER. Emerson pretends to be in a relationship with another guy just because. JUST TALK TO HIM.

I just hated it so much.

Thank you Netgalley, author, and publisher for the ARC.

I loved this one. Told in then and now and dual perspective it had me rooting for Emerson and Theo and the entire story. Thank you Netgalley and St Martin!

Read for:
- Second chance romance
- Set in Cinque Terre, Italy
- A+ narration from Brittany Pressley and Sean Patrick Hopkins
- Celebrity romance
- Gelato
- Debut romance novel
- Marriage pact
- A+ grand gesture

I appreciate when books discuss deeper themes and aren’t afraid to break past a surface level. Betty does something really unique with One Last Shot and addresses a topic in her introductory author’s note that the characters don’t discuss until later in the book. While it could be considered a spoiler, I think it actually reinforces Betty’s point that things that happen in our lives don’t have to define and shape our story.

Thank you to St. Martin's Griffin for the gifted ARC. All thoughts are my own.

Extremely fun romance taking place in some amazing settings! Best friends growing up, they finally get together but {something happens} and it all falls apart. They fall out of touch until Emerson gets a reminder on her phone about the marriage pact they made ten years ago. They meet up at a photo shoot in Italy (she is a model, he is a photographer) and there are mishaps and romance perhaps!

I wanted to read this book, because I follow the author’s book reviews and visited (and donated to) her little free library in Salem, MA. I was excited to know that part of the book takes place in and around Salem, which is an immediate add to TBR for me. The Italian setting also does not disappoint! Their story is filled with unexpected turns, and donuts.

Loved the setting and the second chance romance in One Last Shot. I wish one of them had maned up and told the other how they felt at any point past or current but I guess if they had, there wouldn't be much of a book. Other than that, I liked the characters and their journey apart was as interesting as their time together.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for early access to One Last Shot!

Emerson and Theo are high school best friends and crushes when they decided to set a marriage pact for 10 years after graduation. They stop speaking shortly before graduation so when the alert about their pact goes off, Emerson decides this is the way they can reconnect and hopefully fall back in love with each other. Emerson has become a very famous model since high school and Theo has become a successful photographer. They reconnect on a photo shoot in Italy that Emerson gets herself on to and the sparks fly from there. This story is one with lots of miscommunication both in the high school scenes and the present day Italy/LA scenes, which got to be slightly too long for me. I enjoyed the back and forth timeline overall and the personal issues that the characters were navigating while falling for each other. I will definitely explore other books by this author but hope that miscommunication isn't such a main plot point. This would be a good book to take on a vacation, especially to Cinque Terre!

2.5 stars

A perfectly fine romance for fans of second chance, friends to lovers, dual pov, dual timeline, and miscommunication. This felt incredibly tropey to me and while I love a good dual pov I can't stand a dual timeline. Any progress that you make in the story takes two steps back when your timeline shifts to the past. I find it very frustrating to get into a good flow with the story.

The characters were likable enough but a marriage pact? At 18 years old? Don't make me laugh. Is this a Lifetime Romance movie? I couldn't hang with that.

And 10 years of miscommunication is just 10 years too much for me. If your best friends than you should be able to do a better job of reading your friend and their intentions. These two would shamelessly flirt with each other, because duh, feelings, and neither of them quite understood what the other was doing. And the dreaded third act breakup because of miscommunication? No thanks. It's possible to have a romance with no break up.

Thank you to St Martins Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

3.5 Stars

Emerson and Theo were inseparable in high school and they made a marriage pact to marry each other at 28. Their friendship ended abruptly and haven’t spoken to each in years.

It’s nearing Emerson’s birthday. She’s a supermodel and Theo is a fashion photographer. When a calendar reminder goes off on their phones, Emerson makes a plan to reunite. She gets a job as the model in Theo’s next campaign. The job is four days in Cinque Terre, but will Theo want to see Emerson?

I loved the setting of Cinque Terre and seeing the two characters have a second chance to romance. It wasn’t a smooth road to rekindle their feeling but their struggle was worth it in the end. I adored the ending and I really enjoyed the flashbacks of their relationship when they wee teenagers. My one complaint was the miscommunication trope…there was a lot of miscommunication in this one. Other than that it was a sweet omance with an Italian backdrop.

The PERFECT book to read if you wish to be transported to the most gorgeous setting in Italy!!! I knew I would love this book but I didn't realize just how much. I'm such a sucker for dual POV and it worked SO WELL with this story. Emerson and Theo were so likable and their chemistry flew off the pages. I'm excited to read more of this author's work!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
One Last Shot
By: Betty Cayouette
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Pub Date: 5/07/24
Friends to lovers is my favorite romance trope at the moment so this one fits perfectly!
From debut author Betty Cayouette comes a coming of age story. This book is told from dual POVs.
It’s freshman orientation when Emerson meets Theo for the first time and in just 4 years they are inseparable. As senior year starts to wind down they become more than friends. Theo’s a photographer and Emerson is already starting to model. They plan on moving from Boston to NYC. While on a photo shoot some awful things happen and Emerson starts to push everyone away including Theo. It’s now been 10 years, Emerson realizes he’s the one, always has been but they haven’t spoken in all that time. She orchestrates a chance encounter by becoming one of the models on his next campaign. To say he was shocked is an understatement. Their worlds are so different but maybe just maybe they can get back to where they once were.