3.25- While I prefer romcoms I usually don’t shy away from a romance, especially when the synopsis sounds cute and flirty. I’m pretty good with most tropes, but the one I simply cannot stand is miscommunication, which is one of the tropes in this book.
Emerson and Theo met at their freshman orientation of high school when they were both 14 and instantly clicked- as best friends. During their 4 years of high school their friendship deepened until it morphed into more than friends. They made a pact that if neither were married by the time they turned 28 they’d marry each other. Ten years since high school has passed and at 28 Emerson is now a supermodel and a household name and Theo is a photographer for a Target like store. They haven’t spoken since they were 18 and when Emerson’s reminder app pops up reminding her if she’s not married she’s to marry Theo, she quickly gets herself assigned to Theo’s latest shoot, even though career wise it’s well beneath her. Theo too has been thinking of her, but when someone close to Emerson tells Theo she has no desire to rekindle things with her, he’s confused as to why she’s suddenly on location. The next 5 days are filled with reconnection and confusion as Emerson tries to win Theo back and Theo tries to be respectful of her feelings.
This is Betty Cayouette’s debut novel and as a debut it’s quite good. While I enjoyed the writing, I felt like the story dragged on, but that’s because there wasn’t an end of the miscommunication until practically the second to last chapter. I would have preferred to see that get resolved earlier than 90% through. I really loved the characters Ms. Cayouette created and I look forward to seeing what else she writes down the road.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy of this. One Last Shot hit the shelves on May 7th.

You’ll be itching to buy a one way ticket to Italy after reading One Last shot by Betty Cayouette. This is a lovely debut that blends the celebrity romance and second chance tropes into a beautiful contemporary love story.

Emerson and Theo were inseparable as teens but they were torn apart right as they expressed their feelings for one another. Ten years later, the marriage pact notification they set in high school goes off, reminding them of the future they once dreamed of. Emerson, now a famous model, orchestrates a reunion with Theo by joining the campaign he’s photographing in Cinque Terre. Will these two former friends be able to pick up where they left off, or will their spark flame out for good?

Emerson and Theo’s story is told in alternating past and present perspectives. Both timelines were essential and gave readers necessary context to Emerson and Theo’s relationship. The friendship they share is wholesome, built off of trust and respect. I was genuinely rooting for this couple throughout the entire book.

One Last Shot taps into the raw and dizzying side effects that accompany falling for ones best friend. Cayouette creates two emotionally complex characters whose joys, fears, and needs are considered paramount by their partner. It was refreshing to see the care Cayouette took in handling Emerson and Theo’s individual struggles.

Highlights:
-Famous model x photographer
-Second chance romance
-Former childhood friends
-Cinque Terre setting
-Grand gestures galore
-Donuts and sweet treats

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press / St. Martin’s Griffin and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A fun summer read. I'm a sucker for a second chance romance. I enjoyed the characters and the pacing of the story. I don't hand out 5 stars easily, so this was a 4 star read for me.

Thank you so much to @macmillan.audio @stmartinspress and @netgalley for the ALC/ARC! #MacAudio2024

📸 𝙈𝙮 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 📸
This was an excellent debut novel! The story is based on friendship, love and a marriage pact that two friends made to marry each other when they turn 28.

Emerson has made it as a superstar model and her high school best friend Theo is a fashion photographer. They both get an alert to a pact they made the decade prior, where they left their relationship without closure. Emerson meets up with Theo again on a shoot in Italy, determined to make things right between them.

The setting for this book was a lot of fun. A fashion shoot in a beautiful location. I enjoyed the questions game these two would play in their next door hotel rooms. It was fun to flash back to high school and see how they met and got to know each other as well.

There are some tough topics that do get brought up in this story, and it’s highlighted in the authors note as well. It was handled well by the author, and how she wanted to tell the main characters story.

I like the positive note the story ended on. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future!

🎧 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚:
📸 Friends to Lovers
📸 Second Chance Romance
📸 Marriage Pact
📸 Model and Photographer
📸 Miscommunication
📸 Dual Timelines/POV

Thank you SMP and Macmillan audio for the review copies! !

𝗦𝘆𝗻𝗼𝗽𝘀𝗶𝘀: Emerson and Theo were high school best friends who made pact at 18 that if they were single ten years later, they would marry each other. The catch, the two have not spoken since their senior year. Emerson, now 28, gets a reminder on her phone about the pact and uses her modeling career to end up in Theo’s next photoshoot…. with hopes to rekindle what they once had.

𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀: This book had the perfect balance between being a bingey rom com and a heavier/ more emotional fiction read. I loved the high school chapters and seeing Emerson and Theo’s relationship throughout the years. Brittany Pressley and Sean Patrick Hopkins narrated the story beautifully. The dual narration brought the characters to life, and the two did such a great job with all the tension and chemistry.

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲:
▪️Cinque Terre
▪️Friends to lovers + second chance romance
▪️Celebrity storylines
▪️Question games
▪️Dual timelines and POVs
▪️Dougnuts

Sometimes I forget how much I absolutely adore second chance romance, especially when it involves friends to lovers. One Last Shot by Betty Cayouette reminded me just how much I fall heads over heels for these tropes.

One Last Shot has become a quick favorite of mine, and I absolutely loved watching Theo and Emerson fall for each other all over again after so many years. What I found beautiful about their relationship and the story as a whole was seeing the change from young love dynamic to the adults falling in love. It made it feel so real to not see Theo and Emerson just leave where they left off before the break up, since that was a relationship built on who they were when they were younger and after so many years it would have felt inauthentic.

Instead readers get to see Emerson and Theo fall in love with the person each of them became over the years. And that was endearing to me, as if they hadn't drifted apart due to what occurred in the past, there's a good chance they'd have been driven apart by their careers and life. This is even showcased in the way Emerson fears her life will be too much for Theo, and Theo thinks his life isn't enough for her. While they struggle to workout out their feelings for each other and how to move forward, we see them realize all that matters is being together. And in doing so and with their history they help each other find their happiness in their careers as well, and make sure they encourage each other to follow their dreams. It was a beautiful relationship dynamic, that felt like what everyone needs when it comes to finding their person.

I also loved the author's constant push and pull of Emerson and Theo that make the reader question if they going to wind up together. This was strongly due to a miscommunication/lack of communication trope, which is usually not my favorite but in this case I found it extremely well done. It made sure there was tension between the two and the moment that everything came together felt like letting out a long held breathe. It wasn't the main problem and their was still more to explore, but it made them coming together so much more exciting.

The one thing that kind of left me stumbling with this book was the fact the pact seemed to disappear, which was the whole reason the two came together again. I was so confused how it seemed to just get brushed aside at the end, even though it was not only the main reason they came together, but also caused a bit of turmoil for Emerson towards the end. Instead of seeing them talk about it just kind of seemed to disappear, and it left me confused. Especially knowing it was what gave Emerson the push to go after her own desires instead of focusing only on her image for her career. I would have liked it to be at least talked about, because the last time we hear it mentioned left Emerson feeling insecure.

Overall I absolutely loved this book and thought it was a fun romance book. It was beautiful to see the exploration of how young lovers can grow separately and still come back together and find love in the new versions of themselves. It was amazing to see them face their past demons and in doing so find a way to live their lives the way they wanted regardless of what others thought.

This was so cute! I didn’t realize that the author was a bookstagrammer turned author until after reading, which makes me love her more. I was frustrated with the FMC for taking 10 years to find her way back to the MMC, but I loved the journey they took reuniting

One Last Shot is a second chance romance that will have you cheering for the characters to get together. The scenery is beautiful and the writing has you consuming every written word.

I found myself enjoying it and felt that it was such a cute summer romance story. A story with an Italian setting that transports you and characters that keep you reading.

One Last Shot

Kindle (ARC)
⭐⭐⭐Enjoyed, would recommend


"One Last Shot" is like a nice romantic story set in Italy…cinque Terre to be exact. I’ve visited Cinque Terre, so it brought back great memories. This is about a model and a photographer falling in love. It's their second chance at romance, but there's a lot of misunderstandings between them. Even though it's the author's first book and has some good stuff like the friends-to-lovers angle and the beautiful setting, the constant flashbacks to high school and the characters not talking about important stuff can make it a bit frustrating.

I just finished One Last Shot by Betty Bayouette and here are my thoughts.


Emerson and Theo have been thick as thieves ever since they met as teenages. It took years for them to express their feelings for each other and the next day it’s all over.

Now Emerson is a supermodel and Theo a photographer for high street fashion. When the notification goes off on Emerson’s phone with a note she and Theo made 10 years ago that if either of them are not married that they will marry each other.

Emerson feels like this is the shot she needs to finally be with her true love. She gets her agent on the set of Theo’s next shoot. Trouble is, Theo isn’t pleased to see her. Emerson uses the next 4 days to remind Theo of what they had as teenagers and that they are meant to be together now.

This book is set in the past and current day. Emerson is an overworked model with no real life. Theo, a photographer playing it safe. We get both of their POVs and that helps a lot with understanding where they are both coming from with everything going on between them.

I am not a fan of miscommunication as a trope. This book is loaded with it. It's really well written but it makes you wonder how two people can be end game when they can’t even talk to each other about what is upsetting them. I do understand why things ended when they were 18 but at the same time I don’t understand why it took them so long to do anything about it. I love love so this irritated me to no end.

Theo and Emerson are super cute together. I love how they interact as teens and again as adults and the love story between them is adorable. It’s well written and I did get misty eyed at the HEA. I love that they balanced each other out in the best possible ways. Emerson helped Theo achieve things he wouldn’t have dared go for before and Theo helped Emerson ground out and find the balance she needed in her life.

It was well paced and I did enjoy the book overall. It’s a personal thing about the miscommunication trope and has no reflection on this book at all.

4 stars

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for my gifted copy! - Out now

#onelastshot #bettybayouette #romancebook #romancereader #readmoreromance #secondchance #booklover #booknerd #booknerdigans #bookaesthetics #contemporaryromance #readerblog

3.75/5 stars

Thank you St. Martin's Griffin for the advanced reading copy! !

CW: off-page sexual assault

SYNOPSIS -- Emerson and Theo were inseparable as teenagers until crossing a boundary made it impossible for their friendship/budding relationship to continue. 10 years later, Emerson is reminded of their marriage pact, made at 18, when she gets an alert about it on her phone. Desperate for a fresh-start and another chance, she worms her way into Theo's most recent shoot, much to his surprise and her agent's. Emerson and Theo only have a few days together before their careers and differences might rip them apart, and they're both determined to reach their seemingly different goals in that time. Will they make their last shot worth it, or lose each other forever?

This book was so cute! I loved both characters and the supporting characters added a ton to the story, especially the dynamic with the models. Overall, the premise seemed a bit far-fetched, but if you can commit to the story, it will be well worth it. Italy was a great setting and it was fun to read about the modeling industry in this way. Some really awesome lowkey feminism built into this one, too, and that made it special. Parts of this book became a bit frustrating, especially with all of the miscommunications/assumptions being made by both characters. Certain things felt glossed-over in a way that was less than satisfying, but this story was well-told overall. The flashback chapters were my FAV -- so cute to read and gave a ton of helpful insight into the Emerson and Theo of the present. Honestly, though there are a few plot flaws, I really loved this one and enjoyed every second of this listen!

Title: One Last Shot
Author: Betty Cayouette
Length: 352
Format: ebook arc
Pub Date: May 7, 2024
Genre: Romance
Rating Out of 5: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Spice Level: open door
Summary:
Reunited after a decade, supermodel Emerson and photographer Theo confront their past and rekindle old flames during a photoshoot in picturesque Cinque Terre, Italy. As they navigate lingering feelings and unexpected obstacles, they must decide if this reunion is their last chance at love or a final farewell.

Thoughts:
Second chance romance is VERY hit and miss for me, so I went into this one a little weary. This one is dual POV and dual timeline, so that helped give me some insight into how I could root for Emerson and Theo to get back together. Let me be clear: if you’re someone who can’t stand a miscommunication trope, this book isn’t for you. It’s super prevalent in the first half of the book and even continues on until the very end. However, I stuck it out, and I’m glad I did :) My favorite parts were going back in time to when Theo and Emerson were in high school. Their friendship and love was so pure and adorable. I also loved how present-day Emerson had her girl tribe help her to get Theo back. Always love a good girl tribe! Third thing I loved most was how devoted Theo was to Emerson. It was top notch devotion! Overall, I really enjoyed the story and characters. Just wish there was less miscommunication.

Special thanks to the @stmartinpress and @netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review!

I really enjoyed this book! It feels like the perfect summer romance that makes you fall in with the characters completely. I loved the switch from past and present times, and the viewpoints of multiple characters. Overall, a 5 star for me!

Emerson burst into modeling as a teenager and has built a career on being the best. Theo is a photographer who tends to take comfort work to pay the bills and have a more low-key life, despite the dreams he had as an idealistic teenager. While Emerson and Theo were in separatable in high school, that changed one night and neither have really recovered. Ten years later, their "wedding pact" reminders go off on their phones and it's time to see if their romance can be rekindled.

The miscommunication trope normally irks me but I felt it really worked with Emerson and Theo. This friends to lovers, second chance romance has just enough suspense to keep it interesting without going so far that it's insufferable. I appreciated the host of friend characters who didn't play into the type stereotypes you'd expect to see in this genre. They added to the story's value and gave depth to the plot and the main characters.

I have no idea who the author is so I went in blind and I thought this was a well written piece of romance and look forward to the authors next work.

Thank you SMP Romance for the ARC.

If you're on social media, you likely already know who Betty Cayouette is. Or you may know her by her handle, "BettysBookList" where she has been reviewing and sharing books with fellow readers for years. But now, it's Betty's chance to have readers talk about her book.

I don't read much romance these days, but I have been following "BettysBookList" for a few years, and I was excited to hear she was getting to release her own book. The publicity leading up to this release was well done, and it felt authentic to the persona the author has created online.

To start, this story has some of the characteristic corniness of romance novels. A great example is right at the beginning. The story begins with Emerson breaking up with her boyfriend; she initially was interested in him because they met at a party at his home and he had several books on his bookshelves. She felt she found someone who enjoyed reading like she did, and she found out he'd never read any of them, and broke up with him. Conveniently, the alert reminding her of the pact with Theo pops up right after this breakup.

This story has a delightful host of supporting characters. The author does a great job keeping the side characters likable and authentic, but they never overtake the story. This story belongs to Emerson and Theo, their past history, and the present-day experience they have while reconnecting in Cinque Terre, Italy.

This story reminded me off and on of a Hallmark movie. Hallmark movies always have these clandestine, sweet love stories, but there are some miscommunications that ruffle feathers. I don't mind some miscommunications but I did find it frustrating that Emerson and Theo have this bond, and clearly strong feelings for each other, but struggle to communicate directly. I also found it somewhat unrealistic that after being in their collective industries for years, neither is hip to being manipulated by others, or by folks having an agenda of their own.

The story itself is well-balanced. There are serious moments (there is a TW for sexual assault at the beginning), but these heavier moments don't dominate the book. There are bad and good moments that happen to Emerson and Theo in their lives, but this story ultimately remains a romance.

I think this book is a great read, and definitely worth picking up. Betty Cayouette, while well-known for her social media presence, has outdone herself with her debut book.

Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s, and Macmillan Audio for the advance copy of the ebook and audiobook.

I started the ebook first. I didn’t like that Emerson calls herself a model SO MUCH. Do people really refer to their profession that much??? I wasn’t motivated to pick up the book much so I switched to the audio and enjoyed it SO MUCH MORE. I loved that there were 2 narrators—and one was Brittany Presley. She has become a favorite of mine. I enjoyed the way Emerson and Theo came back together and developed their relationship. I appreciated the pace and how the reveal (mentioned in the foreword) came into play. Would definitely seek out future books by Betty Cayouette. Great debut.

This was a very sweet second chance romance. I loved how the timeline jumped between past and present, giving us the full idea of what Theo and Emersons relationship is like. I thought the side characters could have been a little more thought-out and well written, they felt very one dimensional to me. I loved how sweet both Emerson and Theo were.

⭐️⭐️

Thank you Net-Galley for the E-ARC

I hate giving a debut author a two stars, but sadly, this book just wasn’t for me.

We start with Theo and Emerson (or Em) who have been perfect high school friends both wanting more. One day, they fall apart and live their own lives. Em is now a world renowned super model and Theo, a photographer. A marriage pact they set up in high school just went off, even if they haven’t talked in ten years. They have one week to reconnect, can they do it?

My problems with this book was it just felt like it dragged on forever. The plot felt very slow and like not a lot of progress happened. The characters very obviously still have feelings for each other, and so a poor job of communicating any of it.

I also wish we spent more time in their past, I would’ve like to know more about the years they weren’t together, with Theo knowing Allison and Em healing from her trauma.

Overall I felt this book had great potential but just felt very slow and anticlimactic for me.

💗❤️💗
You’ll love this book if you like…
• Friends to lovers
• Then and now POV
• LGBTQ+ representation
• Sweet romance, minimal spice

This was a FANTASTIC friends to lovers, second chance, dual POV, forced proximity debut romance!! I loved the Italian setting, the flashbacks, the childhood best friends who reunite years later on a shoot as a famous A list supermodel and a much lesser known photographer thanks to a marriage pact they made as kids.