I did not vibe with this book. I would not recommend this book to almost anyone. Emerson is a super model and Theo is a photographer. They are high school sweethearts who end their relationship with a sticky note. A decade later the reminder of their marriage pact pops up on their phones. Emerson arranges to be a model on the champagne Theo is working on. This book is one huge miscommunication trope. The characters are very surface level, I didn’t believe their connection and Emerson is very vain and shallow. There is so much talk about “appearances” and people’s bodies that I could not get into the story.

One Last Shot is an incredible debut - with a beautiful, second chance love story, a remarkable setting, and characters that are both entertaining and relatable, Betty Cayouette really knocks it out of the park.

Emerson is one of my favorite main characters I have read so far this year. She is more than what you see at surface level - with a complicated childhood and trauma in her past, she has a depth to her that is easily readable on every page. She’s dynamic, kind, funny, and I loved how she truly cares about those around her. Emerson’s backstory deals with the complications of mental health with her mom’s hoarding and her own trauma from a sexual assault, and both topics are written about with such care and dignity.

Theo is an equally beautiful soul - and matches and contrasts Emerson perfectly. The flashbacks into their high school romance allow us to see Theo’s heart from day one, and the level to which he loves Emerson had me swooning. I love Theo’s security in who he is - he was popular and an athlete, but also had that deeply creative side that Emerson helped bring out and he kept true to himself as an adult.

The chemistry between Emerson and Theo leaps off the page in this story, and they were easy to root for the whole book. The pacing, the POVs, and the flashbacks to high school perfectly unraveled their story - and kept me turning the pages. The dual narrators in the audiobook are also incredible. Each narrator brings out the words on the pages, nailing the inflections and excitement and hesitancy of the lines as they are read. You can clearly listen and understand them at higher listening speeds as well, which is always a plus.

Overall, I am so looking forward to what Betty writes next!

ONE LAST SHOT by @bettysbooklist
PUB DATE 05.07.24

Narrators: Brittany Pressley + Sean Patrick Hopkins

Emerson & Theo were inseparable throughout high school… but their friendship ended as abruptly as high school. 10 years later, Emerson is one of the most well known models out there, and Theo is a very talented photographer. When a reminder of a marriage pact they had made when they were 18 pops up on Emerson’s phone, she decides to be one of the models that Theo will be taking photos of, in hopes to rekindle what they once had.

This was a such a great debut! I was able to get the ALC of the audio and the narrators inwere incredible! I was absolutely rooting for both
Emerson & Theo the whole time, and loved listening to how their stories unfolded.

Read if you love:
-marriage pacts
-friends to lovers
-doughnuts
-dual POV
-dual timeline
-incredibly sweet MMC
-books based in Italy

4.5⭐️

Thanks so much to @NetGalley and @MacMillan.Audio for my ALC!

#MacAudio2024

What an adorable story. This was such a well written love story. It is a reminder that an underlining trauma can impact your life in so many ways. The story takes you from Italy to Hollywood to Cape Cod. What is better than that? While you knew there was going to be a happy ending, the story kept you on your toes, wanting to know what happens and how everything unfolded. Once again, thank you NetGalley for this opportunity to read the story ahead of the official release.

This was a very good romance book. It’s not one of my all time favorites or one that stands out as one I will reread. So for that reason it’s a 4 star book for sure.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and St. Martin’s Press for the ALC and ARC of One Last Shot by Betty Cayouette. All opinions are my own.

I would’ve never known that this was a debut novel had I not looked it up. It was written so well and had such a unique premise. I don’t think I’ve read many stories about modeling, and I loved the setting as well.

Second chance romance is one of my favorite genres, and I especially enjoy when authors include flashbacks to the previous relationship. In this story, the flashbacks were so cute. I loved seeing Emerson and Theo when they were teenagers. Their friendship was so wholesome and envious.

I also liked the present-day chapters because the characters were still great and hadn’t let fame or life circumstances change them too much. I also appreciated the dual POVs because I could see how much each character cared about the other.

The setting was beautiful, and I would definitely love reading more books set there. It was also interesting to read about the behind-the-scenes aspects of modeling and photoshoots since I knew very little about them.

My only issue with this book was the miscommunication. If Emerson and Theo would’ve talked things through early on, they would’ve avoided so much heartache.

Overall, I think this was a great debut, and I would definitely be interested in reading another book by this author.

The audiobook was great! The narrators fit the characters perfectly, and they both did a great job conveying emotions. I also loved the dual narration.

High fashion super model Emerson has it all. A blooming career. But one thing is missing: love. Remembering her pact with her childhood best friend Theo. Emerson makes a questionable decision asking her agent to book her as a model on the campaign Theo is a photographer for. The problem with this? It's far from top notch and a major downgrade of a job for Emerson. People around her start to question her choice to plumage her career. Even Emerson herself questions it. This novel is a great enjoyable read.

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.

If you liked Every Summer After and Love and Other Words, I would highly recommend reading this during the summer.
I love a good friend to lover/Second Chance romance. Hearing Emerson and Theo's story and how they came to be is such a cute story.
I enjoyed the audiobook more because Brittany Pressley is a great narrator. She's really easy to listen to. This is a really slow burn, but it honestly didn't notice it.

This book was a pleasant surprise. Both characters were enjoyable. Theo just seemed too good to be true. Emerson is a survivor in so many ways. She has so much trauma in her life that I am surprised she is a functioning well-rounded adult. This book shows you that you can survive and thrive.from your traumatic past.

This was a fun and different take on the marriage pact trope.

Emerson and Theo were a couple you couldn't help but pull for. Unfortunately, they had so many near misses over the course of their friendship where one of them doubted the other's true feelings and they stayed "friend-zoned" when they should have been more, There were some heavy topics included in the story, such as sexual assault, mental illness and more. Be prepared for those if they are trigger topics for you. I felt like the author did a beautiful job of writing these topics and handled them gently and with authenticity.

If you're looking for a sweet and meaningful story about second chances that feels a little different from many of the others, this might be just what you're trying to find.

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: The narration was very good and kept me engrossed in the story. 4 stars

Thank you to NetGalley for early copies of both the ebook and audiobook.

The audiobook for this was fantastic. I loved the narrator choices. Brittany and Sean do a wonderful job bringing the characters to life. Well produced and I love the author speaking to the reader too. Heartfelt.

Emerson and Theo are an amazing duo. Years of friendship leads to a phone alert notification reminding them if a pact they made. “If not married yet, marry each other”. She is a model, he’s a photographer but they’d never worked together. Emerson wanted to see him again and there was no better way than to make her way into his current ad campaign and restart their friendship. Of course they both hope for more but after years apart are afraid to make moves.

The way he cares and protects her shows true love and tenderness. Their years of friendship seeping through. The flashbacks to their pasts to understand their present was so well done. Absolutely loved.

This book was el todo naranja. The whole orange. (Read it, you’ll understand).

I loved the setting (primarily Cinque Terre, also Salem, LA, NYC). I loved that this was a photographer-model romance…but started before they were either of those things. I loved getting a look inside the “rich and powerful” lifestyles and dating contracts of Hollywood. I also very much loved the narration.

I didn’t especially love all the miscommunication—but it’s a romance, and man is it a trope. I did love that each of the MC’s had friends to tell them when they were being idiots though. It always helps to push the story along!

Overall, this was a perfect summer read. Light, fun, has characters with back stories, and perfect for the beach or pool. Light spice (one open door scene but not particularly graphic; lots of sexual tension). Highly recommend!

Rating: 4.5/5
I received eARC for my honest opinion.

This is a debut novel, and it was amazing. I loved all the different tropes in this book: Childhood friends, celebrity romance, second chances and miscommunication. I loved the flow of this book; it was fast and easy to read. I didn’t mind the different POV’s because it was easy to know who was talking because the author made sure to let the readers know. As well as flashbacks to the past with their POV’s as well.

I found the plot to be fun, cute and everything that I would want in a romcom. I loved that it handled issues that everyone in their life has felt at one time or another, and how the author handled a sensitive topic was well done. I loved the flashbacks to their high school years; it really gives you more in depth about the characters and how they developed into the people they’re now. I loved that it was set in Italy and honestly it makes me want to jump on a plane right now and go there to see the beauty that was described in the book.

I loved the characters and I love the growth that the both of them have done on their own between the years of not seeing each other and the growth that they both had to do to make things work. I honestly wasn’t bothered by the miscommunication trope in this book because the way that it was written you can see the reasons and understand it. I found Emerson to be a great MFC and I loved how she was willing to do whatever it cost to see if things could work out with her best friend and to see if they could have the future that she always wanted with him in it. I found Theo to be the best MMC, he was understanding at times, jealous at the right time and overall caring/supportive. He really is the best male character.

I received the audiobook to review, and I found the narrators to be great. I loved that they really brought this book to life and helped you really feel the emotions in this book. I felt as if these characters were my friends, and I was right there rooting for their happily ever after.

I want to thank NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to review this book.

Thank you @macmillianaudio for the ALC of One Last Shot by @bettysbooklist in exchange for an honest review.

🎧🎧 Book Review 🎧🎧 Supermodel Emerson’s career is picture perfect but her personal life is just not what she wants it to be. After she breaks up with her latest boyfriend, she remembers the pact she made with the boy from high school that she still holds a huge torch for, Theo. With just one week before their pact expires in their calendar, she heads to Cinque Terre full of hope to reconnect with Theo. Told in dual points of view, the readers learn that Theo does indeed remember the pact and carries the same sense of hope as he gets ready to embark on his photo shoot in Italy. Between the narratives of Emerson and Theo, the reader gets a very intimate and beautiful viewpoint into their past together and their individual lives over the decade. Betty Cayouette creates characters with such depth and relatability, they feel like old friends that we are rooting for. One Last Shot is a beautifully written and narrated book about second chances at the love we all deserve to find in our lives.

Review is posted on Goodreads and will be on Instagram ahead of the publication date!

This was a great second chance romance/friends to lovers romance. I normally do not like second chance romances but this one had a very good reason why it didn't work out, so it made me want to root for them to get back together. I loved the setting, in Italy, and the pace of the relationship development, the flashback scenes, as well as their reunion. This had a balanced mix of light romcom with heavier emotional issues including sexual trauma and bullying. Cayouette addresses the trigger warnings at the beginning of the novel in an author's note as well, I highly approved of the move. All of the difficult topics are handled well and she obviously spoke to experts on the issue to handle it with sensitivity.

I found I related to Emerson quite a bit as a teen and in much of her internal monologue as an adult. The author also has experience in the modeling industry and it shows! You as a reader feel like you are getting inside information into the life of what it is like to be a model but also what it is like to work behind the scenes on set.

I couldn't give it a full five stars though because of the very early on miscommunication that occurs. I understand why it had to happen, but it doesn't mean I have to like it! Made the first 1/3rd of the book a harder read.

The narrator was pleasant to listen to and I would listen to another book narrated by them.

I love a friends to lovers romance. I love when books flashback to when characters were younger. I love an Italian setting. I was intrigued by all of these things, and that's why I started listening to this book. However, all of the pieces didn't fit together for me. The whole story could have been so much better if the characters just spoke to each other. I can understand some miscommunication, but the entire plot of this book hinged on the fact that Emerson and Theo didn't address anything with each other. There was so much inner dialogue. I just kept saying to myself- just talk to each other. Please have a conversation.

Just when you think the miscommunication is over- more miscommunication comes in. There were so many plot points that were thrown in toward the end of the book too. I felt so confused by everything that happened in the last 10% of the book.

The narrators did a great job with the material that they were given, but I didn't enjoy this book.

This was an absolutely delightful story and a debut to boot! I cannot wait to see what comes next for this talented author. The story had me giggle and invested in the relationship from the start.

I did not like One Last Shot at all. The marriage pact premise can be fun, but pairing it with the second chance romance and a ton of miscommunication ruined that fun. I would have DNFd the book but I wanted to finish it so I could decide if I wanted to skip the book box that I am fairly confident this will be in next month. I skipped it.

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.

Great on audio narrated by my very fav, Brittany Pressley. This book does a great job balancing the line between bingeable romcom and emotional, heavy hitting family drama including a hoarding mother and trauma from rape. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review! I absolutely loved this one!

CW: rape, neglectful/absentee parent