Cassie and Tom lost their parents when they were young. Their mother’s sister took them in but had a hard time being the mother they needed so it was Cassie and Tom against the world. Sam was Tom’s best friend and the three of them spent much of their time together. As the years went by Cassie had a crush on Sam but he did not return her affection. Now Sam is a high paid lawyer, Tom is trying to find his place, and Cassie works hard at a job she loves but a boss who makes her life miserable. Tom has always given Cassie a treasure hunt for her Christmas gift. Tom was always trying to get Cassie to be more brave. She sets out on her last treasure hunt and finds she can do the activities that frighten her with the knowledge that Tom would be proud.
I loved Cassie’s friends who supported her and gave her strength. The antics with Tom and Sam were so much fun. It was good to see how Cassie made the effort to do what she wanted to do with the encouragement of her friends. When you lose someone important to you your life changes. I thought this book did a wonderful job of showing the grief and the importance of moving forward. People grieve differently and it takes time to wrestle with the feelings. It was a fun adventure to go along with Tom, Sam, and Cassie on their trips and see the resolve many of the hurts they harbored. Great book!

A sweet, Christmas romance about love and loss, and an epic Christmas scavenger hunt her brother set up before he passed away. Will it bring Cassie and Sam back together?

3.5
This is the second Stone book and I'm still not sure what category I would put them in.

While I like the love story spattered in, it tries to be maybe too much. Personal growth, grief, sibling love, treasure hunt, love story, secondary character story lines....
If the love story was the focus I would have liked a little more in the main storyline vs mostly background and separate lives, also more open door steam.
But I didn't dislike each of the elements on there own.

Overall a good read.

Cassie, Tom, Sam and Hazel grew up together and didn't know life without one another. Cassie and Tom, siblings, had lost their parents tragically when the kids were young. Their maternal aunt raised them and offered them a safe place to grow up together but being so young herself along with the grief from losing her best friend and sister, did not know how to comfort the children.

Present day, Tom and Sam plan a trip to Argentina right before Christmas. The night before, Sam is reckless with alcohol and ends up drunk and missing their flight the next day. Tom goes without Sam. Sadly, Tom's rock climbing equipment has a malfunction and Tom dies. Cassie, Sam, and Hazel are crushed but especially Cassie is adrift without her brother and strongest supporter

Growing up, Tom would create a scavenger hunt for Cassie every Christmas. It was the one thing she looked forward to. Tom, not knowing of his untimely death, had left one final scavenger hunt for his sister.

Stone takes the reader on an emotional journey as Cassie goes on this scavenger hunt that Tom left for her. The book brought all the emotions. I was rooting for Cassie the entire way. I will definitely be watching for future releases by Stone.

Trigger warnings: Sudden or unexpected loss, loss of a parent, loss of a sibling

I had not read Emily Stone's debut book so I was not sure what to expect.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts & opinions are my own.

This book is about Cassie finding the courage to follow her dreams. Although it set at Christmas, it is not really a Christmas romance. It is about grief, expectations, friendships, loss and courage. A delightful read.

One Last Gift by Emily Stone

One Last Gift is a sweet story of friendship taking place in a small town atmosphere. The characters are lovely and the Christmas setting puts you in the holiday spirit. Stone explores a range of emotions in the book including love, grief, anger and forgiveness.

One Last Gift is a slow burn with romance woven in. Keep the Kleenex close by as they may come in handy while reading this touching book. This novel would make a wonderful Hallmark movie. In fact, parts of it remind me of the show Virgin River. The author left room for a sequel so my fingers are crossed.

One Last Gift by Emily Stone is available on October 11th.

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, for sharing this heartfelt book with me. Your kindness is appreciated.

First off, thank you NetGalley for the ARC of One Last Gift.

I love a good tearjerker, and One Last Gift ticked all the boxes for me. Cassie, Tom and Sam are all strong characters, and the slow burn of Cassie and Sam’s relationship is very well written. Balance that with the heartbreaking connection between Cassie and Tom, and her relationships with the town that raised her, and you’ve got a winner.

I was excited to receive this ARC from netgalley as I really enjoyed Emily Stone's last book. I really loved One Last Gift. I knew ahead of time that this was probably going to be a tearjerker. I love when a book can bring so much emotion out of me through the storytelling. This is the story of Cassie and all of her loss, but also of hope and love. It was beautifully written and well worth reading.

This novel about love, grief, and forgiveness had me engaged from the beginning. The relationship between Cassie and her brother Tom was touching, and the last treasure hunt he set up for her was a lot of fun to follow. The second-chance love story with Sam was also well-depicted, and his character arc was satisfyingly believable. The triggers in the book (bereavement, grief, anxiety) are handled with a fairly light touch, but Cassie's experience of them nevertheless rings true.
The pacing was generally good, although it lost steam in a few parts and some of the sentences lacked clarity. Hopefully, these faults will be addressed in the final edits. All in all, this is an engaging novel with some depth in the relationships and should appeal to women's fiction lovers.

Very sweet book. It was a bit slow in the beginning for me but quickly picked up and I was looking forward to seeing where all these characters ended up. I love the friends to lovers to enemies to lovers story. I loved Cassie and Tom’s relationship, I loved the happy ending. Such a nice read and it’ll be perfect when it’s published in October, perfect for the winter! Cozy read!

I have also shared this review to my goodreads!

This was a fun book which gave us a bit of everything, from romance, sorrow, friendships, misunderstandings, you name it.
The characters are really well developed and I got right in to the story and was hooked.
Cassie and her brother Tom had lost their parents at a young age and they became each others support system, always looking after one another, along with Tom's best friend Sam who was always around, sometimes to Cassie's dismay, but then things changed as she saw him in another light.
Tom at Christmas would always set up a scavenger hunt for Cassie, to find her present, and after a tragedy occurred, Cassie was sadly sent on her last hunt.
This story contained much more than I am giving you, as far as people, events and all of the mix ups that go along with it.
I also read the authors first book and enjoyed it very much as well.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group -
Ballantine for a copy of this book

4.5/5 stars

This is Stone’s second novel (following Always, in December) and another hanky-alert story as well.

I won’t go into much detail here because I don’t want to spoil things, but it spotlights Tom and Cassie (a brother and sister who lost both parents as young children) and Sam, Tom’s best friend. It’s a love story...of siblings, close friends and the romantic variety and involves all of the angst, frustrations, and joy inherent in those relationships.

I did enjoy this one, but maybe not quite as much as her debut. A turn in both Tom’s character (toward the end of the book) and Sam’s (around 20% into the book) left me with a bit of 180-degree whiplash and quite frankly a bit of disbelief. Everything I had thought and pieced together about both Tom’s and Sam’s nature was called into question, although it was later to be resolved/explained. And even though I realize now that those things needed to happen to Tom and Sam for the advancement of the story, it still managed to leave a little sourness behind for me.

There are some issues (childhood abandonment, learning to trust oneself and others, etc. as well as bravery in tackling those things that scare us) that are well done and heart wrenching at times. The relationship between Cassie and Tom made the book for me, and the yearly Christmas treasure hunt was the cherry on top. The writing was beautiful, the secondary characters (especially Hazel, Cassie’s best friend and Linda, a supportive maternal figure) who were stellar and added much to the lives of Tom and Cassie.

I definitely recommend this book and look forward to more from the gifted Stone. And just as an aside, the cover goes so perfectly with the story.

My sincere thanks to the author, NetGalley and Random House/Ballantine/Dell for providing the early arc of One Last Gift for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

This is my first read by this author. I’ll admit, after reading the blurb, I knew this would be more of an emotional read for me. I expected that. And that’s what I got. I enjoyed the characters, the story and the way in which this story unfolded. It was really well told and one I went in pretty blindly. Although it has a holiday vibe to it, it really is a year-round read.

Description: When a young woman finds herself lost and at a crossroads, one last gift from her brother just might give her another chance at life and at love in this epic holiday romance from the author of Always, in December.
** Sometimes the best gifts in life are the ones you don’t expect. **

I enjoy this author and was excited to get this story! It was a little different than traditional stories as it focuses on family, loss, friendships and finding yourself before the romance (which is a good thing!)

I am grateful for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review! Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and publisher for the opportunity!

This was a OK book for me but it d r a g g e d. With some editing, it could have been a 4 but there doesn't seem to be any editors left!

This is my first book by this author and while it turned out to be not quite what I expected, I still find it fine. Overall, this is a heartwarming story full of fall and holiday charm. I really enjoyed this read and highly recommend getting cozy by a warm fire with a cup of hot chocolate and you immerse yourself in Cassie's world. I recommend this to readers of women’s fiction, and those who enjoy romantic dramas. Despite the heavy subject matter, the book feels lighthearted and features plenty of good chemistry, yearning, friendship, and self-discovery with a dash of misunderstanding/miscommunication here and there.

One Last Gift was a delight and surprise - not your typical holiday romance! After suffering tremendous loss and working to overcome fears in her life, Cassie embarks on a true treasure hunt that will change her core and the course of her life. With help from family and friends, Cassie learns that "running toward" can be much healthier than running away. This book got better chapter by chapter as the clues began to unfold, revealing the interweaving of the characters. With Tom, Hazel, Josh, and Sam by her side, Cassie learns to run toward what she truly dreams about and wants out of life, despite her fear.

Only read this if you have a box of tissues near by. Friendship, loss of loved ones, grief, all of the emotions possible, new found family...ugh my heart strings were pulled.

This wasn't too "Christmasy" which I enjoyed since I read it in August. I loved Always in December and now this has set in stone that Emily Stone [I tried to be funny there] is officially an auto-buy author for me.

All the stars for this one!

A quick read about love, loss, and finding oneself. Cassie learns about herself and opens her heart to love as she struggles with the loss of her brother. When I started reading this book, I didn't have high hopes, but as the story progressed, it had much more depth as it delves into the how one handles grief and loss. It was an enjoyable read.

Finished review coming soon! Review will be posted to Netgalley, retailers, Instagram, and TikTok!

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and to Netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest thoughts!