Last September I read and so loved Always, in December, so when I got an email asking me to read and review Emily Stone's new book I jumped at the chance. Christmas in July you say? Count me in! I adored this precious book so much. It is an incredible story about a brother and sisters love for each other. I really appreciated this take on the story as I am remarkably close to my own brother so it gave me all the feels.

This is a sad story to start but as you read on you will find plenty to smile about. The scavenger hunt was a lot of fun and I loved watching Cassie grow from an awkward eighteen-year-old to a fierce woman in her twenties. Sam too redeemed himself to me, as he seemed like such a cad to start off with and I was so happy when he grew a conscience.

Who would think that a book about grief, loss, and falsehoods would make such a lovely story? Emily Stone, that's who and the writing is so real and natural that I was able to read all 340 pages in a couple of sittings.

Heartbreaking yet beautiful at the same time One Last List isn't your typical Christmas romance and I liked that about it.

I requested to read and review this book for free from Penguin Random House. This book has lots of difference emotions happiness, sadness and anger. Sometimes emotions or words get misunderstood. We don't always know what exactly we are feeling at one time or how to express it. Past hurts can make us not want to take risks. Can a risk lead to something great or tragic. Trusting yourself can be a great gift to you and to others. Love is love. Characters Cassie, Sam, Tom, and Hazel are best friends and family through everything. Even if you are mad or sad family is family. Life can separate you when you need to go on your own journey to discover who you are and what you want to do with life. But life is tricky it can bring you back to something when you least except it. Sometimes tragedy brings you together abut also can tears apart. A bond is for life it can't be broken. This book is for a mature audience and can be read anywhere.

One Last Gift set in London beginning at Christmas time. Cassie and her brother Tom are especially close after losing their parents when they were young. When Tom dies unexpectedly in a tragic accident Cassie is left reeling. Not sure how she can possibly continue to move on without her beloved brother, she realizes he’s left her one last gift, his annual Christmas scavenger hunt, and this will be the biggest one yet. When Cassie finally faces the challenges Tom left for her in the scavenger hunt, she discovers she’s much braver and stronger than she thought. Tom’s best friend Sam notices as well, and despite their tumultuous relationship after Tom’s death, maybe there’s a possibility of love there. Even though there was sadness and loss, there was hope and love too. Definitely recommend.

4.75 out of 5. I loved this book so much. As with her previous book, Always in December, the tone is bittersweet and be prepared to have a kleenex box next to you. This is a full blown tears read, from happy to sad, you will go through all the emotions and all the kleenex. First of all the concept of Christmas scavenger hunts is amazing, and why have I never done this? I need to institute this in my life. Also I fell in love with all the characters, they are imperfectly adorable and you just want to root for them all. This is the ideal Christmas book, its a warm cup of cider, a fireplace and a cozy blanket during the snow in book form. A Christmas must read, trust me.

How much christmas: It is Christmas adjacent, and the premise is a Christmas Gift, But it is so much more than just a Christmas book, also most of the book happens outside of the Christmas season.

A true boy finds girl, boy losses girl, does boy find girl again story, but intertwined with loss throughout. Cassie and Tom are brother and sister orphaned together after their parents have died in an accident. Tom's best friend Sam, and Cassie's best friend Hazel, along with Linda from the pub round out their chosen family. 'One of the best traditions that Tom does for Cassie is scavenger hunts for her Christmas gift. Though a little predictable, this book has you in its feels. Very well written and quickly paced, its a great read.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I love a good holiday book and this one did the trick. Perfect for reading in a bit fluffy blanket next to a fire.

This is my first book to read by this author but I cannot wait to read more by them! This is such a uniquely written story that you will find yourself thinking about long after you finish it. Highly recommend!!

Oh my heart! This is going to be THE book to read this holiday season and I cannot wait to get my hands on a physical copy.

I went through all the emotions while reading this book. But the beginning made my heart swell as did the end which for me makes a book a 5 star read.

Slow burn friends to lovers coming of age handling loss and grief set in the UK
Enjoyable cozy read with some emotional depth to it

An enjoyable read. This book had likable characters. I loved the relationships between characters. I liked the supportive relationship between siblings, and friends. After losing there parents Cassie and Tom created a caring and supportive little village. The story focuses on how people deal with loss. Loss of loved ones, relationships, and of self. The storyline kept my interest throughout. There was one plot that was a bit iffy for me. That plot did create a great moment in the end.

Full disclosure, I went into this blind thinking it would be a cute holiday romance based on the cover. I was wrong. One Last Gift was so much more than that.

This absolute tearjerker ended up being a beautifully written story about navigating grief after a significant loss, love, and self discovery. I’m honestly just at a loss for words… This book had me so emotional—I felt Cassie’s grief, anger, hurt, and hope as if it were my own, and despite getting my ass kicked by this booked I loved it so much. Highly recommend!

This has all the fun, sweet elements I wanted in a book, so cute! I’d definitely recommend it to my family and friends.

Wow! I wasn't expecting to love this book as much as I did! I couldn't be more impressed with One Last Gift. Emily did an amazing job talking about grief and how people handle it. This book was much heavier than I was expecting, because I went in basically blind, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. This book was a heart-warming, heart-wrenching, beautiful story of grief and love! 10000% recommend everyone to pick this up when it releases on October 11, 2022! This is the perfect book if you are looking for a good cry! #OneLastGift #NetGalley

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing for providing me with an ARC.

Last year I picked up Always, in December on impulse and it quickly became one of my favorite books of all time. I'm so glad I got to read an early copy of One Last Gift, which truly is a gift of a book.

Cassie and Tom lost their parents when they were young and have always had a close relationship because of it. Every Christmas, Tom would set up a scavenger hunt for Cassie that would lead her to her gift at the end, a tradition which they continue to celebrate into adulthood. Cassie has also always had a bit of a crush on their best friend Sam, but could never be sure if her feelings were reciprocated. Following the unexpected death of her brother, Cassie discovers that Tom has left her one last scavenger hunt that will take her through grief, heartbreak, and make her reexamine what she wants to do with her life - including her feelings about Sam.

Just like Always, in December, I absolutely loved One Last Gift. It is heartbreaking (truly, who has their readers sobbing at only 22% of the way through the book?) but it is also an ode to the people, places, and life-altering events that shape us. One Last Gift left me a bit of an emotional mess, but also quite hopeful that, through a combination of fate and our own choices, life brings us to exactly where we're meant to be when we're meant to be there. I also believe that Emily Stone writes some of the best nuanced characters in contemporary romance. All of these characters say and do the wrong things, even hurt other people while processing their own grief, but none of them are bad people or undeserving of love. Cassie and Sam's stories are sometimes ugly and devastating, but ultimately they are humans capable and worthy of love.

4.5 stars, round up to 5. What an emotional rollercoaster that I'd gladly take again.

This book follows Cassie throughout her young adult years as she navigates romance, adulthood and grief during the holidays. She has always had a crush on her brother’s best friend Sam, and there seems to be a special connection between them. But can it be more? When Cassie’s brother Tom unexpectedly dies, he sends her on their traditional Christmas Treasure hunt. Throughout her quest to find the clues and complete the hunt Cassie has to decide how far she is willing to push herself outside of her comfort zone both physically and emotionally. Most important of all, will she ever be able to let her guard down and trust Sam after everything she has been through? Only time will tell. This book brought pictures of London and the UK back to me, and I am so grateful for that! I am dying to go back, and this book is probably one of the best substitutes until I’m able to. Emily Stone paints a picture of the locations in vivid detail making the book such a comforting read, even while dealing with difficult subjects such as grief and how it affects us all differently. A perfect Christmas in July read!

A beautiful novel of the love between orphaned siblings as they navigate the adult world without parents. It brought up such powerful emotions for Mr as an adult orphan. A lovely heart warming read.

This book was okay. The pacing and timeline just didn’t flow that well and I didn’t like the romance at all. Though I did love the premise of the scavenger hunt from her brother. That was really sweet and cute and I really liked it- especially given the location of places on the scavenger hunt.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC of Emily Stone’s One Last Gift for an honest review.

This book revolves around family, friends, loss, survival, and being brave. Let me tell you, bring your tissues along with you.

Cassie lost her parents to an accident when she was 5 years old and ever since that she has relied on her older brother Tom for everything. They are as close as can be and do everything together. They also spend most of their time with Tom’s best friend Sam. Many years later, Cassie has lost Tom, a loss that has devastated both her and Sam. In fact, they have lost each other as well. Cassie is given the first clue of the annual scavenger hunt that Tom makes her and it sends her on a wild goose chase throughout various areas in the United Kingdom with Tom teaching her lessons as his legacy. Will she and Sam find their way back to each other?

5/5 stars for this book! Stone does an amazing job writing the feelings that all the characters are experiencing. The anger, loss, devastation, as well as regrets they have. She explains how they all react to loss at all levels of life. While Sam hasn’t lost either of his parents, he has his own family struggles to deal with.

This is not the first book of Emily Stone’s that I have read and it certainly won’t be the last. I’ll just make sure I’ll have a box of tissues next to me when I start back the next ones.

#EmilyStone #TheLastGift #Romance #RealisticFiction #ContenporaryFiction
#Family #FriendsLikeFamily #Loss #Death #SiblingLoss #ParentLoss
#July #2022

This was a beautiful story of loss, grief, hope and love and all the ways of getting back to the way you were. I really loved the idea of searching for your gift and going by letters and clues to get to it. It was so fun watching Cassie go from one letter to the next that Tom had left her and has been doing for Christmas since they were young! Watching Cassie grieve and work her way through her feelings, especially about Sam was interesting. I definitely recommend picking this up during a nice snowy night in winter.

Thanks so much to the publisher and NetGalley. I really tried with this book. Similar books I've loved, but I just couldn't get into this. I found myself a 1/4 of the way through and struggled to keep going. I'm really sorry!