Not my usual choice but this book was perfect for the day when I was at loose ends and drifting. Love, loss, major screw ups, misunderstandings that go unresolved - just life in all its messy, unpredictable laugh one minute, cry a bucketful the next. It pretty much moved from high to low to high to low and back again. There are few surprises and you pretty much know how it is all going to go but it is all about the in between and there is a lot of that.

So, if your are adrift and need an easy read this works. If you don’t mind the obvious and the flawed, which we all are, this works. Thank you Dell and NetGalley for a copy.

Cassie and Tom have had a very close sibling relationship after losing their parents at a young age and rely heavily on one another and their incredible family of friends. When tragedy strikes and Cassie needs it most, a gift from her brother leads her on a path she never dared to dream of.

One Last Gift made me laugh and cry and wish and hope! This book is more than a cute cover and one that should not be confined to the holiday season as its story is one that captures the heart and encourages the soul no matter the timing. Full of hope and healing, this sweet story is one that will leave an imprint on you long after the last page is turned.

One Last Gift by Emily Stone was an entertaining read that I started over the Christmas break and finished in January. I initially thought this would be a Christmas story but was pleasantly surprised that Christmas only provides the backdrop for several time periods during the story. The characters are very interesting but I became a little frustrated with finding out more of their backstory. It sometimes seemed to drag and I was wishing for more details to get the story moving along. The details came in the end but by then it seemed it was an information dump and rushed. I would recommend this book as a good read but with the precaution that there is a lot of grief and little comedy so the reader should not go in thinking they're getting a rom-com or light read. The grief part of the storyline could have been addressed a little better too . As I have experience with this myself, it frustrated me that the characters did not talk about their grief and it wasn't explored at all. Books (and tv/movies) do a disservice by not addressing how people deal/cope with grief. They sugarcoat things and give people the impression it's not a big deal to be sad/lost for more than a month or two. after losing someone. I wish more writers were realistic with their characters dealing with death. Overall, yes it's a good story as long as you go in with an awareness of it's just fiction, not 100% realistic.

Okay, this was a hella slow burn. To the point where I’d get bored, put it down for days/weeks, take a break, and then force myself to jump back in. It’s also a closed door romance - so for my smutty friends, ehhh. But when I tell you that this book had me ugly sobbing, I meant full snot, tears rolling down my face and my neck. AND, you know it’s gonna happen because it’s the premise of the book.

Cassie’s parents died when she was young, so her and her other brother, Tom, move in with their aunt. Tom’s best friend, Sam, has always been in their life and it surrounds that friendship. Well, Tom does in an accidental fall while exploring Argentina. And for Christmas, he’s always given her a scavenger hunt with clues to her main present. WELL, even after he passes, his final one comes to be and it’s really fucking sad. But you get to watch Cassie grow, grieve, and even Sam - the book is written in third person and kinda has that dual POV we love.

This one didn’t wow me. It didn’t hook me. It was just okay. It did break my heart a million times, which is why I contemplated giving it 4 stars since it was able to pull such emotion from me. But at the end of the day, it took me over a month to read and the only reason I finished it was because I absolutely HATE DNF’ing books.

I originally shared this as a Christmas book, and it is a Christmas book at it’s heart. But it takes place over the course of a year and is really a love story between a brother and sister. Cassie and her brother Tom lost their parents when they were very young. They stuck together and included a small group of friends and people from the community in their homemade family. Every Christmas, Tom made a scavenger hunt for Cassie. He’s continued it into their adulthood. Unexpectedly, Tom passed away and left one last Christmas scavenger hunt for Cassie. Cassie has to make big decisions and Tom is with her the whole way through the scavenger hunt. I absolutely loved it! You can read it anytime in the year, but it was a great book to read right after Christmas.

This book is far less sadder than her first one, and believe me, by the end of the first book I was bawling my eyes out. I enjoy the little treasure hunt and how our main character grows and develops a new sense of herself.

You may not have read this particular book but you know how this story will go. It is comforting in that sense. It does not feel like a Christmas read even though pivotal plot lines take place at Christmas. I can't get over the love interest being named Sam Malone.

Unsurprisingly, this book was super fucking sad. It was also hopeful and uplifting, and a lovely story about friendships and found family. Cassie's treasure hunt was fun to follow despite the grief, and I enjoyed following her as she figured out the clues. Of course, readers can see Tom's plan way before Cassie figures it out herself. While both Cassie and Sam were frustrating at times, I enjoyed watching them find each other again.

This book started off so strong and goes on a very short list of books that actually made me cry, but unfortunately that strong start did not last through the whole book and it ultimately was a bit of a disappointment. I did really liked how the time jumps were handled and thought that the deceptions of grief were really well done. Around the 50% mark the story just started to drag and became a much slower story to read. I had to push myself to keep reading it because the story was no longer holding my attention. I cannot put my finger on if this was because of the flow of the plot which dragged on at parts or because of the slow character development, which was understandable considering what the characters were overcoming but something made the story drag on. This was really disappointing considering the strong start the book had and the really interesting premise that the story was built around.

This one ended up being a little heavier than I could handle right now. I will return to it at another time.

Cassie and Tom lost their parents at a young age and relied on each other—as well as a community of friends—to cope. They were especially close with Tom’s best friend, Sam, who always made sure that Tom and Cassie were surrounded with love. But, twenty years later, Cassie has lost Tom as well. And in a way, she’s also lost Sam; over the years they’d drifted apart, and now the man she always had a crush on is someone she doesn’t even recognize anymore.

She’s never felt more alone.

Then Cassie finds an envelope with her name on it, written in Tom’s terrible handwriting, and she knows immediately what it is. It’s the first clue in the Christmas scavenger hunt that Tom made for her every year; he’d promised her for months that this year’s would be the grandest one yet. At first, she’s too scared to open the envelope—what if she can’t figure out the clues without his help? Or what if she does figure them all out and her last connection to Tom is gone?

Tom’s present sets Cassie on a heart-wrenching and beautiful journey that will change her life—if she lets it. And as she travels from London to the Welsh mountains to the French countryside, she reconnects with old friends, rekindles a lost love, and, most important, rediscovers herself. But once she’s solved the final clue, will she be brave enough to accept the gift her brother has given her—and the love it’s led her to?

One Last Gift by Emily Stone grabbed me by the heartstrings and didn't let go. A bighearted Christmas scavenger hunt, travel, romance, and a final gift from her brother. So sweet.

Cassie and Tom lost their parents at a young age and always relied on each other and their friends to get through life. Tom's best friend Sam always made sure they both knew they were loved. Twenty years later Cassie has lost her beloved brother too. She's also somewhat lost Sam too, as they drifted apart, and she feels completely alone now. She finds an envelope addressed to her from Tom and knows that it is the first clue in the Christmas scavenger hunt he did for her every year. The scavenger hunt takes her on a journey that reconnects her with old friends, rekindles an old love, and finds herself again.
This was a great book and was easy to read. I liked Cassie's journey throughout the book and the ending was great too. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

3.5 Stars. This book was a bit heavy, thought there were hopeful and light moments to it as well. I didn't really love Cassie's character that much, she seemed kind of flighty and I had a hard time understanding some of her decisions. Overall though, this was a cute read. Thank you to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for the ARC.

I'll be honest, I went into this one blind and let's just say I was totally caught off guard by one of the main plot points that happened early on in the story😅😂. I was also under the impression that this was going to be more of a romance storyline than it actually was. I would classify this one as a journey to self-discovery with bits of a friends to lovers romance sprinkled throughout.

With all that being said, I still found the story to be heart-felt and endearing! The sibling relationship between Cassie and Tom warmed my heart. I found the treasure hunt idea put together by Tom to be creative and sweet! I loved following the journey Cassie went on as she worked through her grief and was encouraged to try new things. The ending was absolutely perfect and I was rooting for it throughout the book, so I'm happy it worked out the way it did!

I'm giving this one 4⭐️s because although it wasn't what I was expecting going into it, I still found it an enjoyable read for the holiday season. It is filled with heart-felt emotion, the journey to finding oneself, and the daring challenge to try new things.

Thank you to @netgalley for providing me an eARC of this one in exchange for my honest review! It's out now!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the gifted eARC of this title in exchange for my honest review!

Ill started with what I loved about the book. The main character is very relatable and lovable. I adored her storyline with her sweet brother and the idea of the “last gift”, their tradition of a secret gift each year for Christmas. Her life was filled with tragedy and I enjoyed her journey from the beginning as she coped with grief.

What I did not adore was the love story. I felt like it was very forced and the male lead was both unlikeable and had little chemistry with the lead. While he had his own character development, it was very rushed and I still did not like him as a character nor did I like him for our lovely lead. I would have much preferred this story as a fiction versus forced romantic story.

Overall, I still enjoyed the book and while marketed around the holidays, can be read anytime of year. It was a cozy and quick read!

Overall this one was okay. It did seem a bit long and I was hoping for it to be a bit more Christmasy

Need a good cry? Read One Last Gift. While parts of this are gut wrenching, I had a hard time putting it down. The story spans several years, but the author transitions nicely as time passes. Readers get to watch the characters grow through their different stages of life and circumstances. The characters were lovable. Overall just a great story.

If you enjoy stories by Joise Silver you'll enjoy this book.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Thank you NetGalley for this free book to read and review!

A story that is based around Christmas and keeping those we love alive in memory.
Even though this story takes place around Christmas-it is extremely sad and honestly was hard for me to get through.
Whatever you do, don’t read the synopsis because it tells you stuff that happens in the book-about 100 pages in. Big downer. Why ruin the story and give it away? Besides that this book just felt so sad and depressing and dragged on and on. Obviously predictable and just too slow and depressing for me. The only thing that saved this story was the likable and flawed characters and the sibling love.

Emily Stone does a beautiful job of allowing the reader to experience grief with her characters. I enjoyed many aspects of this book. It felt like a sibling version of ps I love you (the movie). I enjoyed the different character journeys and relationships explored.

I loved this book so much! Her writing is always spot on and this was no different! Such a great story and strong characters