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 is a second chance romance on the Italian coast where high school friends meet up again after ten years for a photo shoot. In their journey to get back to together, some forces are helping, and others are seeking to destroy the trust these old friends are trying to rebuild. While occasionally frustrated with the pace it does allow the reader to see the friendship reestablished before focusing on the romance. Wonderful descriptions of the landscape adds to the reading experience. TW:sexual abuse in the past is referenced though not described.

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.

I discovered One Last Shot by way of a TikTok video teasing the book/vibe and I was instantly hooked. Sadly the book wasn’t actually available yet so I bookmarked it and continued to check NetGalley for it. When a widget appeared in my inbox I was PYSCHED and immediately fell in love with Emerson and Theo. It’s a second-chance romance by way of a decade-long marriage pact from when they were teenagers in love. But after an incident tore them apart at the age of eighteen, she’s gone on to become one of the top models in the world and he’s a fashion photographer. When the reminder of the marriage pact goes off, Emerson schemes to get herself placed on Theo’s upcoming shoot in Italy. Over the course of a week, they each have to face their fears and put aside tensions and regrets to find a way to reconnect and give it one last shot to work. I enjoyed the flashbacks in time between the present and their past, plus the dual point of view in both timelines. The setting doesn’t hurt either!

The way I loved Emerson and Theo's story.

This is a beautiful second chance romance, you just feel the connection through the writing. Their friendship was adorable when they were younger.

Emerson is a supermodel who gets a notification on her phone about a marriage pact she made with her HS best friend, Theo. She hasn't spoken to him in a decade but finds put he is a photographer with a shoot in Italy. Being the amazing supermodel, she inserts herself into the gig.

Theo and Emerson reconnect while in Italy, tiptoeing around their true feelings for each other. Even after all these years.

Theo is one of the sweetest men I have ever read about while Emerson is so relatable as a woman who has experienced a traumatic event while trying not to make that her whole personality.

I throughly enjoyed this book.

Thank you Netgalley, publishers and author for the ARC in return for an honest review.

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.

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). A marriage pact between two long-distant high school besties brings Emerson and Theo back together circuitously.

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 didn’t especially love all the miscommunication—but it’s a romance, and is it definitely 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!

Sadly I had to DNF. The book just wasn’t for me. First it’s a friends to lovers storyline which is not my favorite and secondly it relies heavily on the miscommunication trope which is truly and honestly the bane of my existence. Don’t let my review stop you—I’ve seen many people thoroughly enjoy this book so check it out if you like friends to lovers.

Emerson has it all thanks to her successful modeling career, she’s just missing out on love. After a reminder for the marriage pact she made with her best friend in high school goes off, she’s desperate to reconnect with Theo and reignite their spark. He’s a photographer, so she gets herself booked on his latest campaign. As Emerson and Theo get to know each other again, will secrets from the past continue to keep them apart? Or can they find their happy ending?

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💭 Thoughts 💭

I really enjoyed this read! It is a romance, but it had a lot of substance too. Emerson had something truly traumatic happen to her in high school, and needed the time to heal before returning to Theo, and Theo had his own traumas from Emerson’s abrupt departure to deal with. I enjoyed the first half the most, during the second part Theo and Emerson both second guessed things a bit too much.

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⌛️ Favorite Moment⌛️

At the beginning of the book Emerson breaks up with her current boyfriend for pretending to have read all the books that his stylist curated on his bookshelf. We love that energy!

If you like miscommunication romance, this one is for you. Emerson & Theo have known each other since high school. They became best friends & potentially something more. There had even made a marriage pact that if they weren’t married by 28, they would marry each other. But Emerson has something happen on a shoot right after Senior year and leaves Theo without explanation. Now the marriage pact alert has come up on Emerson’s phone and she decides to take a chance. She sets up a shoot with Theo on it. Then the miscommunication begins. I did find all of the moments a bit much but overall this was a good book.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for advanced copy, and I give my review freely.

One Last Shot is a second-chance friends-to-lovers romance featuring a supermodel and a photographer who were best friends in high school. It has two points of view, both of which are well-written and sympathetic, and the timeline switches between the characters' high school experience 10-15 years ago and present day.

The author is clearly knowledgeable about fashion and the modeling business, and she does a great job of sprinkling tidbits of information into the story in a way that added depth and interest - even for those of us who don't care much about fashion. I found the high school sections less interesting than the present-day ones, but they were necessary to give background and depth to the characters' personalities and their friendship. Even though this is a plot-lite, angst-heavy story - the "action" is essentially a bunch of pictures being taken and donuts being consumed, plus a few hikes - I was absorbed in the characters' feelings and the will-they-or-won't-they for most of its length.

My enthusiasm waned a bit, however, in the novel's final act. Once the characters got together, they seemed to bring out all each other's fears and insecurities, and the final chapters primarily highlighted all the possible issues with their relationship - i.e. that they live on opposite coasts and have different lifestyles - without actually solving them. Third-act breakups are a classic feature of romance novels - but I think this one could have better spent its energy developing the characters' present-day compatibility.

4 stars, a good light read.

Sadly this book is not for me. I didn’t realize before I requested this one that it is a miscommunication trope, which is one of my least favorite tropes. I couldn’t get past the frustration that this trope brings and the superfluous and unnecessary drama between main characters due to their miscommunication.

𝟹.𝟺 ͙͘͡★
“𝗬𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲. 𝗧𝗼𝗱𝗼 𝗱𝗲 𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗷𝗮.”

This book made me want to book a flight to Italy for this summer🥹🤚🏼

ᴛʀᴏᴘᴇꜱ:
⊹ ꜰʀɪᴇɴᴅꜱ ᴛᴏ ꜱᴛʀᴀɴɢᴇʀꜱ ᴛᴏ ʟᴏᴠᴇʀꜱ
⊹ ᴄʜɪʟᴅʜᴏᴏᴅ ꜰʀɪᴇɴᴅꜱ
⊹ ꜱᴇᴄᴏɴᴅ ᴄʜᴀɴᴄᴇ
⊹ ᴍɪꜱᴄᴏᴍᴍᴜɴɪᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ

!!𝗜 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝗴𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘆 & 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝘁. 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻'𝘀 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 & 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿 𝗕𝗲𝘁𝘁𝘆 𝗖𝗮𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗰 𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄!!

This book wasn't for me. Besides having my least favorite trope ever (miscommunication), it also felt way too formulaic.

Emerson, supermodel, and Theo, fashion photographer, were high school best friends and sweethearts. They made a pact that if they weren't married by 28 (what?), they would marry each other. They have a significant fall out after their senior year and haven't seen each other in 10 years, but when the date arrives, Emerson seeks out Theo to make amends and rekindle their love.

This book felt like a paint-by-numbers romance. I didn't feel like the flashbacks added much and I hated the miscommunication between the two main characters. Both of them didn't have a backbone and were fine with just being walked all over. My favorite characters in the book were Georgia and Harry, Emerson's side kicks. They actually had more developed personalities and I would rather read a book about them.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ebook in exchange for my honest review.

This book was so cute and a pleasant surprise, especially for a debut! I'm a huge fan of the second-chance / friends-to-strangers-to-lovers tropes, and the atmosphere/overseas setting were both stunning and added so much to the story. Would def recommend to others and am excited to see more work from Cayouette in the future!

Well written classic romance book. If you don't like miscommunication this one isn't for you. Remember to check trigger warnings.

I absolutely loved this book! It’s hard to believe this is Cayouette’s debut. It reads like a classic romance, with characters you root for from page one. The chemistry between Em and Theo was palpable and the payoff was well worth it. I also loved the little happy ending twist at the end. Grab a copy and get ready to be craving doughnuts throughout your read! Iykyk.

Emerson is a model who travels to Italy and meets up with her old friend Theo who is a photographer on her photo shoot., second chance romance.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Back when they were eighteen, Emerson and Theo made a pact - if they were still unattached by their 28th birthday, they would marry each other. Fast forward ten years, and Emerson gets a notification reminding her of the pact. Is it a sign? Maybe, but regardless, Emerson is determined to take this one last shot at reconciling with Theo and maybe making him her happily ever after.

This was a twofer for me - friends-to-lovers getting their second chance at love. That's my catnip and it was done so well. Cayouette used flashbacks to show us Emerson and Theo's past. I got to watch them meet, build a strong friendship, and fall in love. It was precious! They shared so many firsts together, but I HATED that they also experienced first heartbreak at each other's hands.

The idea of this pact, this last shot, and Emerson forcing their worlds to collide was just too exciting for me. I eagerly awaiting their reunion, and it took every ounce of patience as I waited for them to stop friend-zoning each other. It was almost like history repeating itself, but there were some outside forces involved in trying to keep this reunion from happening. And there was also a matter of Emerson coming clean about what drove her to leave and break Theo's heart the first time. With the whole truth on the table, it was now up to them to decide how to move forward together.

Aside from the romance, I got to spend time in Italy. The location sounded breathtaking, and I had the opportunity to learn quite a bit about the life of a model and photoshoots. It was interesting. I also adored the supporting characters. Emerson's circle was small, but it was comprised of high quality people. I loved how supportive they were, and Theo had this amazing family. His brother did not get a ton of page time, but it was memorable.

Overall, this was a beautiful and touching tale of love and healing. This second chance romance had me fully invested and engaged, and its culmination made my heart soar.