I wanted to love this so much more than I did! It had so many elements of a really great, 5 star rom-com, but the pacing just didn't do it for me. It went slow and didn't get me saying "just one more chapter." I loved the characters and the relationship between not only the FMC and MMC, but also the FMC and the other models on set with them. Despite the pacing missing the mark for me, this is Betty's debut and I'm really excited to see her grow in her career as an author! Endlessly thankful to Macmillion Publishing, Netgalley, and Betty Cayouette for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this one!

One Last Shot was a cute second chance at romance! The story follows Emerson and Theo. In high school they were inseparable best friends, until it turned to something more. Just as they think they’re getting their happy ending, Emerson goes through a traumatizing experience that causes her leave Theo. Ten years later, Emerson is a famous model and Theo is a famous photographer. Emerson gets a notification that their “marriage pact” is in a week, and when she learns that Theo is in Italy for a shoot, she takes the plunge to go to him and win him back.

It was definitely a sweet story that I think many will enjoy, however it didn’t do it for me. The most infuriating trope is miscommunication, and Theo and Emerson’s story is one big miscommunication from beginning to end. It was incredibly frustrating! I was happy to see their growth by the end, as well as their happy ever after. :)

Two best friends from High school meet back up in Italy. One is a supermodel and the other is a photographer working on the same project as her former friend, can they finally realize their love for each other, or are they doomed to repeat it again? This book is a Second-chance romance with many flashbacks.

Although this book is well written and done so well I felt like the back story of the main characters was a bit lacking in depth, I wish I had a bit more background, so I could understand better what happened so many years ago I love flashbacks/second chance romance with best friends but a lot of times I feel like the back story is underdeveloped, I loved both characters and their stories. The story's pacing was also great ( if this was a slow burn I would have DNF it a long time ago, so I'm happy this was not the case with this book. ).

While this book ended up being a DNF for me, I wanted to give it a second try (sometimes the book just isn't the mood at the moment), but while I made it farther into One Last Shot this time, I still couldn't buy into the story Cayouette was telling.

Estranged best friends with a marriage pact is an incredible premise - but having them both in the same professional field and never crossing paths felt a bit far-fetched to me. Then, when the Pact reminder came up on Emerson's phone, her willingness to completely torpedo her career when a simple phone call (like Theo did to her agent) would have worked. Once it's revealed that Anthem is shooting in Greece(?) and Emerson is already over in Europe, all I could see was how hard Cayouette was forcing these two together instead of letting her plot tell the story.

I'm sure the flashbacks were meant to help me believe in this past Great Love, but for me they did the opposite (and I generally love flashbacks in romances!). I think my main issue was Emerson's POV and her celebrity. I don't usually go for celebrity romances, and I thought a model would give me a different vibe but I got massive Taylor Swift vibes from Emerson and not in a good way.

I do think this book will find it's audience and people are going to love it! I just am not one of those people.

This is a second chance at love story. Emerson and Theo have made a marriage pact and it’s time to cash it in. It is an emotionally charged story as the couple tries to recapture the close relationship they had lost years ago. There are wonderful characters that offer entertainment throughout the story. Readers will enjoy the stories happy ending.

‘One Last Shot’ is a second-chance romance for two former best friends who ended things for unknown reasons at the beginning of the story and work in the same industry (fashion). The story includes a dual timeline, reliving high school between the two main characters and the present day.

The miscommunication trope isn’t my favorite, but I wasn’t as annoyed with it in ‘One Last Shot’ because the author spent time detailing the characters thought process and it made sense given the situation. I think the author did a good job of creating longing between the two characters. However, I don’t like that the main characters got back together before talking through the miscommunication that caused their breakup in the first place. The story also felt drawn out at the end and I think the book could’ve ended sooner. Overall, this was a solid debut and I look forward to what the author writes next!

4/5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

DNF @ 35%. Both MCs drove me insane. The refusal to communicate things + the dumb decisions the FMC made had me wanting to repeatedly throw my kindle at the wall.

ℝ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | 𝔽𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕒𝕥: 𝓐𝓾𝓭𝓲𝓸𝓫𝓸𝓸𝓴 & 𝓔-𝓑𝓸𝓸𝓴

ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨: 𝐀𝐦 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐰𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐦-𝐜𝐨𝐦? 𝐘𝐞𝐬. 𝐀𝐦 𝐈 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐥? 𝐀𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐲𝐞𝐬. 𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐚𝐲: 𝐈 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐃 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫’𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐟 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐭, 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐞 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥!

𝐈 𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄-𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬. 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐄𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐨; 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥. 𝐈𝐭 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐚𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐄𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐧𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝟐𝟖, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲’𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫. 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡-𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐥, 𝐄𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐨’𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐂𝐢𝐧𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐓𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐞, 𝐈𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐲. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐚 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞, 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲.

𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐥-𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐮𝐧, 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 (𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐥 𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫 – 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫, 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰) 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭!

ℙ𝕦𝕓𝕝𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝔻𝕒𝕥𝕖: 𝕄𝕒𝕪 𝟟, 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟜

𝐻𝓊𝑔𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓀 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜 𝐵𝑒𝓉𝓉𝓎 𝒞𝒶𝓎𝑜𝓊𝑒𝓉𝓉𝑒, 𝑀𝒶𝒸𝓂𝒾𝓁𝓁𝒶𝓃 𝒜𝓊𝒹𝒾𝑜, 𝒮𝓉. 𝑀𝒶𝓇𝓉𝒾𝓃’𝓈 𝒫𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓈, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒩𝑒𝓉𝒢𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓎 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒜𝑅𝒞! 𝒜𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝓅𝒾𝓃𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓂𝓎 𝑜𝓌𝓃.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC of One Last Shot by Betty Cayouette. I enjoyed the premise of this book a lot. The friends-to-lovers storyline had me interested and once I started this book I just couldn't put it down.

I was excited when I was chosen for an ARC but unfortunately, it fell a little flat for me. I'm normally a fan of MCs being obsessed with each other but it wasn't really executed well in this book. It was a little too much, I think, and the miscommunication became a bit too unbelievable how it went on and on for a while. I also find the writing a bit lacking. It didn't flow smoothly for me so instead of rating it my usual 3 stars for books that are "okay but not memorable", I have to give this 2 stars instead.

A captivating tale of second chance romance set against the backdrop of Cinque Terre, Italy. I loved the chemistry between Theo and Emerson and the flashbacks to their past. The writing is atmospheric and created a powerful debut.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

One Last Shot by Betty Cayouette was just ok for me. This was not my favorite book but I did push myself to finish. I did enjoy the friends to lovers trope and the small amount of spice. I felt the book started out on a high and then fell a little flat for me.

Thank you NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press for the ARC copy of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for honest feedback.

I actually was not aware of this author’s presence on BookTok until the acknowledgments at the end but after reading the book I can certainly understand why. Listen, setting a romance in Italy is already a step in the right direction, but throw in a friends to lovers trope? I’m here for it. I have said this before and I’ll continue to say it, I think a friends to lovers trope is one of my favorite in the romance category because it makes it far more realistic than the ones where they are already in love after a week (not that I haven’t read and enjoyed those books too).

I’m sure I’ve also said something similar in previous reviews I’ve written but Theo is the type of male lead that makes me want to fall in love. I love how chivalrous, respectful and supportive he is and that he’s not afraid to be emotional. I also loved how vulnerable the author was at the start by sharing her difficult past and how she mirrored some of that in Emerson.

There were just two things I found myself bothered by. I find the more I read a miscommunication trope, the more I’m annoyed by it as a way to create friction or move the plot forward. Not to mention, one thing is never resolved for me and that is Emerson never asking Theo to explain why he removed his second phone notification. When Emerson finally makes a comment about how they need to avoid miscommunications and just talk to one another I was cheering in my head…even though I’ll never know why she didn’t use this moment to ask him about the notification. The other thing is the title of the book. I understand One Last Shot is s play on a photo shoot but it seems misleading that this would be either one of their last shot to be together when they’re only 28 years old.

Overall a lovely debut novel and I would certainly read more from this author again!

Emerson and Theo met in high school and were best friends who both wanted more but were afraid to ruin their friendship. They made a pact to marry at 28 if neither of them were married. Now they haven't spoken in many years when both of them get alerts on their phones reminding them of the pact. Emerson, a famous model, finds out where Theo, a photographer, is doing a shoot and makes arrangements to be on the shoot and wants a chance of reconnect with Theo. Told in the present and also through flashbacks from when they met until the event that caused them to part.

One Last Shot by Betty Cayouette
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶

What I loved:
📷 Italy. I loved the setting and the descriptions were impeccable. I felt like I was there.
📷 The heavier topics. I love romances that have substance and this one dealt with a few heavy topics and they all felt real and authentic.
📷 Theo. He was such a great character and so sweet. He has my whole heart and deserves everything.

I was apprehensive about reading this because the main trope is miscommunication, which is my most hated trope. I found it wasn't that bad. While miscommunication between the characters led to the 10 year gap in their relationship, it wasn't a really a focus. Instead, the focus was on the characters mending their relationship and rekindling their feelings. I thoroughly enjoyed Theo and Emerson getting to know their adult selves, and truly appreciated the flashbacks to their high school days.

The pace was perfect and the story flowed so well. I forgot I was reading quite often as I was captivated by Theo and Emersons' story.

And the very end? The grand gesture in the airport? Why did it have me in tears? It was so perfect and beautiful and might be my favorite resolution moment ever. It was spectacular and it fit the book and characters magnificently.

I also enjoyed the build-up for the ending. Throughout the book the reader is given hints something happened that caused Emerson to abandon her friendship with Theo. When the reason is finally revealed it's so much more meaningful because of the build-up. The scene was also written so beautifully and with so much care. It hit home for me. I also loved Theo's brother walking Theo through his emotions and how his brother had a role that fateful day. Plus, the talk they had while baking cookies at the end, about relationships and figuring out how to communicate with your partner was so heartfelt. All these scenes were so beautifully constructed and felt so genuine. I loved the inclusion of real relationship issues. I feel many romances end with the characters figuring out their current issues and then they move on to happily ever after. There's rarely focus on how the characters will face adversity in the future. So I really appreciacted the inclusion of these moments.

Though, overall, I liked the resolution, there were moments leading into it that bothered me. There was some miscommunication at the end that irked. Theo left a party without talking to Emerson and she was mad he didn't communicate his departure with her. I smacked my head thinking, "pot, meet kettle." More miscommunication happened after that, because, of course. But I'd say it was only a slight annoyance and didn't hinder me from enjoying the book.

I also found many moments extremely vain, especially when Emerson returns to LA. I'm not familiar with the industry, so I have no experience, but Emerson being so obsessed with her image was cringey. I understood the explanations, but it still bugged.

Overall, I adored this book. The characters were fun and well rounded. I was pleased by how the author approached the heavy topics and wrote the scenes discussing them. This book was well balanced with fun, light romance, and characters with trauma to deal with. I fell into this story and couldn't put it down. And can I say one more time how much I loved that airport scene? I know I won't be forgetting this book anytime soon and will definitely be rereading it. This book was lovely. Beautifully written and a sheer pleasure to read.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press fir the eARC

3.5 ⭐️ As much as I wanted to love this book, it fell a little flat for me! It was a super cute story, dual POV, and dual timeline, but unfortunately didn’t give me the butterflies I’m craving when I read a romance. One of the tropes in this book is miscommunication which is my least favorite trope to read so it could definitely be a me thing. I loved the setting of this book being in Italy as it added a fun flare! This book also gave a lot of detail into the modeling world which was a fun perspective I haven’t found in any other romance I’ve read. Overall it was a fun, easy read and I think a lot of people will love it!

This was an advanced read copy I received through Netgalley so it’s not going to be officially published until May 7, 2024! But this is my honest review!

One Last Shot by Betty Catouette
4/5 🌟

I really loved this cute romance, a bit of spice, a friends to lovers theme, and the deeply thoughtful characters.

Emerson and Theo met in high school had an instant connection flirted a bit made core memories and stayed close until Emerson modeling career made her a household name and her love life was in the public. Theo is a photographer and a good one but not as celebrity status with his shoots. As Emerson nears her birthday She makes arrangements to be on Theos shoot for the occasion.

Their instant chemistry is obvious but both are too shy to admit it. We get the back and forth of their internal dialogue which adds to the tension. There is some build up but we know it’s coming. I liked the depth of each characters backstory but I think more present day would have been just fine too.

These characters are impossible to not love. Happy summer romance pick!

In this debut romance, supermodel Emerson and photographer Theo are high school sweethearts reunited a decade later. They were in love at eighteen, so much so that they made a marriage pact: if they both weren’t married by 28, they would marry each other. Then Emerson left without explanation. After ten years without any contact, the marriage pact reminder goes off, and Emerson knows this is her chance to see if she can rekindle her romance with the love of her life.

This was a really sweet book. We got flashbacks to the main characters falling in love in high school, which was adorable - especially when they relived some of their core memories as adults. I also love the tropes in this book - second chance romance, childhood friends to lovers, and slow burn.

This book is based around a lot of miscommunication - both in the past and future. I don’t hate miscommunication as a trope, but it was definitely stretched out here, including in a third-act breakup/conflict.

The author’s note was a great personal touch and did a great job of explaining why she wrote this story and how meaningful it was to her.

I gave this book 3/5 stars. I was really surprised by that rating since the book started off great and I like all of the romance tropes it was going for. What really lot stars for me here was the giant amounts of miscommunication!! It was very frustrating and any point of tension that you could have felt was lost by that frustration.

The relationship was cute but felt a little surface level. I would've hands down read a YA version of this from when they were teens (the pining is 10/10)!! It definitely felt like I needed a bigger villain or struggle for the plot to move along faster and to feel that aforementioned tension above. I feel like this book didn't dive deep enough into each characters' individual jobs and lives after high school. Emery's modeling career sky rocketed but I want to know more about the in between (same for Theo's photography career).

I think this book also needs a trigger warning for sexual assault. Even though it isn't mentioned in detail, I was still very caught off guard by that moment in the book and I don't like to read books with that in them.

Overall, it was a decent book but one that I would probably pick up from the library and not buy it myself.

Emerson and Theo were best friends turned an item for one night in high school. Emerson is now a supermodel and Theo a lesser known photographer. To rekindle based off a cell phone reminder, Emerson books herself on one of his shoots. Overall, a cute beachy summer read and made me want to go to Cinque Terra more than I already did. It was quick and predictable, but cute. The reason Emerson left when they were younger was a more serious topic that I think helps shed light (versus being totally fluffy).