3.5 stars. This was a decent debut novel with some cute moments while also balancing some heavier things the characters faced.

Emerson and Theo loved each other as teens but haven’t spoken in a decade. As adults, Emerson is now a supermodel and Theo is a photographer When reminders go off in their phones of a pact they made to marry at 28 if they were still single, Emerson decides it time to reconnect and books herself into a campaign Theo is shooting for in Italy.

What I liked:
- Theo and Emerson’s reconnection scenes. It’s clear they’re both wary to open up too much due to their past hurts, but as their walls start to come down their connection glows.
- The other models on the shoot. It would have been very easy to write catty, jealous characters into those scenes, and I liked that they were welcoming, observant, and kind.
- The obvious knowledge of the industry. The scenes written for the various days of the shoot were detailed and felt authentic (not sure how much that means coming from someone who’s entire knowledge of photo shoots comes from ANTM but I appreciated the detail and authenticity anyway.)
- The setting. It was used in multiple different ways for both the campaign shoot and Theo and Emerson getting to know each other again.
- Emerson’s friend, Georgia and Theo’s brother, Owen. Their were great support and offered sound insights.

What didn’t work as well for me:
- The dancing around communication. For people (specifically for Emerson) to be so determined to fight for someone, there was a great deal of wavering back and forth about actually doing and saying what needed to be said.
- The heavier issues that were included felt almost glossed over. The way they affected the characters absolutely made sense, but the depth of those effects were more told rather than really shown. I also don’t think the one key to the separation was given enough time to be worked through in a way that felt more genuine.
- The third act. It felt like drama for the sake of drama for the reason right above this one. It deserved for than a last 15% reveal and resolution.

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

This book was absolutely enchanting. This is going to be one of The Best Books For Beach Reading this year! It was so good and I was absolutely hooked from the beginning and didn't want to put it down til I knew how it ended. I loved it!!!! This was a definite 5 star read for me.
I just reviewed One Last Shot by Betty Cayouette. #NetGalley
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This was a cute book I like where it took place and I liked the story line and the characters it was a nice first book for me to introduce me to this author. I do intend to get more of her books when they come out.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

Emerson is a world renowned high-fashion supermodel that has her choice of jobs in the fashion industry. Emerson leaves a relationship that wasn't working for her, and decides to pursue a marriage pact that appears on her phone. It involves her best friend, Theo, from high school with whom she was attached at the hip. They promised that if they weren't married to other people by the time that they were 28, they would marry each other.

Theo is doing a photography job with a large retailer in Italy and Emerson wants in on the job, especially to reconnect with Theo. It's not as easy as "hello" between the two of them as they have plenty of past complications to work through while they are in Italy.

This book was a surprising read for me. I liked the way that Betty Cayouette wrote Emerson to have more emotional depth than one would expect from a supermodel (yes, I realize that I'm going off of a stereotype, but I digress). Second-chance romances are my favorite type of trope in the contemporary romance genre, and this one didn't disappoint either. It had the right amount of spice and a great cat-and-mouse game between the two main characters that kept me interested to know their outcome. I also liked getting each character's point of view so that I could get a well-rounded understanding of the story.

This will be a great book to pick up once it's released in May, especially for the upcoming summer beach and vacation trips.

3.5 stars!

Cute, fast pace second chance romance! I love the premise of the book and how it calls out the miscommunication trope. I love how the past chapters were placed, it really added to the present day chapters. I love how strong the beginning and middle was but the ending fell flat. This was a great debut novel for Betty Cayouette.

A modern best friends to lovers story. I really enjoyed the overall storyline but at times I cringed at how cheesy dialogue or fight were. The romance is very tame and tasteful, with you rooting for the main characters to find their happily ever after.

I enjoyed it but unfortunately you could tell it was debut. There was kinks and things that needed working out. The story line felt like it was all over the place. The development of the story felt forced and I think just needed a little more time to work on.

I adored this second chance romance. The emotion and build up of tension is perfect. Em and Theo were best friends in night school who secretly loved each other and now after a marriage pack alarm goes off 10 years later they reconnect and the chemistry is amazing. Definitely loved this cute romance.

The Last Shot transports you to Italy with a glamorous romance filled with wanderlust and gorgeous setting of Cinque Terre. Emerson and Theo were high school sweethearts who made a marriage pact at 18, and then fell out of touch. Now, 10 years later, that they are 28 they reconnect to reignite their friendship and maybe give love a chance?

This book was a feel good happy read. I do think reading the authors note in the beginning of the book might have made me a little biased but I appreciated how the author wanted to address finding love after surviving sexual assault and not having the SA happen on page. This was written for all the survivors to feel seen and optimistic.

I normally am not a fan of second chance love and rekindling relationships but this one just kind of worked. Both characters Emerson and Theo were really sweet together. They were High school best friends who always loved each other. While they did have a falling out, it didn’t feel as frustrating as some miscommunication tropes. They were both very young and Emerson had a very traumatic SA. She shut down and built walls around herself and shut Theo out. The story is told from alternating timelines past and present. It was fun reading about their past friendship and watching them rekindle it. I loved seeing their friendship click back into place and them start to build a romance.

I definitely think this is one of those just kinda silly but make you happy books you can’t think too hard about it or else it’s not as fun. It’s hard to describe but it’s a quick cutesy read that felt a bit Taylor Swift coded.

Thank you St. Martins Press for providing me with an eARC

Loved the premise but the writing fell a bit flat for my liking. I think there is a great deal of potential her but it could be sharpened a bit more. Overall I like the plot and the characters were likeable. Great first novel to start out with! Keep going, you’ve got way it take!

If you love a miscommunciation trope then this is for you. The background was set in Italy and that was really nice. It was a quick read with a bit of a mystery (you know as a reader) to it. At times I was frustrated because I wanted them to just talk and get it over with but then there wouldn't be a book, right?!

Genre: Spicy Romance
Rating: 2.5/5⭐️
Spice: 1/5🌶️

Summary: Emerson is a supermodel who is looking for a substantial relationship in her life. As she’s contemplating what to do, a reminder goes off on her phone of the marriage pact that she made with her teenage best friend, Theo. They were torn apart but she can’t help feel like it’s a sign to reunite. Luckily, he’s a photographer and she gets herself booked on a campaign he’s shooting.

Thoughts: I wanted to like this one so badly. The idea was so good but the execution, unfortunately, wasn’t. It felt very juvenile and underdeveloped.

I think the dual timeline is a tricky one to write because the characters need to have growth between the gap in time and I didn’t feel that happened here. Both timelines felt like they were at a teenage maturity.

I know this was a debut novel and I can see potential in the way the setting was written. Hopefully growth will occur at each novel release. I appreciate the author and publisher providing me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately this one was a DNF for me. For me the plot seemed far fetched and half assed. Also I'm not a fan of miscommunication so this one wasnt for me.

This was such a cute little friends to lovers love story. The plot was pretty predictable but nonetheless cute. I felt like I was there in the book myself. The characters were intriguing. Thank you for this read!

Thank you to NetGalley for my advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review.
I've followed the author on social media for a couple of years now and was so excited to see her debut novel come to fruition. The beginning Author's note had me excited to dive in expecting to read a feminine forward, powerful romance about overcoming obstacles, but boy was I disappointed.
I'll start by saying, the Author's note needs to be at the end of the book. It does not make sense to be in the beginning. The entire book gives off lack of quality editing and I feel like Betty was led astray. There is promise in her literary future for sure, but this just was not it.
Unlike some of the reviews l've read, I loved the flash backs. That was the meat. That was the juice. The bike ride to the beach? Beautiful. Perfect. Everything else was dull, a literal snooze fest (this is the longest it has taken me to finish a book in 2 years), and dramatic in allll the wrong places. Besides 2 pages in the entire book, it read highly immature.
2 stars for me since I had to really power through to finish, caught myself re-reading the same line/paragraph 5-6 times for clarity, and at minimum rolled my eyes 3 times.

just finished!! wow wow wow wow what a wonderful rom com !! 5 stars !!!

TW: SA

I really appreciated the author’s note in the beginning of the book, talking about how SA was a part of the MC Emerson’s experience, but did not define her and it did not take away her ability to have a hot af love story.

in one last shot, the inclusion of past and present timelines, plus narration from both theo and emerson, really elevates the story. this is a great debut from betty cayouette.

While I loved the premise of this book and have empathy for the trauma Em faced while just starting her modeling career, I felt this book was too long. It seemed to drag and I was not invested in the characters due to the monotonous writing of their daily tasks. If it would have been cut a little and moved quicker it would have been 4.5 stars for me.

This debut novel was one of my favorite tropes - second chance romance from a high school, first-love relationship. Set in Cinque Terre, Italy, in dual POV with multiple timelines. A marriage pact and working relationship brings Theo and Emerson back together and forces them to face the reasons they initially broke up.

I am usually bothered by breakups that happened due to miscommunication, but this one felt very real and understandable. I wasn’t shaking my head at the absurdity. I definitely felt like I knew what was going to be revealed before it was detailed on-page, but I also feel like that was sort of necessary for those who might be triggered by what was to come.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for a free digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.