I really enjoyed this one. It has a strong focus on grief, reflecting back on your life, and the power of friendship. Scarlett suddenly loses her life and in her afterlife is able to see how her loved ones are dealing with their grief while she also works through her own grief of losing her life. She definitely works through the stages of grief, along with having to watch her best friend Evie do so as well. I enjoyed that we got both Scarlett and Evie's POV in this book because we were able to hear their thoughts on the same thing that was going on in the book. It also spoke to how well these two knew each other and how although they were bestfriends, it seemed as if they were do close it was more like they were sisters. Evie also has MS in this book and talks about her struggles of having that diagnosis and how it has affected her life. I really appreciated that representation in this book. This story provided a lot of reflective moments for myself, and some things that I will keep in mind and carry on with in my life. With death, we always think of the last moments we had with that person and it is important to keep in mind in life if that is how you want your potential last moment to be with someone. That was definitely my biggest takeaway. We get so caught up in life that sometimes I think we get too focused on ourselves and not our relationships with others. My friendships and relationships shape who I am and what I do, and they are something that maybe I should be more appreciative of at times. So take the time do to that. Overall, I really enjoyed Scarlett and Evie. I am a huge romance lover, and don't get me wrong; I love a good love story. But even more, I love stories about a powerful friendship that is still a love story but in a different light. I definitely recommend you read this one if you do too.

The Rebecca Serle comparison in One Moment's promo copy was apt : an unusual, reality-bending premise and lots of big feelings. The story is about two best friends, Evie and Scarlett, and it begins with Scarlett's death. She was the more outgoing of the two, and in her wake, Evie - already burdened by a dead-end job, a breakup, and an MS diagnosis - struggles to cope. Until, slowly, the ripples of Scarlett's death fan out over Scarlett and Evie's lives, and things begin to move forward in unexpected ways.

One Moment was well-done, but I found it to be a tough read. One main character is dead and the other one is chronically ill and depressed, so there's not a lot of light in the story.. Good things do happen, but I never felt a ton of forward momentum, and it took me a while to finish. The ending is interesting - both inevitable and unexpected, as really good endings are.

There is NOTHING that can truly break me down emotionally like stories about female friendships, especially when they don’t shy away from the hard stuff.

This book had me SOBBING when it came to Evie and Scarlett. When the loss of a friendship is center of a book, I’m eating it up through messy tears.

Scarlett dies from a sudden accident and her best friend Evie is having a hard time coming to terms with the loss. Nate, a man who was there when it happened, a man who holds some of the responsibility for the situation Scarlett wound up in keeps popping up in Evie’s day to day, clearly wanting to make amends. But the closer they get, the more Evie is at a loss of what to do. Nate is sweet and pushes her out of the comfort zone her MS keeps her in, but can she come to terms with the role he had in Scarlett’s death?

This was rough!!! It was an emotional rollercoaster. Female friendships really do make a read worth it for me and this had it with such a twist.

When Scarlett dies unexpectedly, that should be the end of her story, right? Mostly, but not entirely. Scarlett is somehow still able to watch the lives of those she left behind. Mostly that of her closest friend, Evie. Evie is having a hard time without Scarlett but her life is taking a lot of turns no one would’ve seen coming, especially not Scarlett. Can Evie start living as a more adventurous person like Scarlett? And what about the frequent reoccurrences of Nate, the man she blames for Scarlett’s death?

One Moment is such a unique romance. We have two people that wouldn’t have met if not for a tragic moment. And we’re also seeing things through the eyes of someone dead. Scarlett is such an interesting narrator in an all-knowing way. I enjoyed seeing her continue to grow and learn even after her death.

I loved seeing Nate and Evie make each other better people even if they were both resistant to start. Nate is such a gem and the more we learn about him, the more all of his choices make sense. Evie, on the other hand, has been struggling for a while after a sudden, life-changing diagnosis. She needs someone to show her she has still so much life to live, and Nate does that beautifully.

This is one of those books that made me really think about life and death and choices. I love the idea that so many things shape our lives and where we end up: people, both in our lives and after they’re gone, every little choice, every moment.

Read this book if you like
-delightfully British
-closed door romance
-a little bit of found family
-dual POV from two female friends
-possible tears

It's been ages since I've been utterly broken and crushed by a book. The intense amount of emotions I felt reading this can't be described, but I'll try my best.

With a bit of a whimsical touch, this is solely Daphne's story. From the synopsis and the first few chapters, you'd think you have it all figured out, but nothing could prepare you for all the revelations following. And it's not just 1, it's so many in the form of heartbreak, loss, friendship, and love.

Not a huge spoiler, but this is a bit of a love triangle, and I was bawling my eyes out by the time I figured each love interest's purpose for Daphne. The story was carefully woven that you're bound to fall in love with both the love interests; one sooner than the other.
I highly recommend reading this!

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Anyone who has lost a close friend will (might?) find this book interesting. It is the story of Evie and Scarlett, long time close friends and roommates. Evie mourns her friend while Scarlett has been in limbo since she died, keeping her eyes on Evie and flashing back to events of her life,

It's a unique concept that works for this book. We learn about the past, mostly through Scarlett's flashbacks. We learn about their close friendship. We also see Evie struggling to come to terms with losing Scarlett.

I think the storyline is well thought out. The writing style makes it easy to read. But, for some reason, I was not able to connect with either Evie or Scarlett. It's just one of those things, just like when you meet a new person: sometimes you know right away you'll be friends, other times you know there's just no chemistry.

I'm glad to see many good reviews for this book. Maybe it was just the wrong time or the wrong place for me at the time of reading. It just left me feeling “meh!”.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.

I actually really enjoyed this book. I thought it was a unique concept of what would you do if you could watch your friends and family after your death and then have the chance to change the outcome of the event in which you died. I loved that this one had MS representation and also mental health representation. This one gave story of growth between both Savannah and Evie both in life and death. This book definitely gave my something to think about.

🎭🎻So-o moving! And that ending: beautiful🚦🚲

I loved this book! Yes, there's a heap of sadness and grief enough to go around but the tale author Becky Hunter weaves is so good that the sad and joyful come together for a wonderfully touching story.

Evie has such challenges and Scarlett, her best friend and roommate, despite her tragic accident at the start of the book, has a strong voice. The plot includes frequent returns to the past as Scarlett sees the aftermath of her sudden departure and slips back into memories of pivotal times in her past, most of them spent with Evie. Hunter is so good at evoking their close friendship and Scarlett's new understanding of how she affected Evie's life.

Evie's evolving relationship with Nate is both tentatively hopeful and heartbreaking at times. And Astrid, Evie's young next door neighbor who careens into her life and won't take "no" or "I can't" for an answer, she's such an appealing secondary character.

Was the ending a surprise? Yes and no. But for me it turned out the way things should, though it moved me to tears. I adore stories that tug at my emotions and connect me so tightly with the characters. One Moment did that in spades.

Thanks to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley for sharing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review. My review will be shared on Amazon, Goodreads, Bookbub, Barnes & Noble and kobo.

I adored this book! The characters are relatable and jump off the page in detail.
The storyline is told from multiple perspectives and holds back just enough to keep it interesting.
It only took me a few days to read because I couldn’t put it down.
The ending was unexpected and bittersweet, but powerful.

Best friends for most of their lives, Scarlet and Evie found themselves without the other following Scarlet's untimely death. Told from both Evie and Scarlet's points of view, this was a story of love, loss, and healing which highlighted friendship above all things.

Anyone who knows me understands how much I enjoy a good story of grief and loss. It's not the loss part that I love, but rather, the healing that I always find pleasing. The interesting twist here was that I saw this process from both sides. Including Scarlet's point of view brought something different to this type of tale, and I appreciated getting to see her grow and heal right alongside Evie.

There's that saying, "beauty in the pain", and that was something that played a major part in this story. At the time of Scarlet's death, Evie was still coming to terms with her MS diagnosis. Not leaving home and wearing THAT sweater, she was fading away. Scarlet's death was terrible and tragic, but one result was that her friend began to live more. That one moment when Scarlet stepped off the curb set off a chain of events which pushed Evie to make positive changes in her life.

I have to be honest, the saddest part of this book came at the end for me. I hardly shed a tear before that last chapter. It was a very thought provoking way to end the story in my opinion. Beautifully sad, and I would underscore the word beautiful because it really hit me in my heart. And no worries, this was not a super sad story. There were a nice blend of moments and emotions. As I read, I felt happy, sad, mad, frustrated, and hopeful.

Overall, this was a touching story of friendship and love. It was about how having that "person" in your life shapes it in so many ways, and how even when they are gone, the impression they made on your life will be long lasting.

One Moment is a twist on a contemporary romance that I haven’t encountered before: Most of it is told through the POV of a ghost.

Scarlett and Eve have been best friends since a chance meeting as children in a hospital waiting room. Now closing in on the end of their twenties, the two find themselves sharing an apartment that Evie almost never leaves, and Scarlett is afraid she’s losing her. After a brutal argument, Scarlett heads to work with a heavy heart and busy mind. She stops to help a distracted stranger who takes a terrible fall in the middle of traffic and poof - that’s it. That’s the end for Scarlett. Only…is it? She finds her spirit lingers, following her best friend as she navigates life without her. Scarlett watches as Nate, the stranger she rescued, slips into Evie’s life. She visits memories and takes stock of the life she’s leaving behind.

I enjoyed the clever take on a love story, and I especially loved the friendship between Evie and Scarlett. That kind of all-encompassing relationship between friends is rarely portrayed so accurately and I treasured Hunter’s example.

A fun novel, excellent debut. There was something missing for me that I can’t quite put my finger on, but I enjoyed the ride.

Thank you to @readforeverpub and @netgalley for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Earthquakes, hurricanes, explosions and big black bears. Every time you wake up in the morning, you know it could be your last day. Something might happen that could push you off the edge.

Scarlett in her 30s is at the wrong place, wrong time trying to help Nate who just got into a bike accident in the middle of a busy street in London. Tragically, she gets hit by a car and instantly dies. The heartbreak, agony and discomfort shatters her friends, family and those involved.

Evie was recently diagnosed with MS while her roommate and best friend, Scarlett, is perfectly healthy. Was perfectly healthy. The book reminds us that everyone takes a different path with grief. It’s certainly thought-provoking. Is it possible – even though some things feel dreadful -- that everything we do happens for a reason.

The book catches the reader’s attention right away with Nate’s bike accident and Scarlett’s head injury. Who can be blamed? While Scarlett is dead, she still makes comments in the afterlife. You can’t take this too seriously but I loved hearing her thoughts.

Parts in the beginning were a little slow moving but then it picked right up about half way. I learned more about how someone with MS feels. It’s a good book to pass along to others, especially those who are suffering from grief. Sometimes I feel books find their way into our hands when we need them the most. This is one of them.

My thanks to Forever and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book with an expected release date of March 12, 2024.

A beautifully moving story about female friendship and love with a unique magical realism twist. Ooof that ending!! This book was a surprise delight. Evie is devastated when her best friend Scarlett dies suddenly in a tragic accident and it takes the help of a complete stranger who witnessed things to help her learn to live life to the fullest even with her Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis.

I really enjoyed this book! It was heartwarming with great disability rep, a unique form of dual perspective narration told from both Evie's POV and the spirit of Scarlett who witnesses her friend fall in and roots for her to move on with her life. Highly recommended for fans of authors like Rebecca Serle and Josie Silver.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review! This great on audio read by Heather Long and was written by a new to me author. I can't wait to read more of what Becky Hunter writes next!!

Steam level: kissing only

CW: past death of a sibling from suicide (off page), depression/mental illness

There were many things I enjoyed about this book. I thought this was a great look at friendship, grief, fate and healing. It is VERY much character driven and the journeys that both Evie and Scarlett take are beautifully done. I thought the dual POV was such a good choice for this one. I really enjoyed the portrayal of MS as well and how Evie came to realize that she had to still live her life in spite of her illness. The relationship between Nate and Evie was very sweet and I liked how it came about gradually and not all at once. I liked Scarlett’s POV and how things became clear to her in death that she didn’t see clearly in life. Yes, like I said, there were many things I liked about this book. However, I never felt that emotional connection that I want to feel when reading a book like this. It was certainly well written with great characters and story, but I don’t know. I just didn’t feel that pull. I think a lot of readers will absolutely love this one and feel that connection that I wish I had. I’m still happy I read it though and would definitely read another book by this author.
CW: chronic illness, death, car accident, suicide

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for an advanced digital reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is one hell of a debut fiction! The butterfly effect is basically about how one action, no matter how short or irrelevant can change the tracks of your life. Scarlett and Evie are childhood besties, and now they share a flat in London. After an unimportant argument, Scarlett leaves Evie to meet that married guy she's been seeing for months, when she gets accidentally killed on the road when picking yo the scooter of a guy who didn't have his eyes on the road and fell off right in front of her while she was waiting at the red light as a pedestrian. A car hit her and she crashed on the floor, cracking her skull. She is pronounced dead at the hospital. This book takes us on a beautiful ride on how to overcome the loss of a best friend, and how one learns to forgive the person who unintentionally caused the accident. Evie also has to deal with her recent MS diagnosis, and love and new encounters/friendships open her eyes to what's important in life. No need to dwell on the negative. A beautiful life lesson. I totally devoured that book. And let's not forget to mention the adorable love story! A total win! The ending was chef's kiss!

This book is as much about love between friends as it is about romantic partners, which is such an interesting concept to explore in the romance genre. Yes, there’s a beautiful romantic story that unfolds, but it’s paired with a lifelong friendship.

Alternating points of view make it so much more interesting, especially as Scarlet lingers after her own death to revisit moments from both past and present.

As Evie grapples with grief and living with a difficult medical diagnosis, Nate gently nudges her beyond the limits she’s imposed on herself. Yet she would never have met him if not for the day of Scarlet’s accident. It sets up a complex emotional journey for both of them, and for Scarlet too.

The ending is satisfying and beautiful, in ways that I didn’t fully expect. I will be thinking about this one for a while!

Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for an advanced copy for review.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Well written and hit me on so many emotions many times throughout the storyline. This one drug my heart all over the place…. ♥️

Some books come into your life to help you remember something important about life. This book does a lovely job of highlighting how one moment can change your life. More importantly though you have choices to allow one moment to remind you that while life may not be the way you thought it would go that doesn’t mean that there is not a new path you can take. I quite enjoyed that this book is told both from Scarlett and Eve’s perspective. I think it allows the ending to be perfectly tied up. What a lovely message and one that sometimes I think we all need to hear.
Thank you so very much to Forever (Grand Central Publishing), Forever, and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book.

Contemporary Fiction

A gut punch of perfection! Kudos on a memorable debut!

I really had no expectations when I picked up this novel. The description gives away a bit of the storyline but doesn't capture the complexity of the narrative.

Scarlett dies right before her 30th birthday. Instead of crossing over, she is in limbo with the ability to look in on her best friend and family and also revisit her past memories. Evie, Scarlett's best friend and roommate, had a large argument the night before Scarlett died and she is not handling the death well. Compounding the problem is that Evie has MS, hates her job and doesn't really have much of a relationship with anyone else.

Nate comes along and shakes up Evie's world. He was there when Scarlett died and she wants to blame him but he is suffering, too. Can they help each other get over this devastating event?

This was a very well written debut! I love the characters and the story and will definitely recommend this book to everyone! Looking forward to more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC of this novel.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Forever for providing me with an advance e-galley of this book in exchange for an honest review. Look for it in your local and online bookstores and libraries on March 12, 2024.