Had to DNF this book. I kept trying to get into it, but it just wasn't happening. I've tried listening to this multiple times but the narrator's voice was not helping me get into the story either.

Unfortunately, it seems this audiobook is just not for me.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started ONE LAST SHOT, but enjoyed this debut romance between Emerson and Theo, that featured friends to lovers, second chance, and celebrity fiction.

WHAT TO EXPECT
-friends to lovers
-dual timelines
-second chance

*many thanks to SMP, and Netgalley for the gifted copy for review

3.5 stars rounded up! This was a pretty cute light and fluffy romcom and an enjoyable enough read. I loved the parts with Emerson and Georgia and would absolutely love to get more stuff with Georgia. My one major issue with the book is that it is a touch on the forgettable side, and certain parts I think could have been shorter while other parts, like the two leads being together could have been longer.

Both narrators did a fantastic job and the audio was excellent and made for a very smooth listening experience.

DNF'd arond 40%. I just could not get passed the BIGGEST misscommunication trope ever; the plot was so flat without them coming clean. How far was the author going to stretch it out? I wasn't going to wait around and find out.

This friends-to-lovers romance takes place in Italy on an unlikely photoshoot. Emerson is a supermodel who never models for commercial brands, but when her former best friend, Theo, is scheduled to shoot a four-day campaign for a retail giant, she knows that she needs to be one of the models. This story is full of so much tension and some truly delightful dialogue. All of the characters come to life to make the whole setting feel very real. I personally love a romance with a celebrity and Betty Cayouette does it really well.

Is a great choice for fans of Nora Goes Off Script.

Many thanks to Macmillan Audio for an Advanced Listener's Copy in exchange for my honest review.

*one last shot* by betty cayouette was not that great. the plot felt recycled and lacked originality, leaving me struggling to stay engaged. the characters were one-dimensional and didn't grow or evolve in any meaningful way, making it hard to care about their journeys. there was too much will they, won’t they. i don’t understand why they waited days to even discuss past events? nonsense.

I looooved this love story! I haven’t read a book by this Author before but I definitely will be keeping an eye of for their work in the future!

Emerson and Theo have all my heart, I’m not usually this much of a sucker when it comes to Romance but I thought that this was very well done.

I enjoyed all of the characters even the side ones, I also really loved the Authors note in the beginning about some of the more series parts of this story, I think it was done so tastefully!

Thank you so much Betty Cayouette for writing this incredible story and sharing it with me!

Big Thank you as well to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for my no cost copy of “One Last Shot”.

I received this advance review copy at no personal cost and all opinions are voluntary.

I loved this audiobook. Wonderfully set in Italy, this book tells the story of a humble supermodel who realizes that her long lost love is childhood best friend. She makes it her mission to travel to Italy where he is set to photograph for a company, akin to a Walmart and below her status, just to get close to him again. All the while she is going through internal trauma she suffered during the years she was away from him. I thought it was great how the author prefaced the book with an SA warning. All in all a great enjoyable read, not too heavy.

This was a fun romance that definitely hit those summer vibes! I loved the setting and the romance was sweet, if a bit simple. A nice summer read!

[arc review]
Thank you to Macmillan Audio for providing an alc in exchange for an honest review.
One Last Shot releases May 7, 2024

Days before her 28th birthday, Emerson gets a calendar reminder on her phone about the marriage pact she made with her best friend in high school.
Having not spoken with each other in a decade, she has her modelling agency book her a fashion shoot in Italy, with Theo as her photographer.

It sucks when the concept of a book has so much potential but ends up being outweighed by superficial characters and a plot that is forced and inauthentic.
Where was the passion or yearning? The lack of communication coupled with the om/ow drama was beyond frustrating.

Emerson is given a history of SA and a mother with hoarding problems as a way to give her a semblance of personality, but it doesn’t work, sticking out like a sore thumb instead.

How is it possible that for the past 10 years, every time Emerson got into an elevator she thought of the time her and Theo were stuck in an elevator, but she forgot about their marriage pact??

Theo and Emerson equally did not have the wherewithal to have a lasting relationship with a solid foundation. Nothing about this was believable from romantic standpoint.

3.5 rounded up

One Last Shot is a debut romance about a supermodel and a photographer who get a second chance at romance. They were inseparable in high school and then lost touch with each other. They meet up in a photoshoot in Cinque Terre, Italy ten years later where supermodel Emerson is modeling and Theo is the photographer.

There is a dual timeline in this book to set up Emerson and Theo’s high school years and then splitting off periodically to present day, ten years later. I like the way the story slowly unfolded to reveal what happened to them in the past.

The book relies heavily on a miscommunication trope that I don’t particularly enjoy. However, I really enjoyed the last quarter of the book.

This is a solid debut and I look forward to more books by this author.

"One Last Shot" rejoins childhood sweethearts Emerson and Theo who were suddenly torn apart ten years earlier by an all-too-common event in Emerson's life.

In the present-day, they are each reminded of a marriage pact they'd made back then: namely, that if neither of them were married by the time they turned 28, they'd marry each other. Little did they know when they made that pact that they wouldn't even be a part of one another's lives in ten years. But Emerson sees it as an opportunity to finally go after what she really wants, the only man she's ever loved.

Unfortunately, her meddling agent makes things difficult for true love to run its course, and it takes Emerson and Theo a while to figure out where all the mixed signals are coming from.

As they try to navigate coming to terms with the past and sharing their hopes for the future, they have plenty of obstacles to overcome; most notably, Emerson's fame.

If you enjoy romantic stories that include likable characters, childlike fun, and deep and serious issues, you won't want to miss "One Last Shot."

Thank you to Betty Cayouette, the publisher and NetGalley for an advance review copy.

One Last Shot by Betty Cayouette is a (former) friends to lovers/ marriage pact story that heavily relies on the miscommunication trope that I do not love as much. Theo and Emerson's story used the Italian Riviera as a beautiful backdrop and the model and photographer story was cute but in my view it lagged because the failures to communicate were overused to the point of being slightly annoying. As a debut novel this was still a decent read and listen with a lovely backdrop and the greatest snack food.
The audio was well done and the emotions came through !

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC of One Last Shot in exchange for my honest opinion. I think this is one of the best covers that I’ve seen lately 😍
Set in Cinque Terre and Boston’s North Shore, this debut is a second chance romance, where a supermodel attends a photo campaign being shot by the man she made a wedding pact with in high school. The book includes chapters in the present at the photo shoot in Italy, where the descriptions made me feel like I was there, and chapters from the couple in high school, attending Salem High. Having formerly taught at Salem High, I especially enjoyed these flashbacks. I’m so glad that in my time working in Salem I was introduced to Bagel World, which is mentioned by name in the book. As a Massachusetts transplant from NJ, bagels are VERY important to me, and I am super picky about MA bagels. I agree that Bagel World has good bagels, and I tried to be understanding when students were late to class because of the BW line. If you’re not from the NJ/NY area, you may think I’m a little off-my-rocker, caring this much about bagels, but I don’t think you understand how amazing a fresh bagel can be!
Back to the audiobook. The dual narration by Brittany Pressley and Sean Patrick Hopkins made this read especially enjoyable. Both give emotional performances. I highly recommend the audio, even though miscommunication is a key plot point - I was pleasantly distracted enough by the narrators that I didn’t focus on that pet peeve, a big compliment to them.
I virtually joined the Boston.com Book Club last night to hear more from the author and her interview partner. I thought the author did a great job talking (without spoilers) about the origins of the book and her viral tiktok success - and she gave us a little info about her second and even third books which are in the works! I love that Boston.com chose a local debut author for their June book club pick.

The perfect mis-communication trope. Add in childhood memories, a manager who is a beast, and an old vow and you have a perfect summer read. I adored every word and have recommended it to my patrons. Loved it!

Big thank you to Macmillan Audio for the ALC copy of this cute, summer read!

I thought that this was such a cute, fun read! I really enjoyed the audio version of this and thought it gave it a bit more life. I think I am leaning towards being a fan of the second chance romance trope for sure.
Definitely thrilled that this took place in Italy, what a perfect setting!!

This was absolutely a great, quick listen!

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for sending me an early copy of this audiobook! All opinions are my own!

I'm usually not one for second chance romance, but this was a pretty sweet one! I really enjoyed the flashbacks to their childhood and think that it tied the whole story together. I think that's what made me enjoy it more than I normally would because it really shows you how they built their relationship and gave so much more weight to everything.

My one complaint was that I hate the miscommunication trope, and that's what this whole book really revolves around, so if that's a dealbreaker for you, then beware. It felt like if they had just stopped and talked for even one moment, then the whole story never would have happened. It also felt like that was the reason for any conflict that ever happens in the book to make things more interesting.

I did enjoy how sweet Emerson and Theo are together. When they do finally get a moment to talk and be themselves with each other, they really do fit together well. I enjoyed their moments of realness most out of all of it.

If you need a fun summer romance, this might be the book for you!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I was surprised by this book in a great way. Betty Cayouette wrote about modeling and fame in a way that was felt relatable.
She also handled a difficult topic (TW: SA) in such a careful when handling way that is respectful. Make sure to listen/ read the authors note on this!
Plus it is set with the backdrop of Italy - one of my favorite places.

Thank you @macmillan.audio and Betty Cayouette for this ALC!

Unique story from a debut author! One I think many of my patrons will enjoy for the summer. It did have a good amount of spice but a great addition to the summer titles I’m looking to add to the library!

Emerson, a world renowned supermodel, is freshly out of a relationship and thinking about the marriage pact she had with her high school friend, Theo. They both agreed that if they weren’t married by 28, they’d marry each other. Lucky for her, Theo is a fashion photographer, so she convinces her agent to put her on a campaign shoot in order to rekindle their romance. They didn’t end their friendship on great terms, so Emerson has her work cut out for her to get back in Theo’s good graces.

This is a super cute romance that briefly deals with heavy topics such as sexual assault and parental neglect. Most of this is implied, but it provides context to Emerson’s character. I love romances that are slightly unrealatable. The story pulled me into the fantasy of living the model life on set in Italy, but Emerson faced real world problems that kept the plot in reality. In general I feel like friends-to-lovers stories have better pacing than other tropes, and this one is no exception. Thanks to NetGalley and Betty Cayouette for this free ARC in exchange for my honest review.