Before mentioning the story at all, I want to acknowledge the authors note at the beginning of the book. I need to commend the Author so wholeheartedly on bringing the everyday lives of woman who have survived sexual assault the foreground of this story. An all too common experience, and I appreciate the respect it shows to the individuals to present a past trauma as just that, a past trauma. Something that shapes growth but does not stop it, or hinder hope for wonderful things to come.

Moving on to the story itself. I loved the set up, I liked the narrative style, the characters were great. But beware. A major piece of contention plot wise is the miscommunication trope. This book would have been two chapters if the characters had just been honest right away. Considering the fact that I enjoyed this anyway, the rest of it must have been really well written. This book was absolutely not perfect, but the merits outweigh any minor gripes I had with it. I enjoyed it immensely and would absolutely recommend. I look forward to reading more from this author.

📖My Thoughts📖


Romcoms. They’re one of my absolute favorite genres to read. Maybe it’s the happy, bubbly cuteness? Whatever the case may be, sometimes I just feel like I can’t get enough!
I absolutely loved this book! I really liked the premise. It grabbed my attention and sounded like it would be a good one to jump into. It definitely didn’t disappoint! There were some Wedding Pact vibes going, along with a rollercoaster friends to lovers and family second chance tropes. *sigh* Oh Emerson and Theo. You two, ya drove your girl batsh*t crazy with your communication skills (or lack there of). On one hand, I had the “awwww they’re so cute!” feeling, and on the other side of the coin, it is was more like, “AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! You’re killing me Smalls!”
There were quite a few triggers in this book that are listed by the author, who does an amazing job portraying the emotions in a very tasteful manner.
This is a slow burn, allowing you to just envelop yourself into the story, feeling almost as though you’re seeing everything unfold right before you.
I listened to the audiobook version of this book. I think the narrators Betty Cayouette; Brittany Pressley; Sean Patrick Hopkins did a sensational job bringing this debut romance to life.
As always, I picked this one based on the cover. What can I say? I like living on the edge. It absolutely met my standards and then some! I plowed through this gem in one day! Betty Cayouette, I look forward to reading more of your work!
Thank you McMillan Audio, St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

3.5 stars rounded down. I have admittedly never heard of this author until I read this book, and found out in the acknowledgements that apparently she is a viral TikTok star. That being said, I found this book to be good but not great. I love the famous/not famous troupe and appreciated the friends to lovers aspect of this book. It was the miscommunication and complete LACK of communication that bothered me at time. I felt the plot moved forward quite quickly at the beginning, slowed significantly in the middle but the end did wrap up nicely. I liked the portions of the books that showed the past relationship of Emerson and Theo, but at times they almost felt a bit unnecessary. This review seems critical, but I did enjoy the book. The positives were definitely the setting, the author transported us immediately to Italy in the summer which I appreciated, and I did enjoy the story itself. I also very much enjoyed the narration of the book. I thought the voice actors truly made the book come to life. Overall, I enjoyed this book, but it might not be one that is remembered forever.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy of this book. All opinions within this review are my own.

I thoroughly enjoyed this second chance romance that is the perfect summer read! Emerson and Theo were best friends in high school, and made a pact to marry each other if neither were already married by the time they were 28. After not seeing each other for years, they come together on a photo shoot and rekindle their friendship and hopefully more. This was filled with all the sweet and angsty moments that I love in a second chance romance. I was fully invested in seeing theses two get their happily ever after!, I was pleasantly surprised that this was written by a debut author and I’m excited to see what comes next for Betty!

The narration for this is what really made the book! I love Brittany Pressley and Sean Patrick Hopkins is becoming one of my favorites! They both brought their characters to life and I could really feel the emotions coming through in their performance!

This was such a sweet book. I honestly wasn't sure what to expect, but their story was beautiful! I loved getting the past story too! They are a swoony and the mutual pining was just everything!!

4.5 rounded to 5 ! I have been so excited to read this book ever since I saw Betty was writing her own book! This book was super cute…

*Dual POV and timeline
*childhood friends to lovers
*second chance romance
*set in Italy
*celebrity romance
*slow burn

LOVED! and the ending was just like the movies- so swoony !

Also, the narration on this book was amazing !! Brittany Presley and Sean Patrick Hopkins did a great job bringing Emerson and Theo to life

One Last Shot is a fun friends-to-lovers/rekindled romance set in Cinque Terre, Italy (a place I love!) about a photographer and a model coming back together. I will say that the characters can sometimes be frustrating and it drags on for probably just a bit too long, but that does sometimes happen (in both romance books and in real life). I will admit that part of why they were frustrating is because I did come to care about them, so overall that is probably a good sign.

It makes for a good audiobook; I enjoyed having two narrators as it made them both more relatable.

For fans of Italy, friends-to-lovers, and celebrity/pop culture, One Last Shot is a solid choice.

🍩 🍩 🍩 🍩 / 5

A marriage pact, the fashion industry (one MC is a supermodel and the other is a photographer), childhood friends and a beautiful setting in Cinque Terre Italy made this book a really fun read! Emerson and Theo were childhood besties who had some wonderful and special times but fell out of touch. They had a marriage pact that if they aren’t married by 28 they would marry each other - the time has come and both are single!

I really enjoyed many aspects of this book but also will say some parts fell a little flat for me - I find it a bit hard to believe an 17-18 year old boy would be so thoughtful and pensive hanging on every word she said but that is the beauty of books! They give you the chance to escape to a world that perhaps you wish you had!!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s press, and Macmillian Audio for the opportunity to read and listen to this book! Brittany Pressley and Sean Patrick Hopkins, the narrators of the audiobook, were amazing to listen to! I felt the emotion in both of their voices! I also absolutely loved and adored the author’s note.

This book had me smitten from the second my eyes landed on the cover! What a swoon-worthy and stunning illustration of Cinque Terre and an awesome depiction of our main characters.

I was expecting Italy to take a much larger role in this story - which was what peaked my interest initially, since I lived there for 3 years.
While it did host the majority of the story's events, the characters and their plot truly shined.
I loved the twist on a typical contemporary romance, where the characters' timelines were woven together from the past and present. The photographer/model plot line was also quite fun to read as it played out how the characters interacted. Additionally, I appreciated how eye-opening it was to read about celebrities and their battles with paparazzi and the press.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the opportunity to read this advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest opinions!

One Last Shot follows Emerson and Theo in a then timeline, as they meet and become best friends in high school, and now ten years laters as they reconnect. Emerson, an incredibly famous model. asks to be in the campaign Theo is shooting when the notification for their marriage pact comes up on her phone. She has one week to get Theo back, which is proving to be difficult since he is shutting her out. But, as they each open up more and more, can they make this relationship work?

One Last Shot had such a fun setting and plot. It truly was unique in its set up and touched on so many interesting topics. I loved the discussion of fame and how it affects your personal life and relationships. At several points in the book, I wasn't sure how Theo and Emerson were going to make it work due to her fame and chaotic schedule. It was devastating to see how fame impacted Emerson and made her more closed off and forced her to constantly act like everything was fine.

I loved getting to know both characters as children and as adults ten years later. It was interesting to see how much each had grown and how each of their lives took a bit of an unexpected turn. It was clear to me that during their time apart, both characters grew a lot individually. However, I did not love the sheer amount of miscommunication that took place throughout the now timeline. I understand the main one since they were both young and Emerson didn't know any better. This one has been carried over since they were 18 and it takes the entire book to resolve, which I think added a lot to the plot. What I didn't enjoy, though, was the constant additional miscommunication that happens as they meet and rekindle their friendship. I understand that you can't just tell someone you haven't seen in ten years everything, but it seems like some of it was dragged out more than it should have been.

Minor spoilers ahead:

In addition, I didn't love how the topic of SA was handled. I know the author was doing her best to treat the topic with the utmost care, but it seemed almost overdone at the end? It felt as though key words were thrown in just because. I also didn't really understand the authors note at the beginning. She talks about how some people can go through SA and live a normal life despite it and that is what she was trying to portray with the character. Though Emerson does become incredible successful and her SA is not the only part of her identity, it is very very clear that it affects her on a day to day basis. Her SA completely and utterly changed the trajectory of her life and so to say that she tried to make a character who's SA isn't their identity confused me. The entire book revolved around this.

---------------------------------Spoilers over---------------------------------

Ultimately, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to friends. I think it was a fun read and covered some interesting topics very well. I also enjoyed the writing style a lot. The narrators also did a fantastic job of bringing the characters to life. I would love to read more from this author in the future and will be checking out other works with these narrators.

Thank you to MacMillan Audio for this ALC!

I truly do not have the words to capture how much this story captured my heart. Emerson and Theo are characters that you end up understanding so deeply that they feel real. Betty Cayouette has a rare ability to truly tap into the emotions of her readers, and creating characters they will fall in love with. Emerson and Theo’s story has continued to live in my head and delight me ever since I read it. This is a second-chance romance that has you smiling and kicking your feet, it is magnificent.

Though the main trope is miscommunication, which could throw a lot of readers off, this isn’t the focus of the book. There are moments of miscommunication but not *silly* miscommunication.

The audio narration is incredible. Brittany Pressley and Sean Patrick Hopkins brought the characters of Emerson and Theo to life and really immersed me in the story.

This was a true 5 star read for me, I couldn’t get enough of it and I never wanted it to end. I adore this story & these characters. An absolutely fantastic debut novel by Betty Cayouette!

Thank you to NetGalley, MacMillan Audio, and Betty Cayouette for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.

Expect:
Second Chance Romance
Armchair Traveling to Italy
Dual POVs
Dual Timelines
Miscommunication
Friends to Lovers
Past Trauma
Marriage Pact

I thought this was a great audiobook! Very well written with the dual pov/ timelines. Friends to lovers and second chance are my favorite tropes, both of which were in this book. The thing I didn’t like about it was the miscommunication trope. I posted a Bookstagram review, which I have linked down below.

A blushy new romance for all you travel lovers! I loved the Italian setting in this one. It really created the perfect atmosphere for love to blossom!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
One Last Shot
By: Betty Cayouette
Narrated by: Brittany Pressley and Sean Patrick Hopkins
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Pub Date: 5/07/24
Friends to lovers is my favorite romance trope at the moment so this one fits perfectly! There are times dual narrators are annoying but Brittany Pressley and Sean Patrick Hopkins were perfect.
From debut author Betty Cayouette comes a coming of age story. This book is told from dual POVs.
It’s freshman orientation when Emerson meets Theo for the first time and in just 4 years they are inseparable. As senior year starts to wind down they become more than friends. Theo’s a photographer and Emerson is already starting to model. They plan on moving from Boston to NYC. While on a photo shoot some awful things happen and Emerson starts to push everyone away including Theo. It’s now been 10 years, Emerson realizes he’s the one, always has been but they haven’t spoken in all that time. She orchestrates a chance encounter by becoming one of the models on his next campaign. To say he was shocked is an understatement. Their worlds are so different but maybe just maybe they can get back to where they once were.

This is a cute childhood friends to lovers, second chance romance that would be a great summer read.

Emerson and Theo were besties in high school. They made a pact that if they were still single at 28 they would marry each other and put it in their phone calendars. They had a break in their friendship at eighteen and haven't spoken since.

It's now ten years later. Emerson is a supermodel and Theo a fashion photographer. The ten year reminder goes off on both their phones, and Emerson finagles a photo shoot for herself with Theo as the photographer.

It's clear they have feelings for each other. I liked the dual timeline telling and the high school portions that slowly tell us why their friendship broke apart.

Thanks to MacMillan Audio for an ALC in exchange for my honest review.

ARC
I adored this book! I feel like people either love or hate friends to lovers/second chance romance, but it's a personal favorite for me. I feel like it had all the microtropes I love and wish I could write myself - marriage pact, traveling, it's always been you, etc. The multiple timelines was so much fun and relatable to high school romance/friendships. Definitely recommend

Thank you to @Netgalley for the eARC and @macmillan.audio for the ALC of One Last Shot by Betty Cayouette. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions are my own.

Let’s just get this out of the way- IS THIS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL COVER?? Yes, it is. As you can see from my photo album in the photo, I have been to Cinque Terre and was thrilled to revisit it in this book! What a perfect location! Oddly enough, I was in Michael's yesterday and there was some Cinque Terre art, which you don't always see: swipe for that. Hats off to a great title- so many have little meaning, and this one is clever in not one, but two ways.

The cover was an A+ for me, but page one was problematic- I appreciated the author’s note and I find trigger warnings necessary, but it was a major spoiler!

Supermodel Emerson and her high school boyfriend/ first love/ only love, photographer Theo, made a pact way back when, and it’s time to see if the pact still holds true. This book contains celebrity romance, friends to lovers, second chance, dual POV, dual timeline, one small tent, and miscommunication tropes.

I don’t know if there were pacing problems, but I wasn’t riveted. Misunderstanding is not my fave; just talk it out, people. Regardless, the author wrote some lovely words that will absolutely have me checking out her next book.

Narrator Brittany Pressley is a fan favorite and Sean Patrick Hopkins- I love him! He was incredible in Lynn Painter’s Happily Never After and he remains consistently excellent in this read.

3.5/5 stars
10 hours 46 minutes at 1x on audio
Door: I recall is being off the page?
Location: Cinque Terre, Italy, Los Angeles, CA, Boston, MA

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this Audiobook ARC. One Last Shot by Betty Cayouette was a sweet second chance romance between two high school best friends. Emerson and Theo were high school best friends who not so secretly were absolutely in love with each other. After a traumatic event Emerson leaves New England and heads to LA where her modeling career is taking off. Theo becomes a respected photographer and both still wonder to this day "what if?" Both of their phones 10 year calendar reminder goes off that if they were both not married they were going to marry each other. Emerson gets the idea that this could be her last shot with Theo and decides to model for the campaign he is shooting. I loved the story, but I don't think that mis communication tropes are for me. I felt super frustrated at times, but it was well done. I ended up falling in love with these characters and you could just feel the love they have for each other! 4 stars from me!

Thank you so much to @macmillan.audio @stmartinspress and @netgalley for the ALC/ARC! #MacAudio2024

📸 𝙈𝙮 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 📸
This was an excellent debut novel! The story is based on friendship, love and a marriage pact that two friends made to marry each other when they turn 28.

Emerson has made it as a superstar model and her high school best friend Theo is a fashion photographer. They both get an alert to a pact they made the decade prior, where they left their relationship without closure. Emerson meets up with Theo again on a shoot in Italy, determined to make things right between them.

The setting for this book was a lot of fun. A fashion shoot in a beautiful location. I enjoyed the questions game these two would play in their next door hotel rooms. It was fun to flash back to high school and see how they met and got to know each other as well.

There are some tough topics that do get brought up in this story, and it’s highlighted in the authors note as well. It was handled well by the author, and how she wanted to tell the main characters story.

I like the positive note the story ended on. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future!

🎧 𝙉𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 🎧
Brittany Pressley and Sean Patrick Hopkins did an amazing job narrating Emerson and Theo. I’ve come to enjoy Pressley’s narration more and more each time I listen to her. Both were able to bring out raw emotion in their characters that really brought the audiobook to life!

🎧 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚:
📸 Friends to Lovers
📸 Second Chance Romance
📸 Marriage Pact
📸 Model and Photographer
📸 Miscommunication
📸 Dual Timelines/POV

An amazing debut romance!! I'm not usually a fan of miscommunication but honestly this book needed the trope and Betty used it so well! I wish I was sitting pretty in Italy or somewhere warm on vacation when I listened to this one but in my head I was so that will have to do. I love when a book is told in the present and the past, especially for a second chance romance because it gives us all the detail and plays out slowly in both times -- just perfection. It's one of my favorite aspects of this story and I love their love at all stages. Theo and Emerson are so easily lovable throughout and even when they do something questionable it always comes from a good place or at least is easy to understand why they acted that way.

High school best friends/first loves Theo and Emerson made a marriage pact when they were teenagers and both still have the phone reminder set after 10 years apart. When the reminder goes off just in time for their 28th birthdays, the two -- now a supermodel and a fashion photographer -- are reunited on a photoshoot... and not by chance. Emerson wants to get the only man she's ever truly loved back and Theo wants the same, but will nerves/anxieties, miscommunication and a shady agent keep them apart?

UGH such a sweet, heartfelt, romantic book! Theo and Emerson are so genuine and kind, you just want to give them both a big hug. They each have really supportive best friends and for Theo, a really loving family. The side characters big and small were all great -- the besties, the fam, the other models -- they all added something to the story. Their meet-cute at freshman orientation was perfectly awkward, nerdy and cute!! I love how many just sweet gestures there are throughout the book, it shows that the MCs really know each other so well and care about making each other feel happy or comfortable. Even though miscommunication is a large part of the story, I like that the reader knows how gone for each other they both are from the beginning and their love is never in question. Theo was the best part of Em's life when they were younger and she was his perfect fit and as adults they continue to push each other to be their best selves and go for what they want.

The narrators perfectly voiced everyone and were so engaging. The pacing was great and the jumps back in time were done seamlessly. I loved this as an audio because I felt like the story was playing out right in front of me and I didn't have to imagine what the MCs would sound like because that's already been decided. Brittany Presley has narrated a lot of audios that I've listened to and she never disappoints! I've only had one other experience with Sean Patrick Hopkins as a narrator but I've enjoyed both works immensely and he does a fantastic job as well.

*childhood best friends
*second chance romance
*first loves
*friends to lovers
*slow burn
*forced proximity
*marriage pact
*time crunch
*will they or won't they
*miscommunication
*questions game
*she wears his clothes

"You're the whole orange" --iykyk

I had such a great time with this one and will be on the look out for any future Betty Cayouette books!

CW: mention of past off-page sexual assault

Big thanks to Macmillan Audio for the ALC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.