I LOVED IT. I ate this right up!! Emerson and Theo, I am so insanely obsessed with you. Emerson’s story is so insanely heart wrenching and until the end you think she shallowly left her best friend after one heartfelt night. Theo, you are the man everyone wants. Completely, endlessly obsessed with Emerson, capturing her raw beauty as her photographer, best friend, and love of her life. I adored this story and what a fantastic setting of Cinque Terre!

Was I just… convinced… to love a miscommunication trope? ME?! Five stars for that, hands down. Did not think it could happen, but we’re here now.

Anyway, obviously a front runner is that trope but when I tell you it’s done SO WELL. Emerson has grown up being taught that if people don’t love you it’s because you’re not worthy of love, so you have to be enough for yourself at all times.

Emerson’s emotional journey through this story is so relatable. What a read to start out SA awareness month. I think Betty really hit the nail on the head here and portrayed Emerson’s character so well. I loved how utterly good and kind everyone is in this book, and how no one was purposefully catty or mean just because they were women (as often happens in stories).

The relationship dynamics between Emerson, Georgia, and Harry is incredible and I loved that they just absorbed Theo and supported the relationship from square one. There were a few moments in the book where I stopped and thought that’s not something that would actually play out in real life, but it wasn’t enough of a difference for me to get upset about it.

All that to say, I loved this book. I devoured it. I’m so glad I read it. I 1000% judge books by “the author is a TikTok star” because no thanks, but this one is the exception to the rule for me.

Thank you to the author, MacMillan Audio, St. Martins Griffin, and NetGalley for my ARC/ALC of this book. All opinions are my own.

3.5 ⭐️

I swoon for a friends to lovers second chance story especially when it’s accompanied by a dual timeline. This story had so much longing as these once inseparable friends, who were head over heels for each other, are reunited after a decade apart and decide to fight for the love story and future they’ve so desperately yearned for.

While the present story takes place over the course of a week, the snippets into the past span the entirety of Emerson and Theo’s friendship - from their first meeting, first adventures, road trips, to their unexpected parting. Cayouette keeps most of the story lighthearted, but also discusses grief, loss, and sexual violence, while stressing the importance of therapy, protecting your peace, prioritizing mental health, and finding your people who will rally around you. I do wish we were given more time on page to see Emerson and Theo’s growth rather than so much focus on photo shoot specifics.

I enjoyed most of this story, but it leans heavily into the miscommunication trope, which is a trope a personally avoid. I will say the miscommunication didn’t bother me as much while listening to audiobook, but I could see getting a little frustrated if reading a physical copy. I think the dual narration kept me more engaged even when there was a conflict in the third act - it’s not a breakup and it was the catalyst for necessary discussions between Emerson and Theo.

Overall, I enjoyed this and would recommend picking up the audiobook!

Special thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for advanced access to One Last Shot by Betty Cayouette,

One Last Shot is a debut romance novel by Tik Tok star, Betty Cayouette,
Emerson and Theo met when they were teenagers and became best friends. The two made a pact to marry at 28 if they were unattached. Due to a "falling out" when they were teenagers, they haven't spoken in 10 years. Emerson, a super model, finagles her way into one of Theo's photo shoots in Italy. One Last Shot is told from Emerson and Theo's perspectives, from past and present.

Trigger warnings-
rape
hoarding

I really enjoyed OneLast Shot, and hope to read more from this author in the future.
Publication date is May 7, 2024.

I thought this was a super cute book! It felt easy to read and definitely gives all the summer vibes. I didn't think this was an enemies to lovers story but 1000% a friends to lovers story with miscommunication. Which made the characters easy to love. I did think the book could have been a bit shorter, but overall, I thought it was a good read.

Loved the dual pov and that even though the mfc is super famous, she still comes off down to earth and is loveable. The two timeliness from high school to present were easy to follow, and overall, I thought it was a cute, easy romance.

Cute second chance romance story. The characters were dimensional and well written the story was entertaining and a quick read. Finished in one sitting during a flight. Will read more from this author.

One Last Shot is a beautifully tender second chance romance I couldn't stop listening to. I absolutely fell in love with Emerson and Theo! (not to mention, Cayouette's storytelling!) And, of course, Brittany Pressley knocked it out of the park-as always. After I finished, I just had to go onto the author's website and look through Instagram for her Betty's Book List. I lost over an hour watching her act out the plots of recently read books, and added lots of her recs to my TBR Truly, a new author to watch! Highly recommend!!!

As a second chance and celebrity romance, this book really had an uphill battle for me personally, but it's an Illumicrate Afterlight pick and I like to try to read those ahead of time to see if I want the special edition. While this wasn't totally a hit for me for a few reasons, I did actually like it much more than I expected to based on the main tropes! I think the writing was good and I'm interested to see what the author does next.

Things I liked/loved:
- The Friends to Lovers aspect
- The Italian Setting
- The Writing
- The grand gesture!
- The Author's note in the beginning which acted as a trigger warning.

Things I didn't love:
- The CONSTANT miscommunications
- Emerson's immaturity
- The Celebrity aspect
- The use of the word "clean" in regards to STD testing results

I listened to the audio and thoroughly enjoyed the narration by Brittany Presley and Sean Patrick Hopkins. I always appreciate a dual narration and think the voice actors did a wonderful job bringing the story to life.

Thank you to MacMillan Audio and Netgalley for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I ended up enjoying this one! I did waffle a bit just due to the body image concepts that came up quite often (ie Botox, being thin and avoiding certain foods, needing makeup), but I do realize the fashion industry isn’t kind. The timeline concept worked really well for this book! I would say definitely read the authors note and look up content warnings before reading. It was a sweet second chance at romance between high school best friends. The character arcs really made sense for both, which means the author put in a great deal of work to get there. I didn’t love some of the conflict near then end where it was mostly them not communicating about issues, but it again, made sense for the characters. Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of the audiobook!

Miscommunication is present from beginning to end, proceed at your own risk. The book had lots of potential to be emotional, I was prepared to cry, but it never got there for me. The heavy topics mentioned in the book were discussed in a few short sentences then were avoided. A little more detail would help understand the characters.
The flashbacks helped explain the romance between Emerson and Theo from the beginning, while they got to know each other as adults. The love was still there after all those years.
The narrators were great, had engaging voices and personalities.