4.5
This book was such a quick and easy read that just swept me along with the story, I love how it was written.
Eleanor and fin were childhood best friends who went their separate ways as they entered their 20s. Fast forward 15 years and they end up back in the same space. I loved how real this book was, I cried multiple times as the characters faced the challenges of life. They have a second chance at friendship, love and life and get closure from the past.
I just wish the ending had been slightly drawn out to give it a fuller conclusion.

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

20 years ago, Fin & Eleanor were best friends. Then life happened and with it came hindrances, problems & heartbreaks. Now tragic a circumstance for Fin made him come back into Eleanor's life, but everything has changed since the last time they met. Is it too late to mend their friendship?

Emily's writing allows the readers to both grieve & root for the characters.

This was an emotionally gripping friends-to-lovers romance. Through 2 decades, Eleanor & Fin's lives have gone through so much that it's beyond imagination.
In the present day, Eleanor goes through a tragic breakup that left her devastated. And Fin returns back to England after hearing his mom has few days to live.

Through a rollercoaster of emotions, these 2 are thrown into the same vicinity while they figure out what caused them apart. The lack of communication broke my heart.
But fear not, the ending was delightful & of course filled with HEA.

I love second chance romances and this friends to lovers romance was so cute! It was a quick, predictable romance that was fun to read never the less.

(will post longer review closer to publication date)

A friendship that was lost over decades. Eleanor and Fin were inseparable for there formable years until Fin disappears into the night, never really to be heard from again, until a family circumstance takes him back to London.
Told in opposite POV of Fin and Eleanor. We learn the reason why Fin disappeared into the night so many years ago.

I enjoyed the heartwarming and engaging story between the two individuals!

Reminded me a bit of love Rosie
Love these decades long frienship romances

ONE PROMISE
Aged thirteen, best friends Eleanor and Fin are inseparable. Convinced it will always be this way they make a pact - to go to university together, always live near each other, and if they're both single at 35 they'll get married.

TWO DECADES
Eleanor and Fin haven't spoken in fifteen years. Life has run away from them and they're both far from where they'd dreamt of being all those years ago.

CAN THEY STILL KEEP THEIR WORD?
It takes tragic circumstances for Fin to come back into Eleanor's life, but everything has changed since the last time they met. Is it too late to mend their friendship? Or is there a chance they can keep some of the promises they made?

I was so engrossed in Eleanor and Fin's story. Emily Houghton has a great way of creating these slightly flawed and hugely likeable characters. Eleanor and Fin are both so likeable and you're rooting for them them the whole way through the book. My heart broke for both of them and the ending, though predictable, is so satisfying, I couldn't help but smile. A story of love, friendship, overcoming your demons and picking yourself up after it all goes wrong, I can't wait for the next release from Emily Houghton.

Thankyou to netgalley and the publisher for asking me to review this book. I gave Emily Houghton's previous book Before i saw you 5 stars so i was very excited to see what this book would bring, This book brought me so many emotions, i laughed and i ugly cried, it was just so emotional. i loved Eleanor and Fin and i despised Oliver. Emily has a way of getting me fully invested in the story she is creating, i loved the two timelines and the dual perspective. Another pretty perfect book.

A lost friendship that is so much more when reunited.
Eleanor and Fin have lots to catch up on after 20 years apart but now that Fin is in the UK he and Eleanor can get to know each other again, tell their truths and fall in love along the way!?
I found it a little slow for my preference at times but I think the story needed to not be rushed. There’s some intense storyline elements in with this romance too but overall it is a light and easy read with an ending that you’d expect.

I absolutely loved this authors other book and was excited to read this one and wasn’t disappointed. It was an emotional rollercoaster of a read and was heartbreaking and heartwarming in equal measure and the author dealt with a lot of sensitive topics throughout which were done in a respectful and relatable way.

This was written as a then and now dual perspective and the will they or won’t they develop the friendship into something more vibe was maintained throughout in this beautiful and poignant read of what has happened in fin and Eleanor’s lives since they have been apart and the events which have led to their paths meeting up again.

A lovely story with a nice satisfying ending. The characters were well-written and I particularly enjoyed the parent / child relationships. Recommended.

This book did not disappoint I enjoyed the book as friendship and of course romance in it.

Eleanor and Fin have been friends since they were children and made a pact that if they were still single at 35 they would marry. For the last 15 years Eleanor and Fin have not seen each other is there a reason for that only time will tell. Fin ends coming back to the UK due to his Mum being ill. They seem to reconnect and they seem to have become friends again.

The book is well written and I found the characters were engaging and interesting.

Would recommend this book.

Unfortunately, I received an unformatted version of this book, but it's a testament to how much I liked this story that I tried to read as much as I could even without formatting. Eleanor and Fin were childhood friends and haven't seen each other in years. When Fin comes back under sad circumstances, they get a chance to reconnect. I loved the second chance premise and the characters. I will be looking out for this book when it comes out.

Friends to lovers is one of my all-time favourite tropes and 'Last Time We Met' by Emily Houghton certainly lived up to my expectations!

I think my favourite part of this story was the characters. The characterisation was so amazing that I could picture these people so clearly in my head as I was reading. They seemed so real to me, every emotion and personality trait felt so thought out and suited them amazingly. The side characters were brilliant too, in particular, I enjoyed all of the characters in the nursing home that Fin helped with his photography (may or may not have shed a few tears during those moments, it was just so so sad!)

I loved the slow burn aspect of Eleanor and Fin's romance. There were times I could feel myself just wanting to lock the two main characters in a room together and not let them leave until they admitted their love for each other!!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC and thank you to Emily Houghton for writing such a beautiful story!!

This was a bit slow at times, and some topics could have been explored in more depth, like Fin's alcoholism and Eleanor's relationship with Olivier. I loved the care home scenes. There was a sweet ending. Lots to like. With thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

‘Can a promise still stand after fifteen years?’

When they were aged thirteen, Eleanor Levy and Finley (Fin) Taylor were inseparable best friends. They intended to stay close, to go to university together and, if they were both still single at 35, to marry.

Twenty years later, Eleanor and Fin have not spoken for fifteen years. Their lives have diverged: Fin lives in the USA while Eleanor, in the UK is trying to recover from the break-up of a long-term relationship. Fate intervenes when a family tragedy brings Fin back to the UK. And then their paths cross.

While there may be no real surprises in the way this story ends, the journey is far from smooth. Fin and Eleanor each must navigate some difficult personal terrain including issues such as alcoholism, family dysfunction and mental health issues.

While I enjoyed the fairly predictable path taken by this story, I was wrenched out of the story every time someone smirked (smirk or smirked appears 24 times in the narrative). Now, I do realise that smirking has more than one meaning but I had to keep stopping while I wondered if the smirker was grinning, sneering, or leering.
Note: My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Having previously read a novel by this author I was excited to see this one as a review copy through netgalley.
I did have some formatting issues but I know that is to do with it bring an arc.

The story itself was lovely. Well written with detailed characters and ones I grew to carely greatly about.

I would recommend this to others as I think a lot of readers will really enjoy this one once it's our in August.

Absolutely loved this book! I thorough enjoyed reading it and would definitely recommend!

There are no prizes for guessing how this story ends but I think that’s the beauty of the story and the characters! They are wholesome and genuine and you do want them to be happy as one.

I feel like it took a while to get going, flipping forwards and backwards in time but I liked that and enjoyed it. I was slightly disappointed though then when it went soooo quick after them getting together with not actually much detail to that part after lots of previous information. I wanted to know more and definitely wanted to know what happens when they get to 38!

This is a lovely easy read story of friends Eleanor and Fin whose find themselves back in each other's lives after 15 years apart.

There are no prizes for guessing how this book ends - and there is a lovely comfort to that. Some heavy themes are touched upon including parental death, alcoholism and sexuality. I would have liked a bit more exploration of the earlier years of Eleanor and Fin and what happened to Fin when travelling instead of Eleanor messing Ben around.

What I really loved though was Fin's photography project and the discussions about death and end of life. These were done so well and were very poignant.

Thanks to Netgalley/Random House for the ARC

This was a very sweet charming story, Eleanor and Fin were best friends growing up, but as they reached their late teens everything fell apart, and now they haven't been in contact for 10 years. Until a family issue brings Fin back into Eleanor's life and they begin to reconnect.

I genuinely enjoyed this story but I did feel it could have gotten a little deeper into some of the issues it touched on. Eleanor's relationship with Oliver was hinted as at least emotionally abusive but this wasn't really explored. Similarly, Fin's sobriety was clear but I'd have enjoyed a bit more backstory on how and why he stopped drinking. These things would just added a little bit more depth to two characters who I really loved, and helped me get to know them even better.

It was a lovely story though, I really loved the way all the care home scenes were handled, they were some of my favourites in the book, and Eleanor and Fin's easy chemistry was delightful to read. I finished with a big smile on my face.

Fin and Eleanor were best friends, they even agreed to marry if they were still single at 35. Now he's back in the country after being away for years. This was a nice read. Slightly predictable but there were enough mysteries to pull me back in. Why did Fin leave? Could the friendship recover?

both main characters were interesting and there was a solid cast of others around them. The mothers in particular were interesting.

I would have liked a bit more about Fin and Eleanor as children when they were friends.