Firstly I’d love to thank the publisher and Netgalley for the e-arc 🥰❤️

I absolutely loved the round and completeness of the characters in Before I Saw You. The whole ensemble are warm, inviting and really made me want to finish the book super quickly!! I really enjoyed Eleanor as a MC and the candour she’s has been written with, she really drew me into the book but, in all honesty, I’m really all here for Fin and his relationship with his mother and with Eleanor as well. He’s a brilliant MC written with love and sincerity even when he’s a bit messy (to tell the truth they’re both a bit messy) I totally love all the mess that comes with him ❤️❤️

I love how the story centres around their relationship but has also had secondary stories and characters that are totally the best and that aren’t engulfed by it 🥰🥰

If you like a romance that’s a bit more serious but is still a quick read with a sexy guy in it (Fin is sexy) then this is for you ❤️❤️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A friends to lovers trope, that's sweet, meaningful and uplifting.

Eleanor and Finn have been lifelong friends. They once made a pact that if they were both still single by 35, they would marry one another.

But life got complicated and Finn left home at 18 to travel, finally settling in LA.

Finn and Eleanor drifted apart.

But with Finn's Mum terminally ill, he's returning to the UK. And it's only a matter of time before their paths cross again.

There may not be any real surprises on how this story ends, but there is a really beautiful journey we watch unfold, and the scenes in the care home are incredibly moving.

A gorgeously heartfelt story.

Eleanor and Fin were lovers and meet up again after many years. Will they/won’t they rekindle their love as they promised themselves they would if they met again? A bit slow and it wasn’t made clear why they lost contact. Living in different countries doesn’t mean you can’t stay in touch.

I warm book about friendship. Eleanor and Fin were childhood friends and meet again after years apart. The story is written with flashbacks interwoven with present day. It was a little slow and took along time to get to why they’d lost touch. Thanks to NetGalley for this copy.

Having read and enjoyed Emily Houghton’s previous novel 'Before I Saw You' I was invited to read and review 'Last Time We Met'. Once again Emily has written a beautiful love story. Eleanor and Fin's story is an easy to read and enjoyable story of love, friendship and families. I thoroughly recommend you put it on your summer reading list- you might need some tissues too!

I’d like to thank Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Last Time We Met’ by Emily Houghton in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Eleanor and Fin have been best friends for ever and when they’re thirteen they make a promise that if they reach the age of thirty-five and still single they’ll get married. For two decades they live in different countries, Eleanor in England and Fin in the United States of America, and when they eventually meet again they’re thirty-four. Will they keep their promise?

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘Last Time We Met’, I’ve loved the characters of Eleanor and Fin and didn’t want the story to end. Every single character has been important and the change in time-span from their childhood through to the present time has given a complete understanding of their relationship with each other as well as with their families. It’s been beautifully written and I’ve loved every second from start to finish, and although I would have liked a more ‘permanent’ ending for Eleanor and Fin dare I hope they’ll be a final short story to complete such a wonderful novel? This story has made me laugh and it’s also made me cry but the overall impression it’s left me with is a warm and happy feel good factor. If readers are looking for a delightful novel to bring a smile to their faces this is perfect for them.

This is the first Emily Houghton book that I've read but it certainly won't be my last.
Last Time We Met is a really lovely story, one that I very much enjoyed.
I really liked the dual timelines and dual POVs and both main characters were likeable, which isn't always the case in stories like these.
I was definitely rooting for them. It was a nice take on the second chance love/friendship trope.
It also dealt with difficult themes and issues in a sensitive way.
I can't wait to read more from Emily Houghton and I will be keeping an eye out for future releases and past books that I have missed.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is such a sweet contemporary romance. Childhood friends to lovers and found family are two of my favourite tropes, and this didn’t disappoint. Houghton explores grief, heart ache and addiction in this book beautifully, really bringing to life the characters and you can feel their connection and love for one another throughout. I would have liked to see more from the ending, but it didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment. This book made me laugh, cry my eyes out but most importantly, warmed my heart.

A solid 4 star read

i loved the side characters (like reggie, sal and rob) they really did add a lot to the story. i also enjoyed the development between the main characters but i just wish that we saw more of them, like towards the end. overall it was a really cute and enjoyable read although it was a bit slow at times.

I’ve never read anything by this author before and this book was so good, here are some of the things I loved about it:

-dual POV
-dual timeline
-second chance friendship/love
-childhood best friends to lovers is always so cute and always makes me wish I had a childhood best friend I fell in love with
-the characters, Eleanor and Fin, were both really likeable and well fleshed out with detailed back stories
-slow burn romance, the main characters had to work through a lot of issues and past hurt to get to where they ended up which made it even better when they finally got there

I just really enjoyed this book, it was heartwarming and such an easy read! Definitely recommend.

With thanks to the published for access to this arc!!

This was such a sweet childhood friends to lovers novel, that gave so much more than just romance. This book beautifully explored themes around grief, ageing and addiction with such a sensitive touch that everything felt super well crafted and still relatable!

I really enjoyed the dual timelines, with flashbacks to their childhoods and present day to piece together what led to them growing apart.

Solid 4⭐️ for me. I would have loved to have seen our main characters together more and their relationship in the epilogue to tie up nicely.

Fairly lighthearted and thoroughly enjoyable with some lovely characters and some quirky situations.
Definitely a sitting on the beach or in the garden lazing away a sunny afternoon kind of a book!

Absolutely loved this. I love reunited/second chance friendship style romances and how Fin’s whole perspective of life changed when he got back to the U.K. and spent more and more time at the home visiting his mum and the other residents. I whizzed through this book in one sitting and loved it

Fin and Eleanor were best friends as teenagers, snd made a pact to marry if they were still single at 35. Fast forward 20 years, they haven’t seen each other for years but fate brings them back together again.

I really enjoyed this quirky read from Emily Haughton, great beach summer fun.

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

An enjoyable read, the sort of book that would be fun to take on the beach to while away those hot summer days

“I, Eleanor Ruth Levy, and I, Finley James Taylor, hereby declare that if such a time occurs at the ripe old age of thirtyfive that both members of this agreement find themselves single then it shall be mandatory for the individual parties to wed each other.”

CW: Terminal illness of parent, cancer, dementia, death of parent (remembered), death of parent (on page), divorce, alcoholism

Last Time We Met was a welcome break to a near non-stop year of reading fantasy. It was lighthearted, it was easy to read, the characters had their happy ending. I loved Emily Houghton’s last book and I really liked this one too.
Fin and Eleanor signed a contract when they were younger that, if they were both single at 35, they’d marry. Given that they’re both newly single at 34 at the start of the book, you’d be forgiven for thinking that they have an easy path to romance ahead of them. I’m kind of glad they didn’t.
Fin and Eleanor haven’t seen or spoken to each other in 15 years, so falling into step straight away again would have felt unrealistic. They each had their own problems they needed to overcome and growing they needed to do separately. I enjoyed how they supported each other on their journeys, but also how they had their own support groups and activities they had to work through it - the side characters and non-romantic scenes were just as enjoyable as the will-they won’t-they scenes.
I do wish we’d got to see more of the actual romance. It was a lot of anticipation and slow-burn (which I love, don’t get me wrong). I just find romance books are most satisfying when we get to finally see the romantic leads come together.
However, I find I didn’t mind this completely. I still enjoyed the friendship, the characters growing, the pining and eventual romance. Just a small note in an otherwise really great book!

I loved "Before I saw you" so I jumped at the chance to read "Last time we met". I like the friends to lovers trope and even if that was quite predicable, I enjoyed their journeys, whether back then when they grew up, their ups and downs, as well as how they reconnect 15 years later.
I loved the characters and felt with them every single page. The author has a wonderful way of writing and I can't wait for her next book.

Highly recommended!

Thank you to the author and publisher who provided me with an e-copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely adored Before I Saw You by so when Penguin Random House reached out and asked if I wanted a NetGalley copy of her new book, Last Time We Met, I jumped at the chance!

I loved these characters and the fact that we got to read from both of their perspectives. I adored reading about them as children, how close they were to each other, the support in that friendship. But then I also loved seeing them reunite, and trying to figure out what went on in those 15 years. Fin is such a fantastic character, his whole past, present, and what I wanted for his future had me hooked. And Eleanor, I loved how her character developed for the better, and how she grew into a stronger person. Oh and side characters too! I adored Eleanor’s mum, her best friend Sal, Fin’s friend Rob. There were more but I won’t go on, I love it when you really do love all of the characters (well I definitely wasn’t keen on one or two but that was intentional). The way that Emily creates characters is incredible, I always want to know and hear more from them, whether they’re the main character or not.

And of course, just like with Before I Saw You, I cried. And I mean buckets 😂 we were in the car on the way to a safari park while I was reading and I cried my eyes out 😭 I nearly ended up looking like I was dressed a zebra with my mascara running down my face 😂

This is such a beautiful story, it’s an uplifting read yet entwined with such strong darker emotional moments too. I really did love it ❤️ thank you again for letting me read it ahead of its release!

Just lovely. A real messy one, with exes, dumpings, new dates and weddings to attend. Eleanor doesn’t miss her teenage best friend till he suddenly comes back when his mum is ill. Then follows a quietly funny, bittersweet, romance with some great characters supporting our couple to work out whether they are meant to be or not - friends, lovers or nothing at all.

Okay this is book has now discovered my new favourite trop: friends to lovers!!

I absolutely loved Eleanor and Fin, this is my first book of Emily’s and I’ll definitely be adding “before I saw you” to my tbr! I don’t want to give too much away, but the book begins in the past when they were both young and Fin suddenly disappears from their life…

15 years later, Fin gets a phone call about his mothers impending death and he’s also ended his relationship, while Eleanor is trying to get over a breakup (with no help).

This book had me crying at times and blushing!! Although I’d definitely check the Tw before hand as I found some parts difficult to read