Thank you to Cornerstone and Betty Cayouette for the opportunity to review One Last Shot from Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

One Last Shot is a second-chance romance featuring a marriage pact that unites the two main characters after ten years apart. It is a dual POV story featuring flashbacks from both main characters, Theo and Emerson, bringing to life their high school romance and reunion after being estranged for ten years. The writing is atmospheric, capturing the beauty of the Italian location with a steady pacing that brings together tension, longing, and difficulties of reestablishing trust between two people who hurt each other in the past, driven apart by a terrible event. I think Betty Cayouette handled harrowing themes of trauma and sexual assault with delicacy and a lot of care while bravely sharing her own painful experiences with the reader.

The miscommunication trope at the heart of One Last Shot did feel dragged out to a breaking point in the plot for me; I wanted to knock Emerson and Theo's heads together to get them to talk about the important stuff. I did love their banter, especially their little balcony chats. I often felt they avoided talking about the essential things. If ever there was a romance to highlight the importance of not playing games, speaking from the heart, and how toxic miscommunication can be for us, it is this one. It definitely cost some points for the rating for me.

The characters of One Last Shot are beautifully crafted and easily relatable, set in the high-fashion modeling world. For me, Emerson was a likable character. I respected her resilience and bookworm persona, but she seemed to miss the quintessential spark that makes a main character memorable. Our main male character, Theo, is the total opposite. He's a passionate, loveable, and honourable soul who is a compelling main character – he's dreamy boyfriend material. My heart was ripped out for him – I kept turning the pages for him as he deserved a HEA.

The supporting cast for One Last Shot consisted of lovable, energetic souls who sometimes stole the show. I loved Georgia, Emerson's best friend – she had main character energy with a sassy personality, devilish humour, and a big heart that filled the page with vibrancy for each scene she appeared. I wanted more of her on the page. Can we get a book with her story next?

A cute, easy read with great holiday-read vibes featuring exotic locations, great banter, and slow-burn chemistry with lots of longing and pleasant crackle of spice. If you love Emily Henry and Tessa Bailey romances, you will enjoy Betty Cauyotte's writing style and characters.

I really enjoyed this romance story. The romance itself was well written, I liked the characters.
A fantastic debut from this author. I'll be sure to look out for her future works!

I really wanted to give this book a go and enjoy it. But it was so twee and predictable. I know, its romance, but I was bored and knew exactly what was going to happen. Yes you want them to get together, but there was no will they/won't they. There was no excitement.

I think I would've enjoyed this if there wasn't so much miscommunication sprinkled in with the obvious chemistry and mutual pining going on between Theo and Emerson. The fact that it cost them ten years of radio silence between each other was also confusing.

Emerson clearly came all the way to Italy to see Theo and participated in the photoshoot he was working on even though it would affect her career. That's clearly meant to show him she loves him.

They continued to flirt sometimes, throw each other longing looks and they still managed to keep their distance because of miscommunication and self-sabotage.

I also think the book could've done away with like a hundred pages. I felt the length and skimmed my way through the rest of it just to finish. I loved the setting though.

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

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

A must-pick summer read for all your friends to lovers, second chance, dual POV dreams come true.

This book has all the holiday vibes of baking on a beach somewhere in the Mediterranean with a mojito in hand whilst feeling all the cute feels.

However, I found the pacing to slow down a lot in the middle and the ending to be a bit rushed. The SA aspect of the plot was glossed over too quickly and not enough time given to truly unpack how it affected Emerson - we get the lite version, which is enough to give the plot what it needs but I think it does a bit of a disservice to both Emerson and Theo’s character development.

I’d like a follow up novel following Harry because I need to know what happens to him next.

One Last Shot is an easy contemporary romance that you can easily read in a day. It gave me Love Rosie vibes, childhood best friend to almost lover due to miscommunication. You can tell Betty Cayouette is very familiar with the fashion world of photoshoots but after a while it got a little repetitive.

I didn't overly like any of the characters but I hope everyone can find a BFF like Harry.

Spice Level moderate but the miscommunication had me screaming at the characters.

Overall a nice quick read, that leaves me wanting to quit my job to work overseas.

4⭐️

📸 Friends to Lovers
📸 Second Chance
📸 Dual POV
📸 Forced Proximity

I loved this book, this follows Theo and Emerson. They were best friends as teenagers and make a marriage pact. On prom, they kiss. Emerson leaves pretty much straight after that. Fast forward 10 yrs, Emerson is a famous model and Theo is a photographer and Emerson gets the reminder about the marriage pact and the story goes on from there. I enjoyed this book a lot.

Thanks for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

R E V I E W

One Last Shot by Betty Cayouette

Advanced reader copy graciously provided by Random House UK, Cornerstone via Netgalley

☆☆☆.5

One Last Shot is a second chance, friends-to-lovers romance between highly successful supermodel Emerson Grey and her high school best friend and now mainstream photographer Theo Carson.

After a marriage pact notification appears on her phone a week ahead of her 28th birthday, Emerson decides to bridge the gap and attempt to mend the decade-long rift between her and Theo. The only problem? The brands he photographs for are a little below her pay grade and after leaving him behind ten years ago with only a vague note for explanation, she has no idea if he will want to see her again. Reputation be damned, Emerson decides to give it one last shot and fly to Cinque Terre, Italy for Theo's latest shoot.

When the marriage pact he made with love of his life, Emerson, goes off on his 28th birthday, Theo decides to throw caution to the wind and contact the girl who decimated his heart a decade before. With only her management contact details to hand, Theo finds himself quickly and soundly rejected in an email via Emerson's manager. Internally reeling, Theo picks himself up only to come face to face with Emerson minutes later, who, unbeknownst to him, is now the face of his latest campaign.

This was a book of two halves for me. I loved the majority of this book, told in dual POV chapters with flashbacks from ten years ago interspersed. Watching both parties try not to reveal too much but incapable of hiding their true feelings was gripping, and the friendship and bond between these two was undeniable. When things finally clicked into place for the pair, I let out a silent cheer.

The latter part of the story, once Emerson and Theo finally decided to make a go of it, was where my interest began to wane. I appreciate that realistically, a relationship with an international supermodel would never be smooth sailing, but this portion of the story felt rushed (taking place about 80% into the book) and stilted as a result of Emerson still refusing to share with Theo the catalyst for her abandoning him all those years ago. When she finally does open up to him, the details are vague, and she still pushes him away to save face. The conversation Theo has with his brother Owen about Emerson's attack felt like it should have been a conversation he had with her.Whilst I liked the full circle nature of the marriage proposal ending, I think these two had a lot more to discuss and work through together for this to feel believable for me.

This is sooo cozy. And I want to go to Italy 🥹

The story is good, I enjoy the pace and the character development. But I especially enjoy the setting :3
Recommended for cozy read and romance fans!

Emerson and Theo made a pact when they were teenagers that they would marry each other when they were 28 if they were still single. Flash forward and they’re both single but aren’t speaking and haven’t done for a decade, she’s a supermodel and he’s a photographer and they come together for one last shoot (and shot at love).

I usually love a second chance romance with the childhood friends to lovers trope but book was so frustrating, the miscommunication was too much in my opinion. I understand that books need conflict but the way they just flat out didn’t speak to each other about anything was so annoying to read.

The characters were sweet and I was rooting for them to get together but by the end I was skimming the pages to finish the book.

Every since the movie My Best friends Wedding I’ve loved while, ‘two friends with a marriage pact’ trope, so I couldn’t wait to read Theo and Emerson’s story. I’m not as much of a fan of the miscommunication trope, so that part of the story wasn’t great, although I completely understand that sometimes in order to carry the story forward it’s needed. I loved Theo, he was sweet and kind and just wonderful. Emerson was less easy to like, at the beginning anyway. But together they were great. Cute banter, bit of angst and longing. Overall, a sweet romance that was enjoyable to read. Thanks Netgalley and the publisher.

Loved this story of how the outside influences caused a lot of confusion for Emerson and Theo but also the underlying story around how a sexual assault impacted on Emerson and her life. A difficult subject handled exceptionally well!

Thank you to netgalley, the author and the publisher for the advance copy to read.

One Last Shot is a romantic novel about Emerson and Theo, best friends from years before who made a pact of marriage if they are both single by the age of 28.

I really loved the characters, they had a lot of depth and were well written. It really gave me Emily Henry and Christina Lauren vibes. The plot has the miscommunication trope which normally makes me want to scream. But it worked really well in this.

The setting for the majority of the story was also stunning. Perfect holiday reading.

The story does deal with some hard topics, but they are dealt with in a really delicate way.

I can't lie, the ending actually made me tear up, which is something that doesn't really happen to me.

4 stars.

'It's hard to tell when I can barely breathe at the thought of her.'

Was this the perfect book? No But did I love it? Yep!

This story follows childhood besties Theo and Emerson as they reconnect following 10 years radio silence. Emerson, a world famous supermodel and Theo, fashion photographer - reconnect after a marriage pact alert goes off 1 week before Emmerson's 28th Birthday. As the two rediscover each other and explore rekindled feelings - ex's turned friends become matchmakers and the Italian Scenery proves hard to resist.

The story has:

-Found Family
-Strong Friendships
-Miscommunication (I know but please let me explain below) #
-Friends to Lovers to Strangers to Lovers
- Question Games
-Supporting and Understanding Relationship
-TSwift Love!

So, if you're like me and you loathe miscommunication in romance books then you may be surprised to see me rate this highly. There is miscommunication but it does not dominate the story. DESPITE their being miscommunication it never affects their rekindling of the friendship. I liked this because I feel as though miscommunication can often disrupt the entire growth/plot of a book but this was more a deterrent to their romance rather than a deterrent to their friendship.

'Communicate babe, it's not that hard.

^^^ plus when the FMC has friends like this - you know it's not an ends all.

Something else this book has? BANTER! There were some genuinely funny moments in this book (see below) and humour is always a big sell for me when it comes to romances.

'That's smart,' she declares. 'I know you stole it from the detective movie you did last year, but respect.'

If I was to give one critique it would be this particular scene that annoyed me ( I won't say because of spoilers but it was something that was said and had a potential large impact but then was never mentioned again or explained?)

Thankyou to NetGalley, The Author and Random House UK, Cornerstone for an E-Arc in exchange for an honest review.

📸 Second chance masterpiece 📸

I really enjoyed Theo and Emerson’s story, the pace was just right and whilst I’m not a fan of the miscommunication trope it was done in a way that wasn’t too frustrating in this book.

Theo was an immediately lovable character and he really made this book for me. I don’t think I’d have stuck with it if not for him because Emerson grated on me a little. He was caring and patient and so understanding and supportive when he found out what Emerson had been through. I also liked the way he talked things through with his brother and found out what he had done for Emerson.

Emerson was a difficult character for me, I liked her a bit more once we found out about her background but I did struggle to bond with her. She was incredibly vein, which given her industry is probably understandable but I just didn’t find that side of her character particularly likeable.

What really made this book for me was the ending. The grand gesture to end all grand gestures and it honestly had me welling up. That scene tipped this from a 3⭐️ read to a 4 just because it touched me so much. A really wonderful book and I can’t wait to see more from Betty.

I love second chance romances so I’ve been really excited to read this one and while it started off great, it eventually went a bit downhill.

I should have known something like that would happen once, very early on, it became clear that they were both still obsessed with each other and wanting to try to get back together. That’s just too easy - obviously something would go wrong. After all, we still had about 300 pages to go.

Unfortunately what followed was a whole lot of miscommunication and manipulation from one of the side characters, which quickly became really frustrating. And look, I know miscommunication is almost a given when it comes to romance books but there was just so much. It was especially frustrating because it generally happened right as one of the MCs was about to do something about their situation and try to get back together.

I’m also unsure how I feel about the big reveal of what happened that led them to break up when they were teenagers. I’m not sure I love how they just brushed it off and barely mentioned it. Not that I needed an on-page description but it would have been nice to have them talk about it a bit more? May that’s just me…

Anyway. Having said that, it wasn’t all bad. I loved Theo - he was so precious and cute and soft. He loved Emerson so much and would do anything for her! Emerson was a great character as well, as after everything she went through it was nice to see her find happiness and settle down.

3/5 Stars

Thank you to Cornerstone and Netgalley for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Emerson is a famous super model. Theo is an up and coming photographer. The two were inseparable as teenagers, best friends who made a pact to marry each other if they weren't attached by the age of 28. Of course years pass and the two are no longer in touch, until Emerson receives a reminder on her phone of their agreement, and tries to give it 'One last shot'.

She inveigles herself to a job Theo is working on Italy to try to rekindle their friendship and a romance which was crushed in its infancy., and of course sparks fly between the two.

The story is told from a two person perspective, both Emerson and Theo as they come to terms with their feelings after being thrown together after 10 years of wondering.

I think this is a lovely beach read with very little thought required. To be honest there was a bit too much hand wringing for me and 'what ifs' and the characters were a little two dimensional, and the story eventually reached its inevitable conclusion. It's a 3.5 stars from me.

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

I really didn’t enjoy this one. I found the characters irritating and found there to be no character development – when it’s second chance a repeat of the way they acted first time round is really not what I’m looking for, I kept hoping for some growth but we just didn’t get it. I didn’t even really like the side characters. Not for me, unfortunately.

One Last Shot is a fun romantic comedy that would make a good holiday read.

The story sees two former best friends reconnecting after a reminder of a previous marriage pact sets into motion a series of events that leads to the pair working together again. Emerson is now a supermodel, but she's never found anyone that understands her how Theo did. He's now a fashion photographer and she organises to be on his shoot for a campaign.

While at first awkward around each other, with many missteps and miscommunication along the way, the two can't deny their mutual feelings for long. The setting of Italy was awesome to see the two falling in love again.

Thank you NetGalley for the E-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cute romance book that I could imagine myself reading at the beach, definitely a great book to read on your holiday. The pacing is really good, the book jumps into the main plot of story straight away. I do think the writing was good, however I think some parts were a bit long-winded and could have used some editing down. I adored Emerson and Theo, they are fantastic characters who you really want to root for throughout the book.