Booktoker shines with debut second-chance romance!

     From BookToker to romance novelist, Betty Cayouette (aka Betty’s Book List) weaves together an amazing second-chance romance set in Italy in her debut novel One Last Shot (which comes out on May 7th).
     From the moment Emerson and Theo met as teenagers, they were inseparable. But just when they finally expressed their feelings to one another, they were torn apart. Now, supermodel Emerson is nearing her twenty-eighth birthday, and she’s tired of looking for love in all the wrong places. When the calendar reminder for the marriage pact she and Theo made as teens goes off on her phone, she realizes this is it—her chance to rekindle the only romance that ever really made sense. Emerson convinces her grumpy agent to book her as the face of the fashion campaign that Theo, now a fashion photographer, is shooting. The good news: the campaign is being shot in ridiculously romantic Cinque Terre, Italy. The bad news? Theo might not be as happy to see her as she'd hoped. The two embark on a four-day campaign that tests not only their feelings, but their ability to keep their hands off one another. But as roadblock after roadblock keeps them apart, Emerson starts to wonder: will this photoshoot be the key to getting one last shot at love, or will it be a final goodbye?
     This debut book has to be one of the best friends to lovers romances I’ve ever read! I absolutely adored Emerson and Theo! This book had such a great storyline and I was desperate for these former childhood friends to finally realize that they still loved one another just as much as they did in high school. The pacing of the novel was perfect and the flashback in between each chapter really rounded out the novel by showing how Emerson and Theo’s friendship and love grew from their teen years.
     This book will have you itching to go on vacation and experience a whirlwind romance! Having a bulk of the plot take place in Italy over the course of a week was so enchanting and I was very intrigued by the setting of the photo shoot to reconnect these two lovers.
     I appreciated the author’s note in the beginning about the main character being a victim of sexual assault and how that plot line wasn’t a main focus in the story, but still contributed to the story as a whole. I felt that the topic was handled with grace and showed how a moment from your past can be a part of you, without entirely defining you.
​     You can bet that I will be the first in line to get Cayouette’s next book (whenever it comes out) and I will be recommending this book to everyone I know all summer long!

*I received an ARC from St. Martin’s Press in exchange for my honest opinion.

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