One Last Shot

Cayouette makes a memorable debut with a second-chance love story that is equal parts heart-wrenching and inspiring. As an adult, supermodel Emerson Grey is still dealing with a sexual trauma from her past that led her to distance herself from her high school love, Theo Carson, when they were 18. Then a calendar reminder of their pact—that if they weren’t married to other people when they turned 28, they would marry each other—pops up on her phone, and she realizes how much she misses and still loves Theo, who is now a photographer. An opportunity to work with him arises, and Emerson jumps on it—against the wishes of her uber-manipulative agent, Matt. Will their sweet reunion lead to the soul-satisfying happy ending both characters deserve, or will their complicated past and Matt’s present treachery keep them apart? Cayouette leads readers on a well-plotted, multidimensional route to the answer. Along the way, she does a masterful job of showing how trauma affects relationships, and shares in an emotional author’s note that she’s drawing from personal experience. The result is a commendable portrait of healing. (May)