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A review by sandrareilly513
One Last Gift by Emily Stone
3.0
For fans of [b:One Day in December|38255337|One Day in December|Josie Silver|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1573862622l/38255337._SX50_.jpg|56132017] and [b:Pack Up the Moon|55445159|Pack Up the Moon|Kristan Higgins|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1605447045l/55445159._SX50_.jpg|85249669]...
Cassie and her brother Tom are incredibly close -- they're all they have left after losing their parents at a young age. Tom has made it a Christmas tradition to send Cassie on elaborate (and sometimes for her, frustrating) scavenger hunts, in which rhyming is not optional. But after losing Tom, too, all Cassie has left is her memories and her friends to help her through. When she finds an envelope leading her on one last Christmas hunt, Cassie will need her friends -- and Tom's best friend, Sam, whom Cassie once lost her heart to -- in order to find the special gift Tom had planned for her. But is she ready to let go of her pain and truly live again?
Thoughts: The premise makes for a wonderful Hallmark-movie-esque Christmas story, complete with funny best friends, holiday shenanigans, and small-town traditions. Heck, Cassie is even an event planner -- if that doesn't scream "Hallmark", then I don't know what does. Emily Stone knows how to pull the heart strings with Cassie's and Sam's grief over losing Tom, and spends a significant portion of the story exploring their grief as they process their loss on their own terms. Sam also has a lot of baggage thanks to an absentee father, which Stone allows him to work through, as well. Overall, I think readers will appreciate the time and care Stone takes in allowing Cassie and Sam to figure out their lives and what they want for their futures. My only issue was the last quarter of the book where Cassie and Sam flip-flop between who has their act together, with several months going by as they go back-and-forth; this felt a little drawn out to me even though I'm sure the point was to give both characters the time and space needed to feel comfortable with their own life choices before the HEA. There was a very satisfying resolution for all characters involved, including one nagging issue with Tom. Overall, this was a sweet yet sad read that I would recommend to romance readers who are looking for a heartfelt non-rom-com holiday read.
**Thank you, NetGalley and publishers, for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.**
Cassie and her brother Tom are incredibly close -- they're all they have left after losing their parents at a young age. Tom has made it a Christmas tradition to send Cassie on elaborate (and sometimes for her, frustrating) scavenger hunts, in which rhyming is not optional. But after losing Tom, too, all Cassie has left is her memories and her friends to help her through. When she finds an envelope leading her on one last Christmas hunt, Cassie will need her friends -- and Tom's best friend, Sam, whom Cassie once lost her heart to -- in order to find the special gift Tom had planned for her. But is she ready to let go of her pain and truly live again?
Thoughts: The premise makes for a wonderful Hallmark-movie-esque Christmas story, complete with funny best friends, holiday shenanigans, and small-town traditions. Heck, Cassie is even an event planner -- if that doesn't scream "Hallmark", then I don't know what does. Emily Stone knows how to pull the heart strings with Cassie's and Sam's grief over losing Tom, and spends a significant portion of the story exploring their grief as they process their loss on their own terms. Sam also has a lot of baggage thanks to an absentee father, which Stone allows him to work through, as well. Overall, I think readers will appreciate the time and care Stone takes in allowing Cassie and Sam to figure out their lives and what they want for their futures. My only issue was the last quarter of the book where Cassie and Sam flip-flop between who has their act together, with several months going by as they go back-and-forth; this felt a little drawn out to me even though I'm sure the point was to give both characters the time and space needed to feel comfortable with their own life choices before the HEA. There was a very satisfying resolution for all characters involved, including one nagging issue with Tom. Overall, this was a sweet yet sad read that I would recommend to romance readers who are looking for a heartfelt non-rom-com holiday read.
**Thank you, NetGalley and publishers, for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.**