Another beautiful book from Stone. The full review will appear in my book column sometime before Christmas. It will also go up on social media.

An enjoyable slow read with a fantastic story line unlike some other Christmas romance novels out there!

Story line is full of ups and downs which makes you yern for the characters even more!

An absolutely gorgeous read from beginning to end. This author never fails to steal my heart. This is a phenomenal book and one that I have told everyone they must read.

I requested this Book when seeing it on net gallery as I have heard so many good things about Emily's book 'Always in December and I was not disappointed in this book at all. It was such a rollercoaster of emotions throughout and at points I was angry, smiling and also crying. 
 
This book explores life after a loved one's death and shows the many different sides of grief whilst trying to move forward at the same time. One last extra special present hunt turns Cassie's life upside down and has her doing things she only dreamed off. It was lovely seeing Sam's point of view throughout and shows where grief takes him.

One Last gift is a light sweet book.
It tells the story of brother and sister Cassie and Tom who are orphaned at a young age. They are reared by their aunt who was never the mothering type. They grow into two well rounded adults who, along with their respective best friends, Hazel and Sam, manage to navigate the highs and lows of life. However when Cassie develops feelings for Sam, things change within the dynamic. The years pass and following a tragic accident Tom dies. Cassie is devastated, but hope springs eternal and when she finds a letter from Tom she realises it’s her last Christmas present from her brother. Every year Tom made a scavenger hunt for her and here it is.
Like I said this is a lighthearted story very loosely based around Christmas time. I felt that it was longwinded at times and a lot of the characters were underdeveloped. For me it’s a 3⭐️ story at best. Many thanks to #NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

One last gift was a great read. Cassie loses her brother in a tragic accident but finds out he has left her one last gift.

This was a heartbreaking read but also uplifting and full of hope. I enjoyed the character development, especially of Sam who I totally disliked at first.

I found the story to be uplifting and quite beautiful. The ending left me happy and satisfied.

This is such an emotional read! The premis of the story sounded a little like another similar book, but it is actually more about the characters' relationships, rather than the treasure hunt itself.

Cassie and her brother Tom lost their parents at a young age and went to live with their emotionally reserved Aunt Claire. They were close as they only had each other and Tom's role became almost paternal towards his younger sister.

Each year he would create a special Christmas treasure trail for her and, as she got older the clues got more challenging!

Tom's best friend Sam had always been in their lives and was as close as a brother. As they got into their 20s Cassie and Toms feelings for each other intensified. However, when they finally get together on holiday Tom rejects Cassie and she is left heartbroken and confused and their friendship in tatters.

Then Tom is killed in an accident on a climbing holiday, just before Christmas and Cassie's world is turned upside down. She blames Sam who didnt go with him due to a falling out with Tom and pushes him away.

When a family friend gives Cassie the first clue to this year's Christmas treasure hunt she is not sure that she can go through with it. However, as she does so it helps her to deal with her grief and she realises that Tom really had prepared the best surprise yet!

Heart-warming and emotional, tissues are needed!

One Last Gift is a story of love and loss, friendship and family and giving it all a chance.
Its a sweet story, but a little sickly sweet in places.
I enjoyed the journey, the clues and the story, but Cassie had the sort of persona that grated on me. I found her attitude was a distraction from the story and put a damper on some things.

Grab this book and head off on a treasure hunt with a difference, but pack a few tissues.

Graceful, poignant, uplifting!

Thanks Headline, Headline Review & NetGalley for the ARC!

Synopsis –

Having lost their parents early, Tom and Cassie have always looked out for one another. They also have Sam, Tom’s best friend and a support system in their little village. But Cassie has drifted apart from Sam over the years and now she even Cassie loses Tom forever. As her world falls apart, she finds an envelope from Tom addressed to her. Will her brother’s last ever gift save her?

Review –

𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘓𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘎𝘪𝘧𝘵 seems to include everything I love in a book – small town charm, gorgeous settings, well-drawn characters and meaningful romance.

Cassie’s character is what anchored me to the story. As her narrative toggles between the present and flashbacks from childhood, we get to know her like a close friend.

The author handles Cassie and Tom’s brother-sister relationship and childhood with such delicacy and nuance, that I couldn’t help but crave a brother like Tom. Growing up together, Cassie, Tom and Sam share a unique rapport and friendship. I loved how realistic these characters were and how the author explores their dynamics over the years and in the present timeline.

The best part however is the treasure hunt that Tom takes Cassie on even after his death. Struggling with her career and unable to process her grief of losing Tom, I felt grateful that these letters gave her a chance to stay connected to her beloved brother, allowing her to find some hope and joy through its course.

Although Cassie starts out with a lot of self-doubt, I cheered for her as she got closer to the finale of the hunt. The mystery of this last gift kept me turning the pages.

On to the romance, initially there is a lot of friction and tug of war between Sam and Cassie. Having known deep in their hearts that they are meant for one another, I appreciated how both of them had to first deal with their demons, come to terms with life and listen to their hearts’ calling. But, what finally brings them together, makes it so special and worth the wait.

Furthermore, I adored all the picturesque locations Stone takes us to – from Christmas at a well-loved pub in a quaint little village, all the way to France, sweeping scenes at London, breathtaking sunsets at Cornwall and finally to the scenic Wales.

With beautiful friendships and a brother-sister's love at its heart, this endearing story will make you laugh, cry and give you “all the feels”. I am certainly a fan!

This is my first Emily Stone book and I absolutely loved it.
I thought it was a little slow starting but once I was in the flow and realised this was to develop the characters, I was hooked.
Cassie, Tom, Sam and Hazel are a close knit group. When a tragic accident occurs we are taken through the impact this has on their lives.
Thoughtful, emotional and beautifully written - a must-read in my opinion.

This is a very emotional read, it certainly takes you on a rollercoaster of a ride, keep a tissue handy, the characters are very well written and very likable, overall a very nice read

Wow 😮
I loved Always in December and The Last Gift is even better!
I devoured this in two days, would have been sooner but I had to work in between!
Cassie, her brother Tom and his, annoying, best friend Sam, whom have been friends since childhood, do everything together their lives seem sorted until tragedy strikes and three became two.
Cassie struggles to carry on but out of the blue she’s given an envelope which leads her to one last gift!
Taking in the sights of London, The Hamptons, Bordeaux and Wales sharing in the grief and healing and ultimately finding their happy place.
I have smiled and shed a few tears along the way but throughout their journey I felt such warmth and encouragement to grab life by the horns and to not settle for anything less.

This is a real rollercoaster of a read, very emotional and full of ups and downs. I strongly recommend keeping the tissues handy. Very well written.

Oh my. What an absolutely beautiful novel
I read “always in December” last year and fell in love with it. It was one of my favourite novels that I read last year
I was so happy to receive a proof of Emily’s latest novel and to be invited to ge part of the tour
Any book that followed always in December, was going to be hard to match, but I think I loved it more!
Both of Emily’s books have made me cry and I hope she continues to write books like this.
This book may seem from the cover that it is a romance novel and whilst the book features a romance, the book is primarily about a sibling relationship and showing the reader that life is too short.

Every year, Tom and Cassie spend Christmas together, and Tom always creates a treasure hunt for his sister, for her to find her Christmas present.
Unfortunately, Tom dies. But he’s managed to create the treasure hunt
Engulfed with grief, Cassie tries to solve the latest treasure hunt, uncovering some secrets and finding herself along the way.

The book is flawless and truly heartbreaking. It has everything in it and the writer just leaves you wanting more. I loved the way you feel as though you are experiencing the story yourself, the author really brings you into the pages of the book

I highly recommend this book

What a rollercoaster of a read this book is! Heartbreaking and heartworming at the same time.
I have to admit that I didn't like the characters at the beginning, I found them very immature (especially Cassie and Sam) and almost irritating. But then the treasure hunt begins and Tom enters my heart, and Cassie starts her journey into finding herself and we also discover unsuspected depths in Sam, and it all makes sense, and you almost don't want the book to finish.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC.

Thank you to netgalley and Headline for the gifted digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Read this if you:

Have a close relationship with your sibling
Need some motivation to change your life and get out of your comfort zone
Enjoy reading about characters that deal with grief in unique ways

My Thoughts:

I had very high hopes for this book before starting it. Some of my bookstagram friends have absolutely adored Emily Stone’s previous holiday romance and that was the main reason why I requested this ARC. I thought this would be a sweet, heart-warming Christmas romance that would make me feel all warm inside and offer a wonderful escape from reality.

One Last Gift isn’t at all a bad book, but it was far from what I expected it to be. What annoyed me the most was the fact that the book is marketed as a holiday romance when in reality it falls better either in the literary genre since the main character deals with grief after losing someone very close to her or in the women’s fiction genre because the MC makes a huge growth in character development by the end of the book.

Don’t get me wrong, I loved Cassie, the protagonist of this novel. I was able to relate to her pain because I once lost someone I loved too and I really liked the way she dealt with grief and the spin she eventually took on the situation. I also loved the fact that she got out of her comfort zone, explored new options and realized that she deserved a better life than the one she was living. Cassie’s development throughout the novel could be a great inspiration for anyone who feels stuck in a life that doesn’t bring them happiness anymore.

But despite all these things that deserve appreciation, my question remains: Where is the romance part? Where are all the winter holiday vibes I was looking forward to? Oh yes, towards the end of the book, Cassie and Sam realize that they are meant for each other and we should all feel happy and warm inside now after the focus was on completely different things for the first 85% of the book. Really? As for holiday vibes - not impressed. If someone told me that the book is set in spring, for example, I would have said ‘okay’.

The one thing that I really loved and that I found super unique and sweet was the tradition that Cassie and her brother Tom had going on every year and the way she enjoyed searching for the last gift from him. It was super cute and inspirational and I loved following Cassie’s journey. However, sorry not sorry, that was not rough for me taking into account the genre this novel is supposed to fall in and the expectations that I had.

I realize that this might be just my personal take, so please feel free to give this book a go if you feel like it because, who knows, you might actually adore it. I felt similar about Eight Perfect Hours last year, but I know some people loved it more, so if you’re one of them, give One Last Gift a go too.

Another beautiful story from Emily Stone. I loved Always In December last year and looked forward to the next read from this brilliant writer. Emotional and uplifting, One Last Gift gave me such feelings as we journeyed with Cassie through her loss. Heartbreaking and heartwarming in equal measures the idea of the treasure hunt was magical - so personal and thoughtful - it really captured the essence of the whole book. Each of the characters were drawn so vividly and I loved how Hazel, Linda and Josh were so supportive. Intrinsically linked to Cassie and Tom, each of them added so much to the story. A definite 5⭐️ from me.

It’s always a particular challenge writing a review when the cover description deliberately – and quite rightly – tells very little of the story. And I’m going to follow that example – when I read the book, I knew the key characters’ names, that there’s a tragedy when “three becomes two”, and that the story doesn’t end there – and focus instead on how this book made me feel. And that really is rather difficult, because this is a book filled with “moments” – ones that entirely break your heart, others that make you despair of any possibility of a happy ending, some that fill your heart with joy and love and hope – and I can’t help really wanting to share every single one. But the one thing I’ll tell you is that this book was most definitely everything I hoped it would be – the same intense and immersive experience as her first wonderful book, and that really special touch with the emotional content.

There’s a really strong focus on family. Sometimes the one you have falls short – after the loss of their parents, Tom and Cassie are brought up by their aunt, who provides them with a home but none of the love they might have hoped for, and they’re sustained by the exceptional closeness of their sibling relationship along with the affectionate care of Linda who runs the local pub. And they have strong friendships – Cassie has Hazel, always there in the background, and Tom has Sam. Sam has his family issues too – a loving mother, but a father who dips in and out of his life – and becomes an ever present third person in Tom and Cassie’s lives. At times, Cassie resents his presence – she feels he comes between her and her brother at times – but things change as they grow to adulthood and more complicated emotions come into play. On a skiing trip together, Cassie bravely tackles both the slopes and her growing feelings for Sam, but the latter backfires in spectacular fashion.

After the tragedy, the book – at first – becomes the most painful portrait of grief and loss, superbly captured and conveyed, with the strongest of emotions that you feel at your core having grown to know so well the individuals at the story’s centre. But then Cassie discovers the first envelope, with its letter and clue – a Christmas treasure hunt had become an eagerly anticipated tradition, and following it to the gift at its end gives her something to live for. And it certainly takes her on a journey – to some wonderful locations (and the settings are beautifully drawn), but also to the point where she’s able to face up to the challenges of her future and the possibility of future happiness.

The whole structure of the book was something I really enjoyed – the author takes time developing her characters until they’re nicely nestled in your heart, until you feel what they feel and really understand the complexities of the various relationships. The emotional authenticity is stunning, there are many tears between the pages, and at times it’s intensely moving – I certainly needed to put it down at times – but there’s humour and lightness too, and that glimmer of hope and happiness at the end of the tunnel that shines ever more brightly. I really loved it – very highly recommended.

Thank you for NetGalley for providing me with this book for review. What a beautiful heartbreaking and heartwarming read. One to settle down and read with an hot drink on a cold winter day, perfect.

Cassie, her big brother Tom and Tom's best friend Sam have been the three amigos forever. When tragedy strikes, Cassie can't seem to pick herself up until she discovers an envelope asking her to follow the treasure hunt to one last gift.

Along the way she discovers she is stronger than she thought.

As always, Emily has written a heartbreakingly beautiful book. That was heartwarming and uplifting.