I adored this - such a great story about found family and life lessons.

A really great book - thank you.

An absolutely amazing summer romance. I devoured this book in one sitting in a matter of hours. I loved the characters and the friendships between them all and was rooting for the main characters throughout

Pine Lake camp is somewhere that Clara attended first as a child to outrun family life. Later in her teens she became a camp counsellor, and she found her happy place.

Fast forward a few years and Clara has missed five camp reunions in a row. She desperately wants to reconnect with her friends. The only problem is her tunnel visions towards her career is curtailing her life and any extra curricular activities.
Clara’s boss gets the wrong end of the stick and mistakes her tunnel vision for ‘burnout’. Clara finds herself on an enforced sabbatical before she can even explain herself.

With no work to do and no where to be, Clara’s friends persuade her to come the camp reunion. At the camp she realises that all good things must come to and end. In fact the camp may not be around forever.

Also at the camp is Mack, her old camp rival like captain of the opposing team, always trying to one up each other. Will Sparks fly this time when all the gang are back together?

I absolutely love a Kate Spencer book, the story telling and the scene setting are second to none. A lovely romance, lighthearted book. Lots of comedic elements and an all round feel good read.

Fun fact @mrkimsreadingadventure was a camp counsellor in America for 5/6 summers so I was nostalgic on his behalf reading this one!

One Last Summer is the perfect summer romance to remind you that the most important things in life aren’t the things that we achieve, but the people we surrounds ourselves with.

After being put on a “micro-sabbatical” by her boss, workaholic Clara makes a trip to Pine Lakes camp ground, to reconnect with old friends, and… her arch rival, Mack.

I loved the way the story explored the challenges of adulthood, and the way the expectations we set for ourselves often set us up for failure. But when you’re surrounded by those who you care about, you can face anything. Kate did such a great job building the relationships between the characters and making the readers fall in love with Clara and Mack, and their mix of friends. It made me nostalgic for summer and I finished the book with a smile on my face.

If you’re looking for your next summer read (or are manifesting summer out here in the southern hemisphere) then this one is for you!

Thank you to Kate, Macmillan and Net Galley for providing me with an eARC

A fun summer read by Kate Spencer. It made me want to go to the Summer Camp! It took a little bit to get into but once I was in, I was hooked.
Overall, super cute.

Clara has been working herself to the bone, she’s abandoned her friends with the sole focus of wanting to get promoted and being recognised for her hard work. So when instead her boss announces in front of the whole organisation that she’s burned out and being forced to take a week off she is mortified. The timing does work out well though, her friends are all due to have their annual trip back to the summer camp where they all met and she’s missed it for the last few years.
It takes a while for Clara to unwind herself from her laptop, but there is something magical about camp and the outdoors and soon she remembers who and what she used to love.

This is my second Kate Spencer book and I have thoroughly enjoyed them both. My time working at summer camp was the best time of my life and so I already knew I would love this. Her writing is so easy and despite there being some serious undertones, overall it is easy and enjoyable. A perfect summer read! ☀️

When I requested this book, the blurb really intrigued me! Unfortunately while reading it I really couldn't connect with the characters and the story line. I really love the idea of this book with all the summer camp vibes but I think this book just wasn't for me.
Thank you Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for this arc.

Not sure how to rate this story. I enjoyed some parts and others, not so much. I also feel like the characters acted a bit younger than their mid-thirties age range, but I guess with the camp setting they could get away with that.

Props to Clara and Mack for sending a medal they won at summer camp twenty years before back and forth to each other over the years. You'd think they'd figure out there's something there for them to explore, but it took them two decades to do so. Even so, I didn't really connect with their relationship once they were together. For some reason it didn't make sense to me.

I loved the camp setting though, and friendships being mended. Not as much romance as I would've liked though.

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

I read Kate Spencer's In A New York Minute back in 2022 and enjoyed it so I was really excited to see what she had written next. I really liked the premise, but I found the heroine really hard to like and the one-upmanship vibe that her relationship with Mack has is just not my thing. It will be for some people - but it veered to close to the "I'm pranking you to show you I like you" vibe that can really get on my last nerve. It improved towards the end, but I basically wasn't sure why anyone wanted to be friends with Clara when she had been ignoring them and not being there for them. Not for me - but never mind, I know other people will really like it.

Rating: 3.5 stars

The highlight of this book was the friendship shared amongst the characters which was so lovely to read about. Especially in this day and age where everyone is busy and put work ahead of everything else, but some friends remain through all of that. Those friends you wouldn’t have met in a long time but when you do it’s just like old times. This book perfectly describes that kind of friendship. There are some pretty sweet and relatable moments. That being said, I expected this one to be a quick read, but it wasn’t for me because I couldn’t quite get into it. Probably because I went into it expecting a romance and maybe it was meant to be a second chance romance but it really wasn’t quite that. I couldn’t really understand the main characters or their motivations to do certain things. But it did have a super cute ending and a HEA.

Recommendation: The book was a light read, primarily about friendship, self discovery, and a little bit of a love story. Those who enjoy the childhood crush trope with a dash of second chance romance might like this one.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for this ARC!

One Last Summer is a sweet, holiday romance, and a relaxing escapist read.

I loved the feeling of nostalgia as Clara joined her friends and relived the memories of summer camp. The premise of being able to take a break from life and pause in those glowy surroundings was so endearing. I did find Clara and Mack’s immaturity a bit frustrating at times, and didn’t always understand their choices. However their overall love hate relationship was pretty darn cute.

I loved the friend group, particularly Sam, and her firm, forgiving and compassionate relationship with Clara. This book felt like an ode to remembering our roots, taking stock, and savouring friendships, and I think it would make for a great summer read.

Thank you Pan MacMillan and NetGalley for a copy of this book. Opinions expressed are my own.

Reading this book was kind of a trip down memory lane. The story reminded me of my teens when I spent my time at summer camps by the lake. Sweet, sweet memories. It was nice to relive all those shenanigans, the freedom, the warm weather laziness and the feeling of being in the now. Which couldn’t have happened without a group of amazing friends.
In the story, Clara has these kind of friends. But she’s blinded by her work obsession and burnout to realize it. So when an intervention happens, the opportunity arises for her to reevaluate her life choices and what is important in life.
I really enjoyed reading this book (if you couldn’t tell already). I finished it in one sitting. I was curious about Kate Spencer’s next book, because I really, really loved In a New York Minute, which is a love letter to New York City. And I can say that One Last Summer is a love letter to summer camps. It makes you feel nostalgic. That’s why it is a perfect summer read. The only tiny little thing I didn’t really like was that Clara’s work obsession was sometimes a bit too much for me. But otherwise everything was great.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a copy of the book.

Clara gets her act together 🛶

🏕️Clara works in advertising in Boston. For the last five years she’s skipped the friends get together at her old summer camp. Too busy with work, too busy chasing the life she thinks she should have.

🏞️When her boss publicly forces her into a mini sabbatical, Clara can finally join her besties out at camp. Armed with the list her teen self left for her, she’s torn between the life she’s created and her true self.

📚This is the first book of Kate Spencer’s I have read although I have had my eye on her debut for a while. This story is filled with nostalgia for a supposedly simpler time, but also maybe teen Clara wasn’t always right. I enjoyed the parts where Clara was able to be her true self, and was supported by her old rival Mack. This is not so much a love story as much as it’s women’s fiction, with lots of feelings, several regrets but ultimately growing as a person and accepting who you want to be. 🌸

Read an eARC courtesy of Netgalley and the publisher
My rating 4/5 - ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

One Last Summer
A dreamy, laugh out loud holiday romance
by Kate Spencer

I loved the author’s previous book,” In a New York minute “ and I was excited to read this new story.

It was engaging and enjoyable, with characters who evolved meaningfully throughout the narrative. Their witty dialogue made me laugh, swoon, and sometimes even scream at them.
Clara, who works in advertising in Boston, has skipped the annual friends' reunion at her old summer camp for the past five years, always too busy with work and chasing the life she thought she wanted. But this year, she returns to Pine Lake Camp, only to find out it's being sold. This news turns her plans upside down and leads to a heartfelt conversation with Mack, her handsome childhood nemesis.
The friendships felt incredibly real and strong, and the beautiful camp setting added a special touch to the story. The dreamy vibes, campfires, and picturesque scenery made me wish for summery days.
Clara's "Rachel moment" when she realizes what truly matters to her is poignant and relatable. Though I wished for more communication between characters in some scenes, everything came together wonderfully in the end.
This charming, laugh-out-loud romance is perfect for a summer read.

Very grateful to the publisher for my copy, opinions are my own

I loved this book, it gave off Dirty Dancing vibes with it's location. Our main characters are likeable and loveable (Clara, our heroine in particular) and this is a perfect beach holiday read.

One last Summer by Kate Spencer is the perfect summer beach read. Here in NZ we don’t have the kind of summer camps they do in the US but In the movies etc they always look like so much fun! I loved that Clara got to go back and relieve some of the happiest times of her life, and the chemistry between and her old enemy Mack was fantastic. While this is a romance, it’s also clearly mor about Clara who is on a journey of self-reflection and figuring out just what it is she wants from her life, This book would make a really good movie. Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for the entertaining and enjoyable read.

3.5
“Don’t worry, Millen,” he said. “I’ll happily take second place if it means you finish first.”

This was my first book by Kate Spencer and it was a pleasure to read it! This book felt so nostalgic and
brought back so many great memories of my childhood so it was a really pleasure to read this story!

One Last Summer is a cute story about life,friendships and love placed in a summer camp and it's about Clara a workaholic,single that's forced to take a break from her work and this will bringer her to her childhood summer Camp reunion that she’s been skipping out on each year thanks to her work.
During this sort of holiday she will find new surprises from her friends and discover in a new light her old childhood crush Mack!
Clara will need to decide if the life she's always wanted is the life that makes her feel truly alive.

If you are in the mood to read a fast cute story with a summer camp,a group of friends with a love story well then this one could be an enjoyable reading in my opinion!

Thank you NetGalley and Pan MacMillan for an advanced copy of this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Pan MacMillan for an advanced copy of this novel.

In “one last summer” we follow Clara as she’s forced into taking a break from work, so she decides to finally go back to the campsite she used to spend her summers at. However due to work she hasn’t been the greatest of friend to the rest of her childhood friendship group, so other than figuring out how to balance personal life and work, she needs to make amends with the people she loves.

I personally loved this book, it was heartwarming and insightful. Clara’s friendship group was honestly so good and mature. I loved how not only the MC, but the rest of the friends are all at different places in their lives and are going through different challenges. As someone in her mid twenties, I could relate to most of them, which felt extremely comforting.

I highly recommend this if you’re looking for a heartwarming summer read, also if you loved happy place by Emily Henry definitely give this one a go!

3.5 ⭐️
35 year old Clara has missed the last 5 years summer reunions with her old friends from camp as she focussed on climbing the career ladder and giving her all to her job and failed relationship. In the middle of preparing for a huge pitch, her boss declares she is burnt out and must take some time off. So she heads to this year’s reunion, only to learn the camp is being sold and this will be their last time there.
Feeling stuck not just in her job but in life in general, Clara vows to have a great one last summer at the camp before the sale goes through.
I enjoyed the group of friends and their history together. The romance between Mack and Clara was nice but I never really felt much spark or chemistry between them and they were very hot and cold. It felt like there were some unresolved issues between them. I’d have liked to see more of them actually together and a further glimpse into their future.
Overall an enjoyable read, just didn’t blow me away.

Thank you to the author and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I enjoyed One Last Summer although I was never truly hooked. It's not a rom-com really as Clara is really struggling with the direction of her life and a few days reuniting with summer camp friends / first crush helps her to work out what she really wants. Her friendship with Sam is warm and supportive. And her first crush is lovely. But why had they waited so long!
Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review.