Hi there! I’m here to talk about an emotional story of loss, grief, and finding yourself that I was invited to read early. **And every day we are reminded that discrimination against marginalized communities is still a serious problem, so click here to find a compilation of resources where you can donate your time, money, or whatever you can to support these communities. I still encourage you to research these causes on your own to educate yourself and find the best way to lend your support.**
I’m not sure I’m fully ready for it to be the winter / holiday season quite yet. Fall is my favorite season, and I’m getting ready to read some atmospheric and spooky books before I delve into some cheesy romances in snowy small towns. One Last Gift, a new adult contemporary (romance?) by Emily Stone wasn’t initially on my radar, but from my previous reads on NetGalley, the publisher reached out and thought it might be something I’d enjoy. I thought the cover was cute (that ribbon is a nice touch) and after reading the synopsis I agreed that it did sound like a story I would like, so even though it’s still a little too early for snow, I decided to give this one a shot.
Cassie and Tom lost their parents at a young age, and have relied on each other, as well as a community of friends, to get through it for years. Cassie has always looked up to Tom, as he’s been her protector since they were small. But 20 years later, she loses Tom, and she’s devastated, and has never felt so alone. Not even Tom’s best friend (and Cassie’s childhood crush), Sam, is there for comfort, because he’s turned into a near-stranger. Then Cassie finds an envelope with her name on it, her name in Tom’s familiar (and terrible) handwriting – the first clue to a scavenger hunt he used to put together for her every Christmas, and this last one he prepared before his untimely death. At first, Cassie fears completing the hunt, wondering if she won’t be able to complete it without his help, or worries that she will complete it and lose her last connection to Tom, but when she does it sends her on a month-long journey that allows her to rediscover herself, and what she wants out of life, even if it scares her.
When I originally picked up this book, I wasn’t expecting it to focus so heavily on grief. Cassie lost her parents in an accident at a young age, and grew up in her aunt’s care, a person who maybe wasn’t expecting to look after two young kids at that time of her life so it left their relationship strained. She looked up to her older brother, Tom, who could do no wrong in her eyes, and then suddenly, she’s lost him as well to hiking accident. She puts a lot of the blame on Sam, Tom’s best friend who should have been on the trip with him but missed his flight due to excessive drinking the night prior. It isn’t exactly dual perspective, but we also get insight into Sam’s mind as well, who feels his own guilt about not being there with Tom, and also being rude to Cassie at Tom’s funeral. Everyone in their lives expects them to be done grieving, but sometimes you need to take your time and be with your feelings in order to regain some sort of stability after a tragedy, especially when it involves loved ones. I appreciated that while Cassie and Sam are attracted to each other, and have been since they were teens, they weren’t in the right places in their lives to be together. But while Cassie is finding Tom’s clues – reconnecting with old friends, exploring places she would have never gone herself, and imagining herself with a life and job that actually brings her joy – and Sam is working out his personal issues and trying not to run away from what’s important like he believes his father did years ago, they may just realize that it’s always been the two of them against the rest of the world.
While I overall enjoyed the reading experience, I had some trouble deciphering whether the book triumphs more as a romance or as a general contemporary novel. There is a central romance, second-chance in nature, between Sam and Cassie, but it’s necessary for them both to work on themselves before they can fully commit to each other by the end of the book. I noticed that there are time jumps, which I commended to demonstrate passage of time, but after the first few I felt like every time there was a moment of central conflict, there would be a jump and I didn’t feel like there was much resolution. The jumps also allow the characters to grow and work on themselves, but I would’ve liked to see some more of that growth on page. It left me a little confused as to why this particular scavenger hunt that Tom had been planning was “the biggest one yet,” as Cassie is usually able to find all the clues and her gift around the holiday season, but it was certainly helpful for Cassie’s personal journey to take her time.
In conclusion, I found this story to be equally heartbreaking as heartwarming. It’s a tale of a woman who’s lost so much finding herself and her community, and a man who’s felt neglected by certain people in his life deciding to be his best self and to stick around for once. The tagline states that “sometimes the best gifts in life are the ones you don’t expect,” and I’d have to wholeheartedly agree. One Last Gift releases on October 11th, 2022, which should be the day this post goes live, so join me in wishing it a happy book birthday and check it out if you’re interested! *Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Random House Publishing Group, for the early copy, all thoughts and opinions are my own.*
Where to find One Last Gift:
Bookshop
Amazon
Goodreads
Storygraph
Penguin Random House
Emily Stone’s Twitter
Thoughts About Things 