One Last Gift

Cassie and Tom lost their parents at a young age. Tom has always looked out for Cassie and tried to include her in everything, including activities with his best friend, Sam. One thing that Cassie always looked forward to were the scavenger hunts her brother created for her every Christmas.

Sadly, Cassie gets the phone call we all fear, informing her that she has lost her brother, Tom as well. Devastated Cassie tries her best to move on. It is hard because she has lost his best friend Sam as well. They became estranged after a ski trip and after harsh words were spoken, Cassie has kicked Sam out of her life. Immediately after she finds an envelope with her brother’s writing on it. She knows what is inside. One last scavenger hunt!

Tom has left Cassie clues which send her off to do and experience new things. As Cassie follows the clues, she learns about her brother, her friends and herself. Along the way she finds something else as well – love.

I enjoyed this book from cover to cover. I shook my head and did some deep sighing at some of the characters and their choices. I felt for them and felt their pain. Cassie, Sam, and Tom have/had flaws and at times were messy but they were likeable.

This book touches on death and grief, but it mainly touches on friendship, love, personal growth, and moving on. It’s about saying goodbye and new beginnings. It was right up my alley and was a nice change of pace and put a smile on my face.

Emily Stone impressed me with Always, in December and I had high hopes for this book. She did not disappoint. I look forward to reading more of her books in the future.

#OneLastGift #NetGalley

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Dell and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.