One Last Thing Before You Go

by Caroline Frank

Carlotta “Lottie” Veracruz’s idea of a happily ever after shatters when her diagnosis of PCOS and endometriosis leaves her unable to have kids and divorced. Two years later, she’s back in her hometown, Ceres Cove, living in her brother’s loft and working at the town’s only bookstore, all while plotting how she can get back to her high profile life in New York. When the bookstore owner passes away, one too many martini’s leaves grief-stricken Lottie to have a one-night stand with a man seven years her junior.After a childhood spent bouncing around cities with his single mom, freelance photographer Knox Riddick has no intention of putting down roots. But when he’s summoned to the small town Ceres Cove, Maine after his estranged father’s death, the last thing Knox expects is to inherit a percentage of a bookstore or for the other part of it to be left to the beautiful woman he last saw sneaking out of his hotel room days before.

If Lottie and Knox want to have any chance of getting back to their lives, they must work together to fix up the bookstore and sell it. This means keeping their hands off one another, no matter how strong the temptation is. But the more time they spend together, the harder it is for Lottie to ignore her feelings, including her lingering fear that Knox will reject her once he learns she can’t have kids. And when they give into their desire for one another, they might learn firsthand why mixing business with pleasure always is a recipe for disaster!

Genres: Romance

450 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication February 10, 2026

Reviews

[cat]

・❥・⁀➷ pre-read

honestly the cover of this book immediately drew me in. i’m so excited!!🩷🩷🩷

[Larareads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to the author for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Actual rating 3.75 ⭐️

I have so many mixed feelings about this book... I actually loved it a lot, but there are a couple of things that didn't let me rate it higher.
There is miscommunication in this that after 150-200 pages it just started to bother me... If she just told him about her health issues this book would probably be 50% shorter. Also, both of the FMC and the MMC are over 25 years old and they sometimes act like kids, especially the MMC
The writing wasn't always the best and it did have moments of tell and not show, but I actually liked the story enough that it didn't bother me much.
I loved both characters and I adore to see more PCOS and endometriosis representation!
Even with all of this I had a great time and definitely recommend!

[brianna ! · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 ⭐️

|ARC|

⋆ dual pov
⋆ latine FMC
⋆ one night stand
⋆ forced proximity
⋆ PCOS & ENDO rep
⋆ bookstore romance
⋆ age gap (she’s older)
__________

oh my this book. Another 5 star book to add to this year already and a well deserved one too. One Last Thing Before You Go is a small town bookstore romance where we follow our FMC Lottie as she tries to pick up the pieces after the owner of the bookstore she worked at passed and our MMC Knox as he steps foot into a small town to collect his inheritance from his now deceased father. We watch through their eyes as tension grows between them after a one night stand and as the break down each other walls. We watch as their new partnership develops and start to wonder if this was fate or an underlying plot point.

Omg these two! I’m absolutely in love with them both. Knox and Lottie are two individuals that have a lot of baggage but together they make their worries and problems disappear for just a moment. I love Lottie so so so much. Her strength and her fight to find herself again and to just go through everything she’s going through from her diagnosis of endo and PCOS to her navigating everything with the bookstore. She’s such an inspiring character truly. I also loved Knox so much, I loved seeing his playful side but also seeing the vulnerability in him. Both are such complex yet beautiful characters and together they just work perfectly!

Oh my has Caroline done it again. I’m in love with this book! The absolute care and attention put into every little detail of this book is so beautifully done. Caroline does such a good job putting us into the perspectives of her characters and the universe we are in! I literally could not put this book down but also just didn’t want it to end! I was such a pleasure to read such a beautifully constructed book!

Overall, I loved every second of this book! I would like to thank Caroline Frank and her team for the amazing ARC and I can’t wait to read more in the future! 📖📷❤️‍🩹

[Wren · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun read for me, who doesn’t love a book about books? Our main characters unexpectedly inherit ownership of a small-town bookstore and must decide what to do with it. This story was multi-layered, covering topics such as endometriosis, PCOS, Grief, infertility, and more. It is noted at the beginning of the book that the author pulled from her personal experiences with endo and PCOS. As a result, the mental and physical tolls of both conditions are discussed in a way that really helps the reader understand them better. Both of these conditions affect countless female-bodied people, and their symptoms are constantly dismissed or misdiagnosed.

Lottie, our female main character, introduces us to both the mental and physical effects these conditions have on her body, mind, and life. This, in turn, leads her to build up a lot of walls and isolate herself romantically, thinking of herself as inadequate or a burden. Our male main character, Knox, is a young guy who is instantly enamored of her and slowly tries to break down her walls. Lottie is learning to love herself for who she is and taking the necessary steps to regain control of her body and her health. They both have their own journeys of grief over the bookstore's owner, Walter, as they begin a renovation project and decide what to do with the store. I applaud the author for being vulnerable and bold enough to bring her personal battles into a story that brings awareness and a new level of understanding for people who have no connection to these conditions.

Their dynamic is very refreshing, and I loved finding parallels between them and my own relationship with my husband. From first-date awkwardness and joy to her feeling stuck in life, the age gap is similar, even though ours is reversed. Even while she tried to fight it, there was an instant connection between them, but not insta-love; it was more natural and realistic. That feeling of, I just want to keep this person with me, around me, and keep getting to know them. Lottie and Knox interacted with ease; nothing was forced, and their bond only deepened over time. This book was one where I knew instantly it was going to be a personal 5-star, because I absolutely couldn't put it down and read almost 50% of it in one sitting.

Additional note as an ARC reader: There are some formatting issues within the book, the main one I saw was a sentence split unintentionally as a new paragraph when its just the last two words of the sentence. Probably just an issue with changing the formatting from a written doc to a book. There was also at least one instance of missing words in sentences that could be caught by an extra read through by an editor or even just the author. Something that is caught if you read "aloud" as I do with that voice in your head.

[Kortney Liston · Rating 5 out of 5]

📚 📸

I received this book as an ARC and I’m so happy that I did! It was such a great book! That could be because it was a book about books and love, or because the author just had a way of drawing you in with her writing style. Probably both for me!

Lottie’s story is a sad one but an inspiring one. I looovveeee the name Lottie! Everytime I hear it, it reminds me of Phantom of The Opera (Little Lottie) and that’s one of my favorite movies! I had friends that have either PCOS or Endometriosis but never both so to see what these two can do to a person together is heartbreaking. And the way that the author put it into Lottie’s character was perfect. I don’t think it was overplayed and I think it played a huge role in Lottie’s journey. It caused her to run away and sabotage her happiness. Having kids is a HUGE part of life and it’s a very possible dealbreaker when one can’t give that to their partner. And I think since Lottie felt so much heartbreak because of her diagnosis it was easy for her to be the one to break her own heart than someone else! I also liked how the author made the sister so against Lottie’s decision to get a hysterectomy! I’m sure women that are faced with the same decision as Lottie’s have similar reactions from their loved ones and I liked how Lottie stood up for herself and told her sister off!

Knox’s story was just as heartbreaking. It makes me so mad that his mom played the victim for so long and lied to him his entire life about his dad. I’m so glad that he had the chance to learn the truth and that he got to know his dad through other people and through his journals, but it’s so sad that it happened after Walter had died! Knox was a stable, more mature despite his age, and very persistent with Lottie and I think that’s what she needed!

Lottie and Knox were meant to be involved with each other whether it was a business partnership or intimately, but Walter somehow knew either way they needed each other! I think my favorite part of the book is when Knox shows Lottie the journal entries about her. It somehow just brought the whole story together!

The spice level on this one was 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ and it happened quick, regardless of the age gap! And those are my favorite types of books!

This was a great read and I’m so thankful I got to read this ARC! Thank you Caroline!

I give this one 5 ⭐️’s!

[ann cor · Rating 4 out of 5]

𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤: One Last Thing Before You Go (ARC)
𝐌𝐲 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬:
Bookstore Romance
Age gap (7 years. She’s older)
Latino FMC
One night stand
Forced Proximity
PCOS & Endo Rep

👀 𝐌𝐲 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧

I’ll start by saying that I actually began writing this review the second I got my ARC (huge thanks to Caroline Frank for that!). 🥹💕🫶🏻

«I wanna pull out my camera and capture them-capture her and this moment.»

«In just a few minutes, she's become the center of every-thing, and I'm wrapped up in every single word that comes out of her mouth.»


First off, I was totally blown away by the writing style. It’s so light and smooth—you really get sucked into it with every page instead of having to trudge through the text. Plus, the way the author captures the characters' emotions is incredible (and I don’t say that often). 👀 Even though I couldn't always relate to Carlota personally since I’ve never been in her shoes, the author made me feel everything she was going through—the regret, the insecurity, and that nervous excitement about a starting a new relationship. ☹️🫂

And I am officially obsessed with Knox! 🫦 He literally fell in love at first sight (I could totally feel it!!), wasted zero time, and started pursuing Lottie no matter the cost.

But there was one thing that really threw me off: the characters caught feelings for each other way too fast. They’d only known each other for two hours—barely knew each other's names—and were already practically head over heels. For me, the pacing of the romance felt a bit rushed. ☹️

Aside from that, I absolutely fell in love with the characters. I was literally laughing one minute and crying the next; I felt for them and was rooting for them the whole way. Even if this book doesn't end up being an all-time favorite, it was definitely worth the time.

Thanks again to the author for believing in me and sending over this ARC! 🥹🩷

[Posy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story follows Lottie and Knox, who meet at a bar and immediately feel an undeniable spark. That chemistry leads them back to Knox’s hotel room, and for Lottie, it’s meant to be nothing more than a one-night stand. Fate, however, has other plans. Just days later, they’re unexpectedly reunited when they both inherit a bookstore.

Lottie is a strong, complex woman trying to rebuild her life after a divorce while grappling with the reality that she’ll never be able to have children. I completely understood her instinct to keep Knox at arm’s length. On one hand, she’s protecting her heart; on the other, she wants Knox to be happy and not regret choosing her. The book beautifully captures this internal conflict - wanting to do what’s best while not always knowing what that is. To someone who hasn’t lived through something similar, Lottie’s hot-and-cold behavior might seem frustrating, but it’s a very real reflection of living with PCOS (and other chronic illnesses). In that way, the story offers thoughtful and authentic representation of PCOS and endometriosis while bringing much needed awareness to these experiences.

Then there’s Knox, who is completely head over heels for Lottie. He’s so captivated by her that he’d do anything to make her happy. While he does get frustrated at times when she puts up her walls, he consistently tries to be patient, understanding, and respectful of her boundaries. Ultimately, that’s what an ideal partner looks like, and Knox embodies it perfectly. He’s kind, emotionally attentive, and deeply respectful. (And can we talk about the scene where he goes out to buy tampons and comes back with a mountain of snacks? Tots heart-eyes.) Knox truly represents the idea that “to be loved is to be seen.”

I really enjoyed this book, especially because it includes PCOS representation, something I’ve never encountered in a novel before. It also explores grief and acknowledges that everyone experiences it differently. I’m always drawn to stories that handle grief with care and depth, and this book did that beautifully.

[Ariel · Rating 5 out of 5]

One Last Thing Before You Go was my first book by Caroline Frank, and it absolutely won’t be my last. I loved this story, even though it put me through the full emotional wringer. Lottie and Knox were easy to root for, though there were moments when Lottie’s choices genuinely frustrated me, but the deeper we learned about her past relationship and the trauma she carried, the more her insecurities and self-doubt made sense. The lasting damage to her self-worth felt painfully realistic. Knox, despite being the younger of the two, brought a level of emotional maturity that grounded their relationship and helped Lottie begin to see herself differently, and in turn, they both grew in meaningful ways. I especially appreciated how the book handled grief in its many forms, as well as its thoughtful representation of endometriosis and PCOS, showing that people with these conditions are not a monolith and that their impacts can look very different from person to person. While the third-act breakup didn’t fully work for me, particularly because it stemmed from Lottie sabotaging her own happiness, I do understand that it was part of her journey toward recognizing her worth. There were also moments where Knox’s mother tested my patience, but overall, the emotional payoff was strong. This is a tender, sometimes frustrating, but ultimately rewarding story about healing, growth, and choosing yourself.

[Chaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the opportunity to read this book early and just wow. Caroline is such an incredible writer. She definitely had me going through many emotions while reading. I even cried twice 😭 Here are some things I enjoyed:
-Love the pcsos/endo representation.
-Love how even though Lottie wanted to keep it casual, Knox respected her boundaries but was still completely obsessed with her.
-It was very interesting to see the relationship between Knox and his father. I am very happy he got all the information he needed and grew to love his Dad very much.
-Lottie baby girl…all she deserved was happiness and even though it took her a long time to realize it, I am glad she finally did.
-When Knox came over to help Lottie while she was on her period, I literally almost cried. To be taken care of like that is something not many do and it was very sweet to see.

I found the break-up to be very painful. First, I absolutely cried for like two minutes when Knox realized she left him and was like I’m done. I can’t be here anymore. Way to rip my heart out, Caroline! You can just feel what he was going through and he was just so heartbroken. That was very inconsiderate of her and Knox did not deserve that. I also think 9 months was waaaayy too long for a 3rd act breakup but I guess it is what the characters needed. It was also frustrating to read what Knox’s mom did to him.

I really enjoyed this book, it has the right amount of spice, love, heartbreak, and so much more love.

[Elvira · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book incredibly relatable. It truly felt like it was meant for me to pick up at this point in my life. The FMC, Lottie, suffers from endometriosis and PCOS and has come to terms with the fact that children may not be in her future. She is preparing for a hysterectomy, a life altering decision. As someone currently facing a similar situation and having to decide whether to undergo this same surgery, this story really hit home for me.

The story was not only relatable but also eye-opening. It had me questioning what I would do if I were in Lottie’s position. She is dating a younger man, Knox, and knows that one day he may want a family of his own. Because of this, she keeps her walls up and tries to push him away to protect herself from even more heartbreak.

I absolutely loved Knox. He was persistent, patient, and deeply caring. He could tell Lottie was hiding something and understood that it was the reason she kept her guard up. He had such golden retriever energy and was always there to take care of her. While I didn’t always like how Lottie treated him, I also understood why she tried to keep things casual. She was terrified of getting hurt.

This story truly had it all: romance, humor, spice, and an emotional depth that resonated with me on a very personal level.

[Cassie Reed · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a 3.5⭐️ read for me.

A journey of grief, love, and self-discovery. This story is equal parts heartwarming and heartbreaking.

I empathized with Lottie’s hold ups and reservations, but also felt like she let her past dictate way too much of her present and future.

Knox is adorable and amazing and the sweetest.

I am not a fan of Lottie’s sister. Like not your body, not your choice, your opinion does not matter. I really needed to get that off my chest because reading that part of the book had me all riled up.

I received and ARC of this book. This review is my own and represents my own opinions.

[Paige · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a gorgeous book that really delved deep beautifully into chronic illness, loss and navigating romance. I adored Lottie she was so resilient but had such a softness to her after heart break. Having Endometriosis and PCOS like Lottie, I can say the author handled both with such honesty and rawness, you cannot help but relate to the character and what she is thinking a lot of the time. I love a down bad man and Knox was sooooo down bad for Lottie, this man PINES so so good, he gave her all the loving she definitely deserved. I love the mutual caretaking that happens between them and how hard they fall for one another. This book hurtttttt but it was so good.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Tropes:
📖 Bookstore Romance
💖 Age Gap (She’s older)
📖 Latine FMC
💖 One Night Stand
📖 Forced Proximity
💖 PCOS & Endo Rep

📖 One Last Thing Before You Go is releasing on February 10th 📖

Thank you so much to Caroline Frank for this gorgeous ARC 💖

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a tender and sweet romance. Both characters were carrying their own grief and watching them quietly heal each other was lovely.

While it seemed a touch insta-love, their connection felt genuine and I happily went along the ride.

The story contains some heavy themes but it never felt weighed down by them and was ultimately a comforting and emotional read.

[Megan Rhoads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Knox and Lottie have a very cute story. Ultimately it was 3 stars for me due to the miscommunication and how talking could have resolved so many issues. Also Lottie’s sister really made me mad but I understand everyone is allowed to have their own opinion.

I am happy with how the story ended up and how all of the pieces made sense in the end.

[BookNerdBam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you ever screamed at a character “just let him love you!!”? Because that was me the whole time with Lottie. Knox may have just become my new favorite book boyfriend. Watching Knox help Lottie learn to love herself again was probably the most romantic part of all. Because sometimes love needs a second chance.

[Bianca Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book made my emotions go from happy, aww that’s cute to what the heck and I’m gonna cry for you. I absolutely loved the characters especially as Lottie reminds me of me by holding back her emotions and not wanting to place all her cards down and get her heart broken

[Cassandra Campion · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC Review⭐️

This book had me all in my feelings! There was so much emotion and my heart broke for both Knox and Lottie.

This was well written and very enjoyable to read. The pacing felt good and the characters were likable and grounded.

Thank you so much to Caroline for the opportunity!

[Kitssia · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was more like 4.75 stars ⭐️

Such an empowering book! I love the representation of PCOS and Endo! Makes it feel more real life rather than a fictional. I will most definitely be recommending this book to everyone ! Also Walter knew what he was doing 😏🙂‍↕️

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really good. It felt like a cozy read for me and the characters were interesting.

[VIRGINIA Pagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book and could not put it down!! Loved Know since he first stepped into the bar. Glad Lottie got her HEA with Know and her bookstore.