The Last Request: A Love Story

by Brie Hamilton

What would you do to make sure your partner is happy after your death? Near the end of 1995, high school juniors Lily Clemens and Will Lewis fell passionately in love. Though they were from different cliques, one a nerdy, acne-ridden loner and the other a popular basketball player, their love transcended the forces that wanted to push them apart. But at the start of 1996, unforeseen events drove them apart, onto vastly different life paths, where one experienced regret for what happened and the other was left with confusion and anger. In 2006, Lily Clemens, who has hung on to the feelings of her past love, returns to Southern California and reaches out to the now ultra-successful Will Lewis, who has moved on completely from her, to fulfill a promise she made to his now deceased wife. Is true love eternal? And will one woman’s belief in fate change the trajectory of two people’s lives forever? The Last Request, a story of love, healing, and hope, will put these questions to the test. Author’s This book has some strong language and steamy content. ****This will end up as a trilogy. Sorry that was not made clear when the book was first launched. It can still be read as a standalone.****

244 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 1, 2017

Reviews

[Kat Ryker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy Mother of Publishing Gods. Wow, just wow. There are things I'd love to say about this book, but I don't want to have to hide the review because of spoilers. This book takes you on a trip that you won't forget for a long, long time. You will follow Lily and Will from acne-suffering teenagers onto adulthood. You'll be with them during the heartbreaks and the heartfilled moments as well. There's a little sex, and some heat, but there's so much more than sexiness and seductiveness in this book. I was about a third of the way through the first time I teared up at this book (and that just doesn't happen often). By the time I was at 75% mark, the tears had come three times, and I was welcoming them, because this book was THAT GOOD. This is NOT a book written by an Indie writer. This book could easily have been published by one of the biggies in hardcover and I wouldn't have blinked. I've never read Brie Hamilton before. This year, I'm on track to read 325 books, and hopefully review most of them. It is my escape and my love. And anyone who reads my reviews knows I lean towards erotica first, steamy romance second, fiction third. This one is a keeper and it will be on my Kindle for a long, long time. I know that there's not a woman alive who isn't going to identify with some aspect of this book. The fact that a very good friend's life was similar to Claire's made this book that much closer to my heart. Brie Hamilton, if I could give you TEN STARS, I would.

[Erin McCoy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved Will and Lily’s characters and felt they were realistic. The course of their relationship was great. I loved the premise of the storyline, and the emotion was high in several places. These things were almost enough for me to see it as closer to 4 stars than 3, but just not quite enough.

I really wanted to enjoy this book more than I did but the good things weren’t enough for me personally to overlook many things I had trouble with.
--The racial slurs at multiple points bothered me; I understand using them to get the idea across but seeing them in actual print always rubs me the wrong way.
--Some word choices were too… clinical; reading that he was “penetrating her” simply wasn’t romantic or sexy.
--The pov switched back and forth even on the same page, then an omniscient pov with dual pov simultaneously being expressed by the end. It made getting immersed into the characters difficult.
--The ending was abrupt and unfulfilling. I wanted to know how they dealt with the crush on Will by a secondary character which was never addressed.

I voluntarily read an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book I've read by this author and I thought it was a good story. There were parts that were a little slow at times. However, overall, this was an emotional read that was well written and had me grabbing for the tissues. Despite current heartbreak, Will gets a second chance with his first love, Lily due to his wife, Claire's final act before she passed. Could Will and Lily really make a second chance work or would there be too much hurt between them? I'd recommend reading this one to find out.
*I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book. This is my honest review.*

[BP34 · Rating 4 out of 5]

An emotional roller coaster that began in the acne days of high school. This is the story of Lily and Will who were crushing on each other in high school. They go their separate ways and are reunited years later by Claire, Will's late wife. Before Claire died from cancer she reached out to Lily asking her to take her place after she died. No spoilers here, so you'll need to read the book to see if they got their second chance at love. A great, emotional read that has lots of steam and passion. I read an arc of this book and voluntarily chose to write a review.

[Patricia Baxes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grab your box of tissues before you start this one...it is achingly heartbreaking with such pain and agony. This one was absolutely so difficult to read. But God...what a beautiful piece of writing! It’s a pretty long read—50 chapters—with possibly too much time spent in the past, but every word plucks at your heartstrings. This is masterful writing...you don’t want to miss this one! (I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book and am still reeling from its impact.) ❤️

[Elaine Swinney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was given an ARC copy of this book and I voluntarily chose to review it. It wasn't what I thought it would be but it was a good story. Go check it out I think you may like it. This is a second chance at love story. This one is different and I will be truthful at times hard to follow. It seemed to focus on the high school years. I would say check it out prior to buying, it may not be what your looking for.

[Stephanie S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes!

I loved the characters. Loved the story.
I was somewhat disappointed with the ending. Yes, they get a HEA, but it's rushed, and there's no glimpse of what their future together might be. It was kind of sad that where she had always thought about him, his character states that he had not thought of her in years.
Good book, rushed ending.

[Anne Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although a great read I thought it went to much into the back ground. The life his late wife wanted him to have seemed to be rushed.
I did like it .
Voluntarily reviewed this advance copy

[Lisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Where’s the rest of it?

Ending left too many unanswered questions. Story was good until the ending. Had much potential but I was left wanting more.

[Kim F · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet second chance romance. Fantastic emotional, heartfelt read. Wonderfully written with great plot and strong characters. I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

[booklover0228 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought the ending was kinda rushed. Hope book two answers a bunch of the question that were left hanging.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

ending felt to rushed to me.

[Sharon Rudolph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent book

I enjoyed this book, it was a quick read. It was pretty predictable, but I still enjoyed it. The characters were very real.