One Last Chance

One Day to Forever #3

by Therese Beharrie

Of all the charity events in all of Cape Town, Zoey Roux had to bump into her husband at this one

Six years ago, Zoey Roux secretly married her best friend Sawyer. But all that did was destroy the best relationship she’s ever had. They went their separate ways, but Zoey never could go through with a divorce. Seeing him again at her sister’s charity event is a shock, but also enlightening: no matter how much she still loves him, it’s time to let him go.

Zoey was Sawyer Wilson’s first love. She broke his heart, but his feelings never died. Love was never their issue—only timing. Seeing her again is a shock: in a perfect world, she would run back into his arms. Instead, she’s asking for a divorce.

But a lot can happen in twenty-four hours: old wounds can heal, first loves can be reunited. And a second chance might just lead to happily ever after.

This book is approximately 74,000 words

One-click with confidence. This title is part of the Carina Press Romance Promise: all the romance you’re looking for with an HEA/HFN. It’s a promise!

Genres: Romance, Friends To Lovers, Second Chance Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, M F Romance, Fiction

336 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 17, 2020

About the author

Therese Beharrie is a South African romance author of several acclaimed novels, including her One Day to Forever series. She takes pride in writing diverse characters and settings, and her books are often recommended for their heart and banter. She lives in Cape Town with her husband, her inspiration for every hero, and two adorable baby boys. You can find her on Twitter and Facebook or visit her at theresebeharrie.com.

Reviews

[aarya]

DNF at 18%

I love Beharrie's voice and this series. Unfortunately, I did not realize that the book has flashbacks, alternating every chapter between present day and the past. Flashbacks are a narrative structure that almost never work for me, so I'm giving up on this one. The book seems wonderful other than that. YMMV.

Disclaimer: I received a free e-ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[K.J. Charles]

Good end to an excellent series. Zoey has been set up in the first two books as the irresponsible one of the Roux sisters, impulsive, reckless, and needing a keeper (a plot motivator of the first two books which show both her sisters struggling with responsibility in different ways). A couple of years on Zoey has grown up, and is starting to deal with her own issues, including the fact that she's got a secret husband her family don't know about. Oops.

It works really well. Both MCs are a bit of a mess and struggling to see where it all went wrong, and what part they played in that. There's a fair bit of angst, leavened with humour, and a really strong sense of this being a couple whose time has come: the reasons they didn't work before definitely don't have to stop them working now, and the reader has faith in the HEA. A terrific series with immensely likeable leads (of whom foul-tempered Sophia in book 2 remains my forever fave).

[Jenica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first Therese Beharrie, but it definitely will not be my last. I don't know that I've ever read a book with quite this mashup of tropes, which worked because we got to see, with a non-linear timeline, our main couple progress through so many stages of their relationship. It's difficult to review this book though because I don't want to spoil literally anything because seeing how things unfold was really, really magnificent. Kate Clayborn tweeted about this book actually, so go find her thoughts if you want someone to articulate well how skillfully Beharrie weaves this book together.

So what I am going to talk about is the feelings this book gives me. Second chance romance is a trope I really struggle with for multiple reasons, usually centered around forgiveness of the person who wronged the other. This book left me no room to not feel so deeply empathetic with Zoey, to not fully understand her decision to leave Sawyer, while also letting me feel the sense of betrayal Sawyer felt in the being left. These two beautiful characters love each other so much and you can feel that and you can see it. There's a deep sense of loss that both of them feel because they haven't been part of one another's lives for a couple of years. In other words, what I'm telling you is that if you want to feel all the things, pick up THIS book.

I will say that I think I would have loved this even more if I had read the first two books in the series first, but it did read just fine as a standalone.

Thanks to Netgalley and the Carina Press for the opportunity to read this beautiful book early! Now to go buy the first two books in the series...

[lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

CW: grief, death of a parent/loved one

So we're just gonna ignore how I'm only reading this two years after I got the galley okokokok-

Therese just stabbed stabbed stabbed me in the heart with this book, I swear. Sure, there are some lighthearted moments in this but mostly it's just stabstabstab. I'm all about that intensity of the unresolved issues brought up by Zoey and Sawyer having forced to be in each other's company after not seeing each other for two years. That said, my most favourite thing about this book is the Roux sisters. I relate so much with Zoey's older sisters; my first reaction to any trouble happening to my sibling is *grabs Bob the Builder's fanny pack* oh I can fix that. That quip about Angie being the best cleaner? Me, that's me right there. Makes me think about my own sibling dynamics now hmm.

Also, super happy that there's a character called Lisa in this book (!!!) and she's not a bitch (!!!) and has more than one line!!!

E-ARC is received thanks to the publisher via Netgalley.

[b.andherbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zoey Roux and Sawyer Wilson secretly got married six years ago, and it did not work out. Lingering grief issues and other complications could not stand up to Zoey and Sawyer's love. They broke apart, but never got divorced.

Now, thrown back together at Zoey's charity event, is is time for a divorce or a reconciliation?

Whew this is angsty. Flipping back to Zoey and Sawyer's early days of being married and to the present, watching these two hurt people find their love was emotional and ultimately fulfilling. Beharrie is a lyrical writer who makes you get down deep in the hurt but then always finds the light.

Also! This was open door! I've not read an open door Beharrie before and it was lovely and sweetly awkward (both characters are virgins on their wedding night).

CW pregnancy complications, grief

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC!

[Limecello · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like literally - you only get a day of them in the modern day/current.
one.
day.

the rest is a series of flashbacks.

AND THE FLASHBACKS AREN'T EVEN ROMANCE. Like sure one or two days are - the "I love you" scene and their wedding [night] which isn't even a wedding night...

I guess there's birthday party with the pool part? But .... that's super toxic too/the 2? times I think it shows them sleeping together it's after they've actually split and it's kinda like "sleeping with your ex for ease and comfort" - blanking on the phrase... "ex marks the spot" ish...] and they deeply regret it and basically hate themselves and kinda each other after...

Like 90% of the book is them being super toxic and hating themselves - and almost each other - maybe each other, and how they both think they're failing and both are flawed and don't accept their flaws or the others ...
meh.

It just wasn't to my taste. People who love angst will probably enjoy this. Maybe?
:X Just not my cuppa.
Like I get the point is "oh look we're trying to overcome this" and that she's finally in therapy - and he JUST realized some issues; like I don't get the whole well.... ok so she broke it off first, I guess, but he tells her 2 years ago he never wants to see her again [basically] but then he's mad at HER for not keeping in touch?!

And she was all "well I'm too much of a burden so he won't want to be with me so I'll break it off for his own good"
... I did finally appreciate like - she actually did realize he'd eventually resent her because they both were too immature.
But it would've been nice to see them grow TOGETHER. And more than just that one day.

It just didn't read like a romance to me. The focus isn't their romantic relationship - the focus was everything that was wrong with it, and them, and why they shouldn't be together.
[Oh but wait! They will be now!] 🤦🏻‍♀️

[And YES the baseline is of course they love each other - which is why they're together now/still/never got divorced...]

>.> TBH I think I'm most interested in Lisa's romance/her story ...


I think...

D?

[Shannan Harper · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars

Zoey and Sawyer are best friends who, after the passing of Zoey's father, decide to get married. Them being together didn't last very long, and they never divorced, but are reunited years later. Zoey asks for a divorce, but Sawyer isn't sure that's what either of them really wants. They have to decide how they want to move forward.

I haven't read the first 2 books in the series, so I can't say whether they are needed to read this book. The constant back and forth kinda threw me off a little, but I don't think it totally takes away from the story. The author includes several troupes in this story, including friends to lovers and second chance. Otherwise it was a cute story, and I will probably go back and see more of this author's backlist

I received a copy of this book via Netgalley and Carina Press and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Jite · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Stars. This is kind of a weird review for me to write because I think this book exemplifies why I usually prefer to read a series from book 1 rather than jumping in midway to book 3. I suppose technically, this can be read as a stand-alone but there are a lot of familial undercurrents and dynamics that made it clear to me that I was missing context in a way.

The premise of this is second chance romance is that Zoey and Sawyer were childhood friends pretending to be in a relationship (for reasons that never quite really made sense to me) because all their friends and family believe that they are. When they cross the line from friends to lovers, everything changes and their friendship is destroyed. Now years, later, they randomly meet and it seems they have 24 hours to fix their relationship or part forever.

This second-chance, friends to lovers, fake relationship romance is well-written and I liked the author’s approach to the themes. It’s very considered and thoughtful and psychotherapeutic. The characters (especially the main characters) analyse their thoughts and actions in a very thorough and accurate way. You can definitely tell that the author really understands complex human decisions and foibles especially for young adults.

However, my issue with this book is that I feel like it dragged. And I feel that way, because so much of the book happened in the characters’ heads. There was a lot of thinking of thoughts and reminiscing and rehashing of the past internally (in a way that is realistic to how we all dwell and obsess over the last), but after a while it got dull to read. It felt like too many times the characters thought about their insecurities and went over the same ground and we were waiting for them to have a conversation of for something, anything, to happen in this book. I feel like plot and events and story, were in some way sacrificed for deeper reflection and an exploration of character motivation, and to me, that doesn’t really make a compelling read or a rounded character. For example, I couldn’t really connect with Zoey because all I got was her TELLING me the negative way she saw herself, but the few interactions I saw her have with other characters, didn’t mesh with what she was saying. I feel like there could have been a bit more SHOWING. And I feel the same way about Sawyer.

I think the difficulty in connecting to the characters was also not helped by the alternating past and present chapters. They didn’t really allow me to sink into the plot and feel immersed in the story. Just as I would begin to connect with the character, I would be yanked out and thrown into another time with another emotion. The scenes with the caterer character just kind of felt out of nowhere and not cohesive. It just all felt very piecey to me and a little lacking in plot events and actions, and I think the premise was a fantastic one and could have carried a lot more events if it had been told in a linear fashion. There were so many things I wanted to know more about that were mere thoughts of a character or brief snapshot conversations.

I think there’s a lot of self-awareness and self-analysis in this book and it has a very heavy and emotional feel even though there’s also a lot of very witty dialogue (though not enough). I think where this book does best is in the depth of emotion and exploration of feelings and motivations of the characters. It felt very in-depth and comprehensive. I also liked the wit in the conversations and in the plot events when we got to see them. I wish there had been more dialogue and more action/events happening in this book. This also felt very much on the new adult spectrum to me. Being my first book by this author, I definitely want to check her out again to get a better sense of her books (as in the acknowledgments, she reveals that this flashback format was an experimental style for her). I enjoyed her wit and humour.

Content warnings for grief, loss of a parent, guilt and divorce.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Harlequin Books / Carina Press through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

[Dot & Needle · Rating 3 out of 5]

One Last Chance by Therese Beharrie is a friends to lovers second chance romance. Zoey and Sawyer were friends for years with Zoey often pretending to be Sawyer’s girlfriend. Things started changing however, when Zoey finds out that Sawyer has been secretly in love with her for years.

From the first page, it’s pretty obvious that this author excels at character driven stories and I also really enjoyed the banter between the characters. I particularly enjoyed Zoey’s wit and personality! The scénario that forced proximity between Zoey and Sawyer also had me giggling non-stop.

This is my first book by the author and have not read the earlier books in this series. Unfortunately, my experience suffered as there was a few scenes where I felt that I was missing context. I felt this mostly around Zoey as we are told that she was previously irresponsible and self-centred but I did not really see much evidence of this within the four corners of this book. Another scene that suggested to me that this book might not work as well as a stand-alone was a lone scene that had zero relevance to the main characters, but would probably delight readers who have read the previous books.

This book is set up to have alternating chapters between flashbacks and current day, and honestly I really do not enjoy this kind of device as with this book I felt that the story lost its forward momentum. However, your mileage may vary.

Overall, I struggled a bit with this book but still enjoyed the characters and dialogue.


Arc provided by publisher via Netgalley.

Merged review:

One Last Chance by Therese Beharrie is a friends to lovers second chance romance. Zoey and Sawyer were friends for years with Zoey often pretending to be Sawyer’s girlfriend. Things started changing however, when Zoey finds out that Sawyer has been secretly in love with her for years.

From the first page, it’s pretty obvious that this author excels at character driven stories and I also really enjoyed the banter between the characters. I particularly enjoyed Zoey’s wit and personality! The scénario that forced proximity between Zoey and Sawyer also had me giggling non-stop.

This is my first book by the author and have not read the earlier books in this series. Unfortunately, my experience suffered as there was a few scenes where I felt that I was missing context. I felt this mostly around Zoey as we are told that she was previously irresponsible and self-centred but I did not really see much evidence of this within the four corners of this book. Another scene that suggested to me that this book might not work as well as a stand-alone was a lone scene that had zero relevance to the main characters, but would probably delight readers who have read the previous books.

This book is set up to have alternating chapters between flashbacks and current day, and honestly I really do not enjoy this kind of device as with this book I felt that the story lost its forward momentum. However, your mileage may vary.

Overall, I struggled a bit with this book but still enjoyed the characters and dialogue.

[Harlequin Books]

Categories
Carina Press Romance Promise, Contemporary Romance, Romance, Multicultural & Interracial Romance, Romantic Comedy
Miniseries
One Day to Forever (Book #3)

[Victoria (Eve's Alexandria) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first book by Therese Beharrie, but the last instalment of her One Day to Forever series, and in retrospect it probably wasn’t the best place to start. Despite plenty of hints and clues as to the missing back story, I still felt a little at sea. That said, I loved it in so many ways, and will definitely be going back to the earlier books now. This is emotionally astute, witty and playful romance and I am 100% here for it.

One Last Chance belongs to Zoey Roux, the youngest of three sisters, and her former best friend Sawyer Wilson. Zo and Sawyer were inseparable all through high school, and as close as two people could be at university. But then they realised their feelings for one another were not only (not even a little) platonic and it ruined their friendship. Now, six years later, they’re no better than strangers. When they meet by accident at a charity event, amidst their family and friends, they find themselves confronting all the feelings they never resolved and saying all the things they never said.

The narrative is split along two time lines, which alternate chapter by chapter. In the present we spend a day with Zo and Sawyer, as they try to navigate the awkwardness of their damaged intimacy, while in the past we span the years of their friendship and estrangement. In this way we see the depth and complexity of their feelings for each other, and the magnitude of the emotional hurdles they have to overcome to be together.

It’s an angsty journey, to say the least, because Zo and Sawyer are so confused, hurt and angry with one another. They have a lot of baggage, and it takes a lot of talking and arguing (and ill advised kissing) to overcome it. I liked the way the book showed them both trying and failing to be honest with each other (and themselves), hampered by their hang-ups and wrong assumptions. The story is not about two people falling in love, because that’s a done deal, but two people working out how they can be in love *together*, as a partnership.

Beharrie has to play havoc with the usual beats of a romance novel to make this work, and gets the balance just right. The interweaving of episodes of love, intimacy and pain from the past with moments in the present was a delight. There are also significant parts for Zoey’s sisters Angie and Sophia, who were the focus of previous books. The siblings have things of their own to work out, and we get to see their relationships moving forwards. This is why I think it would have been better if I had read the earlier books first, because I missed a lot of the nuance and references. But never mind, it just means I now have them to look forward to.

[Emmalita · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to sit with this one for a while. I enjoy Therese Beharrie’s writing so much, but the structure of One Last Chance was a struggle for me at first. By the end of the book I was genuinely in love with it.

One Last Chance is the final book in Beharrie’s One Day to Forever series about the Roux sisters. I have only read the last two books, and I think they are pretty stand alone. After a long illness, their father has died which sends each of the sisters into their own sort of tailspin. Beharrie does a wonderful job of exploring the lingering impact of grief and the way people handle it differently.

Zoey Roux is the baby of the family and she saw her role as the happy, impulsive sister. In an attempt to avoid her feelings right after her father’s death, she jumped into a marriage with her best friend Sawyer, who has his own grief issues, having been orphaned young. Zoey left Sawyer after three months, but the pair never divorced. Six years later, Zoey has grown and matured and asks Sawyer for a divorce. Over the course of a day in which they are forced together several times, they talk through their marriage, why she left, and how they feel about each other. Inter cut with the day are events from their past.

Initially, I was frustrated with the flashbacks. As I read, I saw what Beharrie was doing – showing how two good people could hurt each other without either being a bad guy. The difficulty with second chance romances and marriage in trouble romances is illustrating a conflict significant enough to separate the characters and showing the growth that makes a Happily Ever After believable. To give nuance and depth to the conflict between Zoey and Sawyer, Beharrie needed to show those moments that led to their marriage and their separation and I needed to see the years long connection between them to believe that asking for a divorce after a 6 year separation would be painful. The whole story woven together is a lovely and redemptive look at grief and the importance of letting ourselves and others feel our feeling.

If you haven’t read Therese Beharrie yet, I strongly encourage you to do so. In One Day to Fall and One Last Chance, Beharrie sends you on a roller coaster ride with women who are very much themselves and the men who love them for it.

[Leigh Kramer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m so sad this series is over! How on earth did Therese Beharrie manage to write characters falling for each other over the course of 24 hours without it veering into insta-love? Zoey and Sawyer haven’t seen each other in 6 years when they come across each other at a park. And ope, they’re still secretly married. Through flashbacks, we learn more about their friendship, the way Sawyer pined for her for years, and where everything changed and then fell apart. There’s no quick fix here but it helped that Zoey has been in therapy and has worked through some of her issues and knows the kind of person she wants to be now. Sawyer still has some work to do but you can see how he and Zoey still have the ability to bring out the best in one another. At any point, they could have gone in different directions. That they continually chose each other, even in the years where they weren’t speaking, paves the way for them to choose each other again and then figure out a way forward. I adored these two. And it was fun to get glimpses of Zoey’s sisters and seeing how those relationships have come along as well.

Character notes: Zoey is a 27 year old events manager for a corporate company. Sawyer is a 27 year old transport company logistics manager. They are both South African. This is set in Cape Town.

CW: heroine’s father died of brain tumor 7 years ago, pregnancy scare, panic attack, past codependency, hero learned his mom put up child for adoption at age 17 his half-sister’s birth father is in prison for manslaughter, death of grandparent, past death of hero’s parents when he was young, past bullying (by hero’s cousin), heroine spread a rumor that her boyfriend had a small penis to get back at him when they were in high school, secondary character’s mother has dementia, pregnant secondary character (epilogue), alcohol, gendered insult, ableist language

Disclosure: I received a free print copy from Carina Press. I had also preordered the ebook but it clearly took me a while to get around to actually reading it.

[Trisha Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my least favorite things is crying in public, but I willfully cried on a plane reading this book. I knew it was coming – there was basically a giant yellow flag telling me the “dark moment” was barreling toward me – and I still ignored whatever Avengers or Lego movie was on the Delta in-flight TV thing so that I could keep reading.

One Last Chance pops back and forth between timelines: the current day storyline between Zoey and Sawyer all takes place in one day, but there’s YEARS worth of history about their relationship inserted in intervening chapters that focuses on what went right and then very wrong. I love when a book reveals a little at a time about a story, and this character-driven romance is wrought and smart and funny and heartbreaking in all of the best ways. You can almost literally feel the struggle that Zoey in particular was dealing with in her attempt to be the best version of herself. The relationships here are messy and painful and complicated, but when everything pays off in the end, it feels even more authentic for the painful growth. (At least for me, who was willing to cry into her airplane pretzels out of desperation to accompany these two flawed and lovable people to their HEA.)

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Therese Beharrie finishes off her One Day to Forever trilogy with the final Roux sister, Zoey, and her second-chance romance with her former best friend (but still her husband) Sawyer. Therese always takes the reader on an emotional journey with her characters, and this book is no exception. There's such an immediacy of emotions that when Sawyer is processing how he feels seeing Zoey again, you feel right there with him (and it's in third person past tense, but even with that narrative distance, the reader is still completely in the moment). Sawyer will definitely be in the running for my favourite heroes of 2020 - he's patient and gentle and kind, and readers will swoon over him. It's harder to get on board with Zoey because her impulsivity isn't well-grounded early on so her impulse to get married immediately feels somewhat foreign. And her lack of transparency in why she chose to leave the marriage doesn't get enough attention - there needed to be more of a grovel for me. The chemistry between them, though, is undeniable, and this is a lovely end to the series.

My thanks to NetGalley and Carina Press for the ARC.

[Malia · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's a lot going on in this book! It has two timelines with alternating chapters, a fake dating trope and a second chance trope because of a hasty marriage. All with the same couple! But it's very grounded in emotion, and even with all the tropes, it doesn't feel zany. What really resonated with me are the rash decisions people can make when they are struggling, and how people can beat themselves up for a long time instead of opening up to people who love them. I'm more interested in those ideas than the kinds of critiques they might get, i.e. "those actions were out of character" and "they could solve this with a simple conversation." Because real people aren't characters, and simple conversations are rarely simple when emotions run high! Ultimately this is a different type of romance than I usually reach for, but I'm glad I did. It's a story to remind us that love is worth struggling for, and that complicated people deserve love.

***Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for providing a copy in exchange for my honest review.

[Shades N Pages · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zoey and Sawyer are best friends who secretly gets married. Shorty after, they separate due to complicated issues. Six Years later, at a charity auction, they meet again and find themselves confronting unresolved feelings.
The story was told in flashbacks that changed from past to present day each chapter. Although it gave you the opportunity to see the extent of their feelings for each other, I did have a hard time getting on board with this structure. Their journey to reconciliation was filled anger, confusion and hurt. I did appreciate how the book showed them trying to effectively communicate and work out their issues. Overall, this was an okay story. Watching Zoey and Sawyer find their way back to love was cute. I think I would have enjoyed the story more without the constant back and forth.This was my first book by this author.I will try another book, hopefully the structure is different .

[Annalisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

so i picked this book up on a whim at a used bookstore and started reading it without realizing it was the last book in a series.... whoops!

still had a great time though! sawyer and zoey were great together and I loved the sisters. this was surprisingly funny at times considering the heaviness of some of the subject matter. Therese Beharrie has a great handle on balancing light-hearted moments with deep, emotional ones. My only real complaint was I swear characters would pop in conversations when I could've sworn they were in a different location or were never introduced into the scene. Maybe I was just tired and I missed that part who knows?

I loved the sisters ESPECIALLY Sophie, so I guess I have to go back and read their books now too. Glad to have another Romance Author to reach for!

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5

This book was marvellous. Only Therese Beharrie can write a second chance romance like this and have me loving it at the end. Actually, only she can write a friend's to lovers, fake relationship, second chance romance that I will utterly adore. This just hit me in the feels and had me ready to ignore my work to read just a little more. I mean, I finished it in one day and that is practically unheard of for me at the moment.

All I can say is why did I wait so long to read because this was amazing? Zoey and Sawyer were so perfect together and bouncing from past to present so you could see what they were like and how they were now it really showed both their character growth but also the gaps they had in each of their lives with the absence of the other at their side.

[Isabella ~Mikku-chan~ · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good. I totally felt with Zoey and Sawyer and I loved the tension and heartbreak. It was tender yet sad in parts but lots of growth for the characters & I loved how the series got a great ending, wrapping up also Angie's and Ezra's and Sophie's and Parker's storyline & give them adorable screentime.

In parts it wasn't an easy book but one that left you with a heartfelt sigh of relief and satisfaction but also feels like a cleansing. Some process the characters are going through rang hard while reading and hit close home - very emotional ride.

5 out of 5 stars.

[Kate Vale · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another in the cluster of tales focused on one day. In this case moving back and forth from the period surrounding their marriage to the present, when Zoey asks Sawyer for a divorce. The hopping back and forth was difficult for me to manage and thus kept me from getting deep into the story, even as these two seem perfect for each other--or maybe not.

I also found it difficult to believe that so much can happen in a single day, even when both parties want the healing, want the love, and don't want the divorce.

[NE]

It was a solid book. Not too many gripes. However, there was not much I liked about it either. I think the concept of a romance book happening in one day doesn't appeal to me as I like slow-build romance.

So far I haven't loved any of the Beharrie books I've read. They've all been solid but nothing out of the ordinary. May nave to abandon her books.

[Reina Williams]

Beharrie is a fav author, but I've tried three times with this book. The combo of my stressed brain and the narrative time jumps just aren't working for me. I keep getting lost and forgetting who is who.

[nick (the infinite limits of love) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5

As always Therese knows how to rip my heart out! Loved this one! <3

[Malachi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of processing. I think the “one day” format was a little tough for me considering the subject.

[Micaela *CLONAZINE* · Rating 2 out of 5]

Un caso de no sos vos, soy yo, no me gustan las historias con muchos flashbacks, quise darle una oportunidad pero ese estilo no es para mi, de todas formas quiero seguir leyendo a esta autora.

[Trigger Warning Database]

Trigger & Content Warnings

Panic attack
Parent with dementia mentioned
Alcohol consumption
Death of a grandparent
Death of a father from a brain tumour recounted
Bullying recounted

[Eliana]

Old reads

[Sera Taíno · Rating 5 out of 5]

I confess, I have yet to read book 1 of this series, starting directly with the second book, One Day to Fall. Despite this fact, I quickly fell in love with Therese Beharrie's writing, which is very precise, demonstrating a deep understanding of why people do the things they do. Though meant to read as a standalone, the advantage belongs to the reader who's read all three books. Having already read the middle book, I had a clearer understanding of the family dynamics that have built up over the series. Zoey is set up as the reckless Roux sister, given to impulsiveness and in need of stability.

The height of Zoey's impulsivity is demonstrated when she secretly marries Sawyer, her childhood friend, and essentially wrecks the most important relationship of her life. It's their journey towards understanding themselves and what they did wrong that constitutes the emotional journey of this novel.

One thing I really appreciated about the two books I read was Beharri's willingness to take structural risks with her romances. In book 2, the events of the novel take place in one day. In this novel, she alternates timelines between past and present. Many readers might be thrown by this, preferring a linear narrative but I love her willingness to find the structure that would work best for each story. I could not see this particular story being told any other way without pages of info-dumping. Her editor and publisher deserve all the kudos for allowing her space to do that.

Despite the struggles and angst between Zoey and Sawyer, you never lose the feeling that these two lovers were meant to be together. They simply needed to be in the right emotional place to make things work between them. The narration and internal dialogue of the characters is thoughtful and honest, making you believe even more in their HEA. And the return of earlier couples in the series leaves the reader satisfied. A terrific series that has made Beharrie an autobuy author for me.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley/the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Originally published at https://serataino.com/category/book-r...

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

What happens when two broken people fall into a marriage and then run away from each other without actually separating? What happens if flawed characters are allowed to actually grow and learn and adapt? One Last Chance suggests they should be allowed to end up happy and in love and based on this book I wholeheartedly agree. Told in flash backs of how they fell into their original marriage while following them meeting again for the first time at a huge family based event. While the characters can be frustrating, it’s because they are honest and willing to show their flaws to themselves and makes the resolution that much more impactful and rewarding. The last in a series, I would recommend reading the others in order to better understand the secondary characters however it is understandable as a stand alone.