Review by Booklist Review
In Cayouette's debut novel, Emerson is a supermodel who is tired of looking for love. However, she is soon reminded that she and her childhood best friend made a pact to marry when they became twenty-eight. The problem is, Emerson hasn't spoken to Theo since high school. Ten years later, Theo still carries a torch for Emerson, even as he works at his less-than-high-fashion job of photographing the latest in department store goods. When Emerson decides to try to reconnect by getting herself hired for his latest campaign, Theo struggles with mixed signals from the supermodel as well as her team. While the details of working a photoshoot as both a photographer and a model are interesting, some readers may be frustrated with the miscommunication trope that plagues Emerson and Theo throughout the novel. However, fans of second chance romances and first loves will root for the couple as they reconnect.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Cayouette makes a memorable debut with a second-chance love story that is equal parts heart-wrenching and inspiring. As an adult, supermodel Emerson Grey is still dealing with a sexual trauma from her past that led her to distance herself from her high school love, Theo Carson, when they were 18. Then a calendar reminder of their pact--that if they weren't married to other people when they turned 28, they would marry each other--pops up on her phone, and she realizes how much she misses and still loves Theo, who is now a photographer. An opportunity to work with him arises, and Emerson jumps on it--against the wishes of her uber-manipulative agent, Matt. Will their sweet reunion lead to the soul-satisfying happy ending both characters deserve, or will their complicated past and Matt's present treachery keep them apart? Cayouette leads readers on a well-plotted, multidimensional route to the answer. Along the way, she does a masterful job of showing how trauma affects relationships, and shares in an emotional author's note that she's drawing from personal experience. The result is a commendable portrait of healing. (May)
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Review by Library Journal Review
DEBUT World-famous supermodel Emerson Grey receives a calendar notification reminding her of the fast-approaching deadline for the pact she made with her best and only friend from high school, Theo Carson. The two agreed they would marry each other if they weren't already spoken for by their 28th birthdays. Emerson's last contact with Theo was almost a decade ago, at about the time he confessed his undying love to her and she fell victim to an incident that left her shattered and too ashamed to open up. As for Theo, he believes that confessing his love to Emerson back then scared her away forever. Now Emerson has a second chance at rekindling her old flame and arranges to be a model on photographer Theo's upcoming shoot in Italy. She has a week to make it up to him, the only man she's ever been able to trust, and convince him to give her one last shot. VERDICT Bayouette crafts an engaging story that jumps back and forth between the protagonists' high school days and the present. The emotional aspects of the romance take center stage in this heartfelt first novel.--Kara Kohn
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