This was a fun second chance romance set in a workplace. Its a British book, which I love reading those perspectives. Something about the wit and banter is so uniquely British that I love it.

A funny, feel-good romance about rivals fighting over a book column and maybe falling in love along the way. Adorable, clever, and full of heart.

I read about 50% of this and just couldn’t get into it, so I DNF’d it. It’s not a bad story, but I didn’t hold my interest.

I found the narrative overpowered the relationship between the two main characters. However, I think it was a good aspect of the novel. It gave me time to connect with the characters and fall in love with them myself.

This was such a fun read! I can’t recall the last time I read a book that featured an MC as a journalist. But several of my favorite rom-com movies revolve around them, so I was excited to dive into this one!

I had picked this up for the romance aspect but I was pleasantly surprised to find the romance isn’t at the forefront of the story, or as much as I expected it to be. Like it's there, but we’re really more focused on Harper and her career as a journalist.

I loved following Harper, her personality was so chaotic and outgoing, making her a joy to watch. She truly was an amazing journalist too! She actually cared about those she wanted to interview, not just sell out their dirty laundry. Though her process might be seen as a bit unorthodox, she always knew how to get a good story.

And her feud with Ryan was so much fun to follow! Their relationship was tense from the start, and we get to see snippets of their past, how they met so long ago, and what led up to their tense present. But despite Harper’s hostility towards Ryan, and him dishing it right back, I could see he truly cared for her, even when all she wanted to do was pick a fight and always have “the last word.”

I found this to be such an enjoyable contemporary read set around journalism with a dash of a second chance, enemies-to-lovers romance! If you enjoy office romances, I definitely suggest checking this one out!

*The Last Word* by Katy Birchall is a witty and charming contemporary novel with a lighthearted exploration of friendship, family, and finding your voice. The story follows a protagonist who is determined to make a name for herself as a writer and find closure after a significant loss. Birchall’s writing is engaging and humorous, making it an easy, enjoyable read.

The characters are likable, with the protagonist’s journey of self-discovery being both relatable and heartfelt. I appreciated the emphasis on personal growth and the complex dynamics between the leads. However, while the book has a lot of heart, it does feel a bit predictable at times, and I found some parts of the plot a little slow-moving.

The romance element felt secondary to the character's personal journey, which I didn’t mind, but I was hoping for a bit more emotional depth and complexity in the storyline. Overall, *The Last Word* is a solid, enjoyable read, especially for fans of character-driven stories with a touch of humor, but it didn’t fully captivate me. It's a pleasant, easy read but not quite unforgettable.

I struggled with this book a bit. I get the "miscommunication" troupe, but so much could have been avoided. Harper made me mad multiple times in this book. Which is funny because I feel like I'd do a lot of what she did. I absolutely loved Ryan. He was a patient patient man.

Enemies to lovers is my favorite romance trope, and this is done so well in The Last Word as Harper and Ryan, despite him breaking her heart 10 years prior, are forced to work together in close proximity. Not only do they have history, but they also have opposite personalities, but they say opposites attract don't they?

I appreciated that the story was focused most on getting to know the characters and developing their connection with the romance coming in a bit later. Sometimes the romance becomes the focus too soon which makes it feel a bit forced. But getting to know them and their dynamic, filled with humor and witty banter, made this so much more enjoyable. As with most enemies to lovers tropes there is some miscommunication, which usually bothers me but not quite as much in this story. I felt like the rest made up for it!

Overall an enjoyable, feel-good rom-com that I'd recommend for someone looking for a nice easy read!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Single POV which made this difficult to side with Harper! Because we only saw her views and not Ryan’s views, it was difficult to get on board with all of Harper’s antics. Loved the banter throughout the book and the slow burn was definitely sloooooow. Not one I’d have picked up normally but it wasn’t too badly written! It was even set in a location that I don’t read much from, so that was interesting, too! Thanks for the opportunity to read.

This totally reminded me of The Bold Type and I loved it! I enjoyed the characters and the storyline. It also reminded me of The Hating Game, which I adored! The enemies to lovers trope never fails to impress.

This book came out over a year ago and I just got to it. The reason being, that I didn’t hear the best reviews. So after really enjoying her first two books, I was scared of a big disappointment.

We follow Harper Jenkins, who is a journalist well known for her celebrity interviews. She enjoys her job, of getting to tell the stories behind the celebrity’s. However her company hires Ryan Jansson, with whom she really doesn’t get along. Reason being the relationship they had when they were younger, wich ended with Ryan betraying Harper.

I started of liking Harper since she seemed nice, after a certain point this changed. A big part of this is, that everything in this book just felt way to easy. Everything went great and there weren’t any stakes. Paired with the in my opinion lacking chemistry between our two main characters, this book fell flat for me.

I’m still looking forward to her next book, hopefully I will have more luck with that.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the E-Arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you, NetGalley, Publishers, and Katy Birchall for gifting me a copy of The Last word in exchange for my honest opinion.

3.5/5 stars

Harper is a hard working celebrity journalist, who is known in the industry for her compassion and vulnerability when interviewing people. Things at work could not be going better, other than her controlling boss, until a reporter from her past is hired at the same Magazine. Ryan is the man who broke her heart 10 years ago when they were both interns. He didn’t just break her heart, he shattered her trust and made her unable to love anyone again. While working close with each other on projects is she willing to open her heart again. If she does will it be destroyed like last time or will she finally get her happy ever after?

Katy Birchall has a wonderful writing style that sucks you in and makes it so you don’t want to put the book down. I love how her characters are well rounded and I feel like I’m part of Harper’s friend group.

Ryan as a whole pissed me off, he royally messed up the first time around and in my opinion he messed up even worse the second time. The fact that he was forgiven so easily really pissed me off. If anything he should have been begging at her door daily and instead she went to him, hell no! I probably would have given it a higher rating but I cannot get over this plot point. The only reason I gave it the .5 is because of how much I enjoy Katy Birchall’s writing style. I mean yeah her life turned out better in the end but he treated her like shit, sorry I’m rambling because how upset I am.

I will definitely read more from Katy Birchall due to her writing style, but I will take a break from her before reading anything else by her.

I was entertained. The book lived up to its title, a second chance, workplace, enemies to lovers with forced proximity and a dual timeline romance. The author created such amazing characters, the workplace environment was very life-like complete with a rude misogynistic boss. the

This one really wasn‘t for me at all. I can see why people love this book but I like my characters more mature acting especially when they‘re adults and also romances with only one pov are usually not the best for me.

Loved this book.
This book was interesting and not a typical romance book as it was related to work. Harper and Ryan meet at work a long time ago and their paths cross again in their work as journalist. It is a slow burn but so good!

Enemies-to-Lovers Romance in Publishing

The Last Word by Katy Birchall is an engaging enemies-to-lovers, second-chance romance set in the vibrant world of a London magazine publisher. The story follows Harper Jenkins, a brilliant and determined journalist who excels as a celebrity features editor for a lifestyle magazine. Harper's professional life takes a dramatic turn when her former work nemesis, Ryan, is hired as the new Features Editor. This rekindles old rivalries and buried feelings between the two, leading to a roller-coaster of emotions and professional challenges. The plot thickens as they are thrown together on a romantic press trip abroad, where their chemistry becomes undeniable.

Overall, The Last Word by Katy Birchall is a delightful read for fans of contemporary romance and the enemies-to-lovers trope. The book's strengths include its witty dialogue, relatable characters, and vibrant setting. While it may follow some predictable romantic conventions, the execution is fresh and entertaining. Birchall's writing style brings the story to life, making it a perfect choice for a light-hearted, feel-good read.

In The Last Word by Katy Birchall, we meet Harper, a young journalist who loves her job as a celebrity editor. Then her boss hires Ryan, her enemy from many years ago when they were both interns. Things are messy and chaotic at first but then, of course, Harper starts to fall for Ryan. You know the rest. The Last Word is pretty predicable but it was a quick read. Three stars from me.

This was a cute book, and I love a good enemies to lovers! The Hating Game is one of my favorites, so when I saw this book compared to that one, I knew I had to read it. While it didn’t give me the same feelings as The Hating Game, I could see the similarities. The main character, Harper, is slightly annoying at times, but overall it was a cute read.

This was a wondrful story about a journalist trying to prove herself and finding love along the way. I appreciated this rom com, that also had a solid non-romantic plot. It allowed for depth of the characters that had you rooting for them. There was also a decent amount of dramatic irony that helped pull the story along.

Thank you to the author and to the publisher for my eARC. All thoughts are my own.

I really loved Birchall's previous 2 books and was pumped to read her newest. However, I ended up DNFing it. I was a little bored and underwhelmed by the story and it just didn't hold my attention like I was hoping it would. However, I can see fans of Birchall liking the story as enemies to more is such a fun trope. Not to mention, the cover is cute and eye catching.