An enemies to lovers trope with cute and humorous banter. I enjoyed the relationships in this one. I also appreciated the dual timeline showing the history between the two main characters.

Harper and Ryan find themselves working together again at a popular magazine. They are both ambitious but very competitive. Their boss is a jerk and doesn’t take Harper’s work or writing seriously. While I really enjoyed this book and appreciated it shows the inequality between men and women in the workplace, I also found Harper to be immature to Ryan at times. Thankfully she grows into her character.

Many thanks to Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for this eARC!

For fans of Emily Henry and Sophie Kinsella.

This story was fine, but I had such a hard time connecting with any of the characters. I didn't buy our main characters as a couple, and I don't think they did either, leading to all their issues. I enjoyed the journalism aspect of the story, but overall this was meh.

💭Thoughts:
This was my second time reading a book by this author. I loved The Wedding Season and was looking forward to reading another book from her. I had high hopes for this one, but sadly it fell a bit short for me.

I found the pacing to be a bit off. The first 25% of the book progressed very slowly. It actually took me almost a month to read this book. I just couldn’t get into it. I almost had to DNF, but I decided to stick with it.

The relationship between Harper and Ryan didn’t feel believable. I just couldn’t see these two working out and ending up together. The banter was so immature and cringy at times. I did enjoy reading about Harper’s career. I found myself more invested in that, than in the romance.

Overall, I’m sad to say this romance didn’t work for me. I’m sure readers who enjoy slow burn and miscommunication tropes will enjoy this book.

Harper is a fun protagonist. While I cannot understand her messy tendencies, she is the queen of her organized chaos. She stressed me out a little bit as she is known for being late, but her interview skills give her great attention overall and show her ability as an exceptional journalist. This story does have some flashbacks for when Harper and Ryan were interns for the same publication, which was a great way to learn about their past, interspersed with the current time. This did follow the classic enemies to lovers trope, but it was enjoyable and to me, it didn’t feel entirely predictable. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

Harper Jenkins is a messy, chaotic, driven journalist. She loves her job as Celebrities Editor but isn’t getting the respect she deserves. Her awful boss, Cosmo, hires another talented reporter, Ryan to be the new Features Editor, The two have history and chemistry. They started out as interns together but things went terribly wrong. Now history is repeating itself. This one started out slow but then got better and better. I loved Ryan’s character. He was absolutely adorable. A fun summer read!

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

𝘼𝙣 𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙚𝙨-𝙩𝙤-𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙘𝙤𝙢 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙖 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙜 𝙟𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙥𝙪𝙩𝙨 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙧 (𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩) 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠 𝙣𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙝𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙣𝙚𝙬𝙨𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙢.

📍 Read if you like:
• Enemies To Lovers
• Second Chance
• Workplace Romances
• Forced Proximity
• The Hating Game

I honestly wasn’t expecting anything out of this book, but for the most part, it was such a fun romance.

I loved the enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, workplace romance with a second chance, and the witty banter aspect.

I loved the London setting with a celebrity reporter. Harper and Ryan’s chemistry was so good and the banger was top-notch. There are also a few side characters I absolutely enjoyed.

It also has an office setting, which was so interesting with the second chance trope since the main characters already have a history with each other.

The story was a bit slow and it did take me a while to get invested. Ryan’s character was so sweet and wholesome, while Harper was a bit obnoxious at times.

There’s also a miscommunication part that I didn’t love. Also, when it comes to romances I always prefer Dual POVs - Ryan’s POV was missing and that was upsetting.

Overall, the banter was so fun and the tropes all mixed in so well. This was an entertaining office romance!

Thank you so much NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for the review copy in exchange for my honest review!

•𝗧𝗪/𝗖𝗪: Toxic relationship, alcohol, infidelity

I LOVED THIS BOOK!!!!

The Last Word by Katy Birchall was absolutely delightful. Why am I not seeing this book all over the internet?? It is funny, witty, fast-paced, with bits of romance, glamor, and tropes galore. Opposites attract, forced proximity, enemies to lovers, etc… The story moves along quickly with chapters from the past sprinkled in. I loved the main characters and their passion for their careers. I loved that the FMC is focused on her career, but is smart and human about it. I also loved the glimpse into “celebrity gossip” and what that world might be like.

My only complaint is that it could have been a bit shorter. It feels like it drags on in some places. But it was so fun to listen to that I didn’t mind too much. The ending was also delightful ☺️

Loved it!! Thank you @stmartinspress @netgalley @katybirchallauthor for the galley.

This is another funny and enjoyable rom-com by Katy Birchall. I found it to be lighter than last year's hit The Wedding Season. While on the top of her game as a Celebrity Editor, Harper Jenkins is dismayed when a former colleague is hired as the new Features Editor, especially since her boss doesn't respect her work and newly hired Ryan is immediately accepted into the boy's club. Even though it's been a decade since they worked together, and even spoke since their falling out, there is a pull there. They disguise it with their bickering, and both try to ignore it. But, in true rom-com fashion, circumstances and assignments throw them together. Katy Birchall takes the miscommunication (my least favorite of all tropes) right to the edge, so that it's not annoying (thank you!). I loved the characters in this book, especially Harper and Ryan. Despite their differences (chaos versus neat and organized), they are both genuine and kind. I highly recommend!
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins for my gifted arc.

Who doesn’t love a second chance love story or an enemies-to-lovers romance? If you are like me, then you will enjoy this book. Ten years ago Harper and Ryan were ambitious interns eager to make names for themselves in journalism. While working closely together they fell deeply in love, but because of Ryan’s betrayal, Harper has not seen or spoken to him in a decade.

Now she is a Celebrity Editor at a well-known London magazine. She loves her job, her Hollywood contacts, and her own rising power in celebrity journalism. She has a knack for making friends with the celebrities she interviews which always lands her excellent stories.

This book was moving along slowly for me when Harper’s life was thrown into sudden upheaval when her dreadful boss hired Ryan as Features Editor. They would bicker and nit-pick constantly and disagree over every article. Harper was giving him no quarter and I must admit I felt a little sorry for him.

We slowly begin to realize that not everything that occurred before was as it seemed, but it takes Harper a little longer to catch up. Ryan was a sweetheart of a man and Harper just got in her own way. I did enjoy parts of the book although Harper got on my nerves at times. Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this book. I gave it three stars.

I love all of Birchall’s previous books and I really liked this one too. It started off a little more slowly than I expected but once it going, I was hooked. Harper and Ryan definitely had all the chemistry and issues in trying to make their romance work. Was Harper frustrating? Absolutely. Did Ryan mess things up by hiding the truth, twice? You bet. But the reconciliation and self awareness was worth it and so is this read.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s for the arc.

ARC Review: The Last Word

Thank you @stmartinspress for my copy of this book - it’s out now!

This book is a combination of some of my favourite tropes - workplace romance, second chance love story, enemies to lovers - swoon 😍

The burn on this one is slow but so worth it! Harper and Ryan are so meant to be, I was rooting for them from page one. There were so many moments throughout the story where I would have given anything for a dual POV, I was dying to hear how Ryan would be reacting internally to what was happening.

Harper made some big mistakes throughout this book, it made me want to pull my hair out. Despite this, I did love how she was an imperfect character that was still likeable despite her flaws. Her other relationships throughout the book are so deep, I felt like it really showed her character and kept me rooting for her even when I wanted to throw my kindle across the room 😂

Read this if you:
- Love a dramatic birth story that brings people together
- Are a believer in love at first sight and second chances
- Would fake a raffle for the sake of blossoming love

A workplace romance, will it be a second chance romance for Harper and Ryan or another heartbreak? Great read.

I loved the premise of the story, who doesn’t love an enemies to lovers, second chance romance, set in the workplace? This should have been my perfect cup of tea. Unfortunately I never fell for Ryan the way I should have.

For me to really love a romance I need to fall for both characters completely. I never felt a reason for Ryan to be a love interest when all he ever gave me was secondary character energy. There I said it. He wasn’t as dynamic or interesting as the author wanted him to be.

He completely allowed the woman he was interested in to get repeatedly degraded at work and did literally nothing to stop it. He withheld truths (to protect her), but ended up making it worse… twice. Really besides their playful banter I never felt the moment the two characters realized they were it for each other.

I wanted to like this more but I really think this would be better served as *sigh* womens fiction. Take out the romance aspect and serve up more women supporting women and you have a story of Harper creating a new life for herself after her professional and personal life implode. I think that would have been more interesting.

I wanted to love this one! And I think I would have if the FMC hadn’t grated on my nerves so bad. I mean… this woman was a train wreck.

Ryan was swoonworthy. Loved that man. He was sweet, considerate, just a big cinnamon roll of a man. Harper on the other hand was messy, and jumped to way too many conclusions.

This entire book was basically one big third act breakup and I just couldn’t get into it because of that. I need Harper to speak to people and not be so high strung and neurotic.

This novel did reach my expectations from its description! I truly enjoyed reading it. It was equally funny and romantic. At the beginning, I had a little bit of difficulty seeing the direction of the plot line because it was slightly journalism heavy. However, the banter between our two MCs definitely made up for it. I would definitely reccoment this book as a quick and easy to read romance novel.

I love Katy Birchall books so was very much looking forward to this one! Unfortunately, I just didn't connect with the story and it was a bit slow moving to get through. I didn't fall in love with the characters like I usually do and the story felt like it could have been tightened up a good bit.

Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC of this book!

✨The Last Word by Katy Birchall✨

Genre: Romance
Pages: 384

📚 Harper Jenkins is at the top of her game. A brilliant, determined journalist with a well-known knack for getting tight-lipped Hollywood stars to open up to her, Harper loves her job as Celebrity Editor at a newspaper’s glossy weekend magazine and has the best contacts in the business.

But when her awful boss hires talented reporter Ryan to be the new Features Editor, Harper is furious. Because the two have met before: a decade ago, they were interns at the same publication, where they fell into a whirlwind romance…until Ryan betrayed Harper, and they never spoke again.

Thrown together in a busy newsroom, their dynamic is a disaster from the start. They can’t agree on anything and bicker constantly—Ryan can’t bear how chaotic and messy Harper is; Harper finds Ryan’s condescending nature infuriating. They clash over who’s writing what article, and fight over who’s going to which event.

Yet as they’re forced to spend more and more time together, Harper realizes she may have misjudged Ryan and can’t help but feel a spark growing between them. Long buried feelings start to resurface and, when they’re thrown together on
a romantic press trip abroad, their chemistry comes to a head.

But all is fair in love and magazines, and with the news that layoffs across the department are imminent, Harper is left to wonder: who will get the last word?

📝For fans of The Hating Game by Sally Thorne, this is right up your alley! An enemies-to-lovers workplace romance filled with witty banter and lots of tension.

💫Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for my ARC💫
For more book reviews, please follow me @literaturewithalatte

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for early access to this story!

This is a fun enemies to lovers, workplace romance as well as second chance romance. I think I liked Ryan more than Harper but overall the characters were all enjoyable, Mimi was a great best friend! I enjoyed the flashbacks in the timeline, keeping you guessing on how things happened in the past to end up with the present situation between Ryan and Harper. I loved the end result with her family and sister, it felt like most of the elements in question were wrapped up nicely at the end of the story. I will continue to read anything Katy Birchall writes, I think this was a solid 4 star for me (her first book The Secret Bridesmaid was a 5 star for me, for comparison).

Would recommend to friends who like all things British. If you enjoyed The Hating Game this is very similar in workplace banter/enemies/rivals working toward the same positions/goals! I thoroughly enjoyed the setting in England!

I loved the Secret Bridesmaid by Birchall, so I was excited going into this - and I was not disappointed! This has easy, breezy summer read written all over it. I couldn't help but root for Harper and Ryan from the very beginning, so I loved the arc of their story, and Birchall has a gift for storytelling! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I love you to the dynamic between Harper and Ryan, I love a second chance romance. I love enemies to lovers books in this was done so well. I did find that their banter got a little repetitive and redundant at times but overall I really enjoyed the their characteristics.