I truly enjoyed the main female lead and found her to be quite interesting. On the other side of that though I found the male character to be immature and he just irked me. For the type of story this is, which seemed to lean more toward women's fiction than outright romance, it was slower than it could have been. Overall it was solid read!

The Last Word by Katy Birchall is an enemies to lovers workplace romance novel. First off, I loved all of the tropes and the dual timelines. The chemistry between the characters was absolutely sizzling at times. Initially, I was weary of Harper because of her mannerisms and attitude but eventually I saw where she was coming from. Would I read it again? No. Anyways, 4/5 stars.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Last Word by Katy Birchall was a fun rom com that took a while to really take off, but ultimately was a layered read. It has the worst miscommunication / repeat break up scenario at the end that made me so frustrated but it did wrap up in an okay manner, although I would have kicked the hero to the curb.

This is set in the UK which added a fun dynamic as far as setting and place but will not be one of my top romances this year due to the MMC's ridiculous sabotage to himself and the relationship.

i definitely enjoy an enemies to lovers trope! Fans of Beach Read and The Hating Game will flock to this one!

Thank you to St. Martin's and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I'm a sucker for the enemies-to-lovers and office romance tropes so when I read the description for this title, I knew I had to have it and it did not disappoint. The banter and chemistry between Ryan and Harper practically leapt off the page and I couldn't turn to the next one fast enough.

The story was a little slow to start but once it picked up, it felt like riding a bike downhill and I was sad when the story was over. Will probably have to give it a reread!

I love me some enemies to lovers!! The connection bewtween Harper and Ryan was so so so so palpable! While this was on the predictable side it was still a fun little read. I love sweet little feel good romances and this one hit the spot!

I loved the development of the main character - she was so interesting! I found Ryan to be immature and just annoying. I found parts of this to be slow (and would say this is more women's fiction than romance) but it was a good weekend read. Thank you for the ARC!

This book is totally up my alley! I love a sensible enemies to lovers storyline, especially one set in the workplace. Power dynamics and the struggle to keep up appearances abound here, so if you're like me and love a generally predictable (in a good way!) romp of a book, this is for you!

Ohhh yeah! One of.my absolute favorite tropes, and executed in such a fun and addictive way. This is my first read by this Author and definitely won't be my last!

This was a fun enemies to lovers office romantic comedy. I love the banter between Harper and Ryan, but also felt the chemistry almost immediately. I really enjoy Katy Birchall's writing style.

Slow to begin with. Not too much character fun to draw you into them

So overly detailed
And honestly harper (love the name) is such a whiny flake. She’s kind of unlikeable in the beginning. She upbeat but also selfish.

20% into this I felt very bored. It took too long for the story to progress to keep my attention.

I loved The Secret Bridesmaid and maybe I had more high hopes for that funny charm to jump off the page.

Loved the setting though and Katy writing and will definitely read more from this author.

My first DNF of 2024 :(

I wasn't sure what to expect going into this one, but after getting half way into it I just didn't feel anything. I wasn't connecting to the characters and didn't feel motivated to keep reading. On top of that, I found the main character to be very immature and irritating at times. I also felt stressed out by her? She was so chaotic and disorganized that I had second hand embarrassment and was just itching to organize her desk because it bothered me SO much that she was constantly a mess.

I'm sad that I didn't enjoy this one, but I hope that somewhere out there it finds the readers who will love it <3

This book was a great office romance with enemies to lovers! It is great for anyone who loves an office romance and two people who hate each other being forced to work together. The forced proximity trope never gets old!

I tried to give this book a chance. I wasn't able to connect to the characters. I know this book will be enjoyed by other readers.

I love a good workplace romance - and one that doesn't have icky power dynamics with it. THE LAST WORD was so fun: second chance romance; workplace romance; career-driven FMC; celebrity gossip; and a dysfunctional family. Overall, I think it was well-paced; the mix of timelines was easy to follow and I was equally invested in each timeline.

My big sticking point was I felt it should have been over at 60% - I could feel the climax coming and then it was dragged out with a new storyline. Well the rest of the book was still well-written and I was drawn it, it almost didn't feel necessary.

Overall, still a huge Katy Birchall fan!

I LOVE Katy's books but unfortunately this was my least favorite to date. So much of it just felt like unnecessary fluff and I would've loved more plot or character development because it felt a little like reading cute/charming but mindless television if that makes sense.

Harper and Ryan.... Oh God this enemies to lovers of super competitive annoying couple in the same workspace...I just couldn't get into it. Set it down for more than a month and tried to pick it back up and ugh. I made it 35% of the way through before hating the characters enough to declare it a DNF.

I am a fan of Katy Birchall's writing, and I was happy to receive a copy of The Last Word. I am always down for an enemies-to-lovers office romance in the same vein as The Hating Game, and this book delivers along those lines.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

The Last Word employs a few favorite romance tropes - enemies- to-lovers, coworkers, second chance romance - and a dynamic workplace setting in celebrity journalism to good effect. I enjoyed Katy Birchall’s novel and will be keeping an eye out for her future books! Thank you to St. Martin’s and Net Galley for the advance copy.

Big thanks to Netgalley and SMP for this book. I love Katy Birchall, her books are always a good time. I liked this one, didn't love it! I didn't really like the main character Harper and because of that I found it hard to really root for them all the time, or her even.