“𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙘𝙧𝙖𝙯𝙮 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙢𝙚, 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩. 𝙒𝙚𝙡𝙡, 𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙄’𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙘𝙧𝙖𝙯𝙮 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙩𝙤𝙤. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙄’𝙢 𝙘𝙧𝙖𝙯𝙮 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙣𝙤𝙬.”
___

Reminiscent of Mhairi McFarlane, I absolutely loved The Last Word and I highly recommend experiencing it in audio. The narration was absolutely fantastic! I can’t tell you how many times I laughed out loud while listening to this. The constant back and forth between Ryan and Harper was hilarious. Even when it got ridiculous, I still found myself grinning from ear to ear.

I really enjoyed the flashbacks that carefully unfolded Ryan and Harper’s past relationship and fall out. It really helped me to understand Harper better. I really related to her organized chaos and I love that she was the exact opposite of Ryan. Harper was a little difficult toward the end, BUT after experiencing one meeting with her parents, I totally understood why she acted the way she did and put up so many walls. Imagine going through that scenario repeatedly, every few months. No wonder Harper’s self worth was so low. I truly understand why she did certain things to protect herself, and I’m so glad Ryan stuck it out to be there for her. He was the perfect man to balance her out. What a doll. I just loved him so much!

This story is filled out so much heart, humor and hilarity. I really enjoyed Harper’s friends, and some further reconciliation that takes place at the end. This story is filled out so much heart, humor and hilarity. I’m so excited to go back and read Katy Birchall’s other books on my backlist after loving this so much!!

Thank you to Macmillan audio for an ALC and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy. My thoughts are my own.

I love enemies to lovers romance, especially when it’s in the office setting 😏 I love how Harper and Ryan’s relationship developed throughout the book. They grew from their separation and learn what they wanted ❤️

This was a well written love story between two young lovers who grow in their lives to be better for themselves and each other.

4.75
I’ve said it once I’ll say it again.
Book Lovers meets The Spanish Love Deception meets The Hating Game

-EXTREME slow burn
-enemies to lovers
-second chance

This book took by surprise. I absolutely love every single second! The tension, the banter, the characters, everything!

Harper is literally a walking tornado (in the best way). She is organized chaos and I love her unapologetic manor. And Ryan is me near freak strait laced hard worker. Natural born enemies.

And gosh Ryan just does the sweetest things and you can see their banter but the care!! This is a second chance romance and the timeline was written really when in there sense that nothing was given away. But there were some too-fast paced movements in the present timeline that could have been slowed down to provide useful tension in the story. As well as at the end I NEEDED some more grovelling. Something hard hitting and sweet bc Ryan and Harper would be the type!

But overall I absolutely love every second of this!

Also an absolute sucker for women’s fiction

The Last Word by Katy Birchall is a contemporary romcom. I was intrigued by the comparison of The Hating Game meets Beach Read, add comedic relief and I'm all for it.

Unfortunately, this one wasn't for me. I ended up stopping at chapter seven, so please check out other reviews from readers who completed the novel. I wasn't connecting to the main character, Harper, the way I had hoped. I'm also not sure exactly what pinpointed the inability to connect but the humor wasn't hitting and she didn't have a relatable persona for me as a reader.

Typically main character connection is not needed for me to enjoy a book and I'll keep going but my other drawback was the plot. It is very focused on Harper's job in those first few chapters and while I love a powerful woman in the workforce, it wasn't enticing to read. I hated that I wasn't sucked in for this one and that I felt it wasn't moving towards something more exciting.

As I mentioned, I highly recommend seeing other reviews for this release especially if you love Birchall's work and novels like The Hating Game! Thank you St. Martin's Griffin for the gifted digital copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

⭐️Enemies to lovers/ office mates
⭐️Forced proximity (work trips)
⭐️A sexist boss that causes banter and commodity
⭐️Spicy RomCom

I’ve enjoyed both of Katy Birchall’s previous books and enjoyed this as well. It wasn’t wedding themed but a “romance column” journalist at the top of her game. But her sexist boss is a pain. Ryan is her work enemy that she has tons and tons of banter with. It’s very much a spin-off of “The Hating Game” with Ryan being so Type A and neat. And I’m so so happy this book got spicy faster than her previous and I was rooting for their connection.

The Last Word is a cute and fun Rom-Com. I loved Harper! This is a perfect by the pool summer read. Magazine editors have a past and now are working together. Laugh out loud moments

Aww this one was so cute! I really enjoyed every second! It has some enemies to lovers and it is done so well! Some highlights are HEA, a cute epilogue, and some swoon worth quotes. Also it has adorable quotes, like this one- "It was the easiest answer I've ever had to give."

2.5 Stars ⭐️

Harper loves her job as a celebrity editor for a magazine. She is thriving in life, and everything is going fine at the magazine until her boss hires Ryan as the Feature Editor. She and Ryan share a strong past. Years ago, the two were in an intense relationship. Harper really thought she had a future with Ryan, but he ended up betraying her.

Harper and Ryan can’t seem to agree on anything. They are at odds, and Harper realizes they have little in common when it comes to their work style. This is her career, and she will not jeopardize that by fighting with Ryan.

Honestly, though this is probably one of my favorite tropes, it didn’t give me the feels that I wanted. The romance is a slow burn, and while I normally don’t care for that, I have learned to appreciate them when they are done correctly. In this case, the author uses the beginning of the story to focus solely on Harper to give readers insight into her personality. I might have enjoyed this more if I got to get a little of Ryan as well.

I also felt the romance is very light. It takes a long time for them to connect as older adults. Harper kept going back and forth. She blamed Ryan for every single offense imaginable. I had a very hard time connecting with her. She is a bit of a mess, both professionally and personally. Ryan isn’t much better. He doesn’t communicate well, and it’s frustrating. The two seem to go in circles, almost reliving their past mistakes.

Overall, this is a case of a strong premise that was not executed properly. I would still give this author another chance.

~ Samantha

I received this book from NetGalley in return for my honest opinion.

I really really really liked this book. The enemies to loved is so nice, both characters are enjoyable. I love how Ryan is a soft and a bit insecure. This shows other men - who generally are the tough ones - that it is okay to be sensitive and have feelings. I really enjoyed that part of the book. Harper was great, I could not with her being that chaotic, but it gave her some character.

Really enjoyed the writing style. I even found myself reading during work hours a few times. Writing is quick and I flew trough the book.

This was a well-written, entertaining book. It was fun and held my interest. I enjoyed this book and would read others by this author.

Harper Jenkins is the type of journalist where she can make a celebrity spill their guts. She's warm and inviting, which allows her to light up every room she's in. Although Harper loves her work, her parents do not understand her, her sister never defends her, and her boyfriend barely pays attention. Her life is thrown for a loop when her ex-fling, Ryan, begins working at her magazine. As old feelings begin to rage, Harper tries to her best to navigate their complicated relationship.

I really enjoyed the central relationship between Harper and Ryan. He was the type of man you want in your life attentive, thoughtful, supportive, but still can challenge you. Reading how their personalities clashed, but then reading how they came together was a beautiful experience. I think where I became slightly unengaged was with the overall plot. They had some communication issues that dragged on for me. Overall, the story was still fun, and if your looking for a lighter read this is perfect.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this read. This was fun. The conversations were good and Harper drive for herself was fun. It was an all around good read. It surely was slow burn but it was realistic in that sense as it took long for them to get along but it was real good time getting there.

Harper Jenkins is late. She is often late, but she has a way of being in the right place at the right time. Or maybe it’s the write time, since she’s able to score some of the hottest celebrity interviews for the magazine she works for. The actors who have been burned by the press will still open to her, because she’s just that good at her job.

However, her boss Cosmo, is not a fan of celebrities. He thinks that her pieces are fluff, not that he’s actually read any of them. So when he hires in Ryan Jansson as the new features editor, Harper is not impressed. Cosmo clearly favors him, despite her years of service to the magazine. And what’s worse, Harper and Ryan have a history that she doesn’t want to talk about or even acknowledge. That had happened when she was just starting out, as an intern. Now she’s an adult, she’s an established journalist, and she’s dating a hot guy who is starting his own talent agency.

And then there’s Ryan, sitting next to her at work with his uncluttered desk where he uses a book barrier to keep Harper’s chaos at bay. But when Cosmo insists that Ryan take over one of Harper’s interviews, one that she spent weeks jockeying for, she is livid. Ryan suggests that they go together to the interview, and Cosmo finally agrees, but Harper is still angry. And that brings up a lot of memories for her.

When Harper was just out of school and scored an internship with a newspaper, she showed up to start and found out that she wasn’t the only intern. Ryan was also there, interning alongside her and competing for the one job that would be available at the end. Near the end of the summer, they were offered an article together, a chance to get their name in print for the first time. And that went well for them. And then it didn’t.

And now he’s back, making Harper’s life more difficult and having to get the last word in their every fight. And there are a lot of fights. But having to do this interview together may give them a second chance, or at least a start of something more civil. But when Cosmo intervenes again, will Harper find a way to work through her anger, or will she have the last word with Ryan, ending their partnership forever?

Katy Birchall is back with The Last Word, an enemies-to-lovers story about two journalists who love to fight as much as they love to write. These characters leap off the page with energy and emotions, whether they are fighting, kissing, or helping a famous actor give birth in a taxi. Birchall’s writing takes a familiar romance trope or two and elevates it to a sparkling story filled with celebrities, chaos, competition, coffee, and a comped trip to Florence.

I am a huge fan of Birchall’s rom coms. I adore her characters as strong women who are flawed but endearing, and I would love to have any or all of them as good friends. But Harper is so aspirational to me. Sure, she’s chronically late and struggles with self-esteem (who wouldn’t, with those parents?), but she is persistent and takes creative risks and brings out the best in the people around her. Although there are a lot of things that are obvious about the storyline of a rom com, I still found several pleasant surprises in this one, and I loved the path that Harper made for herself at the end.

I think that anyone who loves rom coms and hasn’t yet discovered Katy Birchall’s books are missing out. The Last Word is a perfect weekend read for the pool, the patio, or the air conditioning this summer.

Egalleys for The Last Word were provided by St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley, with many thanks.

I always enjoy a good enemies to lovers story and The Last Word didn't disappoint.

Harper and Ryan have history. They met roughly ten years before as interns and their potential love story fell apart dramatically then. Now they are working together again. No one knows about their past and Harper has decided it's easier that way. So when the barbed comments start flying, their co-workers can't help but watch their antics and wonder what drives such intense emotions. As time goes on, their old emotions surface and the hate starts looking more like it could be unrequited love. But what is Harper supposed to do with those feelings after all this time?

The chemistry between these two is off the charts. I loved their banter and back and forth bickering. It was sometimes frustrating that Harper couldn't ever see the good in Ryan even when he went out of his way to do nice things for her. She'd acknowledge it for about a second and then become side-tracked by some other work related drama where she felt slighted.

This is definitely one of those books where a lot of time and energy could have been saved if they'd only talked things through but then we wouldn't have had a book. And I wouldn't have been able to become so invested in Harper and Ryan's potential HEA.

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW:: The narration was perfection. I loved the way it pulled me into the story even more that reading it, if that's possible. Also, I felt as if I could hear Harper's snakiness when she was giving Ryan trouble. Likewise, you could hear Ryan's cool and calm responses. It was quite enjoyable. 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

Adorable 😍

First, already a huge Birchall fan 💖

Enemies to lovers, second chances, work place drama, and a lovable yet hot mess main?! Yep.

This was a cute read I couldn’t put down. Perfect book for all the rom-com lovers out there.

And Harper? RELATABLE. If you are not a Harper then your best friend definitely is. Mix it with Ryan, Harper’s polar opposite and it’s perfect.

Read this one.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read/review this book.

Cute office romance crossed with enemies to lovers. I did enjoy the back and forth bickering full of sexual tension. Harper grows a lot over the course of the book, both personally and professionally and Ryan is there to love her through it all!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC.

>>>3.5/5<<<

This was such an entertaining read. Quite fast to read, as I wanted to get to know what had happened previously with our main characters. I loved hearing about Harper's job and her life, it was always so interesting and Harper was definitely a fun character to follow. Always late but always onto the next big story. She's quite chaotic, but you can't help loving her and her passion for her job. I would have hoped this one was a dual POV, I always find it hard not knowing what is going on in the other character's head and I feel like you don't get to understand them and their actions completely without it.

I enjoyed how Ryan was different when he was with Harper, it was so cute to see him more open and more talkative. I really loved his character, he was quite discreet but always trying his best to do the right thing, so precious. It was sometimes frustrating to see how easily Harper could put the blame on him when you could tell he was so head over heels with her and definitely only doing what he thought was the good thing to do. I mean, in the end there was really no good reaction for him cause no matter what he did, Harper would have been mad, that’s for sure. She was way too fast into putting the blame on him, and it was hard to get past that. I also wished Ryan would have fought harder. But he’s not very talkative and all, I get it, but still. It’s like they did not learn from their previous mistake. (view spoiler) There were some really nice side characters that I couldn't help but love!

Overall, the story was well done and it was not too focused on what I did find a little problematic so I really enjoyed my read anyways.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and the author for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

My goodness! I loved this one! I absolutely flew through the pages wanting more of Ryan and Harper's relationship and banter. They were such a perfect couple and had me laughing out loud at their back and forth (which is very hard to do for me). I loved this one so much! It felt very reminiscent of Emily Henry's writing style.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I want to preface that I loved Katy Birchall's 'The Wedding Season' so I was excited to receive an eARC of this book and had very high expectations. Like her previous novel, this novel is an easy read and gives you all the feels with a nice mix of enemies-to-lovers and second chance romance. However, I felt that it was a bit lacking. Each character seemed fleshed out and relatable but I couldn't see the attraction between the main characters apart from being told that they were previously involved romantically. I would have appreciated more fleshed out flashbacks as I didn't really get why they previously liked each other. Additionally, the final conflict between them seemed very childish of Harper. While I preferred Birchall’s other books, this was still nice to read and had me engaged throughout.

Katy Birchall does it again! I really enjoyed her previous contemporary romance, 'The Wedding Season' and jumped on the chance to read 'The Last Word'. Pretty much every trope I love is in this book: second chance romance, rivals-to-lovers, workplace romance. The characters are witty and funny and still a little bit in love with each other. What I really liked was that Harper and Ryan are individuals, they're complete characters on their own. Getting back together doesn't complete them, it just enhances who they are and what they have. Birchall is so good at creating relationships that really let the characters shine because of each other. Excellent, excellent read!

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