The potential of this book was enormous. The Hating Game meets the Beach Read. It was also British. How could I not love it? Despite getting to 50%, I did not finish this book. Harper, a celebrity journalist, and Ryan, the reporter Harper's boss hired, were enjoyable characters. They were the ultimate hate-to-love couple. My favorite troupe. While Harper still had a boyfriend in the second half of the book, it seemed odd that Harper and Ryan should have started dating. The book was slow and longer than it should have been.

Thank you Netgalley and St.Martins Press for the ARC of this book. This was an honest review.

The Last Word was my first read by Katy Birchall, and it won’t be my last. Described as The Hating Game meets Beach Read, I knew I had to pick it up. While Ryan was not my favourite, he made me mad a few times - I really loved how relatable Harper was plus the witty banter and side characters were so fun!

Thank you so much to St Martins Press and Katy Birchall for an advanced digital copy via NetGalley in exchange for review!

Second chance romance, workplace, enemies to lovers

Harper and Ryan are both realistic characters and their chemistry was so enjoyable. I enjoyed the writing of their careers. I’m not always a fan of flashbacks but these ones worked. I thought this book was enjoyable and will read this author again

Harper Jenkins is at the pinnacle of her life, great job as a journalist and know to get the loose lip actors talking. But that all comes crashing down when her boss hires new editor Ryan. They both were fresh young interns when they entered the business and have not liked each other since. But their bickering turns into something more. Romance and career aren’t always easy to mix.

I really love a good enemies to lovers with bickering and humor and this story had it. Harper was a bit annoying to me at times, but what women doesn’t have an inner annoying voice. The sweet moments made up for it and made for a sweet romance.

I love a good enemies-to-lovers romantic comedy, and this one hit the mark for me. Harper is the Celebrity Editor at a weekly magazine, and she is fantastic at her job. Despite her chaotic messiness, she is great at connecting with people and drawing celebrities out in her interviews. When the office gets a new Features Editor, Ryan, the two of them are constantly bickering and butting heads over articles. It turns out that Harper and Ryan have a bit of a messy past together, and even if it's clear from the start that these two will end up together, I thoroughly enjoyed the ride. I loved both characters, and the supporting cast was great as well. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press / St. Martin's Griffin for a digital review copy.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I've loved and devoured The Secret Bridesmaid & The Wedding Season. But it pains me to say that wasn't the case for this one.

I enjoyed the setting of the book; workplace romance, hate-to-love, second chance. It started of great with very witty scenes & and humor, but along the way, it kinda felt flat for me.

Harper & Ryan's relationship was messed up & at the same time wasn't interesting enough. The whole deja vù & history-repeating-itself conflicts were not for me. One would think that Ryan wouldn't make the same mistake twice, or Harper wouldn't act a certain way twice, but nevertheless, they did.

Honestly, this book was supposed to be more romance-focused than the other 2, but I felt the previous ones had better, subtle romances going on, which felt way romantic than this. I did enjoy the humor, though! And the amazing supporting characters.

How long does it take to get over a broken heart, betrayal? Harper Jenkins will tell you eleven years is not enough, not even close! Harper has built a career she’s proud of as celebrity editor, trusted and known to be ethical. When her ex, Ryan, is hired as her boss she insists they pretend not to know each other. It’s clear to everyone but Harper and Ryan that the open hostility they’re directing at one another is red hot attraction.

This is a story of second chances, believing in yourself, found family, and staying true to yourself. It’s about knowing your worth, undeniable attraction, and serendipity. It’s a story of redemption, reinvention, and birth in a taxicab.

This is my second book by Katy Birchall. I read and loved The Wedding Season last year. Birchall is excellent at combining heartbreak, trauma, and anger, with success, empathy, and attraction. Everyday realities that occur simultaneously. She doesn’t sacrifice family drama on the alter of romance, grief and pain in favor of light and fluffy. Make no mistake, Birchall’s books are feel-good, satisfying, and you’re rooting for that HEA, the Happily Ever After. It’s a winning combination I’m hooked on and highly recommend!

This is a perfect book for Emily Henry and Christina Lauren readers! I recommend for your summer beach/pool bag, your next weekend away, or lounging in the park in a sunny spot! Many thanks to @StMartinsPress @KatyBirchallauthor and @Netgalley for the advanced reader copy.

The Last Word is Katy Birchall’s newest stand-alone romantic comedy. It is an enemies-to-lovers second-chance office romance. The Last Word is very different from her previous novels, The Secret Bridesmaid and The Wedding Season.

Celebrity journalist Harper Jenkins is known for getting tight-lipped Hollywood stars to open up to her. She loves her job as Celebrity Editor at a newspaper’s glossy weekend magazine. Until her awful boss hires Ryan to be the new Features Editor. 12 years ago Harper and Ryan were interns at the same publication, where they had a whirlwind romance. Then Ryan betrayed Harper, and they have been enemies ever since.

Harper and Ryan can’t agree on anything and bicker constantly; it’s like The Hating Game in a newsroom. Their banter and antics are hilarious, especially Harper’s habits annoying type-A Ryan. As they spend more time together, Harper realizes she may have misjudged Ryan and can’t help her growing affection for him. When they’re thrown together on a romantic press trip abroad, their chemistry comes to a head.

The Last Word is an enjoyable read featuring strong characters with amazing chemistry. Office romances, particularly second-chance ones, are particularly fun to read, and I couldn’t help but root for harper and Ryan to find their way back to each other. Katy Birchall writes engaging characters with snappy dialogue and witty banter, and her fans with enjoy this story.

I received an Advance Review Copy (ARC) from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I thought the story was cute. I was more invested half way through. I found myself trying to keep picking it up to finish it, but more for the fact to finish it not because I wanted to see what happens.

Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin for my arc in exchange for my honest review.

Publish date: May 2, 2023

This started off a little slow with much of the initial setup focusing on Harper and her career as a celebrity editor for a magazine.

But with that said, it does make sense. Harper loves her job! She’s great at it. She knows its worth, despite misjudgement from others. A true workaholic whose entire sense of identity is wrapped around her career. So really, I get why much of the story highlighted the ins and outs.

I was excited when the romance started to trickle in—an enemies-to-lovers, second chance romance with the new features editor, Ryan Jansson. Being complete opposites AND having a concealed history, it was immediate fun bickering!

With flashbacks thrown in from eleven years ago, it slowly reveals the reasoning for their bitterness—or shall I say Harper’s bitterness …

As I kept reading, I was left more and more frustrated with Harper. I think her attitude towards Ryan was unfair given the circumstances, both in the past and in the present. It was tedious to see history repeating itself with these two.

There are sweet moments intermixed that definitely proved their genuine connection, but I wasn’t overly in love with this romance.

Harper is a celebrity journalist able to get access to celebrities like no other, because of her integrity and empathy. She prides herself on her job, and works hard ... and is shocked to see a blast from the past she'd rather forget as a new co-worker.

Ryan broke her trust and things never recovered... will it change or stay the same now that they are in the same high pressure publication?

Katy Birchall's writing made this an easy read - you root for Harper and also wince or get frustrated, as we do day to day. This checks the boxes of a couple of tropes and is an entertaining summer read!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and to Netgalley.

The Last Word by Katy Birchall ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A big thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the ARC. This one comes out May 2.

I have enjoyed Birchall since The Secret Bridesmaid. Her previous two books were women’s fiction while this one landed squarely in romance. I think I missed a little bit of the themes from the previous books, but I still enjoyed this slow-burn romance.

The characters were well-developed and quirky. I found that I connected more to Ryan, who was the male lead. He was serious but sweet. A little funny and a lot misunderstood. Harper, the leading lady, drove me crazy with her messiness and constant ability to be late everywhere. This was absolutely an opposites-attract, enemies-to-lovers romance.

As far as plot, this one was a pretty typical romance (or at least as far as the ones I’ve read). A happenstance introduction, some past business, close proximity forced interaction, chemistry, a miscommunication, and a come back together moment. It didn’t deviate but that made it all the more cozy and comfortable.

All in all, this one, while predictable, is a cozy romance with some quirky characters.

The Last Word is a triumph of a romance novel. Well-written, with engaging characters and a snappy plot that never feels contrived, forced, or cheesy. While I, personally, would have liked more on the romance side, and I felt that the beginning was slow to get moving, I was left quite satisfied by the end.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ebook ARC. All opinions are mine alone.

I thoroughly enjoyed this enemies to lovers trope; co-workers who find themselves working together again, 10 years after a falling out. It takes awhile to find out what happened between the two (through flashbacks) but it was such a great story that you just had to keep reading to see what happens next between the two. A fun spicy romcom that I highly recommend.

Thanks to Netgalley for an advanced review copy of this book; I am leaving this review voluntarily.

3.5 stars

The Last Word had a lot going for it, enemies to lovers, second-chance at romance and a workplace romance all rolled into one with a healthy dose of misunderstood lovers sprinkled on top! Harper is a bit of a hot mess; a lot of frenetic energy & so much fun. Ryan comes across as more of a strong silent type. The two co-workers have a secret shared past together and Harper tries to avoid Ryan at all costs until they are thrown together on a work trip weekend away and Harper starts to see Ryan in a different light.

I enjoyed reading this one, even if it was a bit predictable. I loved escaping into Harper's world for a little while.

Thanks to NetGalley & St. Martin's Press for an advanced e-copy in exchange for my review.

The Last Word's blurb drew me to this light romance set around two journalists who have some serious emotional baggage and find themselves working at the same publication eleven years after an event fractured their relationship.

This slow burn opposites attract/second chance romance follows Harper, a celebrity editor who is respected by British celebs for her compassionate writing and likeable demeanour. But personally, she's a mess - perpetually late, disorganized and chaotic. She's the opposite of Ryan Jansson, her introverted, organized new coworker (and not-very-welcomed blast from Harper's past).

I liked Harper's professional side and how she handled her clients but in her personal life she was immature and her resentment for Ryan and how she was offended by ev-ery-thing he did became more frustrating and exasperating as the story progressed. The reliance on the miscommunication trope (my least fav trope) and the use of bickering instead of banter didn't endear me to this book, but I enjoyed seeing Harper stand up for herself.

This story had a very slow start and despite the cover and blurb, I would call this a contemporary fiction read, not a RomCom since the romance comes very late in the story and there's really no comedic aspects. But it does have a bit of heart and is an easy-going, light and predictable read.

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to St Martin's Griffin for the complimentary advanced copy which was provided in exchange for my honest review.

This was such a fun read!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
🌶️

It reminded me in a lot of ways of the Hating Game, but I’m totally okay with that since I loved it too!

Harper & Ryan meet as interns in 2012, and are then working together in the present. We get a dual timeline, showing what happened between them in the past.
They go from enemies to lovers to enemies to strangers to enemies to lovers again!

Ryan & Harper are both journalists, with different styles - total opposites - that teach each other along the way. Their banter is so fun, in your typical enemies to lovers way.

Besides the romance, it also told Harper’s story of growth in her career and her life. We see how she deals with lack of support from so many in her life - her parents, her sister, and even her own boss.

Read if you enjoy:
⭐️ Second chance
⭐️ Romcom
⭐️ Enemies to lovers
⭐️ Workplace
⭐️ Banter
⭐️ Opposites attract
⭐️ Dual timeline
⭐️ Slow burn
⭐️ He falls first
⭐️ Single POV/first person

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy to review. All opinions are my own!

There's little I love more than an enemies to lovers workplace romance. I was super invested in the romance between Harper and Ryan right from the start - and I think it played out really well and I was happy with their ending. The banter was exactly what I wanted from a light and easy weeknight read, while the actual plot was interesting and dynamic! I haven't read anything else by Katy Birchall, but will definitely be rectifying that in the future!!

Thank you so much NetGalley, St. Martin's Press/St. Martin's Giffin and Katy Birchall for access to this e-ARC!!

Having read The Wedding Season by the author I was very excited to read The Last Word. This is another funny and sweet story from the author. If you liked The Hating Game, this has a similar work place rivalry vibe. Harper and Ryan are very opposite, but their interactions are written in a way that it is easy to see the attraction at play between the two. The romance is slow burn, but the overall story was captivating and kept me engaged. I especially loved Harper's friends. Katy Birchall is a must read author for me now.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the advanced copy to enjoy.

Thank you to the publishing and Netgalley for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

This was super cute! A fun, easy read and I loved it!