[arc review]
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
The Last Word releases May 2, 2023

Holy smokes, I found Harper to be such an irritating character! And since this story was so character driven from her perspective, it definitely impacted my overall reading experience.
She’s a journalist and celebrity editor at the <I>Narrative</I> magazine. A highly disorganized, often tardy, workaholic. Her dialogue towards Ryan came across snarky and it put me in the worst mood. Harper was always trying to one up him when he was just minding his own business and getting his work done. She constantly had to have the last word which gave off a superiority complex.
Why was she <I>so</I> pressed about him bringing homemade cookies into the office? Like what did he ever do to you to make you so incredibly angry?
I don’t like people that continually show up late while acknowledging it, yet doing nothing to change the habit. It’s so rude.

Harper and Ryan are presented to us as rival workmates with an obvious past, although they’ve made it seem like they’ve just met each other to the rest of their friends and coworkers.
There are some flashbacks interspersed from 11 years ago when they first met as interns.

I don’t believe that they were compatible at all.
Ryan is a reserved and quiet man, has good intentions, a clean workspace — I can’t for the life of me see what he saw in Harper.

I’m shocked that this barely managed to get by with an HEA. It felt like there was maybe, at best, 2 full chapters of romance for the entire book.
It just was not believable. The pacing was incredibly off. Nothing was shown until well into the second half of the story.

I despise the use of cheating as a plot device, so it’s no surprise that I didn’t like it here either.
The conflict was an exact repeat of what happened 11 years ago between Harper and Ryan and their workplace positions which felt like a sick punch to the gut.
I was not rooting for a love story here.

Engaging, charming, and sassy!

The Last Word is an amusing, feel-good, enemies-to-lovers romance that takes you into the lives of both Harper Jenkins, a young woman who loves her job as a celebrity journalist and who is determined to prove to her family no matter what that it’s a worthy career, and the reserved, handsome Ryan Jansson who may finally have a shot at expressing his true feelings to the one woman he’s loved since he beat her out of a permanent position at an internship more than ten years ago.

The writing is humorous and light. The characters are hardworking, passionate, and stubborn. And the plot is a push-pull tale full of familial strife, workplace drama, tender moments, competitive rivalry, witty banter, expectations, friendship, chemistry, and love.

Overall, The Last Word is another sweet, spirited, highly entertaining read by Birchall with characters I couldn’t help but root for and a happy-ever-after ending that left me smiling, smitten, and more than satisfied.

Thank you to Katy Birchall, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I liked this one. It was a slow-burn romance, but it was worth the wait. Both Harper and Ryan were likable characters. The title makes sense when you read it because there is a lot of back-and-forth banter, each trying to get the last word.

This is one that I would recommend.

Harper Jenkins is a celebrity editor. She loves going to press junkets and movie premieres. You can really see her character shine when she is interviewing a celebrity. You see that she knows just how to ask the right questions at the right time.

Ryan Jansson interned at the same company as Harper had 10 years ago. She had hoped to never have to see him again. Until now, when he gets a job on her team seated right next to her. I laughed out loud when Harper gets mad that he comes in bareing homemade cookies on his first day.

I loved the stubborn nature they both had with one another. They were complete opposites at times with Harper’s messy desk overflowing onto Ryan’s very neat desk.

You then start to learn about their romantic past and unfinished feelings they both felt for one another. I definitely started to like Ryan more as the story went on.

This is a great enemies to lovers story.

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

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martins Press for the Arc in exchange for an honest review.

This one took me a minute to get into because of the journalism aspect. Once I finally got into the cute banter and romance aspect, I was hooked.

Harper is a real likable main character. Yes she was a chaotic mess half the time, but her love for her job and telling people stories just made the read come alive. She is really relatable at times.
Ryan was the complete opposite from Harper. He is a real neat freak and always has a strategic plan. Never lives in the moment.
Both Harper and Ryan was a great match and I loved reading their banter. It was also nice reading that ryan supported harper and her career. Never judged her and made her feel seen.
This was a real cute book and the writing was great. If you like enemies to lovers, second chance love, with cute banter then this book is for you.

I love rom-coms! That’s a fact and I love talking about rom-coms. The amount of joy rom-coms bring to my life is indisputable. This one was so great and I’m going to write the worst review ever because I don’t have the words to describe the emotions I felt while reading but I will try my hardest. This was a fun, enjoyable, lovely read and I’m so glad that I got to read this. This is my first Katy Birchall novel and I can’t wait to dive into her other books.

There are a bunch of tropes within this book like second chance and enemies to lovers. I really got How To Lose A Guy in 10 Days vibes because the main character Harper is a journalist. She’s really good at her job and loves what she does. She is defiant and finds true joy in being a celebrity journalist. Her boss hires a reporter, Ryan, whom she has a lot of history with. The story divulges into their dynamic working together.

There is a dual timeline which helps us understand why Harper and Ryan do not get along. There was so much humor in this book. I was laughing on the bus, in my room, and I couldn’t stop smiling at how Ryan treats Harper. He’s so lovely. I was understanding of Ryan when he messed up the first time which led them to stop talking but when he messed up again, I had to put the kindle down. I was flabbergasted.

One of the things I loved about Harper is that she stood up for everything she believed in. Towards the end, she created a safe space for herself and made drastic changes to who she is and what she wants to do with her life. She is an inspiring character and I think she’s my favorite character ever. Theres so much that happened but I don’t want to spoil it so I’ll leave you with this note: READ THIS PLEASE!!!

Loved this book!! It was such a sweet romance! I really appreciated the character development, especially for Harper. She felt like a real person, not just a character. Very cute read!

The Last Word is my first book by this author and I’m looking forward to reading more of her work. This is an enemies to lovers, second chance, workplace romance. It is light and fluffy and the banter between Harper and Ryan had me laughing out loud several times…I love banter in a romcom! I enjoyed the dual timelines and a look into their pasts. Harper’s character did get on my nerves at times but I adored Ryan so much! Overall, this was an enjoyable read and I can’t wait to read more of this author’s work!

I LOVE THIS BOOK!! You follow Harper, a celebrity journalist who works for this magazine called Narritive. Everything in her life is going well until unexpectedly her old collegue (fling) shows up and starts working in the same office, right beside her. The twist tho, they've worked together before. It ended brutally, will this time be any different?

I freaking loved Harper. She was an amazing journalist, was always able to bring out the best in everyone she talked to and she was a just all around a super fun character to read about. AND RYAN?? Lord where do I find me one. He may have messed up a couple of times, but he always had her best interests at heart and thats what matters. Harper and Ryans were literally made for each other, shes super messy and hes a neat freak, he always has to schdule things while she just does it on the fly, I LOVE them.

I also really loved the whole atmosphere of this book, and since Harper and Ryan were both journalists we get to see them interview famous people as well as take trips and write about it! (I mean they got to go to florence for free?? Now where do I sign up???)

Overall I really did enjoy this book throughly, it has second chance, polar opposites and a little (ok fine a lot) of miscommunication which I didn't particularly like but I understand why it was necessary. Definitly recommend :)

(Thank you so much to the publishers for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review!!)

MV Rating: 8/10
This is my number one romance so far this year. I loved every minute of reading this. The characters are so well written, the story is fun and engaging. You just can’t beat it!

I so badly wanted to like this one 🫣🫣🫣

I think it’s so hard to find a good romance lately. I was stoked when I got approved for The Last Word but I was sadly disappointed. The characters were flat and I just didn’t care about them. I didn’t feel bad for Harper and her issues with her parents, nor did I really care about the issues between her and Ryan. I also thought that much of the plot was predictable. It followed the cliche romance plot development to a T and many of the “problems” I inferred were coming. There just wasn’t enough uniqueness in this one for me.

Thank you to the publisher for this ARC in return for my honest review.

Thank you to St Martins Press for my complimentary eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Last Word was such a very entertaining read. I absolutely loved the forced proximity working conditions, and laughed right along with their colleagues whenever Harper and Ryan started "fighting".

I enjoyed the witty banter and slow burn romance between Harper and Ryan. The back and forth time line was easy to follow. I was more vested in their lives once I got a glimpse into their past encounter. I will overlook the third act breakup and miscommunication that is prevalent throughout the story. These elements are such an important part of Harper and Ryan's story. Do not even get me started on the relationship Harper has (or does not have) with her family. I am so proud of the way she was able to resolve that situation. Ryan deserves all the credit for making her see her self worth.

This was my first Katy Birchall novel, I am off to add her others to my TBR!
The Last Word is perfect for those of us who enjoy:

Enemies to Lovers
Second Chance
Office Romance
Forced Proximity

The Last Word is a story of two kids falling for eachother, falling apart, and finding their way back as adults.

I really enjoyed my time with Harper and Ryan. I loved how committed Harper was to her job, the difficulties with her family, and her reluctance to trust. I was surprised by how long it took to get to the "romance" of this book -- Ryan didn't show up until about 20% in -- but it allowed time to really understand Harper first.

I loved the way the author wove in scenes from the past and how those interactions mirrored the present day, especially when it came to Ryan. His anxiety yet quiet confidence was intriguing and mesmerizing.

Overall, a fun read but not as much of a straight romance as I was anticipating. The book focusses so much on Harper and her work which was surprising, but ultimately made for a great story.

What an adorable, lighthearted book! The main characters are so relatable and easy to like, especially Harper. This book has the classic enemies-to-lovers trope but the main characters have a deeper past that adds an element to their love story. The dialogue felt a bit chaotic at times but it didn’t stop me from compulsively reading to see how it ends. Definitely recommend if you’re looking for an easy beach read!

THE LAST WORD by Katy Birchall is a lovely enemies-to-lovers to enemies-to-lovers, second-chance office romance. The beginning was a bit slow, with a lot of info dump exposition on every character as they were introduced. Once I got past that, the story got really good. I appreciated how both characters' personalities were fleshed out and the relationship blossomed from rivals to friends to lovers to enemies The timeline switches between past and present, slowly revealing their history repeating itself, which I thought was an elegant and artistic way to do it. And their careers as journalists was a very interesting and cool part of the story as well. I could totally see this as a Notting Hill type rom-com, and I would definitely watch it!

THE LAST WORD comes out May 2, 2023. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

The Last Word is a romance, but romance isn't all there is. I honestly felt like the romance was a pretty small portion of the book overall. The story felt a little slow at times, but it also felt necessary to allow time for explanation/back story/build up.

I loved the male main character, Ryan. He reminded me of Charlie Lastra from Book Lovers in the best ways. The female main character, Harper, is chaotic. I liked her, but she also came across as immature and - with the story being from her first person POV - I found myself getting annoyed with her a lot.

Overall this was a cute read, but not one that I'm obsessing over. 3.5/5 stars from me.

Read if you like:
-office romance
-second chance
-enemies to lovers
-found family

Didn't really connect with this at all -- I thought I would, based on the premise, but the characters came off as flat to me, and the flashbacks were not particularly compelling.

DNF'd this at about 25%.

There were too many characters and too much going on. I wanted to get to the romance! I like this author's other work, but this one just wasn't clicking for me.

This was…fine

I really wanted to like it, it’s set in London which I love. The MCs are journalists which sound fun, but I was bored throughout most of it.

Katy Birchall gives me all the Sophie Kinsella vibes! She is one of the few authors who do single POV that I'm usually okay with. It's def more women's fiction which I can sometimes be in the mood for.

This is one of her more heavy romance book which isn't saying much because it's still a slow burn. But the chemistry is very there, but I did want to pull my hair out with how stubborn they both could be when it came to the other.

I was annoyed with both characters. I usually side with a heroine, but she wasn't the most relatable. I think I wanted to like her more than I really did. Like I love to hold a grudge (unfortunately lol) but it had been 11 years and she acted like she hadn't moved on AT ALL. And she literally had a bf. But she did come around.

As usual, I'd love a peak inside Ryan's head, but this was Harper's story above all else.

Overall, if you liked The Wedding Season and The Secret Bridesmaid I think you will enjoy this one as well!

3.5 stars!