This book was absolutely wonderful. Katy has a way of writing such well rounded characters and stories. This story was funny and happy, and had real life moments in there too. The narration from the heroines POV is written so well, it’s funny and in this case chaotic because Harper is, and it’s just so good. All of Katy’s books are written like this and it’s so perfect every time. I almost always prefer dual POV, but Katy has the single POV perfected.

I am also such a sucker for enemies to lovers, but are they enemies? And an office romance is always SO GOOD. Oh and they have a past?? So we get to have some flashbacks?? I loved Harper and Ryan SO MUCH.

I loved seeing how good Harper is at her job. Especially since she struggled with people taking her job seriously - mainly her parents. She made it look so easy, even though she was straight chaos. But I LOVE a chaos girl so much. She was funny, and made people feel at ease, people trusted her. I loved her and Isabella’s fast friendship, it was quite honestly the sweetest thing.

I LOVED Ryan and Harper together. They had FANTASTIC banter. It’s the enemies to lovers banter, and it was written SO WELL. Especially when it’s more like rivals to lovers, and she is just annoyed with him because of what happened in their past. It was so easy to root for both of them. I loved them both individually just as much as I loved them tighter.

The way Ryan cared for Harper made my heart sing. He was in so deep, and quite literally everyone but Harper knew it. And that is my favorite. And really she just didn’t want to get hurt again, which is valid.

Thank you SO MUCH to St Martin’s Press and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honey review!

If I could choose any book hero to come to life, hands down it would be Ryan. I am usually not a fan of single point of view because I selfishly want to know what both sides are thinking, however Birchall does wonders with bringing the hero to reality without his point of view. Would I like a bonus with his point of view though? YES PLEASE.
This book is more than just an “enemies to lovers” romance as the history between Harper and Ryan will make you have all of the emotions (in the best way). This novel also touches on family relationship, loss, and finding the people who love you for your faults and all.
Put on all the sunscreen because The Last Word is the perfect summer read you won’t be able to put down.

Fun and wonderful - a really good romcom. Utterly readable and delightful with characters that are so well defined and articulated. I loved this book and can't wait to read more Birchall.

Thank you to @smpromance for my gifted copy of The Last Word, by Katy Birchall. This romcom is out on May 2nd, and will be the perfect addition to your beach or pool bag if you liked The Hating Game.

An enemies to lovers romance, The Last Word introduces us to Harper, a celebrity editor at a magazine with a talent for getting stars to open up to her. But, her boss hires Ryan, who betrayed Harper at a previous job. Tensions rise and sparks start to fly…

Fans of The Hating Game will enjoy and appreciate the banter in this one! It is pretty entertaining, especially as the book goes on. Plus, I loved Harper and how talented she was at her job. Love to see a woman succeeding like she does!

This was a fun read that I tore through in a couple of days. Harper and Ryan were such a fun pair - flawed in their own ways and I loved seeing them work through their issues and come together.

A romcom that features the enemy to lovers trope. Harper is a journalist who is about to get a big scoop on an actor's profile. She is annoyed though when her nemesis starts working at her company. As they spend time together though, Harper realizes that maybe she is wrong about him.

This was a fine romcom. I didn't think it was that different from other enemies to lovers. It also took longer than expected to get to that dynamic.

Harper and Ryan are journalists with a history. Is their history bound to repeat itself, or can they find a way to write their story a new ending?

Katy Birchall is quickly becoming an auto-read author for me. This is my third Birchall book, and it's another fun romantic romp.

*I received an advanced reader copy of this book from NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

An enemies to lovers with work place romance that I devoured! I enjoyed Harper's dedication as a journalist, her work ethic and drive to truly know those who she interviewed. The history she had with Ryan was easy to understand when changing between time frames and he's such a likeable character. Her family was less to be desired and probably relatable for so many. Harper's organization skills were the opposite of mine so that was fun to read about. I hope go read more books by this author in the future.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Katy Birchall continues to dazzle me, and I was utterly delighted by The Last Word.

Ryan betrayed Harper many years ago, and since then, she had guarded her heart and focused on her career. I am all for a second chance romance, and I liked that these two had those years apart to grow as people. Older and wiser, but still professionally driven, there were sparks every time they were near each other. They couldn’t seem to escape professional competition, however, I will admit I greatly enjoyed being in this part of their world.

Birchall wrote in so many interesting and entertaining situations with celebrities and star studded events. It was through these interactions that I saw a side of Harper that I adored. She was amazing at her job, and the kindness in her heart really shined during those moments. Ryan was an actual doll, and my opinions about him and their shared past changed quite a bit when I learned his side of the story.

Just a warning, the romance doesn’t really take center stage for quite a while, but it was well worth the wait! Harper and Ryan had a fabulous opposites-attract type thing going which was punctuated with lots of humor, swoons, and heat. Another great one from Birchall!

Harper Jenkins is a well-known journalist with a knack for getting celebrities to open up. She loves her job as a celebrity editor, but then her horrible boss went and hired Ryan Jansson. Harper met Ryan years ago when they were both starting as interns, and despite being complete opposites, the pair quickly started a whirlwind romance--until Ryan betrayed Harper, and the two haven't spoken since. Now they're thrown together again and butting heads at every turn. But somewhere between bickering over articles and who's going to what event, that spark starts to reignite and comes to a head when they're both sent on a romantic press trip abroad. With rumors of layoffs at their office, will Harper and Ryan maintain their air of professionalism, or will they give in to their desires?

As soon as I saw this described as a mix between The Hating Game and Beach Read, I knew I had to pick it up. Sadly, it didn't work for me. It wasn't a bad book; it just never piqued my interest. It was my first book by Birchall, and I don't think her writing style is for me. Do you know those chatty co-workers who never know when to stop talking? That's what the writing felt like to me. I also found the characters to be meh. Neither one stood out to me. For being an enemies-to-lovers trope, I expected the banter to be better. I wanted it to be snappy and witty, but it often came across as immature. I know the whole opposites attract saying, but Harper and Ryan felt so different that I didn't find their relationship believable. The story had a lot of potentials, but I found the execution lacking.

Thank you to Net Gallery and the publisher for this eARC.

First, I love Katy Birchall's "The Secret Bridesmaid" and "The Wedding Season". I really enjoy Katy's writing style and had very high expectations going into this book. This book did not disappoint, but my expectations are just super high because the previous books I read by Katy.

This book follows Harper Jenkins, a celebrity journalist at a magazine. She's a workaholic and thrives at her job, but also does not have her life together. She's dating some guy who's just using her for her industry contacts, always late, and messy (in the unorganized way). While her job is going super well, minus her horrible boss, that horrible boss decides to hire her nemesis from her past, Ryan. Ryan and Harper interned together years ago, and he's the complete opposite of her, neat, introverted, great relationship with his family. It also turns out they had a fling all those years ago. So if you're a fan of enemies to lovers and second chance romances this one is for you.

Some quick thoughts:
1. There's a lot that is annoying about Harper, but I like that she's an independent career woman that is good at her job and she knows that she's good at her job. Also, love that she's able to comeback from a set back at the end.
2. Harper rebuilding a relationship with her sister at the end. Very minor, but I love the family happy endings.
3. I mostly liked Ryan. He was definitely a jerk following their internship and needs to learn to stop keeping big secrets from the person he "loves" but overall I think he's a good person. He has a little growing to do, but I think he deserves a little more than Harper.
4. Harper's parents UGH. That's it, don't need anymore. Ryan's parents on the other hand was the sweetest humans.
5. And of course, need to give an honorable mention to the taxi cab driver. My favorite scene was Ryan and Harper delivering the celebrity's baby, and the taxi cab driver's complaints throughout that scene. Ryan and Harper were cute then, but the taxi cab driver just added the comedic element that I thought perfected the scene.

The Last Word is definitely a fun read reminiscent of The Hating Game with the fun work place setting and all the intense banter.

This book reminded me of another book from St. Martin’s Griffin, The Make-Up Test by Jenny L. Howe that I really enjoyed! They’re definitely picking up some great rom-coms right now!

If you want a hardworking, quirky, yet insanely kind FMC and a second chance romance, you would definitely love this book. I really loved Harper and her integrity. She was inspiring throughout the book and very relatable.

This was a cute story and I’ll definitely be looking for more books from this author.

Thank you to the author and publisher for my ARC of this book. This in no way impacted my review.

I am a big Katy Birchall fan and this book didn't disappoint! It was a change from her past two books, but just as engaging and well written. This one is more romance focused than the past two which featured friendship more than the love story.

This book tells the workplace enemies-to-lovers story of Harper and Ryan. They have a past relationship but things went wrong, and now they are competitors especially since their terrible boss has been degrading Harper's work.

This book was so charming! It was an easy, entertaining read with lots of fun banter. The relationship was sweet and steamy at times. I wasn't really expecting an open door scene, but it was well done. I love their chemistry and the opposites attract element of the story. There were also great friendship and work story lines that really added to the depth of the book. The one thing I could have done without is the boyfriend. I think the story would have been just as satisfying without him and it takes out one slightly questionable scene.

I will eagerly await whatever Katy Birchall writes next. She is definitely on my must read list!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advanced e-book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an eARC of this title. All opinions are my own and are honestly given.

When celebrity journalist Harper learns that Ryan– with whom she once interned and had a whirlwind romance before it all went wrong– will be joining her publication, she is determined to not let him throw off her game. After some initial bickering leads to returning feelings, Harper and Ryan consider giving things another shot until threatened layoffs mean that only one of them might be left standing…

The Last Word was so fun and charming– the perfect summer romcom and another winner from Birchall! I loved sunny, determined Harper and reserved, kind Ryan. The characters, plot, and tension were all well drawn, and I found myself staying up way too late to finish this one. This is a definite purchase for us in physical and digital formats, and I’m really looking forward to reading what Birchall has next. 4.75 stars.

Harper is the Celebrity Editor and absolutely loves her job...that is until Ryan is hired as the new Features Editor. Not everyone in the office knows this, but Harper and Ryan worked together as interns and even had a fling until he betrayed her. Now that they are having to work together again, they are forced to spend more time with each other and even have desks next to each other. The fight and argue all the time and to make it worse, Cosmo, Harper's boss starts giving more of Harper's work to Ryan. They both end up on a press trip and reconnect, but when they go back to the real world, Harper feels betrayed again and is not sure she will ever be able to trust him again.

The chemistry, even while arguing, between Harper and Ryan was so hot. It was like the Hating Game, but with history. I loved getting to see the past and how Ryan still cared for Harper even when she acted like she hated him. Their work friends being involved in getting them back together was so cute and I loved how it showed that actors can trust good journalists. The story of delivering the baby was hysterical.

Fans of The Hating Game by Sally Thorne won't be able to get enough of this second chance romance meets enemy journalists to lovers story weaved wonderfully by Katy Birchall.

Grumpy x sunshine, second chance romance, workplace enemies to lovers, dual timelines, he fell first, pining, and oh my god the banter was incredible. This book had all the tropes to keep me completely hooked into the story.

This story also dealt with feelings of inadequacy, difficult relationships with family, and fierce female friendships. I laughed, I cried, I went through the full range of emotions. Harper & Ryan both showed me how hard it can be to articulate your feelings, and how sometimes it can take something truly awful like losing your job to really re-evaluate yourself and become the best version of you.

Big thanks go out to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for giving me the opportunity to read this lovely book in exchange for an honest review.

DNF at 22% = THE LAST WORD comes across as juvenilely written and poorly plotted. I attempted to read this over the course of a three hour flight for my spring break trip, hoping a romance would be the perfect thing to capture my attention during my travels. Suffice it to say, I was disapointed to be caught in airplane mode with nothing else at the ready and no way of downloading a new ebook without paying $10 for wifi. Highway robbery.

“The Last Word” by Katy Birchall is a cute, enjoyable romantic comedy. Part second-chance romance and part workplace love story, the novel follows celebrity editor Harper Jenkins as she tries to deal with her newest co-worker—features writer Ryan Jansson, with whom she had a fling eleven years prior when they were both interns at another publication. It’s a pretty classic use of the “opposites attract” trope. She’s disorganized and chronically late, yet warm and likable. He’s sensible and quiet, yet observant and thoughtful. They butt heads frequently over their differing approaches to work and to life in general, but they both admire each other’s talents and share a palpable chemistry. The plot is pretty straightforward and a bit predictable, but overall it’s a good comfort read.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review. My review was posted online on March 30, 2023 to https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5430689015.

Like this author's other books, I truly enjoyed this story. Harper is an entertainment journalist who has put her career above all else. She's a trustworthy reporter and has a great reputation. Too bad the editor in chief at the magazine she works for doesn't appreciate her. Her parents don't understand her career choice either. She's dating a guy, Liam, who seems to be more interested in her connections than her. Ryan is a journalist who recently came to work at the magazine and ends up becoming the features editor. He's new to the magazine, but not to Harper. They had met over a decade earlier when they both interned at a newspaper. I love that Ryan's feeling for Harper were strong enough that he ended a relationship when she re-entered his life even though she thinks she hates him. Such a good read - 4 1/2 stars!

This book is a little hard for me to rate. I felt like the book took a while to get in to. I really enjoyed Harper a lot, she was a fun character. And Ryan was sweet. But this book felt really long for some reason. And the ending wasn't as satisfying as I wanted it to be.