I absolutely loved this book. Fast paced and fun. Enemies to lovers workplace romance with really fun character development of not just the main characters but supporting characters as well. Birchall’s witty banter had me laughing out loud several times. Highly recommend for a quick, fun read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this book! It was whitty, light and funny. Great read as I finished in one weekend. I would reccomend to a friend.

This book reminded me a bit of a British version of The Hating Game. It was a generally interesting, but I kept getting annoyed with Harper and her tendency to get so mad at Ryan for something that wasn't his fault. You would think she would have learned from the first time, but 10 years later she does the exact same thing. It was slightly ridiculous and Ryan certainly deserved better. All in all, I enjoyed it enough to read to the end, but it wasn't a favorite for sure.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. The Last Word comes out May 2, 2023.

DNF @ 20%

I found this to be unreasonably slow. She's just working? The entire time? The two main characters do not have a real conversation until 20% in, which feels like a long time to wait for a romance I'm supposed to buy into.
They are both pretty hostile and it seemed obvious where the plot was going and neither of these characters made me want to care.

Thank you NetGalley and St.Martin for the advanced reader's copy in exchange for my honest review.

The Last Word is a second chance romance, combined with enemies to lovers, combined with a workplace romance. Phew, hitting all the tropes!

Harper is an amazing celebrity journalist who truly cares about telling people’s stories. Years ago, she and Ryan met while interning together. Their internship ended in anger as one stayed with their first journalism job and one had to move home and find a different place to work. When Ryan is hired to work side by side with Harper once again, she is furious and full of plenty of petty, snarky comments. Their colleagues take note of the electric chemistry between the two, and maybe they will decide they don’t really need to be enemies.

I love a good snarky comment, so I had a ton of fun reading this book. Can Harper be extremely petty and juvenile at times? Absolutely, but it is usually hilarious when she does (like when she and Ryan get into a foot race to see who can get to the tube station first). The competitive drive is strong in both characters, but Harper tends to get far too defensive at times, making me root more for Ryan than for her.

I loved the dual timeline, getting to see the pair in the past when they first met. I would have loved to have had Ryan’s POV as well, especially during the conflict in the book. I’m still not sure what he was thinking there!

Oh, one last thing- Harper is a disorganized mess, and the descriptions of her flat and her desk and how she couldn’t find anything we’re about to give me anxiety 😂 She is a realistic character who fumbles about, forgets everything, and often has to stop and buy something because she forgot it, but she also has a heart of gold and is fantastic at her job.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was my first book by Katy Birchall, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! It made for a great vacation read. It didn't feel like a typical rom-com as I felt like the work aspect took priority over the romance, and I was really more invested in Harper's career. I did like reading about her success as a celebrity editor and the interactions that she had with various celebrities. Though Harper could be pretty immature at times and her and Ryan's bickering got a little old after a while, I did enjoy the evolution of their relationship, their banter, and their chemistry.

If you like the second chance romance, enemies-to-lovers, workplace romance tropes, I'm sure you'll enjoy this one!

Ryan is the new Features Editor at Harper’s magazine and also happens to be the ex that betrayed her when she was interning at her first publication. Ten years later, Harper has yet to forgive him so she is more than horrified to learn that she will have to sit next to him every day. The two are complete opposites and spend every chance they get bickering over the tiniest things.

Both MCs are journalists—I really enjoyed this angle and seeing them at work. Harper is the magazine’s Celebrity Editor and there are a lot of people in her life that don’t take her stories seriously (including her own boss and family). She is fantastic at her job though and I loved seeing her continuously prove everyone wrong like the badass she is.

I did enjoy this one overall. I thought it was funny, interesting, and charming but would have loved a little more chemistry between Ryan and Harper. I thought they were cute but also felt like something was missing—my dislike for the miscommunication trope may be factoring in here though because both characters frustrated me at times.

The Last Word by Katy Birchall started off slow for me, but quickly picked up and held my attention to the end. It is the story of Harper, a top-tier celebrity journalist and Ryan, another journalist, but also her nemesis. These two have a rocky past and are now tasked to work together, which starts the bickering of enemies with a huge infusion of chemistry. The only problem is while they know they can't stand each other, the two can't see that they really could be a great pairing. This is a fast-paced, fun rom-com that I would recommend for those looking for an entertaining story to immerse themselves in.

Honestly there are few things better to me than the vibe of “I can’t believe I like YOU 😒” and that is here in spades. Coworkers/enemies/friends to lovers. Reluctance. Second chance. You want a trope it’s here and it’s ready for you!

The one trope I do not like is the miscommunication trope and that one is a heavy hitter here - HOWEVER I know that is just me so it doesn’t make me like the book less, it just makes me mad at them 😂 sit down and talk to each other you absolute walnuts. I loved watching their friendship grow both times around and see them become better versions of themselves because of their interactions with each other.

I absolutely CRUSHED this book on a 5 hour flight home from a Taylor Swift concert.

The book is recommended for fans of Book Lovers and The Hating Game and I can’t help but agree. This book is a fun, light-hearted romcom about a (semi) enemies-to-lovers workplace romance.

Harper and Ryan are complete opposite. Harper is outgoing, bubbly and very disorganized whereas Ryan is quiet, reserved and extremely organized. Which is the obvious equation for butting heads in the workplace!

I really enjoyed the book, it’s light, fun and doesn’t take itself to seriously!

Even better than the hating game, few books have been this good at making me excited for everything else the author will write.

I absolutely loved this enemies to lovers workplace romance! It was hilariously cute while also having some highly emotional moments. I really struggled with the way Harper was treated by her parents and her boss because they were just so awful. But there were so many charming side characters, and some really fun and unexpected moments. This book checks off so many of my favorite romance tropes, and I'd honestly love to see a book written about Isabella Blossom.

Definitely check this out if you're a fan of enemies to lovers, workplace romance, forced proximity, and second chance. This book is very similar to The Hating Game in the best way possible!

4.5/5 stars

So far, I have enjoyed all of the Birchall books. I appreciate that they are also stand alone or at least the ones I've picked up have been. What I did find interesting is that this book actually struck me as meh from the description. I really didn't want to read another Hating Game because the last book heralded as such that I picked up was soooo disappointing. And the idea of a journalist stand off just didn't float my boat. But I started reading and was hooked. Sure, Harper being a hot mess and a slob drove me nuts, because I am more of a Ryan about tidy and organized spaces. Despite that, though, I genuinely liked her as a character. And I was rooting for her to find her HEA from the start. Ryan was a good fit as the romantic lead. He's a bit of her opposite in some things, but when you get right down to it, they had a lot of common ground not only in their careers.

Sure, some of the relationships with celebrities were a bit far fetched, but I still had a laugh. The taxi driver .... I do wonder if he ever realized who he had in his cab. No spoilers! I did want Cosmo to get more of a comeuppance than he did, but that's the only spoiler I will get close to spilling the beans on.

All in all, a satisfying read. Went very quickly and had a hard time putting it down.

I love a second-chance, enemies-to-loves workplace romance and Katy Birchall's newest, The Last Word, delivers on all three. As someone who works in publishing, I found the incorporation of changing media landscapes, worries about page views and social media, and layoffs all too real and highly relatable. I loved the main character, Harper's, creative, chaotic, talented energy contrasted with the straight-laced Ryan. This book was funny, heartfelt (hello, family drama), and delightful to read.

Birchall creates cozy worlds that allow for escape in all of her work. This book was no different and was truly a delight to read!

I was a fan of The Secret Bridesmaid by this author and was disappointed with her second. I’m always down for trying an author again because sometimes there can be duds in between. Sadly, this third book just didn’t do anything for me. I did like a few details out of the book but the overall romance wasn’t believable enough and one thing in particular felt way too convienant.

The book is told from one point-of-view and it comes from Harper. She works for a magazine and you can tell when she covers celebrities that she isn’t in it for the wrong reasons. She genuinely cares for these people and always sends her condolences when they are going through something rough. I feel like the book does a good job of showing the industry and what it is like to work for a company such as the one Harper does.

Her work gets a little dicey when Ryan enters the scene. They have previously known each other and all of that eventually comes to light later on in the book. For me personally, I may not have liked their romance because in a way it is a second-chance. I have a love or hate with them. The enemies-to-lovers aspect was fine, but also it felt a bit childish at times and over-the-top. My biggest grievance with it is the whole (spoiler incoming!) cheating fiasco. Sure, she just kissed him while having a boyfriend but to know it wasn’t right, talk about it, and just overly had her mind made up about her actual boyfriend was a lot. Harper showing up at her actually boyfriend’s house and he is with another woman, half-naked, who goes on to say yeah he has been unfaithful is just wow. It all felt too convenient and to not put so much blame on Harper. I wasn’t a fan. (Spoilers are done!)

Overall, it was okay. I am sure that others will love this one, but for me I couldn’t get into it as much as I would have liked.

Rating: 2.5 stars

After reading Birchall’s last book and loving it, I was so excited to get this one!
This is and enemies-to-lovers work place romance that’s been compared to The Hating Game.

The miscommunication played a prominent role in this one, which made it a tough read.

I liked Harper’s drive. She was messy and chaotic though. The emphasis on work rather romance was refreshing.

Harper Jenkins is a talented journalist who can get interviews with even the most elusive celebrities. Harper is completely lovable and endearing. She is also chaotic, messy, forgets everything, and is pretty much always late.

Ryan, who Harper met back in a journalism internship, enters her life again as he takes a job where she works. Things didn’t even well and they subject the entire office to their constant bickering.

The Last Word is a very sweet, angsty second chance romance and was a really enjoyable read.

The Last Word follows Harper, a celebrity journalist who works for a magazine and isn’t taken too seriously. Always late, messy and high energy, she’s not always best understood by her colleagues, and she definitely, definitely does not believe in love. Harder is always choosing work over everything else. Enter Ryan, another journalist who happens to know Harper and who personally ruined her belief in love. They now have to work side by side and sort through their past history which is hard to do because they left each other broken hearted.

I absolutely love Birchall’s books, and I wished more people read and talked about them! The writing is great, the story is interesting and always hooks me and they’re funny! i really liked Harper and Ryan, they had a good connection, Harper was a tad immature at times but it definitely fit with her character. Ryan was sweet and lovely and it was frustrating how the final conflict was so similar to the earlier one. I really loved the ending, the side characters, all was really well done! The book is interesting and enjoyable, a feel good story. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the free preview in exchange for an honest review. Can’t wait for the next book!

Review:
This story was compelling from start to finish. Harper is work focused, but also incredibly good at her job, which makes her humanity fly off the page. I loved her realtionships with the celebrities she interviews and how it humanizes them. Her passion for storytelling and the truth makes her so relatable and interesting. When her nemesis moves to her magazine we see a new part of her. A small, bitter part of her that loves to bicker and refuses to back down. As their backstory unfolds we understand their past and their relationship really starts to take off. The format of this story is the only thing that I wasn't sure worked. It dragged on a bit as we try to figure out how these people are related to each other and their past. It took a little bit too long for me to understand, not only why Harper was so mad, but who this random guy was and why she had such strong feelings about him.

Synopsis:
The Hating Game meets Beach Read in Katy Birchall's enemies-to-lovers romcom The Last Word, about a young journalist who puts her career (and her heart) on the line when her former work nemesis is hired in her newsroom.

Harper Jenkins is at the top of her game. A brilliant, determined journalist with a well-known knack for getting tight-lipped Hollywood stars to open up to her, Harper loves her job as Celebrity Editor at a newspaper’s glossy weekend magazine and has the best contacts in the business.

But when her awful boss hires talented reporter Ryan to be the new Features Editor, Harper is furious. Because the two have met before: a decade ago, they were interns at the same publication, where they fell into a whirlwind romance…until Ryan betrayed Harper, and they never spoke again.

Thrown together in a busy newsroom, their dynamic is a disaster from the start. They can’t agree on anything and bicker constantly—Ryan can’t bear how chaotic and messy Harper is; Harper finds Ryan’s condescending nature infuriating. They clash over who’s writing what article, and fight over who’s going to which event.

Yet as they’re forced to spend more and more time together, Harper realizes she may have misjudged Ryan and can’t help but feel a spark growing between them. Long buried feelings start to resurface and, when they’re thrown together on a romantic press trip abroad, their chemistry comes to a head.

But all is fair in love and magazines, and with the news that layoffs across the department are imminent, Harper is left to wonder: who will get the last word?