In this second chance, dual timeline romance, we follow Harper semi-thriving (her boss Cosmo clips her wings) in her magazine job as the celebrity editor, while her former co-intern from ten years prior, Ryan, joins the staff as the features editor giving them the opportunity to retry the romance that began ten years prior. There's a lot of enemies-to-lovers bickering that happens first.

The only reason that I didn't give the book one star is that I didn't mind the writing and some personality aspects of Harper - she's messy, always late, has a way with interviewing celebrities, and is tenacious. That said, by the end of the book I despised her. I couldn't get past her lack of character growth to truly enjoy her quirkier attributes. I couldn't get past the fact that Ryan, her love interest, also doesn't change throughout the book. I didn't buy them as a couple and not for a second did I buy that they grew enough as individual's to be together. Their arguments were childish, repetitive, and unprofessional. There was absolutely nothing sexy about it.

Harper and Ryan aside, I enjoyed the cast of secondary characters minus her family that I felt didn't propel plot forward at all. I did like where Harper ended up in her career.

I’ve been focusing on upcoming releases lately, and this one comes out on 5/2/23. Truly some of my favorite tropes covered here - a workplace romance, a second chance, enemies to lovers, and meddling friends - The Last Word had them all. It was such a fun read! Like most workplace romances, there’s always an annoying character you’re waiting to get their ass handed to them, and there’s no exceptions here. There’s fantastic chemistry between our main characters which is really driven home by some dual-timeline storytelling, and even with the lower level of spice, you can still really feel the tension between the two of them.

A special thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press & Wednesday Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Reading this felt like reading The Hating Game, but not as funny or romantic, but keeping some banter. It was not as romantic as I'd hoped, but it was still cute. The book made me more interested in who Harper is and what she does for a living rather than her romance with Ryan. I felt like there was too much trying to be crammed from her job to her family problems,

Additionally, the relationship between Harper and Ryan was immature, always fighting however, when they finally got together, they were a cute couple. Regardless of my liking of the book, Katy does a beautiful job portraying who Ryan is, and you can tell he cares for Harper and adores her.

Read if you like:
1. Rom-Coms
2. Workplace Romance
3. Enemies to Lovers

Loved this book! It was such a fun read and would highly recommend.
It is a fun love story of Harper, an entertainment writer with all the great connections in London telling the stories other celebrity reporters are missing. She met Ryan, a serious, quiet writer as interns over 10 years ago. Now, they work together at the same magazine. It is witty, quirky, and sweet. I loved how Harper grew to believe in herself and what she does and her passion for her work.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!

I absolutely loved this book! I have read two other books by Birchall, but this one is her best one yet. Harper and Ryan had great chemistry, and their backstory was handled perfectly. This was just a downright fantastic romance. Highly recommend!

After reading both The Secret Bridesmaid and The Wedding Season by Katy Birchall I was so excited to read The Last Word! While I really loved The Secret Bridesmaid, I was lukewarm about The Wedding Season so I’m happy to report THE LAST WORD exceeded my expectations and I absolutely loved it!!! The Last Word is a single POV starring Harper Jenkins, a journalist who 10-years ago when starting out her career had a memorable love-hate interaction with a fellow journalist, Ryan, who was also just starting his career. In a style I felt similar to People We Meet On Vacation (Emily Henry), there are flashbacks between the present and past. A majority of the book really features the enemies to lovers trope, which is one of my favourite tropes, plus office romance that I admit was reminiscent of the Hating Game sometimes like the blurb suggested. I also really loved Harpers fun job as a celebrity journalist (but her journalistic integrity was amazing)!

I seem to fall particularly hard for male lead characters like Ryan, and as someone that has never really struggled in social interactions, I related to Harper and found his awkwardness and sometimes shyness just so endearing. It was a fast read and the slow burn decade long build up left me thoroughly satiated!!

4.5 stars rounded up. I was honoured to be gifted an ARC so that you to Katy Birchall, the publishers St Martin’s Press and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to St Martin’s Press for the ARC. Publication day is May 2nd 2023!

I actually really enjoyed this read! It was a cute enemies-to-lovers romcom, and can you ever really go wrong with them! Throw in a second chance workplace romance with some forced proximity, sprinkled with witty banter and there is the recipe for success!

Harper is a successful journalist who writes celebrity profiles and interviews for a London based magazine. Ryan is hired on as the new features editor. The only problem? They have met before, ten years ago, as interns for another company. Their short lived romance went up in flames and the haven’t seen each other since. Can they fix what went wrong or are they doomed to despise each other for the foreseeable future?

I enjoyed the slight dual timeline aspect of the story! I also really liked that there was a focus on Harper’s career and the romance was sprinkled in! I love a career driven MFC! I also really liked the witty banter between Harper and Ryan! Mimi scheming was pretty great as well! I also really liked the juxtaposition of family between them! There is some steam but doesn’t develop into open door spice! These moments are preceded by some cute and romantic scenes.

The one thing I could not completely get passed was the overuse of the miscommunication trope! I mean these are two adults in their thirties that are rehashing the same problems they had in their twenties. You would think they would have matured some in ten years.

Also can we petition for more rom-coms with duo POV? This would have been great with some chapters told from Ryan’s perspective!

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and would definitely recommend this to any romance reader!

Harper is the best journalist (seriously, ask anyone) in the game. She can get anyone, celebrity or otherwise, to open up and feel comfortable talking to her. Sure, she’s a bit messy and chaotic and always seems to be running late- but she’s fine with that!

When her jerk of a boss hires Ryan to be the new features editor, Harper is less than thrilled. She knows Ryan, they had an internship together. Oh, and a whirlwind romance. But she hasn’t seen him in at least 10 years. Not since the betrayal. With their differing work styles, their reunion is off to a terrible start. They disagree on everything, constantly fight and cannot stand to be around each other.

As they start to spend more time together, Harper realizes she may not have given Ryan a fair chance. And when they’re forced to travel to Florence together for work, their chemistry comes to a head and sparks finally fly.

•

I didn’t expect to love this book as much as I did! It definitely has ‘The Hating Game’ vibes, but this, IMO, is better. I loved the author’s writing style. She wrote a fun book, with a cute storyline and likable characters (minus you Cosmo. And Harper’s parents. Terrible.) I was invested in Harper and Ryan’s romance form the start. This was the perfect enemies-to-lovers, second-chance, opposites attract, slow burn romance I didn’t know I needed in my life and I was not disappointed. If you need any of the above in your life, you need this book- you won’t be disappointed.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

Overall, I enjoyed this novel, but I did think that the weakest aspect was the the romance, which is obviously pretty crucial for a romance novel.

I liked the protagonist, Harper, and how passionate she was about her job. Although Harper clearly had her flaws, I could still understand why she was lovable. Her love interest, however, was fairly bland and I never really understood why she fell for him beyond his good looks. It felt like she went from hating him to being into him out of nowhere.

I appreciated the major conflict between the characters. It felt appropriate enough to be a real conflict, but not insurmountable. I also thought both characters behaved in a way that was understandable.

I didn’t love the ending just because it felt like a very fast resolution and I didn’t necessarily buy that the heroine would have the skill set required to pull it off.

I think it works a little better as a novel about the heroine’s career than as a romance.


I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 rounded up. I like Birchall’s writing style, especially that she doesn’t use a ton of British wording so it doesn’t feel quite so foreign. Harper and I would never be friends; she’s a mess, but I respect how the character was written and I think she had decent development. Some of the side stories (namely the parents) got a bit too much airtime for me; the book did feel longer than it needed, but I also didn’t mind spending more time with the characters. Would personally love to see more of Mimi.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoy this book! It is a very fun second chance work place romance that actually feels appropriate and has a career driven woman who is a bit messy (something we don’t see nearly enough!). I’d say this has some similarities with Book Lovers or Shipped and I think this is a great fit for any reader

It didn't quite live up to how good The Secret Bridesmaid was for me, but this was still a fun enemies-to-lovers, second-chance-romance, workplace romance all wrapped up in one! Harper is a celebrity journalist who used to work with Ryan when they were interns, and couldn't stop bickering. Now he's back with a new job at her magazine, and they jump right back into their old ways. But you know they will sort it out eventually! I loved the plot lines where she connected with Isabella Blossom and Audrey Abbot to write interviews about them, and how we got to see a side of celebrity journalism that isn't all about tearing people down to get a buck.

The Last Word, by Katy Birchall is a fun easy read that had so much unmet potential.

It is the story of Harper Jenkins a entertainment journalist for a glossy weekly magazine, who is appalled when Ryan Jansson gets a job as the Features journalist for the same publication. They had a burgeoning relationship 11 years earlier, when they interned together, until, Harper felt betrayed by Ryan and never spoke to him again. So, when they are thrown together again, they bicker constantly and disagree about everything, despite recognising their continued deep feelings for eachother.

While I appreciate the enemies to lovers and office romance tropes, I found this story trite. Harper and Ryan felt like teenagers bickering rather than thirty-somethings with the benefits of hindsight, open communication, and emotional intelligence.

The end result is that this story with so much fun-loving potential felt flat and immature.

Thank you so much Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for the Arc!

3.75/5 stars! Based on the premise, I was excited to read this contemporary romance. This story felt like another version of The Hating Game, which I loved. I really enjoyed this second-chance opposites-attract enemies-to-lovers romance. Talk about tropes within tropes within tropes! This is a light and fun romance and a quick read, but an enjoyable one.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Harper loves her job as a celebrity journalist, and she is good at it. When she learns that Ryan will be working next to her, she is furious. Ten years ago, they were interns together and she believes he betrayed her. They have not spoken since. I really enjoyed the times Harper was interviewing celebrities and when Ryan and Harper were together enjoying each other’s company. I felt the constant bickering back and forth in the office was tedious and unprofessional. She was so self-absorbed that when she felt Ryan betrayed her, he was just doing his job. I liked Ryan a lot. He was patient, kind, and dedicated. When Ryan and Harper were together without the bickering, the book was worth reading!

The Last Word by Katy Birchall is a fun romantic comedy that will have you hooked from the very first page. Top-notch celebrity journalist Harper Jenkins is at the top of her game as the Celebrity Editor at a glossy weekend magazine. But when her boss hires Ryan as the new Features Editor, Harper finder herself faced with a decade-old hurt.

As Harper and Ryan navigate their work dynamic, their constant bickering and disagreements make for a tense work environment. However, as they spend more time together, they start to see each other in a new light, and the chemistry between them is undeniable. But with layoffs looming, Harper wonders if their love can survive the challenges ahead.

Birchall's writing is witty, engaging, and full of charm. The chemistry between Harper and Ryan is electric, and their interactions will have you laughing out loud. The Last Word is a delightful and fun read that will leave you with a smile.

I read both of Katy Birchall’s other books last year and they were two of my top 2022 reads, so The Last Word became one of my most anticipated reads of the year. This enemies-to-lovers/second chance follows ambitious journalist Harper, a vivacious celebrity editor with a knack for talking to people. But her job gets turned upside down when a new features editor starts and it’s Ryan, someone she interned with years ago and fell into a whirlwind romance with until he betrayed her trust. This workplace romance was addicting. From page 1, you know Harper and I just loved her. I love the frantic messy energy of her, even though it makes me want to clean her apartment and desk. And Ryan is such a strong character too, he is so ambitious and endearing, and I just love how he really shows up for Harper. He’s loyal and kind but in a way that’s honest to Harper. Their banter is so strong and I like how they push each other’s buttons and challenge each other. Their romance is spicy and fun, and their connection felt really organic, the progression from enemies to lovers happening gradually and naturally. The conflict felt real, there was nothing forced and the miscommunications felt understandable. This felt like more of a romance than Birchall’s other books, which have romance but are a little more woman’s fiction, but what I loved too about it is how much it highlighted Harper as a strong woman making her dreams come true. It was witty and romantic and emotional and just truly a fun read.

Thank you so much to Net Galley, the publisher, and author for providing this book for my review. This was such a cute enemies to lovers rom com. Enemies to lovers is my favorite trope and this book certainly did this trope well. I also really enjoyed the dialogue and main character. This was my first book by Katie Birchall, but it won’t be my last. I can’t wait to read more from her. Thank you again for this delightful book. I highly recommend it.

I adored this book. I really did. I loved Harper. I loved how quick witted and funny she was. I almost hated Ryan until his character was brought into the story more, then I loved him. I loved the chemistry between them. I loved the banter. Heck, I even loved her friends that were around through most of the book. I ended up finishing this book in a day because I absolutely couldn’t put it down. I haven’t had a book like that in a few weeks where I couldn’t stop reading and this just made me so happy. I really recommend this book to anyone that needs a happy read. Were there heavy moments? Yes. But overall, the book was very much a feel good book. Not a whole lot of spicy scenes and even the spicy scenes weren’t explicit. Not much cursing either. It was a pretty safe book all around. Honestly, this was just such a fun read. Highly recommend!!!!

**Just ok for me but still a cute read!**

This story of a work obsessed woman named Harper who has to work with Ryan an old colleague and one-time romantic fling was a cute story. I enjoyed the writer's take on Harper and her personality and the storyline was cute but something seemed off about it for me. I didn't dislike it per say but it wasn't a favorite. Like I said I did enjoy Harper's messy personality and passion for her job. She felt like someone I would know and the backstory with her and Ryan was also very believable and relatable. I will say while the book was hard to get into for me the last couple chapters and the epilogue I really enjoyed. It was a good story of a real girl with real life problems making her mark on the world in her terms!