i definitely enjoy an enemies to lovers trope! Fans of Beach Read and The Hating Game will flock to this one!

Thank you to St. Martin's and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I'm a sucker for the enemies-to-lovers and office romance tropes so when I read the description for this title, I knew I had to have it and it did not disappoint. The banter and chemistry between Ryan and Harper practically leapt off the page and I couldn't turn to the next one fast enough.

The story was a little slow to start but once it picked up, it felt like riding a bike downhill and I was sad when the story was over. Will probably have to give it a reread!

I love me some enemies to lovers!! The connection bewtween Harper and Ryan was so so so so palpable! While this was on the predictable side it was still a fun little read. I love sweet little feel good romances and this one hit the spot!

I loved the development of the main character - she was so interesting! I found Ryan to be immature and just annoying. I found parts of this to be slow (and would say this is more women's fiction than romance) but it was a good weekend read. Thank you for the ARC!

This book is totally up my alley! I love a sensible enemies to lovers storyline, especially one set in the workplace. Power dynamics and the struggle to keep up appearances abound here, so if you're like me and love a generally predictable (in a good way!) romp of a book, this is for you!

Ohhh yeah! One of.my absolute favorite tropes, and executed in such a fun and addictive way. This is my first read by this Author and definitely won't be my last!

This was a fun enemies to lovers office romantic comedy. I love the banter between Harper and Ryan, but also felt the chemistry almost immediately. I really enjoy Katy Birchall's writing style.

Slow to begin with. Not too much character fun to draw you into them

So overly detailed
And honestly harper (love the name) is such a whiny flake. She’s kind of unlikeable in the beginning. She upbeat but also selfish.

20% into this I felt very bored. It took too long for the story to progress to keep my attention.

I loved The Secret Bridesmaid and maybe I had more high hopes for that funny charm to jump off the page.

Loved the setting though and Katy writing and will definitely read more from this author.

My first DNF of 2024 :(

I wasn't sure what to expect going into this one, but after getting half way into it I just didn't feel anything. I wasn't connecting to the characters and didn't feel motivated to keep reading. On top of that, I found the main character to be very immature and irritating at times. I also felt stressed out by her? She was so chaotic and disorganized that I had second hand embarrassment and was just itching to organize her desk because it bothered me SO much that she was constantly a mess.

I'm sad that I didn't enjoy this one, but I hope that somewhere out there it finds the readers who will love it <3

This book was a great office romance with enemies to lovers! It is great for anyone who loves an office romance and two people who hate each other being forced to work together. The forced proximity trope never gets old!

I tried to give this book a chance. I wasn't able to connect to the characters. I know this book will be enjoyed by other readers.

I love a good workplace romance - and one that doesn't have icky power dynamics with it. THE LAST WORD was so fun: second chance romance; workplace romance; career-driven FMC; celebrity gossip; and a dysfunctional family. Overall, I think it was well-paced; the mix of timelines was easy to follow and I was equally invested in each timeline.

My big sticking point was I felt it should have been over at 60% - I could feel the climax coming and then it was dragged out with a new storyline. Well the rest of the book was still well-written and I was drawn it, it almost didn't feel necessary.

Overall, still a huge Katy Birchall fan!

I LOVE Katy's books but unfortunately this was my least favorite to date. So much of it just felt like unnecessary fluff and I would've loved more plot or character development because it felt a little like reading cute/charming but mindless television if that makes sense.

Harper and Ryan.... Oh God this enemies to lovers of super competitive annoying couple in the same workspace...I just couldn't get into it. Set it down for more than a month and tried to pick it back up and ugh. I made it 35% of the way through before hating the characters enough to declare it a DNF.

I am a fan of Katy Birchall's writing, and I was happy to receive a copy of The Last Word. I am always down for an enemies-to-lovers office romance in the same vein as The Hating Game, and this book delivers along those lines.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

The Last Word employs a few favorite romance tropes - enemies- to-lovers, coworkers, second chance romance - and a dynamic workplace setting in celebrity journalism to good effect. I enjoyed Katy Birchall’s novel and will be keeping an eye out for her future books! Thank you to St. Martin’s and Net Galley for the advance copy.

Big thanks to Netgalley and SMP for this book. I love Katy Birchall, her books are always a good time. I liked this one, didn't love it! I didn't really like the main character Harper and because of that I found it hard to really root for them all the time, or her even.

I just could not get into this book. I felt the story line was kind of lacking and I ended up having to put the book down and move to another book.

It was DNF for me unfortunately.

I honestly didn't have any expectations going into this book, but I was pleasantly surprised once I start reading. I ended up really adoring this book! It had similar vibes to The Hating Game, but there was so much more heart in this book. Don't get me wrong, I loved The Hating Game, but there was something about this book that just really got me in the feels.

I really enjoyed the characters in this book. Harper is a badass at her job and you just want all the best things for her, even if she can be immature at times. She also has an irrational dislike for Ryan. Or at least it seems irrational until the pieces of their history are shared throughout the book. Ryan is a good guy and it's easy to fall in love with him. Even if he may do some shitty things on occasion. It was so easy to root for these two to get together!

I'm a sucker for an enemies-to-lovers plot and the pacing of this one was done really well. It didn't feel rushed or too slow. And I also really enjoyed the career elements to the story. It felt so relatable to how women are treated by male leadership in certain industries. I honestly wanted to punch Harper's boss so many times. But the character development in this book was perfect and seeing how Harper becomes such a stronger person throughout the book was so inspiring.

I will absolutely read anything else Katy Birchall writes! This is a definite must-read!

Rating: 4 / 5

Somehow I have missed reviewing this one on my feed here. Probably because it was just fine and nothing major to write home about. Cute little rom-com that was, honestly, highly forgettable. 🙃 ⭐️⭐️💫