4.5 stars

I thought this book was awesome! It was my first book by this author but it won't be my last.

The bickering between the two leads would probably be exhausting to be a part of but was hysterical to read about. The race to the tube station had me in stitches.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from St. Martin's Press through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you, St. Martin's Press!

Enemies to lovers is one of my fav tropes and this book does have all those Hating Game vibes. However, was totally drawn to the Harper character’s career and was rooting for her success in that just as much as the love story!

The banter is great, fun to see them lose their heads around one another, and the story was nicely told through a series of then and now flashbacks.

This was a fun and satisfying read - my first from this author. You’ll definitely love it if Beach Read and Hating Game are your vibe!

4.5 stars rounded up. I’ve loved both of Katy Birchall’s previous books, and this book maintained that trend. I love a good office romance, enemies-to-lovers, and in this case, even a second chance thrown in there. Harper and Ryan are so opposite in their personalities and work styles that it makes absolute sense that they butt heads constantly. It also makes sense that there’s a fine line between antagonizing and attraction.

I loved Harper’s character. She’s driven, talented, and confident in her work. She’s a celebrity journalist with integrity and it’s something that is recognized and appreciated from those in the industry she has to connect with. She’s determined to get her work the placement it deserves, even though she has to fight against her boss at every turn. (Cosmo is the WORST.)

Onto Ryan. Sweet, introverted, communication-stunted Ryan. As an outside observer, it’s clear that as frustrating as Harper’s chaos is to his organized mind, he also finds her completely endearing. It’s also clear why she wouldn’t be able to recognize that. He doesn’t make it easy for her. The moments where he finally uses his words to express just how much he admires and respects her work are so lovely and so important for someone like her, who has had her family belittling her career for her entire adult life. There were times I wished he’d had a bit more of a backbone and pushed back against Cosmo the horrible boss. It seemed to me like his role was elevated enough that he would’ve had a leg to stand on if he chose to challenge Cosmo’s directives.

Which brings me to the third act. It’s basically a standard in the romance genre to have a third act break-up, and the main thing I’m always wondering as I approach it is “Is this going to make sense or is it going to be contrived drama for the sake of drama?” It absolutely made sense in this book. In the given scenario, I would’ve reacted the same way. It was natural. I also appreciated the way the time was spent before the reconciliation. This third act was one of the best I’ve read recently.

I really enjoyed this book, and I feel confident that anyone who has read Katy Birchall’s previous work will too.

Thank you to St Martin’s Press for this eARC copy of Katy Birchall’s latest book, The Last Word! I previously received a copy from them of her last work The Wedding Season and adored it so I was thrilled to get a copy of The Last Word.

This one was absolutely more romantic than the last two books by Birchall, but just as heartwarming and soft. Workplace enemies to lovers can work if it’s done right and I feel like in this case, it was done really well! I was invested in Harper and Ryan’s story and it had me smiling the whole time.

Ever since the Secret Bridesmaid I've been a big Birchall fan. I'll read anything by her and this was not a let down. The characters were breezy and the book in general was a good mix of semi-serious and funny. I did hope we wouldn't overindex on the miscommunication but it's a trope and that's what it is. Felt a little predictable a times but the characters were dynamic enough that she pulled it off. I'd recommend this as a pick me up for anyone needing one, or anyone even just having a fine time along in life. 4/5

The Last Word was so much better than The Hating Game. I really enjoyed this book. It was certainly less romantic than I thought it would be, but that’s okay! I loved Harper. She is such a great character. She had her flaws, but she is genuinely such a good person which is why Ryan loved her. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this great book.

I absolutely loved reading this book. I was completely drawn into the topic and could not stop reading it.

Spoiler-free review

The Last Word is another angsty enemies to lovers romance. The novel follows workaholic Harper Jenkins who loves her job as a journalist and encounters Ryan, the guy who betrayed her 10 years ago. In this light-hearted rom-com readers experience her character grow as she
figures out where her love life is headed.
However the romance in this book wasn’t what stood out to me. I was more drawn to Harpers devotion and work ethics that built up her personality. Although the humorous banter between Ryan and Harper was quite entertaining! Overall the characters definitely stood out in The last word.

My reasoning for 3 Stars
The Last Word was somewhat slow at the beginning as it took awhile for me to get into reading it. This book unfortunately just didn’t stick out to me as well. I don’t think this is a bad book it just feels forgettable and I felt like I’ve read other books with similar tropes.

Do I think you should read The Last Word? Yes! If it sounds like your cup of tea then go for it as this is definitely a light fun read. This book will be published May 2nd of 2023!


e-ARC provided by NetGalley and publisher. (Thank you!)
I requested and received an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
All thoughts and opinions are mine.
EXPECTED RELEASE DATE: May 2nd, 2023
REVIEWED: 2/23/2023

This book was the perfect enemy to lovers, I mean I finished this book so fast, I'm in love. I love how the author took the approach of her being a journalist and I loved following her career! I absolutely loved Ryan. This book started a little slow but started to pick up as the banters between these two started and I love me a good banter! I also loved the amount of time they were enemies, I feel some authors rush into the love part but this was perfect! I cannot wait for the release and to reread this!!

This was my first book by Katy Birchall and I enjoyed it!

Harper Jenkins is a Celebrity Editor at a magazine and is really good at her job. She’s known for being trustworthy and getting celebrities to open up to her. When the Features Editor position at the magazine opens up, her boss gives the job to Ryan Jansson. Ryan and Harper have a history. They both interned at the same place right out of college and do not get along. Now they’re forced to sit beside each other and work together everyday.

I thought this was a quick, cute read. I adored Ryan and how he was shy and quiet with everyone but Harper. I liked seeing Harper change and grow throughout the book. In the beginning she seemed to actually hate Ryan so I wasn’t sure how they were going to end up together.

I love slow burns but I felt like this started really slow. Harper was immature at times but by the end I was happy to see how she matured.

Overall, I liked this book and recommend if you’re looking for a cute enemies to lovers, workplace romance!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley, Katy Birchall & St. Martin’s Press for an arc of The Last Word in exchange for an honest review. This review is wholly my own & may not be reproduced.

This has been dubbed as The Hating Game meets Beach Read. Loved both of those so I knew I was definitely down for this one as well.

This is an enemies-to-lovers rom-com centers around Harper, a determined journalist and Ryan, a newly hired reporter. And Harper is furious about. 10 years prior, Harper & Ryan had a whirlwind romance and he betrayed her, so now she pretty much hates him. The fight all the time at work and disagree on everything. They are a disaster together. But as time passes on, they both realize that they don’t hate each other as much as they think they do.

This story definitely gave me The Hating Game vibes. It was a cute rom-com that I read quickly and enjoyed. I will say that I enjoyed The Secret Bridesmaid & The Wedding Season more. This was definitely a cute story, but not something I will just gush over.

If you like Katy Birchall and/or rom-coms, definitely pick this one up when it releases on May 2, 2023.

3.5/5 Stars

Honestly Katy Birchall could write about toast and I would read it, add in the fact that The Last Word is an enemies to romance - in the office - HILARIOUS- love story and you have a 5 star read!!

I want to start by saying The Wedding Season and The Secret Bridesmaid were both 5 star books for me. I LOVED them so much and was beyond excited when I got this arc emailed to me. This book started out strong and made me laugh. Harper is a hot mess- unorganized and perpetually late but amazing at her job as a writer. The banter between her and Ryan was funny…until it wasn’t. I felt like it dragged on for way too long and that coupled with total lack of communication from both of them, made the book far less enjoyable than I was anticipating. It really hurts me to write this review but having said that, I will still read anything Katy Birchall writes. Her others were my top reads last year and I’m still a huge fan. Thank you so much to NetGalley for this ARC!

Very enjoyable, you're rooting for Harper every step of the way. Her character arc if great and you're on her side the whole time

This book was cute and fun to read! I love a romance novel that gives equal weight to the romance AND the main character’s personal growth- typically, the latter feels like an afterthought. The characters in this book felt real and believable, and it was hard not to love and root for them. I’d recommend it to fans who liked Beach Read but wished it were more British.
Thanks to St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy!

There’s a thin line between love and hate. We find this out in The Last Word.
Harper and Ryan first meet at an office they were both interning for. Total opposite work ethic but seemed to get the job done just to one up the other. After starting to get along Ryan ends up hurting Harper and she never wants to see him again. Easier said than done. Years later they both end up working in the same building but different companies, until Ryan is moved and ends up right next to Harper's desk. Let he fun begin.
Harper is a very likable character; she is kind to her friends and also her clients. Loved all the parts that Ryan and Harper were together. So much fun banter between the two. There was chemistry and sweet moments that made you want them together. So much going on in this book: office romance, opposites attract, hate to love relationship, secret feelings and much more. You know it’s a good book when you don’t want it to be over. You should definitely read this book to see who gets the Last Word.
Received this book for my honest opinion.

Thank you so much to St Martin's Press for the advanced copy of this book!

This book is being advertised as Beach Read meets The Hating Game and for once I think the advertisement is an accurate assessment!

This is a second chance romance/enemies to lovers romance. I liked Ryan more than Harper as she was a little too dramatic for me and Ryan was actually rather reasonable. I really enjoyed all the parts with Harper and her clients- that was my favorite part of her character, but her considerate and longsuffering personality with her clients didn't transfer to Ryan for some reason. I also could have done without any of the miscommunication trope and would have loved to see dual perspectives.

Overall, it was a cute and breezy read and I think it will be a big hit. If you haven't read her previous book, The Wedding Season, I'd recommend that!

This will be out May 2nd!

3.5 Stars

I wasn’t a huge fan of our MC, she was so disorganized and flaky that it started to get on my nerves. I couldn’t root for her. This books starts out somewhat on the slow side, but it does pick up towards the end. I wouldn’t include this one at the top of my romance recommendations. It was a decent book, but not a great one.

This was so good. I love this trope in a romance. I read this in one sitting because I had to know what was going to happen next.
I just reviewed The Last Word by Katy Birchall. #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

It was good - not fabulous. It started slow then picked up to a slow burn romance. I love a good enemy to lovers’ troupe and the banter between the two MC is great. A good light easy read.

Thank you St. Martin’s a press and NetGalley.