His blue eyes bore into mine, and he adds quietly, “I remember everything.”

3/5
i am really big fan of katy birchall's previous works, the secret bridesmaid is one of my favourite reads and i absolutely enjoyed the wedding season, so i was very delighted when i got the arc for the last word. i went into it without knowing much and, as i expected, it was a nice and easy read, but i have to admit that compared to the author's other works, this was a bit of let down. i felt that there were many things happening one after the other and i personally disliked the third act conflict. i also wasn't the biggest fan of harper, the main character, in the last 20% of the book so all of this combined ruined the reading experience a bit for me. i did enjoy the bickering between harper and ryan at the beginning but it started to get a bit old towards the end. i would still recommend it to fans of second chance romance, especially of falon ballard's just my type which has a similar setting.

arc provided by netgalley and st. martin's press in exchange for an honest review.

This author consistently delivers. Harper and Ryan have a complicated dynamic, and history that seems to be repeating itself when they're forced to work together at a magazine. I enjoyed seeing Harper excel at her celebrity editor job; her personality shone through. The characters were all well written with realistic development. A fun read.

I love Katy Birchalls writing so I was beyond excited to get this one! This one was a cute story but it didn’t seem overly original or unique. Journalist & nemesis competing has been common lately. The writing is great though and the characters are likeable!!! Can’t wait for more books by Katy!

Thank you NetGalley for eARC in exchange for an honest review

“The Last Word” by Katy Birchall is a fun romantic comedy that manages to stand out in a very crowded field.

Journalist Harper is a celebrity blogger and considers herself the best in the business. Yet, like is often true, her work life might be in order, but maybe not so much her personal life. Then an old rival from over a decade ago joins the magazine and everyone but Harper loves him. Of course, Harper gets thrown together with Ryan. Can she leave the past in the past and look at Ryan in a new way?

This is cute story. If you expect more than that, you’ll be disappointed, but I cared about Harper and didn’t feel like the chemistry between her and Ryan were forced. This was an easy, breezy read and the perfect antidote after a rough week.

Three and a half stars.

Thanks to Katy Birchall, the publisher, and NetGalley for my advanced copy.

I can devour anything writing in enemies to lovers and office romance tropes! Even though this book started a little
slow till MCs’ Moonlighting series style quarrels ending with both of them say each other “Fine!” and I found heroine a little immature during their fights, my prod exceeded my cons! I absolutely enjoyed this book a lot!

I mostly enjoyed author’s realistic approach to the journalism and I loved her main character Harper Jenkins’ work ethics, her genuine approach to the people she’s interviewing. She didn’t see them as privileged A-list celebrities to get juicy gossips for writing extra sensational and scandalous articles, she sees them as people who need friend connection. Her honest approach made her a true winner!

I also loved Ryan too much. ( I have to admit I loved him more than Harper) The same guy Harper has met ten years ago and she never gets over him even though she insists she has moved on! The same guy who betrayed her trust becomes her editor she has to fight tooth and nail at each work day to make her point. Both of them are too stubborn to say the last word during their fights. But they have no idea they haven’t told their last words to each other for their unresolved romance story!

But when we learn their back story and Ryan’s point of view, we realize he’s kind, reserved, a little insecure man hiding behind his reserved good looks, extra intellectual mind. He’s my kind of geeky, sweet hero! That guy was patient enough to go shoe shopping with Harper or help celebrity to give birth at the back seat of Uber! He earned ten thousand brownie points.

I also enjoyed how Harper’s character evolved. That immature, workaholic woman finally finds her true purpose, seeing things from other people’s perspective, standing up for herself, confronting her problems about her dysfunctional family.

Even though the book started a little slow, as soon as the extremely entertaining banters started, picking up the pace, hooking me up with introduction of Ryan. The conclusion was also great. The opposites attract- office love- enemies to lovers tropes blended perfectly into story!

Most hatable and ironically the funniest character is definitely the big boss Cosmo who earned ten thousand punching against the the face points!

Overall: I have amazing time and looking forward to read more works of the author in near future.

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press / St. Martin’s Griffin for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

Harper and Ryan are both journalists but that is where the similarities end. Ryan is neat and organized and Harper is messy and chaotic. Ryan laid back, Harper intense. I enjoyed the fact that Harper's emotions were always on the surface fussing at Ryan over every little thing while Ryan just sits back and gives a placid smile. While it seems like they are always fighting and that they may "hate" each other there is an undeniable chemistry between them. I think that is what makes The Last Word so enjoyable is that you know that down deep they really love each other but the path to true love never runs smoothly. Love this book!

i loved this second chance love between them. I loved that they were fighting and always having the last word. Great friends and trying to get back to each other. loved it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book. I appreciate it!!

I loved this book. If you're a romance reader, go read it Now. Why are you still reading this review? Go read the book already!

This book had great main characters that I immediately fell in love with. The slow=burn romance was at a believable pace. The workplace dynamics were also very believable, and the idiot boss was so easy to hate. I enjoyed the family dynamics as well as the female friendships.

Overall, this book checked all the boxes for me and I enjoyed it a lot.

This book was described as the Hating Game meets Beach read which are both big shoes to fill! I feel like it met the mark for me! I really enjoyed this story and thought it was a lot of run! I enjoyed both characters on their own and felt they were even better when they came together. I've read a few other titles by Katy and can't wait to dive deeper into her backlist.

This was a fun will they/won't they workplace romance with a few hiccups along the way. I liked how the author wove in the flashbacks of Harper and Ryan working together as interns to layer in the background for the tension between the characters. There were many different family and social dynamics at play in this story, and at times certain pieces felt superfluous, but it did not detract from the overall plot of the book.

Thanks to NetGalley for the digital advanced copy.

Enemies to lovers office romance? I'm in. Harper is a celebrity blogger and prides herself on relationships. She is the best in the business, getting all the best scoops and writing for the magazine she is with has been her dream. She also is a bit of a mess. Literally. She is a chaotic mess but she wouldn't have it any other way.
When her nemesis from her internship 12 years ago joins their team, she wonders what she did to deserve this. Ryan, and all his perfectness, charms everyone at the magazine, but Harper knows the real him. After what he did to her 12 years ago, she can't fall for that charm again.
As Harper and Ryan are thrown together on more and more assignments it's clear to see that maybe there is more to Ryan than Harper is giving him credit for.
The banter, the longing, the fun! I loved Harper, even if she was a mess, and I loved Ryan because he was so genuine. I could see what Harper was missing each time his character came onto the page, but I could understand why she was so leery. She didn't want history to repeat itself so Ryan had a lot of ground to make up. This book was absolutely adorable and exactly what I needed.
Thank you to St. Martins, Katy Birchall and Netgalley for an early copy.

I thought this book was a lot of fun. The romance between our main character Harper and her love interest Ryan is one I was invested in from the start. It was a believable slow burn romance, and they were both characters I felt we got to know a lot about and root for independently and for them as a couple. I really enjoyed reading this and would definitely recommend it.

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

The Last Word is a charming enemies-to-lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers (!) rom-com set in London!

Harper is a talented Celebrity Editor at an influential newspaper. She is beloved by her interviewees and colleagues. She loves her job so much that she is willing to put up with a condescending boss who doesn’t take her role seriously. However, she may reach her tipping point when she discovers that her former love interest and current rival, Ryan, has been hired on as the new Features Editor. Soon, Harper and Ryan pick up where they left off a decade ago and are quarreling openly in the office, arguing over issues large and small (much to the annoyance and intrigue of their co-workers). Will Harper and Ryan learn to get along and figure out that they just might be perfect for one another?

This is a fun read that pulls you into the seemingly glamorous world of the newsroom and press events. As a fan of Katy Birchall’s other rom-coms (The Wedding Season and The Secret Bridesmaid), I was not surprised that this was a delightful story. Harper and Ryan have great chemistry (even though I was cheering for them to have fewer misunderstandings and more conversations). Also, love to see a man trying to get his colleagues to like him by bringing delicious homemade desserts to the office! Recommended to anyone looking for a fairly lighthearted and sweet romance.

Thank you very much to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy.