This was a 3 star read for me. I struggled with the pacing, at almost 40% in it felt like the story hadn’t gone anywhere yet had gone everywhere. We knew side characters, got to see Harper do well in interviews, but the story is supposed to be about her being thrown together with Ryan and I guess I was expecting it to happen sooner and more succinctly. Heading Harper complain about him at every turn for several chapters was very annoying. Her character was best when she was focused on herself.

When I read that this book was being compared to "The Hating Game", I knew it had big shoes to fill. Those reviewers were right. This book was the perfect "enemies to lovers book". The workplace banter was on point and the chemistry between Harper and Ryan was entertaining. The journalism workplace was a fresh take that I hadn't read before and also enjoyed the banter/dealings between Harper and her contacts/agents. I will be recommending this book to all my fellow romance readers.

I was a little iffy when this one started but I ended up liking it! My iffy-ness is I don’t usually love London based books but I’m glad I gave this a shot! I was actually team Ryan for most of this and it was endearing to see his side. This is a big case of opposites attract for these two and I also love a workplace romance. Lots of my favorite tropes mixed in this one! Cute and quick read!

I’m a journalist, I know too much about pop culture, I’m chronically online, I’m a bit of a creative mess, and I always have to have the last word. Wait, is this book about me?

This is the second Katy Birchall book I’ve read and she’s batting 1.000 because I find her style engaging, and her characters always have great banter. Her books are predictably fun, and sometimes that’s all you can ask for. In this book she gives readers a wonderful second chance, enemies to lovers, workplace romcom.

Harper Jenkins is a celebrity journalist who is well-regarded in the pop culture world but isn’t taken seriously by her company’s big boss, Cosmo. No matter, she has a wonderful group of other editors who back her. But when one of those editors leaves and Cosmo hires the über-serious Ryan Jenkins to run the features department, Harper knows things are about to go bad. Oh, and Ryan just so happens to be the man who broke her heart 10 years earlier and made her hardened to the idea of love; “Love won’t get the better of me again,” she says. Gasp!

Neither Harper nor Ryan are perfect, and this book is all the better for their flaws because they’re allowed the chance to be real and not just 2D individuals. Harper is unabashedly messy, and her disorganization and all-over-the-place-ness made me want to tear my hair out. But she’s remarkably good at her job and respects everyone in her industry. She’s kind and fair, and she’s trusted by the celebrities she writes about (and their PR people), as a result. Ryan is quiet and serious and can come across as uncaring and spiteful., but he’s thoughtful and kind and wants to be a champion for others — he’s just a little shy. (And he has it SO bad for Harper, even after all these years.) They’re total opposites except for one very, very important thing: They’re both incredibly stubborn. Which makes for some very entertaining conversations and quasi-arguments. Both characters grow individually, helped along by a wonderful case of supporting characters, and together, making for a fulfilling romance.

(Side note: As a journalist, I found Birchall’s treatment of the newsroom pleasing. Harper is good at developing sources and breaking news, and Ryan is shown to have stellar news judgement. You can tell Birchall has spent some time in a newsroom herself. Hallelujah!)

So no, I may not be Harper Jenkins (’m way too organized — disorganization gives me hives!!! — but in an alternate universe, I definitely could be), but I don’t think that would be such a bad thing. Especially if I get this kind of career growth and a dreamy man to boot.

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for providing me with an e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was the first book that I have read by Katy Birchall and I thoroughly enjoyed it! I love her writing style, her character development and all of the banter!

While I thought Harper was a strong, successful FMC, I felt that she was a little immature and her grudge holding was a little annoying at times. Her chaos and constant tardiness drove me crazy. I love how she not only stood up to her sexist boss, she held her ground with her family too! It was so nice to see the developing relationship that she and her sister started to have after the family blow-up.

Ryan was my favorite of the two. He was super sweet, kind and thoughtful but so reserved. I did feel that he should have learned his lesson with the miscommunication the first time around and should have gone right to Harper when the whole job situation went down but I do understand that he was put in a tough position with the boss. It was so heartwarming when his true feelings for Harper were revealed after all of the years.

I loved seeing the inner workings of the journalism field - at one time I wanted to be a journalist too so it was eye opening to me. Harper was such a natural with the people she interviewed. It was refreshing to see that she wasn’t only out to get a story and make a buck.

I did enjoy the dual timeline so that we could get a better grasp of their history. I would have loved for this book to be a dual POV. I really enjoyed the side characters in this book. I loved how their close group accepted Ryan into the group.

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐡𝐚𝐬
Enemies to Lovers
Second Chance Romance
Workplace Romance
Slow Burn
Found Family

I will most definitely be going back and reading more of Katy’s work!

Thank you to NetGalley & St. Martins Press & Katy Birchall for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Harper is the celebrity editor of a newspaper's monthly magazine. She's great at getting celebs to open up and talk to her, and she loves her job. Nothing is more important to her. When one of her best friends leaves for a better position, Ryan replaces her. Harper and Ryan have history that no one at the magazine knows about, and they snipe at each other daily due to Harper's decade-old grudge over Ryan's betrayal...

I enjoyed this one. I read Birchall's previous book, and it was SO good, so I had no doubts about this one, and she delivered.

This is a second-chance, enemies-to-lovers story and is so good. The build up of finding what happened 11 years ago during their internship together is well done, and the flashbacks aren't choppy or jarring. The love story is sweet, though a bit heartbreaking at times, when you discover all that went down. There's a few things telegraphed if you pay attention, and I'm not shocked by their biggest fight, but the resolution is great. Another win for Ms. Birchall!

I received an Advanced Reader Copy via NetGalley in return for sharing my thoughts on this book. Thanks to the author and publisher for this opportunity!

Despite being someone whose whole career depends on her ability to communicate with others, celebrity journalist Harper Jenkins really excels at embodying the dreaded miscommunication trope. This workplace rivals-to-lovers didn’t so much build up tension between the two main characters as much as it made me dislike our heroine and realize that she was essentially delusional and looking for a fight as often as possible.

The main story of this book essentially revolves around an editor who finds Harper’s work to be unimportant and works to sideline her as often as possible. Instead of leaning on coworkers who support her and encourage her to find a new job when they begin to leave the publication that they work for, she works harder out of spite; ignores obvious problems in her relationship with her boyfriend; and over analyzes the hell out of every interaction that she has with her newly-promoted coworker, Ryan, who she is convinced is out to ruin not only her career, but her life.

The book also uses flashbacks to show that Harper’s distrust of Ryan is warranted, based on a summer internship early in their careers that had them working together, to disastrous effect. And while it isn’t completely unreasonable to think that the characters dislike each other, the concept that they are rivals is absolutely baffling to me, instead of just two people who don’t know how to communicate like adults.

I am honestly the most shocked that I was able to get through it without DNFing (although I did make any excuse to avoid reading more than I probably should have). The Last Word really just rehashes a lot of the common tropes of rivals-to-lovers workplace romance with an extreme reliance on miscommunication and some workplace misogyny to push the plot along.

Fun romcom!
It’s an enemies to lovers, second chance, opposites attract, forced proximity, workplace romance, set in London.

Harper is a talented journalist working as the celebrity editor at The Narrative. Unfortunately her good friend leaves the role of features editor at her publication, and the position is filled by Ryan Jansson. Harper and Ryan first met many years ago as interns trying to get the same job. They were falling for each other, but after a big misunderstanding Harper has avoided him since 2012. Now working side by side with him again Harper remembers why she can’t stand him, but also why she fell for him all those years ago. Maybe things could go differently for them if they tried dating now. Or maybe things could blow up all over again.

There are some great behind the scenes elements of what might be involved in writing about celebrities with some fun stories mixed in, as well as general publication office interactions. The side friendships are great additions. There are also glimpses of Harper and Ryan’s families, dealing with some family issues along the way as well. I liked the dynamics between Harper and Ryan - but I would’ve preferred to get more of them together as a couple and less of the frustrating parts. The annoying boss and the repeated miscommunications were annoying to read about, but there was plenty of good to make up for the bad. I feel that some superfluous information and side stories could’ve been whittled down a bit, and this story could’ve benefited from a dual POV . . . But it’s pretty enjoyable just as it is.

Overall I feel like this was a good effort. It’s a good romcom (I’m ok with it being a bit predictable,) and I enjoyed reading it.

Didn’t finish this one sadly! I didn’t care for Ryan or Harper and definitely just wanted to skim. Maybe just wasn’t my writing style?

This was a cute workplace romance with enemies, Ryan and Harper, slowly becoming lovers again. This is also a second chance romance which is slowly laid out in a dual timeline format. I appreciated that most of the story takes place in the present

The characters are interesting to read about with Ryan being an easier character to like. Harper takes some work, for Ryan, and the reader. Harper and Ryan’s banter will have you laughing and their romance will have you rooting for this couple!

SO SO GOOD! i love katy's writing so much and this book blew me out of the water! i really loved the pacing of this story. ryan and harper were just everything and i think this would be the perfect summer read!

This enemies-to-lovers was enjoyable, although the banter got a little too much for my liking. Harper Jenkins a celebrity editor has worked hard to get to where she is. One day reporting to the office she bumps into Ryan, the new Features Editor, Harper is furious and pretends she doesn't know him. She hides the fact that 10 years ago, when they were interns at the same office, they had a short romance until Ryan's betrayal.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this story a lot. Harper and Ryan have a history from working together previously. They’re now working together again and little has changed. They have a great dynamic - even when arguing - which they’re very good at!
Slowly their relationship changes. They start to respect each other and their abilities. While the story may be a little wordy in spots, I didn’t mind it. You can’t help but root for them to get together. Harper’s friends and Ryan’s family are also great characters which add depth to the story.
I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a slow burn romance story.
I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley and I am writing this review voluntarily.

Katy Birchall’s “The Last Word” reminded me how much I love a good work romance.

Celebrity journalist Harper Jenkins is known to be the best in her field but when the features editor, Ryan Jansson, is thrown into her assignments, things get fiery. Because they are both opposites (she’s messy + personable; he’s a super clean + reserved), they both bring into the story the enemies-to-lovers vibes; at the same time, they also keep under the surface their romantic history 11 years ago.

It was a bit of a slow burn but I expected that; Katy still kept me in anticipation as she revealed how Harper and Ryan got together years ago and why they broke up. I loved seeing how Ryan fell deeeeep for Harper back then—and now. The chemistry between them is palpable; I enjoyed their banter and silly attempts to best each other. Though I disagree with Harper’s reaction and reason for the 3rd act conflict, I thoroughly enjoyed this story. I laughed and I swooned and I was so happy to check off another winning book by this author. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5)

If you’re looking for a romcom with a workplace romance, second chance, and another sweet book boyfriend, I highly recommend this one.

Read The Last Word by Katy Birchall if you like these things…
-Enemies to lovers
-Second chance
-Workplace romance
-Celebrities/pop culture
-Journalism
-Are a fan of The Hating Game

I really liked Harper and her passion for her job. She really strives to be the best at what she does because she loves it so much. The banter between Harper and Ryan was fun (a little repetitive) but it definitely played well with their opposite personalities. I liked Ryan; I thought he lacked a bit of emotional maturity but he recognized his errors.

This is a fun and easy reading rom com.


Thank you @stmartinspress and @netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback

Eh? I wanted more. I liked the first book even though it was closed door and this one just didn’t work for me. Plus still closed door, yuck

Started slow, and definitely more friendship than romantic, but it wasn't bad. I don't envision me re-reading, but like it wasn't bad.

This was so fun! It gave me Emily Henry x the hating game but in London. The banter was 10/10 and the love interest was swooney and so respectful! Loved it. I read it in two days, would definitely recommend it.

A perfect amount of tension and drama - The Last Word is relatable, lovable, and unputdownable. I can easily see this coming to life in on the screen.

Harper is a talented journalist- the best in the business, getting onto the best scoops and writing for the magazine she is with has been her dream. But when her former nemesis, Ryan, is hired, they clash repeatedly as she tries to resist his charm aware of his reality. With more and more projects together, it's sure getting impossible to avoid their history and chemistry.

This book is a gem! It's both funny and heartwarming, with characters that are easy to love. The flashbacks add depth to the story and make it feel more immersive. Ryan is a swoon-worthy hero who is just the right mix of genuine and heartfelt. Harper is a relatable protagonist who I cheered for from the first scene. I loved her true intentions and the general chaos of dealing with life. The MCs just fit in so well and made my heart go aww! The writing is mind-blowing, and the story is well-paced.

This is a must-read for anyone looking for a feel-good romance with a lot of humor and heart. Yes, it will keep that pretty smile fixed on your face and stay on your mind long after putting it down.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Griffin for the complimentary e-ARC in exchange for my honest views. I can't wait to get to the rest of your books, Katy! Write on <3