This was a bit slow going for me, but enjoyed overall! I think there could’ve been a bit more chemistry with the couple in the beginning, I just had a hard time believing they were actually into each other, whether or not they were supposed to be suppressing their feelings. I thought the app concept was really interesting and I liked hearing about the processes, but maybe a little less would’ve been better? The side characters were nice, but honestly, Harry seemed like he needed a whole lot more therapy before another relationship haha. I loved the growth with her family though! The fix with Naomi was something I saw coming, but still liked for the most part.

Sara Chae is the inventor of an app that sends personalized last messages to the people in your life after you die. When an apparent malfunction means Sara's notes to her boss, former best friend, parents, high school crush, etc. are sent while Sara is very much still alive, she is put back in contact with Harry, her high school crush, who just happens to work at the venture capital firm she is hoping will help fund her app.
I wanted to like this book, but I was so bored. I don't care about character's jobs and this book was very much focused on Sara and her job more so than the romance or her relationships with the other characters. I just wasn't invested (no pun intended) in Sara's app, her relationship with Harry, or really anything else in the book. I did finish it, but it took weeks for me to get through.

Suzanne Park is a new author for me. I chose to read this book because the concept of a tech startup with a glitch caught my attention and I thought it would be a fun read.

Description:
Acclaimed author Suzanne Park returns with a charming and compelling novel about an aspiring tech entrepreneur who goes on a rollercoaster journey of self-discovery after her app, which sends messages to loved ones after you pass, accidentally sends her final words to all the important people in her life—including the venture capital mentor she’s crushing on. Sara Chae is the founder of the app One Last Word, which allows you to send a message to whomever you want after you pass. Safeguards are in place so the app will only send out when you’re definitely, absolutely, 100% dead, but when another Sara Chae dies and the obituary triggers the prototype to auto-send messages that Sara uploads on one drunken night—to her emotionally charged mother, to a former best friend who ghosted her, and to her unrequited high school crush Harry—she has to deal with all the havoc that ensues and reopen old wounds from the past. She applies for a venture capital mentorship and is accepted to the program, only to find out that the mentor she’s assigned is none other than her former crush and VC superstar Harry Shim, and her life goes from uncertain to chaotic overnight. Empowering and laugh-out-loud funny, One Last Word is a remarkably relatable story about a woman in tech who learns to speak up and fight for what she wants in life and love.

My Thoughts:
Overall a good story. It was easy to feel the ups and downs as Sara Chae navigated trying to get funding for her software application. It was funny to think of Sara living in her sister's closet (poor girl). I liked the reconnection with her estranged friend as well as the reconnection with her crush from high school. There were some parts that made me laugh and I always enjoy books that provoke laughter. Recommended for fun, light reading.

Thanks to Avon and Harper Voyager through Netgalley for an advance copy.

TITLE: ONE LAST WORD
AUTHOR: SUZANNE PARK
PUB DATE: 04.16.2024

What would you say to your meddling parents, your ex-best friend, your toxic boss, or your high school crush if you didn’t have to face the consequences?

THOUGHTS:

Suzanne Parks’ books are my absolute favorite for the always relatable characters, the usually meddling but cute parents, the many funny moments, and of course a must have - a handsome and hard to resist love interest. In ONE LAST WORD, Sara Chae creates an app that allows a message to be sent to someone after you die. Something happens and her messages were sent accidentally to her mother, a former HS BFF, and her crush Harry Shim.

I really enjoyed this book for the fast paced read, a story that gives insight to the tech and venture capital world, the wonderful chemistry between Sara and Harry, the sibling relationship, and the character arc - the unexpected plot twist was a nice surprise too.

A wonderful STEM romance that is equally smart and charming, funny and poignant, while also wildly entertaining and engaging.

ONE LAST WORD is a winner!

This was a light-hearted, women in STEM romance that sees a young Korean American woman trying to get an investor to help her launch her app. With the 'help' of her meddling sister she accidentally reaches out to her high school crush who turns out to be her new mentor. With some family drama, a Dragon's Den VC contest element and a kissing only/closed door romance, this was a fun read perfect for fans of authors like Cathy Yardley. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review. The cover for this book is FANTASTIC but the story was just okay for me and not likely to be a standout of the year.

Thank you so much for the advanced copy. Unfortunately, this book was just not for me. The romance wasn’t as forefront as expected and I thought more would be explored with her app, but it was a very tech heavy book. I’m sure someone else would love this, it just didn’t vibe with me.

I love the way Suzanne Park bridges cultural differences and varying norms with intelligent characters in high stress/high demand careers. This book was no different. The world of app development is mixed with a discussion of relationships, strength, forgiveness, change and the barriers that need teams to be crossed. It was a fun book but it covers a lot of ground, looking at how we live and when to let things die.
 Thank you to Netgalley and to Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC.

Thank you to netgalley and avon for the arc unfortunately this was a terrible time for me to read this kind of story and it just wasn't for me. I had to DNF. Please take this with a grain of salt and take it upon yourself to read it for yourself.

I like reading about strong female characters in STEM fields! Sara Chae has developed her own app, it sends out pre written messages to family and friends after your death. Unfortunately, after too much alcohol, she and her sister compose messages to Sara’s parents and her first boyfriend Harry Shim, and somehow they accidentally get sent.

After her company passes on the app, Sara decides to go out on her own and try to get venture capital and some mentoring. Her idea wins a contest with a VC company, and they assign her a mentor. His name? Harry Shim, her first love.

This is definitely not the usual romance book, there’s a lot of detail about getting funding and the challenges of a woman making it on her own in a male dominated industry. 3.5 stars rounded to 4.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley, I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I thoroughly enjoyed One Last Word by Suzanne Park. I was engaged the whole time and finished the book in under 3 days. The dialogue was quick and witty, the concept was clever, and the main character was endearing. I really loved Sarah’s character development through the story. The side characters were quirky and charming and lovable as well. The only thing I didn’t absolutely love about the book was the romance. It was closed door, so it wasn’t too spicy or anything like that. There were just a few things about that relationship that I, personally, wish went differently. But overall I really liked it and already recommended the book to a friend.
Solid 3.5 stars from me.

This is a cute book about two people working in tech who were friends and what ifs for each other in high school, and have grown up, and meet again. Sara has always had a thing for Harry, and after crushing on him all through high school, and not having the nerve to tell him how she felt, ended up idealizing him. Every man paled in comparison to Harry, and so she finds herself alone in her thirties, having just quit her tech job to work on her app by herself. I admire the way Sara stands up for herself, and combats and rampant sexism in her workplace. When she applies to get mentoring and funding, she ends up being partly mentored by her old high school crush Harry. Because this is a Romcom, there are A LOT of missed moments between the two of them. I do wish Sara had been as forthcoming with Harry as she was in her work life. And then there's a late in the book conflict with her sister that seems a little bit unnecessary, but I do appreciate the storyline of Sara trying to draw boundaries with her parents while still also trying to be in relationship with them. The HEA is to be expected, and is rewarding. If you are interested in the tech and VC world, LA, and romantic comedies, this book has a great mix of all those things.

Thank you NetGalley for the digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review,

Fascinating concept; I love reading about women in tech and especially those who branch out on their own but the viability of an app to send your messages after your death, while an interesting concept, doesn’t really work as a business plan as you would never be able to have repeat users. The relationship wasn’t really fleshed out either so this story wasn’t really focused on one or the other, rather muddling in the middle of the two. I liked the time I spent with Sara but would have liked more about her budding relationship.

I really liked the premise of this book, and I loved that Sara was a strong woman who didn't take crap from anyone right at the start of the novel. However, the writing felt rushed and rambling and the plot had so many different points and tropes going on that it was hard to read.

Sara has finally had enough with plateauing in thankless mid-level management at tech companies run by misogynists that won’t support her ideas. She quits big tech and pursues launching her own company and app called One Last Word. Her parents see this as a professional and financial setback when she has to move in with her sister, but Sara believes in One Last Word. The app sends out messages upon your death so you can have the last word, whether is expressing love to friends and family or airing past grievances that you never had the courage to address in person.

But Sara’s world is rocked again when her test messages in the app send by accident, causing friction with her parents and awkwardness with her new VC mentor and longtime crush. How will Sara navigate these stressful personal and professional milestones all at once?

This was a cute book - half romcom and half professional, fintech girlbossing by the FMC. I thought Sara was a little stilted as a character with her longwinded inner monologues about personal and professional stress. All her thoughts were relatable, just delivered in an awkward dialogue that wasn’t super believable. And I felt like Harry was a kind of boring love interest.

But as someone in tech, formerly fintech, I found the app and professional milestones she faced super fun and interesting! Especially when she told off the racist and misogynistic assholes in her industry!

I think the side characters are the standouts of this book. I loved Jia and Casey, Sara’s sister and bestie. The twist with Jia having sent the messages on purpose was so good and not at all predictable. And Sara’s parents had me cracking up.

Overall, the book wasn’t the best thing I ever read BUT it was an easy read that I flew through and got me out of a major reading slump. Simple and fun!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my eARC!

First of all can I say how much I love the idea of One Last Word. The regrets, secrets, and thoughts we never got to say being sent. There's this sense of whimsical darkness with longing and catharsis. But for Sara what starts off as a drunken series of letters becomes real and forces her to question if she should wait till the last sentence for it to come out. Why do we let what we would have wanted to say, hold us back. Hold these relationships and true feelings behind?

A great Women's Lit with a main Female character in STEM!
This book was a hoot. I laughed out loud so many times. The FMC is a hot mess which is my favorite kind of leading lady.

She accidentally sends out a bunch of honest messages on one drunken night and has to very soon suffer the consequences of such honesty. We get amazing AAPI rep and an adorable second chance romance sub plot!

This was a quick and enjoyable read. Loved the parallels and the reveal at the end. Great for anyone looking for a book with a character deciding to live life on her own terms.

I enjoyed this book so much; it was the perfect recipe for rom-com, while still maintaining a heroine who made you NOT feel sorry for her. I found myself reading this book and really wondering how it would end; the characters were all likable people who you find yourself rooting for. I would recommend this quick read for anyone looking for a protagonist with a sense of humor and wit about her, all while grappling through her own turmoil. I am so thankful to have been able to have read an ARC of this book and will continue to sing its praises.

Sara Chae is the founder of One Last Word, an app that allows you to send a mes­sage to anyone you want after you pass. Safeguards are in place so the app will only send when you’re definitely, absolutely, 100% dead, but when another Sara Chae dies and her obituary is posted online, Sara discovers that drafted messages she had drunkenly uploaded on one night have been released —one each to her emotionally charged mother, to her former best friend who ghosted her, and to her unrequited high school crush, Harry Shim.

Still reeling from this disaster, Sara finds out she’s been accepted into a venture capital mentorship program— and that the mentor she’s been assigned to is none other than Harry, who’s now a major VC superstar. With her life going from uncertain to chaotic overnight, Sara has to deal with the havoc that ensues and reopen wounds from the past to find a true path forward.

I loved Sara!! Her intelligence, candor, relatability, and perseverance in the made dominated tech industry was admirable and made her a heroine to cheer along. I learned so much about app development, and loved the idea of a “shark tank” competition. Sara and Harry’s reconnection was endearing and I was so happy to see them both clearly communicate about their past relationships while seeking a healthy start to a new partnership. I also loved Park’s emphasis on sisterhood, friendship, and boundary setting with parents!

I’ve read quite a bit by this author. My favorite was The Do-Over last year. Surprise 5 star read!

This author always writes strong female protagonists. She’s especially great at writing women in stem. Sara I. This book is in the process of creating an app and getting her funding off the ground.

She sends messages to her parents, former best friend, and high school crush that were only supposed to be sent out if she died. So obviously chaos ensues.

I liked the women’s fiction/growth aspect but sort of wish we had more romance between Sara and Harry. I’m not the biggest fan of secret pining.

Overall, I enjoy this author’s writing and have one of her YA books on my tbr shelf.