Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC of One Last Word.

I really liked Sara Chae’s character. I enjoyed that she was multifaceted and her workaholic tendencies weren’t flaunted as being this amazing quality.

I thought Harry was a good secondary character. My favorite background character though was her sister Jai.

I liked the family dynamics that were brought in as well. Definitely recommend!

"One Last Word" by Suzanne Park is a delightful and compelling read that skillfully navigates themes of self-discovery, love, and entrepreneurship. Sara Chae's journey as the founder of the app One Last Word is both relatable and inspiring, as she grapples with the unintended consequences of her creation while navigating her personal and professional life. Park's writing is witty and engaging, with moments that will make readers both laugh and reflect. The dynamics between Sara and her former crush and VC superstar Harry Shim add depth to the story, making it a thoroughly enjoyable and heartwarming read. While some plot points may feel predictable, Park's execution keeps the narrative fresh and engaging until the very end. "One Last Word" is a must-read for anyone looking for a charming and empowering story about finding your voice and fighting for what you want.

I took a few days to read and truly enjoy this book. When I would put it down I would find myself thinking about it while doing other tasks. Leading me to be excited to finish up so I could read more. This book has a lot to it plot wise and that lead to an interesting read. Every part of the book had closure!!! There weren’t any plot holes during the book and I didn’t stop reading with that pitted feeling of needing more. I felt the story ended in a great place that left little to the imagination.

This book wasn't what I thought it would be. I was expecting there to be a lot of drama from Sara's emails being sent out accidentally. And there was some mess from the fallout but it wasn't really the focus of the story.

The story is more about app development and rebuilding relationships. It was relatable and pleasant enough to read. It just wasn't as interesting as I was expecting. I did like the main character and thought the romance was cute, if a bit bland. The family parts were pretty good too.

I enjoyed reading the book overall. It's always good to see books about women making it in the tech field.

I read an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All comments are my own.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4. Overall this was a really cute story - loved the setup of the woman in a male dominated tech world. The romance elements were cute and fun and made you want to root for them. I wish they had gotten a little deeper into the characters stories, but otherwise enjoyed the book!

"One Last Word" by Suzanne Parks is like the juiciest office gossip you'll ever hear, but with a heartwarming twist!

Parks’ characters are like the coworkers you love to hate, with their quirks and flaws making them oh-so-relatable. Admist the office shenanigans and power struggles, there's a genuine message about friendship, forgiveness, and finding your voice.

Now, let me spill the tea on my favorite scene: Picture this – Sarah, finally confronts her conniving coworker in the break room showdown of the century. The tension is palpable, the snark is on point, and you can't help but cheer Sarah on as she stands up for herself in the most epic way possible. It's the kind of moment that makes you want to pump your fist in the air and shout, "You go, girl!"

So, if you're in the mood for a feel-good read that will leave you grinning from ear-to-ear, do yourself a favor and pick up "One Last Word."

Note: ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Summary:
Sara Chae has a one-of-a-kind idea: an app that allows users to send final messages to people in their lives upon their deaths. However, when another Sara Chae passes away, the obituary triggers the prototype to automatically send messages that Sara crafted one drunken night. Now, messages sent to Sara’s estranged parents, former best friend, and unrequited high school crush force her to confront truths she wasn’t ready to face.

TW: racism, misogyny

My thoughts:
𝗠𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝗚𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝘃𝗼𝗻 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗥𝗖 𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄. 𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝗼𝘄𝗻.
When I saw this book on NetGalley and read the summary, I requested the ARC pretty much immediately. The idea was creative and interesting.
Overall, I could see what the author was going for, and it was cute. Sara is a great protagonist; she’s honest and dedicated to a fault, and along the way she learns to be honest with herself as well. In a way, the app gave her another chance to mend her relationships and try again.
My issue was with the execution of the conflicts. In most cases, when a conflict arose, it was resolved rather quickly, especially when it came to Harry. For example, at the tail end of the novel, he reveals something that upsets Sara, but the next time they encounter each other, there’s no mention of what went down until it gets a brief resolution later. Scene-to-scene inconsistencies such as this one interrupted the flow of the plot.
However, if I had to give a general consensus, I’d say I did enjoy reading Sara’s journey to success. The author makes it clear that women in the technological industry, especially women of color, often go unheard, so I appreciated Sara’s efforts and couldn’t help but root for her all the way through.

I enjoyed this book. The main character, Sara, is interesting and effervescent. She is a minority woman in the tech field which is dominated by white males. When the company she is working with tells her that her idea isn't worth pursuing and that she should just stay at her mid-level job, she decides to quit and go out on her own. She moves into her sister's closet and starts figuring out the next steps in her life. During a night of drinking with her sister, she composes letters to people that would be sent when she dies (her app is based on this premise). These end up being sent to her parents, her former best friend, former bosses, and her parents. This leads to some interesting opportunities and adventures. Highly recommend reading this to see what she ends up doing.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for advanced copy, and I give my review freely

This was a really fun book! I felt so badly for the main character at the start - hard worker, overlooked by her company.
Then she takes a risk and also ends up accidentally sending all of her thoughts to her network/family/friends...that's the idea of her app, but once someone has passed away...not when they still have to interact.
This was a good beach read and will entertain you!
Thank you, NetGalley, and the publisher for access to this e-ARC.

A beautiful romance! I loved the characters. I laughed out loud, and rooted for the romance. A must for all rom com lovers!

This is the 4th book I've read by this author and it was another enjoyable one! This story follows a woman who is in tech, trying to develop her app while dealing with the pressure of her family. She reunites with "the one that got away" who just so happens to be her mentor in a program she's accepted into.

Overall this book was enjoyable. The love interest, Harry, was a little flat. He also talked like this! The whole book! He reminded me of a puppy! So, both good and bad aspects there.

Parts of the narrative also felt a little on the nose about the struggles of being a woman in tech (this is coming from a woman in a very similar industry). So, while I absolutley agreed with all the points the author was making, it made parts of the book a little cringe. The main character had me cheering for her a few times she told some assholes off, it was much deserved.

I loved to see the depiction of a healthy sibling dynamic in the story as well,

Overall, i waffled between 3 and 4 stars for this book but decided upon 4 because I did genuinely enjoy reading it despite some of my critiques. I would recommend this to a friend, for sure.

I did not know how I was going to feel about this book, it is an original story about women in tech but the rest of the story fell flat.Im giving it 2.5 stars it fell flat for me in a lot of areas and felt repetitive .

Suzanne Park's latest story is 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. The "women in tech" angle was interesting to me, but everything else fell short.

I loved the characters and the story had so much promise, but the storylines didn't go deep enough for me. I needed more from Harry to make the story more believable, him and Sara went from saying hello to saying I love you too quickly, it just didn't feel realistic.

Very original story, Sara works in the world of technology, she dedicated herself to creating an unusual and creative app.
One last world is an app that, once you die, sends messages to whoever you want on your behalf. Strange way to say goodbye. Unfortunately for Sara, due to a series of unfortunate events, she finds herself using the app before her time, before her passing. The app sends all her messages.
Parents, friends and boys receive farewell messages from Sara, but unfortunately for her, she is still alive. She will therefore have to face what he wrote and "suffer" the consequences.
The writing is fluent and entertaining. Well written, it is the first book I have read by the author, and not the last.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishing house for this opportunity.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the eARC! This book was sweet. Sara is a FMC you can cheer for, who learns to be more honest with herself along the way. The tech world setting felt unique, too. There were so many relationships happening that none felt fully developed, but I was still really fond of the parent/child dynamics. In a world where romance books typically isolate the main characters from other community, this was a refreshing change!

I applied for this novel because the plot seemed very particular and a little unusual, and I must admit that it did not disappoint my expectations.
Sara Chae works in the tech world, and I already like her here, "unfortunately" I also work in this field and face the same difficulties as Sara on a daily basis, it's nice when a character is close to you in this way.
As I was saying, Sara works in the STEM field, in particular she decides to create an app, "One Last World", this is not a simple app, but that's more particular and decidedly unique. Practically after you have taken your last breath, the app will send messages from you, messages which you will obviously have preset previously.
Just to leave this earth in a somewhat melodramatic way and with effect. What a fun app, but i don't if i would use it.
Sara is a Korean girl, with typical Korean parents, she is a very charismatic character, and it is a pleasure to read about how she faces daily difficulties, without ever losing heart. Obviously the app gives our heroine a hard time, especially when all her post-mortem messages are sent. Her parents received one, her friends, her CRUSH even!
I was hoping the story would be a bit more romantic, but I didn't mind the whole part dedicated to Sara's work. I don't know if this lack of romance is in Suzanne Park's typical style, because it's the first book I've read by the author. The cover is gorgeous, nothing else to add.
Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager for this Advanced Reader Copy via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

This story was so much fun! I haven’t read many stories that had an Asian American FMC and I felt seen and heard reading from Sara’s POV. Her family dynamics were super relatable and Park vividly highlighted the struggles into adulthood as a result of austere parenting. I loved the app’s concept, it gave me ‘To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before’ vibes in the sense where the messages were closure for her various relationships. I could truly put myself in Sara’s shoes which made for a pleasant reading experience. All in all it was a unique storyline and very enjoyable!

This says it’s a romance but that was very secondary to this plot.

It was very much about Sara’s tech start up and all the challenges that go into getting funding. Starts out with her quitting her tech job where she is under appreciated and then throws herself into starting her own company One Last Word where when you die emails you have written will go out but a glitch occurs and all her joke emails go out. Which causes chaos in her life and brings some old friends and crushes back into her life.

Maybe it didn’t feel very romance-y to me because the mmc was insufferable and they had no chemistry? I’m not sure but I had a hard time getting into this one.

Thanks to Netgalley and Avon for an EARC.

https://instagram.com/p/C5gfLSyg34l/
I really enjoyed this book! Sara creates an app and pitches to her higher ups who don’t believe in her or her app, Sara then decides it’s time to take charge and quits! It shows Sara’s grow and the breakthrough of starting something you believe in even when it’s scary! It touched on not only being a woman in tech, but an Asian American woman. Sara is a relatable character and you’re rooting for her. I loved the aspect of touching on rekindling relationships and friendships when you’re older and balancing between work and life. It was a light hearted read with light romance. I wanna see a Jia spin off :) Set to release on April 16th, definitely one I’ll be buying to have 🤍

This was a quick read with an interesting storyline. However, I don’t think it was for me. I enjoyed reading about Sara quitting her job, her developing One Last Word, and her participation in the competition/mentoring program. However, I didn’t like how easily she forgave Jia, the drama with Harry and Naomi, and how repetitive and slow a lot of the chapters were. I’d give this 2.5 stars.