In her acknowledgments, Park mentions that this book was an ode to Jenny Han’s “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” and yes this was very much a millennial, techy response.

This book follows thirty-four year old Sara Chae who quits her job to build up and launch an app she’s created. The app sends out messages to recipients that the users’ chooses after the user dies. The messages include words they’ve wanted to say but maybe not brave enough to say while alive.

Unfortunately the app sends out Sara’s messages because another Sara Chae had popped up in the obituaries. The messages, that she had drafted when drunk, go out to her parents, ex-best friend and high school crush. Chaos and much needed conversations ensue.

I found Park’s writing to be nuanced and enlightening. I appreciated how the readers were presented with Sara, a first born daughter of Korean immigrants, conversations with her parents about their expectations and how they express their love. I also appreciated getting a glimpse of micro and macro aggression that face Asian women in a venture capitalist/ technology world. I found the internal dialogue that Sara had about her workplace experiences to be valuable. Moreover, the difficult conversations between her parents, sister, ex-best friend and love interest felt very authentic and mature. Everything was handled so well.

I think it would be more meaningful to classify this as more women’s fiction rather than romance (although there is a happy ending!!!). Also Suzanne Park’s writing style and the various themes she explores reminds me of Jasmine Guillory.

Sara quits her toxic job and sets out to create her app on her own. She enters a mentorship competition and is partnered with a mentor who was her high school crush. Their time spent together working on the app unveils feelings for one another and a true friends to lovers story develops.
This classic friends to lovers romance had everything you could want in that trope. I loved the history that Sara and Harry had from high school and how that played into their present day relationship. They both brought baggage to to the table and had to work through that as they navigated their feelings towards each other. Although the romance piece of the story was fantastic what I especially liked about this story was the added element of Sara being a Korean/American woman working in tech and the themes of racism and misogyny that were confronted through her experiences within the tech world and world in general. This theme added some depth to the romantic story line that I wasn’t expecting but was pleasantly surprised by. Sara also deals with some interesting family dynamics when she has to move in with her younger sister and deal with the nagging from her immigrant parents. Although this story is a romance, the issues that Sara deals with throughout the story makes it feel like so much more. I would consider this book a slow burn with minimal spice and I would definitely recommend this book for others to read.

Suzanne Park has done it again. She's infused joy, humor, and so much heart into this book. While I'm not sure an app like One Last Word would get the acclaim that our MC achieves, I loved the journey.

One Last Word is a refreshing read that showed you how one drunken night can change everything! Suzanne Park also tacked how family dynamics can impact already challenging life experiences in an extremely relatable way. This book was not only hilarious and witty, it also was relatable and meaningful cross culturally. What you do if your last words to friends, family, and colleagues were leaked into the world? I couldn’t imagine but Park did an incredible job bringing the story to life with relatable and realistic characters. Bravo!

this one was enjoyable. i loved the theme of reconnection and second chances. i thought the characters could have been given more depth. i wished the app could have been more central to story as well.

One Last Word started off with establishing Sarah as a strong female character, who will not put up with corporate leaders or anyone else not seeing her value. She proposed app that sents "one last word" to family, friends, colleagues, etc after a personas death. After she was shut down, so she risks it all by quitting. After what was thought to be a glitch in the site, all of her drafted messages were sent. She enters a competition that could really help take her app to the next level. After being accepted, she discovers her mentor is none other than her high school crush.

To be honest, in the beginning I felt like the main character was playing victim and licking her wounds. But as the story went on, I found myself rooting for her. I enjoyed following her journey of reconnecting, fighting for her idea, and finding love.

I enjoyed One Last Word by Suzanne Park. I thought that the premise of an app that will send a prewritten message after you die was really interesting, The main character Sara is ambitious, out-spoken, and determined to succeed. The romance between Sara and her high school crush, who is now assigned to her as a mentor for a television competition, is fun to read. Sara's family relationships were also well-developed. Thank you, NetGalley and Avon Books, for the advance reader copy of this book.

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.