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

4.5 stars

A perfectly witty, heartfelt romance.

Journalist Harper Jenkins is a scatter brained creative genius doing her best to stay on top of life. She's the best celebrity columnist, and even if her irritating misogynistic boss can’t see it, she knows it. When Ryan Jansson, a blast from the past— aka no.1 nemesis and previous fiery fling—, gets hired to work alongside her, it takes everything in her to not combust. They both love having the last word in an argument, they soon find out that between love and hate is a very fine line indeed.

The dialogue between Harper and Ryan feels real, I felt like I was watching a legit interaction in an office space. But there's also a rawness to it.

I haven’t felt as in tune with a character as I did with Harper in a long time. From her disorganization to her internal monologue, I saw myself in her.

“I set my alarm for 5:55am, 5:57am, 6am, 6:03am and 6:05am."

She is me, I love her so much. Her apartment is a disaster, and she’s a mess, and she digs though piles of clothes to find what she needs, and I've never felt more seen. 😂

Although I love the romance, I really appreciated the deeper messages of self worth and perseverance.

Thanks St. Martins Press for the ARC!

2.5 rounded up

I’m landing in the middle with this one, as there were elements I liked about this, but the ending bothered me. Spoilers below for why -

I enjoyed that it was workplace enemies, second chance romance, forced proximity, cute dinner with his parents, the cab scene.

I liked that Harper was career driven and had the ability to get celebrities to open up because she had journalistic integrity and was kind.

When we meet the MMC, Ryan, I liked the flashbacks that slowly revealed what the tension was between him and Harper.

It was a case of miscommunication, but the explanation made me feel ok, could have been handled better, but now it’s been 10 years, surely they will do better with this second chance. Sadly, no, these two don’t seem to have learned a thing and Harper cannot apply her amazing celebrity communication skills to her own relationship.

I know Ryan is in a tight spot, choosing between his career and his love but I was hoping that after the prologue where they talk about what you’d choose, this whole situation would connect to that. In the end, the prologue seemed to have no purpose?

I also didn’t really understand how she was always late, and how that seemed to be funny and quirky? Honestly, as much as Cosmo seemed like a jerk, I was on his side for this one.

Reading the other reviews, it could be a case of these weren’t the characters for me, so I’d definitely give Katy Birchall’s other works a try.

Thank you St. Martin's Griffin for the copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

4 Stars:

This book was a breath of fresh air during a very very bad reading slump. The romance between the characters was well developed, their characterizations were fantastic and the banter was very fun to read. The more I got to read about Harper and Ryan individually, the more I rooted for them to be together.
Although I would have loved to have the side characters a bit more fleshed out, I still enjoyed the friendships and loved Harper’s personality. Her love for journalism and her empathy towards A-listers made her genuine.

Overall, it was a very fun and enjoyable fast read!

Katy Birchall's latest The Last Word is well summed up by the tag line--it was Hate at first sight. Harper and Ryan have that hate you/love you dynamic going on and the journey with them is fun. I enjoyed the journalism backdrop and the ride with these warring lovers.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of the Last Word that is on sale now.

Harper and Ryan are sworn enemies...or are they co-workers who can't keep their eyes and minds (and hands) off each other?

I really, really enjoyed this one. Harper and Ryan were adorable and while Harper had her flaws (hotheaded, stubborn, and quick to jump to conclusions much?), she redeemed herself by being pretty badass at her job and had a spine of steel. I can deal with a flawed character if they aren't a COMPLETE mess. The characters were well-drawn out, and the story was much more than just a romance. I'd love to get my hands on whatever Katy Birchall comes out with next.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press Group for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love a good workplace, enemies to lovers trope, so this book was right up my alley. I literally laughed out loud as Harper and Ryan bickered.

4.25 stars

I really enjoyed this second chance, enemies to lovers, workplace romance. The dynamic between Harper and Ryan was obviously built upon past events and it was nice to get to flashback to their shared past throughout the book to see how they ended up as enemies/rivals. The flashbacks really added to the current storyline.
Harper and Ryan were well developed and I enjoyed the secondary characters as well.

I enjoyed this enemies to lovers, office, second chance romance. It started out a bit slow but I became more invested the further I got in the story. I liked the flash backs to Ryan and Harper's past and their bickering in the present. Harper did get on my nerves at times and I felt she wasn't fair to Ryan. This is not my favorite book by Birchall but I still liked it and feel it is worth reading.

I have loved Katy Birchall's books and The Last Word was no exception.

Harper writes celebrity stories for a magazine and has been quite successful in that role. When her friend who is the features editor leaves, she is shocked to learn that the new editor is Ryan, who she has worked with in the past and does not get along with. Harper and Ryan have a long history which left Harper with a broken heart. Now working together again, the feels of attraction are starting to return, but will history repeat itself?

This was such a great story. I loved the characters and their banter. I could not stop reading/listening to this one. While the other books by Birchall have been more women's fiction, this one was definitely more of a rom com and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I liked how the story unfolded and I wanted to know what happened between Ryan and Harper the first time. Harper is one of those characters that just gets under your skin and you want to root for her.

If you haven't read anything by Katy Birchall, you are missing out. Her writing is beautiful and her characters will suck you in. I would definitely recommend checking out this book for a fun rom com.

I listened to the audio book which was narrated by Karen Cass and thought she did an excellent job. Her tone and inflection were spot on for how I pictured Harper.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the advance copies in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Oh, this was fun! This is the first time I have picked up Katy Birchall’s work, and I must say I am impressed. This enemies-to-lovers, second chance, office romance was exactly what I needed. Harper and Ryan were fantastic characters and I was eager to see them figure things out so they could be together. I am so glad that I took a chance and decided to give this book a try!

Harper has made a career in journalism writing about celebrities and she really seems to have a knack for it. I enjoyed seeing her work her magic and getting a highly sought-after interview or scoop. Ryan has been hired as the new Features Editor and Harper acts like she doesn’t even know him despite their history. I thought that Harper and Ryan were great together and I loved the chemistry that they shared. They did have some things to work out but I thought that this relationship was worth fighting for.

I listened to the audiobook and thought that Karen Cass did an amazing job with the story. I found her voice to be very pleasant and had a hard time setting it aside. I liked the voices she used for the various characters which really helped to bring the story to life. I am certain that her narration added to my overall enjoyment of the story.

I would definitely recommend this book to others. I found this to be a very entertaining story filled with characters that were very easy to like. I wouldn’t hesitate to pick up more of Katy Birchall’s work in the future.

I received a review copy of this book from Macmillan Audio and St. Martin’s Press.

3.75 stars

Here is your reminder that speaking up and distancing yourself from toxic family members is ok! I was so angry every time her parents popped up on page. Ryan was so sweet and I loved the backstory of their earlier years. You could feel the spark right away between Ryan and Harper. Mimi was a great wing woman lol. There were a few laugh out loud moments and aww moments throughout.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Giiiiirl… if you’re looking for a slow burn, enemies-to-lovers, workplace romance do I have the book for you!!!!!! Literally stayed up until 2:00 am to finish this one because the TENSION was immaculate. If you liked The Hating Game minus some of the weird banter between the MCs, try this one asap.

This was such an interesting story taking place in the publishing/magazine industry. Honestly nothing could make me love Harper and Ryan less. This wasn’t perfect and there were times that Harper flew off the handle and onto my nerves, but truly I think I love this one so much that I won’t be accepting criticism at this time. She’s golden.

This took me a while to get into it, but overall I ended up enjoying it when I did. I enjoyed the workplace romance and the enemies to lovers nature of Harper and Ryan. I enjoyed this, but it wasn’t my favorite of the author’s books. There were several times I felt for Harper at the injustice of her work situation. I was a little torn over her recon with Ryan after two similar situations. I also enjoyed seeing the celebrity news and how well she treated all of the celebrities she worked with. I enjoyed the narration and will definitely check out more books by this author. I did really like how it was wrapped up.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Enemies to Lovers. Rom Com. Quick Read. Witty. Lots of fun banter. Discovered this author a few years ago with her Secret Bridesmaid book- which is a delight too! That followed up with The Wedding Season left me wanting more of her rom com books so when this came out I was ready. Wide range of age groups will like this, and if it's their first katy Birchall book they will probably be asking for more!

This is my third Katy Birchall book and I've loved every single one! I'm a huge fab of enemies-to-lovers so I knew that I was going to love this one and I was right!

Now, that being said, it is a little bit of a slow burn. Without giving too much away about the story, there is some necessary set-up before we meet Harper's nemesis.

The main character, Harper Jenkins, is a brilliant, funny and caring celebrity editor at a newspaper's glossy weekend magazine. She's great at her job and always manages to get the best scoop. Her down-to-earth, easy-going personality, makes her a favorite with celebs and their agents. But when her boss hires Ryan to be the new features editor, Harper is furious. Harper and Ryan where both interns at another publication 10 years ago, until Ryan betrayed Harper and they haven't spoke since.

Now ten years later, Harper and Ryan are forced to thrown together in a busy newsroom. They constantly argue and bicker about everything. Harper believes Ryan is still a condescending jerk just like her boss Cosmo. But the more Harper and Ryan are forced to be around each other, the more Harper starts to wonder if she's misjudged Ryan. As the spark between them grows and old feelings resurface, will they get it right this time or are they destined to crash and burn again?

I adore both Ryan and Harper. Harper is such a genuine and relatable character. Her greatest strength is getting people to feel at ease around her and it's clear that she loves her job -- which she's also great at. I love that she is very confident in who she is and has a very honest approach. It was also nice to see such a positive representation of a reporter, specifically one that focuses on celebrity stories. She treats every celebrity with respect and it makes you root of her because she's just a good person.

I think Katy did a great job crafting Ryan as Harper's enemy/love interest. At first it appears that Ryan is this obnoxious jerk who is hell bent on making Harper's life difficult. But as the story continues you realize that there is more to the story. He's a sensitive, reserved and insecure. He's super sweet and you can't help but root for him to work things out with Harper. Also the whole birthing scene in the taxi is so good!!

Overall, this is a great story with relatable characters that. It's funny and heartfelt.

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press / St. Martin’s Griffin for this digital arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Super cute enemies-to-lovers trope romcom set in an office/work environment. Fun characters, great chemistry and good storyline. My third book by this author and not my last! Really enjoyed! Good book to pick up for a sweet, easy read!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review and opinion.