The Last Word by Katy Birchall was such a fun second chance enemies to lovers romance. I loved how strong of a character Harper was. She had so much passion for her job and never let anyone tell her that entertainment journalism was any less important than other types of journalistic work. Harper was messy and and a little chaotic but she was also extremely genuine and was really talented in drawing her interviewees out of their shells, which was a skill she needed for the love interest Ryan. Ryan was extremely closed off, kind of awkward, and very career driven in a way that sometimes made him blind to some of the inequality that was happening in the workplace. I thought the entire story for this book was really well done and I liked how the ending of the book came full circle with realistic solutions for all of the conflicts in the story. Also there were some great laugh out loud moments in this book when Harper and Ryan get overly competitive with each other over goofy things. I would recommend this book to anyone that likes romance or just wants a fun feel good book to read with a strong female lead.

Katy Birchall never ceases to amaze with her writing style and the last word is such a great vibe for fans of her other work. It takes a great twist on enemies to lovers and second chance romance! The perfect summer read all around. I just lover Harper and the growth that she goes though throughout the book!

This book was full of British humor, and I really enjoyed reading and listening! I love Katy Birchall. Not my favorite of hers but still well done!

I love a romance like this! If you're looking for a workplace, enemies to lovers, super fun book, this is the one for you!

I loved it!! I can’t wait for it to come out on audio. It was funny and sweet. Perfect summer read. I really enjoyed how much the love main characters interacted through out the book. Their banter was so funny.

I had a hard time reading this book. I feel like the one flashback was what kept me going through it. Other than that I feel like the story was lacking something for me. Or maybe it went too much into journalism that took away from the plot. I’m not sure but this was just an ok read for me. It might still be for you though!!! The banter between the two main characters was good!!

Harper Jenkins is the Celebrity Editor at a newspaper's weekend magazine and has the magic touch when it comes to getting celebrities to trust and open up to her. Her god-awful boss hires a reported named Ryan to be the new Features Editor... the same Ryan that interned with Harper years ago. The two had a romance that ended when Ryan betrayed Harper's trust. And now they're back in the same workplace again, arguing about EVERYTHING and causing general tension in the office (and romantic tension with each other!). They're forced to spend time together and Harper realizes she might have been wrong about Ryan... or maybe not.

This was a sweet, not-so-spicy rivals-to-lovers, forced-proximity, workplace, second-chance romance (lots of tropes here). I loved Harper as the "strong" female main character - she's strong-willed and has a strong personality to match. I enjoyed her tension with Ryan and the obviousness of their love for each other (that was obvious to like everyone BUT them). All the side characters were incredibly loveable (aside from Cosmo of course). I enjoyed the dual timelines that gave us a look at what Ryan and Harper's earlier relationship looked like. It also set up a nice parallel to the present-day storyline. Again, this was NOT a super spicy romance. It focused more on how Ryan and Harper's past plays a role in their present. There's some sexism and really annoying bosses in Harper's workplace, which some might not enjoy (it's the reality of a lot of workplaces, though). Overall I enjoyed this one!

Oh I really enjoyed this book! The Last Word is filled with witty banter, forced proximity, and workplace romance! At first, I felt skeptical about where this book was heading, but boy am I glad I went along for the ride. Harper Jenkins is a determined, top of her game journalist and she is a walking chaos hurricane. Life is grand for Harper, until her boss hires Ryan as the new features editor. Ryan and Harper have history. When her career was first budding, Ryan betrayed her. Forced to work together in the newsroom with desks that touch, Harper is nothing less than an Ice Queen toward Ryan. Yet, Ryan is kind, funny, and quite irritating with his intense need for order. Slowly, Harper can feel herself warming up to this man she has vowed to keep as her enemy.

Harper's character is so sunny and delightful. She's the kind of person who you know as soon as they walk into a room, people are drawn to them like a magnet. She backs that up with also have an incredible degree of integrity and morality in journalism that is authentic and helps her to build genuine relationships with those she works with and the celebrities she interviews. This book is about second-chances, but Harper takes center stage for me. She is an incredibly strong character and the obstacles she experiences are relatable both professionally and personally.

I want to sincerely thank @stmartinspress for granting me access to this title! It was such a pleasure to read Katy Birchall's latest book!

The Last Word by Katy Birchall
Published 5/2/23 by St. Martin's Press Griffin

This is my 3rd book by this author. I really like her. Cringy Hallmark parts are super rare. This book's final conflict was NOT miscommunication as is the usual for a romance author. Finally, an author who does not use it in their books! Her female MC always have spunk. Love them.

If you like a book where the man falls first then this is your book. It also has 2 timelines if that is your thing. I personally LOVE 2 timelines! And they are clearly marked so there is zero confusion.

After loving this book and The Secret Bridesmaid, and liking The Wedding Season, KB will be an auto buy for me.

#thelastword
#katybirchall
#romcom
#stmartinsgriffin
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#bookstagram #bookreview #bookrecommendation #bookreview #booknerdsbookreview

Harper Jenkins is a successful journalist working as a Celebrity Editor at a popular newspaper and magazine office. She becomes furious when Ryan is hired as a new Features Editor. Harper and Ryan have a past as coworkers turned lovers and it all went down in flames when Ryan betrayed her ten years earlier. Harper is determined to keep that from happening again.

This book checked off everything at the beginning: a cute cover and a second chance romance in the workplace between enemies. I love the tension that a second chance usually brings us. This one just didn’t do it for me though. There was so much dialogue on the pages that I felt like the setting was non-existent. It was hard for me to visualize the scene so many times because it was just straight dialogue page after page. With the lack of setting, it felt like we jumped from scene to scene super quick, which made this a very quick and bingeable read. I could see Harper and Ryan’s viewpoints about the conflicts, but overall I just felt annoyed by them both.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan Publishers and Netgalley for the advanced e-copy!

An enemies to lovers trope with cute and humorous banter. I enjoyed the relationships in this one. I also appreciated the dual timeline showing the history between the two main characters.

Harper and Ryan find themselves working together again at a popular magazine. They are both ambitious but very competitive. Their boss is a jerk and doesn’t take Harper’s work or writing seriously. While I really enjoyed this book and appreciated it shows the inequality between men and women in the workplace, I also found Harper to be immature to Ryan at times. Thankfully she grows into her character.

Many thanks to Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for this eARC!

For fans of Emily Henry and Sophie Kinsella.

This story was fine, but I had such a hard time connecting with any of the characters. I didn't buy our main characters as a couple, and I don't think they did either, leading to all their issues. I enjoyed the journalism aspect of the story, but overall this was meh.

💭Thoughts:
This was my second time reading a book by this author. I loved The Wedding Season and was looking forward to reading another book from her. I had high hopes for this one, but sadly it fell a bit short for me.

I found the pacing to be a bit off. The first 25% of the book progressed very slowly. It actually took me almost a month to read this book. I just couldn’t get into it. I almost had to DNF, but I decided to stick with it.

The relationship between Harper and Ryan didn’t feel believable. I just couldn’t see these two working out and ending up together. The banter was so immature and cringy at times. I did enjoy reading about Harper’s career. I found myself more invested in that, than in the romance.

Overall, I’m sad to say this romance didn’t work for me. I’m sure readers who enjoy slow burn and miscommunication tropes will enjoy this book.

Harper is a fun protagonist. While I cannot understand her messy tendencies, she is the queen of her organized chaos. She stressed me out a little bit as she is known for being late, but her interview skills give her great attention overall and show her ability as an exceptional journalist. This story does have some flashbacks for when Harper and Ryan were interns for the same publication, which was a great way to learn about their past, interspersed with the current time. This did follow the classic enemies to lovers trope, but it was enjoyable and to me, it didn’t feel entirely predictable. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

Harper Jenkins is a messy, chaotic, driven journalist. She loves her job as Celebrities Editor but isn’t getting the respect she deserves. Her awful boss, Cosmo, hires another talented reporter, Ryan to be the new Features Editor, The two have history and chemistry. They started out as interns together but things went terribly wrong. Now history is repeating itself. This one started out slow but then got better and better. I loved Ryan’s character. He was absolutely adorable. A fun summer read!

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

𝘼𝙣 𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙚𝙨-𝙩𝙤-𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙘𝙤𝙢 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙖 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙜 𝙟𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙥𝙪𝙩𝙨 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙧 (𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩) 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠 𝙣𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙝𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙣𝙚𝙬𝙨𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙢.

📍 Read if you like:
• Enemies To Lovers
• Second Chance
• Workplace Romances
• Forced Proximity
• The Hating Game

I honestly wasn’t expecting anything out of this book, but for the most part, it was such a fun romance.

I loved the enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, workplace romance with a second chance, and the witty banter aspect.

I loved the London setting with a celebrity reporter. Harper and Ryan’s chemistry was so good and the banger was top-notch. There are also a few side characters I absolutely enjoyed.

It also has an office setting, which was so interesting with the second chance trope since the main characters already have a history with each other.

The story was a bit slow and it did take me a while to get invested. Ryan’s character was so sweet and wholesome, while Harper was a bit obnoxious at times.

There’s also a miscommunication part that I didn’t love. Also, when it comes to romances I always prefer Dual POVs - Ryan’s POV was missing and that was upsetting.

Overall, the banter was so fun and the tropes all mixed in so well. This was an entertaining office romance!

Thank you so much NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for the review copy in exchange for my honest review!

•𝗧𝗪/𝗖𝗪: Toxic relationship, alcohol, infidelity

I LOVED THIS BOOK!!!!

The Last Word by Katy Birchall was absolutely delightful. Why am I not seeing this book all over the internet?? It is funny, witty, fast-paced, with bits of romance, glamor, and tropes galore. Opposites attract, forced proximity, enemies to lovers, etc… The story moves along quickly with chapters from the past sprinkled in. I loved the main characters and their passion for their careers. I loved that the FMC is focused on her career, but is smart and human about it. I also loved the glimpse into “celebrity gossip” and what that world might be like.

My only complaint is that it could have been a bit shorter. It feels like it drags on in some places. But it was so fun to listen to that I didn’t mind too much. The ending was also delightful ☺️

Loved it!! Thank you @stmartinspress @netgalley @katybirchallauthor for the galley.

This is another funny and enjoyable rom-com by Katy Birchall. I found it to be lighter than last year's hit The Wedding Season. While on the top of her game as a Celebrity Editor, Harper Jenkins is dismayed when a former colleague is hired as the new Features Editor, especially since her boss doesn't respect her work and newly hired Ryan is immediately accepted into the boy's club. Even though it's been a decade since they worked together, and even spoke since their falling out, there is a pull there. They disguise it with their bickering, and both try to ignore it. But, in true rom-com fashion, circumstances and assignments throw them together. Katy Birchall takes the miscommunication (my least favorite of all tropes) right to the edge, so that it's not annoying (thank you!). I loved the characters in this book, especially Harper and Ryan. Despite their differences (chaos versus neat and organized), they are both genuine and kind. I highly recommend!
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins for my gifted arc.

Who doesn’t love a second chance love story or an enemies-to-lovers romance? If you are like me, then you will enjoy this book. Ten years ago Harper and Ryan were ambitious interns eager to make names for themselves in journalism. While working closely together they fell deeply in love, but because of Ryan’s betrayal, Harper has not seen or spoken to him in a decade.

Now she is a Celebrity Editor at a well-known London magazine. She loves her job, her Hollywood contacts, and her own rising power in celebrity journalism. She has a knack for making friends with the celebrities she interviews which always lands her excellent stories.

This book was moving along slowly for me when Harper’s life was thrown into sudden upheaval when her dreadful boss hired Ryan as Features Editor. They would bicker and nit-pick constantly and disagree over every article. Harper was giving him no quarter and I must admit I felt a little sorry for him.

We slowly begin to realize that not everything that occurred before was as it seemed, but it takes Harper a little longer to catch up. Ryan was a sweetheart of a man and Harper just got in her own way. I did enjoy parts of the book although Harper got on my nerves at times. Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this book. I gave it three stars.

I love all of Birchall’s previous books and I really liked this one too. It started off a little more slowly than I expected but once it going, I was hooked. Harper and Ryan definitely had all the chemistry and issues in trying to make their romance work. Was Harper frustrating? Absolutely. Did Ryan mess things up by hiding the truth, twice? You bet. But the reconciliation and self awareness was worth it and so is this read.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s for the arc.