This was my first book by Katy Birchall and I enjoyed it!

Harper Jenkins is a Celebrity Editor at a magazine and is really good at her job. She’s known for being trustworthy and getting celebrities to open up to her. When the Features Editor position at the magazine opens up, her boss gives the job to Ryan Jansson. Ryan and Harper have a history. They both interned at the same place right out of college and do not get along. Now they’re forced to sit beside each other and work together everyday.

I thought this was a quick, cute read. I adored Ryan and how he was shy and quiet with everyone but Harper. I liked seeing Harper change and grow throughout the book. In the beginning she seemed to actually hate Ryan so I wasn’t sure how they were going to end up together.

I love slow burns but I felt like this started really slow. Harper was immature at times but by the end I was happy to see how she matured.

Overall, I liked this book and recommend if you’re looking for a cute enemies to lovers, workplace romance!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley, Katy Birchall & St. Martin’s Press for an arc of The Last Word in exchange for an honest review. This review is wholly my own & may not be reproduced.

This has been dubbed as The Hating Game meets Beach Read. Loved both of those so I knew I was definitely down for this one as well.

This is an enemies-to-lovers rom-com centers around Harper, a determined journalist and Ryan, a newly hired reporter. And Harper is furious about. 10 years prior, Harper & Ryan had a whirlwind romance and he betrayed her, so now she pretty much hates him. The fight all the time at work and disagree on everything. They are a disaster together. But as time passes on, they both realize that they don’t hate each other as much as they think they do.

This story definitely gave me The Hating Game vibes. It was a cute rom-com that I read quickly and enjoyed. I will say that I enjoyed The Secret Bridesmaid & The Wedding Season more. This was definitely a cute story, but not something I will just gush over.

If you like Katy Birchall and/or rom-coms, definitely pick this one up when it releases on May 2, 2023.

3.5/5 Stars

Honestly Katy Birchall could write about toast and I would read it, add in the fact that The Last Word is an enemies to romance - in the office - HILARIOUS- love story and you have a 5 star read!!

I want to start by saying The Wedding Season and The Secret Bridesmaid were both 5 star books for me. I LOVED them so much and was beyond excited when I got this arc emailed to me. This book started out strong and made me laugh. Harper is a hot mess- unorganized and perpetually late but amazing at her job as a writer. The banter between her and Ryan was funny…until it wasn’t. I felt like it dragged on for way too long and that coupled with total lack of communication from both of them, made the book far less enjoyable than I was anticipating. It really hurts me to write this review but having said that, I will still read anything Katy Birchall writes. Her others were my top reads last year and I’m still a huge fan. Thank you so much to NetGalley for this ARC!

Very enjoyable, you're rooting for Harper every step of the way. Her character arc if great and you're on her side the whole time

This book was cute and fun to read! I love a romance novel that gives equal weight to the romance AND the main character’s personal growth- typically, the latter feels like an afterthought. The characters in this book felt real and believable, and it was hard not to love and root for them. I’d recommend it to fans who liked Beach Read but wished it were more British.
Thanks to St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy!

There’s a thin line between love and hate. We find this out in The Last Word.
Harper and Ryan first meet at an office they were both interning for. Total opposite work ethic but seemed to get the job done just to one up the other. After starting to get along Ryan ends up hurting Harper and she never wants to see him again. Easier said than done. Years later they both end up working in the same building but different companies, until Ryan is moved and ends up right next to Harper's desk. Let he fun begin.
Harper is a very likable character; she is kind to her friends and also her clients. Loved all the parts that Ryan and Harper were together. So much fun banter between the two. There was chemistry and sweet moments that made you want them together. So much going on in this book: office romance, opposites attract, hate to love relationship, secret feelings and much more. You know it’s a good book when you don’t want it to be over. You should definitely read this book to see who gets the Last Word.
Received this book for my honest opinion.

Thank you so much to St Martin's Press for the advanced copy of this book!

This book is being advertised as Beach Read meets The Hating Game and for once I think the advertisement is an accurate assessment!

This is a second chance romance/enemies to lovers romance. I liked Ryan more than Harper as she was a little too dramatic for me and Ryan was actually rather reasonable. I really enjoyed all the parts with Harper and her clients- that was my favorite part of her character, but her considerate and longsuffering personality with her clients didn't transfer to Ryan for some reason. I also could have done without any of the miscommunication trope and would have loved to see dual perspectives.

Overall, it was a cute and breezy read and I think it will be a big hit. If you haven't read her previous book, The Wedding Season, I'd recommend that!

This will be out May 2nd!

3.5 Stars

I wasn’t a huge fan of our MC, she was so disorganized and flaky that it started to get on my nerves. I couldn’t root for her. This books starts out somewhat on the slow side, but it does pick up towards the end. I wouldn’t include this one at the top of my romance recommendations. It was a decent book, but not a great one.

This was so good. I love this trope in a romance. I read this in one sitting because I had to know what was going to happen next.
I just reviewed The Last Word by Katy Birchall. #NetGalley
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It was good - not fabulous. It started slow then picked up to a slow burn romance. I love a good enemy to lovers’ troupe and the banter between the two MC is great. A good light easy read.

Thank you St. Martin’s a press and NetGalley.

I was excited to read this book by the new-to-me author Katy Birchall. I liked it so much that I've now read her first two books, as well! The Last Word is a fun romance that brings to light many of the hard things about being a woman at work. Recommend!

2-2.5 stars, I guess. This was tough. My biggest problem is that this is pitched as Beach Read meets The Hating Game, and while superficially that might stand, this just doesn't have the charm and voice of either of those iconic titles. This was sweet enough, but those are big dogs to compare this to, so that part fell flat. Harper was a little too clueless about Ryan's feelings, and it felt a little crammed down my throat how AMAZING she was at her job. Ryan was actually pretty great, and seemed like a real person with relatable insecurities and challenges, but for being in Harper's POV I would have expected more depth and interiority to explain her feelings. Instead we got a lot of details about how everyone and everywhere looked. I think this is a decent romcom for someone who is just getting into the genre or who is looking for something lighter, but based on the comps I was hoping for more depth and bigger feelings.

This was my second read from Katy Birchall, and I can honestly say it has consolidated the fact that she is a must read author for me. Once again, her writing quickly swept me up and away into the world she had created. I loved the banter and dynamic that existed between Harper and Ryan – and I loved seeing their story unfold, both in the present and the past.
Harper was a very vivacious, chaotic and authentic character – I found her fascinating, though I related much more with our more reserved, quiet and organized hero, Ryan. I thought their differences made for a very interesting opposites attract situation and really highlighted the balance that they kind of created for one another.

One of the things that stands out for me in Birchall’s books is the journey of the character. I love romance reads, but I definitely love a book that can give a character time to grow and change – Harper’s journey was a key in this book and I appreciated the depth it added to the story. I also really liked the inclusion of different family dynamics within the story, especially how things landed in this case, it felt real, authentic and relatable.

Overall, I had so much fun reading this enemies to lovers, second chance, workplace romance. I will definitely continue to pick up anything that Ms. Birchall writes and I look forward to seeing what is next. Thank you to the wonderful author, @Netgalley and @SMPRomance for the opportunity to read an early copy. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own and freely offered.

I absolutely loved this book. Katy Birchall has quickly become an automatic buy author for me. I loved the dynamic of Ryan and Harper. Second chance romance is a personal favorite trope of mine and I loved how it was used here. What’s better than reading about two people falling in love? Getting to do it twice in one book!

I was a hundred percent on Team Harper and was with her every step of the way. I did see some of plot points coming, but I still throughly enjoined this story.

I received a free ARC in exchange for a honest review.

Harper Jenkins is a Celebrity Editor, and killing it at work. Which is why she’s mad when her boss hires Ryan as Feature Editor. Though the real reason she’s upset is because her and Ryan had an office romance when they interned together ten years ago. Will these office enemies turn into lovers? And which one of them will have the last word?

Thank you so much to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for sending me this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Having read ‘The Wedding Season’ a few months ago, also by Katy Birchall, I was super excited to receive an early copy of this one. It did start off a bit slow, but once it picked up - I loved it.

This is a classic enemies to lovers (my favorite) romance that was just so cute, light and really fun to read. I loved Harper and Ryan’s characters, their banter and their chemistry. We’re also given a bit of their backstory, which highlights the point that things aren’t always as they seem 😉

I was so invested in Harper and Ryan’s story and was sad when it was over. If you love a good office romance, check this one out when it debuts on May 2!

I'm a major romance lover, especially if it's enemies to lovers, but this one didn't quite live up to the enemies to lovers romance description for me.

What I loved:
-Katy's writing style!
-I loved reading about Harper's career!
-The story here is cute and has some great tropes- enemies to lovers, second chance romance, etc

What I didn't connect with:
-This fell really short as a "romance" for me. There is a definitely a bit of romance, but to call this a romance novel, it's a bit of a stretch for me.
- There is a lotttt of back and forth between Harper and Ryan, but the banter bordered on immature for me. Which is fine, but it also gets repetitive.
- It took me a long time to get into this one and I still had some trouble connecting due to Harper.

All in all, though I didn't completely connect with this one, I enjoyed Katy's writing and would love to read another romance written by her!

Read if you liked: The Hating Game

A massive thank you to NetGalley, Katy Birchall, and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this ARC!

I loved this book!! Love the banter love the characters! I will devour anything enemies to lovers, but add workplace romance in the mix *chefs kiss*!!!!

I really enjoyed Birchall’s previous two novels and her third did not disappoint! While I appreciate that the entire plot wasn’t focused on the love trajectory, the first half dragged a little for me. I couldn’t really see Harper’s motive to love Ryan at all beyond just being irritated by him but their relationship in the second half of the book made up for that. A quick beach read that won’t leave fans disappointed!

As someone who also loves to get in the last word, I loved this book! Harper is a chaotic gal - from her house to her purse to her calendar. Ryan is all order, all the time.

When Ryan gets a job at Harper’s magazine, the two butt heads over and over.

You can’t help but fall in love with these two!