While I am wary of the connection between tech and final affairs, I thought this was an interesting concept from Suzanne Park. And, it hits the mark on the chaos and healing that could come if you could say all the things you want to say to people but do not because of the social contract. Add in a little romance plot with the one who got away, and you've got One Last Word.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishing Company for this Advanced Readers Copy of One Last Word by Suzanne Park!

This book was really cute. It was a nice fun read between some heavy reads. Sara was a really charming character who develops really well out of a very shy into a fighter. I enjoyed her journey that was filled with laughs.

One Last Word is a brilliant and hilarious book from Suzanne Park that strikes the perfect balance between humor, heartbreak, and self-discovery. The concept behind the app, where you can send one final message after your death, is both inventive and emotionally charged. As a reader, I was immediately hooked by the premise, but it’s the way Park brings the characters and emotions to life that truly makes this book stand out.

Sara Chae, the protagonist, is not just a tech-savvy woman navigating a quirky new invention but a fully realized, relatable character with real emotional depth. Her drunken late-night messages—intended for her estranged mother, a former friend, and unrequited love—set off a chain of events that forces Sara to confront painful memories and unresolved issues from her past. This premise is both poignant and funny, offering a unique take on how technology intersects with our lives, relationships, and even our untimely deaths.

The story takes a deliciously unexpected turn when Sara finds herself in the middle of a venture capital mentorship program, only to discover that her assigned mentor is none other than her high school crush, Harry Shim. The ensuing chaos between navigating a professional relationship with Harry while still processing her feelings for him, alongside the complications from the messages she accidentally sent, makes for an irresistibly entertaining ride.

But what I love most about One Last Word is how it explores the powerful theme of finding your voice. Sara's journey—from tech genius to emotional wreck to someone who learns to fight for what she deserves—feels incredibly empowering. The humor is sharp and witty, but it doesn’t detract from the emotional growth she experiences. You’ll laugh, cringe, and cheer for Sara as she stumbles her way to personal and professional fulfillment.

This is a laugh-out-loud, empowering, and deeply relatable book that will make you reflect on the connections you’ve left unresolved and the chances you’ve yet to take. Suzanne Park’s One Last Word is an unforgettable read that is as heartwarming as it is hilarious—definitely one of the best books I’ve read this year! Highly recommend.

Thank you, Avon and NetGalley, for an eARC of this title.

I wanted to like this one more than I actually ended up liking it. The premise was super interesting but the execution fell a bit flat for me. It held my attention enough, and the plot had me, but there was just something missing.

This wasn't my first Park book, and it won't be my last.

Thank you so much to Avon for an ARC and a finished paperback of this one! These are my honest thoughts....

Meh.

Women's fiction with a romance subplot. Average. I think this was incorrectly marketed to the romance genre, when it firmly lands in the fiction/chicklit category, with a romance subplot that left me wanting wayyyy more.

Sara is getting her second chance, after leaving a dead-end job that didn't value her in any way. She gets the chance to compete for her app to find funding, and along the way, it reconnects her with her high school crush. She has to move in with her sister because she lost her job. And the app she created? Sends one last word to loved ones after someone passes away. Sara gets herself into a pickle when she drunkenly writes her own one last words to people... her ex-best friend who ghosted her, her crushes, her old bosses, even her old high school crush.

There was a lot of important parts of this story... Sara as an Asian American woman in STEM being the most prominent characteristic. I think Park wrote Sara as a neurodivergent character, but without a diagnosis or naming that part of her. As a neurodivergent person myself, I saw a lot of myself within Sara's character and could identify when the "other" way her brain thinks made her feel different or caused her struggle. I would have loved it if we could have named or acknowledged this part of Sara's character, as I love to see other people like me represented in fiction...

This is a solid story. I am rating it a bit lower, 3 stars... it's probably more like a 3.5 read. I could have rated it 4 stars, but I was expecting romance, and that only came as an appetizer here.

I tried to read this book for an entire month and I couldn't get through it. I couldn't relate to the FMC at all so it made the book feel so flat compared to being swept away into the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to be able to read and review this book!

Amazing read!
5/5

Love a story with a woman in STEM, and One Last Word features a woman named Sara who creates an app called One Last Word to connect you to people when you die.

I loved the narration by Catherine Ho, and really enjoyed the immersive style of reading with the print and audiobook.

*many thanks to Avon, Harper audio and Netgalley for the gifted copy for review

I loved "Loathe at First Sight," and so, I was pretty sure I was in for an equally adorable-but-thoughtful treat from Suzanne Park; I was so glad to know I wasn't wrong to trust her. "One Last Word" is a terrific exploration of just what it means to be "adulting" out there in the world, and the fact that just because it might not look like what you imagined as a kid doesn't mean you're not doing it right. You could very well be doing it EXACTLY right for yourself, even if it doesn't necessarily look like others' experiences. Sara is a compelling, relatable 34-year-old woman who's right in the trenches of the very white-male-dominated tech industry, and the folks who surround her are just as well-drawn, from Umma and Appa, her well-meaning but overbearing parents, to Jia, her vibrant little sister, to Casey, her work-husband/BFF, to - of course - Harry, her high-school crush. I fell deeply in love very quickly with every single one of these characters, and so enjoyed my time in their world.

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to like this more than I did.

The premise of this is simply too good, an app that sends a final message to people you have selected after you have passed. Except a bug releases Sara's messages while she is still alive. And now she has to have some much needed conversations with several people in her life.

While I enjoyed the premise, the characters fell flat to me and ultimately left me wanting more.

I genuinely enjoyed everything about this book except for the MMC. Sara, the FMC, was a powerhouse on the other hand. I loved the way Suzanne wrote her journey + she created Sara to be so relatable!

Overall, this was super lighthearted and sweet - excited to read more from Suzanne in the future! Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

very fun and very similar to some other works i've seen where people write things, hoping they won't be sent, and then they get sent.

I love reading books about women in STEM! And of course, I always like books by Suzanne Park. They are comfy and cute.

Suzanne Park books are hit or miss for me, and I just couldn’t get into this one. I will look forward to more from her though.

I don’t love it but I didn’t hate it. I felt the cover and description didn’t quite match the actual novel. I liked the overall message. I did learn a lot about venture capital and the tech world. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

DNF at 40%. I was into the beginning of this and learning about Sara’s career ambitions. But as soon as it started getting to the romance it felt like a really childish YA plot setup with characters in their 30s which really didn’t work for me. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free ebook to review.

Title: One Last Word
Author: Suzanne Park
Publisher: Avon
Pub Date: 04/16/2024

I had high hopes for this book. My expectation was that it would be filled with lots of funny drama. Unfortunately, I felt it was more about a woman in the tech industry and the venture capital process than it was about drama. It took a while to get to the “meat” of what happens when the final words are sent. Since I was in it for the drama, I felt a little let down.

If you are interested in the tech world and venture capital, there is a lot of information in here for you. I do appreciate learning about something when I read. So, from that standpoint, this delivered.

Overall, it was a clean story with a good message.

Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC.

I had high hopes going into this one. While I hadn’t read any of her work, I knew Suzanne Park was a seasoned author. One Last Word wasn’t entirely a let down, but certainly left me wanting at the end.

This story follows Sara, a Korean American woman working in tech who decides to create her own app. Through this app, she reconnects with her high school crush Harry, who as far as Sara knows has been with his high school sweetheart Claudia since freshman year. Sparks fly as they reconnect, but Sara was also forced to reconnect with others and face hard truths, all while navigating the cut throat world of Silicon Valley.

The story itself sounds really interesting and unique and shed some light on important topics. I had no issues with that. However the execution of it felt a bit awkward in my opinion. Particularly in the character interactions. Almost every time Sara is speaking with anyone it seems robotic to me. For example:

Someone calls out her weird behavior and she’s like (not a direct quote just paraphrasing) ‘I do tend to avoid conflict. Thank you for correcting me. I have now learned the consequences of my actions. I will no longer avoid conflict in the future’

And in other instance when she is reconnecting with an old friend, they barely just sat down before the friend is like (again not an actual quote) ‘here are all of the things you did wrong in our friendship and this is how it made me feel’ cut and dry, and Sara immediately understands and says sorry and she will do better.

So many times I questioned how people solved their interpersonal problems perfectly with the most mature and pragmatic language. It didn’t feel real to me! Let’s have some back and forth, let’s have some hurt feelings, maybe someone god forbid says something they don’t mean! Everything just…. works out.

I thought there could be more nuance on some of the issues Sara corrects during this novel. For example how she idolized Harry and made him out to be this perfect man. There were a few instances where Sara had to reconcile who he is now with who he was then, but again - she acknowledges the problem, changes her way of thinking, and boom no longer an issue. I was expecting there to be more friction and conflict.

I wouldn’t even say this is very romance heavy and wonder if it should be marketed as such. I don’t think those who regularly read romance will be satisfied if that is the part they are most looking forward to.

However, if you are looking for more of a self improvement journey, almost coming of age situation (but with characters in their 30s), and something hopeful, wholesome and inspiring, this would be a good book for you. I liked the story, appreciated the message, didn’t dislike the writing. Just the dialogue and conflicts were off to me. But I am certainly willing to give Park another try. I know she does some YA and maybe that is more her wheel house giving how this book felt a bit young to me. 3 stars.

If you could send loved ones one last message before you die, what would you say?

Sara Chae has invented an app, One Last Word, which allows you to send messages to anyone you want to when you die. It stores the messages you have written and sends them off after news of your death. After a drunken night of fun, Sara’s messages are accidentally sent out including to her long-time crush, Harry. Will Sara be able to get her app launched successfully into the world? Will she and Harry finally have a chance?

My thoughts on this novel:
• I have read and enjoyed Suzanne Park’s novels in the past. I enjoy her characters and stories and this one did not disappoint.

• I enjoyed that Sara was a strong woman in the Tech world. As a female engineer, I love and enjoy STEM novels.

• The book was overall on Sara’s journey as an Asian female in a primarily white male dominated tech world. How can she work to carve out her own place in this world?

• Sara’s parents also have ideas of what Sara should be, especially compared to her sister Jia. The family interactions and expectations were interesting. Sara was a workaholic trying to meet her family’s expectations, but she felt like she was never meeting them.

• I loved the sweet romance between Sara and Harry. It is a second chance romance if they never acted on their mutual crush in high school?

• There are a few steamy scenes in this one.

• Sara and Harry seemed like real people that I would be friends with. Sara especially was very relatable. This was a great character driven novel.

• I loved the humor in this book and laughed out loud many times.

One Last Word is a charming character driven romance set in the tech world. I enjoyed it!

Book Source: Review copy from NetGalley. Thank-you!