The Last Word

The Last Word's blurb drew me to this light romance set around two journalists who have some serious emotional baggage and find themselves working at the same publication eleven years after an event fractured their relationship.

This slow burn opposites attract/second chance romance follows Harper, a celebrity editor who is respected by British celebs for her compassionate writing and likeable demeanour. But personally, she's a mess - perpetually late, disorganized and chaotic. She's the opposite of Ryan Jansson, her introverted, organized new coworker (and not-very-welcomed blast from Harper's past).

I liked Harper's professional side and how she handled her clients but in her personal life she was immature and her resentment for Ryan and how she was offended by ev-ery-thing he did became more frustrating and exasperating as the story progressed. The reliance on the miscommunication trope (my least fav trope) and the use of bickering instead of banter didn't endear me to this book, but I enjoyed seeing Harper stand up for herself.

This story had a very slow start and despite the cover and blurb, I would call this a contemporary fiction read, not a RomCom since the romance comes very late in the story and there's really no comedic aspects. But it does have a bit of heart and is an easy-going, light and predictable read. 

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to St Martin's Griffin for the complimentary advanced copy which was provided in exchange for my honest review.

My Rating: 3 stars

Author: Katy Birchall

Genre: RomCom

Type and Source: ebook from publisher via NetGalley

Publisher: St Martin's Griffin

First Published: May 2, 2023

Book Description from GoodReads: The Hating Game meets Beach Read in Katy Birchall's enemies-to-lovers romcom The Last Word , about a young journalist who puts her career (and her heart) on the line when her former work nemesis is hired in her newsroom.

Harper Jenkins is at the top of her game. A brilliant, determined journalist with a well-known knack for getting tight-lipped Hollywood stars to open up to her, Harper loves her job as Celebrity Editor at a newspaper’s glossy weekend magazine and has the best contacts in the business.

But when her awful boss hires talented reporter Ryan to be the new Features Editor, Harper is furious. Because the two have met a decade ago, they were interns at the same publication, where they fell into a whirlwind romance…until Ryan betrayed Harper, and they never spoke again.

Thrown together in a busy newsroom, their dynamic is a disaster from the start. They can’t agree on anything and bicker constantly―Ryan can’t bear how chaotic and messy Harper is; Harper finds Ryan’s condescending nature infuriating. They clash over who’s writing what article, and fight over who’s going to which event.

Yet as they’re forced to spend more and more time together, Harper realizes she may have misjudged Ryan and can’t help but feel a spark growing between them. Long buried feelings start to resurface and, when they’re thrown together on a romantic press trip abroad, their chemistry comes to a head.

But all is fair in love and magazines, and with the news that layoffs across the department are imminent, Harper is left to who will get the last word?