The Last Word

I received this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Last Word by Katy Birchall
Narrator: Karen Cass
Published by Macmillan Audio, St. Martin's Griffin on May 2, 2023
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Workplace
Length: 11 hours 9 minutes
Pages: 384
Format: ARC, Audiobook
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
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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 before: 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 wonder: who will get the last word?

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.

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