REVIEW: The Last Word by Katy Birchall

The Last Word by Katy Birchall: Harper is seriously the best in the journalism business, there is not a single person that she can not get to open up and spill the beans. So what if she is a tiny bit of a hot mess? She gets the job done regardless of her messy chaotic ways. Which is why she is less than thrilled when her boss hires a new feature editor, one that she shares a not so great past with. Working with Ryan is like working with a brick wall that liked to argue back, the two of them just can not agree on anything. But as the two of them begin – read forced – to spend more time together Harper begins to realise that just maybe she did not give Ryan a fair chance all those years ago… especially when sparks begin to fly while they are in Florence together, but can the rewrite their story to have one with a happy ending this time round?

I am such a huge Birchall fan, this lady has a writing style unlike any other and The Last Word is a great testament to what makes her books so incredibly loveable. This book was a great mix of hate to love, office banter and one super sweet second chance love story. I will say the book did start a bit slow but this only added to the ultimate build up as Harper and Ryan tiptoes around each other, truly these two worked that enemies to lovers trope down to an art.

Harpers was a real star, I loved her character to bits. She was realistic and relatable, but more than this I liked the way she tackled her craft. She had a sense of integrity and worked to form a genuine connection to the people she interviewed, rather than see these people as just a meal ticket with a juicy story to expose. Though I will say she was a bit of a hot mess in most other areas of her life and she did come across as a bit immature in some of the fights but I think this was just her personality and not a major deal breaker for me as a reader.

As for our hero Ryan, well I just loved this guy. In fact I liked Ryan’s character more than I liked Harper. There was just something about Ryan that I connected too, he was genuinely a great guy that had substance to him. I completely understood where Harper was coming from and why she was so apprehensive to allow him into her space but as the book progressed and we got to see more about Ryan and his story the easier to became to root him on.

I just loved the banter and spark between Harper and Ryan, even when they were fighting that chemistry was very much there. I really enjoyed getting to see them reconnect and seeing Ryan working to prove to Harper that what happened all those years ago won’t happen again and that he is worthy of her time. As for their boss Cosmo, well I just want to slap some sense into him, gosh he was just one of the most annoying characters that I have ever read!

All in all The Last Word is a definite must read, this slow burn, second chance, enemies to lovers, office romance was a fun and entertaining read.

Book Info:

Publication: May 2, 2023 | St. Martin’s Griffin |

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?