The Last Word Review

by Katy Birchall

Rating: 4/5

A young journalist puts her career––and her heart––on the line when her former work nemesis is hired in her newsroom, for fans of The Hating Game and Beach Read .

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?

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This was such a fun read! I can’t recall the last time I read a book that featured an MC as a journalist. But several of my favorite rom-com movies revolve around them, so I was excited to dive into this one!

I had picked this up for the romance aspect but I was pleasantly surprised to find the romance isn’t at the forefront of the story, or as much as I expected it to be. Like it's there, but we’re really more focused on Harper and her career as a journalist. 

I loved following Harper, her personality was so chaotic and outgoing, making her a joy to watch. She truly was an amazing journalist too! She actually cared about those she wanted to interview, not just sell out their dirty laundry. Though her process might be seen as a bit unorthodox, she always knew how to get a good story. 

And her feud with Ryan was so much fun to follow! Their relationship was tense from the start, and we get to see snippets of their past, how they met so long ago, and what led up to their tense present. But despite Harper’s hostility towards Ryan, and him dishing it right back, I could see he truly cared for her, even when all she wanted to do was pick a fight and always have “the last word.”

I found this to be such an enjoyable contemporary read set around journalism with a dash of a second chance, enemies-to-lovers romance! If you enjoy office romances, I definitely suggest checking this one out!