The Last Word: A Novel

Written by Katy Birchall

Narrated by Karen Cass

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?

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin's Griffin.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Audio
• Release date: May 2, 2023
• ISBN: 9781250899255

Katy Birchall

Katy Birchall is the author of the side-splittingly funny The It Girl: Superstar Geek and its eagerly-awaited sequels The It Girl: Team Awkward and The It Girl: Don't Tell the Bridesmaid. Katy won the 24/7 Theatre Festival Award for Most Promising new Comedy Writer with her very serious play about a ninja monkey at a dinner party.

Reviews for The Last Word

[Andrea Author · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Journalist Harper has a reputation for using empathy and trust to get the best A-list celebrity interviews in the business. Yet her misogynistic boss has little respect for her and her "fluff" pieces. Things only get worse when her ex, Ryan, joins the team as a features editor. With Harper and Ryan forced to work together, old feelings resurface, and a fragile trust grows between them. But when layoffs loom, will the past repeat itself?

This is my favorite Katy Birchall novel to date. Her characteristic insight into the human heart combines with laugh-out-loud humor and a deeply emotional romance for a warm and satisfying read. Don't miss this book!

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.