The New Mother by Nora Murphy

On 2023-06-012023-05-31 By JolieIn ARC, book review, Minotaur Books, NetGalley, St. Martin's PressLeave a comment

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books

Date of publication: May 30th, 2023

Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Fiction, Suspense, Adult, Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Drama

Trigger Warnings: Murder, Post Partum Depression, Post Partum Psychosis

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

A relatable and nerve-wracking, sympathetic and bone-chilling story — a fresh new twist on motherhood and murder in suburbia.

Isolated. Lonely. Tired. It’s hard being The New Mother. Sometimes it’s murder.

Nothing is simple about being a new mom alone in a new house, especially when your baby is collicky. Natalie Fanning loves her son unconditionally, but being a mother was not all she wanted to be.

Enter Paul, the neighbor.

Paul provides the lifeline she needs in what feels like the most desperate of times. When Paul is helping with Oliver, calmed by his reassuring, steady presence, Nat feels like she can finally rest.

But Paul wants something in return. It’s no coincidence that he has befriended Nat—she is the perfect pawn for his own plan. Will Nat wake up in time to see it?

First Line:

It wasn’t the sort of neighborhood for murder. It was exactly th sort of neighborhood that is comprised the majority of Patuxent County.
The New Mother by Nora Murphy

Natalie is having a hard time adjusting to motherhood. She can’t sleep because Oliver, her son, only wants her and screams if anyone else touches him. Then she meets her next-door neighbor, Paul, and he seems to have the magic touch with Oliver. Soon, they have a close friendship. But things are different from what they seem with Paul. His befriending Natalie wasn’t a coincidence. Paul is setting Natalie up for a crime he committed. What crime did Paul commit? Will Natalie take the fall for it?

Reading this book took me back to my seventeen-year-old daughter’s birth and the months shortly after. I thought I was prepared for her birth and everything after. I wasn’t. I dealt with a horrible birth experience and a newborn/infant who screamed constantly. Unlike Natalie, I thankfully had my family and friends that watched out for PPD. But it was challenging and draining. And, like Natalie, it was a sense of relief when I got answers for why my daughter (Miss B) screamed all the time. She had colic and went nine months with an undiagnosed milk allergy. It took me switching doctors to get that diagnosis. So, yes, I related to this book.

The New Mother is a fast-paced book with dual points of view. The points of view went between the first person (Natalie) and 3rd person (Paul). I wasn’t a massive fan of that, I wouldn’t say I like it when it changes POV, but I did like that I got to see how Paul formulated his plan and how Natalie figured out what he was doing. The pacing for this book fits it perfectly.

The storyline for The New Mother was interesting. It centers around Natalie and her life after having Oliver. Natalie was one of those Facebook-perfect mothers at the beginning of The New Mother. She was going to do everything organic, exclusively breastfeeding and babywearing. I did get a good giggle at how the author initially wrote her. But Oliver wasn’t your typical baby. He had colic and screamed all the time. He hated the sling. And breastfeeding was an awful experience for Natalie. Plus, she started getting depressed and not allowing anyone to hold Oliver but her. In the middle of the book, Natalie is having a rough time. Then Paul swoops in like an angel and helps Natalie. She can sleep and feel like she is her old self around him. But Paul, well, his friendship with Natalie had sinister motives, and the author clarified those motives around the time their friendship deepened. I did call what happened next and everything else after.

As I said above, Natalie was a Facebook-perfect mother. She was one of those mothers who did everything perfectly. I was rolling my eyes whenever she yelled at her husband for bringing nonorganic food into the house. The scene where he bought the swing was a perfect example also. But at the same time, I did feel bad for her. She was struggling. Breastfeeding was hard for her, and she wasn’t expecting it to be painful. Oliver was a difficult baby, and she made it worse by holding him constantly. I called because she had PPD long before it was mentioned in the book. Natalie also wasn’t sleeping, and it was starting to mess with her. I was also a little irritated that no one, mainly her husband, caught on that she was depressed. It was so obvious (well, to me, it was). And it made it easy for Paul to prey on her.

I didn’t like Paul from the beginning. I have nothing against stay-at-home dads (actually, it’s excellent), but how he became one was awful. He had nothing nice to say about his wife, and that was a huge red flag to me when he started bad-mouthing her to Natalie. He just got skeevier and skeevier as the book went on. Poor Natalie didn’t know which end was up with him. The night of the Halloween party and the confrontation after were his doing. He was just a nasty man who did get what was coming to him.

I found the thriller/suspense angle of The New Mother interesting. I liked that the author kept the bad guy (Paul) first and foremost in the book. I loved that I got to see the planning that he did to frame Natalie. Some of it was genius. But, at the same time, I loved it when Natalie figured out what was happening and how she turned everything around on Paul.

The end of The New Mother didn’t quite gel with the rest of the book. The author fast-forwarded a few months and then explained what was happening. I wish that she hadn’t done that. I would have loved to see what she explained written out. I was left feeling meh about it. There was a humorous part of the ending where Natalie’s husband asked if they could have another baby, and she was like, “No, I’ll kill you.” I thought, “You’re having another one, lady.” I said the same thing after Miss B turned one, and then I went on to have two more children.

I would recommend The New Mother to anyone over 21. There is language, violence, and nongraphic sexual situations.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books, NetGalley, and Nora Murphy for allowing me to read and review The New Mother. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoyed reading this review of The New Mother, then you will enjoy reading these books:

Other books by Nora Murphy:

May 2023 Wrap Up

On 2023-05-302023-05-28 By JolieIn ARC, Bantam, book review, Del Rey, Delacorte Press, Independent Book Publisher's Association, Member's Titles, Minotaur Books, NetGalley, Non ARC, Novel Cause, Random House, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Random House Publishing Group - Random House, Shivnath Productions, Sourcebooks Casablanca, St. Martin's Griffin, St. Martin's PressLeave a comment

Here is what I read/posted/bought in May.

As always, let me know if you have read any of these books and (if you did) what you thought of them.

Books I Read:

Free Kindle Purchase

KU Purchase

ARC from St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin

ARC from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Bantam

ARC from Sourcebooks Casablanca

ARC from St. Martin’s Press

Free Kindle Purchase

KU Purchase

Free Kindle Purchase

Kindle Purchase

ARC from St. Martin’s Press and St. Martin’s Griffin

Kindle Purchase

Free Kindle Purchase

KU Purchase

Kindle Purchase

Non-ARC from author

ARC from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Ballantine Books

ARC from Author

ARC from Crooked Lane Books

ARC from Sourcebooks Casablanca

KU Purchase

Free Kindle Purchase

ARC from Crooked Lane Books

ARC from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Ballantine Books

ARC from Shivnath Productions, IBPA, and Member’s Titles

ARC from St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books

Non-ARC from author

Free Kindle Purchase

KU Purchase

Books I got from NetGalley:

Invite from St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin

Invite from Random House Publishing Group – Random House, Random House

Wish granted by Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Del Rey

Invite from St. Martin’s Press

Selection from Minotaur Influencer Program

Wished granted from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Delacorte Press

Read Now from St. Martin’s Press and Minotaur Books

Read Now from St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin

Invite from St. Martin’s Press Influencer Program

Invite from St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books

Wish granted from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Del Rey

Books I got from Authors/Indie Publishers:

ARC from Novel Cause

ARC from author

Non-ARC from author

Non-ARC from Author

Non-ARC from author

Giveaway Winners

Goodreads Giveaway: Paperback

Goodreads Giveaway: Kindle

Books Reviewed:

Dearly Beloved Departed by Nancy Lynn Jarvis—Review here

S.O.P.H.I.E. by C.J. Noble—Review here

How the Murder Crumbles by Debra Sennefelder—Review coming June 20th

The Ferryman by Justin Cronin—Review here

Lucky Girl by Irene Muchemi-Ndiritu—Review here

The Last Word by Katy Birchall—Review here

The Comeback by Lily Chu—Review here

A Crown of Ivy and Glass by Claire Legrand—Review coming June 13th

The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer—Review here

No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister—Review here

The Impossible Proof of Knowing Nothing by Maria Karvouni Truth—Review Here

Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts by Kristyn J. Miller—Review Here

Brainstorm by Nissa Harlow—Review Here

Reality Is Just A P0ss1ble Fantasy by Maria Karvouni Truth—Review Here

You Are Always Innocent by Maria Karvouni Truth—Review Here

Desiree’s Revenge by K.C. Carson—Review Here

Perilous Times by Thomas D. Lee—Review Here

Her Latent Charm by Dana C. Brentson—Review coming June 1st

A Cryptic Clue by Victoria Gilbert—Review coming July 11th

The Book Proposal by KJ Micciche—-Review Here

Take the Honey and Run by Jennie Marts—Review coming July 18th

The StoryGraph Reading Challenges:

April

2023 ABC Challenge (D)—Descendants

2023 TBR Prompts (A BookTok Fave)—The Song of Achilles

May

Buzzword Reading Challenge 2023 (Flavour-related words: Must have flavour/herb/spice related words in the title: salter, pepper, dill, ginger, mango, vanilla, lemon…etc)—The Saltwater Marathon

2023 Monthly Themes (Mystery May)—Mermaid Cliff

2023 Sami Parker Reads Title Challenge (with a word such as rabbit, bunny, hare to honor Chinese Year of the Rabbit. Title should include at least one of those words)—Killer Rabbits

Cover Scavenger Hunt 2023 (A Leaf)—The Affiliate

The StoryGraph’s Onboarding Reading Challenge 2023 (Read a book in your least read format or genre)—Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado

Scavenger Hunt TBR Book Challenge (Go to page 34, line 6 of the book you just read. How many words are there in that line? Divide that number by 3. That’s the amount of words the title of your next book should be): Modern Girl’s Guide to Vacation Flings by Gina Drayer

Beat the Backlist 2023 (meant to read it last year): Prepared by Courtney Konstantin

The StoryGraph’s Genre Challenge 2023 (A children’s book you never read as a kid): Frog and Toad Are Friends by Arnold Lobel

Popsugar Reading Challenge 2023 (A book with a mythical creature): Hereditary by Jane Washington

2023 TBR Toppler (The last book in a series): Ten Thousand Truths by Kelli Washington

Books I bought*:

*Normally, there won’t be a lot of books on here. But I am going through my Goodreads shelves and downloading any free books I am coming across from books already shelved (as well as adding books that are in the same series). This is an ongoing project, and I should be done by September (yes, I have that many books).

Free Kindle Purchase

Free Amazon Prime Read

Free Kindle Purchase

Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts by Kristyn J. Miller

On 2023-05-162023-05-15 By JolieIn ARC, book review, NetGalley, St. Martin's Griffin, St. Martin's Press3 Comments

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin

Date of publication: May 16th, 2023

Genre: Romance, Contemporary, Chick Lit, Adult, Contemporary Romance, Fiction, Travel, Adult Fiction

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&H | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

Love breaks all the rules.

Margo Anderson is sworn off commitment. Alongside her best friend, Jo, she runs a viral podcast featuring rules for hooking up without catching feelings. So when Jo surprises her by deciding to get married and taking up a sponsor’s offer to host an all-expenses-paid wedding trip on Catalina Island, they have the whole internet to answer to.

In a scramble for content to appease their disappointed listeners, Margo cooks up a social experiment: Break all her own dating rules, just to prove that it’s a bad idea. And she’s found the best man for the job in the groom’s best friend and her old high school nemesis, Declan Walsh. He may be easier on the eyes than Margo remembered, but he’s sure to be as smug and annoying as he was before—there is no chance Margo will ever catch feelings for him . . . until she does.

The more time they spend together through cake tastings and wedding party activities, the more Margo can’t ignore their obvious spark, and she may actually be enjoying getting to know Declan. But can she let go of the rules to let him in?

First Line:

The Blue Room was teeming with amateur influencers. The clubs in Studio City weren’t known for a cozy local vibe on the best of nights, but it was especially bad tonight.
Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts by Kristyn J. Miller

Margo and her best friend, Jo, are co-hosts of a viral podcast that they made famous for seven rules for hooking up without getting feelings involved. So, the internet freaked out when Jo announced she was getting married and using a sponsor’s offer for an all-expenses paid wedding trip to Catalina Island. Also upset was Margo. She was left dealing with the fallout from Jo’s announcement. So, she devised a plan. She’s going to break her own dating rules to prove that it is a bad idea. Her victim: Declan Walsh, the groom’s best man and Margo’s arch nemesis from high school. But, as Margo spends time with Declan, he isn’t who she remembered, and she does something that she vowed never to do: She caught feelings for him. But, when a vengeful fan reveals her plan, Margo might just have lost the best thing that has happened to her. Will Margo prove to Declan that what she feels is real? Or has she blown it?

Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts was a medium to fast-paced book that made me laugh in places and want to cry in others. It is mainly set on Catalina Island, centering on the resort and the town of Avalon. Having always wanted to go to Catalina Island, I enjoyed the brief forays into the water and one memorable hike to see bison. On a side note, I was surprised when that came up in this book and did a Google search of it. Seeing that it is real, I want to go there even more.

The main storyline of Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts centers around Margo, Declan, Margo’s plans to do damage control, Jo’s wedding, and the various trips the wedding party takes. I wasn’t a massive fan of Margo’s plan and felt it would end badly. I did think that the author did a great job of weaving all of these details together to make a great story. Because I feel that if she had just based this book on Margo and Declan, it would have fallen flat.

I didn’t like Margo at first. She seemed immature and needy. Even though high school was ten years behind them, she was still focused on how Declan treated her. There were points when she talked crap about Declan to Jo, and that’s when I wanted to stuff a gag in her mouth and tell her to get over it. Her plan to use him for her damage control plan was pretty low. But then something happened that usually doesn’t happen if I had made up my mind about a character. I started to like her. She was acting the way she was because she wasn’t sure what her future held, which scared her. And when her phone was stolen, and everything leaked, I felt awful for her. I wish that storyline had been closure because I was heated. But the author left it as that person did it and got caught, but nothing happened. Margo, of course, got the short end of the stick there. I won’t say how, but it made me very teary-eyed.

I loved Declan. He was the complete package: gorgeous, intelligent, and built. His confession to Margo about why he acted the way to her in high school was sweet. He also dealt with everything that Jo and Margo did (for the podcast and their sponsors) in stride. There were points in the book where I thought he was a little too laid back, but that didn’t last long. But, when everything was leaked, he jetted. I didn’t blame him; it was just too much. Plus, his feelings were shattered. So, no, I didn’t blame him for what he said to Margo and how he took off.

For a romance, there weren’t a ton of sex scenes. Margo and Declan fooled around a ton, but sex was only a few times. The author did include Margo getting serviced by Declan in a dressing room and Margo returning the favor to Declan in the shower. The sex wasn’t graphic either, and honestly, I could have cared less. For me, it was the chemistry that they had and the build-up. Other people might disagree, but I stand my ground in this case. Declan and Margo had great sexual chemistry.

As for trigger warnings in this book, I can only think of two. They are:

Drinking: The drinks flowed freely in this book. Margo and the rest of the wedding party were drunk up to the wedding.
Drugs: One of the bridesmaids owns a high-profile cannabis store. During the bachelorette party, she brings cannabis-laced brownies and gummies to help celebrate.

The end of Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts was super sad. I hated seeing Margo acting the way that she was. She was depressed and knew she had mucked it up between her and Declan. Of course, this is a romance, and you know they end up together. That scene stole my breath. And the epilogue was fantastic!!!!

I would recommend Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts to anyone over 21. There is language, mild violence, and sexual situations. Also, see my trigger warning list.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin, NetGalley, and Kristyn J. Miller for allowing me to read and review Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoyed reading this review of Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts, then you will enjoy reading these books:

No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister

On 2023-05-122023-05-11 By JolieIn ARC, book review, NetGalley, St. Martin's Press2 Comments

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Date of publication: May 2nd, 2023

Genre: Fiction, Books about Books, Contemporary, Literary Fiction, Adult, Adult Fiction, Womens Fiction, Short Stories, Novel

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

One book. Nine readers. Ten changed lives. New York Times bestselling author Erica Bauermeister’s No Two Persons is “a gloriously original celebration of fiction, and the ways it deepens our lives.”

That was the beauty of books, wasn’t it? They took you places you didn’t know you needed to go…

Alice has always wanted to be a writer. Her talent is innate, but her stories remain safe and detached, until a devastating event breaks her heart open, and she creates a stunning debut novel. Her words, in turn, find their way to readers, from a teenager hiding her homelessness, to a free diver pushing himself beyond endurance, an artist furious at the world around her, a bookseller in search of love, a widower rent by grief. Each one is drawn into Alice’s novel; each one discovers something different that alters their perspective, and presents new pathways forward for their lives.

Together, their stories reveal how books can affect us in the most beautiful and unexpected of ways—and how we are all more closely connected to one another than we might think.

First Line:

The story on Alice’s computer screen had been finding its way into words for more than five years, or maybe forever.
No Two Persons (The Writer) by Erica Bauermeister

No Two Persons is a story about how one book can change someone’s life. It follows the lives of Alice, the author, and nine people who read her book, Theo. It details how Theo changed or helped change each person’s life (for better or worse). An emotional read, No Two Persons will get under your skin and make you wonder: How many lives will this book affect?

The plotline for No Two Persons initially follows Alice, the author of Theo. It explains her background (distant parents, death of an older brother from an overdose) and how she wanted to write but felt she couldn’t. It wasn’t until college, and an observant professor, that Alice finally throws off her parents’ expectations and writes Theo. After that, the plotline goes from prepublication (when Alice was searching for a publisher) to her ARC reader to her readers and then back in a circle to the publisher.

I won’t lie and say I wasn’t affected by this book because I was. I found a connection with every single character. The ones that stood out to me the most were the new mother (who worked for the publisher), the free driver, and the homeless teenager. I could see a bit of myself in each of those characters.

I liked that the book did interconnect the stories. I didn’t realize, at first, that they were interconnected until almost the end of the book. Then I briefly reread, and a lightbulb went over my head. This book also went full circle. It started and ended with Alice.

I would recommend No Two Persons to anyone over 21. There is language, mild violence, and sexual situations.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and Erica Bauermeister for allowing me to read and review No Two Persons. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoyed reading this review of No Two Persons, then you will enjoy reading these books:

Other books by Erica Bauermeister:

The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer

On 2023-05-112023-05-10 By JolieIn ARC, book review, NetGalley, St. Martin's PressLeave a comment

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Date of publication: May 9th, 2023

Genre: Fiction, Contemporary, Romance, Literary Fiction, Adult, Death, Novels, Family, Adult Fiction, Literature

Trigger Warnings: Death

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

Mikki Brammer’s The Collected Regrets of Clover is a big-hearted and life-affirming debut about a death doula who, in caring for others at the end of their life, has forgotten how to live her own, for readers of The Midnight Library.

What’s the point of giving someone a beautiful death if you can’t give yourself a beautiful life?

From the day she watched her kindergarten teacher drop dead during a dramatic telling of Peter Rabbit, Clover Brooks has felt a stronger connection with the dying than she has with the living. After the beloved grandfather who raised her dies alone while she is traveling, Clover becomes a death doula in New York City, dedicating her life to ushering people peacefully through their end-of-life process.

Clover spends so much time with the dying that she has no life of her own, until the final wishes of a feisty old woman send Clover on a trip across the country to uncover a forgotten love story––and perhaps, her own happy ending. As she finds herself struggling to navigate the uncharted roads of romance and friendship, Clover is forced to examine what she really wants, and whether she’ll have the courage to go after it.

Probing, clever, and hopeful, The Collected Regrets of Clover turns the normally taboo subject of death into a reason to celebrate life.

First Line:

The first time I watched someone die, I was five.
The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer

Since her kindergarten teacher died when she was five, Clover has been fascinated with death. That fascination leads her to get a master’s degree in thanatology and then to her career as one of the only death doulas in New York City. Besides her dog, two cats, and her elderly neighbor, Leo, Clover is alone. But a chance meeting with an enigmatic man turns into a job preparing his grandmother for death makes Clover realize that there is more to life than death. With the help of a new friend and her client, Clover starts navigating the often tricky road of romance and friendship. Will Clover be able to open up to people finally? And will she have the courage to go after what she wants?

So, I will admit this; I hadn’t planned on accepting the invite for this book. I would decline it after reading the email and continuing with my life. But I wasn’t paying attention (I had a couple of emails in a row from the publisher), and I accepted it before I realized what I was doing. Since I got the invite at some point in 2022 (I am not going to look, and yes, I am lazy), I put off reading The Collected Regrets of Clover. When I saw that it was coming up on my reading schedule, I was going to put it off again and decided that enough was enough, and I would read it. Well, I am glad that I did. This book was great; I regret putting it off for so long.

The Collected Regrets of Clover’s storyline centers around Clover and her gradual realization that there is more to life than focusing on death. I have never heard of a death doula or even getting a master’s degree in thanatology before this book. I did some research after reading this book and both subjects fascinate me. But I am not here to discuss how fascinated I am by this subject. We are here to talk about the storyline. So back to the subject.

I thought The Collected Regrets of Clover’s storyline was well written and kept my attention on the book. The book does split into two storylines for a while. One storyline details Clover’s early life up to when her grandfather dies. The other is the present day which shows how lonely Clover is. The author was able to merge both storylines later in the book. Usually, I wouldn’t have liked the dual storylines, but in this case, it worked. I got to see how Clover was shaped into who she was, and I got to see how she was dealing in the present day.

For a book about death and dying, I didn’t feel that the focus was solely on that. The author did a great job keeping Clover’s issues (and her awkwardness) front and center while she tended to her client. Never, at any point in the book, did I get the feeling that this book was morbid. I thought it was a beautiful homage to dying.

I liked Clover, and I did form a connection with her. I was slightly amazed that she never had a relationship with anyone her age (which I put between 35-39). There was a point in the book where I did get an asexual vibe from her (which was fine with me), but then the author did a 180 with that. I was also amazed by how naive she was. There was only one thing that weirded me out: she constantly spied on her across-the-street neighbors. But it was explained, and she did use their relationship as a comparison. But still, it was weird.

The end of the book was thoughtful. I liked how the author wrapped up the storylines. It was respectful and very touching. I also loved seeing Clover’s growth. The Clover at the beginning of the book would have never been able to do what the Clover at the end of the book did.

I would recommend The Collected Regrets of Clover to anyone over 21. There are nongraphic sexual situations, mild violence, and language.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and Mikki Brammer for allowing me to read and review The Collected Regrets of Clover. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoyed this review of The Collected Regrets of Clover, then you will enjoy these books:

The Last Word by Katy Birchall

On 2023-05-08 By JolieIn ARC, book review, NetGalley, St. Martin's Griffin, St. Martin's Press2 Comments

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin

Date of publication: May 2nd, 2023

Genre: Romance, Contemporary, Fiction, Adult, Chick Lit, Contemporary Romance, Adult Fiction

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N |AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

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?

First Line:

The question is posed toward the end of the night, as a large box of chocolates is passed around the table and Mimi, the host, fills up wine glasses so her fridge isn’t left with bottles that are two-thirds drunk.
The Last Word by Katy Birchall

Harper is killing it at her newspaper. A top-rated celebrity journalist, she is known for getting Hollywood stars and starlets to open up to her. She is also known for her business contacts, which she worked hard to get. But things start going sideways for her when Ryan is hired as the new Features Editor. Harper and Ryan were a thing over ten years ago, and that ended in disaster when Ryan betrayed Harper. She has never forgiven him or gotten over the betrayal. But, the more time they are forced to spend together, the more Harper realizes that she might have overreacted and that her feelings for Ryan might be more profound than she admits. How will Harper and Ryan’s romance end? Will it be a happily ever after? Or will it be over before it gets a chance to take off?

I was not expecting to dislike The Last Word. Usually, these chick-lit romances are a fun, quick read for me. A light bit of fluff is a palate cleanser for my brain (I read many books with heavier content). I went into reading The Last Word expecting it to be a mildly pleasant book. It was not. Unfortunately, the main female character ruined the book for me. To say I disliked her is putting it mildly.

The storyline for The Last Word was easy to follow. Taking place mainly in London, the book follows Harper as she navigates her career and relationships. I did like the storyline. It was well written and kept my attention on the book (even with my intense dislike of Harper).

I couldn’t stand Harper. While I admired that she had worked hard to prove her parents wrong, I felt she came across as a spoiled brat for almost the entire book. I didn’t understand why she disliked poor Ryan for so long. The author kept that a secret until nearly halfway through the book. Meanwhile, Harper acted like a fool in her office (screaming at Ryan, accusing him of stealing her stuff, mocking his cookies, and freaking out about other things). I might have sympathy for her if the author had disclosed what he did (and honestly, it wasn’t a big deal). But then she did it again (when the layoffs happened), and her behavior made me sick. I did have a small amount of sympathy for her because of how her parents were. I felt that the author threw that in just for that reason.

As much as I liked and felt bad for Ryan, I wish he had stood up for himself. He let Harper walk all over him at the magazine. Listen, I get that he didn’t want to rock the boat with her at work (she did have seniority), but he turned into a freaking doormat. When the author finally divulged why Harper hated him, I got it. What he did wasn’t right, but telling Harper she didn’t get the job wasn’t his place. I also got why he didn’t tell her about the layoffs at the magazine. It wasn’t his place (it was that idiot, Cosmo). But he still let Harper blame him for everything. It got old after a while, and honestly, he should have moved on after the layoff.

There are sex scenes in The Last Word. They were non-graphic. Because of how I felt about Harper, I was a little disgusted by reading them.

The end of The Last Word was interesting. I liked how Harper took her layoff and turned it around. She could keep doing what she loved but on her own time. That was awesome. I also liked how Harper told her parents and sister off. It was long overdue. Harper and Ryan got their HEA, but it left a bad taste in my mouth. She was awful and didn’t deserve him (there, I said it). And while I liked the epilogue, it didn’t evoke the happy feelings they usually do. Instead, I felt nothing but pity for Ryan.

I recommend this book to anyone over 21. There is language, mild violence, and language.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin, NetGalley, and Katy Birchall for allowing me to read and review The Last Word. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

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