Hello everyone! 💖 Welcome back to another romance ARC review.
Today’s review is about The Last Page by Katie Holt, a story following a bookseller and the new owner clashing over how to run the beloved bookstore, The Last Page.
Not in My Book by Katie Holt was one of my favorite romances of 2025. I remember loving the romantic tension between the two characters, and by the time they finally got together, I was SO hyped. I did give the book four stars because of the third-act conflict, but otherwise, I have only positive thoughts.
Because that was Katie Holt’s debut, I was excited to see what was next for her. As soon as I saw The Last Page on Netgalley, I immediately requested it. I loved the idea of two characters fighting over a bookstore (and I never will turn down the opportunity to pretend I am also the owner of a bookstore myself), so the premise was intriguing.
Sadly, it did not live up to the hype I built in my head. However, I think a lot of my issues with the novel are ones that many other readers will look past. Let’s get into the review.
The Last Page was released on May 12th and is currently available at most retail bookstores.
GENERAL INFO
The Last Page by Katie Holt
Published on May 12, 2026
Genres: Romance, Workplace Romance
Pages: 336
Format: ARC
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
Ella has grown up at The Last Page, a charming local bookstore in New York City where she now works. Her first kiss was in the women’s health section. A boyfriend dumped her in comedy. The owner is like a second father to her and has begun training her to take over the store. So when he unexpectedly dies and his estranged grandson is left everything in the will, Ella is devastated.
Henry doesn’t know the first thing about running a bookstore. With his aging mom back in Tennessee, he plans to stay in New York just long enough to ensure things are running smoothly and then head back home. What he never could have counted on was the beautiful, funny bookseller who loves The Last Page more than any place in the world—and who sees him as the villain who’s come to ruin her life.
But when it becomes evident that the store is in deep financial trouble and Henry and Ella are both at risk of losing everything, they have no choice but to put their differences aside and team up—despite the inconvenient chemistry blossoming between them.
.
Overall Thoughts
I’m going to start with the negatives so I can end on a more positive note. One of my biggest issues was that I felt the plot was going nowhere. The story always came back to “we need to save the bookshop,” which was true, but it didn’t feel like any other problem was being dealt with until the end (the MMC’s (Henry’s) fear of commitment, etc.), and so by the time he made a major decision at the end of the book, I was left feeling whiplashed. I think a lot of this is due to my next issue with the book, though.
Another part of the problem with the whole “save the bookshop” plot was the staff at the bookstore. I normally love a quirky side cast, but oh my gosh, the bookstore employees annoyed me so much. If your boss asks you to take out the trash, you can’t just whine your way out of it!! The man signs your paychecks!! I have worked with people like that, and it wasn’t some fun, found-family aspect; I was wondering why on earth the boss didn’t fire them while I had to pick up all their slack. I thought the exact same thing throughout this book. Maybe this is all projected from my terrible experiences working in the service industry, but I did not find it as fun as I have seen other readers describe. I think part of the reason I felt the other parts of the story took a back seat was that too much time was spent on the employees.
All of this leads me to the conclusion that I felt the characters had absolutely zero chemistry. While I did like Ella for the most part, her obsessive trait of saying “New York City is better than everything” got really annoying by the end. I get loving the place you live, but she refused to listen every time Henry was like, “Ummm, Tennessee can be like this, too.” I felt like that was a weird personality trait from the start.
All of that being said, I do have some positives. I think that the grief storyline was well developed. A lot of feelings were explored, and I thought they were handled well. I have had to handle grief a few different times in the past twelve months, and it was the part I related to most in the book. The idea that something can happen at any point in time, and there are going to be things that you can’t help but regret, felt very real. The book spends a lot of time grappling with those emotions, and I appreciated that.
I also think Katie Holt’s writing is very readable and engaging. Even when I was frustrated with the story, I never felt like the book was poorly written. I moved through it quickly, and there were plenty of moments that reminded me why I enjoyed her debut.
My least favorite aspect of Katie’s debut, Not in my Book, was that there was a terrible third-act breakup, and I was pleasantly surprised to not have that here.
Even though I didn’t personally vibe with the characters, most of the romance wasn’t bad, and all the romantic scenes were incredibly well written. I can absolutely see other readers connecting to the characters more than I did.
I think that there is definitely an audience for this book, but I’m so sad it wasn’t for me. Despite my disappointment with The Last Page, I will still give Katie Holt another go in the future because I know she can write romantic tension well.
Final Rating: ⭐️⭐️💫
Those are all of my thoughts on The Last Page! Is this book something you are interested in checking out? Let me know in the comments below!
Until next time, xx