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A review by tales_of_a_bookbug
One Last Word by Suzanne Park
2.5
Oof I didn't enjoy this one as much as I thought I would 🫤 I have only read one other Suzanne Park book(So We Meet Again) so I was excited to read this one mainly because of the unique premise - the app created by the protagonist which was supposed to send out the user's final words after they pass away, ends up sending out her last words to her family and friends after something goes wrong. Sounds funny and mortifying at the same time right?
Except this part didn't have much consequences when it came to the plot later on. Like it gets the ball rolling as Sara clears things out with her parents and her ex-best friend but it doesn't really have much impact on her life as the app itself was in the beta testing round and none of her messages were too risky - not even the email that was supposed to be sent to her crush Harry(it just ended up being the lyrics to You Belong With Me). Talk about low stakes - not that I have a problem with that but the blurb had me thinking that this book would be more about these messages and the fallout from that.
And my main disappointment was the romance between her and Harry. While this reads like a women's fiction novel as it focuses more on Sara rediscovering her confidence and asserting herself, there was a decent amount of focus on the romance too.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Firstly, I didn't even get why Sara was attracted to Harry but she's had a crush on him since high school and she's still thinking about all of that stuff, so I can understand, but he wasn't even that great? And then just as we're getting into the story there's an unnecessary twist where Sara pretends to be in a relationship with her best friend(just because she doesn't want to seem pathetic in front of Harry) and so Harry thinks that she's in a relationship now but they're still weirdly 'pining' for each other and almost 'cheating' on her fake 'boyfriend'. And it doesn't stop there! Harry then asks her to be his fake date for an event that's being hosted by his ex-wife and oh boy we have to hear about his marriage and how it fizzled out. The event also made him weirdly uncomfortable because the decor and planning was very similar to his wedding decor? Such a weird thing to include 😅
And then we find out later that he and his ex hadn't even gotten a divorce yet. Like what? It's been more than a few years, why are you trying to date other women when you haven't even finalized your separation? He just stayed married for financial purposes? I had no words at that point 🫥
At one point, Sara even had this vague thought that perhaps Harry isn't the guy that she'd imagined him to be back in high school and that he has changed a lot over time. And that was the truth as he wasn't really as great as the crush that she'd built up in her head but that thought just goes out of the window. Honestly, I didn't even want them to end up together as I didn't find him or their relationship appealing at all. But he just gives a last minute apology and everything is forgiven. I just wanted to scream 'girl he does not deserve you' because Sara was too good for him.
I think Suzanne Park's novels have certain aspects that are usually well done like the struggles of women in tech and the misogyny that they face, the complicated relationships in Asian families, etc but I think they fall short when it comes to the relationship aspects and characterization. Some of the characters act very immature-ly or selfishly at times and the romantic relationships aren't too great either. And that's such a shame because these books usually have an interesting premise. I'm not sure whether I'll try any of her other books in the future but this one was a miss for me.
*I was provided with an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
Except this part didn't have much consequences when it came to the plot later on. Like it gets the ball rolling as Sara clears things out with her parents and her ex-best friend but it doesn't really have much impact on her life as the app itself was in the beta testing round and none of her messages were too risky - not even the email that was supposed to be sent to her crush Harry(it just ended up being the lyrics to You Belong With Me). Talk about low stakes - not that I have a problem with that but the blurb had me thinking that this book would be more about these messages and the fallout from that.
And my main disappointment was the romance between her and Harry. While this reads like a women's fiction novel as it focuses more on Sara rediscovering her confidence and asserting herself, there was a decent amount of focus on the romance too.
SPOILERS AHEAD
And then we find out later that he and his ex hadn't even gotten a divorce yet. Like what? It's been more than a few years, why are you trying to date other women when you haven't even finalized your separation? He just stayed married for financial purposes? I had no words at that point 🫥
At one point, Sara even had this vague thought that perhaps Harry isn't the guy that she'd imagined him to be back in high school and that he has changed a lot over time. And that was the truth as he wasn't really as great as the crush that she'd built up in her head but that thought just goes out of the window. Honestly, I didn't even want them to end up together as I didn't find him or their relationship appealing at all. But he just gives a last minute apology and everything is forgiven. I just wanted to scream 'girl he does not deserve you' because Sara was too good for him.
I think Suzanne Park's novels have certain aspects that are usually well done like the struggles of women in tech and the misogyny that they face, the complicated relationships in Asian families, etc but I think they fall short when it comes to the relationship aspects and characterization. Some of the characters act very immature-ly or selfishly at times and the romantic relationships aren't too great either. And that's such a shame because these books usually have an interesting premise. I'm not sure whether I'll try any of her other books in the future but this one was a miss for me.
*I was provided with an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*