The Last to Know by Laura Jane Williams - Romance Book Review

Within just a few pages, I could already tell that the author had a very distinctive voice. I wasn’t sure at first that I was going to click with the way the story was told, but 3 solid hours of reading and a finished book later, I was proved wrong! It had something of a chick-flick movie kind of feel – I could imagine the narrative being read out as a voiceover at the start of a movie from the 00s. And fortunately, it turns out I really enjoy that.

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Ash has escaped her day to day life by taking a 3 month sabbatical in Lisbon, where she meets prickly CJ – a woman she comes up against time and time again who seems to bring out the confrontation in her. And when they clash over the same man, things get even more heated, and they can’t stop thinking about how much they hate one another. As Ash explores the city and brings some spark back into her life, in part thanks to CJ, they both begin to realise that their passion might be more than just hate.

Both women in the book are unapologetic about their sexual adventures – whether that’s living a life that’s free from serious relationships, or one in which they experiment to keep the spark there. As a whole, the book explores living a life that isn’t a cardboard cut out. There are people in same sex relationships living with a mum who is single by choice; there is a woman who has left her husband and is now exploring what single life as an older lay can be like; and of course, there’s one of our main characters who has two failed long term relationships under her belt and is trying to find herself out in the world.

I’ve been trying to expand my romance horizons lately with more characters outside of the heterosexual and binary world. I guess much like the characters in the book coming to terms with what else is out there in the world and opening themselves up to what they might or might not be interested in. This was a really interesting exploration of two characters who have always seen themselves as straight, finding out that, maybe, that isn’t strictly the case.

This is the perfect holiday book – it’s light and sunny enough to read in a single sitting, with a cast of vibrant characters (what a joy they all are!) but has enough backstory to add depth to the book. While sex and sexuality are ever present in the book (even in the first few pages!), it’s spicy but not scarily so.

The setting of Lisbon was so strong, “she” was almost her own character. I’ve never been to Lisbon, and honestly, I’d never really considered going there…until now. I feel like I need to go now to understand the magical draw this city has! The characters and their chemistry sat so well in the setting. I could feel the way that Ash was drawing on the exuberance of life there and thriving. At times, the “joy of feeling alive” vibe might feel quite heavy handed to some readers, but I really enjoyed it.

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The only negative I have is that the ending, while very much nicely wrapped in a little bow like you would want from a happily ever after kind of ending, felt a little rushed. It was definitely a slow burn, enemies to lovers kind of romance, but I think I wanted to see more of them actually coming together and figuring that out rather than being told it basically right at the end. I think I just enjoyed the characters and their relationship so much, I wanted to see more of the flipside of it once they realised their passion was being directed in the wrong way!

Overall, this was a brilliant intro to this author for me and I’ll definitely be coming back to her other books in future.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publishers for an ARC of this book.