The Last Word

A Slow-Burn Romance Between a Ghostwriter and Her Critic

She’s hired to write the memoir of the man whose review once nearly ended her career.

Clara Bennett needs the money—but that isn’t what makes her hesitate.

Elliot Hargrave is the most feared literary critic in the industry, notorious for the takedown that eviscerated her career under the pen name Aurora Rose Valentine. He doesn’t know who she is. And Clara intends to keep it that way.

What begins as a strictly professional arrangement quickly becomes something sharper: a battle of intellect, restraint, and unspoken tension. In their sessions, Clara is meant to capture Elliot’s life in his own words—yet the more she presses, the more she realizes he’s built his reputation on control, and his private life on silence.

As Elliot’s story unfolds, Clara finds herself drawn into the spaces he doesn’t offer freely: the bitterness behind the brilliance, the loneliness behind the authority, and the truth he edits out of every conversation. The line between interviewer and subject blurs. The work stops feeling safe.

Because Clara isn’t only writing his life.

She’s holding power over it.

And if Elliot discovers the woman shaping his legacy is the same “anonymous” author he once publicly dismantled, the fallout won’t just end the project—it could destroy what’s growing between them, and expose the secret Clara has protected for years.

The Last Word is a standalone contemporary romance filled with emotional tension, sharp dialogue, and a slow-burn connection—where intimacy grows through trust, honesty, and the risk of being truly seen.

AI voice

Based on how much I listened, I know the book will be good. However, the voice takes away so much emotion from the story that it’s hard to follow.