My huge thanks to Becky Hunter for sending me a surprise copy of The Last Page Café by Kate Storey. With Kate’s The Memory Library (reviewed here) one of my books of the year in 2024, I was thrilled to receive it. It’s my pleasure to share my review of The Last Page Café today.

The Last Page Café will be published by Avon on 12th March 2026 and is available for pre-order through the publisher links here. 

 The Last Page Café

Sometimes the last page is just the beginning…

At fifty-four, Erin McRae feels like she’s been living in the margins of her own story. Ever since she inherited her late mother’s café, The Bookmark, she’s been stuck in a comfortable routine. Her greatest escape is the mismatched book club she founded, bound together by one unusual rule: they choose their next book based solely on the last page.

But when the book club discusses what their own last pages might say, Erin and her fellow members begin to see their own lives in unexpected ways. As the club’s discussions grow deeper, long-buried secrets surface, old wounds start to heal, and romance leaps off the page. With The Bookmark under threat of closure, Erin must ask herself: can she write herself a happier story?

My Review of The Last Page Café

The book club members in Erin’s café always read the final page of a book first.

What a wonderfully charming and entertaining book. I really loved The Last Page Café – even if the concept of reading the final page of a book first almost brought me out in hives!

There’s a realistic and gentle plot that encompasses events that feel familiar and relatable. That’s not to say that there isn’t drama, but it’s so good to find situations that belong to real people so that there is balance and engagement in a really well told story. Reading The Last Page Café makes you feel as if you’re in safe, competent hands.  

And what real people there are between the pages of The Last Page Café. I thought the intensity of the book group members worked brilliantly, and I found myself wondering how they all were getting on when I wasn’t reading about them. The balance of ages from younger Jack and Riley through the middle years of Erin and Adam to the more mature Joe meant that there was almost a Shakespearean seven ages of man presented providing a character for any and every reader. The sense of community they engender and the manner with which Adam’s inclusion initially threatens the balance of the book group seemed absolutely realistic.

And it’s a sense of community and inclusion that runs through this narrative like a shining, golden thread. Kate Story illustrates how looking out for others, but equally caring about ourselves, ensures a better life for all. There’s a vivid and inspiring sense of belonging that shows how, together, we can be greater than the sum of our parts.  I thought the way the author explored Erin’s insecurities through her early prickliness towards Adam, her desire to maintain the status quo at all costs and her desperate need for control (hence reading the final page of a book first), gave true insight into humanity and why others behave as they do on occasion. As the story progresses, there’s a real sense of growth for the characters, making for a really satisfying narrative.  There’s also a dramatic impact on the reader as Kate Storey gently nudges them to consider their own attitudes towards the status quo. 

The other themes feel just as accessible and interesting. The contrast between confident public persona and private insecurity, the way we can be too quick to judge others, that what constitutes family may not equate to blood lines, and the way change can be a catalyst for positivity as well as threat, all combine into a story that speaks right to the heart of who we are. If it doesn’t sound contrived or cliched, reading The Last Page Café made me feel as if I belonged too so that I found the story hugely inspirational. 

Wise, heart-warming and uplifting, The Last Page Café is the perfect counterbalance to a challenging world. It’s entertaining, certainly, but also inspiring and I thought it was a gorgeous read that will stay with me. 

About Kate Storey

Kate Storey started her career teaching English and Drama, and when she had her family, combined all three to write novels about family drama. Originally from Yorkshire, she now lives in a London suburb with her husband and two teenage daughters, so expects there’s plenty more drama to come.

Also writing as Lisa Timoney, you can find out more about Kate by visiting her website, finding her on Facebook and Instagram or following her on Twitter/X @LTimoneyWrites.