This is kind of like a coming-of-age story for when you are already an adult. If you enjoy reading stories where the character has to go through a lot of emotional upheaval to find their true self, this is the book for you.

I really enjoyed the writing!

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for an arc. All opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you to Net Galley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Millie is me, I am her. This was honestly a funny and entertaining story. Definitely light-hearted and perfect for an in-between read, even better for the beach.

I have loved every book I have read by Lia Louis. And I really enjoyed this one too.
Better left unsent is about Millie as she discovers that all her e-mail drafts have been sent out. These are drafts that are almost diary entries that she writes to no intention of sending to colleagues, friends, and family members. This starts a life changing journey for her, and leads to some romance.

This story is a warm comfort read, it’s cozy, quirky, funny, and sweet. The writing is authentic and I think this is what I love about Lia Louis’s writing, the characters feel real. They feel like they could be my friends or family or even myself. And it makes it easy to connect with Millie, and the side characters.

My only complaint is that I wanted togetherness of her and Jack and found the ending a little rushed. But I still loved it.

This was a really cute story! I mean, how many of us have wished to say exactly what we think in an email? I know I have! I loved the Bridget Jones vibes. I did feel like the plot drug a bit in places and could have been shortened up a bit. However, the character growth and chemistry between Millie and Jack was really sweet and heart - warming.

If you are a fan of Brit-chick lit, this one is right up your alley. Millie discovers that her draft emails that was never meant to be sent are all sent and it creates a spiral of events that she tries to correct. There's a little bit of mystery of how this happened throughout the story. Millie tries to patch up with everyone and the same time, Jack at the office comes back and they be friend each other. I enjoyed seeing Jack and Millie's interaction and wished they talked a little more than just letting each other guess what each other was feeling. The whole email debacle and who did it made zero sense to me. I enjoyed seeing the friendship between Cate, Ralph and Millie as well as her relationship with her parents. Overall, a fun read.

Better Left Unsent is a wonderful read. You feel for Millie as she faces the backlash of emails that no one was supposed to see. Millie is wonderful as she works to clean up her mess and own up to her words. I love how she works on figuring out the why and who sent them. There is wonderful chemistry between Millie and Jack. Jack has a hard time staying in one place but has always seen Millie. I love how they ground each other and how Jack gets Millie out of her shell. This is a fun read filled with a lot of laugh out loud moments and sweet ones too. This is my first book by Lia Louis and I cannot wait to read more. Go click this today.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to review Better Left Unsent!

This book was so good! The perfect RomCom with the right amount of suspense, laughter, tears and JOY.

Can we just say, the chemistry between Jack and Millie was off the charts. I would love to see this novel become a screen-write.

A total MUST read and just in time for summer!

First off, this is one of those books that is shelved romance because it has elements of romance in the story, but it is more about the FMC’s self discovery. And while the premise is cute, if you’re looking for romance more, this may not be for you. I personally hate when this happens and I DNF books like this a lot. If I didn’t have an arc of this book, I may have done just that.

The writing is very easy to read, witty, light and overall it’s a cute book that won’t emotionally devastate you. Whether that’s good or bad 😉 We follow Millie, a mousy office employee who somehow accidentally sends everything in her “draft” folder of emails. And while the first email you read hints at an office romance, the fall-out from the emails is mostly about her ex, her parents and her co-workers. It feels a bit like a bait and switch, to be honest. The more I read, the more I focused on the LACK of romance developing. And don’t get me wrong, the story has some cute moments sprinkled in. The promise of a good love to come, but you may not feel satisfied if that’s all you’re looking for. (Like me)

I’m digging back deep here, but if you have ever read Jemima J, or Bridget Jones (the book not the movie), I think you will feel the commonality with those styles and better enjoy this book for what it is. It would make a cute movie. But straight romance, it is not. 3 ⭐️

Thank you very much NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read and review this book!

I wished I liked this more, but I think I was just too frustrated with our main character, Millie. I am not sure why I was so frustrated with her either. Everything she does is pretty valid. Her worries about how others perceive her, the way she wants to not rock the boat, it’s all pretty normal.

After all the drafts of emails she’s written are sent out, she has to come to grips with people knowing her secrets. In the aftermath, her life changes in a variety of ways.

I think I just wished more had changed earlier. She is so set on figuring out exactly how/why her emails get sent out. She pushes away a man who she really likes & who likes her. And even in the end, it was almost like other people telling her to make changes really pushed her to take the jump. Perhaps I wanted a bit more character development.

The things I really enjoyed were the friendships. Scenes with Millie and her best friend, and her roommate, and even her boss. They were all so supportive.

Overall this was fine. It kept me engaged, but I just don’t think it’ll be one that stays with me.

Thx Simon Audio for the advanced listening copy.

This was so cute and fun! I don’t know that it will be overly memorable for me, but I read it quick snd enjoyed!

What originally drew me to this book was the cover alongside the premise of the book - I haven't read a book with that storyline yet, and thought it would be new; different; exciting. Unfortunately, it was none of those things. I have another Lia Louis book on my shelves that I've yet to read, and now I think it's going to be pushed back for awhile, however different they may be.

Here are the notes I took while I was reading:

- From the get go, the writing feels very choppy and kind of rushed.
- Sweet goodness, home girl is DRAMATIC.
- There is a good bit of British lingo.
- At one point, Owen says, "Can we just pause for a minute? This...I feel like I'm being bombarded." And SAME my dude...SAME.
- Why is Millie apologizing when Owen was the one who asked her out knowing he was engaged???
-Maybe it's just me, but I feel like a romantic love and a friendship love are two very different things.
- I'm kind of over the drama...why does Millie care so much about what people think? Also, if you didn't want people to read it...you shouldn't have written it.
- Millie feels like a martyr.
- These chapters are SO LONG.
- How did we go from Millie being "in love" with Owen to totally crushing on Jack?
- There's no way Millie didn't know her mom was basically a cheater.
- How do you just not tell your adult child you were married before???
- Jack being all philosophical is a bit much.
- How does Millie STILL not realize Owen is a textbook narcissist?
- OMG IT'S THE SAME WOE IS ME SOB STORY OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER.
- These are some seriously long paragraphs.
- I'm not even 60% through the book; Jack and Millie haven't kissed, and I'm not sure where the other 40% of the book is going.
- Girl...tell Owen to F OFF.
- We're 67% into the book...Millie is still oblivious to Owen being a narcissist POS.
- What is with the ANGST over HOW the emails got sent?! All that matters is that they DID.
- Why did no one check the CCTV before it was deleted?

As you can probably tell...I'm not a fan of any of the characters other than Jack (absolute swoon) and Cate (bestie for the restie)...oh, and Petra and Ralph can stay too. Everyone else...goodbye.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to review this ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

thanks netgalley and Atria for the arc of this!
I read Dear Emmie Blue by Lia Louis back in 2021, I really liked that book. It was sweet and fast paced but also so emotional.
Better left unsent was another great read from this author. I had so much fun reading this (I am the biggest sucker for emails and texts in books).
Millie was an amazing mc. The emails she wrote with everything she ever wanted to say were just real, well, that was the whole point of them.
I loved that all her friends told her the same, that everyone has stuff they want to say but most just keep those thoughts to themselves. But in the end its so much better so say the truth.
I really enjoyed all the little stories within the plot, Owen and Chloe (I hate him so much!!), Millies parents, Alexis, Cate and Ralph, JACK!!!! It was so good! I most definitely have to read Lias other books now and I can‘t wait to get my hands on the paperback!

Thank you so much to Atria for the ARC!

This is my 3rd book by Lia Louis and I've loved the previous two that I've read by her and was so excited to get my hands on this one!

Unfortunately, this one fell flat for me! While it started off really strong and I especially loved reading the emails, I just ended up feeling bored especially once it hit the half way point and feel like the plot fell off the rails for me.

I hope she has great success with this release and can't wait to give her next book a shot!

Better Left Unsent by Lia Louis

This book started off with a ridiculous concept, Millie’s diary like draft emails are sent without her knowledge, and there are a lot of them. This whole thing felt very silly and unrealistic - who writes draft emails (at work!) as diary entries, and who would actually put the email address in for who they are meant for?! I get venting in a draft email (kind of) but to actually have the email address in there is just plain dumb.

Anyways once we got past that, I actually really loved the book. I do think Lia Louis could write about anything, ridiculous or not, and I would read it and love it.

This one has everything I look for in a romance. Hilarious banter, swoony moments, awesome best friends and some heart and hurt mixed in as well. Millie went through a lot with her ex, and I loved how realistic her growth and moving on felt - it’s not always pretty!

And Jack was just dreamy. A five star love interest.

Thank you to @atriabooks for my early copy, this one is out on May 21st!

I wanted to have this one as much as I loved Dear Emmie Blue, but I DNF around the 30% mark. I found a story to be too slow for my liking and unfortunately, I could not connect to the characters. To be quite honest, I found Millie to be a tad bit annoying. So sad I didn’t love this one.

Absolutely loved this book!! I literally laughed out loud at this rom com and loved Jack, Millie, Cate and Ralph!

If you work in an office or just use email you will relate to this book! Millie is frustrated with co workers, friends and family members. So when a friend suggest she draft emails of what she really thinks to people, but just not send them, she does! 107 emails!

One morning she arrives at work to be told all her draft emails were sent last night. To her mom, dad, best friend, ex boyfriend and Co workers! Everyone can relate to the feeling of wanting to respond how you truly feel but cannot. Loved this book.



Thank you Netgalley and Simon& Schuster for the ARC!

I was totally captivated by this non-traditional romcom story! Millie is at a job that was supposed to be temporary, continuing to nurse her broken heart when her manipulative boyfriend, Owen, left her 2 years ago, and harbors feelings of inadequacies in her parents eyes. She does not feel like she has lived up to the expectations of others, instead of living up to her own. I felt Millie was very relateable with her real albeit self-imposed insecurities. Jack was such a sweet, caring, swoon-worthy hero who helped remind Millie to be her authentic self. "I'm asking you to be you". Something she has forgotten over the last 5 years. I just loved Millie and Jack together.

I also enjoyed watching Cate and Ralph get to know each other. Maybe they could end up having their own story?

The beginning fell a little flat for me. Millie has been keeping a diary, so to speak, in the form of unsent email drafts. One day she wakes up to find that they ALL have been sent. Some of them are angry and bitter, others are overtly embarrassing. For Millie, it is a lot of 'whoa is me', 'what can I do to fix this?',' how does this makes me look?' But, once Millie and Jack started becoming friends and went out to 'Backdonald's' I was HOOKED! Their interaction and growing relationship was cute, funny, and made my heart soar.

I won't give away the ending, but suffice it to say it kept me guessing and hoping through it all This is one of the best books I have read in awhile!

Can you imagine if all your innermost thoughts about people were suddenly made known to them?

That's essentially what happens to Millie. Millie will often draft emails to her coworkers, businesses, her ex, even family members with what she'd really like to say to them, but never does. When all 100+ of these email drafts get sent, Millie is beside herself with worry and embarrassment. Worry that she'll be fired, worried what her ex and his fiance will think, worry what her mother and relatives will think, etc.

As she navigates the fallout she also starts to realize some things about herself. How she's made herself small to fit someone else's narrative, how she's lost some of her ambition and sparkle to fit in the box she think she deserves, etc.

I really enjoy this author's voice. This is maybe the 4th book I've read by her and I have enjoyed them all. Even though Millie is mortified by the events that have happened, the author maintains a positive spin to her writing voice that let's the reader know, Millie will be okay, this too shall pass. I smiled, I snickered, and I sympathized with Millie and the band of characters. There is an undercurrent of a mystery throughout the novel, the "who sent the emails?" storyline and the answer was a pleasant surprise and while I hate that Millie bore the brunt of it, I appreciated the resolution.

Overall, very cute book, lighthearted read, that I enjoyed and would recommend.

I wanted to love it but I just could not get into it. Not sure if the writing just wasn’t my style or what. The characters kind of annoyed me and I felt there just was no depth or plot to the story for me.

I wanted to love this book so so so much but ended up DNFing at 45%. The storyline and the description were so intriguing, and I was so excited about it. But it was honestly slow, pace-wise. The story starts where Millie has already had all of her emails sent, which is fine, but I thought there would be a little more build-up to it. Then, it felt as if it was dragging from there. I will definitely come back to it later and will update my review then, but right now it wasn't the right read for me. A big thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC!