Cute but predictable. I was a nice setting and the characters were clean and like able. I liked the family dynamics. Quick read

To Sir, with Love is such a cute and unique story that one couldn't put help but love.

I Enjoyed it a lot and Highly Recommend it to Readers.

Thanks NetGalley for the preview!

This book was cute but had a little bit too much inspiration from a story I love. It screamed You’ve Got Mail very often. I like that but wish there were a few more differences. I did love the characters and the witty banter made me smile.

This was such a cute, hallmark-like, retelling of You’ve Got Mail! So when You’ve Got Mail is your favorite movie, how can you not love it?! I loved the modern spin of the couple chatting on an app vs aol email and was rooting for Gracie and Sebastian the whole time!

This was a cute, fun read! Easily readable within a day. I ended up listening to the audio and it was really good. The characters in the book were very likable and the ending was just perfect!

I’m looking forward to reading more by Lauren Layne.

***thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC copy in return for an honest review***

Honestly, this was cute! It's charming, witty, romantic, and utterly predictable (which I don't hate in a romance novel). It's been compared to You've Got Mail and it definitely lives up to that claim. The only thing is that it's a closed door romance, which isn't my cup of tea.

This was very cute but I am knocking some stars off because it was far too innocent for me.

Thanks to NetGalley / Edelweiss and the publisher for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for a review.

Firstly, I couldn’t not read this title and think of the amazing Sidney Poitier movie, but unfortunately, this has no social commentary about interracial dating!

I digress! This was an ok romance, rivals, accidentally love each other but don’t know they are who they are in real life a la You’ve Got Mail but this is a dating app.

It was fine and easy breezy!

Thank you Gallery!

A cute, and fun enemies to lovers romance! My favorite trope, and I loved penpal writing back and forth. It was not an easy happily ever after, but it felt so realistic and honest that you couldn't help but root for everyone.

A wonderfully adorable, fun, feel-good romcom about learning how to follow your biggest dreams. You will see this everywhere, but it really is just like You've Got Mail or Love is Blind...if you want a little more relevant reference.

Ever the optimist, our main character, Gracie, is always striving to make the best out of what life has dealt her. When her father passes away, she takes up running the champagne store he owned prior to his death, putting aside her dreams of becoming an artist. Things are tight at the store, which is made even more stressful with the large company trying to buy out the shops space. Enter our main man, Sebastian, who is obviously incredibly handsome, but annoying in his desire to take over the shop. To make things more complicated, she starts sharing her feelings with "Sir" who she met on an online dating app where you don't get to see each other's faces, its all about the connection you form through words.

I honestly don't think I have ever read a book as sweet as this. Gracie begins to grow closer to Sir as they open up to each other and it's beautiful how they fall in love just using words. Back in the real world, every chapter brings even more adorable actions from Gracie as tries to save the family Champagne shop. We follow along as she begins to see that Sebastian is much kinder than she originally thought he was. Ultimately, he is a really wonderful guy who is fun to be around and overall kind...not to mention super attractive.

I can't share more of the book than that, but know that this one left me feeling all the feels. Was it totally predictable and not shocking at all in the end? Yes! Did I still love it? Totally! I can truly say the quips between Lady and Sir were what I was here for! This was my first read from Lauren Layne, but I will definitely look for another one in the future.

While I adored this one, the reason for my 4 stars is that I would have loved some romantic scenes. There was an incredible amount of tension built up throughout the entire novel, but we never get a steamy scene which is so classic in romance novels. It didn't affect my love for the story, but might be something others are looking for in a romance novel.

On her website, Layne talks about how she has something for everyone - steamy high drama romance or fluffy closed door/kisses only romance. This falls into the latter category and it felt to me that there wasn't enough time spent with the two main characters on page together, in person. Sometimes the epistolary aspect in a romance works really well for me, but this fell sort of flat and then the book was over. The Park Avenue series was a really middle ground for Layne--she captured the emotional and physical tension of a budding relationship without the explicit sex. They were also *funny.* This feels like it's cover. Kind of NYC pastel. Not my favorite of her books and I put it down a few times before finally finishing it as part of an attempt to push through my TBR.

To Sir, With Love is a ray of sunshine. It's warm and sweet, with extremely low drama, a super slow build and the most charming and delightful characters. Is it a slightly different version of You've Got Mail? Yes, it is. Which is why I loved it so much. Of course the characters and setting are different, but at it's heart it's the ultimate rom com. And squeaky squeaky clean. This is the perfect distraction for a handful of hours to escape and forget.

This was cutesy, sweet and probably more for younger population. It was a bit slow and boring at times.

A perfectly enjoyable retelling if You’ve Got Mail/Shop Around the Corner. Nothing particularly exciting or groundbreaking but a lovely story told with a solid voice.

Such a unique was to tell the story. While predictable, it was entertaining and a lovely romance. Those who are fond of words and language would enjoy the playfulness of it all.

I am sorry for the inconvenience but I don’t have the time to read this anymore and have lost interest in the concept. I believe that it would benefit your book more if I did not skim your book and write a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience.

Love an adorable rom com set in NYC. Reminded me of all my favorite 90s rom com. This book was sweet and closed door for those of you who prefer that. A solid 4 ⭐️ read!

The book is reminiscent of the 1990s rom-coms with Meg Ryan and Sandra Bullock. And it works for me with Gracie and Sebastian’s story.

This book is tame compared to her other books which are heavy on steam but that’s fine. The book is not short on humor and the bickering one expects from an enemies to lovers story.

Gracie and Sebastian are drawn to each other even though to her he’s the devil. And their online, secret relationship is a big plus because it shows something missing in other books like this - communication. In reality, a woman wouldn’t get this lucky with a guy they’ve never seen but then it’s fiction so we can dream it could happen.

* I received this book as an ARC for an honest review.

Lauren Layne excels in opposites attract stories. This story of anonymous digital pen pals who don’t realize they know (and dislike) one another IRL puts a modern spin on the classics Parfumerie, The Shop Around the Corner and You’ve Got Mail: an ouvre of plays and movies about letters exchanged with a frenemy, not knowing the secret admirer and antagonist are one and the same.

Gracie Cooper is struggling to keep her family’s champagne store business afloat with her original drinking in NYC themed watercolors for sale along with strategic merchandising (pretty cocktail napkins and quirky corkscrews). An offer to buy out her lease from a real estate developer is an affront to her commitment to her parent’s legacy, even tho running the family business is not what she wants to be doing with her life. She’s a fairy tale romantic still hoping for her Prince Charming, fantasizing about a brown haired, brown-eyed musician with a dad bod. She signs up for a unique dating app that’s the opposite of Tinder: get to know someone with NO images. She connects with a mystery man she calls Sir, buts he’s not available, having been signed up for the app after mocking a friend who met his fiancé online–when he’s already in a relationship.

Their connection deepens as the letters from the development firm increase and finally the hot (blue-eyed) man in charge shows up at her door in what can only be described as a meet surly. Sebastian Andrews appears to be full of contradictions: sometimes mean, but always regretful, and ambitious but kind, he wants to see people settled and seems to become friend with the business owners he displaced to benefit his family’s real estate deals. And when Gracie starts to implement her hands off siblings ideas to turn her shop around, Sebastian shows up for events as a patron, as if he wants her to succeed. In one funny scene, he shows up dateless to a couples cooking class that Bubbles & More is putting on, and Gracie’s co-workers insist on her joining him. Their cooking is delightedly disastrous.

The cast of characters from customers to co-workers to family and friends seem vivid and real, as if each one could someday be the star of their own book. Layne excels at little details that make a person bloom off the page. Including NYC style living, which almost makes the city a character in it’s own right, with pop up flower carts, skyscrapers, taxis and To Sir With Love is a romance with plenty of heart and vulnerability, lots of yearning, and zero on-the-pages nookie–and I didn’t miss it, it worked.

Spoiler alert:



I didn’t like the intrusion of the ghosts of the parents at the very end or the babylogue after Gracie’s sister struggled with infertility – childlessness is a valid (and sometimes painful choice), but readers who need a HEA instead of HFN won’t be as bothered.

A modern take on You’ve Got Mail?!? Written by the one and only Lauren Layne?!? What is there not to love!!!

This delightful slow-burn was every bit as wonderful as I had hoped and another fantastic read from Layne.