To Sir, with Love is a great opposites-attract, enemies to lovers book. I really enjoyed Gracie's story arc throughout the book and her interactions with her family and friends made her interesting and relatable.

The notes back and forth between Sir and Lady felt weird and overly formal to me instead of the light-hearted note I was expecting from them. Sebastian was interesting but not compelling and overall, I felt like my expectations for this book didn't totally come through. The plot felt rushed and clunky at times.

I’m a huge Lauren Layne fan. I’ve read most of her books and always enjoy them. This was not my favorite of hers, but I still enjoyed it!

Gracie, the protagonist in the story, has signed up for a dating app where you find matches based on personality, conversations, and character, rather than looks. You can’t see what your “Mystery Mate” looks like until you decide to meet in person. Gracie has found someone who is sweet, kind and a great conversationalist, however, he’s unavailable at the moment, so they stay friends.

Sebastian Andrews is looking to close down Bubbles and More, Gracie’s champagne business that was started by her dad. They do not hit it off at first and have a relationship filled with tension. But, as Gracie gets to know Sebastian, she learns that he may not be as bad as she first thought.

Both guys become available and now, she has a choice to make. Gracie has always wanted a fairy tale ending, but now she doesn’t know what to do.

I really enjoyed the plot of this story and the writing held my attention from start to finish. I liked all of characters, but didn’t feel connected to them as much as I usually do when reading. Still, a cute book with a fun plot!

Thank you Net Galley and Gallery Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

To sir with love
You know when you pick up a book and know it’s exactly what you needed at that moment? That was definitely To Sir, With Love. ✨

Thank you @netgalley and @gallerybooks for an advance readers copy in exchange for an honest review. Swipe for the synopsis.

This book was a lighthearted rom-com that had me smiling (okay maybe tearing up, but that could just be the day I was having). I really didn’t remember what this book was about when I picked it up and had to go back and read the synopsis, which truthfully sounded like exactly the book I needed. I really loved Gracie as a character. I liked that there was vulnerability in the characters, including the side characters.

This book releases June 29, 2021 and I hope you pick it up and read it ✨

Rating: 🧪🧪🧪🧪🧪 / 5

QOTD: Have you read a book recently that was exactly what you needed to read?

When I looked at the title of this book, I got a totally different picture in my mind of the music that would go with this story. I wasn't expecting Frank Sinatra, instead, I was reminded of Sidney Poitier.



When I got into the book, I found that Frank Sinatra was the author's chosen soundtrack. Gracie Cooper is running the family's champagne store after her father passed away and left the store to Gracie, her sister and her brother. Gracie even gave up her dreams of studying art to run the store. The owner of the property where the store sits wants to release Gracie's family from their lease and develop the property. Sebastian Andrews comes to the store to submit his latest offer and to be told to his face that his offer was unwelcome. In fact, she shredded it while he was still in the store.

Her business life isn't going all that well, but she is willing to pull out all of the stops to keep the store afloat. She schedules a video conference with her brother and sister to brainstorm some ideas to generate income.

Her personal life is circling the drain and going down fast, with the exception of a mystery man she met on a dating app. The premise of the app is that no names or pictures are exchanged until the mutual decision to meet. Gracie's man of her dreams is dark haired, dark eyed, with a dad-bod, but she has no idea what her mystery man looks like. The one thing about this mystery man is that she can bare her soul to him without judgment.


Lauren Layne has populated this book with characters who are real characters. Keva, the caterer/neighbor/friend; May, her father's extraordinarily flamboyant friend and employee of the store; Robyn, the dour sommelier for the store; Lily, Gracie's sister; Caleb, Gracie's brother; and, of course, Sebastian. The book is loaded with a lot of lighthearted laughs, but there are poignant moments that will bring tears to the reader's eyes. Four Strong Stars.
Gallery Books and NetGalley.com provided the copy I read for this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you to Gallery Pub and NetGalley for this gifted copy! All opinions are my own.

Just to be clear, I will read anything Lauren Layne writes. Her stories are so sweet, make you feel warm and fuzzy and that all will be right with the world. Absolute brain candy! They are typically closed door with little to no steam but I love them anyway! If you are a fan of You've Got Mail or other Nora Ephron rom coms, you need this one. It's a witty upscaled version of You've Got Mail and I was hooked from page 1! There's great chemistry between Sebastian and Gracie, fantastic female friendships, and sweet family/sibling dynamic - all in a quick read that you can finish in a day. I smiled, I cried and I really just need Lauren Layne to write another book soon!

Lauren Layne’s latest novel is a refreshed, updated version of You’ve Got Mail. Meet Gracie co-owner of a small Champaign/Sparkling wine boutique on the Upper West Side. She is a bubbly (no pun intended) early 30’s single woman, looking for her knight in shining armor - her true fairytale. Enter Sebastian - real estate mogul looking to buy Gracie out of her lease so his family can redevelop her building. Seb is swoon worthy and the two have a great Frenemies dialogue which will make you laugh out loud! Then, enter “Sir”, the also swoon worthy man Gracie (Lady) met on a new dating website where they don’t share pictures - just words.

What follows is a HEA tale of discovery, and love which will leave you very satisfied. Readers will be happy they shut out the world for a few hours to devour Lauren Layne’s newest novel.

If you are looking for a sweet, delightful, rom-com - look no further than - To Sir, with Love.

3.5 stars. This was a delightful brain candy book. An updated You've Got Mail with dating apps, its predictable and cheesy in the best ways. My favorite book of the author's so far!

Thank you NetGalley for the advance copy.

Gracie Cooper took over her father's novelty champagne shop when he passed away...but the shop hasn't been doing too great, and her landlord, Sebastian Andrews, keeps attempting to buy out her lease (but she's just not ready to give in yet). I loved Gracie's can-do attitude, and Sebastian really was the perfect leading man once he opened up a little. Lauren Layne has written another great story! It truly is You've Got Mail, retold for the 21st century!

This story follows a woman, Gracie Cooper, who after her father passed away, takes over his novelty champagne shop in Manhattan. With the world changing, the store is not able to keep up financially the way it once had. Gracie is approached by her handsome yet arrogant landlord of sorts, Sebastian Andrews, who proposes a buyout. But Gracie can’t bear the thought of throwing her father’s dream away like she did her own.

Overwhelmed, she seeks the advice of her penpal of sorts, a faceless “Sir”, with whom she connected on a blind dating app where matches get to know each other solely by messaging each other before sending names or pictures.

Slowly, she finds herself falling for her “Sir”, but little does she know she has met him in real life. And she can’t stand him.

Oh my GOODNESS. This book was so cute!! Perfect summer read. If you like You’ve Got Mail and a good hate-to-love story definitely put this one on your to-read list for June! I just loved it. It’s definitely a slow burn, but I loved that about it. Just my cup of tea. It took me a while to get through, but I think it was because I didn’t want it to end. ...Also May might be my favorite side character ever. I love her.
Thank you NetGalley and Gallery Books for sending me this ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

My review: I'm going to let you in on a secret. Lauren Layne has smashed it out of the park. This is her best yet! I read this in a day! This is romance at its finest. A retelling of You've Got Mail, Sebastian and Gracie are enemies. But, dang! They're chemistry is off the charts! I could not get enough of the two of them. I'm buying the hard copy of this when it comes out in June. That's how much I loved it!

I loved this story. I have a book hangover from it.
I slept maybe 5 hours and it was my 1st thought. Finish the book Mare, finish the book.

It had some wonderful UST dammit. And it was PG12 but I still really enjoyed it.

The UST was delish.
The storyline easy to follow, and the UST. Did I say that again.

Mare~Slitsread

Thank you Lauren Layne, Net Galley, and Gallery Books for sharing this with me in exchange for my honest review.

What a well written love story. If you’re looking for an adorable, quick, and You’ve Got Mail vibe read, this one’s for you!

Even though I knew exactly how this book goes/ends, I still couldn’t get enough. I quickly attached myself to all of the characters from the beginning. They were connected beautifully together, I loved them all! I needed an easy-to-follow read and I loved this one so so so much. Thank you Lauren Layne for an excellent one!

This book was so cute! Funny, witty and just a joy to read. It was unique but so relatable to this time of social media and online dating. As the reader, you figure out what is going on from the beginning and reading/watching the journey of the two main characters come together. At times I was tortured because all I wanted was for the characters to end up together and have a happily ever after. I finished this book in one day and couldn't put it down. I would definitely recommend this book to friends and family. Loved it!

This is the perfect book to binge on a warm day with a bottle (or two) of champagne!
To Sir, With Love was so well written! It was clean but full of swoon worthy moments. This was a modern take on You’ve Got Mail and it was so easy to fly through it. I loved the chemistry and banter between Gracie and Sebastian. The supporting characters were all very likable which is a huge plus in my book! I wish there was a little bit more in the epilogue of once the characters got together but overall it was such a fun and light hearted read!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Gallery books for the advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

📖 REVIEW 📖

To Sir, with Love by Lauren Layne.
Coming 6/28/21 by @gallerybooks
Received from @netgalley

Synopsis:
“Perpetually cheerful and eager to please, Gracie Cooper strives to make the best out of every situation. So when her father dies just five months after a lung cancer diagnosis, she sets aside her dreams of pursuing her passion for art to take over his Midtown Manhattan champagne shop. She soon finds out that the store’s profit margins are being squeezed perilously tight, and complicating matters further, a giant corporation headed by the impossibly handsome, but irritatingly arrogant Sebastian Andrews is proposing a buyout to turn the store into a parking garage. But Gracie can’t bear the thought of throwing away her father’s dream like she did her own.

Overwhelmed and not wanting to admit to her friends or family that she’s having second thoughts about the shop, Gracie seeks advice and solace from someone she’s never met—the faceless “Sir”, with whom she connected on a blind dating app where matches get to know each other through messages and common interests before exchanging real names or photos.

But although Gracie finds herself slowly falling for Sir online, she has no idea she’s already met him in real life…and they can’t stand each other.”

REVIEW: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
I loved story. I devoured it last night and just couldn’t get enough. Very much you’ve got mail vibes and just a well written love story with a few surprises in there! I loved the characters and how they were deceived, their sass, and their relationships with people. This author is new to me, but #laurennlayne did an amazing job and I can’t wait to read more from her.

#gallerybooks #laurenlayne #netgalley

Thank you to Netgalley, GalleryBooks, and Lauren Layne for the access of this story in exchange for an honest review.

Gracie is a thirty-something year old hopeless romantic who is looking for her Mr. Right. She is in a complicated relationship with a man she never met - known as “Sir”, and she happily runs a champagne store called Bubbles and More...until she meets Sebastian. Sebastian is looking to buy out her store, and she instantly develops a hate for him. That is, until she starts to fall for him. Is it possible to be in love with two men at once??

This was the cutest book I’ve read in a while!!

Looking for her fairy tale prince, Gracie uses an app that matches people but there is no meeting involved, only texting. Every time she gets a text from Sir, she lights up. Gracie finds she can share her inner most thoughts while trying to keep the family business, Bubbles and More, from closing. Her dream job is to be an artist, but she is intent in keeping her dad’s dream alive by running the business after his death. Sebastian’s family owns the building housing Bubbles and More and they would like to buy Gracie out. She believes she owes it to her parents to keep the store, but it does not look like she will make enough profit to keep it going. Sebastian and Gracie have an ongoing love hate relationship. Gracie feels badly about caring for her mystery man and Sebastian. Sebastian knows Gracie has another suitor and is reluctant to tell her how he feels. This is a great story with wonderful characters who care about each other. Maybe one can find a fairy tale ending if you can take chances. I loved the idea of sharing one’s feelings with someone you have not met.

You've got mail is one of my absolute favorite movies, so I was delighted to get a chance to read this ARC from Net Galley. It's definitely on the predictable side, but in a lovely whimsical way. I finished this book in a day, because I couldn't tear myself away from the characters. I was rooting for them the entire time. The only thing that I sort of disliked was the title of the book, I don't know why the "sir" gave me weird vibes. Otherwise, I would highlight recommend for fans of quirky main characters, lovable side characters and a happily ever ending.

This book was a really sweet, good book. It kind of reminded me of a Hallmark movie but better. It’s a very PG book, but I didn’t mind that. It was still angsty enough without any sex. I really love pen pal romances, and I liked both main characters.

This is the first novel I’ve read by Lauren Layne. I wasn’t disappointed. I loved Gracie and her voice. The story flowed along. It was a delight to read and I’ll be looking into more of her books.