I absolutely loved this book, I knew the second I was done that this would be a definite re-read soon! To Sir, with Love was perfect; the characters were amazing, the plot was perfect and the slow burn was exactly the romance I crave. Plus there were some great laugh out loud moments that kept me highly entertained. I read it so quickly that I was a little mad at myself for not savoring it a little slower. This is a definite recommendation for those that love a fun, slow burn love story!

ᴛʜɪꜱ ʙᴏᴏᴋ ᴡᴀꜱ ꜱᴜᴄʜ ᴀ ᴄᴜᴛᴇ, ᴇᴀꜱʏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ. ɪ ᴛʜᴏʀᴏᴜɢʜʟʏ ᴇɴᴊᴏʏᴇᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴀɴᴛᴇʀ ʙᴇᴛᴡᴇᴇɴ ɢʀᴀᴄɪᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ꜱᴇʙᴀꜱᴛɪᴀɴ ᴀɴᴅ ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ ꜰᴇᴇʟ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ᴄʜᴇᴍɪꜱᴛʀʏ ᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴀɢᴇꜱ. ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴜᴘᴘᴏʀᴛɪɴɢ ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀꜱ ᴡᴇʀᴇ ꜱᴜᴄʜ ᴀ ꜰᴜɴ ᴀᴅᴅɪᴛɪᴏɴ, ᴀꜱ ᴡᴇʟʟ. ᴛᴏ ꜱɪʀ, ᴡɪᴛʜ ʟᴏᴠᴇ ᴡᴀꜱ ᴀ ᴍᴏᴅᴇʀɴ ᴅᴀʏ ꜰᴀɪʀʏᴛᴀʟᴇ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴡɪʟʟ ɴᴏᴛ ᴅɪꜱᴀᴘᴘᴏɪɴᴛ.

𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚒𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚛 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚒𝚐𝚑 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚜. 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚜 𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚛𝚎𝚏𝚞𝚜𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜. 𝚑𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛, 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕 𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝚏𝚊𝚛 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚊 𝚏𝚊𝚒𝚛𝚢𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚎. 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚒𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚗𝚘𝚛𝚜 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚏𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚍𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚒𝚜𝚑 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚜 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚏𝚊𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚜 𝚏𝚊𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚒𝚍𝚝𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚑𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚊𝚗 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚖𝚙𝚊𝚐𝚗𝚎 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚙 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚚𝚞𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚕𝚢 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚔𝚎𝚎𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚎𝚜 𝚍𝚘𝚘𝚛𝚜 𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚗 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚋𝚎 𝚊 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚎𝚋𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚊𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚠𝚜, 𝚊𝚗 𝚊𝚚𝚞𝚊 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚍 𝚋𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚖𝚊𝚗, 𝚠𝚑𝚘 𝚒𝚜 𝚘𝚗 𝚊 𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚞𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚞𝚒𝚕𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚊 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚐𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚐𝚎.

𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚒𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚏𝚞𝚜𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚊𝚌𝚌𝚎𝚙𝚝 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚜 𝚝𝚘 ‘𝚜𝚒𝚛’. 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚊𝚗 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚜, 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚊𝚗 𝚜𝚑𝚎’𝚜 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚐. 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎’𝚜 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚌𝚑... 𝚜𝚑𝚎’𝚜 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚖𝚎𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚖. 𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚒𝚎 ‘𝚖𝚎𝚎𝚝𝚜’ 𝚜𝚒𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚊𝚗 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚍𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚙𝚙 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚍𝚘𝚎𝚜𝚗’𝚝 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚗𝚊𝚖𝚎𝚜 𝚘𝚛 𝚙𝚒𝚌𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎𝚜 𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚕 𝚢𝚘𝚞’𝚟𝚎 𝚖𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚊 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚗𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚖𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚊𝚐𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚘𝚗 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚜. 𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚎𝚜 𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚒𝚎 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚏𝚊𝚒𝚛𝚢𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚊𝚖𝚎.

I loved this novel, it was funny, witty, and overall lovely. Has the main character to choose between a guy she has never met but fell in love with their personality, and a guy who seems cold but looks like a greek god.
The story paints the picture that someday you just might find the right prince charming for you, and to never settle for anything less than what is right for you.

I have long been a fan of Lauren Layne so I was especially excited when I was able to read an ARC of her upcoming book, “To Sir, With Love” and my excitement was well placed because I loved this book. I’ve been grappling with what to say about it, but it just made me really happy - even during the really serious parts. I don’t think I’ve ever felt closer to a character than I did to Gracie. I really enjoyed her relationships with her friends, colleagues, May, and especially within the Cooper family. Obviously this is a romance and the love story is a huge (and very good!) part of the book, but my favorite parts were just being inside Gracie’s head as she figured out where her life was and where it needed to go. There were so many parts that made me literally laugh out loud (I can’t wait until this book comes out so I can share my favorite quotes!) and I was almost sad as I got closer to the end because I wanted to talk with Rachel and see what is going on in Keva’s dating life and see what Robyn was up to. I want to talk to Lily about her renovation and chat with Alec and I want Caleb to keep being Caleb. Lauren Layne creates the best worlds - combining real life with just enough fantasy - that it felt so good to be back and I can’t wait to reread this one when it comes out June 29!! If LL isn’t already a one-click author for you this one will convince you, preorder it now!

I normally read romantic suspense and paranormal mysteries but having read two previous books by this author I was hoping this one would be as good. Wow! With a nod to The Shop Around the Corner/You've Got Mail, this book had everything I would want in a book. I loved the characters, plot line, and just overall fun to read. Romantic comedy is not always easy to read, too much sex or underdeveloped characters, it is a fine balance. I would definitely recommend this book and others by this author. I plan to start reading more by this author. I received an e-book from NetGalley in return for an unbiased review.

Don’t hate me, but I’ve never liked ‘You’ve Got Mail’ (even though I LOVE Nora Ephron). I really never liked ‘The Shop Around the Corner’ either. Something about the story and the way the men behaved in them always kind of put me off.

So color me really surprised that I really enjoyed this take on the story! The characters of Sebastian Andrews and Gracie Cooper were funny and flawed and lovable. The supporting cast of characters, and the other storylines weaving throughout were thoughtful, and touching. I cried more than a few times, and read the book straight through.

A wonderful and feel good story that made me have all the feels!

Thanks to netgalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

To Sir, With Love made me swoon.⁣
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This is described as a Love is Blind meets You Got Mail and it’s so perfect!⁣
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Gracie is the glue that holds her family and friends together. She is so charming and likable. ⁣
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Sebastian is broody, sexy, and swoon worthy. These two have amazing chemistry and their verbal sparring makes for great banter, in this enemies to lovers romcom. ⁣
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I love the back and forth conversations before each chapter between Gracie and Sir and I love the button pushing between Gracie and Sebastian. Who does she choose in her fairy tale?⁣
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⁣
#bookstagram #books #bookcommunity #romance #romcom #tosirwithlove #netgalley⁣
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Thank you @netgalley and @gallerybooks for this ARC for my honest review.

Now this was a cute fun book! I enjoyed everything about this one! The characters the story the plot. The writing!
While this book was full of the usual Lauren Layne charm and magic, I found myself wanting MORE- more time to see the chemistry build between the characters.
I was when I finished it.

3.5 stars

This book quickly drew me in. I thoroughly enjoyed the clever banter between Sir and Lady. The way they maintained the Sir and Lady personas was witty and fun.

One knows from the start, that as an homage to “You’ve Got Mail”, exactly where this rom-com will end up. And that detracted from the book for me. While I enjoyed it, it also felt too predictable.

I had a hard time connecting with the idea of the app that they met on — but I haven’t watched Love is Blind. So that may be part of the disconnect for me. I don’t quite fit the target audience.

I was somewhat put off by Gracie’s artistic style. It felt too gimmicky. I think I may just not have been able to paint the right picture of her artwork in my head. I’m stuck with a mental image of cutesy artwork that’s more of what would be found on greeting cards than in a gallery setting.

Thanks NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I haven’t read a romance novel in years. My books of choice in the past few years have been mysteries and thrillers. So, when I started this book I wasn’t expecting much. But I was pleasantly surprised. I found myself engaged in the story and relating to the main character. When her dad passes away Gracie decides to take over Bubbles, the family business, instead of pursuing her dreams of becoming an artist. She tries so hard to keep the business afloat for her dad but the business flounders. Enter Sebastian the “evil” businessman who wants to buy out her lease. Well I’m sure you can guess what happens. Although romance novels generally follow the same template I found this book cute and charming. It’s a cute and quick read for those times you just don’t want to think too much and just get caught up in romance.

Book Review Time

To Sir, With Love by Lauren Layne

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Penpals with a modern twist. A dating app. Can you really fall in love with someone you’ve never met just by talking to them via a dating app? What about also falling for someone in person? Can you fall in love twice?

Pros:
-I loved being able to see the “texts” or dating app messages at the start of most of the chapters. I love the Sir/Lady banter.
-Gracie Cooper! She is so relatable as a character. She’s funny, smart, insecure, loves her family, ambitious, and just a REAL person!

Cons:
-I think if this was slightly an open door romance it would get six stars, but even without that it does get 5. Probably doesn’t count as a true con 😂
-I honestly only didn’t like that there wasn’t more. I think the conclusion was perfectly timed and you could easily expect it to happen at the end, but I wish it wasn’t so done after that. The epilogue was great and fun, and I’m glad we found out a few details for after the ending of the book, but still I would have loved to have had a little more before the epilogue. Maybe I liked Gracie and her man a little too much!

My thoughts:

I’m reading the first chapter, thinking okay this may or may not be good can’t really tell. Then chapter 2 and I fell in love with Gracie! I love a relatable character. I love reading about a 30-something women who has real problems and is also funny. I loved that she liked Big Bang Theory, that she loved being an aunt to her friend’s kids, and she also appreciates a good baggy shirt to wear around her house! I also loved throughout the book that you could almost tell what Sebastian was thinking without really having to have chapters from his POV. I almost just wish Gracie had caught on earlier to the mystery mate’s identity so we could have had more time of them together. I just know it would have been the sweetest moments. I also loved that we even got a happy ending for for the side characters which made everything even sweeter! The epilogue was perfect, loved the information we found out! Maybe a lot to only be a year later, but I think with Gracie and her mystery mate it works! I loved all the character development from Gracie as far as what she wants in life, what she wants in her family life, and in her career. She was just the perfect heroine for this romcom!

Thank you Netgalley, Gallery Books, and Simon and Schuster for this early release for To Sir, With Love in exchange for an honest review.

Will repost review to Goodreads, but will post to Instagram and Amazoncloser to release date unless instructed otherwise!

To Sir, With Love is the perfect comfort romance to curl up with on a quiet day. The banter between Sebastian and Gracie is cute, and the messages between Sir and Lady are downright adorable. However, while Layne provides a happily-ever-after ending, I felt that the entirety of the book could've been only the first half of the story. I kept waiting for what I thought should have been the climax of the action to occur, but it doesn't happen until the final chapter. Overall, To Sir, With Love is more Hallmark than what I was expecting, but still a good read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Gracie is the owner of Bubbles & More, a champagne store in New York City. Bubbles has been in the family for many years and Gracie inherited it after her father passed away. The store has been struggling to stay a float for many years but Gracie has a hard time letting go of it. Enter Sebastian, who wants to buy her out of the store front to build a high rise in it’s place. Of course, the two immediately butt heads about it and Gracie refuses to give it up. BUT, it’s not just your traditional enemies to lovers romance. Gracie is also talking to a man on a dating app that who she has never met. She affectionately refers to him as Sir. Will Gracie and her family keep the store? Will Sebastian and Gracie fall in love? What about Gracie’s love letter relationship with the mystery man?

I adored all of the characters in this novel. Gracie and Sebastian are great leading roles and Gracie’s family and friends are enjoyable characters as well.

The New York City setting and the idea of a store front dedicated solely to champagne made my heart soar.

The book was compared to You’ve Got Mail and Love is Blind and I think that encapsulates it perfectly. Seriously, you won’t want to miss out on this read.

Gracie Cooper is a struggling business owner who is still single after waiting on her fairy tale ever-after kind of love to come along. She meets Sebastian Andrews, who wants to tear her business apart, and a faceless “Sir,” on a dating app, and tries to reconcile her feelings for both while keeping her business afloat.
When I saw Lauren Layne had a new novel coming out, I knew I had to read it. The Pre-Nup was one of my favorite romances last year. This was one of your typical enemies-to-lovers romance inspired by “You’ve Got Mail” with a lot of fun along the way. The witty banter was there, you found yourself yelling at the characters to reveal their true identities, perform certain actions, and just get together! I adore the friends to lovers trope, so I am a sucker for this kind of book, especially if I’m in the mood for something light and fun. This novel didn’t disappoint, I only found myself wanting a bit more character/relationship development as it moved a little too quickly.

3.5 stars!

I will definitely continue to read more from this author. I enjoyed this book and all of her romances!
Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars

'To Sir, with Love' is a nostalgic dose of an all-time favourite rom-com of mine - Nora Ephron's You've Got Mail - done with the storytelling bones of the movie, set in a somewhat similar context and written with the same light-hearted sprinkling of fairy dust and wistful cuteness as you'd come to expect of Lauren Layne.

The uplifting sweetness that comes out of 'You've Got Mail' and the incarnations prior Ephron's version is captured perfectly: the fictionalised, romantic version of New York and the specific population of indie shop owners that Layne writes about, the closeness of family and their banter, the intruder who eventually becomes the object of kismet in Gracie Cooper's life, even as she struggles juggling a virtual stranger and a man who should be her enemy. With the added Disneyed-sheen of fairytales and Gracie's love of the feel-good cartoon characters that weave a common thread of turning her fantasies to bleed into reality, how is it then not possible to read this with your feet (mostly) a few inches above the ground the whole time?

As a story told only in Gracie's POV however, we get her longing and yearning, her general optimism about life in general, but it does dim the connection between her and Sebastian somewhat when the weight of the latter's affection and regard becomes a desperate guessing game of inference as you try to read between the lines. Consequently, the ending is one that's a foregone (and happy-ever-after) conclusion, but one that isn't quite the sort that leaves you with the sated fullness of a satisfying book binge.

'To Sir, With Love' then, is perhaps Layne's personal and affectionate homage to unforgettable rom-coms past; to those who align themselves with this particular romantic vision, then Gracie's and Sebastian's journey is one that you'll already know well and will want to read over and over again.

Overall, I heart Lauren Layne books. However, I have mixed feelings on this one.

The Good:

I read To Sir, With Love in practically one sitting. It was a the perfect lazy afternoon read. While predictable, I want predictable in my rom com books. A little predictability is a perfect way to escape the unpredictable real world for awhile. There were some lol moments that made this book fun. It felt like a modernized update of You've Got Mail and was overall enjoyable. However.....

The Bad (TW/spoiler warning):

There is a side plot of the main character's sister having infertility issues. The character goes through the acceptance phase and then spoiler alert....

Magically ends up pregnant. I was really disappointed in this whole plot. Especially the ending. There has been a trend in books recently to have characters accept infertility only to have an "oops" pregnancy happen that is frustrating.

Thanks to #NetGalley for the copy of the book

Such. Such. Such. A good story. I devoured it in only a few hours. I loved how actually healthy the relationship and relationship development between Gracie and Sebastian was from start to finish. I obviously didn’t want it to end and wanted to see more of their relationship together but the ending was perfect.

Can’t wait to pick this up on Pub Day!

I saw the You’ve Got Mail reference and jumped right on this reading train *toot toot*. I really enjoyed this modern take of all the movies that have come before. That being said it was almost too closely related, almost. At some parts it sounded like they were quoting the movie verbatim and it was a slight turn off. I was secretly hoping there would be a plot twist towards the end. But alas I was wrong.

I related soooo much to Gracie as I am also a middle child and was constantly trying to keep the peace growing up. A lot of her insecurities are my own. So much so that I was a bit shocked and kept peering out my window to see if anyone was there.

I would highly recommend this read to those who are fond of this storyline. A big thanks to Netgalley for the chance to review this book.

4.5/5
This book was such an easy, fluffy, cute read. I adored every minute of it! I’ve been waiting for this book since Lauren Layne announced it and I was not disappointed.

➵ Gracie and Sebastian are perfect for one another. They have such good chemistry and their banter was really entertaining. I especially enjoyed their earlier interactions where they were both extremely witty and quick.

➵ Gracie was such an interesting heroine. I love everything about her. Same goes for Sebastian. He is probably one of my favorite LL love interests. He’s sweet and caring and overall a very likable and enjoyable character.

This book was one of my most anticipated reads for 2021 and it certainly did not disappoint.

ARC kindly provided by Netgalley for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book. This author continues to provide me with wonderful stories. This was such a beautiful and heartfelt love story. I definitely recommend this book.