You Got Mail, has always been one of my top 10 movies of all time, even though I was a child when it came out. So when I read the synopsis of this book, I knew I had to read it and I hoped it wouldn’t disappoint me. Thank goodness I read it too because oh man this book definitely did not disappoint. I loved every single piece of this story, Gracie and Sebastian had me smiling the entire book and oh the ending made me swoon. Seriously if you loved You Got Mail you have to read this book.

To Sir, With Love • Lauren Layne
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4/5)
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“It’s you.”
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👍🏼 Thumbs Up:
Loved!! This book was so cute, the cast of characters was great and realistic, and there was no steam! I loved the quirky texts we got to read throughout.
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👎🏻 Thumbs Down:
I don’t have anything bad to say.
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🤓 For Readers WHO:
Are fans of you’ve got mail and don’t mind reading a new twist on that story
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👉🏼 This is what’s WHAT:
A family business faces closure when a development firm wants to buy out their lease. The two people in the thick of it are the ones who unknowingly are falling in love on a blind dating app and hilarity ensues.
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⏳WHEN I read this book:
It was “daisies are the friendliest flower” all over again 🥰 IYKYK
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🚨WHERE you should watch out:
Death of a parent, infertility
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📍WHY you should read this book:
It’s so cute and can be read in one sitting!
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📚 HOW I read this book:
eARC from @netgalley @gallerybooks

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

This was a quick, quirky and fun romance with absolutely zero steam – and I loved it! To Sir With Love is a You’ve Got Mail-inspired contemporary fiction novel about Gracie Cooper, who has a “relationship” with a man she’s never met on a blind dating app, and runs Bubbles, her family’s champagne store. She meets Sebastian Andrews, who is trying to buy out her lease so he can build a skyscraper on the property, and sparks fly. Of course.

If this book wasn’t You’ve Got Mail-inspired, it probably wouldn’t have worked – and if you’ve never seen that film, you might not follow along with most of the plot, because it sticks pretty true to Nora Ephron’s. But it was, and I have, so I enjoyed it a lot!

My favorite movie in the world is You’ve Got Mail and to read a story that has some resemblance to it makes me a happy reader. I couldn’t stop reading Sebastian & Gracie’s story.

Sebastian & Gracie were beyond adorable. I loved their chemistry and banter!

I look forward to more adventures by Lauren Layne in the future.

I voluntarily reviewed this book.

A modern day "You've Got Mail" laugh out loud romcom follows two people who meet on a blind dating app-only to realize that their online chemistry is nothing compared to their offline rivalry.

I luh-HUV-ed this book! It was funny! It has witty banter! And it has a woman trying to hold onto her family's legacy, but trying to put herself first and the obstacles involved with it! SOOOOOOOOOO GOOOOOOOOOOOD!

And that ending, YALL! O. M. G! The witty banter was all the way to the end!

Pop some bubbly and raise your glasses to this book and Lauren Layne! Thank you to Netgalley and Gallery Books for this e-Arc in exchange for an honest review!

It has been years since I watched <i>You've Got Mail</i>, but this book definitely brought out some nostalgia for the movie in me. <i>To Sir, With Love</i> is a fun modern twist on the iconic movie. It was a sweet, fun, lighthearted read with very likeable characters that you can't help but root for.

What knocked this book down a bit for me was that it was a bit too "light". There just wasn't much at all of Gracie and Sebastian actually together. Really, the book felt less like a romance novel and more like a 90's/early 2000's rom-com movie (if that even makes sense to anyone but me). Don't get me wrong, I LOVE a good cheesy rom-com, but I like a little more depth in my books. However, if you're looking for that fun, cheesy, classic rom-com feel in book form, you should definitely check this one out!

Ultimately, this was a 3.5 star read for me.

This was my first book from this author, but I enjoyed it enough that I'll certainly check out some of her other titles. Maybe I'll get lucky and there will be a sequel featuring Keva I can read before too long (hint, hint!)

4.5⭐️

Did you like You’ve got Mail? If the answer is yes, you will LOVE this book!!! It’s one of my fsve romcoms of all time, so I was quickly obsessed with this book. It has so many of my favorite things:

🥂Enemies to lovers
🥂Grumpy, serious business man hero
🥂Independent business owner heroine
🥂Great family and friends as side characters
🥂NYC setting

I will say this is a slow burn and Hallmark style steam level - but I didn’t mind!! It was absolutely as sweet as could be and I devoured it!!

I’ve always loved You’ve Got Mail, so I was excited to read this modern take! I’ve seen a bunch of people talking about it lately, so when it showed up as one of the options on the S&S Audio influencer list I knew I had to choose it.

This fun little rom-com is exactly what I want out of a secret admirer/business rivals story. There were miscommunications between the leads for sure, but in a way that was sweet and advanced the plot rather than the frustrating refusal to speak to each other that happens all too often in romances.

And can we talk about that champagne shop?? Especially with the home goods and local art, I definitely would have frequented a place like that if I had one in my area. I loved this setting.

Oh my oh my oh my. I LOVED this romance so much!

I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys classic romantic comedy movies or closed door romance books. It's a heartwarming and entertaining story, full of chemistry and charm.

🎧 I alternated reading and listening to this book. The audiobook narration was clear and perfectly emotive. I was able to listen at 1.5x speed.

🎁 Thank you to @simon.audio for an advance audiobook of this title and to @gallerybooks and @netgalley for an advance digital copy of this title!

3.5 rounded to 4

I read this some time ago, when I was recovering from the second shot. My stamina was so low that sitting at this computer to type of reviews was a no-go, even when I was semi-coherent.

Now, catching up, I discovered I'd forgotten most of it, except for a sense that it was an undemanding, pleasant read, which pretty much sums it up.

The story is an enemies-to-lovers romance built on the "You've Got Mail" substrate. It was definitely more fun in the beginning, when our heroine, who is trying to save her dad's champagne shop, is gunning for The Enemy, AKA the smoking hot rich guy who wants to buy the building and put her out of business.

On the plus side, great side characters. And some fun banter at the start during the enemies phase. Everything comes out great, which is what I want in a romance, but the second half wasn't as lively as the first. The romance was straightforward, perhaps a little too much so? I never really felt we got inside the hero as much as I would have liked.

Still a fun read, and Lauren Layne is still on my list of trusted romance authors who deliver the goods.

5 Stars

Gracie Cooper believes in happily ever afters and true love... she just hasn't found hers quite yet...

When reality intruded on Gracie's fairytale hopes and dreams, she stepped up and took over the family business when no one else would, but now even that path is starting to seem hopelessly in trouble...

Sebastian Andrews is very interested in the future of Gracie's business, and she wants absolutely nothing to do with his cutthroat corporate ways... no matter what sort of attraction may simmer between them...

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To Sir, with Love was an enchanting and effortless, enemies to lovers, reading pleasure! Gracie and Sebastian are at odds over the fate of Gracie's family champagne shop, but little do they know, they share a connection that is deeper, more complicated, and filled with endless possibilities...

Gracie Cooper was an adorable and loyal woman who radiated charm and a bubbly personality, perfect for selling champagne! And while she sacrificed her own dreams to take over the shop when her father died, she never resented the expectations placed on her... much. 

Sebastian Andrews wasn't the typical unfeeling businessman that Gracie assumes him to be. Behind his plans to take over her business space and turn it into housing, is a man who wants to help small businesses and their owners  to find what works for them, while making it no secret that it benefits him as well.

I absolutely loved the dynamic between Gracie and Sebastian! Their hilarious banter, easy camaraderie (when not bantering!), and the connection they share, but try desperately to ignore. The dating app conversations were relationship game changers... especially when they had no idea just who they were talking to!

This book was an adorable and hilarious, slow burn romance, with very few sexy moments... but let me tell you just how much it all WORKED together! Gracie and Sebastian may have been opposites... small business owner vs corporate big-wig, but their story delivered a multi-faceted and captivating, modern love story!

I loved all of the characters in this story, their personal journeys, and of course, the central love story which brings it all together beautifully. To Sir, with Love is an absolute must read that will inspire, enchant and highly entertain!

I received a complimentary copy of this book for my honest and unbiased review.

I'm done. This books has melted my heart.

In all seriousness, I had to switch to a mystery after reading this because I knew if I read a romance next it wouldn't live up. This is a book hangover waiting to happen. I love love loved this story and these characters. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ this is perfect if you're looking for something to breeze through.

When I saw that this book had a You Got Mail feel, it was an instant read for me! And I was not at all disappointed.

Gracie has been working at Bubbles as long as she can remember. Now that her parents are gone, she's the one keeping it afloat. Barely. But with a fierce sense of family pride, she doesn't want to just cut her losses and walk away. She does everything she can to save the shop. Irritatingly enough, Sebastian Andrews, her landlord, is trying to buy out the last five years of her lease. With work pressures mounting, Gracie's only solace is found in Sir, a man she's been speaking to on an internet dating site that has no pictures. You fall in love with the person before seeing what they look like. While slowly finding out Sebastian isn't as bad as she thought, she notices quite a few things him and Sir have in common.

Fun, sweet, and romantic in all the right places, To Sir, With Love is the PERFECT rom-com you need for the summer! I instantly fell in love with all the characters, and Gracie and Sebastian had actual chemistry that sizzled on paper. Add to that the sweet story woven around them falling in love, and you have a perfect five star (or five hearts in this case) love story.

❤❤❤❤❤

Thank you to Lauren Layne, NetGalley, and Gallery Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

4.5 stars

To Sir, With Love made my heart feel so happy and joyful while reading it! It reminded me why I believe in fate, true love, soul mates, and all those mushy, hopelessly romantic things! Honestly, it’s the perfect romantic comedy, full of heart, just like I expected from Lauren Layne after reading and loving her amazing Central Park Pact series (if you haven't read it, I highly recommend that you do!).

The novel is inspired by the movies You've Got Mail and The Shop Around the Corner, both of which were adapted from the 1937 Hungarian play Parfumerie, and I love how Layne adapted the novel to our modern, technological era where dating or meeting people, communication, etc over apps is now so often the norm!

Gracie Cooper is struggling to keep her family's boutique champagne business in NYC afloat even though that means she has to put aside her dreams of being an artist. Sebastian Andrews is a wealthy businessman and wants to buy Gracie's shop. She's convinced he's just a ruthless businessman and she drives him insane with her attitude toward him. But are they both wrong about the other? Even though they're enemies, they are instantly attracted to each other. The chemistry between them is undeniable, no matter if they try to fight it!

I loved the characters. Sebastian is kind, charming, and amazing while Gracie is sweet, caring, and full of love and dreams--dreams of still being an artist and of finding her dream man. Maybe she's already met him in the secret man she's been chatting with on a blind date dating app. He's Sir and she's Lady, and they chat all the time but have never met in real life. Yet, Gracie is in love with him after sharing so much of herself with him online and vice versa--or so she thinks, yet just she can't get Sebastian out of her mind...

This had the perfect Meet Cute, such a great plot, and I love enemies to lovers tropes, so it ticked off all the boxes for me when it comes to the perfect romance read. Layne just has a way of writing romance that makes you smile, laugh, fills you with joy, makes you cry a little, and overall just warms your heart and soul. Quite simply, I loved To Sir, with Love wholeheartedly and can’t wait for another lovely, mood-lifting romance by Layne!

Thank you NetGalley and Gallery Books for the DRC copy for review. All opinions are my own.

Described as You've Got Mail-adjacent in the blurb = immediate request!

This story was cute but I wasn't as in love as I thought I was going to be. I appreciated that there was a full cast of characters and that there was decent development of each of those characters. I didn't feel that the actual romance was as developed as I would've liked, though. It felt a little stifled and almost like the romance was a piece of the story rather than the main focus. Spoilers ahead! The reveal between the MCs was... not great. I just felt like there was so much more potential in their story and the ending could've been way better.

Overall, cute but not my favorite!

Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

Q: what’s your opinion about a You’ve Got Mail situation in books or movies?

Lauren Layne’s books always feel so glossy & sophisticated to me—like they’re letting me peek into another possible life—but they’re also still warm & gently amusing. It’s been a couple of years since I devoured her backlist & it’s always a pleasure stepping back into her voice.

But To Sir, with Love isn’t an unqualified “love” for me.

Likened to You’ve Got Mail & other examples featuring that dynamic, To Sir is about a fairy-tale obsessed woman, Gracie Cooper, who’s taken on a job at her family’s champagne store out of familial obligation & hasn’t found a (reciprocated) love…despite her very romantic nature.

But she does regularly correspond with “Sir” as “Lady,” & they share news & feelings & thoughts with each other through an anonymous dating app. But Sir has a girlfriend. His friend entered him on the app as a joke.

Sebastian Andrews, the totally awful man trying to buy out the lease on her family’s store, has a gf too. But also Sebastian is handsome & surprises Gracies sometimes with flashes of non-shark behavior.

Two men. Two possibilities. & also zero possibilities.

The interplay between Gracie & “both” men is charming, particularly between Gracie & Sebastian. I really go for a charmer lead / more uptight lead sighing in exasperation dynamic. The use of 1st person & the overall premise feels really relatable to my look-for-romance under every rainbow personality.

But the “You’ve Got Mail”-esque plot complications aren’t executed pleasingly. I often feel frustrated & or question how it’s present in the book—how the leads are acting, what is supported & not supported by the story itself, etc.

There’s a conflict moment to me that also feels shallow & kinda “huh?”

This is a fun read mainly because of LL’s voice & flair, but it stalls on the You’ve Got Mail angle for me.

4 ⭐️. Release date: 06/29

TW:


​Gracie’s sister is having marital troubles related to not being able to conceive. She becomes pregnant by the end of the book.

To Sir, With Love by Lauren Layne

To Sir, With Love is a You’ve Got Mail style novel about two single New Yorkers who connect over a dating app but don’t know the other’s true identity.

Gracie Cooper is the owner of a champagne store and artist who put her dreams on hold to run the family business. When a local real estate developer offers to buy her out of her lease AND keeps showing his handsome his handsome face around the shop she starts to feel herself fall. But she also is involved in a no names/no photos message exchange with a man she met on a dating app. Grace will have to choose between two impossible relationships and decide the future of her store.

To Sir, With Love is a fun chick lit style romance novel about pursuing your dreams and fairy tale endings. It also has a slow burn romance with no spice. Gracie and Sebastian have a fun back and forth and the reader is left rooting for them. A small cast of friends, family and co-workers round out the characters and add a little extra to the storytelling. I recommend this cute rom-com for readers looking for a sweet angsty romance that’s also a fast read.

4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

'm not a big rom com reader...But I watch You've Got Mail every year on the one rainy day we get in Arizona, and I never get tired of it. The tension still gets me. The OG enemies to lovers, forbidden and mysterious love, and the search for oneself at a reluctant crossroads. The scene where Tom Hanks realizes who she is at the restaurant??? Swoon!

To Sir With Love by Lauren Layne ticked all those boxes for me. Also set in New York with a quirky and kind blond, it has all the charm of You've Got Mail while being its own thing. She mentions in her author's note that she wanted to bring that story to this generation, going from AOL to an app, and in my opinion, she totally nailed it!

There's a ton of dialogue and wonderful side characters. In this novel of average length, she stuffed in a whole fleshed out family dynamic and friends with their own struggles. So good! It's funny, romantic, thoughtful, and dramatic. I really don't have any criticism, this is a well-written book.

This book publishes next week on June 28!!!! Thank you @netgalley and @gallerybooks for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Gracie has been conversing with "Sir" through an online dating app. On this app, you learn about the other person by messaging without any photos. Sir was signed up for the app without his knowledge by some friends and is already dating someone, but he and Gracie continue to message each other and the banter is fun and flirty. While this is going on Gracie also finds her family business threatened by businessman Sebastian whose company wants to buy out the remainder of the lease on Bubbles and More, which is a champagne/wine store in New York City. While Gracie's first feelings toward Sebastian are not favorable, she finds that he is growing on her. Could it be possible that she is in love with two men at the same time?

I really loved this new take on "You've Got Mail" which I also loved. The book read so smoothly and I was truly taken in by the messages between "Sir" and "Lady". Gracie was a character to root for and I couldn't wait until she found out the true identity of her "Sir". The supporting characters were also interesting and believable. I have never been a real fan of stories taking place in large cities like New York, but the author really made New York attractive to me through Gracie's love for it.

I enthusiastically recommend To Sir, with Love and sincerely thank Gallery Books and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read it and give my unbiased opinion of it. I am looking forward to exploring Lauren Layne's backlist.

I flew through this book in one day! It was entertaining and heartwarming with just enough angst to make the wrap up sweet. Definitely recommend to someone wishing to read a light romance about an everyday girl while being introduced to her friends and family along the way. Give it a shot!

*I received a free copy of this from NetGalley