This is my first Lauren Layne book and won’t be my last. Really cute rom com. This story is about Gracie who has taken over running her fathers champagne store in NY. The store is struggling and Gracie is having a hard time making it work. Gracie has always loved the fairy tale and is waiting for hers. She meets “Sir” on a dating app and begins talking to him but has no idea who he is. Then she meets Sebastian whose company is trying to buy out the lease on the champagne shop. There is an initial attraction on both their parts but things are complicated. Gracie figures some things out along the way about what she really wants. Good clean romance story.

Lauren Layne once again delivers a heartfelt romcom centered around a couple who are enemies in real life, but close friends online. This book has a few tropes including hidden identity, miscommunication, enemies-to-lovers, and friends-to-lovers. The short excerpts of online conversations between Sir and Lady are sweet and sometimes prompt laughter.

“He has a girlfriend. I have a . . . pen pal.”

I found myself getting frustrated that the pair didn’t recognize each other as the online penpal. This was definitely more realistic, but as the reader with all the information, it felt so obvious. Naturally—to add tension—one of them finds out and doesn’t tell the other. This is another part of the hidden identity trope that bothers me, because it’s a thin line between protecting yourself from getting hurt, and manipulating the person you’re falling for. Regardless, I really enjoyed this book. The ending was better than I imagined for both Gracie and Sebastian. The epilogue in particular has me laughing and simultaneously swooning.

Quick read, sweet story, and a clean romance. Gracie inherited her parents' NYC champagne store. She's spent her life believing in fairy tales, and she's been corresponding with "sir" on a dating app where the users only write messages to each other, no identifying info. Sebastian is the attractive and interesting man who wants her to sell the shop to his company. They butt heads, but a mutual attraction sparks, and it takes quite a while for any realization to occur. I wish there'd been a bit more of the characters as a couple, but I did enjoy the book.

Thank you NetGalley, Gallery Books and Lauren Layne for gifting me a copy of this book in advance in exchange for my honest review!
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QOTD: WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE 90’s ROMANCE?
A: I LOVE 90’s romance movies and I pride myself on owning quite the collection but
Hope Floats will always be my favorite! In early high school there was one summer where I watched that movie and that movie only, on repeat, for three days straight. Give me Sandra Bullock, a cute guy and stuffed cats and I’m sold.
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Needless to say when I saw that Lauren Layne wrote her own version of You’ve Got Mail, I clicked on the request button so stinkin fast. I HAD to read this book! If you’re like me and a major fan of 90's era romances, light angst, likeable characters and a sweet story that makes you feel all the nostalgia, this one's for you! The romance was clean and I wouldn't say the chemistry was necessarily jumping off the page for me, but this worked as the perfect palate cleanser and just makes me want to read more!

2.5 stars

I was so excited to receive an ARC of this book because Lauren Layne's Walk of Shame restored my faith in rom-com-esque contemporaries. Walk of Shame is perfect if you like a great rivals to lovers story complete with opposite personalities.

Unfortunately To Sir, with Love was a bit of a let down.

Gracie Cooper is a romantic idealist; she's always had the exact image of who she'd fall in love with in her head and no one's really been able to live up to her long-brown-hair-brown-eyes-musician-with-a-dad-bod-type. So she signs up for a dating app where you don't see any pictures of the person you're communicating with, and ends up building a connection with (and kind of falling in love with) a guy that goes by the pen name "Sir." And she's never met him.

Meanwhile, the boutique champagne store she's running is struggling and Sebastian Andrews enters her life by way of trying to get her to sell her business to his corporation, which causes some animosity on Gracie's part.

This was a fairly quick, light, and a bit clichéd read, and I just don't think the romance was very developed. I wished the "rival" aspect between Gracie and Sebastian was explored more, as it's more of a one-sided thing on Gracie's part than an enemies to lovers situation.

I also found the whole "Sir" storyline to be a bit too cringe for my liking. I'm sorry, but Gracie came off a bit pathetic to me. I felt like I couldn't relate to what she was feeling romantically. I can understand that people can fall for the fantasy of people they've never met before, but when the attractive (and real) Sebastian enters her life and starts to build a relationship with her, she doesn't go for it because she's in love with Sir. I mean, it all becomes a moot point when she finds out that Sebastian is Sir, (ugh there were some cringe scenes in there) but I had a hard time rooting for her when she can't make up her mind between Sir and Sebastian. Although they end up being the same person, she doesn't know that and I mean girl, come on. You have a hot, rich guy who's obviously into you right in front of your face and you're hung up over your pen pal you've never met??? Girl, bye.

I know it's trying to go for the whole "love is blind" thing but I didn't find it compelling, and I think a big reason for that is because "Sir" and "Lady's" (yikes) communications weren't that interesting or great at showing their connection. (I also don't really think love is blind lol)

I didn't dislike it all though. I think there's something to be said for Gracie building up a man in her head and being scared that the fantasy doesn't match the reality. I can also relate to having high and perhaps unrealistic standards. The storyline involving the champagne store, while a bit cliche, did dive into how some people live other people's dreams instead of their own, and I think there was some good nuance there- of wanting to support her father's wishes but struggling with wanting to do something else.

Overall this was a light, powdery-sugar-sweet read that was easy enough but it ended up not really sticking with me. I found it hard to really root for the romance since it wasn't developed well and I questioned how the whole pen pal vs real life thing was handled.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me a copy in exchange for my honest review.

This is the perfect quick-read romance that you need on your shelf!

Set in NYC, Gracie Cooper has taken over her family business, a champagne shop that businessman Sebastian Andrews wants to buy her out of.

Gracie confides in "Sir" the man she 'met' on a blind dating app and things get complicated as she debates taking their online relationship into the real world.

The middle child in me fell in love with Gracie, the romantic in me adored the texts in between chapters and once I started, I couldn't put this book down.

Even though you know this storyline, to author Lauren Layne's credit, the characters, dialogue and setting pull you in--even if you know how the story may end. There's a lot of depth in the sub-plots and family dynamics, outside of the romance, that I really enjoyed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for an advanced copy of this and the opportunity to share my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to Gallery Books and NetGalley for the advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was super cute! A very quick and easy read. It’s on the fairytale romance side of the scale; meaning not quite believable (as it’s a little over the top), but it’s absolutely a feel good!

I enjoyed the enemies to lovers and friends to lovers troupe combination most of all. I found myself very excited in between scenes to see the dialogue between Lady and Sir.

While the main characters had great on page chemistry, the book has a low steam factor as there is not much happening on the physical side of things.

If you are a diehard romance reader, definitely pick this one up! If you lean towards more of a realistic romance that isn’t a modern-day fairytale, maybe skip this one. The little bit of cynicism I do have prevented me from giving this one five stars, but overall I really enjoyed it.

4.5 stars rounded up.

This book perfectly captures the warm gooey feeling of romcom movies at their best, particularly those of the master: Nora Ephron.

You feel like you’re in on the secret the whole time. You know this is a two person love triangle. You know the online flirtation and the in person animosity are one and the same. And yet it’s still such a stomach-churning joy to see the characters work it out.

It’s just abso-freaking-lately adorable.

There’s a lush cast of supporting characters, but it never felt like they overwhelmed our main couple. The business bickering was there, but not overwhelming.

I just loved the low-angst fluffiness of it all. No overdramatic dark moment. No conflict for the sole purpose of conflict. This is the kind of book that makes you happy.

Only a couple of nitpicky complaints — First, I would have liked to see more of Sebastian, particularly at the beginning. He’s a bit of a non-entity for a while, which isn’t my favorite in romance. And second, I feel like Sebastian and Gracie jumped a bit too quickly into close friends territory after their dinner, which felt a bit jarring to me.

Also there is so much sexual tension and the hero is hot as hell (a given, since he’s named Sebastian), but there’s no release. Not even a closed door scene. Which left me a bit wanting.

Steam: 0/5 🔥 (nothing more than kisses shown or implied)

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an advanced copy. This review was left voluntarily.

To Sir, With Love by Lauren Layne is another one of her wonderful sweet romantic novels. Gracie Cooper, our heroine, runs the family Champagne shop, after the death of her father; putting aside her passion for painting. She is determined to find ways to increase the low profits for the shop. Gracie is sweet, smart, loyal and liked by everyone. A big corporation has been trying to buy her out, which she continually refuses, and now meets the man behind the proposal, who immediately comes across as arrogant, as well as extremely handsome.

Sebastian Andrews is determined to convince Gracie to sell to his company, though they both get off on the wrong foot. Despite his showing her that she cannot survive in the long term, and could lose the business; he also tries to propose that she can move to a different location with success. As stubborn as they both are, Gracie fights off her attraction to Sebastian; and he knows that he is beginning to have feelings for her. In a short time, their relationship heats up, but Gracie also has someone else she is falling for.

Gracie meets ‘Sir’ on a faceless dating app, as they have fun texting to each other; the banter between them was cute. Though she is enjoying her texting, Gracie spends more time with Sebastian, and their chemistry is off the wall. Who will Gracie choose the handsome sexy Sebastian or the fun unknown ‘Sir”?

As time went on, I loved Sebastian and Gracie together, especially when he praised and pushed her to go back to her love of art, which he thought were the signs of a great painter. I really loved all the secondary characters that were great; as Lauren Layne always creates wonderful and likeable characters. To Sir, With Love was a sweet, heartwarming, romantic and uplifting story. I have enjoyed everything I have read by Layne, as she writes such wonderful fun pure romances. If you like heartwarming romances, great couple, sexy and fun, look no further than anything by Lauren Layne.

If you’ve seen the movie “The Shop Around the Corner” with Jimmy Stewart or “You’ve Got Mail” with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, you know what will happen in this story. Since I enjoyed “You’ve Got Mail,” I enjoyed this updated version where the heroine owns a Manhattan Champagne store that the sexy guy wants to buy out so he can develop a new high-rise. Sparks fly between the H and h although the heroine rudely refuses his generous purchase offer. And then there is the anonymous guy she’s been texting with for several months. He seems to understand her innermost feelings and even though they’ve never met, she is kinda, sorta falling for him in a fairy-tale sort of way. Guess where this is going.

The problem is that I just didn’t buy that their texting was all that enthralling - I didn’t believe for one moment that they were bonding so deeply over a bunch of generalities without ever sharing any specific details about themselves.

The irony involved in “You’ve Got Mail” is that the Tom Hanks character runs a set of giant bookstores which a few years after the movie came out will be sinking fast as they can’t compete with Amazon. And developing skyscrapers in Manhattan is probably also going to be a declining investment given the economy in NYC, especially after Covid-19. I have a feeling that romance authors are going to have to get innovative with their career choices for their characters in the future.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

Thank you netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Although this was a decent romance I was disappointed at how clichéd and predictable the story was. The heroine falls for a guy she meets online and also falls for her nemises who wants her to sell her store. Of course they turn out to be the same person and all is forgiven. There just wasn't enough there to keep me entranced, that's what I've experienced with other novels by this author.

Gracie runs her parents old Champagne shop. While it was never her dream, she continues to run it to keep her parents legacy alive. If it were up to her, she would be an artist and get together with Sir the anonymous man she is flirting with on a dating app. Sebastian wants to buy Bubbles & More to build a high rise in its place. His aggressive approach gains him no favors from Gracie. Except the more he runs into her the more he likes her. Can Gracie decide between a guy in real life vs the mystery man from the dating app?

I could not put this book down! I read it in one sitting. I loved Gracie and related to her so hard. I often put others wants and needs ahead of my own and get caught up in their dreams instead of being the main character of my own story.

I did find the Disney/princess obsession story line a little cringy. I also didn't think a man in today's time would talk the way "sir" did on the app. I also didn't believe that **SPOILER ALERT** Sebastian would have the same talking style as Sir. I mean you knew from the start they're one in the same, but yet I found it hard to believe he would say the things that Sir said. Even with that though I totally enjoyed this book. I had a smile on my face the whole time and read it in 1 night.

I just adore this book by Lauren Layne! Full of fairytale moments and adorable banter, I loved everything about it. A light and fun romantic read, woven in with some serious moments and emotional growth. This was EXACTLY what I look for in a romantic read and was even better than I expected. Hints of You've Got Mail were what made me pick it up, but Layne's style will keep me reading anything else she writes! Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion. If you are a fan of Christina Lauren or Katherine Center, this will definitely be a book you will enjoy!

A modern re-telling of “Little Shop Around the Corner” and “You’ve Got Mail”, “To Sir, with Love” does not disappoint. Just like my favourite sweet, fizzy wine, this rom-com provides all the feels. The dialogue is not only laugh-out-loud, but clever and witty. With hints of nostalgia, the story expertly weaves the un-romantic idea of a dating app with the ageless allure of fairy tales.

It's been a while since I've read a Lauren Layne book and I'm wondering why... I had so much fun reading this book. This was truly adorable and left a huge smile on my face. If you're looking for a feel good romance, look no farther.

Gracie is on a dating app, but it's not the swipe right kind of app. It's an app where you get to know someone by their words, not their photo. This is where she meets 'Sir'. Sir and Gracie haven't met or exchanged photos, but she has it bad for him. Sir consumes a lot of her thoughts, but so does Sebastian Andrews.

Sebastian and Gracie's storyline is going in that enemies to lovers direction, it's easy to see that. Sebastian wants to buy out her families business that she runs and she is not happy about it. The problem is, the more she gets to know Sebastian the more she realizes he's much more than she first thought. And she finds not only does she have the feelings for Sir, but also Sebastian. She's in trouble.

To Sir, with Love is fun, flirty, and will leave you happy and wanting to read more fairy-tale romances. The chemistry, the banter, I loved it all! I enjoyed this one loads and I'm looking forward to reading more by this author! Highly recommend this one for all romance readers.

This was my first Lauren Layne book and, let me say, it absolutely lived up to all the hype I have heard about her books. I could not put this one down for a second! One of my favorite troupes is enemies to lovers and I'm obsessed with the way this one played out. The romance was perfectly cheesy in all the best ways. Even though I knew what was coming, the journey was as incredible as the ending! I loved Gracie's own journey of self-discovery and the role Sebastian played in it. I gave this book a 4.5 / 5 star rating, and it is absolutely one I would recommend!

To Sir, With Love was freaking adorable. I was surprised when I got about 15% into this book, and a friend told me this was a clean romance. Having read a few Lauren Layne books before, namely Walk of Shame, and remembering that those books were not clean romances, I was a bit surprised. Yet, the clean romance didn't deter me in the slightest. Gracie was a bit whimsical for my tastes. She was looking for her Disney Happily Ever After and I prefer a more snarky, level-headed heroine, but she ended up growing on me. Loved, loved, LOVED Sebastian. He had those rich sexy man in a suit vibes that are my weakness. The meet cute between Sebastian and Gracie was adorable. I love how they started off as enemies but quickly dipped into friends/lovers territory.

The letters between Lady and Sir were the cutest and I always wanted MORE from the letters. I would get sad when a chapter didn't have a letter between Lady and Sir quite honestly.

The ending with the inevitable identity reveal of Sir was just so cute. We already knew what was going to happen, but nevertheless, I still got the feels when Sir's identity was revealed.

I do wish there had been MORE after the reveal of Sir's identity. I wanted more of their relationship together. But alas, I am happy with what I read. Lauren Layne's books always put a goofy smile on my face that becomes a slight frown when I finish the last page.

3.75 stars! Would definitely recommend!

Gracie Cooper runs her dad's Midtown Manhattan Champagne shop. She's been doing it since her dad died since her other siblings never wanted anything to do with it. Things are finally starting to look up with the changes Gracie has added when a huge corporation starts sending her offers to buy her store and turn it into a parking garage. Gracie is furious! She gave up a career as an artist to take over the shop and she's not about to give in to some narcissistic, charismatic jerk like Sebastian Andrews. He spends an inordinate amount of time trying to get her to sell. When she finally agrees, she ends up with a showing at a prestigious art gallery. When she finds out it was Bastians' idea, she is even more furious. She has never been able to trust men and now, she knows that will never change==or will it??!!
This was such a wonderful story that I had trouble putting it down!!

This is the second romance in a row that I’ve read where one of the main characters is in another relationship at the open of their relationship - I feel like that’s something that should come up in the synopsis. I loved watching them fall for each other in real life and online, and it was a really cute story. I had a lot of feels about Gracie’s comments to Sebastian when it was clear he was falling for her, but she wasn’t quite there yet. Overall, I really liked the enemies to lovers meets You’ve Got Mail vibes.

So heartwarming! An homage to You’ve Got Mail (and its earlier iterations). The method of communication has changed over time (hand-written letters, then email, and here in an app), but the message is the same. It’s about 2 people who meet as enemies while unknowingly falling in love anonymously. Layne does a fabulous job of bringing us a 21st-century enemies-to-lovers story between a serious, scowling developer, Sebastian Andrews, and champagne shop owner Gracie Cooper, who meet when he shows up with a hand-delivered letter (after she ignores his earlier ones), offering her a buyout of her family’s business. To her, he has a callous disregard for family tradition, but has to admit that taking him up on his offer might free her to follow her own dreams rather than living her deceased parents’. In the meantime, she’s falling in love with the faceless Sir who fulfills her dreams for a fairy-tale romance. So what’s she to do when she starts to fall for the gorgeous man who is standing right in front of her?

Although there’s sizzling chemistry between these two, this clean romance is tame compared with Layne’s previous books. The focus is on the slow-burn relationship, not a rush to the bedroom.