Member Reviews
Even though I've never see you've got mail and the fact that the heroine's father has died I'm not fond of books in which the heroine loses her father. As my own father is the only parent I have left it hits a little to close to home I did enjoy this one. I laughed, and I cried. I do have to say that this is one that I wouldn't reread. Not because of the book itself it simply hits to close to home.
This has to be hands down one of the cutest stories I’ve read in a long time!
To Sir, with Love follows the story of Sebastian and Gracie. Gracie would do anything for her family; even if it meant putting her own dreams on hold. After the loss of her father, Gracie steps up and takes over the family business. But, no matter how hard she tries, nothing can change the fact that her business is struggling. The last thing she needed in her life was Sebastian. On the outside, Sebastian seems like a ruthless businessman who just snatches up businesses without a second thought. However, there is so much more to Sebastian than meets the eye. Sebastian has a kind heart and is trying to do what he thinks is best. It’s not personal. It’s just good business, isn’t it??
To Sir, with Love grabbed me from the very first page. Gracie and Sebastian’s story rocked some serious You’ve Got Mail vibes and I absolutely LOVED it! Gracie and Sebastian had a series of serendipitous meetings. One might definitely think that fate wanted these two together! Their chemistry was instant and their banter was off the charts. Too bad, their last encounter makes them realize they are destined to be foes. Gracie can’t stand Sebastian and thinks the absolute worst of him, but I promise you, she couldn’t be more wrong. Sebastian proved himself over and over again and had this reader falling head over heels in love.
To Sir, with Love is one of my favorite reads from author Lauren Layne. It’s smartly written and entertaining. The characters are a lot of fun and are easy to connect with. I adored Gracie and her relationship with her siblings. Sebastian was truly genuine and gave you all the feels. I loved the enemies to lovers vibe with Gracie and Sebastian. It lead to some seriously delicious tension and will they/won’t they moments I just couldn’t get enough of.
In the end, this book was just the read I was looking for. It made me laugh. It made me smile. It made me swoon and fall head over heels for these characters. If you’re a fan of feel-good romances and enjoyed the movie You’ve Got Mail, you won’t want to miss To Sir, with Love. I hope you fall in love with these characters just as I have.
This book was adorable. Yes, it was totally obvious what was going to happen but halfway through the book, I was wondering HOW it was going to happen. And it was adorable. This is a perfect rom com summer read to just enjoy without overthinking.
Delightful, wholesome romance with a fairytale feel. This is a lovely reimagined version of You’ve Got Mail/She Loves Me/The Shop Around the Corner. Each are their own classics with a someone falling for a person they only know through writing letters. In this book Gracie joins a dating app that wants you to connect through texting so no photos. Lady (Gracie) starts writing to Sir when is in unavailable, but they continue on as friends. Sir, also know as Sebastian in real life, is a nemesis to Gracie and her business. In fact he wants to buy out her lease to put up a parking garage. She wants to hate Sebastian but she is insta attracted to him. As she likes him more it confuses her about her feelings for texting pal Sir.
The story plays out with a wonderful supporting cast of characters made of family and friends. They are richly developed and also help tell Gracie’s story of focusing on her dream man and not the reality of what is in front of her. It is told from Gracies POV but you know that moment that Sebastian figures things out. Then you wait on pins and needles for it to all come together. I love NYC as the setting and can easily imagine Gracie and Sebastian in the park, store, gallery etc. I was confused on the timeline. There were various references to weeks going by but I never understood the timeframe overall. Also there is one line where it mentions they were both in relationships when they started their emotional texting, but that didn’t make sense to me because she was looking for a romance. (His starting with the app is explained.)
This book is for anyone who enjoys a sweet, clean romance that will leave you feeling happy. I will happily look for other books by the author in hopes I enjoy them as much. Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for an ARC ebook in exchange for an honest review. (4.5 stars rounding up.)
To Sir, With Love by Lauren Layne is basically a retelling of You've Got Mail only instead of a bookstore, it's a champagne shop and they meet on a dating app where you get to know each other through messages rather than deciding based on a photo and a brief description. Although the story is cute, it's an old idea that's been done before (and much better) in the movies. The story does move quickly and would be an entertaining beach read.
Thanks to the author, Gallery Books and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.
This book was like eating frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity. Such a treat!!
"To Sir, with Love" is like You've got Mail meets 2021. Gracie Cooper has taken over her father's champagne shop after his death, two years prior. She has been struggling to make ends meet, bringing in new products, more staff and her paintings she is working on in her spare time. Enter Sebastian, head of a takeover company and Gracie's landlord. He has been making offers to take over Gracie's lease at the champagne store and their dealings are nothing short of acrimonious. Enter Sir. She meets Sir on a dating app where there are no pictures or any identifying information. Though Sir is in a relationship, she falls for him, even though he doesn't want to take it any further.
There is so much about this book that drew me in. Gracie is a great character. She is trying to do the right thing by her father's memory while losing herself at the same time. She doesn't get any help from her sister or brother and everything falls into her lap. Sebastian has a soft side to him we see, and he seems to truly care what happens to Bubbles, the champagne store. I loved the backdrop of NYC and that Lauren Layne was accurate and not just guessing what happens there. All the relationships that Gracie has are multi dimensional and well layered.
It doesn't get a higher rating from me simply because I wanted more from Sir and that relationship. There is no depth to the email exchanges. It is simply Gracie asking a question and Sir answering it. There are very few that are longer than two or three sentences. I wondered throughout the book if their conversations would ever be more, but they seemed to taper off and yet, she was so conflicted.
This is a clean and quirky book that I really enjoyed reading. I can't wait to tackle Lauren Layne's other books!
Review is for Library Journal:
In this modern retelling of You’ve Got Mail, Gracie Cooper is torn between the mysterious Sir she met on a text-only dating app, and the posh Sebastian Andrews, who is trying to buy out the lease on her family business. As much as she wants to hate Sebastian, she can’t help but enjoy his company. He even shows up to the special events she’s planned to try and drum up more business for her little shop. But as frustrating as Sebastian makes her, at least she has Sir to talk her back down after a rough day. But at some point, Gracie realizes she needs to stop living in a fantasy world, and come to terms with how the shop isn’t doing as well as she hoped, that her life isn’t what she wanted it to be, and that she needs more than just the two half relationships she has with Sir and Sebastian. In Lauren Layne’s newest contemporary romance, readers will fall in love with the classic enemies-to-lovers trope, and especially the banter between Sebastian and Gracie. The cast of beloved side characters, such as Gracie’s siblings and employees, adds an extra spark to this already charming tale. VERDICT: A first tier purchase for libraries, especially those where romantic comedies are popular.
An absolute delight from start to finish. This is an wonderful retelling of the classic The shop Around the Corner / She Loves Me / You’ve Got Mail story. It’s an enemies to lovers, friends to lovers, and epistolary novel all in one. I don’t care how many times I’ve read or seen this story it’s a classic for a reason and is an absolute delight. I loved that Lauren updated the technology for the letters in a way that felt natural (messages through a dating app) but still kept the timeless feeling of the story.
The writing style reminded me a lot of The Hating Game. The book was entirely from Gracie’s perspective and like T.H.G. it occasionally breaks the third wall with Gracie providing information to the reader. A lot of books try to copy this writing style and fail, while this one works perfectly. This book would not worked with dual POVs as the fun of it is simultaneously knowing more than Gracie and seeing it all unfold through her eyes. If we had Sebastian’s POV the suspense would have complete disappeared. And the fact that there was still the suspense of ‘is Sebastian the Sir she’s messaging?’, is remarkable and the telltale sign of good wring because literally description tells you he is and yet to the very end I was stressed about is he or isn’t he.
I loved both Gracie and Sebastian as well as their alter egos Lady and Sir. They are the exact types of characters I am a huge sucker for. Each were perfectly plotted with hopes, dreams, flaws, etc. I also loved the very through out community that surrounds the pair. I feel like I know who each of the side characters are thanks to the wonderful little details peppered in like favorite lipstick colors or that Gracie’s bother opened his bottle of Dom because the Cubs won the World Series. There doesn’t need to be another book set in this world, but I would happily return should Lauren decide to write one.
Now need to go back and read everything Lauren has written. I can honestly seeing myself rereading this one over and over again.
Thank you to NetGalley and a Gallery Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This is best described as a classic story with a modern twist.
Gracie Cooper owns a wine shop and Sebastian Andrews is the handsome landlord that wants to push her out. Their relationship is antagonistic from the start.
Her professional life is problematic, and her personal life is complicated. She’s fallen for a man she’s never met in real life or seen. They meet on MysteryMeet, a dating app where you don’t see who you are chatting with. The attraction is based on personality first, rather than physical appearance. Their banter is great and Gracie looks forward to the messages but there’s one big problem. Sir is already dating someone else.
Can Gracie save her shop and find the man of her dreams?
This was a fun read and the emails between Lady (Gracie) and Sir were flirty and cute and you could sense the attraction.
This book had SO MUCH POTENTIAL. The writing style was beautiful, I loved the plot idea and characters, but I just didn’t love it. I felt like the story was more about Gracie and her professional/family life and the romance aspect took a major backseat. I would have loved to see more of Lady and Sir’s correspondence and the inner workings of what made her fall in love. I am so grateful for the arc of this book and I will definitely read more Lauren Layne in the future.
This one was a surprise! It's more on the quieter side in the rom com space, but I loved the characters and the way the emails didn't replace good storytelling and character development. A nice, cozy read, perfect for that one rainy day that always happens on your vacation.
Thank you so much to the publisher and Netgalley for the arc! I really really enjoyed this book and I was originally drawn to this title due to the You Got Mail comparison which is such an iconic movie. If I enjoy all of Lauren Layne's book as much as this one, she might be a new favorite author. Grace and Sebastian's enemies to lovers story was fairy-tale like and I liked the combination of journey to self alongside the slow burn romance. The perfect beach reach or by the pool book that just makes you feel happy and relaxed!
I received an ARC of this novel from Gallery books in exchange for my review. I am a huge Lauren Layne fan and I have read most of her books and loved them. This was wasn't one of my favorites-which is strange because I love the premise of the novel as well-a version of the movie, You've Got Mail. I can't quite pinpoint what it was that I didn't like. The plot was great, the characters-though-just didn't quite ring true. It was predictable-many romances are-but maybe too predictable? I finished the story so I will give it 4 stars, but this wasn't Lauren Layne at her best.
Oh my God. This is a story for serious Romantics only. My eyes keep leaking. Big Sigh.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I don’t know what it was about the story but it’s seriously left a huge warm spot in my heart. Her characters are real people with real struggles and deserve the happiness that she beautifully encapsulates.
This is a contemporary fiction love story which features people just a little bit older than the young adult category. They’ve been through a lot in their lives, yet continue to move forward and grow but still desire other things. They are missing that one special person in their life and use an app to try to find it. The conversations are fun and witty but also deep and meaningful.
Layne has a wonderful way of developing her characters that makes them so very likable. You find yourself cheering on this couple as they break down the barriers that go from dislike and discontent to warm and fuzzy, sparkling and bubbly.
To Sir, with Love is a positive and uplifting story and I think that’s what gets me. Layne has a beautiful storytelling ability that just gives you all the feels and makes you wish you were there. Fresh and divine!
This is a clean romance and a heartfelt love affair that slowly builds. I found myself reading with tears rolling several times in the story. She leaves us with an amazing happily ever after and a huge smile that will last for days.
Layne is an amazing talent of contemporary fiction and romance, whose words takes your breath away and envelops the definition of Romance Writer.
Didn’t love it or hate it.
This book was okay? I think it was a little too predictable for my liking. I wish it had more of something but l can’t really pin point exactly what it was.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. When I saw this available, read the description, I asked for the ARC thinking in the back of my mind, there is no way anyone can pull off something close to "You've got mail" so why did I ask for it? Because "You've got mail is one of my two favorite movies of all time. Well, Off I went to read 'To Sir with Love' and Lauren Layne did it. I laughed, I even cried. What a great read this was. No it isn't exactly like "You've got Mail" but the bones are there. Perfect clean love story. I will be looking forward to Lauren Layne's next book and I will probably re-read this as I have watched Tom and Meg in You've got mail so many times.
Really cute story. I felt like it was an updated (and better) version of You've Got Mail (still can't forgive Tom Hanks for putting Meg Ryan's adorable store out of business). In this case, you aren't rooting for the main character to fail, but you do want her to find her passion - and maybe the store isn't it?
Oh my goodness. I’ve always loved Shop Around the Corner (more than You’ve Got Mail) so when I saw this book I wasn’t 100% sure I should read it. I’m so glad I took a chance. It was incredible! Even though I knew how it would turn out I was still on the edge of my seat as I read with a smile. I’m sad the book is over and glad I was taken along for a ride. Thanks for the new characters.
I love a good Lauren Layne book, and this was no exception! At the start of lockdown, I binged her Central Park Pack series and it brought me a lot of comfort, and so this book was a welcome feeling of nostalgia and distraction.
To Sir, with Love was a short and sweet read, set in a New York City champagne shop. She meets "Sir" online through a dating app and starts to fall for him; at the same time, she meets Sebastian Andrews, the man attempting to buy out her late father's shop. She realizes that she's in love with both men and realizes that she has to choose... or does she? While the love story was fairly predictable, this was just the fun read I needed!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of To Sir, with Love.
Thanks to Netgalley for this arc.
I will say, this is a slow burn romance book. Rivals to lovers. It is sweet and cute and different from what Lauren has done so it was an interesting change of pace when the couple really does take a while for them to warm up to each other and finally admit their feelings. I enjoyed it. It’s a cute book but definitely you need patience for them because slow burn romance isn’t for everyone