Gracie Cooper runs her family’s champagne store “Bubbles and more” in New York. Since her father’s death, she has struggled to keep it profitable. When an offer to buy the store comes in she initially rebuffs it, especially after meeting the arrogant Sebastian Andrews. Gracie believes in love and as an artist, she yearns for her happily ever after. She meets “Sir” on a dating app where there are no photos, only conversation. I think you can see where this story is going. The story was cute and you wanted Gracie to get together with Sebastian and see that he and Sir are one and the same. There is a HEA, but I wanted more. You have all this anticipation and then boom, you are in the epilogue.

This is my first Lauren Layne novel. I loved reading about her love of NYC, and the humor was fabulous as was the romance.

If Enemies to Lovers and You’ve Got Mail are two of your favs then you will LOVE this book! We meet Gracie who is running her family’s champagne shop and Sebastian who wants to buy her building. All while both communicating via pen pals but they just don’t know it.

My favorite movie is You've Got Mail so I knew picking up this book that I was going to enjoy it. Not only that but I read it while on vacation to Disney which made the whole fairytale aspect a little more special.

The only reason I gave it 4 stars was that I wish there had been parts of the book that we were able to know Sebastian's story and his perspective.

Overall a very cute story and I will be recommending to my girlfriends to read!

OMG - I loved this one so much! The biggest thing for me was the banter between them in their texts. Also the chemistry they had when they were together and didn't know they were Sir and Lady. Gracie had funny moments with her Disney love fantasies. Sebastian and Gracie's situation is realistic and messy. No perfect endings that come easily but ones they work for and aren't completely what they wanted. No sex scenes in this one but it is still swoon worthy. The secondary characters were just as interesting and I would love to read some of their stories. This is not only a 5 star but a keeper shelf book that I would reread.

Lauren Layne’s latest novel To Sir, With Love is a light and whimsical read that is absolutely delightful from start to finish.

Fairy tale fanatic Gracie Cooper might just be in love…except she’s never met the man. She’s talked to him, sure, but only through an app that prevents photos. She’s also trying to revive her struggling family business, a legacy she isn’t completely sure she wants. Sebastian Andrews has been trying to buy out her company’s lease, and she finds him both irrepressibly awful and also swoon-worthy; it’s very inconvenient.

What follows is an homage to Nora Ephron’s You’ve Got Mail and all the iterations before it: falling for someone through their words while struggling through the day to day of life.

The entire cast of characters is well developed and intriguing; it’s one of those books where you’re secretly hoping there are going to be spin-offs so you can spend more time with these incredibly likable characters. From Gracie’s siblings to her friends to her neighbor turned friend, all the characters are intriguing and well written.

Much like it’s inspiration, this novel is a love letter to New York City. From the beautiful flowers, delicious food, and wonderful places described, the setting is practically a character unto itself. Despite being set in the fall, it has perfect summer vibes and would make an excellent beach read.

If you’ve liked these authors, you’ll certainly enjoy To Sir, With Love as well: Sophie Kinsella, Jenny Colgan, Mary Kay Andrews, Jane Green. The combination of likable characters, a classic rom-com plot, and smooth writing make for a really wonderful read.

To Sir, With Love will be available June 29, 2021.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for an advanced copy of this novel such that I could write this review.

This is the story of Graci, the owner of a small shop in Manhattan and Sebastian an executive of a large family business, who unexpectedly fall in love. Graci is an artist who kind lives with her head in the clouds. Her business is struggling and her love life is non existent but she refuses to see the reality, instead insisting that she has a great life. When she meets Sebastian she is forced to deal with the reality of the situation and at first is resentful of him for forcing it on her. It’s such a cute love story. I enjoyed it and it was a fast read. We really didn’t to dig a lot into Sebastian and I think maybe I would have enjoyed that. We also didn’t get anything about their relationship after they were together. Which I also would have enjoyed. But overall fun sweet meet cute.

Lauren Layne’s retelling of You’ve Got Mail was absolutely adorable! This was my first book by Lauren but definitely will not be my last. This story follows Gracie Cooper who put aside her dream of being an artist to run the family business. She starts to realize that the business is not doing well and in the midst of the store failing, Grace meets Sebastian, who offers to buyout their family business. During this time, Grace is also speaking with Sir on a dating app, who she hasn’t met and doesn’t know his real name.

I absolutely adored this one! Layne does an excellent job of retelling You’ve Got Mail with a modern twist. Grace is romantic, funny and has some excellent character growth throughout the story. Sebastian is so sweet and seeing the two of them connect made me cheer for them throughout the whole story!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a gifted eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Could there be a better comparison than to "You've got Mail"?! To Sir, with Love, albeit a bit predictable is an uplifting romance with some contention mixed in. I really enjoyed this one as I usually do Lauren Layne's books!

This was my first Lauren Layne book. I've heard great things about her stories and I've always wanted to read some of her books. When I saw that this book was billed as a take on the movie You've Got Mail, I was sold! I absolutely love that movie! Overall, I loved the Manhattan setting and the idea of the story. However, it wasn't as addicting as I had hoped for, though I probably was putting it up against one of my favorite movies of all times as I was reading the book and that probably wasn't super fair to the book! It was a super enjoyable read though, and I'll happily be trying more of her books in the future!

4.75 out of 5 stars!

After giving up her dreams to run the family business after her father died, the heroine has a momentous meeting with the hero. After learning who the hero is, she tries to deny the instant connection she has with him by focusing on her crush with her online friend. As her relationship deepens with both persons, she struggles with professional and personal situations as time passed by.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The main couple is adorable together and individually. I liked the heroine's family and friends, flaws and all. The author's writing style is easily readable and the book vibe is enjoyable. I would have liked if a detail would have been omitted but it didn't detract from the whole story. Also, I would have liked to get more of the hero's view, but that's a personal opinion of mine. Overall, this is a Lauren Layne book I highly recommend as a feel-good romantic story.

**Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. All opinions and thoughts in the review are my own.**

This is a very tame and cutesy romance between our female lead, who is trying to save her father's champagne shop from the property developer company our male lead works at. It's all very fluffy - and while this makes it easy to read, this definitely won't stick with me. Ultimately, I couldn't really get into it because I couldn't connect - nor would I likely be friends with - our female lead. She's into champagne, Disney princesses, saccharine paintings of cocktail drinks against a NYC backdrop and is a hopeless/helpless romantic - right up to the point of immaturity. Add in some insta-love and a lack of romantic development...I'm a pass.

<i> I voluntarily obtained an eBook version of this book free from Netgalley and Galley Books in exchange for an honest review!</i>

This book was such a happy read! It's going to be a great summer read. It's truly a modern day telling of You've Got Mail as the description suggests. Gracie is a romantic at heart who dreams of a fairy tale romance. She works at a wine shop she inherited after her father's passing. Her quest for love leads her to sign up for a blind dating app that works on the premise that words and conversation are the key to falling in love, not so much photos and looks. She meets a intriguing man on the app who she corresponds with. Away from the app, Gracie meets businessman Sebastian Andrews who seeks to buy out Gracie's shop for new developments. Gracie refuses to sell as she does not wish to abandon her father's shop. Sebastian continues to find his way into Gracie's life. Through the book, Gracie discovers what is important in her life and that sometimes reality is better than the fairy tale. This is a sweet read with little to no angst. The books is billed at as loud out loud romantic comedy but during the read I did not find it to be all that comedic. Entertaining, yes but would not consider it to be a romantic comedy read. The secondary characters in the book are wonderful and help improve the story. An enjoyable read that I would recommend for those looks for a happy sweet romance (think hallmark movie, I can totally see this as a hallmark movie)

Lauren Layne's "To Sir, with Love" is a adorably predictable romance with extremely adorable characters. What's not to love about this known vs. unknown love story?
Gracie is so full-hearted and just lovely. She is jovial, she is bubbly without being annoying or fake. She is, like so many of us, the people pleaser, and most importantly, the family peacemaker and glue that holds them all together. Unfortunately, when you are being all those things for everyone else, sometimes you lose part of yourself along the way.
Sebastian is only revealed in glimpses and interactions. It's clear (to the reader) that there is a connection on the anonymous app between them, but then that's not the mystery to solve, is it? It's the pining, the waiting, the hope for the HEA that is to come. I like that Gracie isn't swept off her feet by his stability and wealth. I enjoyed the scenes where he's in her tiny apartment, assessing her brother's presence or just hanging out before the art show while she is getting her make-up done. Gracie is so relaxed and comfortable with him, despite their bumpy (but not tooooo rocky) history and it is just the sweetest thing.
Perfect escape and easy read for the beach, the pool, the airplane. No uncomfortable moments that would cause teary eyes around strangers. Loved it!

2.5⭐️

By all accounts, I should have absolutely loved this book. It’s got the trifecta: enemies-to-lovers, rom-com, inspired by You’ve Got Mail (aka one of the best and most romantic movies of all time). Yet, I couldn’t not have been happier to wash my hands of it by the end.

Usually I’d try to write up a little summary, but if you know the movie then you know everything that’s going to happen in the book. Except instead of being utterly charmed you’re left with the urge to chuck the book at the wall.

The main character, Gracie, gave me the “ick” from the very first chapter. She is poised to be this whimsical hopeless romantic but rather she comes across as a manic pixie dream girl with a Cinderella complex. Eating mustard on eggs is not a personality trait, nor is it quirkily endearing to be so obsessed with a fairytale that you go to a business meeting dressed in a Cinderella-esque gown that is better suited for a junior prom. She is so incredibly immature for a 33 year old woman it was pretty unbearable at times.

The biggest let down of this book was the inability to craft a compelling romance. She is torn between her online love interest, Sir, and her real life crush, Sebastian, however neither romance is well done or interesting. The messages between “Sir” and “Lady” are done sporadically through out the book and don’t have nearly enough content to show how these two are drawn to each other. And then their in-person meet cute can be summarized as of the instalove variety. Literally, Gracie goes on and on in the moment they lock eyes that he is destined to be her person, it’s “the moment”™️, it’s the eyes locking zing factor. And it’s terrible.

There was nothing in either the online messages or their in person interactions that made it seem like these two were destined to be together. They had no chemistry and weren’t given nearly enough time on the page to <i>develop</i> that chemistry.

I found many of the secondary characters to be more interesting and complex like the best friend and bold chef, Keva.

I wanted to love it, I really did! I tried so hard to get into it, but I was left really disappointed by a story I was excited to read.

A sweet and charming romance. I loved everything about Gracie. She willingly puts her own dreams aside and takes on running the family business, a champagne shop, when her father dies. The shop is not doing terribly well and a giant corporation wants to buy the business and turn it into a parking garage. Sebastian is the corporate representative, handsome but arrogant. There is lots of humour, fun and romance.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

You’ve Got Mail for the modern age. This is a delightful book that made me smile and laugh during the funny moments, sad and introspective at the tender moments (I’ve got my own career confusion happening right now), and happy at the sweet and sappy moments. I’ve never read a book by Lauren Layne before but I’m glad I read this one - it was a perfect read for me in this moment.


Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the arc.

Cutesy and feel-good, To Sir, With Love is just the book to curl up with after a long week. While a bit predictable, you see yourself becoming friends with the cast of characters without a hesitation. They’re just quirky enough to be memorable without being so over-the-top that you can’t picture someone you know in their place.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC.

You got mail meets modern dating in this adorable romantic comedy thats sure yo put a smile on your face.

I LOVED this book. It was seriously the perfect sweet romance. I read it in one sitting and seriously couldn’t stop smiling. The characters were so fun and the New York setting was familiar yet unique.

If you are a romcom fan I highly recommend this one.

LOVED IT!! This timeless theme is a favorite of mine and Lauren Layne updates it perfectly to the twenty-first century. The dating app and texting is the modern version of handwritten letters and emails.

You can feel the hope and anxiety build as Gracie interacts with both Sir and Sebastian. She realizes that she is falling in love with both men and doesn't know what she should do. Gracie is the type of person that dreams of meeting "the one". Even when she lets the the man (or men) she loves go because she thinks he is pursuing the love of his life, not knowing it is her all along, she still holds onto the dream.

I appreciate the book is told only from Gracie's perspective, so although you eventually realize Sebastian has figured out that Gracie is Lady, you focus on Gracie and her feelings. She is such a people pleaser, putting aside her career dreams, to take care of the family business without help from her sister or brother. When they reunite as the business is losing money and decisions are made as to what to do, Gracie doesn't hold it against them that she was the only one working to keep it going.

A heartfelt, feel good, believe in happily ever after book that I will continue to read again and again.