📖 REVIEW 📖

To Sir, with Love by Lauren Layne.
Coming 6/28/21 by @gallerybooks
Received from @netgalley

Synopsis:
“Perpetually cheerful and eager to please, Gracie Cooper strives to make the best out of every situation. So when her father dies just five months after a lung cancer diagnosis, she sets aside her dreams of pursuing her passion for art to take over his Midtown Manhattan champagne shop. She soon finds out that the store’s profit margins are being squeezed perilously tight, and complicating matters further, a giant corporation headed by the impossibly handsome, but irritatingly arrogant Sebastian Andrews is proposing a buyout to turn the store into a parking garage. But Gracie can’t bear the thought of throwing away her father’s dream like she did her own.

Overwhelmed and not wanting to admit to her friends or family that she’s having second thoughts about the shop, Gracie seeks advice and solace from someone she’s never met—the faceless “Sir”, with whom she connected on a blind dating app where matches get to know each other through messages and common interests before exchanging real names or photos.

But although Gracie finds herself slowly falling for Sir online, she has no idea she’s already met him in real life…and they can’t stand each other.”

REVIEW: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
I loved story. I devoured it last night and just couldn’t get enough. Very much you’ve got mail vibes and just a well written love story with a few surprises in there! I loved the characters and how they were deceived, their sass, and their relationships with people. This author is new to me, but #laurennlayne did an amazing job and I can’t wait to read more from her.

#gallerybooks #laurenlayne #netgalley

Thank you to Netgalley, GalleryBooks, and Lauren Layne for the access of this story in exchange for an honest review.

Gracie is a thirty-something year old hopeless romantic who is looking for her Mr. Right. She is in a complicated relationship with a man she never met - known as “Sir”, and she happily runs a champagne store called Bubbles and More...until she meets Sebastian. Sebastian is looking to buy out her store, and she instantly develops a hate for him. That is, until she starts to fall for him. Is it possible to be in love with two men at once??

This was the cutest book I’ve read in a while!!

Looking for her fairy tale prince, Gracie uses an app that matches people but there is no meeting involved, only texting. Every time she gets a text from Sir, she lights up. Gracie finds she can share her inner most thoughts while trying to keep the family business, Bubbles and More, from closing. Her dream job is to be an artist, but she is intent in keeping her dad’s dream alive by running the business after his death. Sebastian’s family owns the building housing Bubbles and More and they would like to buy Gracie out. She believes she owes it to her parents to keep the store, but it does not look like she will make enough profit to keep it going. Sebastian and Gracie have an ongoing love hate relationship. Gracie feels badly about caring for her mystery man and Sebastian. Sebastian knows Gracie has another suitor and is reluctant to tell her how he feels. This is a great story with wonderful characters who care about each other. Maybe one can find a fairy tale ending if you can take chances. I loved the idea of sharing one’s feelings with someone you have not met.

You've got mail is one of my absolute favorite movies, so I was delighted to get a chance to read this ARC from Net Galley. It's definitely on the predictable side, but in a lovely whimsical way. I finished this book in a day, because I couldn't tear myself away from the characters. I was rooting for them the entire time. The only thing that I sort of disliked was the title of the book, I don't know why the "sir" gave me weird vibes. Otherwise, I would highlight recommend for fans of quirky main characters, lovable side characters and a happily ever ending.

This book was a really sweet, good book. It kind of reminded me of a Hallmark movie but better. It’s a very PG book, but I didn’t mind that. It was still angsty enough without any sex. I really love pen pal romances, and I liked both main characters.

This is the first novel I’ve read by Lauren Layne. I wasn’t disappointed. I loved Gracie and her voice. The story flowed along. It was a delight to read and I’ll be looking into more of her books.

You've Got Mail is one of my all-time favorite movies, and even though the technology is a little dated, the story holds up over the years. To Sir, with Love, is a similar story, with very appealing characters who meet online via a dating site that allows people to get to know each other well before they meet in person. Really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to recommending it to readers who are looking for a fresh, modern romance.

With her signature wit and humor, Lauren Layne’s To Sir, With Love, captivated me from the first message between Sir and Lady. The cleverness of the method of communication...with the short quips, lending hilarious implications...between the two, elevated what very well have been just another “dating app” rom-com, to totally different level of sophistication and writing mastery...Ms Layne took a timeless classic storyline and breathed a freshness into it that served to demonstrate her writing prowess.

As the interactions between Sebastian and Gracie progressed from contentious to caring, and the notifications between Sir and Lady grew more personal, I found myself more and more emotionally invested with their interactions, eagerly awaiting the next message to come through between Sir and Lady...I might as well have been sitting next to Gracie on the couch awaiting the next communique.

As always, when I’ve been immersed in one of this author’s stories, I’m saddened when it has ended...these are characters I will truly miss being a part of...if only through print...their lives...although I do anxiously await the next story and characters to which I can fall in love with all over again!

This ARC book was complimentary, provided by the Publisher and NetGalley. I am voluntarily providing my honest review.

TO SIR, WITH LOVE is about living the life you were meant to live. It is a romance that grips the reader’s heart as the sparkling would-be artist Gracie fights to keep her father’s legacy safe from demolition by the reserved developer Sebastian.

I loved the heart gripping romance of this story. It builds slowly amid “complications” and insecurities. While the narrative is from Gracie’s point of view I often found myself feeling more for Sebastian’s plight because he only let glimpses of what he was feeling occasionally reach his eyes.

This is a must read if you were a You’ve Got Mail, The Shop Around the Corner, or In the Good Old Summertime fan. It is clearly inspired by these whimsical movies, but shines with its own unique plot elements and excellent writing.

I received an advance copy of this book. This is my voluntary review.

arc provided by netgalley for an honest review

Although I am usually a fan of Lauren Layne’s books, this one was just very lacking and fell flat. Instead of being able to follow her dreams, Gracie has to keep her family’s champagne shop afloat but she is able to find some comfort in a penpal that she has been writing to…and is starting to fall for. And in comes in Sebastian, heir to the Andrews Corporation, swoops in with a buyout offer…and offer that Gracie has thrown out countless times.

Now she must choose between Sebastian, the possible jerk who she is insantely attracted to, and Sir, her penpal that she repeatedly gets mixed signals from, or maybe realize that they’re one and the same.

I was looking forward to some sort of climax especially once we could see the similarities between Sebastian and Sir but it fell flat and the ending left me unsatisfied. The attraction between Sebastian and Gracie was instant but not very developed especially when they jumped from enemies to acquaintances within two chapters, which ended up being far too cheesy for me.

Lauren Layne's updated You've Got Mail retelling managed to be the anonymous-dating-app-penpal to real-world-adversaries-to-lovers romance that I wanted it to be. Cheers for that!

Any romcom lover will delight in the opportunity this story offers to fall in love twice, because fall in love twice you will. At least I did. Once, when I was thrown amid the clever messages Sir and Lady exchange on MysteryMate, a dating app where users connect through words first instead of photos. And second, when Gracie Cooper and Sebastian Andrews engage in a battle of wills over what to do with Bubbles & More, the struggling family champagne shop she's inherited, owns, and runs in honor of her late father.

The plot was rather formulaic. Nothing all that subversive or surprising in its midst, but I didn't mind. I found I liked the predictable momentum that existed between the Sir/Lady and Gracie/Sebastian storylines.

It didn't hurt that the dialogue was lively, either. Or that the side characters added to my bevy of enjoyment. I think Keva, the friend/neighbor/cook, was my favorite--she was just so infectious, so vivacious!

The rivals to lovers romance part of the story perhaps was not as developed as I wanted it to be, especially since they had an "at hello" attraction, but it worked well enough. Gracie and Sebastian's development was sweet, entertaining. I was more than happy to see my way through their meet cute to their cooking class shenanigans to their Sir/Lady reveal.

It was worth every fluffy, fizzy sip of sparkling wine!

Much like Nora Ephron's beloved romcom, this was cute, hopeful, jolly, and fizzy with champagne feelings. Like Kathleen Kelly would say, it was full of all those dating/courting nothings that, at the end of it all, "turn out to mean so many somethings."

3.5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Gallery Books for this ARC in exchange for my review!

I absolutely adored this book! I have always enjoyed Lauren's books and this one is no different. If you haven't seen You've Got Mail, you're going to want to watch it asap after finishing this book. I loved all the characters and all the individual relationships. Reading this was like drinking champagne, pistachio gelato, and cuddling with a cat. (All book references you will love once you read it)

I loved this book! Nora Ephron’s You’ve Got Mail is one of my favorite movies and this book adaptation (retelling?) was just what I needed. A new take on a tale as old as time. The only thing that would have made this book any better was having a glass of champagne while reading.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Gracie Cooper set aside her dreams of an art career to take over her dad's Manhattan champagne shop after he died, but she was unaware how much the store was struggling to stay open. Totally overwhelmed and faced with an evil corporate overlord who keeps trying to buy out her lease, Gracie turns to an anonymous pen pal on a dating app for solace and business advice. Gracie finds herself slowly falling for her online bestie, and she has no idea she actually knows (and hates) this prince charming in real life.

To Sir, with Love is the perfect modern homage to You've Got Mail. I loved every second of this sweet and totally PG romcom. It hit just the right Valentine's spot! Everything about this oozes Lauren Layne's NYC charm - the champagne shop! the funny cat name! the swoony and gorgeous leading man!

This love story isn't angsty and isn't steamy, but it is perfectly happy and I will definitely be rereading it when it comes out!

Thank you to Gallery Books, netgalley, and Lauren Layne for the eARC in exchange for my review.

Lauren Layne always delivers a fun, sweet story. Gracie is a hopeless romantic dealing with the reality of everyday life. She dreams of a career as an artist but runs the family business that her father left to her and her siblings. She has a thrilling online flirtation with a man she knows as “sir” but has to deal with a stoic businessman set on buying out the lease on her shop. Sebastian comes across as cold and formal but quickly falls for Gracie in the sweetest way. They have to find their way through the mess of life to get their grand romance and it’s so entertaining to read. The ending is easy to anticipate, as is true in most romance novels, but it’s exactly the heartwarming content we all need right now. Loved it.

Thanks to Lauren Layne, Gallery Books, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was thrilled to receive an ARC of To Sir, with Love (thank you NetGalley). Huge fan of Lauren Layne over here!
Like all of her books, I could not put this one down. Lauren hit it out of the park with witty dialogue that keeps you engaged and entertained. She also created lovable main characters with undeniable chemistry - I was rooting for them throughout the entire book. I definitely felt the You've Got Mail vibe, but the modern twist brought that trope back to life for me. The story goes beyond falling in love and deals with heartbreaking issues such as infertility and the loss of a parent. The ending was predictable and a little, um, cheesy (?). But I still loved it.

Delightful. Another amazing story from Lauren Layne.
Gracie is the perfect storybook heroine of 2021, meaning of course that she's not perfect, just trying to figure out life like the rest of us. Her belief that fairytale love does exist is refreshing and exactly what I needed this year. Like Gracie and Sebastian it's easy to settle and follow the role laid out for you without realizing it, but what's life without a little dreaming?

Lauren Layne does it again! Everything she writes I devour! This book was the perfect balance of independent woman and hopeless romantic. It gave me definite you’ve got mail vibes!

5 out of 5 stars.

Gracie Cooper loves New York, Cinderella, and the idea of being in love. She also loves her family. So much, in fact, that when her father passed away, she stepped up and continued the family business instead of going to art school. When business mogul Sebastian Andrews starts pressuring her to allow him to buy out the lease on her shop, Gracie quickly makes him Enemy #1. Even if she can’t stop thinking about those eyes…

The other main character in all Gracie’s daydreams? Sir. A match she made on a dating website whose profile was set up by his friends as a prank. They’ve never met and he has a girlfriend. But he sure seems great via text message. 🤷🏼‍♀️

This book is adorable. Hands down, 100% adorable. I loved that we, the reader, know exactly how this book is going to turn out and we get to watch the characters cutely fumble around the inevitable outcome. Lauren Layne crafted an excellent tribute to You’ve Got Mail that will leave readers laughing, crying, and just downright feeling good.

Thanks to Lauren Layne, Gallery Books, and Netgalley for the ARC in return for my honest review.

This book was super cute, however, if you've seen You've Got Mail then you pretty much know what's going to happen. Exchange a book store for a champagne shop and that's pretty much it. The characters were cute and quirky, but the story was just predictable.


Thanks to #netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for a review.