"To Sir, With Love", by Lauren Layne was a wonderful, refreshing, sweet romantic novel. I enjoyed the attraction of opposites, and the creative way the story was brought together. Thank you NetGalley, author and publisher for the review copy, all opinions are my own.

TROPES DONE WELL ✔️
LOVABLE IMPERFECT CHARACTERS ✔️
FUNNY, REALISTIC BANTER ✔️
GREAT CHEMISTRY ✔️
VERY VERY VERY CUTE & SWOONWORTHY!!!! ✔️ ✔️ ✔️

Finally, the first American romcom I've read in a long time that I've enjoyed as much as my beloved Britlit romcoms. When I first picked up this book, I was a little miffed at the ridiculous number of similarities between this plot and that of You've Got Mail - of course, that's intentional, but some of it seemed like a scene-by-scene remake. In the "pen pal" component, the messages were so short and un-serious that I was not feeling the chemistry between the two of them much at all. But, I ended up loving how it all came together - it felt distinct from YGM, but still Ephronesque. I loved all of the characters, especially Gracie - she is imperfect but a protagonist who you really root for. The chemistry between her and Sebastian is so well done, as are their character developments over the course of the book. If you like a lot of clueless pining, then the last 20% of the book will be perfect for you (you have to suspend your disbelief a little bit, but not too much and not for too long- it resolves really well).

The only nitpick I have is that I didn't like, nor did I really understand the functionality, of the penpals being "Sir" and "Lady." Why couldn't they just address each other by fake names, or screen names, or some other thing? Also, wouldn't even a dating app with no photos have real names? It just felt a little contrived to me, having Gracie be wondering who her "Sir" is.

Thank you to Gallery Books for the ARC via Netgalley!

I absolutely enjoyed this romantic comedy. It was entertaining and the dialogue pulled me into the story.

This is one of my favorite authors and so I could not wait to read this story. This is a funny, sweet, hot and very romantic story. Its a bit like the movie You've Got Mail and I adore that trope. But its more modern, chic, and very NYC. One thing I did not like was that Sebastien has a girl friend at the start of the book. Its also got a enemies to lovers thing happening as the main lead Sebastien is trying to buy Gracie's store and she is not wanting to sell. It was a fun, flirty read and I enjoyed it.

“My dear Lady, you stole my heart twice. If you think I’m letting another second of my life pass with you in it, I’ll have to kiss you again to set you straight.”

Gracie Cooper has a lot on her plate. After the passing of both parents, she’s now the owner of their family champagne store: Bubbles & More. Gracie signs up for an anonymous dating app in hopes to get her fairytale, happily ever after. She never intended to fall for someone, until she “meets” Sir. Their connection is so strong, that she’s determined that she found her Prince Charming.

Then, enters Sebastian Andrews. After a meet-cute that involved a $20 bill, she couldn’t forget his aqua eyes, until he shows up at B&M and she finds out that he’s the one that wants to buyout the business. Gracie will do everything she can to make sure she doesn’t lose her store.

Gracie and Sebastian spends more time together and he slowly starts to grow on her, which starts to give her mixed feelings especially since she was sure that Sir was the one for her. But what happens when her Prince Charming has been right in front of her the whole time?

🥂READ IF YOU LIKE🥂:
- enemies to lovers
- NYC 🗽
- You’ve Got Mail
- witty & sarcastic banters
- lots of Frank Sinatra & champagnes
- local family businesses
- anonymous dating apps
- lemon sorbet & pistachio gelato
- fairy tales
- cw: death of loved ones, infertility struggles

I didn't love this one as much as I've loved some of LL's other books. The whole he had a girlfriend but stayed on the dating app really didn't sit well with me, regardless of how it's explained afterwards. Perhaps another reason I didn't absolutely love it is that I'm not a huge you've got mail fan... but I figured it wouldn't matter because of enjoying LL books in the past. Anyway. I certainly didn't hate it, just didn't love it, didn't really feel a connection between the characters or their romance. Bit of a bummer.

An all around quirky, light-hearted read. While I don’t fall in to the target audience, this book managed to make me laugh and sigh in frustration. It explores a variety of issues but can feel like it’s dragging out a bit. Still a solid, fun read.

Esse é o primeiro livro da Lauren Layne que eu tenho contato, e eu gostei muito da escrita dela. Gracie é uma personagem determinada, e seu foco está em manter o sonho dos pais vivo, mesmo que isso custe deixar o seu próprio sonho de lado. Ela ficou na zona de conforto do que achava que deveria fazer, e hesita em se dedicar totalmente ao seu talento. Gracie sonha com o homem ideal, que ela acredita que possa ser o Sir, mas com a presença constante de Sebastian, ela já não sabe mais por quem seu coração bate mais forte.

Eu amei o Sebastian, ele parece ser uma pessoa fria, mas só está escondendo seus sentimenros. Esse romance é um slow burn, bem slow, que me deixou querendo muito mais deles ao final da leitura, mas isso me mostrou que o livro não é apenas sobre a vida amorosa de Gracie, é sobre a evolução dela em vários aspectos de sua vida.

This book was everything! Lauren Layne is my queen and I devour ever single book she releases. The romance was so magical and a typical Lauren Layne New York Fairytale that I adore. I really enjoyed the slow burn aspect too (which I know some people are not a fan of) but I think it was wonderfully executed here. As always another spectacular read by Lauren.

Although this was a cute book I find the whole You’ve Got Mail plot to be a little cringey the older I get. Like in real life I would be so mad he kept pretending.

Well, this was an absolute delight!

I am usually wary of any You've Got Mail "re-tellings" because I am so protective of the movie. It's my all-time favorite! But this was a charming, modern-day tribute full of heart and swoon and joy. I really enjoyed reading this, and will definitely be getting a hard copy for my library, and recommending it to all my friends!

The synopsis: Perpetually cheerful and eager to please, Gracie Cooper strives to make the best out of every situation. So when her father dies just 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. 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.

This story honors the YGM story we all know and love with a charming and present-day update. You'll be thoroughly invested in this swoonworthy story of Gracie and Sir and Sebastian.

A big thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the e-book in exchange for my honest, unbiased review. TO SIR, WITH LOVE is available now!

I don't know about you but I'm a sucker for books inspired by You've Got Mail. There's just something endearing about making a genuine connection online while bickering irl. And Lauren Layne, one of my comfort romance authors, did this trope justice.

After a quick review, I believe our library visitors will likely gravitate toward and enjoy this book. A good basis for a fun, lighthearted rom-com. Thank you for the ARC!

To Sir, with Love is a wonderful and adorable contemporary enemies-to-lovers themed romance.

I'd never read anything by Lauren Layne before so I went in blind with this one but I wasn't disappointed because I truly enjoyed it and didn't want to put it down for even a second.

Gracie puts aside her dream of being an artist so she can run her recently deceased father's Champagne shop in New York. To make matters worse, everything is tight at the shop and a big company ran by the charismatic but arrogant Sebastien, is offering a buyout. Considering she doesn't want to admit everything to her family or friends, Gracie turns to "Sir", whom she met on an online dating app that lets you converse with people first to see if you truly match, before exchanging real names or photos. Gracie is slowly falling for "Sir" but she's also attracted to Sebastien. Little does she know though, she's already met Sir in real life, and they have each other.

I absolutely loved this book. There was so much to love about it. There were cheesy scenes, and thoughtful scenes, and scenes that made you laugh out loud. And who doesn't love a wonderful enemies-to-lovers with lots of banter and chemistry? The main characters were all so relatable because they all had worries and imperfections like we all do. And I loved all the side characters too!

I loved the friendships and family dynamics. They were all written so well and felt so real to me. So all in all, this one is a definite recommend and considering it didn't have any 🔥 scenes, it's open to a wide audience. (Of course, it did have 🔥 tensions, though!👀)

To Sir, with love was a fantastic read! I loved the title and the book. I would definitely recommend it. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review after reading this arc.

Such a feel-good read!! It's nice to have a romance book that moves at a somewhat slower pace (not in a bad way). This book is a closed-door romance and I felt that it was still able to make me feel in love with the characters. It is definitely a version of You've got Mail but who doesn't love that??

My You’ve-Got-Mail-obsessed self fell head over heels for this book! It was sweet and funny and I loved all of the characters. The story is told from Gracie’s point of view, and while I’m normally picky about my dual-POV stories, I think that might’ve actually served the story better – I wanted more insight into Sebastian as the romantic hero. We got flashes of it, but he seemed like such an interesting character and I wish we’d gotten a deeper look at him!

I gave to admit, I put off reading this book because of the title. It's the title of one of my all time favorite movies....I thought it would ruin my memories of the movie. I was dead wrong! This book is awesome. The characters are well thought out and all around fun people I would love to know. The story, well, I would love to see it be made into a movie. Great book!

To Sir, With Love is a cute, light-hearted read, best served in the sun with a glass of something bubbly. It's frothy and insubstantial as those same bubbles, but overall a perfectly pleasant adaptation of You've Got Mail / The Shop Around the Corner.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the advance review copy.

It was ironic that the one person Gracie couldn't stand was the same person she got along with so well online. Every meeting with Sebastian was full of antagonism. They got along as well as oil and water. It was any wonder that they could actually be in the same room without scratching each other's eyes out. If only he was more like the guy dubbed, "Sir," online. Oh the discovery that her dream guy and her real life nemesis were one and the same. While this book is reminiscent of a cross between Love is Blind and You've Got Mail, the author did an amazing job of making this version her own. Beautifully written!

I received an advance copy of this book at my request and voluntarily left this review.