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.

3.75 stars--TO SIR, WITH LOVE by Lauren Layne, is a contemporary, adult, stand alone romance story focusing on businessman Sebastian Andrews, and Gracie Cooper.

Told from first person perspective (Gracie Cooper) TO SIR, WITH LOVE follows the enemies to lovers relationship between businessman Sebastian Andrews, and Gracie Cooper. Four years earlier Gracie Cooper, along with her brother Caleb, and sister Lily lost their only surviving parent to cancer. When neither of her siblings was willing to take over the family owned wine and champagne shop, Gracie gave up her dream of becoming a professional artist to run the struggling shop in Midtown Manhattan but an offer to buy out the business in preparation for a Midtown highrise found our heroine battling between head and heart knowing that to give in means to give up her father’s dream, a dream that she no longer shared. Enter businessman Sebastian Andrews. What ensues is the acrimonious relationship between Gracie and Sebastian, and the potential fall-out when an on-line relationship reveals the truth about the mystery man she refers to as ‘sir’.

Gracie Cooper met a man on-line who accidentally signed up for a blind dating app but our heroine is struggling with the reality of the ‘imaginary’ relationship to a man with whom she is falling in love, a man she has never met and most likely will not. Meanwhile our hero, Sebastian Andrews has had no luck convincing Gracie to sell her shop, a shop that is currently standing in the way of Manhattan renewal but Sebastian is slowly falling for the determined thirty-three year old woman, a woman who had found herself falling for a man who may not be real.

The relationship between Gracie and Sebastian is tempestuous at best. Sebastian’s company wants to buy the family owned store, inevitably putting Gracie out of business but a Gracie struggles to keep the business afloat, Sebastian begins to work behind the scenes in an effort to protect the woman with whom he is falling in love. There are no $ex scenes or physical interactions between our leading couple.

We are introduced to Gracie’s brother Caleb, and their sister Lily, and her husband Alex; Gracie’s friends Rachel,and Keva; employees Josh and May, as well as Sebastian’s friend Genevieve, and his parents Vanessa and Gary Andrews.

TO SIR, WITH LOVE is an updated reimagining of ‘You’ve Got Mail™’. Neither Gracie nor Sebastian is aware that they have fallen for one another through an anonymous dating app but the reality is their situation begins to slowly blend into their everyday life. The premise is heart warming and pleasant; the romance is sweet but limited to their growing attraction to one another; the characters are stubborn, realistic and inspiring.



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This book was so sweet and do needed after my mystery reading binge! If you are a true romantic, this book will make you smile. You’ll be rooting for all the characters in this one!!

I had the biggest smile on my face after finishing To Sir, with Love. Also, you know the feeling you get when you drink something hot and the weather is so cold? A little random, I know, but I had that warm feeling of satisfaction hours after reading the book.

Lauren Layne has always been a one-click author of mine - I've read a huge chunk of her backlist, and I've enjoyed most of them. Two of her books are even in my romance hall of fame! It was a no brainer that I would read To Sir, with Love as soon as I can, and even more of a no brainer that I expect that I will enjoy it.

First things first - while this book has a strong romance subplot, I would say that this has a stronger focus on our heroine Gracie's personal growth and journey. I wouldn't say this book is purely a romance, but it's also not purely women's fiction. A little confusing, I know, but the right answer is somewhere in between. I just want to give my fellow romance readers a warning so they know what to expect, and I want to stress that none of this dampened my enjoyment of the book.

To Sir, with Love opens with Gracie getting an offer from Sebastian, a rich businessman, to buy out the champagne store that has been in her family for ages. Gracie's immediate reaction is to decline the offer - she put in so much time and effort to make the store as profitable as possible, and selling now would be admitting defeat. Gracie's siblings wouldn't support selling the store either. Even though all three siblings technically own the shop, Gracie is expected to do everything, and her brother and sister provide her with no help. As days go by, however, Gracie can't stop thinking about the fact that she never actually wanted to run this champagne store, and that she pushed her dreams aside for her family. Is running her family's store enough for her? And if it isn't, what now?

While Gracie is going through this personal crisis, we discover that she has been spending a lot of time messaging a certain Sir in a dating app. Gracie and Sir send each other these sweet and long old-fashioned messages, and their affection for each other is so obvious. On the flipside, despite rejecting Sebastian's offer to buy her shop, they build this fun antagonistic relationship that soon develops into a friendship. Sebastian often pops out of nowhere and offers his unwelcome opinions and advice about the store's moneymaking schemes, and he even joins in on some! Grace and Sebastian's budding romance made me so giddy, and I was positively tearing at the pages (or I guess clicking furiously on my kindle) to get to their scenes. They had so much chemistry!

Full disclaimer - I've never seen You Got Mail, so I'm not really sure if in the movie, the viewers are aware of Sir's identity. I don't think To Sir, with Love bothers to hide it, but to be on the safe side, I'm not going to say anything. Gracie starts the book content with her pseudo-romantic relationship with Sir, but as she spends more time with Sebastian, she starts to realize that there may be something more waiting for her romance-wise, and maybe even her career.

At its core, To Sir, with Love is about Gracie's journey to shrug off all the pressure bogging her down, and for her to finally do what she wants. Gracie has lived her family and father's dream for so long, and it was heartbreaking to see how sad and unhappy she is. It takes a while for Gracie to gather strength and courage to fight for her dream, but what she does, it's all systems go. She makes difficult decision after difficult decision, and finally starts to live a fulfilling life for herself.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed every second of To Sir, with Love. Gracie and Sebastian are great characters to root for, and I could not get enough of them! I would have loved more romantic scenes (more steam, please!), and I definitely hope that this is not the last we've seen these characters.

I’m a sucker for a good rom com and You’ve Got Mail has always been a favorite. (In fact, I watched it this morning while I was blogging because this book gave me the itch to see it again.) This book is a delightful reimagining of the movie. I loved reading the messages exchanged between Gracie and “Sir”. I do love a good epistolary story and even more so, perhaps, through a modern medium like what was used here. It’s such a clever way for the characters to get to know each other — and for me to get to know them, too. There aren’t a lot of surprises to this story, but I like the comfort of knowing how a story is going to end. That gives me a chance to enjoy the journey, which I definitely did in this case.

Thank you Netgalley for letting me read and review this book. I really enjoyed this book. I think the outcome was a little predictable (I find most romance books to be that way), but the way they got there was delightful to read. I thought the characters were funny and I enjoyed their banter and the story overall. I liked the New York setting and the way a hobby turned into something more. And spoiler-------I also like that the guy in the story was the one to figure things out. Such a fun twist.

I will definitely recommend this to friends who are looking for a light and entertaining read.

This was the sweetest book, and I absolutely loved it. It reminded me so much of the movie, You’ve Got Mail, which I absolutely loved! It was an enemies to lovers romance, which is one of my favorite tropes.

I loved the characters in this book, and I really enjoyed the email conversations that were included. They were so fun to read! This was a really fun and clean romance, the perfect book to real by the pool this summer. Just make sure to have a glass of champagne with you while reading this book. You will be craving it the whole time! If you haven’t read this one yet, I highly recommend checking it out!

To Sir, With Love is a take on You’ve Got Mail, one of my favorite movies. Gracie Cooper along with her siblings own Bubbles, a Champagne shop which is not doing well. Sebastian Andrews is President of the company that wants to buy the building that the shop is located. In the meantime, Gracie is on a dating app that you only exchange emails - no picture. Even though you know what is going to happen, the author does a great job in making it fresh. A fun read. I enjoyed the supporting characters and didn’t want it to end. Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the E-ARC. This is my own opinion.

If you're in the mood for a light-heart romance, then this book is the one for you. 
-It has an enemies to lovers trope (It's a bit tame but doable). -Sarcastic banter between the characters. -NY love story with a twist of online dating. 
Full warning, It's a bit of a slow-paced story. The romance really does not begin until halfway through. And it's not really a steamy romance. It's a bit more of a romcom with a twist of slow-burning romance.

I enjoyed this lighthearted and fun read and am always eager to read another enemies to lovers plot. Gracie owns a champagne store, which doesn't seem all that lucrative and is not that surprising that it isn't. In comes Sebastian who wants to buy the building. Meanwhile they are exchanging messages not knowing it is with each other and because of the book is compared to You've Got Mail. The story has a lot of cute moments and ends happily of course, so anyone that is looking for a nice, happy, love story, with some humorous moments, this can be their book to enjoy.

When I began reading this book, I almost put it back down and gave up on it. You could see who “sir” was from a mile away and I didn’t really know if I wanted to bother going down the obvious path.

I’m really happy though that I ignored my initial instinct though and decided to keep reading. Instead of getting a bland novel with an obvious reveal, you instead got a surprisingly wonderful novel about the strength of families, finding yourself, and discovering what you actually want (with a little romance along the way). Layne found a way to draw out the reveal long enough that it was so satisfying when it finally occurred.

I'm not the biggest fan of book adaptations but To Sir, With Love NEEDS one. The meet-cute, the tropes, the love confession, the vibes, the whole plot... everything about it is movie material to make you believe in love again!

“My dear Lady, you stole my heart twice. If you think I’m letting another second of my life pass without you in it, I’ll have to kiss you again to set you straight.”


Gracie Cooper is a romantic at heart who lives two lives; the real one, and the one she lives in her head, along with her prince charming and their fairytale romance that she still can't find. And now she barely has time to live in her head as she is trying to save her family legacy, while shooing away the infamous and handsome Sebastian Andrews, who wants to destroy the one thing that Gracie has taken care of her entire life. This ice man may look like a robot, but the more time they spend together, the more she's attracted to him, feeling like she's betraying her virtual friend that she has never seen and who has a lot of similarities with her enemy.

Just another sweet and cute New York fairy tale by Lauren Layne and that's exactly why she's one of my favorite authors; the location, the main AND the side characters that leave you wanting more, the plot, the swoon-worthy romance, EVERYTHING!! she really knows how to work this genre so I'm glad every time she comes up with new books 💖

Such a fun read!! I really enjoyed every page of this modernized Shop Around The Corner/You've Got Mail re-imagined! It's a modern and fresh turn on a classic romantic comedy that totally works! It made me laugh - actually quite a bit - and I just love the way the love story unfolds. I really loved it!

The characters are all - major and minor - ones that really leap off the page and it was such a genuine joy to read! It's a perfect summer read! I think that the NYC backdrop works well - and I loved the pop culture references that were included as well. It has a very cinematic rom-com flair from start to finish! I really loved it and definitely can't wait to recommend this to friends and family - and to check out more from Layne in the future!

About the book:
Gracie Cooper never wanted her career to be running her father's champagne shop, but when he passes away unexpectedly following a cancer diagnosis, she feels that between her and her two siblings, it's her responsibility and she really has no choice. But running the shop is difficult, and it's bleeding fast. To make matters worse, a big corporation is determined to buy the shop from underneath her, and the ridiculously good looking Sebastian Andrews (head of the company) is doing his damnedest to convince her to sell. She doesn't want to let go of her dad's dream, and she can't stand Sebastian, so she turns to "Sir," a man she met on a (literally!) blind dating app. She can feel herself falling for Sir, but the more time she spends fending off Sebastian's offers she realizes there's something there too. But how can she choose between the two men? And will she have to?

TL;DR:
- 4 stars
- Content warnings: death of a parent.
- An adorable semi-epistolary romance with low conflict. Would recommend this one for anyone who loves a sweet, sweet fantastical romance, Hollywood style.

Loved:
- You've Got Mail is one of my favorite movies of all time. I needn't say more there. This is a pretty faithful recreation of that story, with modern elements and a slightly different backstory brought to life. It is sugary sweet but it is GOOD.
- Sebastian was very cute, respectful, and also, hot. I really enjoyed him. He clearly faced his own issues and he was really, really into Gracie. I like human love interests and this guy was that in spades.
- I loved the side characters! They really rounded out the story well and they were so cute. Not integral, necessarily, but a nice addition nonetheless.

Less into:
- What I was less into was honestly a flip side of what I loved - because the retelling was SO faithful to You've Got Mail, it became really predictable at times (like, even with dialogue, in some cases).
- I also felt there was a TON of time spent on the intro and the backstory and I wanted Gracie and Sebastian to interface much earlier. So much build up! It was necessary build up, I guess, but wish we got there faster.

Overall though, a winner. So well written and I was really rooting for these two. Great great work from Lauren Layne.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

3.5

If you’re looking for a feel good romance this summer, To Sir With Love is the book for you! It’s an adorable, easy to read story and although I knew where it was heading, never minded the ride. My favorite part was the banter between Lady and Sir. It was sweet and engaging and set the tone for the rest of the book. I really enjoyed the writing and am a fan of Lauren Layne’s books.

I am such a sucker for a cheesy romance. So cheesy, so sweet, filled with all the “awwww” moments- that is To Sir, With Love by Lauren Layne. I think of it and grin because it was just fun.
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There is a reality show called Love is Blind where couples “meet” each other get to know each other before ever seeing each other face to face. There is also one of my all time favorite old romcom movies, You’ve Got Mail. Mash them together and you have this delightful book! Two people get matched on a blind dating site where you are required to message each other for awhile before deciding to meet in person. Sir and Lady hit it off immediately but, unfortunately, Sir is already in a relationship.
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It is a good thing that Lady, or Gracie, in real life, is busy running her family boutique champagne shop and fighting off Sebastian, the ruthless businessman who is persistently trying to put her out of business. While romance would be nice, her harmless correspondence with this mystery man is just fine. Until she does want more and is afraid Sebastian might not be so awful and Sir might mean more to her than she has admitted. Her life is a mess and I love watching it unravel and come together!
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The main characters are wonderful and it seemed more than a coincidence that, as I read this, I was thinking of a cute couple in my real life who’s names just happen to be Gracie and Sebastian as well. In fact, my dear young friends just shocked us all with a surprise wedding when we thought we were throwing them a surprise engagement party.
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Sometimes life and fiction merge so well that happiness just bubbles up- I couldn’t resist.
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Get this fun book, read it with a nice bubbly of your choice and sit back for an easy treat!
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If you want a quick, like able romance this one is for you. The main character struggles to keep her family business afloat while romancing two guys and she believes strongly in fairy tale romance. A modern take on “You’ve got Mail”.

To Sir with Love is a sweet, charming read. While Gracie holds on to her families business she has some tough choices to make. A perfect adult fairy tale.

This was such a cute and delightful read that I didn't know my heart needed. I'm forever a fan of classic rom-com movies such as You've Got Mail so this one gave me all the vibes. I fell in the love with the main character, Gracie. I admired her drive to keep her families business afloat, while also trying to find her happily ever after. I really loved the dating app through words aspect. I thought this was a clever way to have the two main characters "meet." When we're introduced to Sebastian, it's easy to figure out that he is the Sir that Gracie talks to. Rom-com's are always pretty predictable, of course, but I loved the enemies to lovers trope between the two. I loved the back and forth email conversations and how, as the reader, we began to see their lives intertwine.

This was such a charming, cute, and heartwarming enemies to lovers story. I'm usually one bored with a rom-com with zero steam, but this one was just too cute for words and left me wanting to have a classic rom-com movie night with ice cream.