Thanks to NetGalley and Juliana Smith for the ARC. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book.
I laughed throughout the whole book - the pranks, the banter, Luke messing up the phrasing of common idioms. Great characters, friends to lovers, slow burn. I'm excited this is the start of a series. There are enough (awesome) side characters to keep it going a long time. Also, a nice change from the usual rom-com late in the story break up between the two MCs. Who needs it? Looking forward to Nathan's story next.

I heard Per My Last Email had some Jim/Pam (from The Office) vibes, so I immediately went to request it from Netgalley based just on that. Layla and Luke have worked together for years, pranking each other and fighting their attraction for each other; only a seaside work conferences pushes them both out of their comfort zone. Luke and Layla are both very sweet and their friendship is super special. They’re supportive and loving and there was a lot of moments that show them authentically knowing each other. It’s so endearing. There was a lot of this that felt like The Office, and I think the side characters—their other coworker Nathan, all of Luke’s family, Layla’s roommate especially—add such dimension too, and it’s just such a community. I do think there’s too slow a burn. It felt like a long wait for them to really feel comfortable to tell each other, so it felt like a long time of them just pining for each other, and I was just ready to see some moments of them together. Still though, there is such a warmth in their relationship. The banter too was strong and I loved the balance of these two characters and having both of their POVs. Overall, Per My Last Email is a super sweet read.

Per My Last Email is the ultimate nerdy love story. Layla and Luke were geeks to their core, and I LOVED IT!

So often, we nerdy types are portrayed as looking a certain way in TV shows and books. It was refreshing to see us represented as just normal people with certain likes in this book!

Add in a scene that reminds me of What Happens in Vegas with Lake Bell and Rob Cordrey, some serious pining, office pranks, clueless long-time friends, and a gaggle of side characters who force you to love them, and you have the recipe for a bingable RomCom!

(I would like to request Adam's story be written very soon thank you very much!)

Favorite quotes:

"Death by hot stranger was not what I had planned for my epitaph."

"Three years, thirteen years, thirty, I don't care; I would've waited them all if it meant I could have you."

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

“I don’t know,” I said, shrugging one shoulder. “My dreams changed.”
They became you.

-office romance, best friends to lovers, mutual pining 💻✍🏼📝
-both Layla and Luke work together at the publishing house, a work event might be exactly what they need to finally confess their feelings 💓
-loved all the teasing by their friends and family, everyone knew except for those two 😭✋🏻 the mutual pining was off the charts!
-can’t wait for the rest of this series (here’s looking at Nathan 👀)
-was so fluffy and wholesome, no spice but it didn’t matter to me
-thank you to NetGalley for this ARC ✨

4.5⭐️

This book had me in 𝗛𝗬𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗦. It was funny, cute and honestly such a refreshing, quick and easy read.

You will love this book if you love any of the following:

❥ 𝗗𝗨𝗔𝗟 𝗣𝗢𝗩
❥ 𝗕𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗙𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗦 𝗧𝗢 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗦
❥ 𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗙𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗗 𝗙𝗔𝗠𝗜𝗟𝗬
❥ 𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗘 𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘

All the characters are so well written and loveable! They kept you wanting more and made the slow burn between the two main characters, Layla and Luke more bearable 🤣.

The story revolves around Layla and her dead end job which eventually she plans to leave but won’t because she’s in love with her best friend who she also works with. Luke who only took the job on as a temporary measure but soon enough found himself staying for the same reasons as Layla.

But guess what? Neither of them has the courage to tell each other how they feel until they both get the shove from friends and family!

It wasn’t just Luke and Layla that I adored throughout the book though. It was majority of all the side characters - 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗝𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗦𝗘 - the support and relationships that surrounded everyone! It was just so warm and bubbly to read!!

Juliana is definitely an author I’d want to read more of!

4.5⭐️

Friends to lovers
Office romance
Slow burn

such a cute & easy read!

I laughed just about every page I read!
Loved Layla & Luke’s easy going friendship! I loved the pranking! Felt like I was reading an episode of the office and waiting on Jim to make his move on Pam 🥰

I loved how much Luke cared for her & the small yet meaningful gestures he constantly did just to put a smile on her face!
Layla was such a funny & easy going caring who loved to prank others!
Luke & Layla are such a good fit & im so excited for Calla & Nathan’s story!

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

An adorable Romcom with such witty banter and hilarious office pranks! I absolutely loved getting to know these characters and watching their love story unfold. Per My Last Email was such an easy and lighthearted read

I honestly love every single one of Juliana's books!! I've loved them all so much, and this one lived up to the hype of her other stories. I just loved the banter and the plot between Layla and Luke was amazing. I can't wait for the rest of the series and for more people to enjoy her incredible writing style!!

Rating - 3.5

This is a very cute friends-to-lovers workplace romance that I found to be a very easy-read. The characters were fun and enjoyable, although I wish a bit more thought went into the side characters. It was easy to spot which two characters were going to be the main characters for the sequel.

The plot is very basic but Juliana Smith has a very easy-read style that I found myself flying through this book.

I do find the friends-to-lovers trope frustrating, particularly in this book because it just felt so obvious that you just wanted to smack the characters for not realising sooner. I think fans of Sarah Adams will enjoy this book.

My big issue with this book is that it felt rather juvenile at times and it could have been so much more. We had some great characters and then we were given nothing. I would describe this book as a palate cleanser rather than a '5 star, mind-blown' type of read.

To my UK Readers - this book contains an ableist slur in the prologue of this book. The fact it was included in the ARC and distributed to UK reader shocks me, and I'm hoping its something that is changed before publication.

Omg. I DEVOURED THIS BOOK!!

Friends to lovers | Office setting | Slow burn | Secret pining | A cinnamon roll hero | Family group chats | Swoon till you can't swoon no more!! ✨️

This book was so freaking adorable I could not stop reading!! Luke was just top tier potential BB material 😭😭 The way he pined for 3 years was just so cute!

There was so many LOL moments in this book. The banter was witty and the characters inner dialogues were not only hilarious at times, but so cute my cheeks hurt from smiling. And when all that slow burning reached it's final destination at the end, I was GONE!!

I should mention for my girls who like their spice, this is closed door, but tbh it didn't really bother me that much. After being teased throughout with the will they/won't they? moments, I wouldn't have complained If that had spilled onto the pages, but it wasnt an issue for me because the story was just that good!

I cannot wait for this book to be released into the wild! And I cannot wait to read the rest of the series!

This was absolutely adorable! It had the perfect cozy feelings as well as being hilarious.
If you're fans of The Office, more importantly Jim and Pam, definitely check this one out!
Can't wait to read Calla and Nathan's book!
Thanks Netgalley and Juliana Smith for the ARC

This book was one word, ADORABLE! It was sooooo cute. I loved every second. The story felt so relatable, being stuck in the friendzone and all the feelings you go through were spot on.
This was one of those romance books that just felt so real.
I absolutely loved and was grinning like an idiot from beginning to end! Highly recommend!!! I have already sent my friends the link for release day.

I have a lot to say about this book. And not in a good way, unfortunately. I have so many notes because I could.not.stop. highlighting ridiculous things.

First of all, Luke’s nickname for Layla is “little one.” IMMEDIATELY NO. Hard pass. This is so infantilizing and patronizing. Not about it. He was also freakishly tall. Like he’s apparently TWO FEET taller than his mother? Even if his mother is very very petite at only 5’0”, that puts him at SEVEN FEET TALL which is just insanity. The only people that tall are like, a small percentage of NBA players??? No hate to any super tall people out there - this is just one of many ways the author overshoots. Another is they Luke’s knowledge of BASIC idioms is worse than most people I know who learned English as a second language. As a mid-20 year old man who hasn’t been living under a rock, he would absolutely know phrases like “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it” but he consistently gets them wrong. It’s part of his “dorky/cute” personality but it just makes him annoying because it makes no sense, similar to him being a 7+ foot giant. He also refuses to move forward in his career because Layla works at the same shitty job that he does and “all that matters” is that he gets to spend his days with her. Duuuude, what??? This is not sexy! Having no ambitions besides spending all day at a dead end job with the object of your affection whom you haven’t made a move on in three years is not cute. It’s borderline stalkery and also very few couples work together/spend all day together. You can still maintain a friendship and remain committed to being close with someone even if you leave this job. But his commitment to spending time with Layla via handicapping his professional future was mentioned multiple times throughout the book as if it was something to be lauded. Ugh. I’m just in disbelief over how hard this author was trying. to me, the author’s job when writing a rom com is to make the characters drool-worthy and lovable but in a relatable way. This is not it.

Layla also kind of sucks. She dresses like a prairie woman not because she’s a lover of vintage style, which would be fine and semi-interesting, no, because she’s avoiding the lecherous gaze of her boss. What? Her wearing turtlenecks in summer and floor length skirts is a major part of her personality but if she’s doing it because of her pervy boss then why is she dressing like that in her free time also??? It makes no sense and is stupid (if your boss is so pervy that you need to change your entire wardrobe and make that new wardrobe part of your personality, maybe consider quitting????) She is also seemingly narcoleptic? She falls asleep at the end of most interactions with Luke, and we get lots of descriptions of her “adorable snoring”. Ok. This is fine once, but unless she actually is narcoleptic, nobody should be passing out this often when hanging out with friends. Also LOL she self-publishes her book???? Wut?? Didn’t they spend three years working at a publishing firm? Maybe I missed something because at a certain point I was not reading very thoroughly, but I was pretty sure she got this job in the first place because she wanted to learn about the field. And then after years in the field, you’re telling me she developed zero connections and had to self-publish? That feels so far-fetched that it’s laughable.

The book was overwritten. It was trying so so hard to be cutesy and bantery and it just felt fake and ugh. This is a common issue with rom-coms lately. Don’t think I’m allowed to quote things since it’s not gone through final rounds of edits, but there were pages of examples of things that resulted in eyerolling rather than swooning. An example of this is both characters often given run-on sentence long descriptions of minute details. It’s annoying.

The whole “I’m in love with my best friend but we’re just friends and there’s no way he/she feels the same way about me” was so wildly unbelievable. I understand the friends to lovers trope is a thing. I get it and I’ve loved it in the past. It just doesn’t work here because they’re so obviously in love with each other and everyone in their lives is telling them so. It was just like beating a dead horse instead of a slow burn.

A frustrating read instead of an enjoyable one.

2/5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and…ohhhh…ok I just went to look up the publisher and it’s the author’s name. Ok so it was self-published. This makes more sense now!!

Oh hello there, you sweet slow burn friends to lovers romance. This is mutual pining from Pam & Jim shit - yes PLEASE. Do I wish that it was full on open door? Yeah. But I'll settle for no 3rd act breakup, so overall a good compromise. And even though we don't see much on page action, what we do get is still pretty steamy all things considered! I loved watching these two Star Wars nerds fumble around each other and how it sets up the rest of the series. I'm already dying for Adam's book, but am happy that Calla is next up.

*Thank you to Juliana Smith and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.*

Oh my gosh I absolutely devoured this book!! I have so many great things to say. I loved both of the characters- they were so relatable and cute. This is the perfect workplace romance/friends to lovers story. The writing was clever and quick witted. I binged this in two sittings but only because it was 3am and I needed to sleep. It was that good. I definitely swooned over Luke, and I would be friends with Layla. I cannot wait to see the next installment of the series because all of the characters were fantastic.

More to come on instagram when I can more coherently put my thoughts together.

Adorable!!
I absolute loved this light and fluffy rom com! Per My Last Email is full of Jim and Pam (the Office) vibes, swoon worthy romance, hilarious shenanigans and lovable characters. Super fun & quick read! I cannot wait to see if we get additional books in this series!

Thank you to NetGalley and Juliana Smith for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

Layla and Luke are just the most adorable pair. Both are determined to only stay at West Oak Publishing on a temporary basis: Layla is keen to learn about the world of publishing before completing and publishing her own novel and Luke required a job away from his ex-girlfriend and endeavours to save enough money before opening his own bar. Three years later, neither have pursed their dream. Their initial feelings have grown stronger, yet both are hesitant to reveal their true feelings out of risk of ruining their friendship. When Layla and Luke are sent on a publishing retreat it is the perfect opportunity to step out of the friendship box and finally begin to explore the prospects of a relationship.

This is a light-hearted, slow burn with comical moments throughout. I adored Layla and Luke’s pranks and their general interactions with one another; they really are just the sweetest pair. Honestly, I have to say that I was a little disappointed after the big reveal. After all the build-up, I was expecting something a little more romantic and the remaining chapters and epilogue just felt a little flat.

I did however adore all the characters, well apart from Janise, and I’m already looking forward to Calla and Nathan’s book.

Read if you enjoy:
Friends to Lovers
Dual POV
Slow Burn
Miscommunication
Office Setting

Thank you Juliana Smith, Victory Editing and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What if the Hating Game was written by BK Borison? That’s the exact vibe of this book.

BLURB: Layla Wright has been working at the same dead end job for years. It started out as a temporary job, until she could follow her dreams… but somewhere between here and there she got stuck. Stuck in the friend zone too, with her workplace bestie Luke. The man of her dreams… but when she decides to shake things up at work, everything else seems to follow right along with it. Friendzone who?

Did I love this book because my name is Kayla rather than Layla? (close enough).

BLURB: Layla Wright has been working at the same dead end job for years. It started out as a temporary job, until she could follow her dreams… but somewhere between here and there she got stuck. Stuck in the friend zone too, with her workplace bestie Luke. The man of her dreams… but when she decides to shake things up at work, everything else seems to follow right along with it. Friendzone who?

Did I love this book because my name is Kayla… and our heroine has a similar name? Maybe… but GUYS. The pining, the slow burn, the absolute DORKY ADORABLE VIBES everyone in this book gave out. If that wasn’t enough let me sell you further:

🍩 Star Wars references
🍩So much pining
🍩 A cinnamon roll hero who shows love with acts of service
🍩A non traditional heroine who loves her oversized sweaters and conservative clothing
🍩 Ocean City Maryland
🍩Friends to lovers

Stop what your doing and read this absolutely magical little gem. This book that felt like a Jim and Pam love story. Juliana Smith, I think I’m obsessed with you now. ❤️📚

Heat Level: 🔥

I loved this book! I finished it in one sitting and couldn’t put it down. This book had one of my all time favorite tropes which is friends to lovers. I loved Layla and Luke, I thought they were super cute together and I didn’t want the story to end. Per my last email is the first in the Wells Family series and I can’t wait for the next book. Thank you to NetGalley and Juliana Smith for an advanced copy of this book.

This was a cute fun rom com to read! I enjoyed the two main characters and their friendship. This was a friends to lovers show burn story with dual POV. I wish their had been some sort of suspense leading up to their relationship that would have made the story more intriguing and or some sort of mystery involved. Overall it’s a quick easy read that will make you feel good. Thanks for letting me read this as an ARC before it’s published May 6th!