Member Reviews
Another beautiful book from Lia Louis.
This author never fails to move me with her writing. Better Left Unsent is a charming yet poignant story about Millie Chandler, who has tons of drafted emails to colleagues, friends, and family members she never planned to send are suddenly sent after a work server outage. These e-mails are filled with her thoughts and feelings she wants to say but is too afraid to.
From the start of the book, I already love Millie. She is such a nice person, and I love seeing her standing up for herself as the story goes on. I think being a pushover isn't exactly a trait easy enough to get rid of, so reading her change is inspiring and lovely.
I love how the book deals with the concept of honesty. I also like how relatable Millie's character is, especially if you're a people-pleaser looking for an outlet to let out your feelings. I also like the relatability of coming to terms with how people perceive you and how you deal with your shortcomings - will you accept and change or be indignant that they are wrong?
I also love her friends. They are such a wonderful support system when she needed them. I like that they understand Millie but try to make her broaden her thoughts and help her when she's overwhelmed.
The romance in this book is adorable, too. The banter between the characters is a pleasure to read and doesn't feel coerced. I like that he says his opinions in a matter-of-fact way to Millie in what her friends cannot. ( I'm not gonna say his name since it's not mentioned in the blurb, so you can guess who when you read it).
Thank you to the publisher for my copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own
4.25 stars
Positively adorable. The plot was incredible, I loved it! Millie was such a great character and I was in awe of her bravery and how she pushed on and embraced life, despite the hardships.
The middle was a wee bit slow, but otherwise, I’m a big fan and loved this clever rom-com.
Advance reader copy provided by Atria + NetGalley but all opinions are my own.
This book wasn't revelatory in any way but I still enjoyed it. Who among us hasn't accidentally sent an email to someone?? Whether it was the wrong someone or you were just venting and hit send by mistake? I know I certainly have. It's so embarrassing.
I think Millie, against all odds, handled it all quite well. I think the author did a good job of letting us into Millie's head as she works through all of it.
The secondary characters added lots to the story, even a surprise or two, which I appreciated. Jack is too good to be true. Seriously, who is that good of a person?
Jack, that's who!
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
A book about a girl (Millie’) who vents via email drafts, with all the sarcasm and feelings oozing out… no harm until she accidentally clicks send!
A fun story if you need something a little different in the British chick lit category. I don’t think this book was personally my cup of tea,
I didn’t love the FMC.
However, just because it wasn’t for me, doesn’t mean it’s not for you! I’ve seen several reviews of people who loved the book!
I will still check out her other books.
Thanks so much to NetGalley and Atria Books for my advanced copy!
Lia Louis has become a go to author for me when it comes to rom-coms. Better Left Unsent is a cute, quirky story. It’s funny and sentimental and a little predictable. The characters (with the exception of one) are lovable and relatable, even with their flaws. I’m already looking forward to Lia’s next novel!
Many thanks to NetGalley, Altria and the author for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
This rom-com embraces one of those fears that all emailers have - your drafts getting randomly sent out before you're ready. However, not all of us store quite as many drafts with quite so. many feelings as Millie. When her emails get randomly sent out one night, chaos ensues and she needs to find her way though friends who won't speak to her, family that is hiding things from her, and a possible new love interested in her.
It pains me to write this review because I adore this author and have LOVED all of her previous books. I was so happy to receive an arc and I couldn't read it fast enough. Millie was just so whiny and the entire e-mail situation was blown waaaaay out of proportion. The love story didn't hook me either. Sadly, this book was a disappointment and was missing the Lia Louis magic that has always jumped off the page for me. I still love this author and will read anything she writes.
Imagine you've used your email to start pending notes to everyone you know - family, friends, co-workers and exes. You type them out, but never send.....until one day there is a "glitch" in the computer system, and they're all sent out at once! Chaos ensues!
It's a funny concept, and a great storyline - loved the characters and watching their development. Got tired of Owen's character, and the way Millie kept bringing him up in nearly every conversation. Jack was a fantastic character and would have loved to seen more of them interact together. It has some serious moments, too - with Millie's parents. But it was interesting to watch her grow and come into her own.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a temporary, digital ARC in return for my review.
This book was super cute! I loved the interaction between Millie and Jack and I absolutely loved the ending(trying not to give out spoilers here). I wish there would have been more of them together though. I also thought the story dragged in a few places and I was ready to push it along a little bit. All in all, it was so good and I am glad I read it. I will definitely be reading the rest of this author's books.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
This is kind of like a coming-of-age story for when you are already an adult. If you enjoy reading stories where the character has to go through a lot of emotional upheaval to find their true self, this is the book for you.
I really enjoyed the writing!
Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for an arc. All opinions expressed are my own.
Thank you to Net Galley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Millie is me, I am her. This was honestly a funny and entertaining story. Definitely light-hearted and perfect for an in-between read, even better for the beach.
I have loved every book I have read by Lia Louis. And I really enjoyed this one too.
Better left unsent is about Millie as she discovers that all her e-mail drafts have been sent out. These are drafts that are almost diary entries that she writes to no intention of sending to colleagues, friends, and family members. This starts a life changing journey for her, and leads to some romance.
This story is a warm comfort read, it’s cozy, quirky, funny, and sweet. The writing is authentic and I think this is what I love about Lia Louis’s writing, the characters feel real. They feel like they could be my friends or family or even myself. And it makes it easy to connect with Millie, and the side characters.
My only complaint is that I wanted togetherness of her and Jack and found the ending a little rushed. But I still loved it.
This was a really cute story! I mean, how many of us have wished to say exactly what we think in an email? I know I have! I loved the Bridget Jones vibes. I did feel like the plot drug a bit in places and could have been shortened up a bit. However, the character growth and chemistry between Millie and Jack was really sweet and heart - warming.
If you are a fan of Brit-chick lit, this one is right up your alley. Millie discovers that her draft emails that was never meant to be sent are all sent and it creates a spiral of events that she tries to correct. There's a little bit of mystery of how this happened throughout the story. Millie tries to patch up with everyone and the same time, Jack at the office comes back and they be friend each other. I enjoyed seeing Jack and Millie's interaction and wished they talked a little more than just letting each other guess what each other was feeling. The whole email debacle and who did it made zero sense to me. I enjoyed seeing the friendship between Cate, Ralph and Millie as well as her relationship with her parents. Overall, a fun read.
Better Left Unsent is a wonderful read. You feel for Millie as she faces the backlash of emails that no one was supposed to see. Millie is wonderful as she works to clean up her mess and own up to her words. I love how she works on figuring out the why and who sent them. There is wonderful chemistry between Millie and Jack. Jack has a hard time staying in one place but has always seen Millie. I love how they ground each other and how Jack gets Millie out of her shell. This is a fun read filled with a lot of laugh out loud moments and sweet ones too. This is my first book by Lia Louis and I cannot wait to read more. Go click this today.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to review Better Left Unsent!
This book was so good! The perfect RomCom with the right amount of suspense, laughter, tears and JOY.
Can we just say, the chemistry between Jack and Millie was off the charts. I would love to see this novel become a screen-write.
A total MUST read and just in time for summer!
First off, this is one of those books that is shelved romance because it has elements of romance in the story, but it is more about the FMC’s self discovery. And while the premise is cute, if you’re looking for romance more, this may not be for you. I personally hate when this happens and I DNF books like this a lot. If I didn’t have an arc of this book, I may have done just that.
The writing is very easy to read, witty, light and overall it’s a cute book that won’t emotionally devastate you. Whether that’s good or bad 😉 We follow Millie, a mousy office employee who somehow accidentally sends everything in her “draft” folder of emails. And while the first email you read hints at an office romance, the fall-out from the emails is mostly about her ex, her parents and her co-workers. It feels a bit like a bait and switch, to be honest. The more I read, the more I focused on the LACK of romance developing. And don’t get me wrong, the story has some cute moments sprinkled in. The promise of a good love to come, but you may not feel satisfied if that’s all you’re looking for. (Like me)
I’m digging back deep here, but if you have ever read Jemima J, or Bridget Jones (the book not the movie), I think you will feel the commonality with those styles and better enjoy this book for what it is. It would make a cute movie. But straight romance, it is not. 3 ⭐️
Thank you very much NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read and review this book!
I wished I liked this more, but I think I was just too frustrated with our main character, Millie. I am not sure why I was so frustrated with her either. Everything she does is pretty valid. Her worries about how others perceive her, the way she wants to not rock the boat, it’s all pretty normal.
After all the drafts of emails she’s written are sent out, she has to come to grips with people knowing her secrets. In the aftermath, her life changes in a variety of ways.
I think I just wished more had changed earlier. She is so set on figuring out exactly how/why her emails get sent out. She pushes away a man who she really likes & who likes her. And even in the end, it was almost like other people telling her to make changes really pushed her to take the jump. Perhaps I wanted a bit more character development.
The things I really enjoyed were the friendships. Scenes with Millie and her best friend, and her roommate, and even her boss. They were all so supportive.
Overall this was fine. It kept me engaged, but I just don’t think it’ll be one that stays with me.
Thx Simon Audio for the advanced listening copy.
This was so cute and fun! I don’t know that it will be overly memorable for me, but I read it quick snd enjoyed!
What originally drew me to this book was the cover alongside the premise of the book - I haven't read a book with that storyline yet, and thought it would be new; different; exciting. Unfortunately, it was none of those things. I have another Lia Louis book on my shelves that I've yet to read, and now I think it's going to be pushed back for awhile, however different they may be.
Here are the notes I took while I was reading:
- From the get go, the writing feels very choppy and kind of rushed.
- Sweet goodness, home girl is DRAMATIC.
- There is a good bit of British lingo.
- At one point, Owen says, "Can we just pause for a minute? This...I feel like I'm being bombarded." And SAME my dude...SAME.
- Why is Millie apologizing when Owen was the one who asked her out knowing he was engaged???
-Maybe it's just me, but I feel like a romantic love and a friendship love are two very different things.
- I'm kind of over the drama...why does Millie care so much about what people think? Also, if you didn't want people to read it...you shouldn't have written it.
- Millie feels like a martyr.
- These chapters are SO LONG.
- How did we go from Millie being "in love" with Owen to totally crushing on Jack?
- There's no way Millie didn't know her mom was basically a cheater.
- How do you just not tell your adult child you were married before???
- Jack being all philosophical is a bit much.
- How does Millie STILL not realize Owen is a textbook narcissist?
- OMG IT'S THE SAME WOE IS ME SOB STORY OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER.
- These are some seriously long paragraphs.
- I'm not even 60% through the book; Jack and Millie haven't kissed, and I'm not sure where the other 40% of the book is going.
- Girl...tell Owen to F OFF.
- We're 67% into the book...Millie is still oblivious to Owen being a narcissist POS.
- What is with the ANGST over HOW the emails got sent?! All that matters is that they DID.
- Why did no one check the CCTV before it was deleted?
As you can probably tell...I'm not a fan of any of the characters other than Jack (absolute swoon) and Cate (bestie for the restie)...oh, and Petra and Ralph can stay too. Everyone else...goodbye.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to review this ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.