Unfortunately, I gave up at 33%. It started out strong but quickly lost its steam. I no longer cared what would happen and the main character read a a whiny woman who needed to grow up.

Better Left Unsent is the latest novel from one of my favorite author's, Lia Louis.

This was such a fun premise for a book. All of the drafts of the main character's emails (over 100 of them)get sent, and some of them are not ones that Millie wants to get out. This author's novels always make me smile smile & laugh out loud. I like the unexpected twists that always seem to happen in her novels as well. I especially loved the emphasis on friendship & family in this one and how these relationships + how we think about our loved ones can evolve.

Millie, however, was not one of my favorite main character's by this author. Some of the side character's, especially those at Millie's work, I thought didn't really add much depth to this book.

Thank you Netgalley & Atria Books for this ARC!

I found the premise of this book to be quite intriguing. Who among us wouldn’t be horrified to have our innermost thoughts revealed to the very people we never want to hear them?

The book starts with Millie learning that her draft emails - the ones she writes when she doesn’t have the heart to speak her thoughts out loud - have been sent to family, friends, and colleagues. Disaster. The rest of the book follows Millie as she tries to recover from the damage her words have caused.

The book was unable to maintain the solid start and I found myself pushing through a good chunk of it. There were definite highlights, including Millie’s relationship with Jack who is just do darn nice. I also appreciated Millie’s growth as a character as she learned to be honest with herself and those around her rather than suppressing her feelings.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read an advance copy in exchange for my unbiased review.

Before I deleted my Facebook, I used to compose replies to posts that annoyed me or got me fired up. The catch - I never hit post. I found it very cathartic to get it out there, but I knew many of those comments were better kept to myself. Because of this, I really related to Millie's penchant for composing emails she would never send. I understood the why, but oh, boy! I felt terrible for her when all 100+ emails were sent.

I liked the way Louis explored all the different ways these way-too-honest emails affecting the recipients. Obviously, there were people who were hurt, but surprisingly, the emails were motivated some to make changes in their lives. One of those people ended up being Millie herself. Initially, she went into cleanup mode, but as she kept digging to figure out how those emails got sent, she also dug a bit into herself and reflected on her past, present, and future.

Part of her future could be her co-worker, Jack. He was this affable, free-spirit type and I liked him for Millie. He may have seem too "shake it off" at times, but I think Millie needed someone like that in her life as she became more and more obsessed with the emails. There were some wonderfully swoony and sweet scenes between these two, and I had my fingers crossed for them the entire time. I just wish they had a bit more time together.

This book started out with the email debacle, and it felt very much like reading a Shopaholic book. That humor and energy was there, and I found it easy to like Millie. Somewhere in the middle, the pacing was off and it dragged a bit, but then it got to that BIG moment where important story-things happen and all the heartwarming stuff plays out, and I was very pleased I muddled through.

Overall, this was a fun and light one from Louis which put a smile on my face.

💻Good results from a bad situation😯

4-4.5🌟stars
Author Lia Louis has come up with another out-of-the-ordinary plot that I really enjoyed. The pleasures and pitfalls of workplace romance kept me heavily involved, though the female lead's family subplot just seemed to lengthen the novel with minimal relevance, especially their kumbaya FaceTime sessions.

Office receptionist Millie Chandler goes through a series of worries and trials when somehow the dozens of email drafts she's been writing to let off steam, never intending them to see the light of day, get sent. Over a hundred drafts of her very private musings about colleagues, friends, family and the man who dumped her go out into the ether. While I thought this was an interesting way to push off the drama, I did not understand why anyone, after venting, would keep rather than delete the email drafts. Nevertheless, suspending disbelief, the story of how Millie handles the snafu and works to combat some tricky aftereffects, like the breakup between her former boyfriend Owen and his fiancee Chloe, and Millie's criticism of the way her best friend Kate's boyfriend Nicolas treats her, is a very good story. The email draft mishap brings unexpected results and I liked the way things actually headed, especially the closeness that develops between Millie and Jack, a more senior office colleague.

There are some very romantic scenes but they are done without steam and just as good for it, in my opinion. Millie's growing attachment to Jack is full-on dreamily romantic but bittersweet at the same time as he plans to leave on world travels almost before their relationship gets off the ground.

I found the novel a bit drawn out but still sweet, emotionally engaging and well-written, with touches of whimsy.

Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for sharing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.

I’ve been a huge fan of Lia Louis’s previous books, but there was something lacking from Better Left Unsent. The premise was unusual and had a lot of promise: Millie writes down her thoughts, the ones she would never say out loud, in draft emails as a way of releasing them. One day, she finds that all her drafts were delivered. Millie is left to pick up the pieces of her life when her deepest thoughts have been shared with the exact people who were never supposed to see them.

Louis always writes wonderfully quirky and loveable characters, and this was no exception. Millie and her friends seem realistic in their quirks and I loved spending time with them. Although the romance was on the back burner for much of the book, I really enjoyed Jack and Millie’s chemistry. It was clear that they complemented each other wonderfully and I was so rooting for them.

The premise definitely did not feel deep enough to sustain the whole book. Millie’s constant need to clean up after herself/the emails got old pretty quickly and there wasn’t much else plot-wise to keep me hooked.

The loveable characters and promise of romance kept me reading, but the charm I expect from Louis’s books wasn’t sustained throughout.

Cute heartfelt romance with definite Bridget Jones vibes! Louis is one of my favorite authors and I’ll always read everything she writes!

3.5 stars!

There are so many things we say every day to the people in our lives, our coworkers, our loved ones, our frenemies, but then there are the things that we don't say...the thoughts we have that are our innermost feelings, not always fit for other ears. No one knows this better than Millie, who finds herself writing all those thoughts as email drafts...that one day get sent out to everyone, upending her life and relationships as she knows it!!

This kicks off a great reckoning for Millie as she figures out who she is, what's really important to her, and helps her understand more about the people around her. She's got her best friend, Cate, whose boyfriend she REALLY didn't like. She's got her newly engaged ex and his fiancee who both happen to work with her. She's got the man, Jack, who she's had a crush on forever and thought she lost her chance with when he moved away. She's got her parents, dealing with some trickier aspects of life. And then, there's Millie herself- lost, unsure, stuck in a people pleasing rut- but the thing that might have ruined her life, actually saved it!

This was a sweet, simple story of a girl finding herself. The romantic connection wasn't that deep, but was quite adorable. The friendships were not too involved, but still supportive and loving. I enjoyed this book- and would have enjoyed it even more if I was reading it poolside!

Thank you so much to Lia Louis and NetGalley for a chance to read this in exchange for an honest review!

Have you ever wanted to be able to speak your mind and just be honest with yourself and others? Well in Lia Louis’s Better Left Unsent Millie Chandler gets that opportunity when all of her email drafts are sent out to everyone. We’re talking drafts of things she wished she could say to her co-workers, ex, besties, parents, and even someone she has a teeny tiny crush on. Although completely devastating at the time, what unfurls is Millie discovering herself and what it’s like to truly be yourself and who she is when she stops hiding and starts trying to live her life. This book is definitely for people who love slow burn, romance novels with touches of epistolary correspondence, and strong friendships (I’m looking at you Cate and Ralph!). I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one, and would say it is a tad slow at the beginning, but definitely worth the read if you stick with it. Watching Millie gain her confidence, discover self-love, and then finally true love was *chef’s kiss* Also, who knew rhubarb could be so sexy?!? IYKYK ;)

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book provided to me through NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Lia Louis and Atria for giving me the opportunity to read this book!

Millie types email drafts like they're a journal. When all of her unfiltered thoughts get sent out, she is rightfully panicked and suspicious even though the company has assured her that it was all due to a server surge. In the chaos, she finds an ally in Jack, her boss, who offers advice and reassurance regarding Millie's regretful words.

This story moved a bit slower than I had hoped. I enjoyed the chemistry and creativity in Millie and Jack's dates, but I felt like all of the other relationships were toxic. Jack's godmother's marriage that was barely part of the story was the only example of lasting love. Millie's parents, Cate's relationship, Millie's previous relationship, Millie's ex's new relationship... Millie recognizing that she had been emotionally abused seemed to take an exceptionally long time, considering she had been out of the relationship for a couple of years and was witnessing Cate deteriorating in her relationship. I wish the prologue had showed Millie as a young adult who was in her head dreaming so that her stunted emotions and dreaming was really apparent.

Overall, I felt like the email aspect was handled differently than I anticipated, but in a good way. Millie gets drunk but then she faces the repercussions of her words and tries to make amends. In several cases, her (somewhat brutal) honesty brings positive change for her and for the email recipients.

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I loved Dear Emmie Blue, so I had high-expectations for this one, but it fell a bit flat for me. I felt like 25% in all that they had talked about were the emails and there was no other real plot developing. However, Lia's writing is fantastic! Her word choices and metaphors are brilliant.

Millie’s discretion and/or lack of self-confidence kept her from sharing hard truths with her friends, coworkers and former and future lovers. Instead, she composed emails containing those truths and stored them in her email drafts folder. When she discovered that those drafts had all been unexpectedly sent, she was mortified, horrified, humiliated and all the other emotions you’d apply to such a predicament. This novel is a delight. There’s great dialog, wonderful characters and relatable situations, all handled with wit, humor and sensitivity. I thought at first that being in Millie’s head was going to wear me out. I’m not sure if the narration changed or I just got into it, but I continued reading Better Left Unsent finding so much pleasure as I did. The last part may have hammered a little hard on the life lessons, though not enough color my over all positive experience with this book.

I don’t know if any review has ever made me as sad to write. I LOVE Lia Louis books. She’s one of my favourite authors. She typically writes contemporary romance with so much heart and incredibly likeable characters. For me, this was not that.

Better Left Unsent is about Millie, who for some reason thinks it’s a good idea to write draft emails to friends and colleagues about issues she has with them, but never intends to send. Not only does she write these drafts, she puts their email address in the “to” line. Nothing bad can come from that!

So obliviously these emails end up getting sent, and she must deal with the fall out. There are emails to coworkers about issues she has with them both small and big, rants to her friends about their relationships, an email to her ex who is about to be married, telling him she still loves him and an email to her work crush.

The premise could have been ok even with how ridiculous it was, but it dragged and dragged. Millie acted incredibly annoying about the whole thing and the drama felt so forced it made me cringe at times.

There was also added drama with her parents which also wanted to seem so much more dramatic than it was, which again just annoyed me. The whole thing seemed silly to me.

The description of Millie also was so inconsistent. She was supposed to be this strong, dances to the beat of her own drum, free spirit, but came across as a needy girl with low self esteem and no personality. She dreamed of travelling the world, but broke down in tears spending the night in a treehouse hotel room because she was by herself and it was raining.

At the 50% mark, I couldn’t begin to understand how I was only half way through. It was so incredibly clear where everything was going and felt painful waiting. The reveal of how the emails had been sent felt complete ridiculous to me.

All of the things I loved about Lia’s previous books felt like they were missing from this one. It was incredibly predictable, I thought the premise was weak, and the MC come across as very annoying in my opinion.

I also thought the love interest Jack was very judgemental in the end, after acting like this carefree, non judgemental perfect man just took a strange turn and after that I didn’t care at all if they got together.

I didn’t see any true depth or humour in this book, which I need. This felt like the romance books that don’t work for me. This was absolutely a not for me book which makes me so sad as Lia is usually a can’t miss author for me

The premise of the book sounded interesting. It didn’t quite live up to what I was hoping for. I thought there would be more backlash from emails. Her friends and Jack were supportive of her faux pas . I thought Jack’s answer to the issue to run away and see where life takes you was immature . A true case of Peter Pan syndrome. I will say it was an entertaining read. Thank you to NetGalley for this free advanced copy in exchange for my honest review

4/5 stars! Loved it, super cute story with some friends to lovers romance, a bit of mystery, and finding yourself along the way.

Millie's email drafts were mysteriously sent out but these aren't typical drafts. Her drafts contain her most raw thoughts to and about these people they're addressed to. On a quest to find out how this happened and redeem herself, she finds love and herself along the way. It kept me guessing on how the emails got sent and I didn't guess the correct answer!

Loved the romance aspect, super cute. Jack was like a knight in shining Armour always being extremely thoughtful and keeping her safe. The rest of the characters were also fun! Some parts I wish it got into a little deeper, especially within the main characters family. But overall I enjoyed this book!

Thank you to Atria Books, Lia Louis, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

After Millie's heart was broken a couple of years ago, she became a closed door. She is a pro at holding in all her feelings except for the emails she writes and leaves in her drafts. It is a great way to get all the feelings out without confrontation or someone getting hurt. When one evening all of her email drafts are inexplicably sent, the bottom falls out of her carefully protected life. With the help of some wonderful friends, she picks herself up again and faces her true feelings. From her relationship with her parents to her friends, co-workers, and the ex that broke her heart, it seems no one was spared from an email draft.

I enjoyed spending time with Millie on her journey to living her best life. She is contrite about having her truths out in the world but despite the unfortunate way they were communicated, her words seem to bring positive change. I like how the author turns the rotten situation into a growth experience. The sweet romance that develops is lovely to read as well. While there is miscommunication in the romance, it is not over the top and the ending is rewarding.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria/Emily Bestler Books for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

A good way to deal with heartbreak or hurt feelings is to write letters to those people but not to send them. Millie, however, goes one better. She drafts emails to everyone, declaring all her secrets and feelings. However, she discovers the next morning that all the draft emails have been sent. Apparently a power outage occurred and messed everything up. Chaos!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

“Better Left Unsent” by Lia Louis
A Thought Provoking Read
Trauma for Millie and via the story some possibly very worthy therapy for the right reader. If they are ready to be open to the possibility of making changes in their life. But no matter how you slice it… This is a worthy, fun, entertaining, read which I thoroughly loved. Happy Reading ! !
Note: This review expresses my honest opinion.

The idea of my draft emails being sent out is pretty scary… although I’m not sure I would even do draft emails because of my fear of this happening 😜 but leave it to Lia Louis to turn this into a funny, sweet romcom.

Although not sure I would classify this completely of the romance genre. More of a women’s lit, or a beach read.

It was cute. Fans of the author will love it. My heart still belongs with Emmie Blue which holds top spot of hers.

The premise of Better Left Unsent was really unique. Millie’s draft emails she keeps as a diary full of truths and sometimes harsh realities are accidentally sent out to everyone in her life. She is forced to sit in this uncomfortable reality ,and begins to reevaluate her life choices after the unfortunate event. Millie being 29 years old and feeling like she lost herself after a bad break up ,and the temp job that she took has become a five year job was so relatable. I went in thinking this book was a rom-com, but it’s more women’s fiction with a sprinkle of romance. I loved MIllie & Jack, I was smiling and laughing during their scenes, but there weren’t enough in my opinion. They were giving Jim and Pam from The Office. I felt as if the book was dragging on a bit towards the end and the chapters were really long ,but overall I enjoyed this read and most the characters (not Owen he was terrible.) This was my first Lia Louis read and I will definitely be checking out more of her books.

✨Thanks to NetGalley & Atria Books for this ARC

🗓️Pub Date: 5/21/2024