We all have things we think or feel about people or certain situations but that we never say out loud.  Well Millie is no different.  But, she finds an outlet for all of her emotions/feelings/thoughts in drafting emails where she give her honest replies to everyone…coworkers, family, friends, her ex, and even her new crush, with the plan of never actually sending them out.  Think of it as a digital diary of sorts.  However, her life gets turned upside down, when all of those email drafts get accidentally sent out to everyone…all 102 drafts.  Now she must deal with the after math of everyone reading the thoughts she never meant anyone to see ever.

Because of this accident, this book was full of both funny and embarrassing moments and interactions for Millie.  I felt for Millie as she felt that her life was falling apart, however, since she just couldn’t let it go, it started to become a detriment to other areas of her life, and I felt like the story became more about her finding out the ‘how’ behind the accidental send and it wouldn’t release its hold on her until she found out all the answers.  On the flip side, I liked learning about Millie and those in her life and their relationships through these accidentally sent emails, and the writing made these characters feel very relatable.  I mean, I know I can relate to someone hearing or learning about something I didn’t want them to know, so I could feel and understand her cringe in dealing with this.  I just wish she would have seen the supportive people around her a little more and a little earlier, as they were in her corner, trying to help her deal.

Overall, another fun read from Lia Louis to add to the collection.

Better Left Unsent publishes on May 21st!

Thanks to Lia Louis, Atria Books, and NetGalley for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

I am a fan of Lia Louis & this one was a cute story with some depth. I love that her characters feel very human and not perfectly crafted, And I firmly believe that Lia Louis can write inner dialogue like nobody else. I was laughing out loud multiple times during this book.

Thank you to Netgalley & Atria Books for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review!

⭐️: 3
🌶️: 0
Pub Date: 05/21/2024

✨ workplace romance
✨ recently single
✨ second hand embarassment
✨ British chick lit

I genuinely struggled with the first 40% of this book solely because the premise just didn’t make any sense to me. No corporate girlie would write scathing emails, save them in their drafts like a diary, and keep the “to” field populated! The entire debacle could have been entirely avoided, but alas it was not. This book is also British Chick Lit, so if you aren’t into that type of writing, this book may not be for you.

I did find the remainder of the book enjoyable. And the twist when we find out how the emails got sent kept me flipping the pages to find out more! This one was light on the romance, but heavy on the drama and friendship. All around an easy read.

📚Thank you NetGalley, Atria books and Lia Louis for the ARC of Better Left Unsent.

For the publisher & editor - I found the internal monologue quite confusing to discern from actual monologue. It was a fun addition, but should perhaps just be italicized instead of inside quotations. I found myself rereading multiple lines, entirely unsure it was actually said or not.

****Publishing May 21, 2024****

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Imagine your worst nightmare happens when your draft emails are sent by a glitch in the system at work. Millie wrote draft emails to vent, not ever intending to send them. Now that all 105 emails have been sent, she will have to face the consequences. It brings out all kinds of drama as truths are revealed. Ralph, her roommate and friend, is the one who she goes to as she can lean on him for advice. Is her life over? Will people understand or will they be offended? Will they seek revenge? This book will have you turning the pages to find out Millie’s fate!

This light-hearted book will have you laughing from the start and rolling your eyes at the sane time! It’s a clever, highly entertaining story that is hard to put down! A great book to take on vacation!

Thanks to Atria Books(Atria/Emily Bestler Books), I was provided an ARC of Better Left Unsent by Lia Louis via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have loved everything that Lia Louis has written, and this is exception.

Millie.chandler is such a quirky character, and so relatable at the same time. Who hadn't wanted to respond to emails with some zingers?! I will say I have been more cautious about deleting my drafts because I would be so embarrassed if they got sent (mostly blank, half thoughts- but still)

Jack Sherlock is *chefs kiss*. I wish we had more of Jack and millie.

Every character was well thought out and each one was so individual, and I loved that.

AND THE RHUBARB FARM. SWOON.

I'm gonna need a Sequel with Ralph and Cate.

Fun, created a new fear for me... slightly unbelievable aspects (who writes the "to section" of a draft email they AREN'T sending??) but the ending was quite cute and Cate and Ralph seemed like good friends.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC

I really enjoy romcoms that have a unique sense of place (in this case, England) and make you laugh out loud with witty humour. Better Left Unsent ticked those boxes.

In this story, main character, Millie, experiences the worst horrifying moment when she realizes all of her draft emails are released from her work account after a server glitch. The emails were her cathartic release of writing out frustrations of others to get them off her chest, but not actually sending them. Unfortunately, that plan backfired.
In the aftermath, Millie tries to make things right. She’s dealing with her ex-boyfriend and his fiancé who works at the same company, her co-workers, her work crush Jack, and her dear friends and parents. It seems no one in Millie’s life went unscathed from this mishap.

Millie also has low self-esteem, and has never felt like she measures up to her parent’s expectations, and the success of her brother who lives in the USA. As Millie works through the email crisis and coming of age problems in her early thirties, it’s handled with many laugh out loud moments. Also moments that are truly cringeworthy.

At times I felt the story was a little angsty, repetitive, and the miscommunication between characters a bit cringy. The story got into a few scenes which were preachy; “telling” instead of “showing”. But I could relate to a lot of the life lessons in the story, and I loved how Millie’s true friends supported her and each other. If you enjoy a coming of age rom-com with a sweet buttercream icing finish, this will be a good summer book for your beach bag.

3.5 stars.

Thank you to Atria/Emily Bestler Books and Netgalley for the electronic advance reader copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

I wanted to love this one. But I found that the repetitiveness really got to me. It just kept dragging on. Millie continuing to try to make up for the emails being sent even though it wasn't her fault... I just wanted her to grow a backbone sooner. In the end I couldn't stick it out.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book!

Have you ever wrote something down when your having strong feelings with out the intention of ever sending it? Well imagine that writing tons of emotional emails to friends, co-workers and exes over the years and those private thought accidently getting sent out. That's exactly what happens to Millie in Better Left Unsent. She wakes up to find all her emotional thought and pains were sent out for everyone to read. Millie has to find a way to navigate through the biggest scandal of her life while making amends for the drama she has caused. I enjoyed Better Left Unsent but it did give me second hand embarrassment.

I really enjoyed this book. It was different than anything else I've read recently. I couldn't put it down! I will keep an eye out for this author's future work!

Such a cute concept for a book! The HORROR of your work email drafts being sent and the roller coaster of dealing with the aftermath!

Millie had a great support system in the book to be her sounding board and help her navigate the turmoil.

Some very funny moments in the book and the banter was cute! Slower-pace read for me, but built up at appropriate times and wrapped up all the loose ends at the end nicely.

Would recommend this book to friends!

I loved the premise for this one, so was really excited to give it a read. All manner of crazy and unpredictable things can happen when your email drafts accidentally get sent out to everyone, including your family, friends, ex-boyfriend who is now planning his wedding, and the cute guy at work that you had that great conversation with at a work party.. Open the door for so many funny interactions and embarrassing mishaps. To be honest, I found myself a bit disgruntled and annoyed as I felt that Millie's rant about her emails being sent out went on a bit too long in the beginning, and I was tired of hearing her complain about it, so much as interested in the aftermath, but I kept reading. Then before I knew it I was quickly halfway through the book. It definitely snuck up on me, and I became more invested as the story evolved. Would have liked to get into it more quickly, so for that I would give it 3.5 stars. However, it's a cute story, witty moments and banter, relatable characters, classic rom-com, and a really interesting premise. Thanks so much to Lia Louis, the publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this e-arc.

I am a huge fan of Lia Louis, and I have always recommended her books to anyone looking for a good book! While Better Left Unsent was good, it likely won't be the first Lia Louis book I would recommend for someone to read. The book was slow to read at times, but it really picked up in the last hundred pages. Nevertheless, it is still a great read with a unique storyline and well-developed characters! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I cringed and chuckled my way through this book. It was fun and witty, yet emotional. The book surrounds one little {big} mistake but one that allows the main character to find her true self and flourish. This was a heartwarming read!

This book was an easy read, but it was just too slow and a little too quirky for me. If you like lighthearted romance books, you may enjoy this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this free ARC.

Who knew forced rhubarb was romantic!? This was a good quick read, I loved how sweet Jack was. I feel like some of the book dragged but overall the story was cute. Read this book if you love workplace romance!

Better Left Unsent is my first read by Lia Louis, but definitely not my last. This was so fun and cute and such an easy read!

This was a cute and easy read. Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced copy. Publication date May 21, 2024

I absolutely adore Dear Emmie Blue and have enjoyed Lia Louis' other books so I was happy to read this one early.

A nightmare in the digital age happens to lovely Millie when unsent emails containing her true thoughts and feelings go out to the intended recipients but she never wanted them sent! She was using these emails as a venting tool and is horrified and embarrassed when they are sent. The story follows her finding out if it was an accident or a somewhat more sinister action. The resolution was a bit of a surprise but by that time, I think Millie appreciated the effects on her life (even her stone age mobile phone).

It also follows a lot of consequences (good and bad) for her, both professionally and personally. I particularly enjoyed how her relationships were affected by her honest and real feelings being added to the mix. It wasn't always comfortable but I was happy that Millie was more of her authentic self at the end. And of course, the one email she thought was undelivered lead to her HEA. I loved the fact that her took her as is and she realised that her ex was just a manipulative jerk, and she was more than how he made her feel. And the farm by candlelight? *huge smile while reading*

So many great characters and real friends made this book even better. We all wish for a boss like Petra, bestie like Cate and a roomie like Ralph (the mushroom wine). This was a lovely read and one that made me smile while reading. There we lots of funny bits, sweet bits, romantic bits, mystery bits and becoming yourself bits. And the epilogue :) Definitely recommend as a nice, cosy read.

Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for sending the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Books about emails or diaries or letters are some of my favorites! I love the way they incorporate the little "extras" into the book. And I really thought this book would have a lot of that. How couldn't it, right? The story is that a whole bunch of emails that were written as a way of emotional release and then saved into a drafts folder, accidentally got sent. I wanted to read all of those emails so badly! However it feels more like someone is holding them just out of reach and only telling you about them without any real details. That's how the whole book feels, in fact. Or at least the first half, because that's as far as I got before I had to DNF it. Most books at the beginning throw you into the story, but then quickly fill in the blanks so you're not confused and frustratedly trying to figure out what's going on. This book didn't fill in those blanks in the beginning half, it just continued to make new blanks. There were so many characters, I couldn't keep them straight without flipping back and forth. It had a very Sophie Kinsella Shopaholic vibe at first and I was excited to keep reading. I'd definitely recommend giving this book a try if you enjoy that series! If you can keep a huge cast of characters going, even better! If you want to read a book about some scathing emails without actually reading what this emails say, you'll love this one. I hope it wraps itself up well at the end, but I couldn't force my way through any more of it to find out.