Who wouldn’t be interested in a book where the premise of the story is your draft folder (where you keep your inner most thoughts) accidentally getting sent out?! Grabbing my attention from the start, this charming novel soon faded into a slow, dragging storyline. 🫠 The humor didn’t quite work for me, and the FMC was often cringey and immature.

Romance took a backseat to the true story of Millie finding herself and her voice. Definitely should be categorized as a women’s lit/fiction about life with some romantic elements rather than a romance novel.

While it wasn’t the right book for me, I do think it’s a solid fiction story that some will enjoy. 😊

Thank you to NetGalley & Atria Books for the opportunity to read this digital ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

I received an arc of this from NetGalley and Atria books. This was a super cute romance book with a lot of drama! It was what I needed to get out of a reading slump! I absolutely loved Millie, Cate and Jack. I hated Owen, Chloe and at some parts Alexis. This book had me in tears at the end! I loved the writing style. I highly recommend this book!! Thanks again for the arc!!

This was my first time reading the author, so I went into this one blind without expectations.

I enjoyed -
*the concept of the story - I mean, it’s a highly appealing prospect at some junctures in life
*the writing
*the humor was excellent
*characters are very fleshed out and realistic

The not so great (for me) -
*it definitely grabbed my attention in the beginning, but as things progressed I found it slow moving
*Millie often came across as highly immature
*while it certainly may work for other readers, I had hoped for more on the romance aspect of this story
*the ending

All told, I enjoyed this far more than not and I will be reading more of the author’s work.



Thank you to Atria / Emily Bestler Books and NetGalley for the DRC

Millie Chandler is a thirty-two year old with a lot of emotions. After a humiliating breakup, she decides to keep all of those emotions inside - well at least inside her email drafts folder. She says everything she wants to say, knowing her thoughts will never be seen.

At least that is what she thought. After a server outage at her office, ALL of her drafts are sent. Now her friends, coworkers, boss, her family, and even the ex who publicly broke her heart know her private thoughts. It is all too much.

One by one, Millie sets out to deal with the fallout from her emails. Sometimes the truth hurts, but is it really “Better Left Unsent”?

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an advanced copy in exchange for sharing my honest opinion.

This one was just fine for me. Honestly, the story hooked me right at the beginning but things just lagged in the middle. I love Lia's writing, but I don't think the storyline was strong enough.

The premise of this book is something that actually happened to me in real life, so I was eager to read this one. It did not disappoint. The panic and dread the main character felt was so authentic and real. I loved the friendships depicted here, and I found this to be a really comforting read.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

*Spoilers*

Thank you to the author for the ARC!

I enjoyed the book quite a bit, though it was slow for me to get into. Would recommend!

I’ll start my review off by saying that as an administrative professional, I’m outraged by the premise of this novel. I’d say the first rule of work email is not to put anything in your there that you wouldn’t want someone to see- I’d suggest a journal, lol.

Nothing but truths dropping from the accidentally sent emails. I was waiting
The whole novel for Millie just to own her the things she said in her drafts, regardless of how embarrassing it might have felt. I found Millie hard to deal with for the majority of the story. She doesn’t trust herself at all, second guesses literally everything and worries about what everyone thinks way too much. For gods sake, to think that a one sided email could split up an engagement? If that were the case I would say there were other many red flags in that relationship. I thought it was very teenager behaviour when she denied liking Jack at the party- it reminded me of a teenager not wanting to be embarrassed if a boy doesn’t like them back.

It wasn’t until the last quarter of the book I realized that Millie became this way because of Owen, the master manipulator, had ruined her, and left her not trusting herself or who she is. When Petra says “He blew out your fire” it really opened my eyes and broke my heart.

We all deserve friends like Petra, Cate and Ralph. People who support you and understand you, even when we might not feel like we know ourselves.

Now let’s talk about Jack. *Sigh* this beautiful man. The man with the c-shaped dimple and all the candles. The man with the strong, safe, supportive behaviour who helps Millie find herself again and brings her back to life. If Jack wasn’t end game, this review would have been scathing! (Kidding not kidding!)

The ending was a huge surprise, I did not see that coming! Recommend this book :)

Kiss the boy, trust yourself and live your truth, girl 👊

I love this authors books and was so excited to read this one. I started off great and it make me laugh out loud, but then I got bored and didn’t care for any of the characters.

When I read the summary for this book, I thought to myself, “This sounds so cute. I’ll give it a try.” I am so glad I did! In this book, you are literally inside Millie’s head. You can hear all of her thoughts and feelings. I laughed so many times, while also at the same time, I was thinking “poor Millie.”
Millie used her drafts in her email as a sort-of diary. She was able to have the satisfaction of putting her thoughts and feelings to each of the people she wanted to say things to, without actually sending the email to them. That is, until one day when all of her drafts get sent to each of the recipients. This causes a lot of turmoil, in her personal life, and at her job. One of the emails was sent to her ex, saying that she misses him (even though this draft was written a long time ago). This opens a whole can of worms because her ex and his now-fiance both work with her.
While all of this is happening, she starts to have feelings for another co-worker, Jack. This man made me swoon so hard. I absolutely loved his character, and the chemistry between Millie and him was so exciting to read about. I also loved how the author made their relationship seem so real, without having to add smut into it.
Millie has jumped to the top part of my list of favorite characters of all time. I love how relatable she is, and her inner thoughts were so funny and real. This is definitely a 5 star read for me, and I look forward to reading more books by this author.

This was my first book by Lia Louis.
I was drawn to it based on the description which sounded right up my alley and very "to all the boys'

I however, didn't love it. I felt at times it was a bit too slow and I was easily distracted. That's not to say its a bad book, the story was still enjoyable at times and I finished it.

The characters were cute and relatable, they just didn't change my life in any way.

The premise: A female office worker uses her email drafts like a diary and as a way to vent to people, but never hits send on the emails. A system glitch causes all of the emails to send, turning her life upside down when two years' worth of emails expose her true feelings to coworkers, friends, and family members.

My thoughts: I enjoyed the writing on this one; it portrayed the FMC's personality well. My only question is, if a company-wide network shutdown error caused the drafted emails to send, wouldn't everyone's drafts have sent? Just a thought, lol, but it had me thinking. And this is aside from the point that I don't put a 'to' address in until it's ready to send, just in case I do make a mistake. But, that all adds to the disaster of the story.

I just wish there was a little more ease in to the drama without throwing us right in. Other than that it was an enjoyable read. The FMC was awkward and cringe-y at points but not in a turn-off way; that's just how she is.

Thank you Atria/Emily Bestler Books for an advanced review copy of Better Left Unsent!

If you are a fan of JoJo Moyes, Sophie Cousens, and Beth O'Leary, you better have Lia Louis on your TBR. I loved her earlier books and Better Left Unsent was no different - a sweet and funny love story that will have you feeling all the emotions.

Millie Chandler writes emails. Brutally honest emails to her co-workers, friends, and family - the thing is that she never actually sends them. They stay safely in her drafts folder where no one is the wiser and Millie can keep her feelings under wraps acting as the nice easy-going woman she is. Until one evening a system malfunction results in every single one of her brutally honest emails being sent. With her true feelings out there for all to see, including a heartbreaking email to the man who publicly broke her heart, Millie finds herself grappling with the fall out from her words. Now, she must come to terms with her true feelings and the people who surround her.

Lia Louis is a master of creating a heartwarming story about self-discovery and being true to oneself. This book is sure to please lovers of romcoms that handle some of life's harder moments with tenderness and warmth. This is my favorite of her books!

I am a big fan of Dear Emmie Blue and have enjoyed Lia Louis' previous other books as well.

I am one to never put in a 'to' in an email address field until it's ready to send so I just found the crux of the conflict to be a bit baffling to me. However, I did fully sympathize with Millie in this situation where hundreds of drafted emails were sent due to an IT glitch. They are basically diary entries where she bares her inner thoughts to coworkers, friends, and families. Secrets come out from the emails and some lives are changed.

I was rooting for Millie to make some changes in her life, stick up for herself, and find peace with her family and friends. I was also rooting hard for her and Jack. I LOVED the rhubarb scene!! The middle really slowed down for me and she seemed kind of stuck for a good chunk. There were several relationships Millie needed to repair from the emails and the side friendship story with Alexis seemed like it took away from the rest of the storylines. I enjoyed the quirky elements and relatable characters, but it lacked some of the charm and overall connection to the characters I felt from Emmie Blue.

What if you had a slew of emails in your drafts in which you hypothetically gave coworkers, family and friends a piece of your mind? What if those drafts were sent out due to a "glitch" with the IT department? Ahhhhhh, so embarrassing. I was truly embarrassed for poor Millie. All of her sarcastic thoughts were sent out to everyone and yikes!

I think the plot is something most, if not all, of us can relate to. Those accidental emails and texts sent to the wrong person or basically your entire diary was read... quite humiliating for Millie.

The plot, mostly women's fiction, but also romance, revolves around the aftermath of those emails. Secrets come out; people's lives are changed from those emails.

I loved Millie, but nobody, and I mean nobody, should draft emails with the recipients' email address filled.

I enjoyed Millie and Jack. Did I mention I enjoyed Jack? I really enjoyed Jack and his "so what" attitude, along with the thoughtfulness he had for Millie.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for an e-copy of BETTER LEFT UNSENT to review.

I rate BETTER LEFT UNSENT four out of five stars.

Overall, I really enjoyed Better Left Unsent. Right away the uniqueness of the plot pulled me in. There were some slow part towards the middle but I couldn’t help but root for Millie and Jack and their story pulled me back in. There were some repetitive slow points involving the main character but overall it was a great, cozy, fun read. Lia Louis continues to be an auto read author for me.

Fun, lighthearted read about technology, relationships and confidence. Workplace romance, best friends, owning up to mistakes.

Millie is recovering from a heartbreak, but she has to confront it head on. It was a workplace romance and they still work together. She keeps a lot of her feelings inside but has 1 outlet - her draft emails. Until they are all sent.

This is about as humiliating and hilarious as you can image and the author does a great job taking us thorough all of Millie's friendships, work colleagues and family. There's a couple of silver linings in speaking the truth which is what kept my interest after the initial incident.

A fun read if you're in the mood for a lighthearted romp!

I will start by saying how much I loved Dear Emmie Blue by Lia Louis. It was such an emotional and engaging love story, a story that has stuck with me for many years. Unfortunately, I did not find the same depth and emotion in Louis' latest book, Better Left Unsent.

Better Left Unsent is a rom com about Millie, who uses her email drafts as a form of therapy. She writes emails to people to let out some frustration and share a piece of her mind with them, but she never sends the emails. Until one day when all of her email drafts are sent. Then Millie has to deal with the downfall of her coworkers, family and friends receiving very honest (possibly too honest) emails that reveal Mille's true feelings about them.

The tone of this book is very light and easy. I think readers could find Millie to be either endearing or obnoxious, and for me personally, I found her to be more on the obnoxious side. While what happened to her was a big deal, I did get frustrated with her inability to just let it go and move on. She seemed kind of stuck, and therefore the book felt stuck. Really not very much happened over the course of the book, and it was slow. I liked Jack, and I liked Millie and Jack together. I think the book could have used more of Millie and Jack and less of Millie ruminating about her life circumstances!

This was a quick read that didn't focus on anything too deep or serious, which is sometimes just what I want. But I think I was hoping for a little more from this one.

What a fun ARC to read! Once I got into it I could not put it down.

To me, it had the perfect mix of cute rom-com and unexpected twists. I was a bit hesitant that it would be similar to books with what seems like the same plot line (re: to all boys I’ve loved before) but the author did a great job of keeping me on my toes and keep me reading.

There isn’t a ton of spice if that is something important for you in romance books, but there was still plenty of romance and tension throughout.

Highly recommend for a quick and fun read! Thanks NetGalley and the publishers for sending me this ARC!

Can you imagine writing email drafts to friends, co-workers, family members and saving hundreds of them in your drafts' folder? These aren’t just ordinary emails. They contain the thoughts you have had and never dared to actually share with these people. Then your worst nightmare comes true, they are all sent out en masse. Sounds like an interesting premise, don’t you think?

Some of the things that I liked |
•the premise
•true friendships
•Millie’s self-development
•Jack ❤️

Things that didn’t work for me |
•the story felt disjointed
•many rambling conversations
•felt repetitive
•cringy moments

It really pains me to write this review after having absolutely loved Dear Emmie Blue, by this author. Sadly, I did not connect with this story in the way that I had hoped.

2.5 stars

Thank you to Atria and NetGalley for an advance electronic copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

CW | Contains frequent strong profanity and some crass innuendo

Loved this book! First off the premise is great! Total nightmare situation that the main character has to pull herself out of and face many hard truths. The plot seemed pretty realistic too, which made me want to keep reading to find out what would happen. Overall this is a very sweet story about finding your voice and realizing (in the words of Alexis Rose from Schitt's Creek) "People aren't thinking about you the way you're thinking about you."

I also loved that Mille crochets which is one of my favorite hobbies.