Oh my goodness! I enjoyed this book so much. What a great plot for a book….From her work email, Millie drafts responses to her coworkers, friends, ex-boyfriend and her mom —letting them know what's truly on her mind, as she knows the emails won't be seen and a great way to work off steam; they serve as a kind of diary. Her emails accidentally get sent out when there's a malfunction at work! Every single one of the 107 drafts she wrote. So now she’s doing damage control.

I couldn't stop laughing while reading this book! It started off strong, had a bit of a lull, but then picked back up. I wish the humor was consistent throughout, but overall, it's a fantastic read for any romcom fan. The sweet moments without being too steamy were just right.

Big thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

So cute. Just the right amount of drama and the best friends 👌
There's no spice, but the drama filled the void.

4.75☆

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.

I enjoyed the overall concept and storyline of this book— hundreds of emails drafted as a way to vent and definitely never intended to be seen get sent after a server error. Millie spends the book trying to make things right and in the process learns to have more confidence in the choices she is making for herself. I loved the relationship Millie forms with Jack.

What I didn’t love was the repetitiveness. I found myself skimming over many paragraphs because it was redundant and the points had already been made.

Well, this was absolutely delightful! It sucked me in right away with the predicament that our main character, Millie is in. Why she writes people her true feelings in her email drafts I can't imagine especially since she actually addresses them to the person but just doesn't send them until something happens. It's a little hard to fathom BUT it's a fiction book 😂.

But I really did enjoy the writing and main character. Plus JACK! Sweet, lovely, hot Jack! While Dear Emmie blue is still my fav because I remember that one making me more emotional, I still found this to be so delightful like that one. It has a lot of the same feelings where you can't help but root for our MC and feel for her. It was a great book about growth and not holding your feelings. It's not crazy fast paced and has some slower moments but I still found myself invested in the story.

The side romance plot was my favorite, of course. I just adored all their moments together tho it is a slow build because it's definitely a side plot. Millie's issues and drama is definitely the main plot point which was still very interesting! Overall, it was such a sweet and enjoyable read. I found myself just so content and happy reading it.

While the premise of this was adorable, I found myself getting lost and confused by the characters. I think parts of it were good, but overall, I got bored at times. I struggled to like Millie at times because I wanted her to grow up and figure it out.

There's not a Lia Louis book that I won't immediately read.

The Details
Better Left Unsent by Lia Louis
Office Rom Com | British | Love Triangle(s)?

Quick Summary
The worst thing has happened - all of Millie's email drafts have been sent by a possible server glitch. The emails she uses to let off steam and tell her secrets - the ones no one was meant to see. Now, she has to deal with life and relationships A.E. (After Emails), including with her ex, his new fiancee, coworkers, family, and her work crush.

My Take
This was a cute quick read. I love Lia's writing style and all the fun British banter and slang :) Millie was a very likeable character, though a little annoying at times (which I think was the point). There was a lot of internal dialogue/scene setting in this one, and I do prefer a bit more conversations. The relationships seemed very real and definitely ones to root for. And Jack was SWOON.WORTHY.

4 stars, probably rounded up from 3.5

This was a great story, I really enjoyed it. Mille and Jack are amazing together, so witty and playful! This was definitely a slow moving story though, it did drag on a bit.
I really liked to see how Millie learned new things about herself. The character development for Millie was beautiful and unique.

Louis is an amazing author and I will continue to read and recommend her books!

3.5 STARS

Millie Chandler works as a receptionist for a British sports television station where she had the bad luck to be in a relationship with another employee who publicly dumped her. Since that time, Millie’s confidence and self-esteem has been in the low numbers. Rather than ever speaking her mind, Millie writes emails to various employees, friends and even family members, putting them in a draft folder never to be sent, until they mysteriously are after a computer server shut down.

Millie’s mortification over everyone receiving her missives has a nightmarish quality for her as she slinks back to her desk wondering not only will she lose her job, but everyone important in her life. Millie unfortunately still works with her ex, Owen, who is engaged to another coworker, Chloe; she is also attracted to still yet another man in the company, Jack. She spends quite a bit of time trying to do damage control which is fairly exhausting considering Millie would rather hide out from the world than interact with it.

The whole debacle is a mixed blessing for Millie because it forces her to deal with all her insecurities, reevaluate her relationship to Owen who seemed to be a prince initially but is more of a toad, repair damage to friends and family, and gather up her courage to follow her dreams rather than settling for a drab life. The man Millie is interested in, Jack, seems to be her polar opposite living life in the vortex as he calls it, not safe, always up for an adventure, and definitely not worried about anyone thinks about him.

Millie has a hard time standing up for herself; she has a big learning curve after being flung so far out of her comfort zone, there is not going back. This story is a long angsty, bordering on soap opera, kind of ride especially since the most of the characters, and there are a lot of them, all work together with all the attendant hazards of office romances and politics. The most entertaining part is the content of Millie’s emails where she lets loose her unfiltered thoughts and feelings never imagining they would ever be seen. The eventual romance does not get much page time so it could have used some better development to balance out the story.

I’m an avid lover of Lia Louis books so when I saw this book available I immediately requested an arc copy. Then it being a story about email drafts that were used as a truthful diary being sent to everyone was a great hook.

I had so much secondhand embarrassment for our heroine Millie but it was also amazing to see how much growth this entire mishap caused in her. I wasn’t 100% sold on her as a character at first due to how much guilt she felt for her feelings being out there. That is later touched on but I was so glad to see our hero really show her how she didn’t need to be ashamed of how she felt. This was heartfelt and funny and as always the cast of characters is unparalleled. I was so invested in not only the main characters but everyone’s story.

Thank you netgalley for a copy in exchange for a review.

I unfortunately couldn’t finish this. The characters were blah, Millie frustrated me, and the middle dragged on. I felt bad for Millie but felt like she needed more of a backbone and couldn’t bear to read through her journey.

I didn’t get to any of the romance, but felt like it was taking too long to get there anyway.

I enjoyed this upcoming novel from @lialouisauthor!

What if all your “gripe” emails sitting in your drafts folder were actually sent to the person on the receiving end? Well, that’s what happens to sweet Millie Chandler. But little does she know that mass “send” will change her life for the better.

I really enjoyed this story - however, felt like the middle dragged on a bit. I enjoyed seeing the multiple characters grow but also seeing the true colors of others.

Thanks a million to @netgalley and @simonandschuster for the advanced copy - save the date, pre-order, put in a hold at your library for the 21st of May! A great summer read to add to your list!

Lia Louis writes such cute, sweet romcoms that I have no choice but to read every one! Better Left Unsent was another excellent read; I enjoyed the love story, but more importantly loved the character development of Millie as well as the side characters who were sent her emails (looking at you, Alexis). This book definitely will make me think twice about leaving draft emails in my account—or, at least, writing draft emails while emotional!

Better Left Unset was such a fun read! My first thought was “OMG I relate to this so much”. The book immediately dives into the premises of the book and follows Millie on her journey after all her secret email drafts are sent out. Lia Louis created such great characters that you could not help but fall in love with the story. Cate and Ralph deserve the best friend of the year award. Also, Jack deserves praise for being the most forgiving by helping Millie go through all her mental processing after the emails were sent out. I honestly found it hard not to put this book down that I finished it within one day! Although there is romance in the book, it is definitely not the main focus. I would say the focus is more on Millie’s journey in finding a solution for the email debacle and finding herself. I think as a people pleaser, I understood Millie’s reasoning for wanting to find a fix for everything that she said in her email. There were some instances where it felt like there was too much information that made the book a little slower. Overall, I enjoyed this read and would recommend it!

#BetterLeftUnsent #NetGalley

3.5 rounded down. I found this to be an enjoyable quick read! Maybe not the most memorable but still enjoyable time spent. There’s a decent amount of content here outside of the romance. I like the accidentally sent email premise. Very To All the Boys but with more adult repercussions. I think the best part about reading a British romcom is how often you can really picture them as a British romcom movie. I could fully picture this as a movie and bet it would be a lot of fun.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this arc.

In Lia Louis' witty and heartfelt debut novel, "Better Left Unsent," we meet Millie Chandler, a thirty-year-old receptionist who has sworn off relationships after a public heartbreak two years ago. To protect herself, Millie keeps everything to herself, including her feelings, truths, and dreams. However, Millie has a secret habit: she writes emails—sarcastic replies to her rude boss, hard truths to her friends, and a heartfelt love declaration to her ex, who is now engaged to someone else. These emails live safely in her drafts, but after a server outage at work, Millie wakes up to discover that all her emails have been sent. The story unfolds as Millie navigates the chaos caused by her accidental email exposure. She must confront the truths she's been hiding, face the consequences of her words, and repair damaged relationships. Millie's journey is both hilarious and heartwarming as she learns to embrace vulnerability, forgive herself, and open her heart to love again. Louis' writing is sharp and engaging, bringing Millie's character to life with authenticity and humor. She delves into the complexities of human relationships, exploring themes of self-protection, forgiveness, and the courage to be true to oneself. The supporting characters are also well-developed, each with their own unique quirks and struggles. "Better Left Unsent" is a refreshing and relatable story about the power of communication, the importance of honesty, and the transformative nature of forgiveness. Millie's journey will resonate with readers of all ages, leaving them with a sense of hope and a renewed appreciation for the beauty of human connection.

I adore Lia Louis. “Dear Emma Blue” is one of my favorite novels. I am always excited for a chance to review her latest works. Hence, when I got a request to review “Better Left Unsaid,” I was absolutely thrilled.

We all have letters and emails we write but never send, but for Millie, her draft folder is emptied when those emails end up in the intended recipients’ inboxes. As you can imagine, Millie has a lot of apologizing to do, yet reaching out to those she may have insulted forces Millie to move forward in a way she hasn’t for a handful of years.

Lia Louis’s novels always center around such memorable characters that you cannot help but root for. While Millie is perhaps not my favorite of Louis’s heroines, I related to her a lot, especially about being stuck and unable to move forward. I also loved some of the other people in Millie’s world such as Cate, Ralph and Jack. Unfortunately, parts of the book were slow but the novel overall enjoyable.

If you’re a fan of Lia Louis’s earlier novels, you’re still going to enjoy this story.

My thanks to the publisher, Lia Louis and Net Galley for this lovely book.

Entertaining and engaging. A recommended purchase for collections where romance and lighter women's fic is popular.

I adored this book! It was such a quick, easy and cute RomCom read. I truly enjoyed Millie as a character. I enjoyed her journey to finding herself and her growth. I was in a reading slump prior to reading this and I definitely snapped out of it after this.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this arc.

This was a DNF for me, only because i requested it do the description but wasn’t aware that there was emotional abuse which is triggering and not books I read.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to give my honest opinion

The book was cute and started off in the thick of the drama. I love the premise of the story especially since we live is such a tech focused world. Any of our thoughts could be accidentally sent .. this was fun and I was cheering her on.