Cute quick read. I enjoyed the settings for the book and felt like it was easy to connect with the characters. It isn’t very romance heavy and does have a lot of subplot.
The book did feel a bit slow at some points. The ending was great and I loved seeing not only a glimpse into the future of the main love interests but the side characters as well.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Have you ever been afraid to tell someone exactly what you think? How many times have you typed a text only to delete it before sending? Millie's worst nightmare comes true when all of her unsent thoughts are sent out via email and chaos ensues. An ex she thought was lost comes to the surface again, a friend ghosts her and even her own family is at odds. When an office crush offers support, Millie isn't sure which way is up and which way is down.

Better Left Unsent is a relatable journey that will have you covering your eyes and routing for a happily ever after. Can Millie get out of her own way to live the life she wants, or will she let everyone else dictate her path? Highly recommend this quick read that will bring a smile to your face.

Very cute story about a woman who is trying to survive a breakup with a coworker and watching him get engaged to another coworker. When her draft email "accidentally" get sent, chaos ensues.

I did take a great lesson away from this book --- DO NOT PUT THE EMAIL ADDRESS IN A DRAFT EMAIL BECAUSE IT WILL PROBABLY GET SENT.

I loved the premise of this story and even the overall story line was great. Millie's folder of draft emails that she keeps like a diary is unintentionally sent out during what the company suspects is a glitch of some kind. Causing a stir or even a broken engagement is never what she intended and she goes on the path to right her perceived wrong, but at least some of her emails weren't sent or so she thinks.

It was very much an adult version of to all the boys I loved before but it fell a little flat with me. I didn't love Jack overall and I think she spent so much time trying to right a wrong that wasn't her fault at all.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I love q good rom com. This one satiated that want. It's a fun beach read.

This book! I love how we start off right in the thick of the action. This felt very much like a romance novel but the author did such a great job of weaving in so many story lines and other characters. The world felt so real and I couldn't put it down. Definitely recommend this one!

Thank you to NetGalley for a digital ARC of Better Left Unsent.

Unfortunately, I couldn't finish this one. The premise of the plot excited me, but I feel like the whole time the MC was whining about her emails being sent out. She was a little unsufferable and I couldn't move past my annoyance and read on. The paragraphs were also too long for me to get a breather. I've heard great things about the author, so I"m sure it's just our styles don't align.

4.25⭐️
Spice Level: 0🌶️/5

I really hope people pick this book up this year because the writing and storytelling by Lia Louis here is phenomenal. I believe fans of Christina Lauren and Emily Henry would enjoy this!! No spice, this is the perfect book to read between series, heavy/emotional books or as a palette cleanser.

Off the bat, this book had me giggling. Our mc, Millie is relatable and doesn’t feel like a made up character, her reactions feel raw and honest. Lia Louis wrote banter so well in this novel. I truly love her writing, funny and charming! This book follows Millie as she navigates the consequences of her 107 work email drafts- full of personal confessions, snarky comebacks and a whole lot of drama, that she’s written over the span of almost 5 years working as secretary in her company- being sent unexpectedly. She is faced with a past boyfriend, a newfound hero/workplace romance, friendship quarrels/resolve, family changes and lots of growth all surmounted by these emails. Such a fun time, and a slow burn, believable, heartwarming romance with no spice needed to get me kicking my feet!

ALSO I don’t love pop culture references in books but it is tastefully done here— they are LOVE ISLAND references that I oh so appreciated— considering they work in the film industry, it’s inevitable to be brought into the story (could have done without the tiktok thing but that’s just me, only around 5-10 pop culture references total I believe)

This was surprisingly so good, the characters and background stories were written so well, I felt like I was in a tv-show. There were lots of side characters but Lia knows how to write with purpose and make keeping up easy enough and quite enjoyable. The writing felt well edited and easy to read. Every time I felt the plot was slowing down, a new conflict or resolution was introduced that excelled the story. My ADHD appreciated this. It flew by for me, with the mixed media style writing (emails, texts) and fast introductions to conflict, it’s an easy read. I did not want this to end! I was attached to all characters in the office and in Millie’s personal life. I will think about this book in the future for sure.

I hope Lia Louis considers writing an interconnected standalone for the newfound romance within our side characters. They may have been my favorites in the story🥹

Thank you to Netgalley for an early copy of this novel, I am so grateful for this read!!!

Truly, and without reservation, I can say this deserves a full five stars. Reading a book like this, from an author I’ve never read before, feels sort of like discovering something precious - a treasure. I was hooked on the premise alone, but then the writing! The emotional journey! The chemistry!

The chief complaints I’ve seen in other reviews aren’t inaccurate, though perhaps misguided - if you come into this expecting a rom-com novel, with the pacing and lack of emotional levity most rom-com novels bring, you might be confused or disappointed. I would say this reads more like contemporary women’s lit vs. a true romance novel - the story between Jack & Millie is lovely, but there is a significant amount of plot devoted to the emotional fallout of Millie’s email mishap. Self-discovery with a side of closed-door romance, if you will. If you’re a fan of Mhairi McFarlane or Beth O’Leary, this should be right up your alley.

I can’t say enough good things about this book. I was sad that it ended; sad that I’ll never be able to read it again for the first time.

Thanks so much to NetGalley for this advanced reader copy. I can’t wait to read more from this author.

A fun, relatable rom-com with an endearing protagonist. This story delivers laughs and a lot of heart.

I enjoy a classic British romcom, which this book really reminded me of, but I struggled to really connect with the character or truly believe the plot. Therefore i struggled to get into the story and ended up not finishing it. Thank you for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

I received an ARC of this book, thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley.

I think many of us have heard the advice to help work through our own thoughts and feelings by writing letters/emails to people that we never intend to send. I've done it myself. So the premise of this book is very, very clever - what if you'd been taking this advice quite often, and wrote over 100 emails that you didn't send, except that one day, they actually were sent? What a nightmare! Of course, it hinges on the idea that Millie was dumb enough to go ahead and put the person's email address in the "to" field, which makes sense when she's replying to someone, but less when the email is not a reply. But without her making that dumb move, there's a lot less plot, so it's fine, we'll roll with it.

I really enjoyed reading what happened next, as it's not just about what happens when you're totally honest with other people about their behavior and the ways they're hurting you or others, but also what happens when you're honest about who you really are. And then there was this snowballing effect, where certain truths unearthed more truths from the recipients, and some people hated and vilified Millie, while others cheered for her, and she had to decide which of those reactions were actually warranted. She also eventually had to dig even deeper and consider possible truths that were not in those emails because she hadn't even admitted them to herself.

My only real quibble was with the love story, which was rushed. This is very common in romances, but I still don't love it. It was a perfectly good love story, the two just had very little time actually getting to know each other before it was declared love. On a happier note, there's a side plot love story that's really sweet and cute.

All in all, I really enjoyed this. It was mostly a light read, but smart enough to give me food for thought, as I considered some of the things I say to people in my head or even in my own unsent letters, and what would happen if I actually said them.

Absolutely LOVED. Lia Louis’ books are always wonderful but this was a favorite. I loved Millie and the story and just everything about it. This book has it all. Romance, comedy, self discovery, even a bit of mystery. Read it!!

Millie Chandler, the sweet but sad receptionist at Flye wakes up to what she deems a life shattering mishap, where ALL of her private email drafts are sent. The worst part of it? They were never meant to be read, especially not by the recipients. The modern day equivalent of your diary being passed around the school or office. These emails set off a chain of exposed secrets between her family, friends & coworkers. The biggest blow is the response to her ex’s engagement announcement (in which she sent to the entire staff of Flye). When the wedding is called off, Millie decides to make it her mission to get Chloe & Owen back together & down the aisle.

While this wasn’t the emotional & heartbreaking story I’m used to from Lia Louis (I’m looking at you 8 Perfect Hours & The Key To My Heart), I really enjoyed this book. It did seem a bit long at times and there were parts I didn’t think were necessary until the ending where I found all of them to be necessary to Millie’s journey.

I loved the development of the relationship between Millie & Jack. I didn’t find it to be your standard romance story. There were times where Millie made ridiculous choices (hello, night of Jack’s farewell drinks) & the way he reacted made me like his character even more. He possessed the qualities you’d look for in a mature partner. Did anyone else get Big from SATC vibes when Millie got the full inbox of emails from him?!

I also really enjoyed many of the other relationships in Millie’s life. Her friendships with Cate & Ralph seemed so genuine. The way they rallied around her (even with the emails blowing up Cate’s own personal life) was truly special.

I truly enjoyed this book. Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Publishing & Lia Louis for the opportunity to read this ahead of its May 2024 release!

I hate to say this but I dnf at 66%. I was hoping to love this story. It had a lot of potential, but the story was just really slow. I was hoping the relationship would have hit sooner or something else would have happened sooner. I also hate that it started to get repetitive as you got closer to the end. I hope others like this book but it wasn't for me and this was my opinion. Thank you to netgalley, the author and the publisher for allowing me to read this in advance.

I really loved the characters in this book. The concept was original and well done. I didn’t love how slow the story progressed. By the end I found myself struggling through the paragraphs of repeated reflections from the main character.

"Because while we're in the shade, we know the light will come eventually if we just wait a little longer."

Another amazing novel by Lia Louis! While this one reads more like adult fiction than a romance, I believe you'll fall in love with Mille, her friends, Cara and Ralph, the relationship she has with her parents, and of course, Jack. Helllloooo, Jack. Highly recommend.

Thank you, NetGalley and Atria Books for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rounding up to 4 stars because how cute this book is. The flirting, the friendships. I was really stressed this week and whenever I needed a distraction, I turned to this book, and for that I'm grateful.

I didn't ever feel very engaged by this book (and I wasn't able to get through her most popular one, Dear Emmie Blue) so I think she's just not an author for me.

Better Left Unsent is such a wonderful, sweet romance. Millie is completely relatable as a receptionist who writes email drafts (with no intention of sending them) to let out all of her frustrations. When those emails accidentally (maybe?) get sent out, her entire world is turned upside down and it forces her (and her email recipients) to take a good look at the choices they have made. Jack is an absolutely swoon-worthy leading romantic interest. I will never look at rhubarb the same again!
All-in-all, this is a fantastic read that is sure to bring a smile to your face!