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.

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.