Just imagine using your email drafts as a journal where you can jot down your honest thoughts and save them for later. Now, picture your entire draft folder accidentally being sent out due to a computer glitch, including all your personal and professional thoughts. This is what happened to Millie Chandler and it has turned her life upside down, especially since her true feelings about her old crush's engagement announcement were revealed. Ohhhh my!!

Such a sweet read that made me think about my true feelings and what my actual response is! When you think about it it's crazy how far apart they truly are! I loved every page of this 5 star book and think this will be a rom-com fan favorite! I loved Millie’s journey and the twists and turns that resulted from the most embarrassing event in her life!

This was such a cute love story. You can’t help but root for Millie and Jack. They are brought together in an unconventional way and there are hurdles in their path but it was a fun ride. Definitely recommend if you’re looking for a feel good romance!

Another lovely read from Lia Louis! I so enjoyed this new work. One minor flaw for me was the main character, Millie, was irritatingly timid, and so many times I caught myself thinking, “Come on, already!” Otherwise, this story was a great escape. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this book. Definitely not my favorite one by this author. I really liked the premise behind it and the emails but the book after the beginning fell a little flat for me. There were a lot of characters that I didn't like or were just ok. I did like Jack a lot and some of the banter between them but their relationship also annoyed me at times. Overall it was just ok and I'd recommend some of the other books by this author first.

Thank you again to NetGalley and Atria Books for a chance to read and review an advanced copy of this book!

Better Left Unsent is another warm and cozy read written by Lia Louis. The story follows Millie Chandler’s ultimate nightmare of finding out that her personal thoughts, written as draft emails, were mistakenly sent out as a result of a server outage at work. As Millie attempts to navigate feeling absolutely humiliated at work, a new crush helps her find her footing while her ex manipulatively reinserts himself into her life. With all the chaos surrounding her, Millie is able to filter through her endless analyzing ways and speak up when it matters most.

Lia Louis’ latest work was lovely read from beginning to end. I truly enjoyed all the support Millie had from the secondary characters and the chemistry between her and Jackie was swoon-worthy! I highly recommend for readers that enjoy her previous works!

I’m not sure where to start with this review? I’ve loved previous book by this author and had high hopes for this one. Maybe my hopes were too high?

The premise of this book is unique and it was a charming story. However, I struggled with Millie, the protagonist. She was such a mess! And it was frustrating how much she got in her own way and failed.

Four stars rounded up and for the epilogue.

Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for an ARC. All opinions are my own.

No surprise I loved it.

This is a cozy, at times heartbreaking, and charming story. Millie is a bit stuck in her life. Her temp job was meant to be a stopgap until she figured out her next step, but 5 years later she's still there. And after a difficult breakup, she's been unable to get herself unstuck. When she discovers all her e-mail drafts – drafts to colleagues, friends, and family members that she had no intention of ever sending – have indeed been sent out, it jostles her life in ways she would have never anticipated.

I don't know if it is just reading the right book at the right time, or a unique connection I have with Lia Louis's novels, but I have found so much comfort in her characters and their stories. I had a similar experience when reading my first Lia Louis book, Dear Emmie Blue, as I did with Better Left Unsent in that I found so much to connect with as well as nuggets of wisdom to cull.

It's one of those stories I wish I could live inside. The comforting town, the close friendships, the supportive relationships. It may not be some high-flying fantasy novel or grand adventure story, but it's a book with characters that feel real. They feel like they could be my friends or family or even myself. And I think that's what draws me to it, to stories like it, so much. That these characters are just like us. Millie could be any of us, could be me. And if she can find a way to make her life reflect herself, her true self, then each of us can too.

3.5 ⭐️

I really loved the characters in this book. The concept was original and well done. I didn’t love the pop culture references or how slow the story progressed. By the end I was dragging a bit to finish the book, despite enjoying the premise, characters, and conclusion. I found myself struggling through the paragraphs of repeated reflections from the main character.

Overall I enjoyed the characters and plot, if not the reflections and specific modern references. I particularly loved the MCs friends and the main love interest.

Thanks so much to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book!

I wanted to love this one but it just felt a little unbelievable from the start. Who would do that??? The romance was cute though, and the character growth was good. It was chaotic but fun. It’s a good, quick read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for the arc!
Pub date: 5/21/24

this book had so much promise. the idea of it sounds like it's definitely something that could happen to anyone and is a reminder that nothing done on the internet can stay a secret. it's not that it's a bad book, but something somewhere fell short. it felt repetitive and kind of dragged on a bit. in my opinion, it took too long for the story to get somewhere or indicate that something interesting was about to happen.

a part of me understood Millie's (FMC) panic. because honestly who can keep their composure and think rationally when their vent sessions in their email drafts get sent out to those it was directed to or about? so if the author's intention was to really show the main character's mental chatter and the chaos after the fact, then it did well on that. it just felt like a lot of that could have been conveyed 50 pages shorter.

again, it isn't a bad book. it was chaotic, cute, funny, and charming. but i'd say it's a 2.5/5 stars for me. just because some parts were a hit or miss. i know people who would enjoy this more than i did. it might be a good buddy read though, just because it would make for a good discussion about how everyone would handle the situation if they were in Millie's shoes or one of those who received the different emails.

thank you to NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read this book. i received this book as an ARC and leave this review voluntarily.

The actual set up of chapter 1 was so unprofessional and so cringe thatI just couldn’t get into it at all. Millie is a mess, and I don’t even understand how she had all this time to write these ridiculous draft emails that magically got sent in the server outage. I thought it was like a pining single email to a love interest, not a mass company email mess. Millie, please get a real diary. Everyone else, learn from Millie’s mistake.

I don’t understand who the target audience is for this one, but it feels like a three star average, four for the right readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book.

Millie writes up her feelings into emails and saves them as drafts. She never intends to send them until one day a server outage at work causes all her drafts to send. While I had a hard time connecting to Millie, I really enjoyed her growth as a character and how she had to confront all the things she’s said and the people she’s hurt in the process. I wouldn’t say the romance was the main focus of this book, but I still enjoyed it. The side characters Ralph and Cate were great!

Thanks so much to the author and NetGalley for the opportunity to early read this. I really liked her previous books and I did like this as well.

All in all this was a relatively solid book. Would I read this again? Yeah. Would I recommend it to others? Again, it’s probably a yes - with the caveat that it isn’t a romance, it’s about life.

I liked her writing, but this book didn’t jive with me. I didn’t relate to the characters or plot BUT it was written so well that I still understood the story. Thanks so much again for this early read!

A glitch at work causes all of Millie’s draft emails to be sent, all 107 of them. I had a hard time getting into this book. It had a lot of characters and it was a little hard to believe that someone would leave that many unsent emails that they didn’t want anyone to see. I did enjoy the romance part of it.

You know when people tell you when you’re really angry- write it in an email and then DON’T send it! Maybe instead, burn it and trash that draft.

Millie writes down her feelings in emails, but never sends them. It helps her deal with her feelings and more importantly no one gets hurt. She wakes up to find out all her drafts have been sent out and now everything she has tried to keep to herself is out in the open. Ugh! This is my biggest fear! BURN THOSE LETTERS… Leave no evidence.

The fallout as you can imagine is not great… but Millie is determined to make the best of it. What is worth saving and how does she confront her difficult truths and not so great lies.

Thank you to netgalley for the arc in exchange for a fair and honest review

Lia Louis’ previous books broke me because they were so emotional, heartbreakingly sad and so raw as well as real, and that is the reason Dear Emmie Blue will forever be tattooed on my heart. Eight Perfect Hours and The Key to My Heart both got to my emotions as well and pulled at my heartstrings. These are qualities I found missing from Better Left Unsent.

First I am going to write about some of the things I did like about the book. I liked the premise of the book, the idea of your draft folder being sent out by mistake, especially when it contains your deepest thoughts like a journal or a diary…you know the kinds of things you’d LIKE to say but can’t. This really isn’t a romance, it’s more about Millie finding herself and her voice, the romance is secondary to the plot but is still swoon worthy. I liked Millie and Jack together and there was definitely chemistry between them. The writing is solid and the book has many humourous moments that had me laughing out loud. I loved most of the side characters, especially Cate and Ralph. Millie had some amazing friends and support there.

What I wasn’t a fan of was how slow-going the book was, it seemed to drag and there was a lot of repetitiveness. Over and over again Millie tries to make up for the emails being sent, even though it isn’t her fault. Millie also seemed very immature for her age and I found some of her behaviour terribly frustrating at times. All that aside, Louis remains a favourite author and I would absolutely read more from her and I recommend all her other works unequivocally.

Millie saves replies to people in her drafts of what she would really like to say but doesnt. One night the server goes down and her drafts get SENT!

She has to face the people and a few of the relatives that she saved drafts to. Her drafts sent things into disarray. She never meant for them to see the emails. It was just a journal of sorts.

Did a server error happen or did someone do it??? Cute and quick read.

Millie is devastated to find out that her drafted emails that she used as a place to vent was mistakenly sent out to all of her contacts. It’s caused a huge mess within her personal and professional life, and she needs to find a way to move forward.

I really enjoyed the author’s previous book, The Key to My Heart, but this one fell a bit flat for me. I went into it expecting a romance, and though there is a romance storyline, it isn’t the focus. There are a lot of subplots and I found myself losing interest. However, I think the sweet ending redeemed the book a bit for me. If you enjoy women’s fiction with storylines about friendship, past relationships, and family drama, this book would be a great one to try.

Thank you to Lia Louis and Atria books for sending me this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I have read a few books by Lia Louis previously and enjoyed them. I enjoyed this one as well. It is a lighthearted romantic comedy with enough depth to make it interesting.

Millie is a receptionist and has been for 5 years, despite thinking it was just temporary. She's had her heart spectacularly broken and is living in limbo. That is until, she learns that all of her snarky and super honest emails that she had saved on her "drafts" with no intention of sending have been broadcast to the whole company. She is mortified about what people will read and it leads her on somewhat of a journey of self discovery. She leaves what she wants in life and in love and it's very sweet to read. Would recommend for sure! Thanks for the opportunity to review it!

Thanks to Atria and Net Galley for my advanced copy!

This book was a fun read! I loved the mystery aspect of Millie searching for who sent the emails. Lia Louis has such a way of weaving realistic characters with flaws and entire personalities inside these pages. The conclusion was the sweetest.