I really enjoyed this sweet British romance about how what seems like the worst thing to happen to us can actually lead to the best. Millie and Jack are adorable together. Lia Louis is becoming a new fave of mine.

I’ve been a Lia Louis fan since reading Eight Perfect Hours years ago. So when I got access to an arc of Better Left Unsent, I jumped at the opportunity to read this delightful book early. I loved the unique premise of this book and the cast of characters I got to meet as Millie navigated her worst nightmare becoming reality. I loved Millie! I could see myself in her hesitation and fear and loved watching her reclaim her story. Also Jack deserves all the heart eyes! 😍 (There’s this thing with a rhubarb farm that will live rent free in my mind for a long time to come…) There was some repetitiveness to the story, but overall it was a fun read that I thoroughly enjoyed.

*Thank you to Lia Louis, Netgalley, and Atria for an e-arc of this book. All opinions are my own.

Huge fan of Lia Louis' Dear Emmie Blue, so I was quite excited to read her newest offering. Admittedly there were a lot of characters so it took me a while before I could make sense of them all, but once I got the hang of it, the story flowed more easily. Love both Millie and Jack. Owen makes my blood boil. Really wish Millie had come to her senses WAY sooner than she had, but I guess that's part and parcel of this romance. All in all a solid good read.

Thank you Simon & Schuster, Lia Louis, and NetGalley for allowing me to read this eARC of Better Left Unsent!

The emotional journey that this wonderful story takes you on is something that is so personal and well crafted in a medium that allows you to enjoy the giddiness that it provides, while also slowly planting the seeds of the true message behind the story. While it is not your typical RomCom that many may think it potentially may be, it allows you to follow the unraveling effect of letting life happen and seeing where the current takes you; for better or for worse.

Our story takes off with Millie who is experiencing what one would easily label a horrific nightmare/stress dream. Coming into work on a regular day, to be pulled into a meeting with leadership, and finding out that all of her saved email drafts (professional and personal) were sent out overnight. Emails that should have never seen the light of day ranging from nonsense to snarky replies you so wish you could send to the colleagues that make you want to pull your hair out to the dreaded “reply all” to the whole company saying you still love your ex-boyfriend who works at the company and his now fiancée that, surprise, works there as well. Millie’s life that has been in a plateau for the past two years has now completly plummeted before lunch.

The reader now gets the luxury of watching someone gain resiliency, confidence, and care for themself by doing the most daunting task of making it through a terrible situation. You get to follow the journey of Millie not only witnessing the bomb that has imploded internally for her, but the ones she has set off in other peoples lives that she never intended.

Walking along side Millie as she navigates all of these hardships is an experience that leaves you growing yourself. Through watching everything unfold, while enjoying perks of funny moments, heart warming growth, and maybe a new and exciting relationship with the most attractive guy in the office, you get small kernels of wisdom and knowledge that reminds you that everyone is a forgivable human being and seeking the constant validation and acceptance of the masses may do you more harm than good.

Better Left Unsent provides the joys of romance, but sets you up to emotionally connect with these flawed characters and really absorb their lives and see the bigger picture. Going into this novel thinking it is your typical RomCom will leave you missing such imporant messages that can deeply impact you on multiple levels. I had such an enjoyable experience with this story and the ending really brought everything home for me. It is one of my favorite books that I have read this year so far!

This was very cute. I tend to really like British romance novels, and the messy heroine/guy who helps her get it together is a common one. I like the unique take on it, and Millie is very likeable. Some of the plot is ridiculous and there are parts of it that are SO British that it was hard for this American to follow (though that's okay) but overall, it was great. Solid 4 stars.

I received a free copy of the ARC from Netgalley in exchange for a review.

I enjoyed this book. Loved the chemistry between Millie and Jack. Owen sucked, a lot. My one peeve was that Millie took way too long to realize that she was better than that jerk. She didn’t listen to her friends and that went on too long, but sweet ending and I liked the emails back and forth being shared and what was sent out to everyone that caused the whole mess.

I breezed right through this book and absolutely LOVED it. I think it was such a cute and easy read. I can definitely see my patrons at the library loving this one too.

"So many ways to torpedo your career and your love life…So little time." What a delightful tale!

Two years ago, thirty-year-old receptionist Millie Chandler had her heart spectacularly broken in public. Ever since, she has been a closed book, vowing to keep everything to herself—her feelings, her truths, even her dreams—in an effort to protect herself from getting hurt again.

But Millie does write emails—sarcastic replies to her rude boss, hard truths to her friends, and of course, that one-thousand-word love declaration to her ex who is now engaged to someone else. The 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. Every. Single. One.

As every truth, lie, and secret she’s worked so hard to keep only to herself are catapulted out into the open, Millie must fix the chaos her words have caused, and face everything she’s ever swept under the carpet.

After all of her email drafts are mysteriously sent, Millie has to deal with the fallout of all her inner thoughts, frustrations, and desires being made known to the people she planned to tell.

This book was delightful. I adored Millie, her good friends, and JACK. I love that Jack gave Millie the push she needed to really remember who she is and what she wants in life. That treehouse scene will live rent free in my head for a long time!

Parts of this were repetitive and I wanted Millie to just let some things go, but I do love that she learns from her experiences and allows them to help her grow and find happiness.

*Strong language throughout, some innuendo

A big thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for my complimentary e-arc of this book. All opinions herel are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria/Emily Bestler Books for allowing me to read an ARC of Better Left Unsent by Lia Louis, in exchange for my honest review.

So many stars!

I loved this book! Start to finish, loved it! This story had just the right amount of everything; snark, wit, romance, heartbreak, and a little bit of whodunit.

I highly recommend picking this book up and finding a quiet place and plenty of time to read.

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC through NetGalley!

Overall, this was an enjoyable book. Millie files away her inner thoughts in her draft emails until the day they are accidentally sent out to all of her coworkers, friends and loved ones. I think this is a great storyline, but I did feel that her remorse over something that wasn’t her fault went on a bit long. When she did finally start to move on and live her life, I loved her interactions with her friends and romantic interest, Jack. I would recommend this book with a little patience in the middle.

So I really enjoyed the beginning and thought the premise was a good but after a few chapters I got pretty boring. I really struggled to make it through. Ultimately I decided not to finish the book.

I really enjoyed two other books by Lia Louis, “Dear Emmie Blue” and “The Key to My Heart”, so when I was offered a prepublication copy of her latest, I jumped at the chance. Better Left Unsent is the heartfelt tale of Millie Chandler and her journey to find herself. As the story opens, Millie, a 32-year-old receptionist, has just found out all of her email drafts have been “sent to all.” An event that could be extremely cringeworthy for any of us! Even worse, these emails are those that Milly has written to people who have hurt, offended, or otherwise dissed her. She never sends them; they go straight to the draft folder. This practice helps her blow off steam and better able to let go without confrontation. Can you imagine the consequences of these emails entering the real world??? Great premise.

I got bogged down in the earlier parts of the book. There are a LOT of characters, and I was forced to make liberal use of the Search button to get reminders as to who was who. I also felt there was just not much going. As I continued to read, however, and began to care about Millie, the pace picked up, the plot began to thicken, and I was hooked.

I loved quite a few of the characters and their relationships, including Millie, her landlord Ralph, her best friend Cate, her boss Petra, and her big boss Jack. There is a good deal of humor and a couple of nice twists that took me by surprise. The writing is authentic. The book finishes off with a nice epilogue (I love epilogues!!).

This story is a warm comfort read and fit the mood I was in when I picked it up. I look forward to the author’s other two books I have yet to read. I recommend Better Left Unsent to all looking for a lighter novel with realistic characters and a heartening, hopeful storyline.

I would like to thank Zakiya of Atria/Emily Bestler Books, Net Galley, and Ms. Lia Louis for the advanced copy. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way.

I really struggled getting into this book. It wasn't what I thought it would be, at all. I really thought the concept was a fun idea. However, I got a third of the way into the book and nothing had really happened. I chose to not finish it.

Millie Chandler responds to every email, saying exactly what's on her mind. And then she leaves those responses in her drafts. It's cathartic - a way to get everything out without actually saying any of it. Better left unsent, ya know?

But what would happen if those emails all were accidentally sent?

Well, Millie's about to find out!

This was a fun read! I loved the email exchanges and the responses to the sent emails that were sprinkled throughout. I'm a sucker for a multi-modal read!

Millie was a great character, although, at times, I wished she'd just let go of the mystery of how the emails were sent and focus on the actual benefits that their being sent caused. But she had to process it in her own way, and I support that.

Speaking of support, Millie had a great support system. At what she considered to be one of the darkest times in her life, her friends Cate, Ralph, and Petra rallied around her. It was an endearing sight to see.

Overall, a cute read about facing reality & speaking your truth (with a little side note of romance that I absolutely shipped!).

This was very sweet, if a little oddly paced.

The first 3 chapters are interesting and then the last 8 or 9 are interesting. The middle gets a little lost and feels like it’s trying to do too much.

It did get a tear out of me though in the final chapter! Millie & Jack were very sweet. I also enjoyed the best friends, Cate & Ralph, though they are part of what contributes to the odd pacing.

There is some messaging regarding recognizing emotionally abusive relationships and manipulative behavior that I felt was articulated well. Ultimately, this is a sweet story about owning your feelings and facing problems head on.

Thank you to NetGalley & Atria for the eARC!

I really liked this book! It felt like an important book in many ways - about honesty, about toxicity, about emotional abuse. But it also had a swoony factor, lovable characters, and some very funny scenes. I could see this being a great mini series on TV. Giving it 4 instead of 5 stars because the middle dragged a bit for me. But overall, great lessons learned, very romantic, and some unexpected twists that added depth.

As someone who has often written a first draft on an email to vent my frustrations before writing a more professional one, I can fully understand Millie’s horror when the drafts of her unsent emails somehow all get sent out. Millie’s first instinct may be to hide but instead she takes a little journey of self discovery. I liked Millie and found here relatable.in her uncertainty, I loved her best friend and her flatmate, disgusting sounding mushroom wine and all, The romance didn’t work as well for me as Jack seemed like an all together too perfect cardboard cutout. The ending was a bit silly as well. I liked Millie’s growth enough to round this up to 4 stars.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What a cute and original idea! I liked the tone, the setting, and most of the characters in this book. There were several positives to highlight and the “who done it” aspect I wasn’t expecting and was surprised to find out just whom and why it was. The main female character Millie seems to grow quite a bit after getting stuck and I think that’s where my biggest issue with the book lies. We didn’t get to see how stuck she was until she was finding herself and then the development of how she used to be seemed a bit convenient. Also the poor roommate, he didn’t seem to be appreciate by Millie not truly, most of the way along and it really bothered me from liking her. Overall I thought the idea was phenomenal, and most of the execution too. I haven’t read a Lia Louis before but I gladly would read another by them again. Thank you NetGalley for the chance to discovered this book.

Millie Chandler finds herself in a predicament she’s pretty sure no one has been in before. All her email drafts—written without the intent of ever sending them—have somehow been sent. Her complaints about her colleagues’ annoying habits, her anguish over her ex’s upcoming wedding announcement, her frustration with her friends— it’s all out there now. The only positive: the email sent to incredibly cute and interesting Jack Shurlock bounced back, keeping her crush on him a secret--for now. As Millie goes about trying to right the wrongs her technology error created, she starts to learn about how to live a little more in the now and to be who she is, even if it doesn’t please everyone else.

What I liked about Better Left Unsent:
I liked Millie. She’s a bit of a mess and very much in her own head sometimes, but it was easy to connect to her.
I liked the romance that grew between her and Jack. I especially liked it because you could see almost right away that he enjoyed being around her the most when she wasn’t trying to fit into the box others put her into. He sees her, and that is very apparent from the get-go. I’d take a Jack any day!
The ex-boyfriend is really a jerk. His jerkiness makes sense, but I wasn't prepared to have to deal with him quite so much, and although I didn't like that because I didn't like the character, it made sense to have to see him so much.
I appreciated how Millie handled things when the reason for the email glitch was discovered.
I loved how loyal her best friend is. Their friendship really was a bright star in this story.

What I wasn't really vibing with:
There are a lot of characters to keep track of, especially all the names of the people she works with. Some we see once or twice and don’t have too much of a role in moving things along, but others seem important. They pop up here or there with something poignant to say or provide a way for the plot to move forward, but enough time was spent with them that I’m expecting more than just a blip.
Along the same lines, her roommate, Ralph, is important in the beginning chapters, then fades into the background, only to reemerge in the last third as important.
Some of the problems for why she and Jack can’t be together seem contrived. Their argument at the end felt wrong and unbelievable for the characters.
The first third of the story feels slow. Too slow. I definitely wanted things to speed up a little more and get to the good part.

Overall:
Better Left Unsent is a lighthearted romantic comedy. It has lots of silly moments as well as lovely moments that make you hold your breath to see what happens next. The spice level is low, but I didn’t find myself wanting more. The amount worked well for the story. Millie and Jack are likable characters that you want to root for. It’s a sweet story with some funny moments that lighten the mood.