I wanted to love this because the premise was so, so cute. Unfortunately it fell flat for me. I was glad to read to the end but it dragged a lot in the middle for me. While it's not my personal writing style, I can think of quite a few friends who do like this type of book to recommend it to now.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. I wanted to like this so much more than I did. The premise is cute but something happened with the execution. The story was too long with to many characters and at some point I stopped caring. 2.5 stars rounded up.

I’ve read all of this author’s books, courtesy of NetGalley. They have a certain charm, but also lack a certain depth. For instance, there are two characters in this book, her brother and her friend Alexis, who are continually mentioned but only ever appear right at the end. Similarly, there is a plot with her parents and her friend Cate that never feel fully fledged out. I’d rather have fewer characters/plot points that are deeply explored than a bunch of tertiary ones that make the story feel less deep.

In all, I know what the author was trying to do with the theme, and using emails as a way to propel that self discovery notion is definitely modern and relatable. This is a quick, easy read. A palette cleanser (especially as someone who now reads a lot of thrillers). Lia Louise’s books are good picks when you want something light, like putting on a 90-min movie you know will have a happy ending.

This was exactly the perfect book for me right now and I absolutely loved this warm, funny, and swoony story.

As someone who will often angrily type out email responses that I don’t send (before I safely delete them), the thought of having them sent out into the world is an actual nightmare. The main character here, Millie, lives out this nightmare when all of her inner thoughts, snarky comebacks, and honest truths get unleashed on her coworkers and loved ones. What this ends up being is the sort of the jolt Millie (and many of the email recipients) needs to reevaluate her life and figure out what she wants,

This was like being wrapped in a warm hug and I cannot recommend this more, especially for another that needs a little break from things and a reason to smile like an idiot.

Many thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

NetGalley ARC = 3.5 stars, rounded up
The premise was fun, a women that writes draft emails to say what she wants to say and how to respond with no intention of sending, has all of the emails sent. I liked the stories/resolutions of some of the lesser focused emails more than the main focus.

Wow. I was not expecting this book to really captivate me as easily or as much as it did! I could not put this one down!

This heroine was not relatable to me which is fine but I didn't understand or empathize with her either. I would rather focus on the romance and not the problems of her parents and her ex. It got annoying by the last two thirds of the book and the motivation behind the main antagonist was ridiculous.

I found the writing style to be a bit dry. She accidentally had all her draft emails sent out and panics about it.


DNF


********************I received an ARC from NetGalley for my honest opinion.**************************

Millie Chandler is living her life. She has come up with her way to deal with stresses in her life. Millie just drafts an email and never sends it. She has her little draft folder full of emails and it feel so good to put her feelings into words never to be seen by anyone. Until a "glitch" happens and her draft folder gets sent out to everyone. Now her personal rants to individuals are being read by everyone. How humiliating! Truthful but not exactly how Millie wanted the word to get out. Now she is struggling to make her relationships with people okay again. But there is always a silver lining.....Jack Shurlock, her yummy work crush.
Better Left Unsent by Lia Louis is a delightful, charming, laughable little treat! Lia writes the cutest little novels that genuinely make you happy. I have read several novels by Lia Louis and I have loved all of them. I would compare her writing and style to Sophie Kinsella. Chapters are of a nice length, writing is present time and easy to follow. I will always recommend Lia Louis to my fellow reading friends and will always look for work by Lia Louis. Special thanks to NetGalley, Lia Louis, Atria/Emily Bestler Books for the advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest opinion. 4 stars for me :)

Better Left Unsent by Lia Louis

5/5⭐️

Did I just find a new favourite author??? Wild horses could not have kept me away from this book… crying babies, however, could. It’s the only reason I had to put this book down.

Sweet, unsuspecting Millie has her life completely turned upside down when her drafts folder gets accidentally delivered… all 107 emails. Which Millie has been using as a pseudo therapeutic/venting outlet. So, from a mix of emails that start off as truly incomplete drafts, to calling out bigots, to confessing her love for her ex, chaos ensues. And I flipping loved it. It was so charming, yet also resonated with my people-pleasing tendencies that Millie suffers from as well.

I just want to curl up in Lia’s brain, because anyone who writes “You are cool, and I am a turnip” is my kind of person.

Hysterical, heartwarming, and sure to be a favourite for all!

Millie hates her job and has a bunch of things that she wants to say to people but doesn't. She channels everything in her email draft... Unfortunately, a server outage causes every single of the drafts to be sent. She has to deal with the consequences...

I love how she is forced to deal with all her truths and lies... She has grown so much in the book! Love the wit and fun...

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

This book had some fun moments and times when I rooted for the heroine and felt her horrification after having all of her emails distributed to the entire company. But the book didn't grab me like a lot of rom com books do, and I wasn't as invested in the story and the relationship of Millie and Jack. I'm not sure what it was with the story, since the subject was interesting and the main character was likeable. But there was something about the pacing of the book that was at times a bit slow for me. I still enjoyed the story and got my HEA.

This was so unexpectedly cute! To be clear, I usually expect amazingness from Lia Louis, but I did not expect how much quiet humor and voice would be packed into this little novel. Besides Emmie Blue, this is undoubtedly her best novel yet. It was just so real and well written and I loved the characters and the mystery unfolding of how her emails had gotten out and what shenanigans that would lead to. Beautiful.

I LOVED this book! It reminds me of Can You Keep A Secret? by Sophie Kinsella where the main character's secrets are revealed in one way or another and she has to deal with the fallout. Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books, Atria/Emily Bestler Books for a copy of this book for an honest review.

I absolutely loved the concept of this book. It's the modern day equivalent of a bully making copies of your diary and posting them all around school. How would you cope if all your inner most thoughts that you never planned to share were suddenly blasted to not only your coworkers, but the most important people in your life?

I truly enjoyed this story, the romance was cute but honestly I preferred the character growth and overall cast of characters to the love plot. Every book needs a Ralph. For that matter every human needs a Ralph.

This is my fourth Lia Louis, and y'all, I just love her. I love that her stories are based on unique circumstances that evolve into wonderful stories. That's what this was. Imagine if all those emails you write and never send actually got sent? That's Millie's life. There's the snarky ones, the ones confessing secrets, and the ones sharing true feelings, and over 100 of them that Millie has written are now in the inboxes of others. The story is then about Millie trying to apologize and explain. It's also about how relationships change, including romantic ones, when the truth is out. I liked how this explored a number of Millie's relationships were impacted, and I also liked that was some mystery baked in. Also, this was a very relatable tale. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me check out this one that I've been eagerly anticipating that's due out in May 2024. In the meantime, y'all should check out the author's other stuff!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Satisfying... very satisfying. That's what I kept thinking as I read this wonderful story. There's so much to like about it! I love how the reader sees the situation through the eyes of the main character, Millie, as her perspective changes over time. I totally loved Jack! I also loved Millie, Petra, and Cate! The dialogue was deliciously snarky, the plot was romantic and twisty turny, and the ending was very satisfying. I also enjoyed hating the baddies and the merely annoying. A great effort from Lia Louis! I can't wait to listen to the audiobook! This story is right up there with "Dear Emmie Blue" and "Eight Perfect Hours".

I actually was hovering between a 3 and a 4 after I read this book the first time but, after reading it a second time, it's definitely 4 stars!

Lots and lots of f-bombs. PG kissing.

i'm sorry i did not like this book. down-on-your-luck heroines are my least favorite type of FMC. i thought she was unbearable. this book was not for me.

Millie, girl, you should not be using your work email to draft/send personal messages. And if you are going to write a scathing and/or embarrassing email, you have to make sure you don’t type the address in the ‘to’ line!

As a fan of the author’s previous charming and delightful romances, I am sad to say this did not work for me. The premise is intriguing but also cringey. The central romance is sweet but I think the many side plots end up detracting from it (not all of the side plots seemed necessary though I did love Cate and Ralph!). Regarding Millie’s growth journey, I think we were supposed to view Millie as more assured and empowered by the end but I’m not sure she changed or self-reflected all that much.

All that said, kudos to Millie for continuing to go back to work (even if it is unlikely she does not face any repercussions) instead of starting a new life and never sending another email again.

Thank you very much to Atria Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

A delightful novel that explores what happens when our biggest secrets are exposed. Millie has found a way to cope with her broken heart and dead end job, she writes emails that she never plans to send. When they are unexplainably all sent, Millie’s faced with her private thoughts on public display. Between her confessions of love to her ex (now engaged), her parents, her best friends and random co-workers, no stone is left unturned. I loved Millie and her growing relationship with herself, her friends and her heart made for a book I could hardly put down. Better Left Unsent is sure to be one of my favorite books of 2024!

A sincere thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.