I wanted to like this book. It really seemed like something that would fall neatly into my wheelhouse. Unfortunately, it really did not connect with me at all. I put it down intending to pick it back up at a later date, but all attempts have resulted in me putting it back down again. In the end, this will be a DNF for me.

I sincerely appreciate the opportunity to read and review. This one just wasn't my cuppa.

Emails are the way to the heart and in this case, they are the way to spilling your emotions and how you feel this is it this is iconic and I loved it.

Thank you @Atriabooks for the digital ARC of Better Left Unsent. In this book, Millie uses her draft emails like a personal diary, writing all the things she'd like to say but never actually would. One night, after a power outage, all her draft emails are sent and some pretty harsh words are sent out into the world. Also in those emails is a love letter to her ex who is now engaged. As you can imagine, Millie is horrified and begins to try to fix things with her colleagues and friends. While Millie is trying to figure out how to recuperate from this experience, someone suggests that maybe those drafts being sent was not an accident.
I thought this book was cute but not overly exciting. What kept me reading was wanting to know the truth about the emails being sent. The romance was fun, but not the main plot of the story. Millie's growth and personal development is the focus and I just didn't have enough of a connection with her. I didn't feel as emotional while reading this story like I have with past Lia Louis books. It's funny and light and serves as a great book to read between some heavier books.
3.5 rounded up to 4

Millie has a habit of writing emails to people when her emotions get the better of her. Emails that are sarcastic responses, hard truths, regrets and love declarations. These emails aren’t going anywhere but her draft folder and are for her eyes only. That is until there’s a server outage at work and her emails have been sent out! Each and every one of them. Millie is now working overtime to fix the chaos she’s created and we get to go along on the journey! Louis has a charming writing style bringing her characters to life on the page. In Better Left Unsent she brings us a heart warming tale filled with witty banter, laugh out loud moments and an unforgettable character in Millie. This is one you won’t want to miss! Thank you to Atria and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

We all have had things we have wanted to say to our coworkers, friends, and others, but naturally we keep these thoughts inside (usually right?). What would happen if you made draft emails of all the things you wanted to say, like writing letters that would never see the light of day, but then one day they were sent...

This entire novel is so cute, modern day love letters/hate mail being sent, and the amazing growth of majority of the characters in this novel.

You will have a love hate relationship with so many of them. Have NOOOOO moments, and possibly cry a little.

This is such a great light read perfect for this summers beach reads or book clubs.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for my DRC!

Millie Chandler’s life is thrown upside down when emails she saved as drafts, written to friends, coworkers and family, are sent out by either error or by someone else. All her thoughts and feelings that she had been holding in were now out for all to see. Feeling guilty as the impact of some of the emails caused disruption in the lives of her parents and her ex, Millie tries to make it up to those she hurt. Enter Jack, a love interest who tries to convince Millie to care less about what others want and think. I enjoyed the book, mixed with humor and self awareness, and recommend it. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to the author and the publisher for my copy!

I have read the last 2 books Louis has written and enjoyed them all. Like those books, this one has more depth than I was anticipating.

Over the years, Millie has used her draft emails to write to family, friends, and colleagues about how she really feels. Calling out nasty behavior on her boss, telling a colleague he's attractive, and telling her BFF that her boyfriend is abusive are all things she has drafted but never sent. This purging of emotions worked out great until an apparent glitch in the IT system happens and Millie's emails get sent. Mortified, Millie must face the music from all the people who found out how she really felt. But she soon discovers that maybe it wasn't a bad thing after all.

I felt so awful for Millie so many times in the book. How embarrassing it would be to have to deal with the fall out. But I also admired her courage and strength especially when things get rough with her loved ones. I did feel like the middle dragged on a bit and the interactions with her ex didn't advance her growing relationship with Jack. But I loved Millie's roommate, Ralph, a lot and I liked the Epilogue too.

This was a great plot! I loved all the emails sent back and forth. The two main characters had a funny and sweet relationship. A great rom com!

The premise of this book had me hooked! I have thought about this concept before, as someone who has sent the wrong text out to the wrong person multiple times in my life. Now, although I do believe this would be terrible and overall very embarrassing, I don’t think I would let it control my life quite like Millie did. Would it be bad to have your ex see your love proclamation? Yes. But it would also be easy to say it was written in the past and move on. Which was not something Millie was able to do.

I wanted to feel more of a connection Jack and Millie, but I found that her mindset made it difficult to do that. Although she tried to find the bright side of things, she never truly let herself? Not sure how to word that. She WANTED to get over it and be optimistic but she also chose not to be.

Anyways, I will definitely be reading more from this author, but I don’t think I will necessarily recommend this one to others.

I appreciated how many intricate emotional components were able to be unpacked in a plot surrounding a really unfortunate series of events. I felt like the storyline was relatively realistic and I enjoyed the character development that allowed the reader to journey with the main character as the complexities unfolded.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to receive this book for an honest review.


I found this book to be a fun quirky book and enjoyed reading.

It is an easy quick read if you are looking for something to read by the pool or beach.

What a funny premise! Can you IMAGINE if all of your rage emails got sent out by mistake?! The secondhand embarrassment from Millie’s email snafu was so cringe. Over time, I was hoping she would take Jack’s advice and just move on, but sadly, Millie just kept harping on her mistakes (and pining for her douche ex, Owen). I felt minimal chemistry between Millie and Jack, although they had some great moments, like the fancy dress party and the treehouse! Unfortunately, they were too slow moving for my liking. I was rooting more for Cate and Ralph! Those two side characters were phenomenal.

Overall, an interesting premise, but much like a Curb Your Enthusiasm episode, the schtick went on for too long and I just wanted to be done with it.

Better Left Unsent had a premise that I found intriguing due to the awkwardness and embarrassment I was sure would ensue. When Millie’s draft emails, which she uses as a way to release her true thoughts, are sent to the people she is venting about, she has to deal with the consequences of those thoughts being out in the open. I am a fan of Lia Louis’s previous books, but I never felt fully connected with this one. The embarrassment around the emails felt juvenile and brought me back to middle school. I didn’t really buy into the connection between Millie and Jack, and honestly was the most invested in her friend Kate and Roger. Overall, this was just okay for me, but I will check out Louis’ work in the future. Thank you Atria/Emily Bestler Books for the copy through NetGalley in exchange for a review.

I really enjoyed reading this contemporary romance by Lia Louis! I’ve read Eight Perfect Hours by her last year in December with my book club and everyone enjoyed it, so I’m happy I got an eARC for her new release! I loved this one more, I liked getting more of out of the characters and the interactions between the two main characters with this story.

I felt swooned whenever Millie and Jack bumped into each other - it was just super cute throughout the book! I enjoyed the pacing, I was invested the whole way through. I thought the writing of Owen was very on point. I could envision the character as a real person, and the author did a great job integrating his character flaws and personality in to make it believable to the reader. I’m sure many readers could relate to Millie (the main character) and her bad relationship. I enjoyed the book I think in part too because I’m the same age as Millie. I thought the author did a good job making her characters act their ages so I was immersed in the book.

I will say there is some parts that didn’t make sense that I had to look past. For example, how could they know that there would be one email about that subject that would benefit them? Another thing was the website that was created and that was merely a book mention - it didn’t need to be in the story and it didn’t make sense logistically in how the characters were wanting it to be used. Because if you are sending an anonymous email to someone, you’ll probably want to say something specific that will expose who you are to that person anyways, making it not anonymous. The speech at the Christmas party was so long and intimate that it felt awkward to do it so publicly considering planned to do it without person there.

All in all I enjoyed the story. I liked the two main characters and believed in their romance. It was SO CUTE! I loved the ending it was SO SWEET! It gave it kinda a shift to male POV through that choice and I thought it was the perfect end to the story. The title fits the story so wonderfully. Would definitely recommend this book to others! Also would be a perfect intro romance book to teens as well.

Thank you Atria Books (Atria/Emily Bestler Books) and NetGalley for an eARC!

This book was just okay for me. I liked the idea of the story. Having all the emails you never meant to send, send out? It’s a very eventful idea that many possible things could come from.

However the main character I don’t think was for me. It’s not a critique on her as a whole just her for me as a reader. Her “voice” was annoying but I still liked the story well enough.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book a lot. It was a fun book!

Really enjoyed this cute read! Very funny, engaging, and I wanted to keep reading. It's set in autumn and winter and is very British! Recommend for a light, cozy read under a blanket.

This was my first Lia Louis novel, and I'm sad to say it wasn't a hit for me. I couldn't really connect with the story very well and the writing felt a little "off" to me. That being said, I do think we will have some patrons who will still like it, so we will add a copy to the collection. Thank you.

I love Lia Louis' other work but this one was a bit of a drag for me :( I DNFed at like 40%. I will try her next one as I have loved many of her books!

Okay, I loved how relatable, albeit really insecure Millie is, and I thought the book was laugh out loud funny at points… I love Jack and Cate and seeing their relationships grow deeper. But all that to say… it was slowwww. I’m talking, I’m 75% in and there’s been a lot of build up, and I know how much the characters like each other because we’re talking about it all the time, but nothings happened. A few kisses, a sweet date, and that’s been it. It’s just not what I was expecting