BOOK REVIEW: To Sir, with Love by Lauren Layne

To Sir, with Love by Lauren Layne
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Perpetually cheerful and eager to please, Gracie Cooper strives to make the best out of every situation. So when her father dies just months after a lung cancer diagnosis, she sets aside her dreams of pursuing her passion for art to take over his Midtown Manhattan champagne shop. She soon finds out that the store’s profit margins are being squeezed perilously tight, and complicating matters further, a giant corporation headed by the impossibly handsome, but irritatingly arrogant Sebastian Andrews is proposing a buyout. But Gracie can’t bear the thought of throwing away her father’s dream like she did her own.

Overwhelmed and not wanting to admit to her friends or family that she’s having second thoughts about the shop, Gracie seeks advice and solace from someone she’s never met—the faceless “Sir”, with whom she connected on a blind dating app where matches get to know each other through messages and common interests before exchanging real names or photos.

But although Gracie finds herself slowly falling for Sir online, she has no idea she’s already met him in real life…and they can’t stand each other.

Review:

To Sir With Love was an adorable romance story that warmed my heart.  I wasn’t even halfway through the first chapter and couldn’t stop smiling!  If you love romance that gives you all the feels and has the most wonderful HEA, then this is your book!

Life feels most real when I’m writing to you, when I see your screen name in my in-box. I don’t know your name. Your face. Your age. But I have the sense I know you. And that you know me too, in a way perhaps nobody else does.

Gracie Cooper continued her dad’s legacy by running the family champagne shop.  Even though it wasn’t her dream in life, her true passion was painting.  Gracie was trying to keep the shop in the black, and it seemed like she wasn’t truly living.  Well, except for when she was messaging with Sir.  Sir was someone she met through an online dating app.  They had no clue what each looked like, but they clicked so well.  And with each message that was sent back and forth, Gracie fell that much harder for Sir.

Sebastian nods slowly. “I get that too. It’s not high school territory. It’s human territory. Nobody wants to learn they’re the only one feeling things.”
Our eyes lock for a moment that feels . . . important, somehow.
We both look away.

Sebastian Andrews met Gracie randomly and there was something between them.  But he ended up being the man who wanted to buy out Gracie’s shop lease and he seemed to have a beautiful girlfriend.  Gracie refused Sebastian’s offers, time and again and I loved the animosity that seemed to be between them.  And while Gracie didn’t like what Sebastian stood for, she couldn’t deny there was chemistry, passion and heat between them.  No matter how much she didn’t want it to be there.

“You ever feel completely convinced you’re supposed to be with someone but have no idea how to go about it?”
“Actually. Yes. Twice,” he admits. “You?”
“Yeah.” My voice is quiet now, nearly a whisper. “Twice.”
His eyes darken in what seems to be irritation or . . . jealousy?

Gracie was lovable, thoughtful, caring and I was just as confused about what to do as she was.  Because the more time Gracie spent around Sebastian, she realized he did have a heart.  He did care.  He also listened and showed up at her shop’s events.  And it didn’t matter that Gracie tried to not like him, there was that attraction between them that felt like a flame being fanned into an inferno.  But then there was also Sir.  Seeing the messages they sent back and forth made my heart so happy and I was slowly falling in love too.  Their messages were fun, flirty and as the story unfolded, they shared some of their secrets and most intimate thoughts with one another.

“Why?”I ask softly. “Why did you tell me to pursue the other guy?”
He steps closer, lifting a hand to rest his fingertips lightly against my cheek. “Because you said you loved him. Because you deserve your fairy-tale ending. And because I’d do anything for you, Gracie Cooper. Even if it means letting you go.”

This story was rounded out with side characters that felt just as real as Gracie, Sebastian and Sir.  May, Gracie’s siblings and friends, to even the short moment we were with Sebastian’s parents oh my heart.  I loved them all!  But at the base of the story was Gracie and I was so unsure which path she should take.  Sir or Sebastian.  With butterflies, jealousy, flirting, friendship and the starting of so much more, I was obsessed.  This story not only made me cry a few times, but one of those moments I was laughing while tears were falling down my face.  I loved this story so much!

“It’s you,” I say softly. “It’s always been you.”
“Yes.” He whispers it, his hand lifting toward my face, hesitating. Then, very gently, he sets his fingers to my cheek, his thumb catching a tear I didn’t realize had fallen. “Yes.”

This modern day twist on You’ve Got Mail was addictive, charming, romantic and so much fun!  And I have to let you know that I went into this story completely blind, its LL so I know I’ll love her books.  I’m so glad I did because the last sentence in the synopsis gives away something and I’m beyond thankful I was oblivious, it made the story that much more fun!  Heads up that this isn’t one of LL’s sexy stories, but for me I didn’t even need that at all!  So if you’re a fan of adult romance that makes you smile, laugh and possibly even cry, then you definitely need this book in your life! 

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