to sir, with love by lauren layne
5 out of 5 stars
1 out of 5 steam level
You should know, going into this review, that this was my 8th Lauren Layne. I randomly read a book of hers from my library and then went into a deep dive. So I was thrilled to get this book early from Gallery Books. This book is a spin on You’ve Got Mail. (If you’re a true YGM fan…which I am… you know that it was actually a spin on a previous movie starring Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullivan. Shop Around the Corner, anyone?) There were so many easter eggs for you’ve got mail. Gracie’s dog being named Cannoli? I mean, so great!
I was basically in love with the heroine. There’s so many things I could say about her, but I guess I’ll start by saying that I would 100% be friends with her irl. She had high expectations for her love life (some would say unrealistic), she worked hard, she tried to be generally nice, and she was quirky. I kept waiting for moments to mirror YGM perfectly- and the good news is that it is not an exact replica of the movie. This made it fun to continue reading, being pleasantly surprised as I turned the pages. Sebastian, our hero in the novel, was very likable as well. I think readers will be cheering for him.
The only thing I didn’t love about the book was the culmination of the assessment of the characters feelings (no spoilers) regarding irl vs online.
This is a low to no steam book. I think romance readers will love it as well as readers who are nervous to dip their toes into the world of romance.
while reading this book you should":
listen to: I’m a Fool to Want You by Frank Sinatra
watch: you’ve got mail
research: The 1973 Hungarian play Parfumerie by Miklos Laszlo