Saturday, July 31, 2021

Book Review: "To Sir, With Love" by Lauren Layne

No, it's not an adaptation of the classic late 1960s movie with Sidney Poitier. But Lauren Layne's new novel is an adorable, emotional rom-com that’s almost a modern-day take on You’ve Got Mail.

Gracie Cooper has always been a dreamer. But when her father dies, she puts aside her dreams of becoming an artist and begins running the family’s champagne shop. She isn’t prepared for how precarious the store’s financial position is, or just how time-consuming running a business can be, but she’s fulfilling her father’s wishes. Shouldn't that count for something?

She’s also a romantic—she’s always known exactly what her dream man will be like. But since he hasn’t materialized, she’s been finding herself increasingly drawn to a man she’s been corresponding with on a blind dating app, a man she only knows as “Sir.” She's never met him or exchanged photos or descriptions, so she doesn’t know what he looks like but she feels a connection through their banter.

One day she has a meet-cute with a handsome man—and soon after she realizes that he’s Sebastian Andrews, the arrogant businessman whose family’s company owns the building her shop is in. He wants to buy Gracie out so they can tear down the building and replace it with something more expensive. But Gracie is determined not to close the shop—even if it might ultimately be the best thing for her.

As her encounters with Sebastian make her vacillate between hatred and attraction, she realizes at the same time she’s falling head over heels for Sir, yet what if he’s not the person she thinks he is? Of course, she finds herself torn between a man she knows and one she doesn’t, but she has no idea just how much Sebastian and Sir have in common.

I’m a total sap; we’ve established this before, but I just loved To Sir, With Love. It’s sweet and funny and thought-provoking and emotional, even though I knew everything that was coming. I’d love to see Lauren Layne turn this into a series using some of the supporting characters, as she's done with other books!

No comments:

Post a Comment