Reviews

Per My Last Email by Juliana Smith

bookishlifeofjess's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

This slow burn, office romance, friends-to-lovers was such a quick and adorable read! 

I loved the 3 friends, Layla, Luke & Nathan. The pranks at work were fun.

The ending 🥺🥺 I loved it. 

So excited for Nathan's story coming in the fall!! 

Thanks to the author and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. 


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amari_patel's review against another edition

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4.0

4⭐️

This was such a cute book! This book is a workplace, she falls first he falls harder book that followed Layla and Luke who both work at a publishing company. Luke has just got out of a long term relationship but after setting his eyes on Layla he becomes obsessed. Both Layla and Luke pine over each other until it all comes together in a work trip. This book was so adorable and both characters were so sweet and caring. Luke new everything about Layla and would go out of his way just to see her smile! I am obsessed with the nickname little one and wish someone would call me that. The playlist he made made my heart melt. Both of their roommates were so funny and amazing additions to the book! I really enjoyed this book! It was fun and lighthearted! Definitely recommend!

Favorite Quote:
“Whatever she wanted from me, she could have.” 

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

telsreadingjournal's review against another edition

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lighthearted slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

 Thank you netgalley for giving me this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

When I saw this on Netgalley I knew I had to request it, as it was up my alley. Friends to lovers is one of my favorite tropes so I had a feeling I might like this, sadly that was not the case. The relationship between Luke and Layla was sweet, there were a lot of moments that gave me butterflies, but for some reason I never felt the chemistry between them. I think it was the lack of background story to go off from. Layla started to fall for Luke right when she first met him when he started working at the same publishing company, then three years later Luke fell for Layla. There was no backstory, as I was reading I kept wondering when did Luke see Layla differently? When did the people around Luke and Layla notice that there was something between them? The former was answered towards the last 50 pages and the latter was never really answered. A few chapters would have been helpful to help paint Luke and Layla’s dynamic. I was only rooting for them because one, it was clear from the beginning that they liked each other and two their friends and family have all rooted for them, I felt I had no choice but to root for them. 

Another thing that bothered me was Luke’s nickname for Layla. I mean seriously “little one?!?” Every time he called her that I can’t help but picture Layla as a kid rather than a woman in her early 20’s. Imagine having a sweet moment with your crush only for him to say “Little one, I will never be too busy for you……” or “Hey little one, what are you up to?” Am I five or a grown adult?!

I am not sure if this will be a series but there was a lot of information about some of the side characters. It got confusing at times. Looking back at it, I think there was more info about the side characters than the main.

This was 245 pages and yet it took me about a week to finish. I found myself not really trying to focus on the book towards the end. It was a lot of skimming through, I was just trying to finish the book. If this wasn’t an ARC I probably would have DNF'd. 

Although I did not love this, I encourage you to give it a chance should it peak your interest. Books are subjective, just because I didn’t love it, doesn’t mean you won’t either. 

A similar review was also posted on my Bookstagram @tels.reading.journal

readingmagicandstars's review against another edition

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5.0

Here are some of my favorite things:

📎The Office
👫Friends to lovers trope
🔥Slow burn romance
🍩Donuts

This book had them all! Luke and Layla's friendship, office pranks, and banter gave me total Jim and Pam vibes from The Office, which is literally my all time favorite show. I love friends to lovers and the pining that comes with that and that was done so well. The slow burn was soo perfect too! Also, it was super funny. Nathan is amazing and I'm excited to see more of him in the future! 

Overall, this book literally had all of my favorites all in one book and it was total perfection! 

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for the ARC in exchange for my honest review! 

calistacyq's review against another edition

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5.0

With a fun and endearing friendship trio, Per My Last Email by Juliana Smith is a story about two best friends who harbour a crush on each other for three years but are too afraid to act on it... until now. The story also briefly touches on choosing to do what you want.

Summary: Three years ago, Layla Wright meets Luke Wells at work. They, along with Luke's best friend Nathan, become very close friends over the years. But they also happen to like each other romantically and are afraid to lose their friendship.

Tropes/Genres:
• best friends to lovers
• workplace romance
• travelling! (for work, but still)
• fun friendship trio <3
• contemporary rom-com
• aspiring author

Review: Before I start talking about the romance, I want to talk about this beautiful friendship trio that Layla, Luke and Nathan have. I love it! Literal friendship goals. I love them from the start of the book, with how chaotic they were even from the moment they met. They're such goofy friends, and it's nice to see such fun energy in an environment full of boring people – work. Oops! But they really breathed so much life into their workplace. It's really the people that make the atmosphere.

Now, Layla and Luke were so cute. I was just waiting for them to finally confess their undying love to each other and have their happily ever after, but this way worked fine too. From the beginning to the end, I felt them. I understood why they acted the way they did. For Layla, it's not easy to think a person likes her despite their actions because he's stated all those years ago that she's not the one for him. And for Luke, it's not easy to get out of the friend zone, especially when the friendship is just so precious to him. And here's a shout-out to Nathan, the best wingman! I also love Luke's family. They're such a fun and healthy family <3

It pained me to see the struggles they had to go through. They're not earth-shattering, but it was still sad. Regardless, I'm glad these changes helped to propel them towards the path meant for them. I guess some things do happen for a reason. We should try and see things in a positive light, and sometimes, we should just do what we want instead of what seems right. The heart wants what it wants.

I recommend this book to readers who love a good best-friends-to-lovers workplace romance with a fun friendship trio as good seasoning. It's light-hearted and easy to read. Perfect for readers who want to sit back, relax, swoon over our three best friends and yell at the annoying characters in the story who just get in the way of everything :D

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book!

mhbookalicious's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

💞⭐️🌸Layla and Luke both work at West Oak Publishing, where they both have different dreams and are def working under their pay grade BUT, do they have fun? YES! Layla, an aspiring author, and Luke, a kinda aspiring bar owner, become best friends and of course....are in love with each other but don't know that the other feels the same!👀🥹

👀To be completely honest... I've been a little iffy with some friends to lovers books in the past... 🥴BUT this book had a spin on friends to lovers that was SO refreshing! It felt like the focus wasn't really "we're friends and I'm never going to say anything cuz it could mess up our friendship", Per My Last Email focused on "I'm getting out of the friend zone now or never", which was a SUPER fun concept!!!🤩 I think this book was also super refreshing to a chronic romance reader, like myself, because THERE WAS NO THIRD ACT BREAK UP!!!🥳 It was a slow burn romance story all the way and I also think that this book was the PERFECT length because I wasn't sitting there like "CMON get together already!"😂, I think it was justtttt perfect the way it is! 💖

There are a LOT of pop culture references to things like Star Wars, Harry Potter, and even a lil ACOTAR action, which made me love the book even more because I also love all of those things!!😍🥳😂 There was also an ending lead up for more books following this one and I CANNOT WAIT!!!😆

I dooo wanna note that this book doesn't have any spicy scenes in it BUT that doesn't detract from the story AT ALL because of the amount of tension, chemistry, and banter that we get to see between the two characters!🤩

I cannot wait for release day in a couple weeks and for everyone to get to read this AMAZING workplace romance! - M💛

bookscoffeephotography's review against another edition

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4.0

This was the cutest friends to lovers, workplace romance! I love Juliana Smith’s writing, and was so excited for this one! It was even better than I imagined it could be. I ended up reading it in two sittings, I did not want to put it down!

I found Luke and Layla to be the absolute cutest! I also loved how it was dual POV, so you could see what both characters were thinking. This book will keep you laughing with all the office pranks in it! If you’re a fan of closed door, slow burn romance, I highly recommend checking this book out!

Thank you Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

amandaseh's review against another edition

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lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

meghannekerr's review against another edition

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funny inspiring lighthearted

3.0

maddiesbooksta's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0