First off thank you to NetGalley and Donna Marchetti for the ARC of this book in exchange for this review.

This is a debut novel, and it's pretty good! There were moments that made me cry and had my swooning as well as some parts I didn't care for.

Naomi and Luca are pen pals from elementary school and from the start their letters to each other have always been mean. Like, real mean. But long after everyone else stops writing to their school pen pals, these two continue on for years and years.

I loved the way that the author gave us flashes back in time in Luca's POV and then the present POV is Naomi, up until the end.

I thought all the twists were really predictable, and I absolutely did not like the side character Anne at all. She was the worst. And she's not supposed to be the worst. In fact there is a little hint there may be a book with her and I can't imagine she'll be more likable by then. There are also some repetitive
moments and sometimes I didn't buy into the characters felt a certain way.

When two people write each other mean letters that span years they have a special kindredness and I loved how these two came together in different ways.

It's was also a little spicy which was definitely appreciated even though it felt very first-book-ish. Like maybe the author didn't want to be too graphic but it's sex, we welcome the graphic. Go big next time!

All in all it's a pretty solid and like I said there were still moments that made me swoon and feel all the wonderful things a romance should. I good debut!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of 'Hate Mail' by Donna Marchetti.

'Hate Mail' is exactly what I needed right now, fun and quick to read. The whole plot is one out of a movie and I was absolutely hooked. I would definitely read another book by this author in the future.

Sometimes you know from the very first page that you are going to absolutely obsess over a book, and this was one of those. I devoured this book and laughed the entire time. It was hilarious, unique, and swoony. I am enamored with it. I figured out the mystery pretty early on, but I wasn’t 100% sure and I kept second guessing myself because of some of the details being revealed. I don’t want to give ANY details away but go read it! It’s so fun!

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for the arc!
Pub date: 3/14/24

(4.25☆)

The romantic comedy Hate Mail by Dona Marchetti centers on the relationship between weather reporter Naomi Light and aquatic veterinarian Luca Pichler.

Many of my bookstagram mutuals were raving about this book before I even read my arc, and they had every right to since I was the same way.

The only thing that really put a dampener on the book for me was figuring out the plot early on. Like it wasn't all that interesting once everything was revealed because it was the main point of the book and the relationship.

I really enjoyed the book and fell in love with both Luca and Naomi, despite having spoiled the story for myself. From their intense chemistry to the way they got to know one another was everything!

Overall, this was a really adorable and enjoyable book with an appealing plot and tropes!

*Thank you to NetGalley, One More Chapter, and to the author, Donna Marchetti, for providing me with this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.*

In a world full of romcoms this one absolutely stands out! Such a unique concept that is executed from start to finish. As someone who speaks in fluent sarcasm it was a delight to relate to some of the letters 🤣
Amazing debut novel 👏🏻👏🏻

I was fortunate enough to have been given the opportunity to read this book as an ARC, so a big thanks to NetGalley and the author.

As you can notice by my rating, saying that I adored this book is an understatement.

I’m always a sucker for a pen-pals love story and this one was just so well-executed that it kept me glued to the pages.
I don’t know if it’s just me, but I started to really understand that this book wasn’t actually a love triangle only at 50%. I actually felt smart that I had figured out the plot twist before it was revealed since I NEVER guess anything in books, even when it’s pretty obvious.

I liked the decision made by the author to use a dual POV because I feel it was necessary for the plot, especially Luca’s chapters, which always revealed something more: through them, you would always add a piece to the puzzle and understand something more about what was really happening.

This story was cute, funny and had me kicking my feet throughout the entire read. I highly recommend reading this one when it is released!

I really enjoyed this book! From the very first pages I was instantly engaged with the story Noami and Luca the two MC’s have been penpels since the age of ten, these letters that they exchange are not what you would expect from the average ten year old. What starts as letters of hate and verbal sparring grows over a period of time into friendship over the course of their lives and I really loved to see the change as it slowly blossomed into something more.

The dual timeline and PoV was done exceptionally well and it gave full emotional impact at certain times as well as the tender and swooning moments. While there was a few grey areas that touched on a love triangle, emotional cheating and an ounce of miscommunication I did still really enjoy reading this book!

Thank you to One More Chapter HC, NetGalley and the author for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book. I am leaving this review voluntarily and these are my honest thoughts.

This was a fun book! I’ve never read anything with a similar premise at all. The characters, Naomi and Luca, have been pen pals since elementary school. The letters were not filled with nice things always, but they were a steady part of each other’s life for years to come.

Naomi is the weather reporter on a local news station when she receives a letter from Luca.. after two years of silence. This letter sends her on a trip of a lifetime to find and meet Luca. She rereads all her letters, travels to other parts of the country to find out where he could be now, and throughout the process grows closer to Luca in ways she could’ve never imagined.

My only complaint is the bestie. I couldn’t get a good read on that character at times and felt like her motive wasn’t always pure. The book ends and there wasn’t any malicious outbursts, so I just didn’t vibe with her always.

Over the course of the book, Naomi gets more letters from Luca helping her piece together where he is and understand his life better. Ultimately their meeting is unexpected and worth the wait!!!

This book sounded good but unfortunately it just wasn't for me. I was expecting a fun frenemies to lovers with a pen pal element to it but that just wasn't what I got.

Naomi and Luca became pen pals in fifth grade and started writing each other hate mail for almost their whole lives since then. I thought that the letters would add a cute element of banter and it would transform towards love as they got older, but I honestly found the letters kind of disturbing. I could almost understand why the letters were the way they were when Naomi and Luca were kids, but they didn't seem to change as the characters grew and developed, so I didn't feel any good connection between the characters.

Also, I was not expecting the love triangle element so that was disappointing, and Naomi's friend Anne was so pushy and annoying that I didn't enjoy any scene that she was in.

This book had so much potential with the premise of tracking down Naomi's pen pal, but unfortunately it just completely let me down.

Thank you Netgalley for the chance to review!
This story is part dual timeline, part dual POV between Naomi and Luca, childhood "penemies" (Penpals that are enemies) as they navigate adult life and their connection that has to be something more than just enemies. It is also the story of Naomi and Jake, a spicy romance between neighbors.
This is just sticky cute with a hefty need for belief suspension. I figured out the 'twist' to this meet cute pretty early on, but it didn't take away from the story for me as long as I didn't give it too much deep thinking. Read this when you just need some fun

Who knew hate mails could be so good? This was such an interesting twist on the traditional pen pals, Naomi and Luca have been “friends” since fifth grade, writing letter to each other, but they lose touch. Until a new letter turns up out of the blue two years later.
This was such a cute read and so funny! I did guess the twist but I don’t think that took away anything from the overall story. Absolutely adorable.

TW: death of a parent, mentioning of toxic past relationships to both main and side characters

Thank you to NetGalley and One More Chapter for an e-ARC copy to review. All thoughts are my own.

This was such a fun little rom-com to read. The first half of this book is fabulous and I was laughing so much, even though some of the things said back and forth between the main characters were a bit out there.

This follows Naomi and Luca, who were paired together in school to be across state pen-pals. What started with good intentions from Naomi quickly grew into a crudely antagonistic battle of who could out-snark the other in their letters, which continued to be sent until two years prior when they lost contact through various circumstances. Naomi, a meteorologist and on-air weathergirl, starts to receive letters from Luca without a return address, and spends the majority of the book trying to find him, whilst also battling some intense feelings for her hot neighbour.

The storyline was super predictable, right from the start, but I enjoyed the journey of Naomi and Luca reconnecting, with the letters of their youth scattered through to give context to the depth of their connection. The romance is well-written and believable. Sure, some things were a little on the nose at times, or far-fetched, but it was mostly light-hearted enough to keep my interest high and my hope for the couple to connect properly.

I also fell for Luca very early on, and would have appreciated getting more from his POV to make the story more balanced. This is loosely a dual POV story, considering we do get from Luca here and there, but it's mostly told from Naomi's POV. I'm unsure if I would have preferred it all in solo POV, or if I feel Luca's POV really did help move the storyline along. I loved the little chapter headers too, they gave a little bit of fun to look forward to finding the reason behind them.

I dropped a star because I found the last portion with all the angst to be rather juvenile, and disrupted the character growth the author had created. I still highly recommend this read, if you're looking for a good laugh, hot romance, and don't mind how predictable the storyline is.

Naomi and Luca became pen-pals in fifth-grade. There is a reason the title of this book is Hate Mail. Their letters are anything but nice. They are cutting and down right mean. But, the continue, year after year. Through a series of events/moves, they do eventually lose touch. I kind of figured out where this book might be going, but it there were still lots of plot points I didn't see coming. I absolutely loved this book and give it a strong 5 stars. Well written and a well thought out plot. Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy.

Hate Mail was a fun blend of heartfelt and hilarious, leaving me no choice but to absolutely fly through the read.

Naomi and Luca have been pen pals since fifth grade. Naomi’s initial letter was sweet and open, but when Luca’s letter returned to her full of rude commentary, her dark side comes out too and the pair begin to exchange straight up hate mail. They continue writing to each other for years, as they graduate high school, go through family tragedies, move to new states, and grow up. Naomi hasn’t heard from Luca in two years and has no way to reach him when she gets some hate mail at work and decides it is time to track him down.

The story is full of the letters Naomi and Luca sent to one another, and I busted out laughing at almost every single one. Their insults start with simple jabs and move into sexual territory as they grow into adolescence, and remain firmly snarky as the years go on. I loved seeing the evolution of their relationship through their notes and found it to be such a great addition to the book.

While hilarious, the book also has plenty of heartache, particularly in one of their lives. Those moments showed exactly why this pen pal friendship is so important in their lives in a touching way.

I did find parts of the story to be slightly farfetched, and I was able to predict how things were going to go down in the end, but I still loved every minute of the read and had such a great time with this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK- One More Chapter for the arc. All opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

I feel like I was robbed of a potentially great rom com. The beginning of this was great and I loved how savage their letters were to each other, especially considering how young they were to start.

But then most of this book ends up with her not knowing who she's really trying to date, and then she's simultaneously writing letters to Luca, so then she's feeling all torn because of the man she's dating and writing to Luca.

It's pretty clear from the start that Jake is Luca, but even knowing that, because Naomi didn't know it was him, their interactions just weren't the gold I was expecting. I wanted to see their savageness come out in person while becoming friends in person and then having their relationship develop. Instead, she's dating this guy that she really doesn't know anything about it, so everything about it was very surface level.

But the writing was still good and it was still entertaining most of the time. I just feel like the description of this book was misleading and we were expecting something much higher level than what we got 😟

Naomi and Luca have been pen-pals since the fifth grade (10-11 year olds for the non-US readers!). Instead of friendly letters, they pretty much just send each other hate mail throughout the years, until one day the letters stop.

Two years later, Naomi is falling in love with her husky-eyed neighbour when the letters from Luca restart. Will she choose her gorgeous neighbour Jake or her childhood pen-pal (or penemy) Luca?

For a debut novel, this had an interesting plot that kept me up late into the night. Naomi's hunt for Luca was so entertaining and I loved how her work colleague was the one pushing her to do it.

Personally, I think the writing could have been edited for a smoother reading experience, but considering this is the authors first book I could ignore it for the most part. I just found some of the information we were given at times was unnecessary.

I suspected the plot twist early on but it was done in a way that I definitely second-guessed it up until the last moment, which I enjoyed!

Overall, this was a fun palate cleanser and a very easy read! Interested to see what else Donna Marchetti writes in the future.

I received an advanced copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

"Hate Mail" delivers on its promise of steamy romance and pulse-pounding letters back and forth. Donna Marchetti has written a captivating romance novel that will leave readers breathless and craving more. Her storytelling prowess and knack for creating compelling characters make this a must-read for everyone. Prepare to be swept away on an unforgettable journey of passion and intrigue.

Tropes:
Dual POV
Enemies to Lovers
Pen Pals

3.5 rounded to four

Arc received from the publisher; all thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book follows Naomi and Luca who have been pen-pales since 5th grade. Luca is reluctant about this assignment and responds back to Naomi hoping it will deter them from continuing their exchange, however this leads both Naomi and Luca continuing their "hate mail" exchanges for several years each finding themselves reconnecting throughout periods in their lives (maintaining their heated exchanges fueled laced with honestly/struggles they face throughout their years). After not hearing from Luca in a while- Naomi finally receives a letter from Luca but she is not able to respond since he purposely did not give address which fuels her interests (and her best friend, Anne) to locate Luca. Anne is convinced that Naomi needs to finally meet her penpal in order for Naomi to admit that she has been in secretly in love with her penpal off and on throughout the years or move on with her life/get some sort of closure (as Naomi has been approached by her hot neighbor "Jake" but has been hesitant on moving forward with the relationship),

This book is dual POV mostly with Naomi POV present tense while Luca is mostly past tense. (SOME SPOILERS)
At first when I started this book I was not sure how I felt about the character Luca- I too was questioning WHY is he so mean to Naomi. There hate letters to each other were interesting (both laced with honestly and internal issues that they were struggling with). I'm not entirely sure when my opinion changed however as I continued to the book- and got more to see how Luca coped with his dad leaving and then his mom's illness I felt more connected to his character and his need/safety he felt with his relationship Naomi. (Parts of this story made me cry).

Overall I enjoyed this book and I was satisfied with the ending- EVEN THOUGH I did have some questions as to WHY Naomi did not further inquire more information on Jake as they continued their relationship. I will still purchase this book since I was moved by some parts of the book and it was entertaining.

Naomi Light is a weather person for a news station in Miami. Atter her first few weeks being on camera she receives fan mail from someone she never thought she would here from again. In 5th grade she was a student in Oklahoma City who got a boy from San Diego named Luca as her pen-pal. Over the next years, and until about 2 years ago they continued to regularly send each other funny, borderline mean letters to each other. They lost contact after they both moved and didn't have new addresses for the other. But now that Luca has reached out will they finally see if the friendship they built over all those years is the real thing.

This book had me laughing out loud multiple times. The banter in the letters we read of theirs was so funny I never wanted it to end. This book was so fun and I had such a good time. The idea of the whole tension in the book being over a misunderstanding did frustrate me, but over all this was a great fun rom com, and I want so much more from this author.

This was a fun, rom-com.

The book is dual pov and follows the two main characters from fifth grade when they are forced to become pen pals as a school project. Luca starts with a scathing first letter which continues years of hate mail between the pair.

This sometimes predictable, but fun enemies to lovers with mild spice was a good read.