4.5⭐️

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

I ATE THIS UP, finished this in one sitting and adored it. I didn’t think a pen-pal romance could have swooning as hard as I was but oh I was so wrong. Naomi and Luca started writing to each other in 5th grade and through the book you get to see the letters that they had exchanged over multiple years, but it’s not just silly little updates you would send to a friend they’re hate mail and that added to the story significantly, Having a dark humour myself I devoured the hate mail it was so funny and unserious and the way they matched each other every letter I could just tell they were soulmates. The way they fell in love with each others dark humour was so cute and also slightly unhinged !!! I also really enjoyed the back stories of each character especially Luca that just added even more to the story and made me root for him even more than I already was.

The way Naomi literally hopped on planes to go and find information about Luca or even better to find him made me love her even more because that’s unhinged and we love unhinged over here!!

I honestly just loved everything about this book and for it being this authors DEBUT novel I can’t wait to devour every other book she brings out in the future.

I have such mixed feelings about this one.
My rating would be 3.5 stars overall, but 4 stars just for those letters...ahhh the letters were everything.

On the one hand, I absolutely loved the premise and the banger....it had the potential for such a cute romance!!! I devoured it in one day because I was eagerly anticipating to see how it works out between Luca and Naomi. But around 80% through, it just fell flat and characters seemed to suddenly drop in their maturity levels. I wish the resolution between the characters I'd been rushing to reach could have been a bit more climatic. But I still enjoyed most of the book, and the disappointment is probably just on my end.

Special thanks to HarperCollins UK and Netgalley for providing me an advance copy of the ebook in exchange for an honest review!

Mein Leseerlebnis

Auf “Hate Mail” war ich wirklich gespannt, denn die Geschichte hörte sich frisch an und auch das Buchcover fand ich ansprechend. Nach dem Lesen des Liebesromans bin ich zwar froh, dem romance Buch eine Chance gegeben zu haben, bin aber gleichzeitig nicht komplett zufrieden mit der Geschichte. Lasst es mich erklären.

An sich ist die Liebesgeschichte nett zu lesen und ich konnte mich leicht auf den Schreibstil einlassen. Mit der Heldin habe ich zudem recht gerne Zeit verbracht, mit dem Helden teils. Die Hauptcharaktere wirkten auf mich insgesamt allerdings etwas flach angelegt, man hätte sie meiner Meinung nach lebendiger und vielschichtiger darstellen können.

Den Verlauf der Geschichte fand ich in den ersten Kapiteln unterhaltsam und einnehmend, doch das änderte sich bald. Ich entwickelte recht schnell eine Theorie in Bezug auf die Identität des Helden und konnte deswegen die Liebesgeschichte nur noch eingeschränkt genießen. Denn basierend auf meiner Theorie hatte ich so meine Probleme mit dem Verhalten eines Charakters im Buch.

Schlussendlich haben sich meine Vermutungen bewahrheitet und mein Leseerlebnis litt darunter etwas. Lasst es mich mal so sagen: Das Vortäuschen falscher Tatsachen kann für mich funktionieren, aber nur unter bestimmtem, besonderen Umständen, diese gab es meiner Meinung nach in “Hate Mail” nicht.

Ansonsten ist mir beim Lesen noch aufgefallen, dass die Hauptcharaktere auf mich etwas jünger wirkten, als sie es sind. Man könnte meinen, man hätte eine New Adult Romance mit Charakteren Anfang 20 vor sich, doch dem ist nicht so.

Als abschließende Kritik möchte ich noch anmerken, dass die Darstellung einer Nebenfigur im Roman auf mich sehr unglaubwürdig wirkte und die entsprechende Figur sehr eindimensional angelegt war. Spoiler dazu verrate ich euch bei Interesse gerne in den Kommentaren.

Nehme ich das alles zusammen, so können die einehmenden ersten Kapitel des Buches und ein paar nette Szenen hier und da meine Bewertung sowie mein Leserlebnis retten. Insgesamt hatte ich mir von dem Liebesroman aber mehr erhofft.

🖤🖤🖤

Für wen?

Wer Liebesromane mag, in denen sich die Beziehung eher außergewöhnlich entwickelt, für den könnte das romance Buch einen Leseversuch wert sein. Ihr solltet dafür offen sein, dass vielleicht nicht alles so ist, wie es auf den ersten Blick wirkt.

Hate Mail is an enemies-to-lovers rom com spanning multiple decades. Naomi and Luca kicked off their "penemies" relationship as fifth graders in a school-sponsored pen pal exchange. Childishly cruel exchanges blossomed as they grew up, their letters ranging from humorously mocking to casually hateful until, in their mid-twenties, they fell out of touch. Now, two years later, Naomi receives a death-threat-adjacent letter from Luca, who has found her again - and who wants to do more than exchange hate mail.

I wanted to love this story. I usually enjoy the enemies-to-lovers trope, and Hate Mail was so well-written, with likable characters and engaging scenes. But it was just a bit too intense for me. The summary sounds like the beginning of a thriller, not a romance novel! And, to be honest, I didn't feel a lot of romantic or sexual tension between Naomi and Luca - they were just kids during most of their exchange, and they never actually met.

Despite my quibbles with Hate Mail's premise, I really enjoy reading it (as long as I skipped over the examples of mean letters and imagined Naomi and Luca were normal pen pals). The story was well-written, with likeable and well-rounded leads, memorable secondary characters, and lots of quirky little adventures plus a few cute pets. Definitely recommended for those who can take the actual-enemies-not-just-resentful-rivals heat!

Naomi and Luca have been pen-pals since fifth-grade. If that's what you want to call it when each letter becomes meaner and finding insults to one up each other. But when their letters of insults and hate turn into a friendship that spans many years, until one day when all contact stops.
It's been 2 years since any contact and many things have changed.
But when a new envelope turns up out of the blue at her desk at the local news station, Naomi is determined not to let Luca have the final word.

I devoured this book in one day, I was determined to not to go to sleep without finishing this book.
The letters to each other, I loved them! Any book I've read in the past which has included letters or long notes I've skipped over the letters, but with these I found myself wanting more and excited to see how their relationship grew over the years.

I loved the lengths Naomi was willing to go to, to get back in touch with Luca after this letter appeared out of nowhere and her friend Anne for encouraging all of this.

This book is duel pov but it's mainly in Naomi's pov.
Spicy
Enemies to Lovers
Pen-Pals

This book just left me wanting more and more!
4.5 Stars

Naomi and Luca have been pen-pals since fifth-grade, engaging in a hilarious chain of hate-filled letters that slowly develops into a friendship spanning coasts and years. However, the letters suddenly stop, leaving Naomi wondering what happened. Two years later, a new envelope turns up at her desk at the local news station, and Naomi is determined not to let Luca have the final word. A charming story of friendship, love, and the power of communication.

Naomi and Luca had been exchanging letters since they were young. In school, they became penpals and they found they loved getting each other's letters as a distraction from normal life. One day though, the letters stop and years later they start up again, but there is no return address. Naomi's best friend suggest that they go try to track him down at all the places she knew he lived.
In the mean time, there is a hot new neighbor that seems very interested in her and he's real and right in front of her. She feels bad chasing a guy from the past when she has someone so great wanting to date her, but she has to lay this to rest. Something about Luca just won't let go.
I figured out the twist pretty early, and I am sure you will too. I love the You've Got Mail vibes, but we also don't get Luca's POV in the present so it is a bit different. I just loved how gone Luca was for Naomi. When they were young,. she didn't want to be friends on Facebook, but that didn't stop them looking up one another's profiles. While Naomi couldn't pick out which guy was Luca, Luca knew as soon as he saw Naomi that no one would live up to her.
Thank you to Harper Collins, Donna Marchetti and Netgalley for an early copy.

I do not like this book. It was so bad. Dear god no. I’m so sorry. Not for me. So unrealistic. I feel so bad for not liking this book.

This was tooooo cute! I loved reading two fifth graders write to each other it truly sucked me back into being 9? 11? and having such a strong crush on them. This can definitely be a filler book if you're trying to get out of a book slump, it's just so cute and pretty well written. Putting this in the realm of Wildfire/Icebreaker.

Cute cover! This book had me laughing until I cry and crying until I laugh. It was the perfect blend of emotions. This was impressive as a debut!

I wish I could go back and read this book for the first time again. It was PERFECT. Seriously, so sweet and so well paced. I loved everything about it.

The letters were “mean” and yet they offered each other support. I was chuckling at how creative they were.

There were some things that I didn’t enjoy as much.
- Naomi having poor communication skills. I found her to be a bit too avoidant and hypocritical.
- Anne was a bit much at time. (But I still hope there’s a book 2 and that she’s the mc)
- 3rd act breakup

Overall, I still had a great time and want a second book

This novel was based on something I had never read before - a penpal who begins as an enemy and soon the romance blossoms.

The narrative was so unique that I did not really know what to expect, but I found myself enjoying reading about the relationship development between Luca and Naomi. When I first read the letters they used to send, I actually laughed out loud.- they were so savage and had me in stitches.

Watching their development as individuals and as a pair was just divine and it made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

This book was Soooo cute! I loved the back and forth between Luca and Naomi! I was giggling so much. I figured out the big plot twist early on, but I still enjoyed the book. This is an adorable rom com and I need it into a movie right now!

Hate Mail ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A laugh out loud romcom.

In 5th grade Naomi gets an assignment to write a letter to her penpal. Everyone drew a random name from a hat. Her penpal’s name is Luca and he lives in San Diego. She’s from a small town in Oklahoma so she’s excited to write him about the weather and beaches there.

When Luca gets the letter, he isn’t excited. In fact he thinks this is dumb and is mean when he writes her back. Maybe then she won’t write him again and his teacher won’t be mad that he has no one to write to for the rest of the school year. Unfortunately, that didn’t work. Naomi only comes back with something even meaner. Years go by and letters are still sent back and forth but one day they stop.

Naomi now lives in Miami working as a local weather girl. It’s been two years since she has received a letter from Luca. Then one day after her weather report, her coworker brings her a letter from a fan. However, it’s from her penpal Luca. Why all of a sudden has he started writing to her again? She gets a few more and that’s when she realizes that they don’t have a return address on them. Knowing she can’t write back is frustrating to her. She wants to know where they are being sent from but at the same time doesn’t because she just met a cute guy from her apartment building. They start dating and Jake is so nice. He’s real and he is here with her, so how come she can’t shake Luca? It wouldn’t be fair to start a relationship with Jake when she is still hung up on Luca. What will she do and who should she choose?

I so loved this book!! I love the whole penpal trope and getting to read the letters from both of them. I was laughing out loud at some of the mean things they said 🤣. I also liked how it was a dual point of view. The characters were fun. Naomi is that sunshine personality and Luca is a little grumpy at times. While this book did deal with a hard topic, it was handled with care. It does have some spicy scenes and could easily be skipped over if you want to. I can’t wait to read more from this author. This book publishes on March 14, 2024. Be sure to add it to your TBR list!!

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for my advanced readers copy. This is my voluntary and honest opinion.

I absolutely adored this book and loved the premise of it and the dual perspectives. A cute romance full of laughs

I was absolutely enthralled in the premise of Hate Mail, it was such a unique storyline that I had never come across before. I loved Naomi and Luca's constant bickering over the years of staying pen-pals, you could just tell from the get-go that these two were meant to be in each other's lives. I figured out the plot twist, thankfully, a little sooner than the twist was revealed and although I didn't agree with some of the behaviour that made the plot twist, I could not put this book down. I read it in less than 24 hours and fell in love. I can't wait to see what else Donna has in store for us!

*I’d like to thank NetGalley, One More Chapter and Donna Marchetti for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.
“Hate Mail” is the debut novel by Donna Marchetti and tells the story of Naomi and Luca. When Naomi was in 5th grade, she was assigned a penpal: Luca. After putting in her blood, sweat and tears into writing him her first letter, she is utterly disappointed when she receives his scribbled down note of insults. Having to have the last word, Naomi writes an even more vile letter as response and so their unusual penpalship starts.
Two decades later, Luca has stopped writing. And the moment Naomi is on the edge of letting the whole thing go, another letter flatters into her workplace. No address, no sender. But the all too familiar handwriting and rude comments do all the work. Luca is back and this time Naomi is set on finding her mysterious penpal. While juggling her job as a weather girl, dating her neighbor Jake and organizing her move to her new house, Naomi and her best friend travel through the US, trying to find Luca.
First and foremost, I have never come across a meet-cute like the one in “Hate Mail”. I was a bit unsure of the premise, but when I read the first few letters between Naomi and Luka (which were beautifully incorporated into the story, but more to that later), I instantly fell in love. In such a fun and unique concept of two people getting to know each other while writing hate filled letters. I loved the creativity of the insults and how some were taken more seriously than others.

I have to be very careful when talking about Naomi and Luca as a couple as I don’t want to spoil anything, but I will say that I overall loved their dynamic. Luca was the one who fell first and fell hard. It was adorable to see how his entire view of Naomi shifted once she became a real person to him and how charming he could be. I loved the way he remembered all the small things Naomi told him over the years and how he used them to bait her.
I did miss a teeny tiny bit of chemistry when they interacted in real life. The implied love triangle fell a little flat to me, though I loved Luca and Naomi’s bickering. Some of the details didn’t add up too much in my opinion. But Luca still makes a great book boyfriend.

What stood out the most to me was the way in which the story was told. Naomi’s POV told the story from the present, Luca’s POV is telling the story from the past moving towards Naomi’s present. Connecting both POVs, the letters are sprinkled in between beautifully showing how the relationship between Naomi and Luca grew over the years. It takes a bit getting used to, but then I really liked it. Especially, as it explains why Luca answered Naomi’s letter as he did, why he chose certain things in life and why he disappeared. That was my favorite thing about the book.

Initially, I thought the book would be a tad spicier than it turned out to be. But I don’t complain, spice isn’t that high up in my priorities anymore. I’d say the book is appropriate for teenagers 16+.

I wished the epilogue would have been longer. That’s my only real complaint, because I needed more of Naomi and Luca’s established relationship. I wished I could have read more of them after they got together and how their dynamic shifted/developed.

Overall, I have a fun and unique novel with a love story that is touching while entertaining throughout. I cried, I laughed and I sighed in relief. It’s a great debut and I’d recommend anyone to pick up Donna Marchett, because she will be up there with the big ones bringing us iconic rom coms that deserve any ounce of attention and recognition.

Naomi and Luca started out as pen-pals in elementary school and just never stopped writing to each other. That is, until life happened and they lost touch. This was such a fun book! I thought that the banter in their letters to each other was hilarious, cute, and flirty. I love how they were used as a tool to show us their history, explain the connection they had, and how their responses to each other evolved over the years. It’s something that other authors miss the mark on and I think that Donna Marchetti did a fabulous job! I really enjoyed this story and would highly recommend this book!

I really enjoyed this book. I was initially drawn to it by the cover and it did not disappoint. I liked the idea of the main characters being pen-pals since childhood. The way that Naomi and Luca went from rivals to lovers was super cute.

I highly recommend this book to everyone who loves a good romance. Thank you to NetGalley for giving me this e-arc.