4.5 stars

Naomi and Luca have been penpals since fifth grade. Instead of sweet letters, they were pretty nasty to each other. They kept writing long after the rest of the class stopped writing to their penpals. Now, twenty years later, Naomi wants to meet Luca face to face, but doesn't know his current address. So that's where the story begins, and while some things in this novel were predictable, others were so charming and fresh, I fell in love with almost everything.

I actually laughed out loud at some things (ok, snort/laughed) which I never do when reading, and I loved the dialogue/banter between almost every character. Anne was delightful (she needs to be the main character in the next book) and it's always a great idea to include animals as part of the plot. Three things that bugged me was 1) checking the postscript on the envelopes didn't occur to anyone until two thirds of the way through the novel 2) deception and lies, even through omission, feels like a cheap way to propel a romantic storyline and 3) we get all of Luca's backstory but hardly any of Naomi's. But by and large, I really loved all the quirks with the characters (Mr. Facey😜 and Caterpillar girl🐛) and that moment when I needed a tissue, and all the heartwarming/evil letters. I really did love this book and sped through reading it. I will most definitely pick up the next book by Donna Marchetti.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I can't believe this is a DEBUT novel because it was so good. The cover is adorable and is givining nostolgic 2000s feelings of rom-com movie posters.

I didn't expect to like this and thought it would be a cliche type of book but I was SO happy to be wrong. This was written so well, especially the enemies to lovers trope. I was swooning, giggling, and even sad as I read this.

Even though you predict some thigns right away, I think that's what is suppose to happen. I enjoyed the storytelling of how Luca and Naiome would navigate the issue and I am so happy to report that it was done really well! So please pick this one up and share it with everyone because it's just so cute

I started this book quite spontaneously when I didn’t have the energy to read my fantasy book in the evening. This spontaneous decision led to sleep deprivation, a late day at work and a bad mood because of the two previous points. Why, you may ask, is that this book’s fault? Well, thank you for asking. Let me start by saying it only took about 3 minutes for this problem to arise. As soon as I read the first of the hate letters, I was hooked. I highlighted the entire first one. It was brilliant, witty and funny and surprisingly sounded like an 10 year old had actually written it. Maybe let’s backtrack and talk about the books set up.
Luca and Naomi have been writing each other letters for well over 10 years. They get assigned as penpals in school and even though Luca initially wants nothing to do with a stupid penpal. But for some reason, they continue writing hateful letters back and forth. Initially it’s probably out of spite and an inability to let the other person win, but over time, they develop a strong bond. Until one of them stops writing. Right?
I’m going to leave it at that because I think it’s best discovered while reading. The letters themselves are truly incredible. Funny, creative and very emotional in a way. Both of our characters get their own background story and screen time which I really appreciate. There’s almost an adventure element to the book that was entirely unexpected. The chemistry of our MCs jumps of the page. Truly. That’s what kept me up all night. I couldn’t find a point to stop at, I needed to know what happened next. I was up til 3.30 because I needed to know that Naomi realised what I already did. And now I’m tired and instead of blaming my own choices I’m going to blame this amazing book. Truly, if something was going to cost me sleep, I’m glad it was this book. I cannot recommend it enough!!! It ends up being a very emotional story with some slight but good spice and it was very, very funny. Also, there’s pets!!! (and I had never thought about the fact that fish also needed a vet)
Thank you so much to the author and Netgalley for providing me with an early copy of the book.

Oh… my… god…. This book is sooo CUTE!! It had me giggling, screaming, and wanting more. I love how obvious the twist was but also not obvious at the exact same time. We really felt all the emotions Naomi went through. This book makes me want to go back to 5th grade so I can have a penpal as well!
Thank you so much for the arc! It was incredible.

First of all I want to say THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH to Netgalley, HarperCollins UK and One More Chapter for providing me this arc in exchange for my honest review.

I'm completely IN LOVE. The writing was so good, I was captivated from the moment I read the first letter and ended up devouring the whole book in 4 days.
Hate Mail took me back to my school days, my school also tried to do the penpal experience with kids from another city but mine didn't even show up when the school organized a meeting.

But anyways...This romance gave me so much 2000s romcom vibes and I'm sucker for that kind of genre.

Naomi and Luca relationship built up was amazing and they were simply adorable. The way the author wrote their small gestures and even their intimate scenes without having to occur to the overusing of smut scenes, when you can naturally feel how amazing their chemistry is (i do love a good smut scene, but books that have like 5 scenes of those and no plot are big no to me).

My other favorite thing in this book was how their povs were split between past (Luca's pov) and present (Naomi's pov). You could understand better the characters and in Luca's case, because of his life path, see how Naomi's letters were his only constant and his escape.

Naomi Light and Luca Pichler are my new favorite romance book couple. I really recommend this book to everyone!!

This book will have you giggling out loud, kicking your feet and smiling from ear to ear, it's just that good. I really enjoyed reading the hate notes between our "Penemies" and reading between the lines of their sentences to their true feelings. I love the idea of pen pals that form a friendship (or something more?) over a long period of time. This is a bit of a slow burn but that just makes it all the sweeter when our MC's do get together. If you like the premise of "You've Got Mail" then this is a must read!

The cover, the title, the characters and even the animals in this book couldn't be any cuter. I'm looking forward to reading more by this author in the future!

Many thanks to NetGalley, HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and Donna Marchetti for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The idea of these two main characters sending each other letters due to a school penpal program and that they choose to continue the exchange through their childhood and young adulthood is unique and entertaining...especially the way these two write letters to each other...maybe slightly unrealistic and events around their miscommunication 70-80% breakup etc is one that you can see almost immediately but an understandable situation. I dont think I could have written to someone over that long a period on not shared more of my life and so I was a left wondering a little how did they form such a strong connection with their 'hate mail'.
However, it was a fast paced and comical romance and I recommend for all romcom fans!

I received this as a free ARC from NetGalley. This is my honest review.

Hate Mail is about Naomi and Luca who become assigned pen pals in fifth grade. And while most of their classes stop writing their pen pals after only a few months, their letters span nearly two decades. After a two year stint of not hearing from Luca, a letter from him shows up at Naomi's news station where she works as a weather reporter. And thus, Naomi sets off to find a way to write back and not let Luca get the last word.

I THOROUGHLY enjoyed this book. Like truly. I was crying laughing, then I was just straight up crying. The letters in this book are so absurdly harsh that they're some of the funniest things I've ever read. My personal faves being the original fifth grade letters. Kids can be brutal, man.

It was dual POV, but focused on Naomi's POV for a large portion of the book so as not to reveal anything about Luca's current location too early on in the story and I feel like that was really well done to keep that element of surprise.

Also... I KNEW IT. That is all I will say about that.

All in all, this was such a fun debut and I loved every second of it.

This was a fun and easy read!
I laughed so much because of the letters, they were really funny! Also, Naomi and Luca's story was really cute. They started having this wierd friendship as pen-pals and writing mean letters, just to meet again later in life.
In some parts the book was really interesting, like when Naomi was trying to find Luca. He was like a mystery that needed to be discovered. I had a few ideas where he could be and I ended up being right. It was a bit predictable, but still it was a cute story.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for the free ARC!

This book was SO SO good. Penpals since childhood, Luca and Naomi, who have never met and now they are grown. They have always gotten on each others nerves....and loved trading insults....until they lost touch. But 2 years later, Luca gets back in touch with Naomi. A fantastic read, a fun romcom - a must read!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Oh this book made me smile so many times! I started reading another book last night which I couldn't get into. At 20% I stopped reading and decided to read the first chapter of this book and then go to sleep. 2 hours later I finally went to sleep and today I finished it off as soon as I could.

I really enjoyed the Dual POV and varied timeline, it kept me interested and the author has a wonderful way with words. A light hearted book with a fun story that kept me interested and lots of dark comments that made me laugh out loud.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC, my feedback is honest.

Hate mail follows two pen pals starting at age 10 until adulthood. Luca and Naomi exchanged mean letters to each other. No real reasons why they were so mean but they were. I picked this one up because I love a good pen pal romance. Yet, this was a strange one. Luca and Naomi cared about each other throughout the years. They worked well together. I liked Luca the best because he worked hard on himself. And was loving to animals. Who doesn’t love that! Now to the bits I didn’t like. Naomi’s best friend/work colleague Anne was the least person I liked. She acted like she was 12 years old. And I know there needed to be a sidekick to get these two people together but she was HORRIBLE. The story was also very predictable. I had guessed what will happen early on. Which wasn’t too bad. Overall, I enjoyed reading the cute story and how romance blossomed between these two unlikely friends. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for my ARC in exchange for my review.

I’m so torn! I think the banter and wittiness of this novel is what kept me going, but I hate to admit that some of the plot was “meh”. I think what I expected to happen did happen, so there were some aspects of predictability in the storyline. The predictability isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I definitely think the author could have added more twists to make it more interesting. Also, I do have to say I have some minor questions that I wish were answered in the plot line, which, unfortunately, makes me have to rate this lower than usual. Overall, I would recommend this novel to any rom-com lovers who don’t care about the plot being easily anticipated!

Couldn't put it down! This rom com book is a delightful blend of charm, humor, and heart. From start to finish, it's a fun-filled ride that's impossible to resist.


Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Thanks to NetGalley for this arc. Hate Mail was a really interesting concept — the idea of a “penemies” to lovers trope really interested me. While I did not love the first half of the book or so (seriously, the hate part in the letters is no joke), I’m really glad I finished the book, as it did significantly improve. I didn’t love some of the characters, but a lot of it made more sense at the end of the book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter for providing this book, with my honest review below.

Hate Mail had a fun premise that turned into as fun a read. A light hearted romance that follows Naomi and Luca’s blossoming hate-mance as kids turned adults, I thought this was easy to read and a great addition to the romance genre.

As a reader, I thought the introduction to the penpal relationship of Naomi and Luca was well done, introducing us to the characters as they grew up and then pivoting to their points of view to add more color to their letters. While this is done it’s layered with the current day life of Naomi and her mission to find and reconnect with Luca. This sounds complicated but was executed in a simple way that works. There were times when this felt a bit YA, but that was likely some very good writing when these characters were growing up (in fact there are steamy bits). Full of adorable pets, trips, and intrigue, I believe any modern day romance reader will enjoy getting lost in this story.

This was cute read. I enjoyed this from start to finish. Naomi and Luca were such fun characters. I was captivated on where this story would lead and it did not disappoint. Seeing how their story over the year changed as they got older and them realizing that while they know each other, they don't really. I can't wait for this to release so I can get it for my shelf.

I loved the letters and the chemistry they had together. Luca and Naomi are so adorable together and their connection through the letters is lovely.

Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐(4/5)

Spice Rating:🌶️🌶️🌶️(3/5)

Tropes: Miscommunication, Friends to Lovers, He falls first and HARD

Publisher: One More Chapter(Harpercollins)

Review:

*This title was given to me early in exchange for a honest review by One More Chapter*(Thank you for trusting little old me!)

Naomi and Luca have been pen-pals since the 5th grade. They have kept in touch all these years- until Naomi moves to Miami. Then after 2 years of no contact, the letters start up again-only this time without a return address. So now Naomi starts trying to chase Luca down while also getting to know her new neighbor next store.

Everyone meet my new favorite romance novel. I honestly want to applaud the author, this was a great read.

The characters in this book have great chemistry. They made me laugh and cry and all the fun emotions. I also LOVED the banter, seriously 5/5 stars for just that alone!

I want Anne to be my best friend. I can say that with complete and total seriousness.

Y'all. I really want to see this book go viral! I think it has the potential to be THE NEXT BIG ROMANCE NOVEL! Yes, It isn't that spicy, but it honestly worked better that way. It gave more time for the wonderful banter and tension. It's a perfect rom-com read!

So, I only have one negative(Its the reason its not 5 stars because it majorly bothers me). The plot build up was too long. I think because of that the ending of the book felt rushed. All that tension and build-up and yes it ended with a sweet ending, but it felt fast. That being said, I did enjoy the 3rd act breakup, which I normally don't in books.

Hate Mail comes out March 14th, make sure to pick up your own copy!

This read was a solid 3.5 for me. There are things I like and things I didn’t like which made the book a split for me.

The things I liked:
- the pen pal story including reading the actual letters which I enjoyed a lot.
- the banter and the petty sarcasm is my kind of humour!
- has a cozy read-whilst-snuggled-in-blankets vibe which is the kind of book I love
- dual POV is great as it tells us what they’re both thinking and avoid a one-sided story

Things I didn’t like;
- the pacing was odd. Super fast and jumpy
- the dreaded miscommunication trope is in play here and I didn’t feel was done well.
- there’s kind of a love triangle thing happening which I don’t work well either especially when you can figure out what’s actually going on very quickly.
- my biggest grievance is that we didn’t get to know Naomi some more compared to the MMC.