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.

I requested this because pen pals are a favorite trope, but this is better described as “pen enemies”.

As children, they write juvenile insults to one another, but for whatever reason, continue writing to each other. It would be one thing if it only felt juvenile when they were kids, but I fear they never grew out of it. They write for one another for twenty years until the letters start being returned to Naomi. Two years later, she receives a letter at her work.

This book was a mess. The writing wasn’t bad, but it’s a cluster of mistaken identity and miscommunication. The latter is my least favorite trope. It’s difficult to execute well, and this isn’t an exception. If a simple conversation is all it takes to resolve the main plot of a book, it’s not a good read for me.

The beginning was interesting enough to continue. The middle dragged, and the ending was sweet, but it couldn’t make up for my disappointment in the rest of the book.

Thank you, HarperCollins UK for the e-arc via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

this book gives off major ‘you’ve got mail’ vibes.

they’ve been pen pals since fifth grade but have never met. the letters between them can only be classified as one thing. hate mail.

i loved the dual pov that allowed you to get a peak into luca’s side of things especially because the letters didn’t really dive into what was happening in their personal lives.

the concept for this book was out there and unique and i liked it. i will say that i clued into what the outcome of the letters was going to be and figured out who luca was at about the 20% mark so the majority of this book i was on the edge of my seat wondering when it was all going to fall apart.

although i enjoyed it i felt that there were times I lost interest in where the story was going and the pacing slowed but I would still recommend this book to anybody looking for a cute romance!

thank you to netgalley and Harper Collins UK for an e-arc!

"Hate Mail" is Donna Marchetti's debut novel, and has a very original premise with a twist at the end. In "Hate Mail", Naomi and Luca are elementary school pen pals. While at first they only write letters to each other at their teachers' requests, they soon start to rely on their letters to each other. Each letter is filled with sarcasm as they try to one-up each other with the cruelest jokes possible. Over the years, they keep in touch but never do meet. As they head off to college (for her) and the military (for him), they unfortunately lose touch. However, now a letter has shown up at Naomi's work years later, and she'll stop at nothing to find Luca again. But things get a little confusing when Naomi is also attracted to another man in her apartment building and they begin to date.

I thought this storyline was very unique, and I was rooting for Luca the whole time. I was surprised by the twist, but there are a few things about the ending I didn't really understand and I felt that it was a little rushed. Overall, it was an enjoyable book! Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Luca and Naomi’s pen pal situation makes you laugh from the beginning of this book.

As the story progresses, Naomi meets this cute guy in her apartment building and they get to know each other.. well, do they? That’s something you will have to find out yourself!

I knew one thing since she met the “elevator guy” - there was something fishy about him! And not just the fact that he worked at an Aquarium as a vet! 😂

This is a sweet, heartbreaking romance and you will not be able to stop reading. It also makes you guessing and kicking your legs 😂

If you want your heart broken and then patched up again, this book is for you! Also some scenes are quite spicy! I would say 2🌶️/5🌶️

Thank you HarperCollins and OneMoreChapter for letting me read this as an ARC reader!

OMG this book was a cannot put down book. I devoured it in one day. I loved the quick wit of the letters back and forth. The book had me hoping Naomi would find her Luca.

10/10 need to find myself a pen pal

Thank you NetGalley, Donna Marchetti, HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter, One More Chapter for the ARC

Pub date march 14 2024