Thanks to HarperCollins UK & One More Chapter for the arc!

Hate Mail is a very cute romance - I finished this in one evening! Would recommend as a lighthearted, easy read.

I really enjoyed reading the letters between Luca and Naomi, all the way from their first exchanges in fifth grade to their adult lives, and seeing how they evolved. The pacing and writing style were amazing, and I loved reading Luca’s chapters - I think the dual POV really added to the story. Certain plot points were predictable but they were still written well and I enjoyed them even knowing what was likely to happen.

I would have liked to learn a little more about Naomi, as I still feel like I don’t know anything about her despite half of the book being from her point of view, whereas Luca’s chapters focused more on his story and he felt like a more fleshed out character. Anne could also have used some more development, but was still a fun addition to the story.

When I say I devoured this book... I didn't move from start to finish. I love cute rom coms!

The story follows Naomi and Luca who have been pen-pals since 5th grade, writing hate filled but super funny letters to each other. As life goes on, so do the letters until one year they stop! 2 years later, Naomi receives a letter that changed everything.

I absolutely loved the back and forth between these two, there was no poker face reading this. A full-on smile on my face! The concept of this book was good, and the story was descriptive, I enjoyed the flashback chapters explaining where they were in life when writing & receiving the letters. We did have an obvious twist, but I found myself questioning it still.

If you're looking for a super cute, quick rom com then I would definitely recommend this.

Pub Date: 14th March 2024

Spice: 1/5

Key Points:
1st person
dual pov
standalone
HEA

Tropes:
enemies to lovers
pen-pals
he falls first
rom-com

Hate Mail is a cute and fun book about pen pals who have been writing each other since fifth grade. While the main characters are fun and reading how their relationship unfolds and transforms over the years really makes the book, I find the miscommunication a bit for fetched. However, with that said, this is a fictional book and it was enjoyable to read and had me laughing at moments.

Thank you for the ARC of Hate Mail by Donna Marchetti

Hate Mail by Donna Marchetti is the best romantic comedy I've read since The Hating Game in 2016.

I loved this book! It was just so much fun to read. I had the biggest grin on my face throughout because Luca and Naomi were so adorable and funny. Their letters to each other were hilarious and had me laughing out loud. I literally devoured this book in a few hours, it was so good. If you like romantic comedies please pick up this book!

Thank you so much Donna Marchetti, HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter & NetGalley for giving me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins / One More Chapter for the eARC!

Hate Mail was such a refreshing take on a contemporary romance! I've read so much in this genre recently that I can start to see the formula laid out ahead of me, and it takes a really fun or interesting concept (on top of lovable characters and good writing!) to keep me engaged. This book had all of that - the pen pal relationship gave them so much depth and history that is usually missing from these shorter romance novels, and the fear of losing that 20 year connection actually gave realistic stakes. A small thing I enjoyed was their careers - meteorologist is such an underrated source of material in this context - the greenscreen and other Luca dares reminded me a lot of How I Met Your Mother style romcom antics.

Structurally - I loved the way Marchetti wrote the dual POV, this was easily one of the best uses of the format I've ever seen in a contemporary romance. The timelines starting in different places but meeting in the present moment right at the height of the emotional tension was SO good. Even though I had my own suspicions and pieced together the "mystery" aspect earlier on, I was far from bored, and the dual POV was a large part of that.

The reason this book has earned 4 stars rather than 5 is honestly just two things for me:
1 - I don't mind a third-act breakup, but I don't love when the conflict is dragged out (especially between characters that have a lot of history) or the fight becomes cyclical/repeats every time they see each other.
2 - the trend of a HEA time skip epilogue... I'm so tired. I loved the way the story itself ended, it felt intentional and crafted for high impact! If an Epilogue doesn't show something of substance, like major change or someone achieving something outside of the relationship that they were struggling with in the story, then I'm happy with an implied happiness for them - this is the one case where I don't need to see something to believe it. This is fully a Me thing, which I acknowledge, but I feel like a book just falls so flat when it ends on a vignette of the couple in a few years talking about their To-Do list. I'd take an impactful ending scene and ambiguity any day!

Overall - loved the concept, really enjoyed the structure of the dual POV, loved both the characters, especially Luca. I felt engaged by the "mystery" aspect. I really enjoyed the depth and history that both the characters had with each other. The letters were so enjoyable to read too! I just had so much fun with this read, it's such a refreshingly well-written and well thought out contemporary romance.

Really cute storyline and characters. However, the pace felt slow and the story quite predictable at times. Would recommend as a light read but found it overall average.

this was SO cute and SO FUNNY!!! The banter in this one was particularly excellent. The dialogue was not tacky at all, there were lots of cute animals, that has nothing on the plot! I felt like I was reading a mystery and also a rom com. I stayed up late binging this!! It was like a cuter, more light-hearted version of punk 57. I wish I had figured out the twist a bit earlier bc I think I would’ve enjoyed it even more. I also wish it was a bit spicier but that’s a personal preference!

I loved this it’s such a sweet funny love story with a difference. Naomi and Luca have been pen pals since fifth grade writing mean and silly things to each other I absolutely adored their relationship the way they grow up with each other but never actually meeting It’s so sweet.
I loved the light heartedness of this book I love the adventure Naomi and her friend go on to try find Luca. It’s a crazy ride and glad they find each other and get their happy ending. I also find Luca’s job so interesting.

It’s a lovely read I stayed up way too late and finished it in one night I didn’t want to put it down till I knew Naomi had found Luca.

Overall I think this a fun happy romance perfect for a nice day on the beach. It has amazing characters full of love and happiness adore pets some cool jobs and a unique meet.

I LOVED this one so much - childhood penpals that have never met and now they're all grown up and they're STILL winding each other up.

It was so much fun watching the letters change from childish insults to more grown up topics whilst still managing to be cruel to each other. Naomi is just starting a new relationship when Luca gets back in touch after 2 years and try as she might, she cannot stop thinking about Luca. Jake is AMAZING but there's always the "what if?" In the back of her mind.

Secrets and pasts are unfolded drawing Naomi closer to Luca and I just wanted to give him a big hug 🥺 I couldn't wait for them to finally meet, the whole book is a big ball of tension and it is SO worth it.

I devoured this book in one sitting and I highly recommend for fans of Emily Henry, Hannah Grace and Lucy Score.

I loved this entertaining story of Naomi, who is tracking down her childhood pen pal Luca at the same time as embarking on a new relationship with her neighbour Jake. I read this all in one sitting - the world of the book is so alive, I really didn’t want to leave it.
The characters are strong; both protagonists felt fully realised despite the narration mostly coming from Naomi, which reflects the quality of Marchetti’s writing and story. I just completely enjoyed reading ‘Hate Mail’ - it is slightly ridiculous in the way that most good romances are. This book exemplifies why I read romances: fun and escapism.

Absolutely loved this books so much! The story timeline was perfect and it flowed very nicely. I never got bored of the book (especially after I have been on a reading slump lately) and I wanted to grab my kindle at every chance I got so I could find out what happened next! The plot twist at the end was shocking but I also realized that I should've seen some of the hints the author threw in there. They met through a Pen Pal project in elementary school and they have such an interesting relationship throughout the years. Naomi and Luca will always have my heart! I really hope to see a series come out of this book so I can see what's next in their life!

This book is perfect for someone who likes reading dual POV, romance, minimal spicy moments but can feel the passion between the two, and who likes the idea of a pen pal romance.

P.s. Anne really annoyed the crap out of me...why is she nosey? Besides that she was a cool friend to encourage Naomi to find her Luca love! I still don't like her that much though...lol.

Overall Rating: 5/5
Spicy Rating: 1/5
Made Me Blush Rating: 2.5/5
Would I recommend? YES!
Version: Kindle e-book

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for gifting me this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to Netgalley for this one, I liked the sound of this one as soon as i saw it. I bumped it up my TBR pile so i could read it straight away. I really liked this one even though it was very predictable and i knew what was going to happen i still loved the story! It had the right amount of spice too!

Okay so I totally loved the mean letters that Naomi and Luca have been sending each other since childhood. They were so funny and aggressive, and you could tell they’d met their match and totally liked each other. Why else would you send hate mail to each other for decades. It was interesting to see both of their points of view, with Luca’s focusing more on his childhood and the things that happened in his life that Naomi didn’t know about. Naomi’s point of view was mostly present-day, and we watch her trying to track down Luca, who had been out of touch for a couple of years, with the help of her friend Anne. It’s difficult to know who to route for between Luca and Jake, Naomi’s hot neighbour that she starts dating as it’s obvious there’s a spark between Luca and Naomi but they’ve never met and her dates with Jake are sweet and he loves animals (it’s hot, okay?!).

There was a great set of characters in this book and the interactions at Naomi’s workplace with Anne and Mr Facey were amusing, plus I loved how forthright Naomi was in asking for what she wanted. Though I did work some things out early on eliminating a lot of the surprise from the novel, I still very much enjoyed the journey and though there were times I felt bad for Naomi (even though technically, she might have been slightly in the wrong at times) it ended well.

I received a free copy of this book. All views are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this book.

The cover, title and description drew me in and I was invested from page one.. ibenjoyed the letters between Naomi and Luca throughout the years and at times found them hysterical. It was great to see the world through their eyes as they grew and evolved through the years.

The plot was unique, the characters descriptive and I enjoyed thebread.

Recommend.

This book put a sour taste in my mouth and I don't know where to start. I should have listened better to the title because this was indeed Hate Mail. Our couple were childhood pen pals and exchanged despicable letters for a solid decade. From the first epistle, I was unimpressed. Many mean jabs were exchanged as an attempt at humor, even landing the hero in trouble after the heroine joked about a bomb threat at his military base. That is not funny on any planet and these two deserve each other for how deluded their messages were written. If it were me, I would have ripped up the first letter and never written back.

Mean letters aside, this book was a narrative mess. There was no logic and the character's actions left me baffled. The heroine is a weather girl and her job lets her jet set to the opposite end of the country multiple times on a hunch finding someone she's never met? Baby, she didn't even have a current address! My biggest annoyance was the inclusion of Jake. His name nor his status as a friendly neighbor was never mentioned in the synopsis. We were focused on finding Luca, yet Naomi spends all her free time canoodling with Jake. Naomi's coworker christened him Demonic Husky Eyes and that had me cringing into the next century. That's not cute nor is it a flattering nickname. Nearly every chapter had me grimacing in discomfort.

Hate Mail was overlong and the poorly concocted reveal could be seen a mile away. Shame on both these characters for not bothering with clarification as their relationship became more serious. These dumb bunnies deserve each other if they're not willing to communicate with their partner. I know I'm being harsh, but I wasted my time on a long book without a satisfying ending. So many narrative choices were aggravating and could have been easily resolved if the characters used their head for more than just a hat rack. To maintain some semblance of positivity, I loved the cover and it's what ultimately factored into me accepting this advanced copy. This was a fun concept and I would have enjoyed it more if these were actual love letters instead of just Hate Mail.

💌 Hate Mail by Donna Marchetti 💌
Thank you to the publisher for sharing an ARC copy of Hate Mail for me to read in exchange for an honest review!

I will start by saying, I love this book. It has absolutely everything I could ever want. The writing is funny, refreshing and so addictive. I bounded through this and loved every second of it. It’s a new favourite and absolutely without a doubt a 5 star book.

Naomi and Luca have been penpals since they were young, things have changed over the years and eventually the letters drop off into no contact. That’s until Naomi receives a letter at work, it’s definitely from Luca but… there’s no return address.

The premise alone had me dying to dive into this one and it did not disappoint. The connections and friendships between characters were believable and funny, the personalities were charming and the heartache leapt off the page in places.

I am absolutely obsessed with this book. If you love rom-coms with that feel good vibe this one is definitely for you. 🩷

I really enjoyed this one. It was cute, funny, and full of banter that made it fun to read. I appreciate the dual-perspectives of Naomi and Luca and how we get a full timeline of their "penemy" relationship. The letters were a little juvenile....but they're supposed to be. It made this read very light-hearted and fun. I would absolutely read this one again.

I have mixed feelings about this book. Whilst on the one hand I liked the premise and the story itself, on the other hand I found the story, in certain parts, repetitive.

Let's break it down.

Naomi and Luca won my heart. I wanted to hit Luca for hiding things from her and for not telling her the truth straight away, but on the other hand it would also take the fun out of the story. I really felt like I was in a retelling of You've got Mail, but instead of emails, it was letters!
Anne, on the other hand, was super annoying at certain points in the story, too insistent and wanting to change things for the better.

It was a good book overall, with a bit of spice 🌶️ and a very, very cute romance! I think the author has a lot to offer us.

Thanks to Harper Collins and One More Chapter for providing this copy for review.

Very quick rom-com read - I started and finished it in the same evening! It kept me engaged and entertained. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Fun, flirty and just a little silly, Hate Mail was such an enjoyable read. Frenemies to lovers, it follows Luca and Naomi, penpals since school whom despite sending each other totally mean snail-mail 🐌 fall head over heels for one another through letters. Their love story is totally cheesy and a tad predictable but it made for such an amusing and easy to devour romance. Snort-gigglingly funny, I had such a good time with this one! 💌💕