I really truly LOVED this book! What an amazing debut. The writing was so well crafted and the storyline was engaging. I love Jolene and can truly relate to her and how she felt in a stifling work environment. Sue captured the stereotypical office work culture and relationships perfectly.

I laughed, I cried, and I absolutely loved it. Definitely will be recommending this to others as a top read for the year!

Really looking forward to anything else Natalie Sue writes!

Lonely Jolene works in an office with lots of different personalities, and lots of looming layoffs. She discovers some potential for office deviousness and she goes for it. Along the way, she starts hanging out with the HR guy, and she sort of befriends a few of the other office staff members. Ultimately, she finds her peace.

I did not really like this story. Jolene is awful, and it was hard to me to have sympathy for her. There was a lot of love and support around her, but she just kept making poor decisions. I wanted to abandon the book at about 30%, but I stuck with it, and I did find the ending to be satisfying. Maybe that was the whole idea - to see Jolene in her misery, and then to see what she did with all that pain and suffering.

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read and review I Hope This Finds You Well.

I would like to introduce you to the quirky office comedy that is definitely a top 5 book of 2024. Grab a copy folks, this one is really effing good.

Jolene has no interest in knowing her coworkers. The closest she comes to being social is writing her frustrations at the end of work emails and putting them in white font so they won’t be seen. When she forgets to change the color one day she is forced to take sensitivity training with the new HR guy, Cliff, and have email restrictions set up. What Cliff and her boss don’t realize is that there was a glitch, instead of restrictions IT gave her access the emails and DMs of everyone in her office. Jolene realizes that people are about to be laid off and having this insight could be to her benefit. Jolene begins reading emails and messages to get a leg up on her competition and keep her job. What she didn’t expect was to actually start seeing her coworkers as people and caring about them. Caring about people isn’t something Jolene does, not anymore, not after losing her best friend in high school. But she might not have a choice anymore.

I Hope This Finds You Well is hilarious. It has a dark and dry wit that is infectious and some of the dialogue is spit take funny. Jolene is so jaded and isolated and blunt, yet so innately comical. Natalie Sue does an incredible job of creating a MC who toes that line between unlikeable and eccentric. Jolene’s interactions with Cliff, who is a human teddy bear, are especially spectacular. This book is just amazing, I was glued to the screen and can’t wait to own a physical copy! Pub date in one week folks, pre-order asap!! And seriously, keep an eye on @natwrotewhat. If this is her debut I can’t even image what bangers we’re in store for in the years to come. Absolutely a new favorite author for me. 5 stars and more!!

Thank you @netgalley for this ARC, this was really special.

Oh, I really loved this one!! It gave me major “The Office” vibes- this book was full of sharp, quick, witty prose, petty office politics, and surprising emotional moments that remind you of your (and other’s) humanity. All of the characters really jumped off the page, and I especially loved getting to know sassy but socially awkward Jolene. Her commentary on people and the traditional office workplace had me cracking up multiple times throughout the book! I also appreciated Jolene’s character growth throughout the book. It felt extremely earnest and completely believable. I was rooting for her and was so happy with how the story resolved!

Overall this was a fun and meaningful office dramedy I absolutely devoured. I highly recommend you pick up a copy for yourself when it comes out next week!!

Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review!

Ahhh the familiar feeling of secondhand embarassment. This book was a wild ride from start to finish. After reading about 40 bad decisions back to back, I considered putting it down. But then I had to see what happened! Reading this book was like watching a car crash in slow motion, and from the point of view of a drunk driver, careeing into a crowded intersection. What a mess! (in a fun-ish way).

The main character was sort of irritating at times, but I have enough reading comprehension to know that was sort of the point. She's supposed to be anti-social, awkward, anxiety ridded, and we, as readers, are supposed to watch her get less anti-social, awkward, etc. as the book goes on. However, she still was odd. I thought her growth went from 0 to 100, and there was a bit too much telling instead of showing.

I think this is an okay debut, but I would've liked this book to just be tightened up around the edges, if you will. This was an interesting read, but not necessarily something I'd rave about.

I expected this to be a light, snarky satire. It was actually so much more. It went above and beyond workplace drama to highlight family dynamics, unique friendships and even a bit of romance. If you are a fan of the Show Super Store, you'd probably like this book as well. I Hope This Finds You Well was an interesting read that is worth checking out.

Thank you to William Morrow and to NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

An engaging and bingeable story that has humor and heart in equal measures. Although the novel is formulaic, its strength lies in the depth of its characters — as flawed as she is, Jolene is lovable and a rewarding protagonist to read. Highly entertaining and a well earned 4 stars.

I love, love, loved this book! I picked it up mostly for the kickass cover and it turned out to be sweet, hilarious, and touching! I laughed, I cried and I cringed (hard).

Thanks to William Morrow and NetGalley for the ARC!

3.5 ★ release date: May 21, 2024

What a fun and quirky story! I think this was a really strong debut novel.

I Hope This Finds You Well follows Jolene; her life is a bit of a mess, to say the least, and she gets in trouble at work because she ends her emails with *how she really feels* as a form of venting and release. She usually converts that last part to white ink so it’s never seen, untillll one day she accidentally sends it in black ink for her coworker to clearly see. The story follows her journey digging herself out of this hole at work, and just in life in general.

The story started a bit slow for me, but really began picking up around the 25% mark. It has a little bit of everything- it’s funny, it’s silly, it’s “cat-and-mouse”, it has a dash of romance, and a dash of mystery.

Jolene is a bit unlikable of a character at first, but we quickly learn she’s really just lost, in pain, and insecure. I appreciated her growth as a person as she discovered and became more confident in herself. I definitely found myself rooting for her, and could tell that she’s well-intentioned despite not always going about things in the right way. The side characters are all unique and play their roles in the story perfectly. They seem surface level at first, but actually have a ton of layers to uncover. Really goes to show that you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover, and we’re all dealing with different things, no matter how hard we try to hide it. I enjoyed the Persian cultural elements and thought Jolene’s parents (mom especially) were very endearing.

The ending wrapped up nicely and left me feeling satisfied. I would recommend this!

Thank you to Netgalley, William Morrow Publishing, and Natalie Sue for providing this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Content warnings: anxiety/panic disorder, alcohol use/abuse, minor mentions of cancer, loss of parent, death, toxic/abusive relationship

Thank you to netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. This was a quirky, funny and heartwarming story. There were some sad moments along the way but a general overall good vibe. Jolene is in a rut at work and in life. She sends an email with a message that she meant to hide and forgot and gets in trouble with HR and had to take a course. Hijinks ensue as she accidentally gets access to everyones private information. Joelene is a loveable character and I was happy that she found her happy ever after. I would recommend this book to a friend

I absolutely loved this book! I don't work in an office setting but the scenarios in this book can be applied to any job/coworkers. It felt so raw and real that you couldn't help but connect with the main character, Jolene. Plus the slow-burn romantic relationship was a plus too. This book had me laughing, cringing, and kicking my feet. A fantastic quick read because I didn't want to put it down.
We enter the office of Supershop and follow anxious employee Jolene Smith along her journey of trying to save her job. She gets caught in a mistake (not changing the font color) and then risks her coworkers disliking her more and losing her job. She's put on probation and a consequence of that is her computer being monitored. But the next day when she arrives to work she realizes she has access to everyone's emails. She uses this to her benefit to get the inside scoop on them to become friendly with them and try to save her job. Each coworker has their own storyline too where you either love or can't stand them. Sounds typical for a workplace. I loved all the character-building and development throughout the book. The only storyline I thought could've been cut was the Ellie one. I think the story would've felt even more relatable if Jolene was just an anxious girly unsure of what to do in the world with the heavy pressure from her Persian parents, I loved this storyline too! It was so sweet to see this play out but also made my heart sink at times. Oh! How could I forget, one of my favorite characters Miley! She is so underrated I think but so important to Jolene's self-growth.
I highly recommend this book and can't wait to see others' thoughts on it once it comes out. Natalie Sue did an amazing job with this book! I will be eagerly waiting to read more from her!

———————————————————————
Thank you, NetGalley, the author and the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 3.5 stars
First of all, the character development in this debut novel is top notch. Natalie Sue does not just develop Jolene, the main character, but she works to make many of the other side characters multifaceted. The fact that I found myself caring about the side characters in the office just shows how well developed the characters were, and how much time Sue put into developing the characters and their relationships.
Jolene as a main character—her growth was so well done!! I appreciated that we saw many sides of Jolene: we saw her loneliness, her despair, but we also saw her making bad decisions. Not going to lie, some of Jolene’s decisions were making me stressed out, but I think that’s also what made her more real as a character.
The mental health representation was done in a very considerate way. Jolene’s train of thought felt in line with the trauma she had been dealing with for years, and I just appreciated again how authentic Jolene was made, and that Sue did the work rather than glossing over her pain and struggles.
But also, let me give a minute to our boy Cliff!!! What a guy. He is literally so sweet, and he just gets Jolene. We love a perceptive man, don’t we? The way he is able to understand her emotions, especially when she’s burying them, just makes you love Cliff. And he’s a cute dork who loves donuts and bowling, like what more can we ask for? We love a soft guy.
My one drawback for this book would be the pacing of it. I felt that the plot itself was moving a bit slowly. I understand that the pacing was most likely to mimic the feeling of working in an office, how it kind of drags, but I still found myself wishing the scenes would move quicker at times.
Oh! I can’t forget to mention how witty this book is. There are great emotional moments but then there are one liners that really made me giggle.
Thanks to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

It’s truly sad how many 30-something’s can resonate with this book. Being in this exact demographic and knowing this could have been my own story really hit close to home. I did find myself earlier than the main character, but it wasn’t any less painful than what played out between the pages. So many cringeworthy moments that were nothing but a true portrayal. I’m glad the characters got the redemption due in the end. I loved the cultural references to the Persian culture throughout.

I received a copy of this book as an eARC from NetGalley and the publisher, William Morrow Books in exchange for an honest review. Thank you so much!

This book was everything I hoped it would be and more. Jolene is our main character, a socially awkward administrative worker at Supershops - a mega chain store in Canada. Jolene has worked at Supershops for 8 years, and in order to cope with the banality of her job, she writes secret passive aggressive post-scripts on her emails, but changes the font to white, so no one sees them. She's overly dependent on alcohol and also has a deep-rooted trauma from high school that she doesn't really realize still impacts and influences how she shows up every day.

One day she forgets to change the font to white on one of her post scripts, and the new HR guy, Cliff, has to provide her with a warning and inclusion training. He also has to put some security protections on her computer, but it unintentionally gives her access to read every single coworkers' emails and Instant Messages. Once Jolene sees what her coworkers are saying about here (and it's not really nice), she decides to become friends with the HR guy, get back at her nemesis Caitlin, and get closer to her boss, Gregory through his assistant Rhonda. Antics ensue from there, and Jolene realizes what it means to be a good employee, a good friend, and a good person.

Natalie Sue has done a wonderful job capturing the bizarre world that is corporate culture in this book. I'm an HR professional myself, and I related so much with Cliff (who is just a delightful character). Also, I felt all the characters we multi-faceted and believable. I will admit there were several things I found predictable (Rhonda and Carl's dynamic, Caitlin and Kyle's dynamic), but I still enjoyed their plotlines even though I had already figured them out.

There may be a couple of content warnings (death of a friend, mother with cancer, borderline alcoholism). There is also a fake engagement sub-plot if you like that.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. The writing is snappy, the dialogue is sarcastic yet realistic, the characters are well developed and grow through the book. There is a touch of miscommunication, but it is very believable and not one of those "just freaking talk to each other!!!" frustrating kinds of miscommunication. I was a little nervous that reading this would make me feel too much like I was "at the office" and not be the escape I seek from reading books, but I actually found it very funny, comforting, validating, and a good time. There were several points I laughed out loud, and a few where I shed tears. What a delightful debut novel!

I HOPE THIS FINDS YOU WELL by Natalie Sue
4 stars

The hilarious, smart, and snarky workplace novel you didn’t know you were waiting for. The Office meets You’re the Worst.

When an IT mix-up grants her access to her entire department’s private emails and DMs, Jolene knows she should report it, but who could resist reading what their coworkers are really saying? And when she discovers layoffs are coming, she realizes this might just be the key to saving her job. The plan is simple: gain her boss’s favor, convince HR she’s Supershops material and beat out the competition.
But as Jolene is drawn further into her coworker’s private worlds and realizes they are each keeping secrets, her carefully constructed walls begin to crumble—especially around Cliff, who she definitely cannot have feelings for. Eventually, she will need to decide if she’s ready to leave the comfort of her cubicle, even if that means coming clean to her colleagues.

This debut, brimming with sharp and clever observations, is perfect for fans of anxious-girl fiction like Anxious People, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, and Really Good, Actually. This book was so much fun to read. I hope you love it as much as I did!

Thank you to @williammorrow and @Netgalley for an advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

Thank you William Morrow for I Hope This Finds You Well. I loved this book, it is funny and snarky in ways that I love and yet also charming and endearing as Jolene discovers she might like some of the people she works with. Sue writes insightfully and with a generous blend of humor and charm, making this book an unexpected win for me (and I LOVED the chapter titles, I love when authors give titles to chapters!!!). I can't wait for more from this author.
This is great for fans of workplace humor and stories fill with tender laughs and great character growth. Highly recommend for a fun summer read!

4.25 — I am so glad I got to read this one before its release! The synopsis hooked me right away—a single 30-something Iranian woman finds herself years later deep in the nine circles of corporate hell? It's so relatable it hurts.

With workplace shenanigans, office backstabbing, meddling mothers, after hours benders, and HR intervention, this novel struck me as a satire on the unspoken laws that govern the corporate jungle, the (mostly) well-intentioned lies we tell, and the slippery plunge into aloneness.

The book made me laugh out loud soooo many times—unavoidable when so many of its scenes mirror actual real life situations I've experienced and observed. There is some truth in absurdity.

But beyond the humor and relatability, I thought the romance was cute and found myself eager to turn the page. I Hope This Finds You Well definitely felt like a satirical Women's Fiction with a love story—and yet I was relieved to get a happy ending. I even got teary-eyed, which I did NOT expect that kind of emotion to come over me. There's a scene toward the end, after several lies catch up with Jolene, between herself and Miley that hit me smack in the feels.

I did want to see a wee bit more romantic development between Jolene and Cliff at the beginning, and at times, I grew frustrated with Jolene's approach to some situations, but I really enjoyed the book overall.

As a protagonist, Jolene is categorically flawed. She is bold and impulsive, complexly witty, and yet very very lonely and vulnerable. I think it could be easy to find things to dislike about her with the terrible choices she makes, and she repeatedly rolls over and accepts the harsh judgments cast upon her, BUT her journey from learning to open up to choosing happiness and connection made her story a worthwhile read to me.

Looking forward to seeing more from Natalie Sue!

I did not expect to like this workplace comedy so much. I Hope This Finds You Well (written in the vain of Eleanor Oliphant or Nina Hill) finds our protagonist (or is it antagonist) Jolene in a bit of a pickle when she gets caught sending condescending emails highlighted in white colored font to fellow work enemies. In turn, HR puts her on a mandatory training and starts monitoring her computer a little more closely. By a glitch or a force of nature, they accidentally grant her the ability to see all of her corowrkers messages and emails. What she finds out, is that after eight years of working at Superstores (I see it as a Canadian Wal-Mart). not only is she incredibly unhappy, her coworkers don't like her, and she has nothing else in her life to fall back on. No money, no friends, a tragic story from her past, and one very overbearing Persian mother to boot.

While this story was very funny with a dose of very familiar coworkers and workplace experiences, it was also touching and sad. Jolene obviously needs therapy facing her past. The attempts to grow at a higher rank with a boss who "touches his penis too much", and a workplace enemy Caitlin watching her every move, are all familiar tropes in the office space.

This is a debut novel from Natalie Sue and can't wait to see what she writes next.

Thanks netgalley for my advanced copy!

4.5 - I had an absolute blast diving into this book! Natalie Sue's writing skillfully breathes life into characters with remarkable depth. She effortlessly blends outrageous and humorous workplace conflicts with poignant explorations of complex themes. From grappling with grief and parental expectations to shedding light on issues like child neglect and domestic abuse, this book exceeded all my expectations. And let's not forget the utterly charming romance subplot that had me swooning!

What really stood out to me was how the book delved into the idea that the cutthroat nature of work and the relentless demands of capitalism often blind us to the humanity of our coworkers. It's a poignant commentary on how this system fosters competition at the expense of genuine connection and community.

I was so engrossed in this story that I even brought it along to a concert! It consumed my thoughts and sparked countless discussions with friends. Relatable and engaging, it's a must-read for anyone navigating the corporate world, especially those who struggle to find meaning in the daily grind imposed by society.

Thank you for the early read, Netgalley.

This was my first workplace “romance” and not sure it’s for me… as someone who does work a 9-5 job.

I had a really hard time with the MC in the beginning of the book. She gets more tolerable throughout it but I feel like there wasn’t enough of actual growth that occurred. It almost felt like she didn't deserve the happy ending because shw didn't really right any wrongs. She got fired and hit rock bottom. I would have enjoyed reading about the process of Jolene rebuilding herself more than anything that happened in the middle section of the book.

As a fellow Canadian, I hope to always support Canadian authors!