Overall, I enjoyed the story. though i found it to be a bit of a slow read, I think some of it could’ve been shortened.
I liked reading the work-drama unfold and of the main characters life as well.

Sweet, hilarious, and touching, I HOPE THIS FINDS YOU WELL follows Jolene, a lonely office employee who is frustrated with her irritating and inept coworkers. To relieve her grievances, Jolene secretly uses snarky email postscripts to vent, then changes the text color to white so no one can see them. Things are going smoothly...until she gets caught. As part of her punishment, Jolene is forced to have strict email restrictions put in place, but in the process, a mix-up grants her access to her colleagues' private emails and messages. Jolene knows she should report the mistake, but she's quickly drawn into a scheme to use the mishap to her advantage instead. However, she just might discover that her coworkers are keeping some secrets too, that sometimes people can surprise you...and that you may even surprise yourself.

I flew through this book! I tried to savor it, but just could not put it down. I thought the observations on office culture, depictions of Iranian culture, complex family and coworker relationships, and central themes of self-discovery and of allowing yourself to be known and loved (despite the flaws you may have), were all so fascinating to read about, and Natalie Sue does a fantastic job of balancing them throughout her debut. The relationships between Jolene and her family members, work colleagues, and neighbor Miley were all so well-done! I absolutely loved the romance between Jolene and the new HR guy, Cliff, and wanted even more of that aspect of the story. I did have one qualm, despite really enjoying this one overall—I felt like the depiction of Jolene's anxiety, particularly socially, became a little unrealistic as the book went on. I thought it was spot-on at the very beginning, but that later on, it didn't completely ring true that she would just be able to connect with her coworkers and be able to open up so quickly. Still, I would definitely recommend I HOPE THIS FINDS YOU WELL! Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC.

Quick read with dark humor. Think the show the "Office" but someone is clairvoyant by way of accidental administrative email access. As Jolene navigates work relationships in the face of upcoming layoffs, she learns to appreciate her coworkers from a different perspective.

I received this DRC from NetGalley.

I will preface this by saying that I'm still looking for a romcom-type book that doesn't annoy me, but if you like that kind of thing, I'm sure you'll enjoy this more than I did. Possible spoilers ahead.

Jolene was annoying. Her tragic backstory wasn't well-integrated and didn't add a lot. The biggest qualm I had with her, though, was how her anxiety was portrayed. She seems to have anxiety especially in social situations, but guess what- she realizes she can just turn it off when she needs to! How convenient. If only the rest of us had stumbled upon this solution.

I guess the workplace comedic aspect was that literally everybody there, except the nice new guy, are all just annoying and suck in some way. Plus the usual misunderstandings. So you need to like corny humor, basically.

Plenty of tropes. I will admit, although it seemed over the top, I thought the Armin thing was a bit amusing. And I haven't often read books with a Persian plot line.

Overall, I just didn't find this to be particularly funny nor heartfelt. The only character I liked was Cliff. Everyone else were just kinda clichés. I guess my main takeaway was supposed to be that even people that suck are actual people with backstories of their own. But anyone not as self involved as Jolene would've already known that.

Lonely office worker Jolene relieves her on-the-job frustrations by adding rude notes to the end of her emails in invisible white font. In one moment of forgetfulness, Jolene does not hide her caustic comments and gets caught. After a scolding and a mandatory anti-harassment course with new HR employee Clifford, Jolene's IT department installs spy tech on her office computer to track her behavior. But she soon discovers a hidden flaw in their punishment — Jolene can now see all her colleagues’ emails and private messages. In the beginning, Jolene decides to use her forbidden knowledge to become the very best employee. However, as she witnesses her coworker's silent struggles, Jolene gathers the courage to make connections. This office story is both funny and heartfelt. It immediately reminded me of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman. Both books have lonely protagonists steeped in their own despair who gradually find the courage to let themselves be known by others. Worth a read for the zingy, on-point observations of that office life.

Jolene has avoided any sort of relationship with her co-workers since starting her job at Supershops corporate office. For her, there was no value in getting to know them. A job is a job. While they think she is unfriendly, she is okay with that because she is just trying to survive the day. Her one stress release : when she emails her coworkers she hides insults within them as a p.s. in white text until one email to her office rival Caitlin. She forgets to change the text color and is reported. Cliff, the new HR guy, starts her on an anti-harassment course and by accident gives her access to everyone's emails and instant messages. Through these messages, she realizes just what her coworkers think of her and how inauthentic they present themselves within their workplace.
I Hope This Finds You Well pairs humor, emotion, and late-onset self discovery to tell Jolene’s story. Although there were slow moments throughout the book, I felt that the continued humor carried me through. Jolene’s emotions related to her past so heavily influenced her whole life. It was enjoyable to see Jolene work through these emotions as she navigated her job at Supershops, her relationship with her parents, and an unexpected new love interest. There was not a character (except Gregory) I didn’t grow to love. I do wish Jolene’s romantic relationship was explored a little more. I enjoyed getting to see that side of her and longed for more depth. Overall, Natalie Sue made a corporate office into a hilariously dramatic tale of finding yourself and being okay with who that is even if someone else (or the whole office) thinks you’re a little weird.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the advanced readers' copy of this title.

I hope this review finds you well because this book found me and had me hooked. I really could not put this down until I was finished it and I wish I never had to finish the book. It was a great read and I am excited to share it with my patrons.

A dark, romantic comedy about a young woman who accidently gets access to her co-workers email and learns a lot more than she bargained for. At times a bit cringy but generally fun. 3.5

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing this book, with my honest review below.

I Hope This Finds You Well is a book I would highly recommend to readers for both its engaging premise and the cultural elements so well woven in. I loved every chapter and found this to be one of the most enjoyable books I’ve read recently.

Jolene is depressed, has high anxiety, and only airs out her resentments in white out text in her email to colleagues. When she gets caught out the office’s new HR resource, Cliff, accidentally sets up her computer not only to be monitored but to give her access to monitor everyone’s emails and DMs in the office. What follows is sometimes funny, sometimes supremely sad, but well worth the journey of self realization and self improvement this takes Jolene down. Jolene’s minimal personal life also feels the effects, from her teenage neighbor who just needs a friend to her mother that Jolene both adores and resents.

I loved the well done and subtle depiction of Jolene’s Iranian culture throughout the story and the slow revealing of her past, and how it impacted her. This was light at times but also dove deep, and balanced this perfectly. Pick this up, it’s well worth it!

I typically speed read contemporary novels, but Natalie Sue's I Hope This Finds You Well is one that I found myself taking my time reading. Too often I felt like I was reading my own thoughts and watching my own experiences play out.

It's the hallmark of good writing when you can see yourself in a character and so many times I saw myself in Jolene, Armin, Caitlin, Cliff and Rhonda. Each member of this office was someone I have worked with or was someone that held a little piece of what makes me me.

Witty and snarky, but also intimate, sweet and tender - Sue takes her reader on a guided tour of contemporary office life. Many of us will never get to experience the true insight into our coworkers that Jolene gets, but I Hope This Finds You Well is a stark reminder that life happens to all of us - anxiety is not something that only happens to one person, that the smile on your co-workers face may be hiding a frown, that sometimes, all it takes to turn a day/week/month/year around is to be open to possibility. It's also important to remember that some people are exactly who they show the world and that too will never change.

I do have to point out that calling this an "office comedy" is a little off the mark. Yes, there is humor in it, but the humor is drastically tempered by the portrayals of family life, trauma and anxiety that take major front seats in the lives of the characters. It doesn't change how much I enjoyed it, but "comedy" is not something I'd call this book, unless you want to emphasize that a lot of it is dark/gallows type humor.

This book was a delight from start to finish! I loved Jolene's dry wit and pitch-perfect observations of office life -- the voice reminded me a lot of Halle's Butler's The New Me. For all its acridity, It ended up being a surprisingly heart-warming read with some smart things to say about the child-of-immigrants experience.

I Hope This Finds You Well enjoyably sits somewhere between Joshua Ferris’s Then We Came to the End and Gail Honeyman’s Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine. It held my interest, and I couldn’t help but root for Jolene, Cliff, Rhonda and Miley. I did feel the plot dragged a bit about halfway through, but it picked up speed again to a satisfiying conclusion. My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC of this entertaining debut.

Jolene is an office worker who keeps to herself while making scathing remarks about her colleagues in her head. Until she decides to write these comments in emails to her coworker. Typed out in white ink so the recipient would never actually see these hateful words, she continues to send them until one day, she forgets to change the color of her font.
Reprimanded and forced on restrictions, Jolene loses access to important computer features for her job. Or does she?
After discovering that an error was made in her limited access, she now sees every DM, email, file, etc. of her coworkers. Using this to her advantage, she begins to spy on the people around her and discovers the many secrets being held from one another. But what Jolene discovers is far more serious as layoffs are privately being discussed. Trying to gain the trust of her colleagues and HR, she tries to fight for what is rightfully hers by using everyone’s words against them. But will her conscience get the best of her in the end? Will she come clean or continue to deceive those around her?

This was such a fun office-based book. I love how this novel was portrayed strictly from the viewpoint of Jolene and her work family. As we spend so much time at the office, it becomes a second home, and those around us, whether we get along or not, become part of our universe.
I didn’t need too much from the characters in this book. I sat back and enjoyed the work drama and everything Jolene brought to the story. Jolene is a distasteful person that maybe you wouldn’t want working side by side with you, she was endearing and had some depth that she never really wanted to share.

Overall, this was quirky, frustrating, and refreshing. I could read this one again as it was entertaining enough to capture my interest and keep me reading to the end. Excellent work.

The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I had high hopes for this book—and it did not disappoint.

One of the best parts of this book was the characters—every single one of them was so well developed and fully dimensional that they quite literally almost jumped off the page. Often with a cast of characters so broad you don't get a full feel for the secondary characters, but there wasn't a character I met, no matter how small their part in this story, that I didn't feel connected to and fully aware of who they were. That's quite an accomplishment for a writer!

The mental health representation in this story is so timely and important, and very well and respectfully done. The story had such great moments of hilarity, a sweet and very believable romance, and touched on some really important topics in a very empathetic way. Overall, it was a great read and I highly recommend it to anyone looking to get out of a reading slump, as it'll suck you right in.

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Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this title. These are my honest thoughts.

Wow, I really enjoyed this book!! The concept behind the book is this girl, a wallflower at an office, gets access to everyone’s emails. What she reads isn’t always pretty, but that’s part of the intrigue of the book.

I found myself laughing out loud a lot while reading this book. That doesn’t happen often for me. I enjoyed all of the characters, even small characters like Miley.

I will definitely look forward to reading more from this author in the future!

Thank you to NetGalley for access to thus ARC in exchange for a honest review.

This was the most relatable, laugh out loud funny book I’ve read in a while. It was sharp and so witty. Natalie Sue is brilliant, each one of her characters felt like someone I know. This story follows Jolene who after one of her secret petty emails is exposed she is supposed to receive rigorous IT restrictions. When those restrictions actually grant her access to her entire departments private emails she can’t resist reading them. She is drawn further into her coworkers private lives and secrets while trying to avoid it all crashing down around her and being exposed.

I thought this was an amazing read. It touches on adult loneliness, working culture and familial expectations. I thought it blended these themes perfectly. I liked how we didn’t just see Jolene struggling but this story showcased how often and how easy it is to quickly judge our peers while not knowing the full story. I loved the connections and tender moments this story had too. It wasn’t just all silly, there were stories that felt real and many relatable moments. There was a tiny hint of romance but it never felt like it overshadowed the story and became only about romance.

This really had a bit of everything. I think this book would be amazing for anyone looking to have a laugh and a cry about crappy work situations, feeling lonely, finding themselves and finding a community. It also had great Persian and Iranian rep.

Hugest thanks to William & Marrow for gifting me an ARC

I cannot say enough good things about this book!

If you've ever worked in an office, you know what it feels like to spend most of your waking hours with the same people day in and day out. You know so much, yet so little about their lives.

I Hope This Finds You Well follows Jolene, a socially anxious office administrator who gets access to all of her coworkers emails and DMs. Her company is already borderline toxic and now there's a new HR guy sniffing around. With potential layoffs looming, Jolene decides to use this computer glitch to get a leg up.

As a major fan of The Office, this book gave me all the feels. The story and characters made the seemingly mundane activities of office life read almost like a mystery or thriller as the different layers of Jolene's coworkers are revealed. I laughed, I cried, and I couldn't put this book down. It has all the best parts of your favorite sitcom and an early 2000's romcom.

Add this book to your TBR ASAP! I Hope You Find This Well will be published on May 21st, 2024.

Thank you to NetGalley for sharing this ARC with me in exchange for my honest review.

I appreciated this book so much! I felt like this book had a little bit of everything, and could even appeal to me as someone who usually hates a smarmy, ensemble-cast-feel-good type book where the curmudgeon learns to open their heart to others. Instead, the characters felt real enough and captures the banality of a cubicle farm while instilling heart into the protagonist and her coworkers. I appreciated that her complex relationship with her parents (particularly her mom) included not just the annoyance of the overbearing immigrant mother, but also the place of love it comes from, ultimately culminating in her mom's unwavering support. Some of these contemporary books just need a little bit of mom-warmth, and I was happy to find that here. Bonus: I love workplace drama haha

I went into this book with some pretty high expectations after seeing some fantastic reviews for it, and let me just tell you, those expectations were not high enough. This is a super relatable, emotional, and hilarious ride, and boy is it a ride!

I absolutely loved the characters! One of my favorite things about this book was how all of the characters were all so well written and developed, full of flaws and issues going on in both their work and personal lives. It wasn't just the main characters that felt fully fleshed out, the supporting characters were as well. I can't remember the last book I read where all of the characters were as well developed as the ones in this book were.

I loved the balance of humor with mental health representation, then add in an adorably sweet romance, and it was perfect. I thought the portrayal of anxiety and alcohol reliance was spot on. I can't express how much I enjoyed the humor and snark being mixed in with it to help lighten up the tough topics.

I cannot recommend this enough. Please do yourself a favor and read this as soon as it comes out!

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

If an author writes a book about a hot mess adult then I will read it!

I hope this finds you well is so clever while also hitting on really deep themes of grief, guilt, family pressure, and self isolation.

Our main character Jolene has been working the same administrative job for 8 years without letting herself be known by her coworkers. No one in her office knows that her best friend died while they were in high school and that she’s carried that weight with her ever since. She’s the only daughter of Iranian/Persian parents who want nothing more than for her to be successful in her career, marry well, and produce grandchildren so her mom can brag to all of the auntys.

But Jolene’s self isolation and invisibility can only last for so long. One day she forgets to white out the snarky (and hilarious) comments on an email she sends to a coworker and this lands her in the office of the company’s new HR guy, Cliff. Who knew that someone in HR at a major corporation could actually change everything for the better?

I hope this finds you well is full of heart, witticisms, and learning that people are almost never what they seem on the surface or who we imagine them to be in our heads.