I haven't laughed out loud so much while reading a book in a while! This one is funny and scathing and insightful all in one gulp. I was deeply impressed with Sue's voice that she created for Jolene.

I think the thing that turned me off of this book was that it was touted as, "wildly funny." I can count the funny moments on one hand. Instead I just felt sorry for the main character. It seemed like maybe she had some issues that were never addressed and then she was bullied by her coworkers. It was a bit of a slog to get through. I did like Cliff though.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

It took me a couple of chapters to settle in but once I did I could not get enough of Jolene's crazy workplace and insane collection of colleagues. The plant poisoner, the celebration maven, the snotty rival, the perverted boss. These characters all achieved greater depth as the story proceeded but they never stopped giving the reader something to roll their eyes at. So yes, plenty of laughs, lots of feels as Jolene's past trauma is plumbed, a dash of romance. Altogether a delicious summer novel.

Many thanks to William Morrow Books and NetGalley for the advance copy of this book.

This book was truly amazing. I was so hooked into the storyline my heart began beating. Jolene is CRAZY and i mean crazy in a fearless way. Half the stuff she did I would chicken out on but it really kept me on my toes. This book was so funny, so emotional, and honestly a masterpiece. It’s even more impressive that this is a debut novel. Well done. I also loved how the side characters storylines were also heavily focused on showing that the people around us are all struggling.

I will say that the moments with cliff in the beginning really dragged for me but as the story progressed I began to really enjoy them.

I cannot go over this book. Jolene you crazy girl i love you.

I Hope This Finds You Well, Natalie Sue

5 *****

I read this based on the premise: an office worker gets into trouble when the hidden (rude, sarcastic) postscripts to her emails are discovered. It sounds nasty but I do appreciate a clever concept.

It’s well-written and drew me into the story straight away. The key characters are deftly sketched, revealed incrementally through their actions and dialogue; and the protagonist is very well developed by her running mental commentary as well as her actual conversations. Most characters are initially introduced in a negative light, but as the story progresses and we learn more personal circumstances, they become more sympathetic. (Very much in keeping with our times, there’s a lot of “let me curate how people perceive me” in direct contradiction to the muck in their actual, real lives.).

The protagonist, especially, becomes more sympathetic and develops – well I don’t want to offer specifics and spoilt it for you!

It's a very fast and enjoyable read; the writing was very good - not at all intrusive, it never drew attention to itself, but the character-revealing details were well planted, and the pace was steady and kept me engaged. The character development in particular was well done. And I enjoyed all the snark!

I recommend this wholeheartedly, and will look for more by this author.

My appreciation to the publisher and NetGalley for this advance review copy; my opinions are my own, and freely given.

I’m a big fan of The Office, so by the book’s description I was drawn in and really excited to read this one. I didn’t find myself loving the main character, and felt like the plot dragged a bit in several spots. Felt that anxiety and alcohol abuse was portrayed as a plot point, but then never really dealt with appropriately and was mildly addressed in the last chapters.

How much do we really know about the people we work with? Is it ever ok to lie? Natalie Sue explores these questions in I Hope This Dinds You Well. Jolene has always been an outcast, in high school and now at work. Her snarky passive aggressiveness gets her in to trouble and Human Resources puts restrictions on her computer however, instead of restrictions, she now has access to everyone's chat and emails correspondance. I wanted to hate Jolene for her lack of integrity and manipulating the situation for her own benefit but as her back story is revealed, readers learn that she is still suffering from the events surrounding her best friends death in high school.

Thank you @NetGalley for the ARC!

"I Hope This Finds You Well" by Natalie Sue is about Jolene’s journey through grief and healing which convey through work space. I like it and hate it at the same time.

I was immediately drawn to this debut novel by a Canadian author when I saw comparisons to Anxious People and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, as those are two perfect examples of the quirky, character-driven fiction that hits a sweet spot for me every time. I’m happy to report that those comparisons completely held up for me, and I thoroughly enjoyed the heart, wit, and realness of I Hope This Finds You Well.

This story follows Jolene, a 30-something who works as an administrative assistant in an office. Although she’s worked there for years, she’s never formed any real relationship with her colleagues and works with a general sense of unhappiness and annoyance towards both her co-workers and life in general. One little way that she lets off some steam and expresses her emotions at work is to write her true (i.e., usually mean) thoughts in emails to her co-workers but with the font changed to white on a white background, so no one will ever see it, right? Inevitably, Jolene gets caught in the act and her punishment includes a mandatory educational course with HR and email restrictions being placed on her office computer.

The rest of the story takes off from there - personally I feel like the blurb gives away a little more than necessary, as I really enjoyed the experience of going in a little more blind. As in many novels that fit this “adult coming of age” subgenre, we get to see Jolene go through exponential personal growth as she starts to learn more about her colleagues and their lives, and comes to see that maybe she was too quick to judge for so long without ever really knowing them. She also deepens her relationships with her Persian family, which was a really fun addition that I enjoyed learning about and seeing unfold. There is so much character development in this story that I thoroughly enjoyed, both in the Jolene and in the cast of delightful and distinct side characters that truly complimented Jolene’s journey.

All in all, I had a great time with this fun, relatable workplace comedy that brings some humor, coming-of-age themes, a bit of slow-burn romance, found family and more. While it wasn’t a perfect book for me with pacing that was just a bit off/slow at times and humor that was there, but I would’ve loved to see more of, there was certainly plenty to keep me happily flipping the pages. It’s a lovely up-lit novel that doesn’t make you try too hard and holds your hand through some of Jolene’s cringey choices in the beginning to ultimately give you a heartwarming, huggable story in the end. Thank you so much to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

"I Hope This Finds You Well" by Natalie Sue brings my biggest office anxieties to life...and yet, I loved every minute of it. The story follows Jolene, an admin worker who gets in trouble for accidentally sending a snarky email to a co-worker. Afterwards, when IT messes up activating monitoring software on her computer, she unexpectedly gains secret access to her coworkers' emails and messages. Fearing for her job, she uses this newfound spying ability to gain an edge at work and forge alliances.

At first, the book reminded me of "The Office" with its hilarious and incredibly relatable workplace moments. However, as the story progressed, I realized it was also deeply moving and sentimental, showcasing genuine human connections (also, much like "The Office!").

This is a book I'll be recommending to EVERYONE...starting with my coworkers!

I Hope This Finds You Well is about Jolene's experience in the hell of corporate life. You can feel the florescent lights beating down and hear the whir of the coffeemaker, as Natalie Sue has created a realistic and familiar setting for those who have ever sat in a cubicle. Jolene is not friendly with her co-workers, to say the least. In fact, she often adds secret text (in white font) to her emails to them detailing their failures. When one of these missives gets uncovered, she is forced to go through an HR training for better communication with colleagues. Then, due to some glitch in technology, Jolene suddenly has access to all emails and DMs for everyone in the office. Can she use this information to save her own job?

Sue writes a book that fans of Attachments by Rainbow Rowell or Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine will enjoy. The critique of our corporate life is biting and comical. You can't help but love Jolene, even as she makes many social faux pas. Highly recommend!

I liked the concept of this book and feel it's unique in the banter and office story line. Anyone working in a corporate setting can relate to at least one of Jolene's characters, which are all thoughtfully developed by the author. The book at times felt a bit slow and disjointed to me, it felt like there was a lot going on and the humor combined with the serious components didn't mesh well for me. I thought it was a good debut novel for the author and interested read but didn't love it the way I expected to. Overall - 3.5 stars for me.

Thank you to Book Club Girl Early Reads and William Morrow for an eARC of this novel!

Initially I wasn't sure about requesting this one because it seemed like it would be similar to another book I just read. But one of the author blurbs was from Shelby Van Pelt, author of one of my favorite books of 2023 so I decided to check it out.

On the surface, it seems like an office culture-type book but it is actually so much more. A very character-driven story of growth and healing for a young woman with anxiety and some past trauma as she navigates finally being able to move forward from her past and truly bloom into who she is meant to be.

3.5 stars

I read this on netgalley and enjoyed its sardonic humor quite a bit.

Jolene hates her job, all of her coworkers, and basically drowns her sorrows in alcohol on the weekends. Unfortunately, she slips in her habit of writing scathing remarks at the foot of emails in white text (oops—forgot to turn it white!) and now will have to undergo mandatory harrasment training. Obviously, this is going to go over well...

Overall, I would say it's equal parts comedy and drama as it's pretty clear from the beginning that Jolene has a lot of baggage to carry.

FYI - Lots of profanity peppered throughout.

Absolutely amazing, and hilarious. This is an outstanding debut for the author, and I look forward in reading more of her. I found the story very relatable, from one corporate girl to another!

I Hope This Finds You Well is a story of office politics. How to get along with your co-workers, and the challenges of balancing performance with personal feelings. Jolene is an administrative aide for a department store chain based in Calgary. She is disgruntled, with her job, her co-workers, and her life. She has a very bad habit of "whiting out" portions of emails that she sends to her co-workers, the "white portion" being what she thinks is unseen by her colleagues, but one day she forgets to "white out" something and hits send anyway. She is called in to meet with her boss and a new to the company Human Resources representative, Cliff. She receives a warning, and is asked to complete a course of HR training with Cliff. Cliff makes some changes to her office PC, which he mistakenly adds access to everyone in the company's emails. Jolene tries to tell Cliff this, but doesn't succeed. She then decides that having access to everyone's email might be a really good thing for her, and she uses the access to her advantage.

This debut novel from Natalie Sue had promise, and then dropped the ball. Jolene has a lot of issues, not just with her co-workers at work, but a disturbing incident from her past, which haunts her, making her a "functioning" alcoholic, disturbed, and down-right mean at times. Some of her quips to her co-workers are funny, and her sense of humor attracts Cliff, but for the most part, Jolene is mean - to her parents, to her neighbors, and to her co-workers. We know that she is still tortured by the incident in her past, but the way she treats her co-workers should have raised red flags before the email was caught.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC! I loved this book so much! This is my favorite book so far this year! It reminds me of both The Office (tv show) and "Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine" but yet it is also unique. I love all of the characters and it is just a fun book! I think anyone who has worked in an office setting will enjoy this story!

Jolene is working admin at a soulless corporation. She sucks at peopling and sucks at life. When she suddenly and accidentally gets access to the emails of everyone at her office, she has to decide: will she use this knowledge for good or for evil?

This was marketed as wry and funny, but I found it stressful and sad. Yes, Jolene embodies each of us who work at monotonous office jobs, just trying to survive. But the incidents in this book go beyond office stereotypes. Jolene is genuinely struggling and does not make good choices. Each of the people she works with are also hiding significant secrets. And as the book progresses, it's easy to see how everything will implode in Joelene's face. I found her difficult to like and identify with, and kept wishing she would make different choices.

This was entertaining but difficult to get though. Those who have thicker skin may enjoy it more.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the opportunity to read and review a digital ARC of this book.

See my review on Goodreads here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6512721902

This might just be my top book of the year 🥹 it’s hard to believe that this is a debut! Come for the hilarious sarcasm and stay for the character development.

I laughed, nearly cried, and somehow stayed on the edge of my seat despite the fact that this novel was set in an outdated office with florescent lights and dusty cubicles. If you like found family, a flawed protagonist with a redemption arc and fully fleshed side characters who don’t distract from the story, then this is the book for you!

The obvious TV comp is The Office, but I actually found myself thinking of the best parts of Community and Ted Lasso when reading this book. And do NOT be deceived by the ad copy comparing this book to Anxious People and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine; I didn’t particularly enjoy either of those and both are entirely different in tone. This novel is so unique that it’s hard to compare to much else, but it felt similar to Remarkably Bright Creatures.

You’ll walk away laughing as you think back on some of the one liners and reflecting on what lies beneath the surface of the people in your own periphery.

Thank you so much to the author, Net Galley and William Morrow for the ARC!


P. S. My one teeny tiny criticism is how many times Jolene mentions her “insides” churning or someone’s lip curling. But these are very forgivable offenses in light of the masterpiece that this book is.

Oh I loved this. It drew me in almost immediately - the story, the characters (even though it was fairly one-sided for much of the book), the writing.

I was enthralled by the seemingly mundane lives of office drones. And kept reaching for the book (kindle) whenever I had a free minute.

Highly recommend!