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!

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow Books for the ARC of I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue. This book is a gem -- it was The Office/Office Space, meets Bridget Jones's Diary, meets my crazy Persian mom (yes, I have a crazy Persian mom). As I read, I was doing a combo of cringing/laughing/waiting to see what would happen next. The cast of characters was amazing, and you can't help but root for Jolene and Cliff through it all. They were so flawed, yet so lovable. As I stated earlier, as someone with a Persian mom who grew up in that community, I laughed so hard at all the characterizations of the Iranian culture - the author captured them spot on, and I felt so seen. This is a must-read debut, I highly recommend.

Not really paying attention too the synopsis, I requested this book and started reading. To my surprise it’s a romance and I don’t enjoy romance. This book changed my mind. It wasn’t silly or over the top. It was heartwarming and smart and a little sad at times.
It characters reminded me a f the cast from the office and the main character well developed and funny and I found myself rooting for her. If I could find more rom coms like this I would definitely be up for reading them.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for a honest opinion. 4⭐️

Cover Rating: 10/10

This was SUCH a fun read - I laughed out loud multiple times, compulsively kept reading, did not want to put it down and absolutely loved it.

This felt really fresh and fun, while keeping me fully engaged.

Thanks Net Galley & Book Club Girls for the ARC. I thought this had a super interesting and original premise and love a work place centered book or tv show. I enjoyed it but thought it needed a little more character detail. When Jolene was open and honest with her mom at the end things were completely fine, which like - duh! I enjoyed the snark of the Admin Pod and found them to all be super realistic as you never know what someone is going through. Overall I recommend it but my expectations were really high when one of the reviews said “for fans of the office”. That’s an insane thing to say.

This was a debut novel by author Natalie Sue. Basic premise is a woman, Jolene, does not value her own ability to be a person deserving of a good life based on the tragic death of her best friend in high school. And she is thrown into "The Office". A dysfunctional group of people thrown together in a somewhat toxic work environment. The result is a fun, sweet story of how she finds herself.
Jolene is of Iranian decent and parts of "being Iranian" are introduced to the reader, in terms of how the community works, and what parents expect of their adult children. I found this educational and entertaining. I could not understand why she (and her fake fiancé Armand) could not say "no" to their parents.
Jolene is a loner at work and is basically ostracized for being a weirdo. She is reprimanded at work and has to take HR sensitivity training. Her computer is supposed to be locked down to limit her outside access to the internet, but she is accidentally given access to all internal emails and instant messaging. She plans to use this to her advantage to keep her job when upcoming layoffs are announced, but the real result is that she befriends some of her coworkers when she finds out about their personal lives and secrets and tries to help them with their issues.
Thanks to the publisher, William Morrow, for the ARC of this book for me to read and review. I enjoyed it a lot.

4.5 stars rounded up. I really enjoyed this one. It was a really fun, really relatable office dramedy. There were so many work-related moments that felt all too real to me. The office dynamics were great and made me thankful that I don't have all that passive-aggressive drama at my job.

I loved all the insider knowledge Jolene got through everyone's messages and how she used it to help not only her own situation but her coworkers as well. It was great to see her growth, but I felt a real sense of dread while I waited for things to fall apart for her.

Her relationship with Cliff was cute and actually added to the story. I liked that there were a lot of shades of gray in all the characters and that the ending was ultimately happy without tying things up in a neat, perfect little bow for everyone.

I read an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All comments are my own.

Fun read with unexpected depth and character exploration. I was expecting a comic read (which I got) but it also delivered romance, immigrant perspective, and mental health study.. Excellent!

4.5 ⭐️

This book had me in cackling! The humor is on point, and her characters feel like old friends. Jolene's journey through workplace drama and personal revelations is a rollercoaster ride you won't want to get off. It's not just laughs though; the story dives deep into adulting struggles, office politics, and family dynamics. I appreciated how it didn't shy away from the messy stuff, showing the realness behind the humor. The little bit of romance added a sweet touch without taking over. Also, bonus points for the Persian and Iranian representation.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my advanced reader’s hard copy!

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for gifting me and eARC to read and review honestly.

Ate this up as soon I was able to give it my full attention.
So relatable, realistic and funny, I could see myself as Jolene on every page. The cast of characters are a total ragtag bunch just trying to survive a corporate 9-5, climbing the ladder and not have personal issues bleed in. You feel their emotions and for this so be a debut, speechless.

I’ll be thinking of this one for a while.

I was wildly impressed by this book. I really was not expecting much from the synopsis, but was pleasantly surprised within the first few chapters by how much I was enjoying the story right off the bat. And it only got better.

Jolene is a very flawed character. She’s depressed after spending years not properly dealing with trauma that she experienced and, thus, feels not very motivated or ambitious, and has a lot of negative thoughts and reactions.

From an outside perspective, it would be easy to not like Jolene - but at the root of it, that was the theme of the story: things aren’t as they appear and you never know what someone is going through in their life. We go through a lot of ups and downs and questionable turns throughout Jolene’s story as she discovers the theme. Every part of it was enjoyable to me.

As someone who has been in the office world (thankfully, not as badly as at Supershops Inc.) and as a big fan of The Office, the office antics and characters in this novel were highly enjoyable, funny, and oh-so-satisfying to read.

This is Natalie Sue’s debut novel, and I cannot wait to read more of her work. I commend any writer who can make me feel things, and she was able to succeed that during the climax of Jolene’s story.

Jolene is many things, one of which being hilarious. Just the initial premise that she's caught writing her white font hate mail? Hilarious. I absolutely loved learning all about her coworkers via their own emails, it felt like the best gossip session ever and lasted a whole book's worth. It also got deeper than may have been expected, which really made me fall in love with the story and the characters. I really, really loved this book.