I just finished reading I Hope This Finds You Well by @natwrotewhat and WOW.
This is my favorite book I’ve read so far this year. It deserves more than 5 stars in my opinion. Office drama, gossip, passive-aggressive plant murder, intrusive mothers….it’s all in here. Jolene was witty and incredibly entertaining. There were so many laugh out loud moments for me. But more than that, the characters are so incredibly human and tremendously flawed like the rest of us. I was rooting for Jolene and I was not disappointed. This book is hilarious, but it is also heart-warming---nail-biting---and my heart dropped into my stomach a few times. I couldn’t have pictured the end being any more perfect than it was. I just loved it so much, and I will eventually be reading it again. Definitely recommend a thousand times over.
Thank you @williammorrowbooks and @natwrotewhat for the pleasure of reading this delightful e-book via @netgalley
All thoughts are entirely my own.

I Hope This Finds You Well was an anxiety attack, a heartfelt letter to humanity, and a character piece all in one. I'm not sure if I should be concerned each time I relate to the character that is represented as a huge mess but Jolene was nothing if not relatable. Although her antics took control of her life and she stuck her foot in her mouth more times than I can count, Natalie Sue wanted Jolene to be human and that's exactly what we got.

"How can someone saying he knows me feel like everything?"

If Jolene Smith is the life-sized version of a dumpster fire, her counterpart Clifford Redmond is the life-sized version of a teddy bear. Their stark differences contrasted so well as characters and as part of the story itself. I loved watching them interact and grow together because they both had a lot to learn. Cliff is someone everyone deserves in their life and I hope people like him actually exist.

"He actually cares. So much. Did I lose that part of myself? I definitely had it once."

When I went into this, I was expecting something more lighthearted and silly and, don't get me wrong, it had plenty of that. But what I wasn't expecting was the gut punch of Jolene's reality as a 33-year-old who has no idea what she's doing with her life and floats through each day like it doesn't matter. This was such a compassionate, soul-searching narrative of what it's like to be a human in a world that doesn't allow you to feel human the majority of the time. We got a glimpse at not just Jolene but all of her coworkers and the complicated lives they hid behind their work facade.

"I gaze around at my mess and wonder how I was ever able to exist in the world as the person that I am."

Although I would like to say nothing but high praise for I Hope This Finds You Well, it wasn't without its flaws. Jolene's attitude and temperament, while understandable, were unbelievably frustrating. She somehow kept digging herself so deep into her troubles that I was concerned for my mental state just reading about hers. Sue's writing was brilliantly paced and captured the complexities of life with a casual-seeming outlook but Jolene's humor didn't always land with me and I was hoping for more interactions with Jolene and Cliff than we got. It's also one of my biggest pet peeves when the climax of a story happens with 20 pages left because I always need more time to process the ending with the characters.

All that being said, I absolutely loved this. I think it is an important read for anyone in their 20s or 30s or for those who may feel like they're flailing, doing nothing with their life, or not accomplishing what they thought they would have by now. It will either provide you with perspective or it will let you see that you're not alone in this big, messy world.

Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for the Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

As a socially anxious girly and being very nosey, i loved this book! I’ve been in a reading slump and this gripped me from the start, i binged it in 2 days.
Jolene as a character was very real. I understood her character and her trauma. But being in her head stressed me out, at times the things she would say and do would physically make me cringe and take me out of the enjoyment of the book. This book did really well with developing side characters though! The author did a great job of giving all of the side characters unique personalities and background stories that i felt were fleshed out greatly. One of my favorite parts of the book was reading the emails and communications that Jolene was spying on. I binged this book because i knew what she was doing would blow up and i had to see how! Though the romance felt a little insta-lovey, i do feel that we got a good of relationship development as well but honestly i enjoyed reading about the friendship developments and parental more.

Natalie Sue did a great job with this one! I’ll pick up more of her books for sure.

Fresh, funny, and original. I couldn't put Natalie Sue's debut down and can't wait to see what's next!

I wanted to like this book more than I did. The beginning of the story was humorous and laugh out loud funny. I almost didn’t finish this one but I kept on because I wanted to see it through to the end. Jolene is the main character in the story. Like others have said, her background story didn’t really add up for a long time. This book showcases Jolene’s work life and her day to day interactions with her co-workers. Jolene and most of her co-workers have major issues going on in their personal lives. Jolene gets access to all of her co-workers e-mails and DMs after an IT mix-up. This becomes a downward spiral for Jolene. I really wish she would have gotten out of her rut sooner and made better decisions. This turned me off on her and the book a little. I enjoyed her interactions with Cliff, the IT manager but wanted to see more develop between them. Overall, I give this one 3.5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book.

This novel is told from the perspective of a woman in her early 30s named Jolene, who is unhappy both at work and outside of it too. She has channeled her unhappiness at her job as an assistant at a big company to putting hidden messages in her email in invisible font color, but when she forgets to do so in one email, that sets the plot in motion, as she both meets the nice new HR guy, and a mishap in them setting up her computer to monitor emails instead results in her being able to read everyone else’s emails instead. At first she just confirms to herself that everyone hates it, but she comes to realize that everyone else has their own problems as well.

I felt very similarly to this book as I did about Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, and while to some people that would be a compliment without reservations, to me that means I had very mixed feelings. That is, both books were touted as funny, whereas I found them depressing and downright upsetting at times with their main characters who are not merely reclusive or awkward but also seriously troubled! I did read this book quickly, and there definitely were things I liked about it - but overall it honestly made me feel anxious and sad much of the town I was reading it. I did enjoy the writing and some of the humor and hijinks, especially with Jolene’s Iranian immigrant family - I just found overall it was more of a bummer than the lighter read I was expecting.

3.5 stars

I enjoyed this book. At first I didn't think I would finish it based on how down Jolene made me feel. I even stopped reading for a bit. When I return to it, I kept telling her to quit. Just. Leave. Alas, her antics caught up with her and there it was. HR. When Jolene had access to everyone's emails, it was amusing (to me) to see their interactions with each other. There's the lifer, the "do just enough," and the suck up. Everyone looked sad and pitiful working there. I did like it when Jolene gets to see that vulnerability later.
I found her backstory kind of thin and I guess you can put too much focus on it, just how it made her become who she is. Seeing her hit rock bottom was sad.
I thoroughly enjoyed her interactions with Clifford. There teasing and overall dynamic felt very natural. I think this is what helped Jolene become more open with her coworkers. Thank you for not putting her with Cliff right away. I liked that she chose to work on her issues first. Not many people will do that.
Overall, I thought this was well written and the characters personal stories/backgrounds well developed.

This was really good. It reminded me of the same dynamic as The Office, in terms of the setting and wit. I loved the tiny bit of romance involved. It was a good read. In terms of layout, love the chapters and the POV! Would recommend to any of my Women’s Fiction gals out there!

“It’s so obvious now: people show most of who they are up front. It just takes someone to really watch.” - Natalie Sue

Jolene is unhappy at her job, struggles to connect with any of her coworkers, and is holding onto a past that has her second guessing her worth. One day she forgets to change the font color to white on her standard snarky postscript to an internal email (one of the best oopsies I’ve read in forever). Feathers are ruffled and HR is called in. We meet Cliff who is the nicest of nice guys and the new HR guy. Jolene’s emails are supposed to be monitored to make sure she’s being professional but, in a snafu, she instead has access to all emails from every employee, and department, building wide. She tries to tell Cliff… but there’s a lingering thought that maybe this could benefit her. Although she tries- the whole Jolene’s dug just keeps getting deeper and deeper.

Although the cast of characters are often horrible to one another @natwrotewhat expertly negotiates the incremental shift in alliances between these coworkers as the storyline develops. The author’s dedication to honestly detailing mental health struggles in all the ways was so well done. (An Iranian lead and all the cultural details were a bonus.)

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Thanks @netgalley and @williammorrowbooks for this #advancedreaderscopy -pub date was 5/21/24.

#lifegotinthewayofreadingthismonth

Thank you for the opportunity to review - this came highly recommended and did not disappoint. Excited to share this journey with more reviewers now that it's available!

I enjoyed the workplace setting. Jolene and Cliff were great and I enjoyed the side characters as well. Jolene's back story felt very incomplete and the resurfacing bully was odd. Thank you NetGalley for the advance ecopy

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!