This was the perfect enemies to lovers escape read. It's not hard to piece things together, but I loved watching it play out to the reveal.

Naomi and Luca were forced to be penpals through a class project. While Naomi loved the idea, Luca hated it. What followed was a string of 'put down' letters always ending in Love Naomi or Love Luca. Long after the rest of the class had dropped their letters, they still carried on.

The letters were really funny and had me laughing out loud. The backstory of Luca was quite emotional. This is a fun, lighthearted romance with a dash of spice, and I absolutely loved it.

Thank you to Netgalley, author, and publisher for an arc copy of this book.

Hate mail follows two main characters who have been pen pals since the 5th grade. Now that they’re both adults with their own lives, they find each other when they least expect it.

Definitely worth checking out!

Sometimes the stars really do align. This predictably cute plot took all the right turns while managing to keep me fully invested in the outcome of the story! There were just enough shifts between the two main character’s point of views to be intriguing, but not over done. I flew through this read in about 48 hours because I couldn’t wait to see what letters came next; that was the most exciting part to me. The author really took the time to tie little bits and pieces together over the span of the story, so at the end, everything felt complete. Short and sweet feel good read, with just the right amount of romantic details to make you blush!

Naomi and Luca have known one another since 5th grade when they became pen pals. They have exchanged letters over the years well into their adulthood. Then the letters stopped. It's been two years since Naomi has heard from Luca that is until she receives a letter at work. Naomi immediately knows the letter is from Luca but there is no return address. Resulting in Naomi making it her mission to find Luca especially since he continues to send her letters and she is unable to respond.

However like all good love stories another character makes their entrance complicating things. They chemistry is through the roof!

Hate Mail is told via the point of view of each character giving you great insight into what they think and feel. The letters are hilariously and quirky. This is such a fun and easy romcom to read. If you need a light read this is a perfect book for you. Their is a high level of predictability but that doesn't take away form the book.

“This man can’t possibly be this perfect. Fosters kittens, heals sick dolphins, and has a body built like a Greek god?”

Okay, so this book had me legit LOL-ing so hard that I had to screenshot Naomi and Lucas's letters and send them to my besties and hubby. Anne is seriously the ultimate BFF goals, and I'm totally crossing my fingers for a spin-off about her! But back to the main event—this book is hilarious and totally charming. It's a definite pre-order for me, hitting shelves on March 14th! And can we talk about enemies-to-lovers done right? Naomi and Luca's banter is next level! Can't wait for everyone to read it! 📚💕

Synopsis:
Naomi and Luca have been trading insults since fifth grade, but their rivalry slowly morphs into an epic long-distance friendship through their letters. When the letters suddenly stop, Naomi's determined to have the last word when a surprise envelope appears on her desk, sparking a new chapter in their story.

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this was exactly the fluffy romcom i wanted for valentine's day.

luca and naomi are childhood "penemies" to lovers, as donna marchetti coined the term herself lol. their letters to each other were hilarioussss i was cackling. it was a really interesting weaving of letters, past POV, and present time to figure out their whole story. it was super sweet and funny and even some emotional moments for luca's backstory.

this was one of my fav contemp reads so far this year!

an honest arc review <3

This is such a cute romance read! I really like the premise of the story and I find myself giggling while reading this book 🤭

Naomi has a pen-pal. She has been writing to Luca since they were in fifth grade up until 2 years ago. That is because every letter that she sent has been returned to her and she has no idea where Luca is right now. But when one day she received a letter from Luca at her workplace, along with Anne, her best friend, she has decided she will find out where he is. She will not let him have the final word.

This book, had me giggling so much because the banter between the main characters were unmatched 🤭 they went back and forth insulting each other in the letters they wrote and it was just too funny. I really liked the idea of the book! If anyone has read this book and knows of any other books that has similar vibes, let me know!

I love the characters and the side characters! Would love to know more about Caitlin and Luca’s interaction. But, Naomi and Luca are such good characters you can never hate them. Luca is honestly such a good book boyfriend, he’s definitely one of my favourites. Also, Anne is honestly the best best-friend ever! I love her character

Overall, I would really recommend this book for anyone who wants to read romance with funny banters and a light story. It is a bit spicy but I don’t really mind it that much. If you have this book on your tbr, let me know! Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Debut novel from Donna Marchetti! Looking forward to future works of hers as I read this in nearly one sitting (and stayed up well past my bedtime to see it through).
3.75 ⭐️

Dual POV/Timelines
Childhood penpals
Stalker Rom-Com
Miscommunication

TW: parent abandoning family, parent death from cancer (semi off page).

A decades old snail mail battle that started in 5th grade between Oklahoman Naomi and Californian Lucas. Ugh. Love me an enemies to lovers. Or in this case, a penemies to lovers.

Unexpected: Oh wow, this is dark. Their letters are not fluffy, but mean spirited through and through.

The letters stop when Luca gets engaged. After 2 years of radio silence, a letter is delivered to the news station. Enthusiastic assistant, Anne, thinks it’s fan mail for their up and coming meteorologist/weather woman, but there’s no return address.

While the letters keep trickling in, Naomi continues to date her neighbor Jake, even though she is torn between the man in front of her and the man she has fantasized about for years. Her and Anne travel the US trying to find Luca - his childhood home in CA, his Marine Corps base in GA, and home purchased with his fiancé/wife in TX.

Can Naomi move past the idea of Luca to move forward with Jake?

What kept this from being a 5 star read for me:

The hole in the story that bothers me with a letter without a return address is seeing where it was stamped. What is the closest sorting center?! (58% in and Anne finally brings it up!)

Anne, assistant at the news/weather station, is uncomfortably obsessed with Naomi’s sex life with her neighbor Jake.

The lying. I’ll leave it at that.

Thank you to NetGalley and One More Chapter/Harper Collins for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Hate Mail is a fun, witty, highly enjoyable rom-com. I had such a great time reading it, and couldn’t help but smile at the banter and feel that sense of hope and longing that comes along with any good rom-com.

Donna Marchetti’s debut novel features Naomi and Luca, who first became pen pals on a school assignment in fifth grade. After receiving his first letter from Naomi, Luca writes back an acerbic response that leads to a back and forth where each tries to outdo the other in their letter’s meanness. The two remain pen pals for years - through middle and high school, college and the military, and into adulthood - until suddenly Luca stops responding. Two years later, Naomi receives a letter from Luca out of the blue, but this time with no return address. While balancing a crush on her neighbor and her job as a meteorologist, Naomi decides to try to track down Luca with the help of her best friend Anne. She’s led on a goose chase all over the country, starting with Luca’s original home address in San Diego to the military base he was stationed at in Georgia, to the home of his ex-fiancée in Dallas. Naomi has her own bird in the hand vs. two in the bush scenario as she struggles to decide between continuing on her search to find Luca or focusing on her budding relationship with her neighbor.

While I felt the “twist” in this book was a bit predictable, I didn’t mind in the least. The repartee in the letters between Naomi and Luca is masterfully done. It’s clear that the two are flirting in the most sarcastic, sardonic way. This book feels like “You’ve Got Mail” but with a bit of a role reversal - instead of a contentious relationship in real life, there’s one in letters, and instead of a budding relationship in letters, there’s one in real life. It was such an entertaining, joyful read. I highly recommend this book if you’re a fan of dual POV, which is done very well here using Luca’s POV to fill in gaps in the history between Naomi and Luca. I’m utterly impressed by Marchetti’s debut and can’t wait to see what she writes in the future!

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins UK, and One More Chapter for the ARC of this book!

This was a fun enemies to lovers read. I figured out almost immediately the identity of her pen pal but that just made me want to read faster. Whilst this wasn't a profound read, it was light hearted and fun, with the tiniest sprinkling of spice. It was fun to read a guy who was so into the heroine and I enjoyed reading the letters between the two of them.

Pen pals/rivals/lovers???? I THINK YESSSSS! Luca and Naomi are too cute and this is a perfect story for anyone who really likes the enemies-to-lovers trope.

WOW!

So thankful to be chosen as an ARC for Hate Mail!

The plot of this book is so well thought out!

We first meet Naomi Light from Oklahoma and Luca Pichler from California when they’re in the 5th grade and are made write letters to one another through their schools pen pal program.

Most of the students stop writing to their pen pal after a few weeks/months. But not Luca and Naomi who write to one another for almost 2 decades.

If they’re writing to one another, the letters must be meaningful, kind and they must be really close friends, right?

Wrong.

All they get from one another is HATE MAIL ;)

———

Read Time ⏱️ 3.5 hours

“Dear Naomi, I hope you get struck by lightning and die in the middle of your next weather report. Wouldn’t that be ironic? -L”

omg this was just what I needed. As soon as I started it, I did not want to put it down. I was so happy I didn't have plans today so I could just binge it. I did find it to be a little bit predictable but it didn't take away from how much I enjoyed it. I highly recommend this book especially if you are in a book slump. Thank you to net galley and one more chapter for this ARC!! 4.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for providing a DRC of this title for review.

Unfortunately, I didn't personally connect with the book's sense of humor or Naomi or Luca, but I could definitely see folks loving this one if they're looking for a banter-forward contemporary romcom where the characters aren't afraid to lean into the enemies part of enemies to lovers. 2.5/5.

Great storyline! It was a fun idea and a quick read. I loved the plot and the twist but the dialogue fell a little flat for me.

This book is worth every star and more. It’s been on my radar for a while and as soon as I saw this on NetGalley I RAN!

Hate Mail is raw, emotional, heartwarming and incredibly gratifying. It’s well written, smooth and the chemistry between Naomi and Luca is so fun from page one. Their letters to each other had me giggling, the banter was so fun and reading the story as it unfolds was so worth the wait.

I only wish I could read it again for the first time. I’ll definitely be buying a physical copy when this book comes out and closer to the time I will be updating this with a full review. If you are holding out for Hate Mail then please know, Donna Marchetti does not disappoint. I am so excited for what this author may bring us in the future.

Also, the cover itself deserves all the stars.

When I read the synopsis for Hate Mail I knew it was something I was going to enjoy, but I have to admit I found it quite underwhelming. The story was fun but I didn’t feel invested in the characters and I found Naomi’s friend really irritating. I guessed the twist pretty early on in the novel too which didn’t really add to my overall reading experience. Overall though, this was an easy, light read.

✰ 2 ✰

((thank you to NetGalley for providing the arc!))

I was really excited for this book. The cute cover and even cuter premise drew me in and it seemed really promising. In the first ~10%, I thought it was funny and very much read like a romantic comedy. I enjoyed reading the letters exchanged between Naomi and Luca. Unfortunately, as the story continued, it fell a bit flat for me.

The characters didn't seem to have much depth or personalities, beyond Luca occasionally showing some with his POV chapters. The dialogue and character of Anne was kind of odd and felt very stereotypically like an oddball sidekick. In addition, the plot seemed to really drag on and become repetitive with the trips that Naomi and Anne took, but it was somehow entirely predictable too. I saw the ending coming from a mile away, which made the underwhelming reveal of it all even more underwhelming.

Overall, not my cup of tea - but readers looking for a predictable romance might enjoy it.

I have such mixed feeling about this book. On one hand I really enjoyed the chemistry between the main characters, but on the other hand I really struggled with some of the letters and how awful they were. I feel like it leads into the stereotype of if he’s mean to you I like you. I also got stalker vibes in the book and there were just a couple of cringy parts that ruined the overall story. I’m still giving this 3 stars because it was a quick read and had some fun parts and the couple did work in a lot of ways. Thanks to NetGalley and one more chapter for the ARC.

3.5 stars, rounded up, because I liked the ending. It took me a bit to get into the story because I found the banter/writing to be immature (which I realize was the point when the were kids), but even in the characters’ adult voices. I also wasn’t surprised by the various “twists” - I thought they were fairly obvious. I would recommend this book to the YA crowd, probably not to more seasoned readers. Overall, cute and enjoyable and I really liked the ending.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for this complimentary ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.