I really really liked this book. I've seen a lot of hype for it so I was curious to see if it lived up to expectations and it did (for me). I enjoyed the different media used in the book. It was a good read and an unexpected plot.

This book hooked me in from the first chapter. I loved the character development and how the story progressed.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collin’s UK for this arc in exchange for a review. I really enjoyed Hate Mail. I think Naomi and Luca were meant to be and I very much enjoyed this funny and cute romcom. I also really loved the fact that we were given a dual pov giving us both sides of their story. As we definitely needed to know both sides to understand the relationship that developed amongst these two pen-pals, only one that they would understand but what would be considered disturbing to others. I really enjoyed the storyline and how it developed I just wish the ending slowed down a bit more instead of just rushing to be done with it. I would have loved reading a bit more about them as they progressed. I definitely recommend to others for a fun refreshing romcom!

The premise for this caught my eye right away, reminding me of Love, Rosie, but much funnier.

Hate Mail uses a dual perspective format to follow two characters: Luca and Naomi. Fifth-grade Naomi is really excited to have a pen pal, but her dreams are dashed when her assigned partner, Luca, is less than kind. Luca, meanwhile, doesn’t want to do this stupid pen pal thing, so he writes exactly that, hoping his pen pal will get offended and stop writing him. Instead, Naomi writes back, equally scathing. And thus begins their lifelong correspondence, years of handwritten letters that are half insulting, and half actual life updates. And then Luca abruptly stops writing and Naomi’s new letters get returned, telling her that Luca has moved — this time without telling her his new address. Life goes on, and so does Naomi, who now works as a meteorologist/weatherwoman. When she starts getting to know her handsome upstairs neighbor, she realizes that this could be something real...and then she gets an envelope.

The plot is overall a really fun and light-hearted one, and pretty expected; there’s a twist that might not seem like a twist if you already know it’s coming, which I definitely did. However, it did require some suspension of disbelief on my part. Yeah, I didn’t really expect to say that about a book that’s a very simple contemporary romance, but this is what I mean: while the ending is pretty predictable, the way we got there was kind of outlandish. As long as you don’t expect some very profound backstory, you’ll be fine and get a good laugh out of it.

Now, the characters. They’re okay. The letters between young Naomi and Luca are very endearing and reading their silly insults put a smile on my face.

On the other hand, I really wanted their adult versions to deviate from the goofiness and be more serious; they certainly did in the sense that they weren’t rude to each other anymore, but not in the sense that I felt their relationship was emotionally deep. I couldn’t really connect with them. The romance felt very surface level, like seeing two people see each other in a coffee shop and exchange phone numbers. It’s realistic, but it’s just not very interesting.

The side characters, are typical “friends” that you see in chick lits; Naomi’s friend is a little too pushy for my liking, but she does the job as a helper of plot development.

Overall, I think this was a fun read — like most books in this genre it’s really easy to sit down and read through it in one go. It’s not really memorable or one of my favorites but anyone who reads this will have fun.

While I enjoyed Hate Mail from the start and blitzed it in a couple of days, I did feel that the book overall was a bit disappointing.

I loved the letter writing aspect and the penemy introduction to both MCs. Naomi's brutal letters to Luca were entertaining and I enjoyed her friendship with Anne, especially when they started travelling the US trying to find Luca.

Hate Mail was a super quick read but I figured out the 'twist' and when it felt like the twist was being twisted it became a bit too contrived for my liking. It evolved into a mess of misunderstanding, miscommunication and pointless conflict. It wasn't the direction I thought the book was going in and while sometimes I can appreciate that that is a good thing, in this situation, I didn't have the patience for the last minute squabbles.

Hate Mail is a cute romcom with an interesting premise: what if elementary school penpals kept on writing to each other, right into adulthood, but those letters were more hate than love? This is what happens with Naomi and Luca: does the hate mail conceal something deeper? I laughed out loud at times, I enjoyed the mild spice, and would definitely read more by this author.

The story starts with Naomi and Luca as penpals, it follows them from childhood to adulthood. The banter happens right off the bat, we love enemies to lovers.
Naomi finds herself torn wanting to date Irl but also having this pen relationship with Luca little did they know that they hand an invisible string that strung them together.

This is a cute easy cute read although repetitive at times it was a good storyline.
For debut Author Donna Marchetti!
Thank you Netgalley, HarperCollins Uk, and One more Chapter for this arc

Hate Mail is the perfect story for those who love watching how relationships evolve over time, especially from animosity into affection. The novel traces the journey of two characters who begin as nemeses exchanging antagonistic letters during their youth. Despite their apparent disdain for one another, a deeper bond secretly blossoms between them. Their barbed words hide an underlying current of curiosity and fascination with their pen pal. As they grow older, their correspondence continues, and they find themselves confiding their innermost thoughts and feelings within the safety of their letters. Their tones soften; their language becomes tender. Animosity shifts into understanding and then into love. They become each other's closest confidante and support system, despite having never met in person. The author beautifully captures the push and pull of their changing dynamic over the years. Watching the hostility melt away into genuine caring and romance is deeply satisfying. Their witty, lively letters reveal two kindred spirits forming an unbreakable connection through writing. Hate Mail is for anyone who enjoys watching relationships evolve in surprising ways, and who roots for unexpected pairs to overcome their differences. It's a heartwarming, rewarding read.

🎧Audiobook Review🎧

#adprproduct

I'd like to thank Netgalley for approving me for an ARC of this book.

✒️ Penemies
💜 Romance
🥰 He Falls First
😆 Banter

This was a fun and easy listen. I found it entertaining, especially the letters, and enjoyed theorising as the story developed. Special thank you to my fellow buddy readers @bex_boys_and_books @agirlreadsbookss 💜

🌟🌟🌟🌟

Thank you to NetGalley for giving this ARC, and this doesn't influence my review. This was a very cliche and not well written book in my POV, sorry I just didn't like it. The synopsis was better.

I loved this book so much it was so cute and well written. I loved Luca and Naomi and the banter between the two of them was soooo good!
This book is contemporary romance follow Naomi and Luca, two childhood penpals who wrote letter to each other for a decade before the letters just stopped. Until one day Naomi received a letter with a challenger to find Luca. Not very spicy so if you are looking for high spice this is not the book. But if you're looking for a cute romantic comedy with lots of banter and fun this is for you.

★ ★ ★ ★ | 🌶🌶

check TWs

Note: I try my hardest to not include spoilers in my reviews. However, spoilers and how you define a spoiler is subjective. Proceed with caution.

*A special thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for access to this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.*

.
.
.
.
.

This was a really cute read. I’ve been in a reading slump so bad recently, that it seems like no matter what I read, I’m not loving. But this started to break that.

If you’ve ever read the book Love, Rosie; and disliked it as much as I did. This book is what that book could have been and more. It had all of the tension and chemistry that was missing from that book.

That being said, the chemistry from the letters and the tension there could have transferred over to the real life interactions more. And the plot was predictable. Though, it didn’t change how I felt about reading the book.

I can’t wait to read more from this author.

"I hope you get struck by lightning and die in the middle of your next weather report. Wouldn’t that be ironic?
—L “

I really wanted to read this book because of the cover and title! I am a huge enemies to lovers fan and the cover was so freaking cute that it was calling to me. I ended up loving this book! We read about Naomi getting a letter from her penpal after a few years of not hearing from him. She then decides, with a little help from her coworker and friend, to go searching for him and meet him after all these years. I loved reading how we would go from present to past, but with the past only from the letters. I am not the biggest fan of multiple timelines, but with this book, it just work. I really fell for Luca. He had a hard life and really fell for Naomi and I just wanted him to get his happily ever after! I loved how the story played out especially at the end! There was a few plot twists that I saw coming, and a couple that I didn’t. In this book there is somewhat of a love triangle, but it’s also not one if that makes sense. I am not a big fan of love triangles, and I loved this book so not to worry about this trope! I would also say that this is an open door romance, but the scenes aren’t so descriptive.

Read if you like:
Dual POVs
Pen pals
Multiple Timelines
Neighbors to lovers
Adorable pets
Open door romance
Swoony hero
All the feels

I love books that include the epistolary trope and Hate Mail does this in fine fashion, and you can kind of guess what kind of letters from the title!

Naomi and Luca began writing to one another in the 5th grade as part of a school project and their letters are one constant in each other’s lives. Cue the present day with contact lost a couple of years prior until Naomi receives mail at the tv station where she is a weather presenter, and their communication starts up again.

Hate Mail is a story that takes the readers around the country, as we follow Luca’s whereabouts as well as the emotional ups and downs of Naomi and Luca’s lives during their teenage years and into adulthood.
I laughed out loud at times, their letters were an obvious way of trying to one up each other in nastiness, though it certainly cemented their connection and I enjoyed the direction the story took us, concluding with the present day.

Hate Mail has some open door scenes, with a mild spice level that complements the story. This was a fun read, I enjoyed it!

Thanks to netgalley onemorechapterhc and the author, Donna Marchetti for the early copy I received, this is my honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was a nice, easy read. And the book cover is absolutely gorgeous.

WOW. I. LOVED. THIS. BOOK.
The unmistakable chemistry between our main characters is what dreams are made of. The banter is top tier and incredibly funny; I just couldn't put the book down. Steamy, dreamy & a little twisty!
HUGE thank you to HarperCollinsUK, One More Chapter & NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review of content.

I loved this book so much! The cover and the blurb caught me… but it’s been a while since I’ve thoroughly enjoyed an arc!
Though this book takes place in the present, you’re given some flashbacks and insight into the past of Naomi and Luca and it was done SO SEAMLESSLY, I never got bored or annoyed!!!
Luca and Naomi - WOW THEY WERE MEAN to each other LOL (I guess it’s true when they say little kids are mean to each other when they like each other)!! I felt the chemistry from the start and honestly those letters had me kicking my feet giggling LOL. I was definitely like okay Naomi girl what are you doing with Jake when Luca is here trynna get you to find him!? Then the plot twist (i SUSPECTED it like 30%) came, i was like OKKKKKKK WAIT WHAT?

All in all, I really enjoyed this book! Side note- Anne needs her own book that girl is a hoot LMAO
————-
Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book!
All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Marchetti's writing is sharp and witty, infusing each page with humor and heart. Through clever dialogue and vivid characterizations, she brings Annie and Matthew to life, making them feel like old friends whose antics you can't help but root for.

But "Hate Mail" is more than just a comedy of errors; it's a story about love, forgiveness, and the power of second chances. As Annie and Matthew navigate their way through misunderstandings and miscommunications, they discover that sometimes, the most unexpected connections can lead to the greatest rewards.

When I started this, I wasn't quite sure what to expect from it and I actually ended up picking it up in the middle of reading a couple of other books that I wasn't really enjoying and was therefore struggling to get through. I wanted something fun that was relatively easy to read and would make me want to keep reading so I didn't fall into a slump and within a few chapters, I figured I'd found just what I was looking for!

Almost immediately, the letters shared between Naomi and Luca had me giggling away. Sure, I wasn't quite sold on some of the letters being something that kids that young would say to each other as the language didn't quite seem to fit and some of them were just plain nasty, but for the most part they were entertaining!

I was also hooked in pretty quickly by the mystery of who Luca was and where he was! I'll be honest, I did realise pretty quickly who Luca was, and initially this didn't take away from the fun for me, but I did reach a point when I got a little bit frustrated with Naomi and wanted to shake her just a tad! I also got kind of frustrated with Anne, Naomi's bestie. Like, I get that Anne's helping her try to find Luca and is involved in tracking him down but it reached a point where she was getting kind of demanding about Naomi's letters and it actually seemed quite odd that she felt so entitled to read all of them, particularly the more recent ones.

I did find my attention wander a little bit once I'd realised who Luca was and started to get a little frustrated with certain characters, but all in all this was a fun, sweet read with a cute romance and a little bit of spice! I also found it strangely nostalgic because I vividly remember being around the same age as Naomi and Luca at the start of their letters and my school setting us all up with pen pals from an American school! I really related to the excitement of being a kid and someone actually sending you mail for once instead of your parents!

I kept seeing this being promoted on booktok and bookstagram with the quotes and had it on my years TBR list so I was really excited to read this ARC.
I had a fun time and fully think that this should join the booktok romance recommendation lists as it is a fun romacom hitting the tropes but with great characters and a fun plot.
I have already re-read this book and recommend you read it to.