This novel was fun, quirky and filled with a unique premise. I loved the characters, plot and the freshness that this book brings to the genre.
I loved Jolene and the anxiety representation in this book, as well as how readers who work in offices can relate to it, especially when it comes to the email parts. I can't wait for more books by this author. She's definitely made my top list of the year.

Jolene, a quiet office worker haunted by past trauma, struggles to fit in with her often ruthless coworkers. To cope, she hides her true feelings in the white font of her emails, but when a heated argument with her coworker Caitlin leads to an HR investigation, Jolene’s secret is exposed. An IT mishap grants her access to all her coworkers’ communications, revealing office gossip and Caitlin's schemes against her.

Despite the office drama, Natalie Sue’s debut shines with its well-developed, endearing characters. Jolene’s wit and realism make her a relatable protagonist, navigating her loneliness and discovering that she's not alone in her struggles. The book strikes a perfect balance of comedy, romance, and heartwarming moments, showcasing a remarkable debut with a compelling plot and characters.

I really enjoyed this funny and insightful novel which, for anyone who works in an office or has had to deal with work politics, is the ultimate wish fulfilment of suddenly being able to see everything your colleagues are saying about you in secret. Highly recommended and many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This book did indeed find me well. I love how it's such a fun on work and relationships and colleagues and the importance of remembering that humans work behind the screens sending emails. I really, really adored this so much that I bought a physical copy too!

I throughly enjoyed this quirky little novel! A really interesting concept that was both funny but also heavy hitting! A lot more heartwarming than I expected and so glad I gave it a chance as I was unsure at the initial synopsis!

I really enjoyed this book because it’s so relatable!

The premise is interesting being set in an office full of people with issues.

I enjoyed all the insights in to the characters and that it doesn’t just tie up all of their issues in a neat bow makes it feel more authentic.

It’s easy reading and funny so good holiday read.

I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue is a story about an office worker, Jolene, and the relationships she has both in and out of the workplace.

I absolutely adored this book! Going into it, I thought this would be an easy breezy summer read but it was so much more than that. This book deals with trauma, workplace relationships, familial relationships, the pressure of living up to familial expectations and so much more. Jolene is a true leading lady and I loved following her journey of growth and self-discovery. There were some really special characters in this book also that will stay with me for a long time.

I would recommend this book to everybody, because there is definitely a little bit of Jolene in all of us.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this book. As always, my opinions are my own.

Thirty-three-year-old Iranian Canadian Jolene is an admin assistant at Supershops, Inc, a dead-end office job which has been slowly killing her from the inside out for the past eight years: she manages her growing frustrations with her fellow employees by telling them exactly what she thinks of them at the end of each email, but changes the text colour to white to render her thoughts invisible, hiding them in plain sight. This tactic works until it doesn’t, and Jolene is hauled up in front of HR to complete sensitivity training and restrictions on her email access – but in the course of having the limits applied, an IT mixup gives her complete access to everyone else’s emails and DMs. Overwhelmed by her new power, Jolene quickly decides to use her newfound advantage to secure her uncertain position at the company, solving one problem in her life – and discover a little more about her annoying coworkers along the way. But how long can her access remain undetected? This is a great example of the workplace comedy genre, with a central premise that’s a lot of fun to think about if applied to your own situation. There’s much to admire for fans of The Office or 2024’s Green Dot, but it’s the scenes with Jolene’s over-involved, Iranian mother and her “auntie” network that are particularly well drawn. An enjoyable summer read that’s ideal for anyone escaping an office for a few weeks.

Featured in July 2024 Cambridge Edition magazine – print and online linked below

I've seen this book on so many 'must reads of 2024' lists and I can absolutely see why! It is so much more tender than the concept might initially suggest, and a really gorgeous character study, not just of the narrator Jolene but of all of the people around her - the characters are the real stars of this book, and I fell hard for all of them. I would possibly have liked slightly more of a delve in to Jolene's mental health, which sounds like a strange comment to make as that's essentially what the entire book is about, but while she came to understand herself better as the novel went on, I really wanted to know what happened next and the ways she found to cope with the way her brain works. Actually, having typed it out like that perhaps it's an achievement of the book rather than a failing - if I so desperately wanted to know what happens next, isn't that a good sign? I loved this.

This was like a breath of fresh air. It was all the right kinds of tense, sad and hopeful wrapped into one. We start with Jolene flexing her frustration with her colleagues by emailing nasty messages in white font, a wild but effective solution - until she gets found out. It goes from bad to worse in HR training, when she accidentally gets access to everyone's messages (including what they say about her).

Honestly a fantastic workplaces premise. What begins with anger opens up, as Jolene sees the things her workmates go through in private. It says a lot about what happens behind closed doors and how far a little empathy goes, while also acknowledging the pain of workplace bullying and oneupmanship.

Really enjoyed this one, I'd definitely recommend it to a friend.

Jolene keeps her interactions with her colleagues to a bare minimum, preferring to blend into the background. As a coping mechanism, she vents her grievances in petty email postscripts, with the font changed to white so it can’t be seen. Then, when one of her secret messages is discovered, it results in sensitivity training and restrictions being placed on her emails. But an IT error grants her access to the entire office’s emails and messages instead and Jolene soon finds herself drawn into the lives and secrets of her co-workers, and her carefully built walls begin to crumble.

This book is incredibly relatable for anyone who works in an office. It’s funny and engaging, just unfortunate that Jolene is so unlikeable for a large portion of the book. How does she complain about being so lonely, recognise the loneliness in someone else, and still flat-out refuse to be friendly towards them? It doesn’t make a lot of sense. However, other elements of her personality are entirely realistic and understandable, and I did warm up towards her as the story progressed.

The other thing that didn’t work for me in this book was the timeline. It is totally unrealistic for someone to work with the same people for over eight years, being consistently rude to them, for everyone to accept it and become friends when she finally decides to behave like a normal human being towards them. After eight years of rude and dismissive behaviour, I don’t blame Caitlin for disliking Jolene.

Fortunately, the rest of the book was dramatic and engaging enough to keep me entertained and, somehow, rooting for Jolene to do better.

Although filled with humorous observations and a tantalisingly believable romance, this isn’t your average light-hearted romcom. There are serious themes and raw moments throughout.

I knew I was going to love this purely from the blurb (which never happens, and why I don’t usually read the back of books) – and from the very first chapter I was hooked.
Set in Canada? Check
Office shenanigans? Check
Could it really happen? CAN YOU IMAGINE?

I was ready for a full-on comedy but I Hope This Finds You Well was so much more, the descriptions of Jolene’s loneliness and isolation were intricate and somewhat relatable, and the journey she went on through the book was beautiful. I found myself holding my breath hoping Jolene wouldn’t get caught, even though I didn’t always agree with the decisions she was making. There are lessons to be learned in here but it never felt preachy. I loved that each character’s personalities were explored to the point that I could imagine working with them, the office dynamics were very familiar!

I Hope This Finds You Well has been one of my favourite books of the year so far. I read this a while ago now and still thinking about it! A really great read, and looking forward to the author’s next one already!

Equal parts funny and heatwarming, I really enjoyed this novel. I love following along on a character's wild roller coaster of a story, and this was no exception. As a corporate employee myself, I really loved the office setting, and the way we gained so much empathy for each of Jolene's co-workers was really beautiful. I feel like the situations were wacky enough to feel right at home in the romcom genre, but they weren't too cliche to be corny. The ending was a little rushed for me, but I was ultimately happy to see how Jolene was able to make things work out for herself, and her growth from the beginning to the end of the novel made me happy for and proud of her. This is a perfect beach read for the corporate girl.

Read this quickly but I’m still not sure I know where it was going. Some comedy lines but not many and the whole situation in the office didn’t seem like any office I’ve worked in.

I had so much fun with this book!

Genuinely impressed with how the author toed the line between melancholy and humour. It felt authentic, and whilst wild at times, never unrealistic.

There were several moments I gasped out loud in shock, and whilst I often wanted to shake Jolene for all her terrible choices, I never stopped rooting for her.

Can’t wait to see what this author does next,

Natalie Sue’s debut novel, I Hope This Finds You Well enjoyed a lot of pre-publication buzz. It took me a little while to get around to reading it, but I’m happy to report that I really enjoyed this.

The premise of Sue’s novel is an intriguing one: what if you got access to all of your colleagues’ communications? Their emails and their chats. What would you do, if you had access to, functionally, their lives? Jolene is an unhappy admin worker, trudging through every workday, frustrated and irritated by her co-workers. After a cock-up when emailing someone (always be careful when using ninja-text!), a further mistake gives her total access to company communications. What follows is often amusing and witty, but also a very human story.

Hovering over Jolene’s experiences post-access is her past — as a teenager, a tragedy threw her life off-kilter, and she’s still dealing (or not) with the fallout: the guilt, the depression, the fear, and the loneliness that has evolved over time. Her family is there for her, but she’s just not in a place where she can accept the help they are offering (not always perfectly, but they clearly mean well). She finds herself drawn to the new HR rep in the office, struggling to reconcile the actually-helpful and good person with her generally negative impression of people who work in HR. I quickly found myself rooting for them to get together, but Sue doesn’t make it easy on Jolene, but it ultimately feels well-earned.

Ultimately, I Hope This Finds You Well is a very human story. While not the same in structure/approach, I was reminded of Julie Schumacher’s Dear Committee Members and its sequels — the way the author slowly revealed her characters’ inner lives and struggles, and how access to that changes our perceptions and, in some instances, allows for great empathy to develop. We see this evolution in Jolene’s impressions of and interactions with her colleagues: at first, she sees an opportunity to get ahead, to beat her colleagues and benefit herself — to ensure that she is not one of the employees dismissed in the looming waves of layoffs. However, as she consumes more and more of their correspondence, she comes to see them as more three-dimensional, whole people — each with their own struggles, challenges, and weaknesses. It’s a very well-done character evolution.

Jolene finds herself in plenty of amusing situations (including a fake engagement that spirals utterly out of control), and doesn’t always take the high-road when she has the opportunity. But there’s so much more going on that keeps the novel from becoming a workplace farce. The comparison with The Office is sort-of useful, as the novel — like the show — balances the comical with the thoughtful and emotional quite nicely.

I really enjoyed this novel, and I’m certainly looking forward to reading whatever Natalie Sue writes next. (And hopefully we won’t have to wait too long.)

Recommended.

An office based comedy that’s as human and moving as it is darkly funny, Natalie Sue explores the people behind computer screens in corporate offices- nailing pointless office culture yet giving life and warmth to those stuck within it

I really enjoyed this book.

Jolene is an awkward, depressed, and friendless office worker who struggles with even basic small talk with her colleagues. Said colleagues tend to leave her out, making fun of her behind her back. Her retort is digital: she writes how she really feels about her colleagues at the end of her emails, but she changes the font to white before she sends them, so it's invisible. One day, she is caught out, and is then forced to attend an anti-harassment course with the new HR guy, Cliff. Jolene is utterly mortified, especially when Cliff sets up new security measures on her computer. But Jolene quickly notices that there’s been a glitch, and now she’s able to read the emails and instant messages of everyone in the office! While it isn't exactly nice to read the cruel things her colleagues are saying about her, it does give her the unique opportunity to gather intel that may improve her performance and help save her job.

The concept of this book is brilliant and original, the story is oh-so readable, and I couldn’t help but root for Jolene, who is brilliantly drawn. It's a vivid portrait of a lonely woman who wants to understand people as much as she wishes to be understood. It will strike a chord with anyone who has battled the petty gossip, politics and alliances of office life.

IHTFYW is a darkly funny story, but it's also a beautifully written tale of loneliness, courage, and understanding, and it's full of heart.

I thought the idea of this novel - office worker gains illicit access to all of her colleagues’ emails and chats - would be more exciting than it was. If that happened to me I’d be taking the place down but Jolene just seems to plod along worrying about what people are saying about her. There were funny bits, and I guess quite nice happy endings, but overall it was just a bit blah for my taste.

This is a great read, a darkly comedic parody of everyday office life - at times the cringe is real, for anyone who has ever worked in a small claustrophobic office environment!

Jolene has been working for Supershops for 8 years and hates her job and all her co-workers. She has sent emails with added passive-aggressive comments in white to them for years, until one day she forgets to change the added text to white and ends up in disciplinary.

Here she meets Cliff, the HR guy - he has to take her through a re-training course as a result of her disciplinary, and also review all employees to make recommendations for job cuts.

Through an IT glitch, Jolene gains admin access to everyone's emails and messages and that is where the fun really starts!

Jolene is very much an anti-hero with some very big flaws, but she has a wicked sense of humour and is very relatable. I flew through this and couldn't wait to find out what happened.

This is a brilliant debut and I would highly recommend.