I picked up Hope This Finds You Well expecting a standard comedy featuring a sarky heroine and some awkward office situations. And while it definitely delivers on the banter and humorous characterisations, it was also surprisingly heartwarming. I wasn’t expecting EMOTIONS.

At first Jolene seems like your typical awkward, unlikeable protagonist - she’s terse, anti-social and suppressing childhood trauma with dark humour. She’s morally grey, and sometimes that can be uncomfortable, but it’s also incredibly relatable. And she has enough self-awareness and empathy to make her feel totally human.

The lies start to spiral out of control and - aside from the predictable romance - nothing goes quite how you think it will. Sue is brave enough to give Jolene a redemption arc that doesn’t detract from all she’s done wrong.

Smart and entertaining with a cast of memorable characters, Hope This Finds You Well is an impressive debut.

This was a heart warming and funny read. The characters were well developed, including the more minor ones!
I found it quite gripping but also an easy read as it flowed well.

4.75 stars

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for the ARC.

'I Hope This Finds You Well' by Natalie Sue was a wonderful book. Jolene works as an assistant at a corporation and she is absolutely miserable. She gets into trouble at work and accidentally snoops into everyone's messages and emails. This book explores the truth about people who work at corporate offices. It's filled with wonderful and complex characters who deal with their problems.

I had a blast reading this book! It was a ride. I will definitely look forward to reading more work from Natalie Sue.

Really enjoyed the humour in this book and sympathised with the characters. Loved the premise of the protagonist accidentally gaining access to her colleagues communications and how that ultimately affected her life.

A tech error on her computer leads to Jolene having admin access for her entire company, meaning she can read every email her colleagues are sending.

With the company in despair and layoffs looming, Jolene soon works out how to use this new found knowledge of her colleagues inner thoughts to her advantage and a web of deceit is soon woven, and Jolene finds herself falling deeper and deeper into the lies.

I wasn’t expecting to love this book as much as I did, it was darkly funny but also so poignant and heartbreaking in parts - at one point I realised tears were streaming down my face as I read.

On the surface it’s a workplace comedy about the quirks of office workers and existing alongside people you cannot stand but at its core it’s a story the ache of loneliness, being devastated by grief and the pain of never quite fitting in.

I Hope This Finds You Well is a book for anyone who works in an office and has desperately wanted to tell a colleague to shut up (or something stronger…)

Thank you HarperCollins UK and Netgalley for the ARC!

Uplifting. Funny. Moments of sadness. An intriguing premise. What's not to like about this book?!

I thought this book was going to be a lighthearted read about a girl who tackled office politics, office gossip, office mishaps, etc., however, it surprised me. It sensitively deals with important themes such as mental health, loneliness, love,friendship, kindness and more.

Jolene, the protagonist, is portrayed as cold and insensitive to others, but really, she's battling anxiety and longs to be liked. As the story progresses, we see Jolene transform.

The book, is written well with a good pace and a good ending.

Would recommend.

I was excited to read this one as I love a good workplace novel, and this one was billed as a mix of The Office and Fleabag, setting expectations sky high alas.

This all fell a little flat for me. Twee, sentimental, predictable, and ultimately it felt a little too neat and tidy as it was wrapped up at the end, with no real consequences for our protagonist’s deviancy.

It was also hard to buy the romance given all the deception.

Still a quick and occasionally funny read.

Jolene is stuck in a bit of rut, with quite an insular homelife due to suffering with social anxiety and manages to tolerate work just because she has to pay the bills.
Her workmates assume she is a 'loser' but Jolene is a fiesta character and she has been sending hidden massages of contempt in her emails to peers and when she is caught out her entire persona and job security is exposed and things change for her dramatically.

Anyone who has worked in an office will appreciate all the petty goings on between teammates and the bitchy messages being shared and in general this was an undemanding read. However, overall this book missed the mark for me.
The girl who is portrayed initially with serious anxiety, stress and social isolation does a pretty gigantic u turn and for me that was the weakest measure of the book. There were serious mental health issues to be addressed and finding her job at risk and a positive interaction with the new HR guy seems to have been enough for her to make huge changes in the way she was interacting with the other characters.
I enjoyed the concept of being able to tap into all messages in her office but in general I found it frustratingly slow as it was quite obvious what was going to happen and some of the plotlines were a tad unbelievable (particularly the one about the fake engagement)

An easy summer read, maybe one for the pool that doesn't require much from the reader.

REVIEW
cw: anxiety, bullying, death, grief, alcohol dependence, workplace bullying, child neglect, depression, trauma, PTSD, terminal cancer, emotional abuse and gaslighting

Jolene Smith is not thriving. She's isolated, drinks too much, is weighed down by PTSD and social anxiety, and the only way she can tolerate her admin job is by replying to mundane emails passive-aggressively - in white ink so they're invisible. But when the comments are discovered, she's sent on sensitivity training with Cliff, the new HR guy. Cliff seems to see her, and they have a genuine connection. But then an IT mix-up grants her access to her entire department’s private emails and DMs, and she begins to discover just how much her colleagues are hiding about themselves.

This is the literary equivalent of the saying, 'Don’t judge people because you never know what they’re going through'. It's fair to say that I wasn't prepared for how many times this book would leave me feeling like I'd been gut-punched. That said, I also laughed quite a lot. At the start of the story, it was easy to dislike every single character, even Jolene. But as Jolene begins to uncover her colleague's secrets, it becomes clear that every single person was fighting their own distinct battle. Jolene's feelings of invisibility broke my heart so many times. Her paranoia made my heart ache, but at the same time, it felt relatable, especially when she spoke of her desk being positioned in the thoroughfare of the office, and always feeling like people were looking at her screen (which was always my own pet peeve). She was such a nuanced character, and I appreciated how the author revealed her backstory bit by bit, as well as how she'd become so isolated in Calgary. Some of those chapters were incredibly hard to read through the tears. But I also loved the representation of her Persian/Iranian family and traditions, and Jolene's dry, occasionally macabre, sense of humour.
Having worked in many office environments, the author captured many of the idiosyncrasies found in administrative employment. From the blustering low-level manager who takes all the credit, to the ambitious colleague, and the party-organising co-worker, every bit of office politics, gossip, and the total and utter pettiness of coffee clubs, break rooms, and smelly food slights are vividly captured. I won't spoil what each person struggled with, but I will say that my opinions on Jolene's core colleagues (Caitlin, Armin, & Rhonda) shifted several times throughout the book. Caitlin had such mean girl energy, and there were so many times that I really disliked her. That said, it didn't excuse some of Jolene's early behaviour (even though I too would've been tempted in her position), and I appreciated their resolution.
Rhonda really grew on me, and my heart broke for her when we discovered her secrets. I legitimately squealed when Jolene came to her for help near the end, and I LOVED Rhonda's ending. Meanwhile, while Armin's secret was heartbreaking, a lot of the most hilarious moments in the story involved Jolene, Armin, and their families.
The portrayal of the ostracised HR rep, especially how everyone was immediately guarded and suspicious around him was painfully accurate. The author poignantly captured his unease and sadness whenever he was dismissed, but I absolutely ADORED Cliff. He was such a cinnamon roll, and I loved his sense of humour. I also loved how much empathy he showed to everyone, but especially Jolene. Their connection was palpable and made me smile so many times. I loved how he encouraged her and how safe he made her feel. I also loved their banter, but also their most vulnerable moments. Some of the hardest chapters to read involved Miley, Jolene's young neighbour. I lost count of the number of times I sobbed for her, especially on her birthday. But, honestly? I spent the final dozen chapters sobbing uncontrollably for one reason or another. Don't worry though. The beautifully uplifting ending made up for all the tears I shed, even though I needed to rehydrate afterwards!
This was not the book I thought it was going to be, but it was so much better. If you love a story which packs an emotional punch, this is for you.

Overall Rating: ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own*

Favourite Quotes:

Yes, when people find out enough about me, they stop wanting to know anything at all.

My feet grow heavier with each step. I just need to make it through another cursed day.

It’s like walking into a room and worrying everyone was just talking about you; the real power is knowing that they were.

“It’s really late to be taking the bus.”
Before I can stop myself, I nudge his arm with mine. “Aww, you do care.”
He looks toward me and says, with too much feeling, “Very much.” And it’s like an anvil has dropped between us. All the air in the car feels charged. A palpable urgency crawls into me.
“I care too,” I whisper.
Cliff’s voice softens. “I know you do.”

“...if I’d never met you, this would’ve been the worst job I ever had.”

"You need to know, you weren’t part of a list. It was all real. I really cared about you.”

“There were days— there are days—when I’m not sure why I’m here.”

“I know things can be hard at your age. But I’m proud of you for coming out here every day and trying to connect with the world. You honestly are so cool to me.”

An interesting discourse on the corporate world, capitalism, mental health and family expectations. I liked parts of this and it was entertaining in parts, but felt like it lost it's way partway through.

Oh Jolene! I was hooked by the end of the first chapter, loved this debut novel from Natalie Sue, it needs to be made into a film or mini series, there is so much to love!

Being an office worker, I loved the premise that Jolene was accidentally granted access to her colleagues email and IMs...finding out all the gossip and a lot more than she bargained for. What I wasnt expecting was how much I would be cheering on Jolene to come out unscathed and happy from everything that was going on in her own life and around her. The blurb describes her as an "awkward heroine" and that was spot on. Loved it! Published May 23rd 2024. Thank you @netgalley and @harpercollinsuk for the opportunity to review.

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I Hope This Finds You Well, the debut novel from Persian British Canadian writer Natalie Sue, is a smart, punchy novel full of heart that reminded me very much of Really Good, Actually by Monica Heisey and All This Could be Different by Sarah Thankam Mathews (a National Book Award 2022 finalist which incidentally is on Kindle special at the moment).

Jolene is a young woman living and working a monotonous, unfulfilling office job in Calgary for Supershops Incorporated. She's depressed. riddled with anxiety, and hates her coworkers, amusing herself by writing them hidden messages in emails disgused in white font that they will never see, until she's caught and put on a personal disciplinary plan by HR. While completing the HR course designed to bring about her redemption, she becomes close to HR professional Cliff, a sensitive and kind guy who inadvertedly gives Jolene access to all of her co-workers' emails and chat groups.

As Jolene exposes her soul to Cliff but becomes increasingly enmeshed in a dilemma of her own making, can she extricate herself and prove to everyone, including her overbearing mother, that she is capable of getting her shit together or is she destined to remain in a cycle of chaos forever more?

What the author does well here is deal with some heavy topics with a light touch, while also showing perfect comic timing in her portrayal of Jolene's co-workers and Iranian family. All of the characters are a little crazy but there's something endearing about most of them, especially Jolene and Cliff, and as a reader you find yourself willing Jolene not to crumble under the pressure of it all. It's billed as being for fans of The Office which I think is spot on, and if you enjoyed the two books mentioned above and/or Fleabag, I think you'd love this one too. 4/5 stars

*Many thanks to @boroughpress @harpercollinsire @courtneysbooks for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review. I Hope This Finds You Well will be published later this month on 23 May.

I had a lot of fun reading this book. You might think the situation is quite low stakes, accessing emails and petty office gossip etc. You would be wrong. Let me tell you my heart was in my throat every time Jolene was snooping around and almost getting caught I felt a bit ill! All of those shenanigans are no doubt very entertaining. However, Natalie Sue does address some much more serious issues. Primarily, Jolene's crippling anxiety and self hatred. I think the way Jolene feels - lonely, lost, wasting her life and generally not good enough - is something a lot of people can relate to. I enjoyed her character arc and the way that every character was explored very well. There are no heroes and villains here, Sue makes sure that every character is multi dimensional which I really appreciated. I also enjoyed learning about the Persian community as I hadn't really read anything about that community before. Overall, this was a really great book that explored the life of a stagnating office and finding the humanity in the people that work there.

I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue is a humorous take on office politics and workplace relationships. It is a very assured debut and I look forward to reading more of this talented author's work.

3.5*

As someone who works in the office and is quite familiar with its culture, I was very interested in the premise of this book. It made me think of the time when me and my work bestie would jokingly ask each other 'For how much money would you sell your Teams messages to the upper management?' and we would always say 'No money in the world', because we talked too much shit about work and our colleagues.

Well, in this book, employees didn't have to make such a choice, because it was made for them when due to unexpected mistake, one employee - not upper management - gained access to everyone's emails and chats. Jolene is a secretary that has been in the same position for years and she gets freaked out when her offence at work, instead of setting additional security measures, lets her access personal conversations of her co-workers. At first, she tries to tell HR about the mistake, but as the rumours of layoffs reach her ears, Jolene decides to instead use this to her advantage and save her job.

After that happens, Jolene's actions are questionable at best and extremely inappropriate at worst. You want to root for her, because she's a recluse in her office and people seem to be weirded out by her for no particular reason, but it is hard since she reads everyone's correspondence and knows their personal affairs. That is the thought that haunted me throughout the whole book, but I think that was actually the point - to understand why Jolene is doing what she is doing and decide if that is something you can support or not.

I really liked how the characters were portrayed and they felt fully fleshed out, with their own quirks and different personalities, exactly like the people that you might find at work - just a bunch of people who somehow started working at the same place despite having different backgrounds, personalities and hobbies. I liked how even if Jolene was the main character, there was enough space to get to know others just as well, as their stories continued to be told throughout the whole book. I think this was the strongest part of the book for me, which made me like it as much as I did.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinions!

Jolene has long given up hope that her office life is anything other than a monotonous trudge broken up by colleagues weird and annoying behaviour and passive aggressive digs that all seemed designed specifically to test her boundaries. But, she has come up with the perfect way of coping. White text p.s. messages at the bottom of emails so she can vent her grievances. Which is all fine, until one particularly stressful day she forgets to change the text to white. Now she has to attend sensitivity training with the new HR guy Cliff, who can’t possibly be the good person he pretends to be, and have her emails monitored. Only there is a massive IT mix up and she suddenly has access to everyone’s emails and instant messages. It’s perfect. With layoffs around the corner she has found a way to stay ahead of her hellish colleagues. Only when she starts seeing the secret details of their lives it doesn’t seem quite as simple as she first thought and maybe coming outside of cubicle wouldn’t be the nightmare she imagined.

I can be accused of being a bit boring, I don’t often stray outside of the authors and genres I know I like, but in this instance, I am so glad I did. This is Natalie Sue’s debut novel, and it was fantastic. Interesting, insightful and a lot of fun. And if you, like me, work or have worked in an office environment before this book will touch you on a visceral level. We have all had to sit at our desk and put up with the horrible smell of someone else’s reheated lunch or been subject to passive aggressive barbed words barely disguised as polite chit chat or had that boss. It made it so much easier to empathise with the Jolene. As even when she was a bit unlikable, she was completely understandable.

This book tackles a number of issues; grief, bullying, family, mental health and alcoholism to name a few. Jolene carries a lot of emotional baggage and seeing how that has isolated her from both her family and anyone who tries to befriend her can be a heart wrenching and frustrating experience. This book is told from her POV and although she isn’t an unreliable narrator per se, we as the reader can see how some of the choices she makes are less about what is happening externally, and more about the filters she has in her own mind to interpret what is happening. Essentially, she misleads herself. Her having access to everyone’s emails and instant messages finally gives her an insight into the people around her that she just can’t seem to get to on her own. It is the perfect set up for a story that is both emotional and moving and downright hilarious. All with a little bit of romance on the side.

I Hope This Finds You Well has been one of my favourite reads of this year and I recommend giving it a try. It was uplifting, funny and insightful and may make you look at your work colleagues in a slightly kinder light. This is only Natalie Sue’s debut, I don’t know what she will bring out next but I do know I will be reading it.

An interesting story of people with hidden hardships in life, this book develops themes which aren’t often found in novels. I did enjoy this story, but it wasn’t one of those unputdownable books.

In this novel, we follow Jolene, a socially awkward, lonely, slightly toxic protagonist who, after a slight HR mishap, can read other people's emails and plans to game her way to not getting fired.

Her micro-aggressive judgments about her co-workers and emotional distancing, to name a few, are defence mechanisms for her to cope with working at a place where she never felt supported and belonged in. Through her social mishaps, professionalism, boundaries, loneliness, forming communities, taking risks to trust others, and faith in others are explored. Yes, Jolene could've afforded to be more honest. Yes, she could try stepping out of her self-exile and self-pity pit more to find the happiness and peace she really wanted. Yes, she could've communicated more so fewer misunderstandings would happen and she would get to happier places. But it's all very human and understandable, considering where Jolene comes from (figuratively). And yet, bit by bit, implosion after implosion, Jolene gets to the point where she commits to pulling herself together so she's well to accept anything that comes her way, unfortunate emails or otherwise.

This book comes at an interesting time when digital technology has brought workplaces to homes, increased productivity, and isolated individuals. Generational divides are dividing up "expert" opinions about the impacts on the workplace. The loneliness pandemic might be the "Great Depression" of the 2020s.

It's a relevant read that leaves much to ponder.

Thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK for providing me with the e-ARC/DRC in exchange for an honest review.

This book really resonated with me, bringing back memories of my own experiences in office settings. Despite the familiarity, I was captivated by its exploration of corporate relationships. The author skillfully blends wit and heartfelt emotion, presenting relatable characters and office dynamics that highlight power struggles, office politics, and the emotional rollercoaster of corporate life. The witty writing style adds a delightful touch of humor to the narrative, making it both engaging and thought-provoking.

I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in a sharp and insightful portrayal of office dynamics. It's a must-read for gaining new perspectives on workplace relationships and the complexities of corporate environments. Whether you've encountered similar situations or simply enjoy character-driven stories with depth, this book offers a compelling journey through the intricacies of office life that will leave you reflecting on your own experiences long after you've finished reading.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was funny, heartwarming, sad & slightly stressful ! It made a very good read.

First off, I absolutely adore Miley & just wanted her to be happy throughout the whole book. Rhonda as well ? What a sweetie. I don’t know whether this is because I’m in the middle of a rewatch of The Office, but I definitely pictured Phyllis whilst reading !

Jolene was interesting. In some parts, she annoyed me as she was just being so careless & I found it stressful in parts ! The ending though really made me tear up ! I feel so proud of her, she had such a journey !

The writing was very good & kept me engaged throughout. I did really enjoy this book & even got emotional at the end ! Highly recommend !