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.

Loved the idea, loved the characters and the plot. A little too much romance for my taste, but a great read.

What a brilliant, funny, heartwarming and heart wrenching read! A caricature on life working in an office but with some pretty relatable content too. Jolene is a fabulous anti-heroine, she drinks too much, has no friends, hates her job and finally gets caught sending snarky white-out emails to a colleague. That’s where the story starts and I promise you’ll be hooked from there!

There’s multiple layers to the storylines of the book and although it was a little predictable at times, I flew through it and couldn’t wait to pick it up again.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review.

Jolene doesn't fit in. She works in an office and loathes all her co-workers. She has a caustic wit and enjoys writing bitchy things about them. These poison pen messages go undetected...until they don't. She is then forced into taking a re-education course at work with Cliff, the guy from HR. Jolene is a brilliant character, she is absolutely flawed, and because of that we can relate to her. Natalie Sue writes with great confidence and skill. I thought she handled the moves between comedy and adversity very well. Highly recommended.

I'm not typically one to read anything slightly thrilling, but the office setting really intrigued me. After realising this was more stressy-comedy than thriller, this felt much more approachable.

I Hope This Finds You Well follows Jolene in her corporate admin role, after a disciplinary hearing she finds herself with increased access to her colleagues emails. What starts off as a selfish rouse to avoid redundancy, turns into a tangle of romance, comedy and selflessness.

I read this in one day, I just needed to find out what happened. The work-place drama was brilliant.

However, I found that the pacing was slightly off in the second half. Where the first half really hooked me, the ending did feel a bit anticlimactic. I think this story could have benefitted from a few less happy endings.

A heart-warming, funny and considered debut novel.

I loved the premise of this book. An office worker who accidentally gains access to her colleagues’ private emails and DMs and decides to use this intel to save her job.

It's true if you've ever worked in an office, you will identify the characters in this book, but it's so much more than that, it's an intricate weaving of relationships, fears, failures and the masks we wear around others, only allowing them to see what we want to see and what happens when those masks slip and people are seen for their authentic selves.

It's a rollercoaster of a ride, with a warmth that draws you in. The characters and the setting is well thought out and realistic, showing all the sides to human life, even if the actions aren't always great. It's a raw and honest look at life and what people do to maintain the status quo.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Jolene is anxious, depressed and dislikes her coworkers – the less she knows about them, the better. So when a catastrophic IT error grants her access to all of their private messages and emails, she is horrified. That’s until with job cuts looming, she realises the power this new-found knowledge gives her. But as she digs deeper and deeper into the private lives of her colleagues, Jolene uncovers a lot more than she bargained for… And the walls she’d so carefully built start crumbling down.

A wild, hilarious and heartwarming office comedy. This fixed my reading slump – it was a little crazy but a wonderful fast paced read. If you’re looking for a relatable laugh, this is the one!

"I Hope This Finds You Well" by Natalie Sue had a significant emotional impact on me. This book is a masterclass exploring the complexities of human relationships, trauma, and loneliness.
Jolene, the protagonist, is a relatable and deeply flawed character who struggles with anxiety, depression, and a general dislike for her coworkers. She's a master of avoiding human interaction, and I couldn't help but feel a sense of empathy towards her. How she vents about her frustrations in postscripts at the end of her emails is hilarious and heartbreaking.
The central plot twist that sets the story in motion is Jolene's unexpected access to her colleagues' emails and instant messages. At first, she's horrified by the invasion of privacy, but as she delves deeper into their personal lives, she discovers a world of secrets and struggles that she never knew existed.
What I loved most about this book is its nuanced portrayal of the human experience. It's a reminder that we never truly know what's going on with others, and that even the people we think we know best can be hiding secrets and struggles. The characters in this book are multidimensional and flawed, making them feel even more real.
The writing is superb, with a seamless narrative and characters that leap off the page. The themes of trauma, loneliness, and new beginnings are woven together beautifully, creating a story that's both deeply moving and thought-provoking.
I'd recommend "I Hope This Finds You Well" to anyone who's ever felt like they're stuck in a rut or struggling to connect with others. It's a powerful reminder that we're all in this together and that even in the darkest of times, there's always hope for a new beginning.

So many laughs and really relatable. I couldn’t put this book down & would love to be able to read it “brand new” again. I’ve recommended this to a number of friends and they also had some fab feedback

I HOPE THIS FINDS YOU WELL has such a great premise - the office setting is very relatable, and the writing is both funny and sharply observed. Loved the voice and the humor, it felt surprisingly tender.

Genuinely laugh out loud funny, and painfully relatable for anyone who has ever worked in an office. This book had me gleefully imagining all the chaos I could cause if I could access everyone’s emails/messages!!

3.75⭐️s. I wasn’t sure if I was going to enjoy this book when I first started it. Very complex characters and an unlikely main character who you want to root for through all her questionable actions. Some parts felt slow which is why it isn’t a four star but overall I enjoyed this book and found myself laughing out loud throughout

I was so hooked by this book. Jolene gave me such vibes of Eleanor Oliphant, so if that was a book that worked for you it's definitely one to try out.

I kept waiting for Jolene to be found out, and I truly think the last 20 or so per cent was the most gripping thing I've read for a long time.

I loved watching Jolene soften throughout the book, and welcome more and more people into her world.

One thing I would have liked to see more is a bit of a closer connection to her Persian heritage. It was present, but I would have liked more of an exploration of that.