I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue

 

Have you ever had a job that you dread going to?  I love my current job, but the job I had immediately before this job was one that I dreaded every day.  I only stayed at that job briefly.  Co-workers and bosses can make a big difference on whether you have a good experience at work or not.  Luckily, I was only at this bad job for a few months.

Jolene has been living life in a drunken fog, paralyzed by anxiety.  She has no friends, is estranged from her parents, and has no love life.  All Jolene has is her job.  She entertains herself by writing her true thoughts on the bottom of emails and then changing the text color to white.  One day she forgets to change the text color and she is reported to HR.  She is sentenced to sensitivity training with the new HR guy Cliff.  She soon discovers that when IT updated her computer, they accidentally gave her access to everyone in the office’s emails and chats.  She tries to report it to Cliff but is not believed.  When she discovers that layoffs are coming, she decides to use her new powers to help her keep her job.  What could go wrong?

My thoughts on this novel:

·     
  This novel was set in Canada.

·       The start of this book was bleak and felt like a downer.  Jolene’s life and outlook is depressing.  Luckily the mood changed as the book continued and it grew more lighthearted, sarcastic, and fun.

·       I loved the theme that once you get to know people, you will find out that everyone has something going on and we can all give others grace.

·       This novel has great character development, and I grew to care for so many of the characters.  They were very relatable.

·       Jolene is a great character. She is working through the trauma of her high school best friend dying and she has great growth throughout the novel.  She is half Persian and must deal with her Persian mother’s expectations.

·       Once I started this book, I couldn’t put it down. 

·       This novel had a sweet and believable romance between Cliff and Jolene.

·       This was a fantastic debut author, and I can’t wait to see what author Natalie Sue has next.

·       This novel was witty and well written.  I loved the sarcasm and dry humor.

·       I read and enjoyed this novel in May and I’m working on catching up on reviews.

I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue has romance, comedy, office politics, anxiety, family drama and heart-warming moments.  I enjoyed this unique novel and highly recommend it.

Book Source:  Giveaway copy from Book Club Girls and William Morrow Books. Thank-you!  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.