Hate Mail by Donna Marchetti [ARC Review]
“Hate Mail” is the debut novel by Donna Marchetti and tells the story of Naomi and Luca. When Naomi was in 5th grade, she was assigned a penpal: Luca. After putting in her blood, sweat and tears into writing him her first letter, she is utterly disappointed when she receives his scribbled down note of insults. Having to have the last word, Naomi writes an even more vile letter as response and so their unusual penpalship starts.
Two decades later, Luca has stopped writing. And the moment Naomi is on the edge of letting the whole thing go, another letter flatters into her workplace. No address, no sender. But the all too familiar handwriting and rude comments do all the work. Luca is back and this time Naomi is set on finding her mysterious penpal. While juggling her job as a weather girl, dating her neighbor Jake and organizing her move to her new house, Naomi and her best friend travel through the US, trying to find Luca.
First and foremost, I have never come across a meet-cute like the one in “Hate Mail”. I was a bit unsure of the premise, but when I read the first few letters between Naomi and Luka (which were beautifully incorporated into the story, but more to that later), I instantly fell in love. In such a fun and unique concept of two people getting to know each other while writing hate filled letters. I loved the creativity of the insults and how some were taken more seriously than others.
I have to be very careful when talking about Naomi and Luca as a couple as I don’t want to spoil anything, but I will say that I overall loved their dynamic. Luca was the one who fell first and fell hard. It was adorable to see how his entire view of Naomi shifted once she became a real person to him and how charming he could be. I loved the way he remembered all the small things Naomi told him over the years and how he used them to bait her.
I did miss a teeny tiny bit of chemistry when they interacted in real life. The implied love triangle fell a little flat to me, though I loved Luca and Naomi’s bickering. Some of the details didn’t add up too much in my opinion. But Luca still makes a great book boyfriend.
What stood out the most to me was the way in which the story was told. Naomi’s POV told the story from the present, Luca’s POV is telling the story from the past moving towards Naomi’s present. Connecting both POVs, the letters are sprinkled in between beautifully showing how the relationship between Naomi and Luca grew over the years. It takes a bit getting used to, but then I really liked it. Especially, as it explains why Luca answered Naomi’s letter as he did, why he chose certain things in life and why he disappeared. That was my favorite thing about the book.
Initially, I thought the book would be a tad spicier than it turned out to be. But I don’t complain, spice isn’t that high up in my priorities anymore. I’d say the book is appropriate for teenagers 16+.
I wished the epilogue would have been longer. That’s my only real complaint, because I needed more of Naomi and Luca’s established relationship. I wished I could have read more of them after they got together and how their dynamic shifted/developed.
Overall, I have a fun and unique novel with a love story that is touching while entertaining throughout. I cried, I laughed and I sighed in relief. It’s a great debut and I’d recommend anyone to pick up Donna Marchett, because she will be up there with the big ones bringing us iconic rom coms that deserve any ounce of attention and recognition.
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