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I Hope This Email Finds You in Hell
Not yet published
Expected 1 Sep 26When staying late at the office leads to witnessing an exorcism, Brie Benson's mundane life takes a hellish turn…literally.
After her parents' death, twenty-seven-year-old Brie has mastered the art of compartmentalization to survive her mind-numbing routine as a receptionist at a life insurance company. But when she accidentally catches her hot, uptight boss, Luke, performing an exorcism on Debra from accounting, her carefully ordered world implodes.
Swearing Brie to secrecy, Luke reveals he's from a line of demon hunters and that demonic activity is spiking. But when her emotional support coworker vanishes, Brie is determined to find her. With nothing left to lose, she convinces Luke to let her join his rescue mission.
The problem? Their destination is hell. And the entrance is in Times Square.
Now Brie and Luke must navigate a corporate underworld of monsters and bureaucratic nightmares while racing to save their colleague and repair a tearing veil between worlds. All before their growing feelings become irrelevant and hell claims them forever.
After her parents' death, twenty-seven-year-old Brie has mastered the art of compartmentalization to survive her mind-numbing routine as a receptionist at a life insurance company. But when she accidentally catches her hot, uptight boss, Luke, performing an exorcism on Debra from accounting, her carefully ordered world implodes.
Swearing Brie to secrecy, Luke reveals he's from a line of demon hunters and that demonic activity is spiking. But when her emotional support coworker vanishes, Brie is determined to find her. With nothing left to lose, she convinces Luke to let her join his rescue mission.
The problem? Their destination is hell. And the entrance is in Times Square.
Now Brie and Luke must navigate a corporate underworld of monsters and bureaucratic nightmares while racing to save their colleague and repair a tearing veil between worlds. All before their growing feelings become irrelevant and hell claims them forever.
352 pages, Paperback
Expected publication September 1, 2026
609 people want to read
About the author
Mackenzie Reed
4 books273 followersMackenzie Reed is the author of young adult fiction, THE ROSEWOOD HUNT and THE WILDE TRIALS, and her forthcoming adult debut, I HOPE THIS EMAIL FINDS YOU IN HELL. She cultivated her love of storytelling at Nazareth College, where she graduated with a BA in Communication and Media. A native and resident of Rochester, New York, she loves going for brainstorming walks when the weather’s behaving and spending time with her family. In the sparse moments she’s not writing or daydreaming about her next book, she’s usually winging her eyeliner and hunting for the best slice of pizza in town.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
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February 27, 2026This title is great! and this one sounds funny! can't wait!
Thank you, Berkley, for the E-ARC!!
Thank you, Berkley, for the E-ARC!!
March 1, 2026
Wow! You want a book like this to live up to its title, so I’m happy to announce that this “dystopian paranormal romance comedy workplace roadtrip” novel was an absolute delight. (I am loving these “mashup” novels! Look at all those fun words together!)
This novel reminded me so much of Rachel Harrison that at one point I looked up the author on Goodreads to check whether it was indeed Rachel Harrison writing under a pseudonym. (It’s not! — the author, Mackenzie Reed, is another, real person who has previously written a couple YA novels. This is her adult debut, but I sure hope it won’t be her last book for adult readers.)
When I give a Rachel Harrison comp, that’s big accolades from me, because she’s on auto-buy status and I’ve read all her books. This book offers many things found in a typical RH book: creative, vivid, and fantastical-yet-relatable plots, settings, and characters; an at-times more lighthearted or “cozy horror” vibe, but things can also get serious too, and there are some thrilling and action/adventure scenes; feminist themes with an empowered female protagonist, often healing from some past family or relational trauma; and strong depictions of friendships or alliances.
This book also offers some special amped-up qualities, including more overt humor, romance, and some spice; absolutely excellent worldbuilding; diverse representation; and a very appealing FMC and MMC (though they are both confronting their dark pasts in this book, they are very likable). To throw out some comps with regard to the worldbuilding, this book integrates a sort of Stranger Things/The Upside-Down parallel world concept, and it also has a sort of The Hunger Games thing going on in which that world is divided into districts of sorts (and THG is directly referenced, too). But, it incorporates these elements while also making them its own thing. It also offers the reader an array of interesting “fantastic beings” to meet and learn about, and the whole roadtrip/quest portion had a little bit of a The Princess Bride feel to it. Overall, there is a lot of freaky, wacky, and even cute stuff to enjoy.
I admit that this book sort of had me at hello (AKA the title!), so I didn’t read much about it beforehand and therefore I don’t know if any of the descriptions give spoilers. I found myself pleasantly surprised a few times in this book, so I’d advise going in knowing as little as possible so you can have that experience too.
This was basically a one-sitting read. I was fortunate to stumble across it when I needed something really good to read because I was very sick, and this was just perfect. (I didn’t love it because I was sick; I was able to love it despite my being sick!) This book is just fun. And it could be the start of a series, which would be extremely cool. And while you can read this anytime like I did, I want to issue a light spooky season read alert!!
Thanks so much to NetGalley, the author, and Berkley Publishing Group for making this wonderful ARC available. This book is scheduled to release on September 1, 2026.
This novel reminded me so much of Rachel Harrison that at one point I looked up the author on Goodreads to check whether it was indeed Rachel Harrison writing under a pseudonym. (It’s not! — the author, Mackenzie Reed, is another, real person who has previously written a couple YA novels. This is her adult debut, but I sure hope it won’t be her last book for adult readers.)
When I give a Rachel Harrison comp, that’s big accolades from me, because she’s on auto-buy status and I’ve read all her books. This book offers many things found in a typical RH book: creative, vivid, and fantastical-yet-relatable plots, settings, and characters; an at-times more lighthearted or “cozy horror” vibe, but things can also get serious too, and there are some thrilling and action/adventure scenes; feminist themes with an empowered female protagonist, often healing from some past family or relational trauma; and strong depictions of friendships or alliances.
This book also offers some special amped-up qualities, including more overt humor, romance, and some spice; absolutely excellent worldbuilding; diverse representation; and a very appealing FMC and MMC (though they are both confronting their dark pasts in this book, they are very likable). To throw out some comps with regard to the worldbuilding, this book integrates a sort of Stranger Things/The Upside-Down parallel world concept, and it also has a sort of The Hunger Games thing going on in which that world is divided into districts of sorts (and THG is directly referenced, too). But, it incorporates these elements while also making them its own thing. It also offers the reader an array of interesting “fantastic beings” to meet and learn about, and the whole roadtrip/quest portion had a little bit of a The Princess Bride feel to it. Overall, there is a lot of freaky, wacky, and even cute stuff to enjoy.
I admit that this book sort of had me at hello (AKA the title!), so I didn’t read much about it beforehand and therefore I don’t know if any of the descriptions give spoilers. I found myself pleasantly surprised a few times in this book, so I’d advise going in knowing as little as possible so you can have that experience too.
This was basically a one-sitting read. I was fortunate to stumble across it when I needed something really good to read because I was very sick, and this was just perfect. (I didn’t love it because I was sick; I was able to love it despite my being sick!) This book is just fun. And it could be the start of a series, which would be extremely cool. And while you can read this anytime like I did, I want to issue a light spooky season read alert!!
Thanks so much to NetGalley, the author, and Berkley Publishing Group for making this wonderful ARC available. This book is scheduled to release on September 1, 2026.
March 2, 2026
★★★
i enjoyed this book! it was very entertaining to read about Brie’s boss performing an exorcism right in the beginning of the book. i loved the demon hunter aspect, and the main characters going to hell to find her missing friend. it was fun while also sprinkles of serious. honestly the demon hunting/fantasy aspects were a lot more entertaining than the actual romance. the romance to me just fell a bit flat. luke was an okay mmc but he just didn’t grow much from the beginning of the book. brie was a lot more likable and i loved seeing her growth from not really dealing with her grief to dealing with it and getting past her dark past. overall it was a cute entertaining read with great paranormal and comical vibes!
i enjoyed this book! it was very entertaining to read about Brie’s boss performing an exorcism right in the beginning of the book. i loved the demon hunter aspect, and the main characters going to hell to find her missing friend. it was fun while also sprinkles of serious. honestly the demon hunting/fantasy aspects were a lot more entertaining than the actual romance. the romance to me just fell a bit flat. luke was an okay mmc but he just didn’t grow much from the beginning of the book. brie was a lot more likable and i loved seeing her growth from not really dealing with her grief to dealing with it and getting past her dark past. overall it was a cute entertaining read with great paranormal and comical vibes!
March 1, 2026
I received an eARC of this book and I actually really enjoyed it. It was a fairly quick read, and it was very dynamic in the world’s building and extremely well thought out in my opinion. You don’t see very many books that dive in to this genre so whenever I find one that does it always peaks my interest.
Absolutely loved the journey that the FMC and the MMC go on through their journey of love. There are lots of twists and turns throughout this book and by the time you get to the twist, your jaw is on the floor.
My only thing that keeps me from giving it a true five stars is, I wish there was more character development throughout all the characters. The FMC has a fair amount, but I wish I could’ve seen more between the side characters and the MMC.
Overall, I absolutely enjoyed this book and could recommend it if you like these genres/tropes!
4.5 🌟 2.5 🌶️
Absolutely loved the journey that the FMC and the MMC go on through their journey of love. There are lots of twists and turns throughout this book and by the time you get to the twist, your jaw is on the floor.
My only thing that keeps me from giving it a true five stars is, I wish there was more character development throughout all the characters. The FMC has a fair amount, but I wish I could’ve seen more between the side characters and the MMC.
Overall, I absolutely enjoyed this book and could recommend it if you like these genres/tropes!
4.5 🌟 2.5 🌶️
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
2.5 stars
I Hope This Email Finds You in Hell starts off with a bang. Brie, a receptionist at Corporate Cares life insurance, is working a dead-end job, numbly going through the motions to distract herself from memories of her tragic past. Once a promising medical student with loving parents and a doting fiance, the highlights of Brie's day now consist of changing out the empty water cooler and nagging Debra from accounting for her overdue weekly reports. However, Brie's carefully-constructed routine is shattered one fateful night when she pops back into the office to fax said overdue reports. Though she's prepared to do battle with the fax machines, she's definitely *not* prepared to find her mysterious new boss Luke performing an exorcism on Debra. He reveals that he is a demon hunter and swears her to secrecy, and Brie is desperate to forget about everything she saw that night. However, when her closest friend at work goes missing, Brie convinces Luke to take her along on the (literal) rescue mission to hell. As Luke and Brie find themselves on a road trip across the underworld, they must race against the clock to stop the veil separating the two worlds from being destroyed forever - all while dealing with the pesky feelings growing between them.
I absolutely adored the exorcism at the start of the book; I'm sure everyone has encountered at least one coworker in their lives who was so bad that surely demonic possession was involved. The premise of a road trip across hell was also great, and left a lot of opportunity to fully explore the underworld and its inhabitants (demons, devils, souls, vampires, etc.). However, once Brie and Luke set out on their journey, things started to fall apart. It almost seemed like the author had a set list of "standard urban romantasy" plot points that they wanted to hit (including word-for-word trope-y dialogue) and then filled in the rest with...filler. The action jumped around so much that I am still confused as to how the underworld actually works, so the "twists" that were revealed about Luke's background never really hit with much impact because I had no idea what they actually meant in the grand scheme of things. There was also minimal character development outside of Brie, so the romance between her and Luke fell flat for me (especially since most of the book followed a pattern of her demanding to be involved, getting herself into trouble, and then getting mad at Luke for not being forthcoming with her *even though he didn't want her there in the first place*). However, I Hope This Email Finds You in Hell was a very quick read with a fun premise, so if these shortcomings aren't a deal-breaker, this is probably worth checking out for anyone interested.
Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I Hope This Email Finds You in Hell starts off with a bang. Brie, a receptionist at Corporate Cares life insurance, is working a dead-end job, numbly going through the motions to distract herself from memories of her tragic past. Once a promising medical student with loving parents and a doting fiance, the highlights of Brie's day now consist of changing out the empty water cooler and nagging Debra from accounting for her overdue weekly reports. However, Brie's carefully-constructed routine is shattered one fateful night when she pops back into the office to fax said overdue reports. Though she's prepared to do battle with the fax machines, she's definitely *not* prepared to find her mysterious new boss Luke performing an exorcism on Debra. He reveals that he is a demon hunter and swears her to secrecy, and Brie is desperate to forget about everything she saw that night. However, when her closest friend at work goes missing, Brie convinces Luke to take her along on the (literal) rescue mission to hell. As Luke and Brie find themselves on a road trip across the underworld, they must race against the clock to stop the veil separating the two worlds from being destroyed forever - all while dealing with the pesky feelings growing between them.
I absolutely adored the exorcism at the start of the book; I'm sure everyone has encountered at least one coworker in their lives who was so bad that surely demonic possession was involved. The premise of a road trip across hell was also great, and left a lot of opportunity to fully explore the underworld and its inhabitants (demons, devils, souls, vampires, etc.). However, once Brie and Luke set out on their journey, things started to fall apart. It almost seemed like the author had a set list of "standard urban romantasy" plot points that they wanted to hit (including word-for-word trope-y dialogue) and then filled in the rest with...filler. The action jumped around so much that I am still confused as to how the underworld actually works, so the "twists" that were revealed about Luke's background never really hit with much impact because I had no idea what they actually meant in the grand scheme of things. There was also minimal character development outside of Brie, so the romance between her and Luke fell flat for me (especially since most of the book followed a pattern of her demanding to be involved, getting herself into trouble, and then getting mad at Luke for not being forthcoming with her *even though he didn't want her there in the first place*). However, I Hope This Email Finds You in Hell was a very quick read with a fun premise, so if these shortcomings aren't a deal-breaker, this is probably worth checking out for anyone interested.
Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
It’s the classic Lord of the Rings eagles argument - Why didn’t they just fly to San Francisco and enter the underworld there? Instead, they enter the underworld in NYC and roadtrip in Hell all the way to San Francisco.
If you get frustrated by characters making questionable and dumb decisions in survival situations, this might not be the book for you. If you don't care about that, it's a 5 star book. There were many moments where I found myself thinking, “Why did Brie do that?” Each time one of these moments came up, I grew a little more irritated. When I started the book, I thought it was a great book. By the end of the book, that frustration had really built up.
For example
- Why is Brie arguing with Luke when they should be running away? Why are they kissing in the middle of a fight?
- Why didn’t she stitch Luke up earlier? She even mentions stopping the car during the Reformation. That would have been the perfect time.
- Why did she wait until the VERY LAST SECOND to take off the cursed mask? She was explicitly told the curse ends at midnight and she was aware of the time. That was lazy writing.
I’m reading an ARC version, so maybe things will change when published. There were so many things that I liked in the book. The premise is really unique, Brie is a fun character and there were a lot of fantastical scenes like the ghost town. This book just needs polishing.
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC.
If you get frustrated by characters making questionable and dumb decisions in survival situations, this might not be the book for you. If you don't care about that, it's a 5 star book. There were many moments where I found myself thinking, “Why did Brie do that?” Each time one of these moments came up, I grew a little more irritated. When I started the book, I thought it was a great book. By the end of the book, that frustration had really built up.
For example
- Why is Brie arguing with Luke when they should be running away? Why are they kissing in the middle of a fight?
- Why didn’t she stitch Luke up earlier? She even mentions stopping the car during the Reformation. That would have been the perfect time.
- Why did she wait until the VERY LAST SECOND to take off the cursed mask? She was explicitly told the curse ends at midnight and she was aware of the time. That was lazy writing.
I’m reading an ARC version, so maybe things will change when published. There were so many things that I liked in the book. The premise is really unique, Brie is a fun character and there were a lot of fantastical scenes like the ghost town. This book just needs polishing.
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group, Mackenzie Reed, and NetGalley for the e-ARC! I gobbled this read up in ONE SITTING.
*insert Stefon from SNL* this adult debut has EVERYTHING. Exorcisms. Corporate greed. Witty one-liners. Hot af demon hunters. Trauma bonding. Sex with your boss.
Wow, how FUN of a book is this? I was so excited to see Mackenzie announce her first adult novel, and I promise it's not just because we went to college together (and with every piece of writing of hers that I read, I wonder more and more, how were we NOT close friends??). It really gave me Rachel Harrison meets Supernatural vibes in the best way possible!
I love the way Mackenzie introduced us to the underworld, with a level of world building that is perfectly balanced between being developed enough to feel real, without having so much detail it's too dense and complicated to easily wrap your brain around. She also did an excellent job bringing Brie's character to life, to the point where I felt like she was a friend of mine, hanging out in my living room with me.
Can't wait for this to hit the shelves in September and for my real copy to arrive then! Congrats, Mackenzie!!
*insert Stefon from SNL* this adult debut has EVERYTHING. Exorcisms. Corporate greed. Witty one-liners. Hot af demon hunters. Trauma bonding. Sex with your boss.
Wow, how FUN of a book is this? I was so excited to see Mackenzie announce her first adult novel, and I promise it's not just because we went to college together (and with every piece of writing of hers that I read, I wonder more and more, how were we NOT close friends??). It really gave me Rachel Harrison meets Supernatural vibes in the best way possible!
I love the way Mackenzie introduced us to the underworld, with a level of world building that is perfectly balanced between being developed enough to feel real, without having so much detail it's too dense and complicated to easily wrap your brain around. She also did an excellent job bringing Brie's character to life, to the point where I felt like she was a friend of mine, hanging out in my living room with me.
Can't wait for this to hit the shelves in September and for my real copy to arrive then! Congrats, Mackenzie!!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I found this book to be a fun read overall!
This rompy road trip through Hell was just about everything I was hoping it would be. The characters were fun to follow along with, and the romance between Brie and Luke was pretty swoony for the most part.
I also liked that the author’s writing style was easy to read and stay engaged with, while not feeling all that repetitive. It was cheeky in the best way possible, and I think it’s great for fans of romance novels that are lighthearted and fun (even when dealing with topics that could be darker, like demon hunting and HELL).
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Berkley for allowing me to read the eARC!
This rompy road trip through Hell was just about everything I was hoping it would be. The characters were fun to follow along with, and the romance between Brie and Luke was pretty swoony for the most part.
I also liked that the author’s writing style was easy to read and stay engaged with, while not feeling all that repetitive. It was cheeky in the best way possible, and I think it’s great for fans of romance novels that are lighthearted and fun (even when dealing with topics that could be darker, like demon hunting and HELL).
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Berkley for allowing me to read the eARC!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I Hope This Email Finds You in Hell is SUCH a fun road trip romp through hell! The characters are great, the romance had me swooning, Mackenzie Reed's writing makes it so easy to envision these characters and settings. I find that romance novels can start to feel very repetitive and just bleed into one another. This feels like such a unique and memorable book. I can't wait to force my romance reading friends to pick this one up! I can't wait to add it to my shelf. I hope we get more adult romances from Mackenzie in the future because I will be all over them.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I first want to thank NetGalley for the amazing ARC opportunity. Now here’s my honest review 💕
I absolutely loved this book and was genuinely sad when it was over. Brie was hilarious, and her quick-witted remarks were one of my favorite things about her. The story is well written, and once the action starts, it doesn’t stop until the very end. I was up until 3 a.m. because I couldn’t put it down—I just had to know what happened next.
Definitely add this one to your TBR 📚🫶🏻
I absolutely loved this book and was genuinely sad when it was over. Brie was hilarious, and her quick-witted remarks were one of my favorite things about her. The story is well written, and once the action starts, it doesn’t stop until the very end. I was up until 3 a.m. because I couldn’t put it down—I just had to know what happened next.
Definitely add this one to your TBR 📚🫶🏻
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Oh, I loved this! I'm not a big Romantasy fan, but I would be if more of it was like this! Nice blend of serious and fun, the details of Hell bureaucracy were exceptional. It had a fantastic Supernatural (the TV show, not the spookiness) vibe to it that I loved.
March 2, 2025
I was lucky enough to read an early version of this, and when I tell you you are not ready!!
May 8, 2025
This book is actually my entire personality. Mackenzie Reed's adult debut is a hilarious romp on the highway to hell.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews