Book Review: You Love Me: A You Novel by Caroline Kepnes- Mystery/ Thriller

 Hello dear Readers,

My book review of You Love Me: A You Novel by Caroline Kepnes.

Title: You Love Me: A You Novel

Rating: 3/5 Stars

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Author: Caroline Kepnes

Publisher: Random House

Publication Date: April 06, 2021

Language: English

Hardcover: 400 pages
Meet the Author: Caroline Kepnes
Buy Me: Amazon

Book Description

The highly anticipated new thriller in Caroline Kepnes’s hit You series, now a blockbuster Netflix show—a compulsively readable trip into the deviant mind of the uniquely antisocial, savvy bookseller . . . Joe Goldberg.

“Fiendish, fast-paced, and very funny.”—Paula Hawkins, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Girl on the Train

ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF THE YEAR—Cosmopolitan, PopSugar, Literary Hub

Joe is done with the cities. He’s done with the muck and the posers, done with Love. Now, he’s saying hello to nature, to simple pleasures on a cozy island in the Pacific Northwest. For the first time in a long time, he can just breathe.

He gets a job at the local library—he does know a thing or two about books—and that’s where he meets her: Mary Kay DiMarco. Librarian. Joe won’t meddle, he will not obsess. He’ll win her the old-fashioned way . . . by providing a shoulder to cry on, a helping hand. Over time, they’ll both heal their wounds and begin their happily ever after in this sleepy town.

The trouble is . . . Mary Kay already has a life. She’s a mother. She’s a friend. She’s . . . busy.

True love can only triumph if both people are willing to make room for the real thing. Joe cleared his decks. He’s ready. And hopefully, with his encouragement and undying support, Mary Kay will do the right thing and make room for him.

My Thoughts

Unpopular opinion here, but I did not enjoy this book as much as I though I would. I loved You and Hidden Bodies, perhaps some time has passed between books, perhaps some things changed but unfortunately, book three did not make it for me. 

It started very slow, I thought it would picked up at some point but never did. All that dialogue going on in Joe's head got really boring and tiring, almost making Joe a little annoying of a character at times. Then how some situations were predictable and some of the story line felt unnecessary.

I tried really hard to like it this book, to engage, kept reading in the hopes of the story getting more exciting but unfortunately, did not happen for me. 

Thank you Random House and Netgalley for the advanced free copy in exchange for an honest review. 

Wendy

Book Review: Providence-Caroline Kepnes-Mystery/Thriller/Suspense

Hello dear Readers,

Below my book review of Providence by Caroline Kepnes.

Title: Providence 

Rating: 3/5 Stars

Genre: Mystery/Thriller/Suspense

Author: Caroline Kepnes

Publisher: Lenny

Publication Date: Jun 19, 2018

Language: English

Hardcover: 384 pages
Meet the Author: Caroline Kepnes
Buy Me: Amazon

Book Description

T“A dark beauty of a book, Providence kept me up at night with characters that made my heart a little bigger.”—Jessica Knoll, New York Times bestselling author of Luckiest Girl Alive

A propulsive novel that’s part love story, part detective story, and part supernatural thriller—from the acclaimed author of You, whose work Stephen King describes as “hypnotic and totally original”

Best friends in small-town New Hampshire, Jon and Chloe share a bond so intense that it borders on the mystical. But before Jon can declare his love for his soul mate, he is kidnapped, his plans for a normal life permanently dashed.

Four years later, Chloe has finally given up hope of ever seeing Jon again. Then, a few months before graduation, Jon reappears. But he is different now: bigger, stronger, and with no memory of the time he was gone. Jon wants to pick up where he and Chloe left off . . . until the horrifying instant he realizes that he possesses strange powers that pose a grave threat to everyone he cares for. Afraid of hurting Chloe, Jon runs away, embarking on a journey for answers.

Meanwhile, in Providence, Rhode Island, healthy college students and townies with no connection to one another are suddenly, inexplicably dropping dead. A troubled detective prone to unexplainable hunches, Charles “Eggs” DeBenedictus suspects there’s a serial killer at work. But when he starts asking questions, Eggs is plunged into a whodunit worthy of his most outlandish obsessions.

In this dazzling new novel—and with an intense, mesmerizing voice—Caroline Kepnes makes keen and powerful observations about human connection and how love and identity can dangerously blur together.

My Thoughts

Even though I was aware this was nothing like Caroline Kepnes's previous books YOU and Hidden Bodies, I still decided to give it a try because of that mere reason, I loved the books, especially YOU and I was intrigued to see how different Providence was from her previous work. Although the story is not a bad one but unfortunately it was not for me. 

A messy plot and a character-driven story where I don't connect with the characters and what they go through at the end makes it hard for me to feel a part or invested in the story and that is what happened to me with this book. Lost of things happening in this book, but at the end the message the author wanted to deliver was not clear for me.

Thank you Lenny and Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Wendy