Reviews with content warning for Drug abuse - You

Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

You by Caroline Kepnes

33 reviews

snowhite197's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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eline1701's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Ughhhh. I hate Joe.

I finished season 4 part 1 and sort of wanted more (why?) and ended up reading this. It feels odd to say I enjoyed it but I did??? There's a certain humour in reading Joe's narration, the way he judges people, his hypocrisy and the way he justifies his actions. It's completely ridiculous. He's also horribly crass and sexist - moreso than in the show, which I thought was interesting. Beck also felt a lot meaner and less involved in the book, which I thought was cool. Why not? She's allowed to kind of suck. She still doesn't deserve any of this shit.
I really "liked" the way he addresses Beck for the entirety of the novel, it felt original. We never really get a grasp on her, with Joe's unreliable narration, but I thought that was used in a way that was interesting. He'd skip certain things completely because he didn't deem them worth mentioning (duh, of course he'd collected creepy stuff belonging to Beck) and they'd only come up later and they'd always be a bit of a slap in the face. So yeah, I had a... a good time?... reading this. Sort of like watching the show. Repulsive, but at least all parties agree on that? Let's see if I pick up book two...

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newkgirl's review

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Joe Goldberg is the type of character that you love to hate and hate to love. His inner monologue takes you on a wild ride of absolute delusion, pretension, and a complete lack of self awareness.

And Joe is in love with Guinevere Beck, or rather the idea of her he’s created in his head while stalking her.

Joe is a completely unreliable narrator as he takes us through his world, giving everyone but Beck the least amount of thought and consideration. No one but her is as deep or emotionally mature as him. No one is as well read as him and her, no one matters but her.

When obstacles to their love pop up; a boyfriend here, a friend who wants her for herself there, and a therapist who becomes obsessed as well, Joe will do anything to “protect” Beck and keep them together. What’s a little murder in the name of love?

“You are a monster, deathly, solipsistic to the bone and you’re blasphemous because all you want is You.”

Caroline Kepnes’ ability to create a character such as Joe Goldberg is, to me, truly astounding and at the same time, quite unnerving. Caroline, are you okay? Did someone hurt you? Do you need help?

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anmariefweeks's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

5.0

This will get in your head. Def only start it if you have a couple days to finish it (I have kids so it took me three), cause the pacing of it is very addictive and will replace your own cadence. I had yo finish it to get out!
Fun read.

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arthur_ant18's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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bookobsessedfamily's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I hadn’t heard of this book before seeing the series on Netflix. My husband and I started it, then I realized it was a book. I usually hate seeing the movie or show before reading the book. I decided to pick up the book so I could complete the series before Netflix does. 😉

If you like thrillers you will like this one. If you like books about serial killers, you will like this one.

This book is very different from typical thriller books though. Instead of being written from the perspective of the victim, it’s written from the perspective of the villian.

Joe works in a bookstore. One day Beck comes in to grab a couple books and Joe feels like there is an instant connection. But is there really?

Joe knows everything about Beck, but it’s so easy because Beck is such an open book. He will do anything to have her, but will his love for her go too far?

I should add there should be a trigger warning for stalking and captivity, but it’s also a thriller. This does include some mildly spicy 🌶 stuff. There is also a bit of foul language. I only add this because I know that some avoid books that have some of these things.

I really liked this book, I only gave it 4.5 stars because there were parts that I felt were so unrealistic that it took me out of the story.

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sophiesometimesreads's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I have wanted to read this book since I first watched and was mesmerised by the Netflix adaption. Unfortunately, I think that also impacted my rating as I ultimately knew what was coming and that’s where it was a 4.5 and not a 5 star read for me.

Despite this, the book was a really intriguing read and really toyed with your head. The first/second person dual prose made the book different and interesting, and really highlighted the inner workings of Joe’s head. I even found myself feeling somewhat sympathetic for the guy when he was getting ghosted but had to remind myself that he literally

killed multiple people, including his ex-girlfriend

and he deserved to get ghosted. Plus, the only reason he felt the way he felt was because

he was stalking Beck and reading all of her emails

. If it weren’t for this, he wouldn’t have known she was still interested.

I think the prose also played into what made this book so creepy, particularly as a woman. It made me feel kind of icky that you could truly think someone is an amazing person but they could be someone completely different without you even knowing, because there are definitely people who look at the world and women in particular the way Joe does.

Overall, a really interesting read, one that you feel like you should look away from but can’t. Top that off with very unlikeable characters that you just can’t stop reading about. Very interested to see where the story goes in the next one.

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