Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

You by Caroline Kepnes

119 reviews

urfriendash's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

CHILLING........

so i bought this because i loved the show, and everyone told me 'joe is so much darker in the book!' and i was like okay ill bite

i don't think joe is like super darker in this, but because we are limited to his inner dialogue in the show, we miss out on some of the crazy creepy stuff he thinks about. plus, the show made a lot of changes to the plot. like the paco plot doesn't exist in the books, and yk in the show ur like 'oh he a terrible guy but at least he's helping paco' well you cant say that in the book..

this book was actually scary, not cuz of some monster or vampire yk but because this could happen to anyone irl! plenty of people don't figure out their being stalked for years.. joes narrating was so crazy to me, like people actually think this shit. he's super perverted and he's great at gaslighting and manipulating!

anyway super good book, very disturbing, anddddd id say 13+. if your mature. there's a bunch of perverted stuff and sex scenes, as well as detailing of murder and stalking (obviously)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Violence, Sexism, Sexual content, Murder, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Kidnapping, Car accident, Cursing, Death, Toxic friendship, Torture, Physical abuse, Stalking, Medical content, and Gaslighting

lots of perverted content

zarakoconnor's review

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

5.0

Loved how scary Joe is written, truly explores obsession and stalking and the mind of a man that wants to destroy a woman, whether intentional or not. The book is absolutely better.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Confinement, Gaslighting, Murder, Cursing, Infidelity, and Sexual content

fatimahfkhan's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

4.0

the way every sentence was addressed like he was talking to her was fucking sick i loved it it was so well written. its in second person like we’re in the head of this demented fucker its amazing
everyone in this book was a piece of shit. but everyone was so well written (minus peach she was a bit 1 dimensional but that may be on purpose idk) . everyone had such bad ISSUES like beck babes rlly needed therapy
this was a bit dragged out like i think a lot of parts could’ve been removed but pretty good. joes character was written so fucking good i was rooting for him and then complete 180 and i fucking hate him but love him?? she did an amazing amazing amazing job writing joe and becks arc. 
this defo wasnt perfect but its nearly a 4 star its just 100 pages could've been reduced like there was a whole like 20% where joe and beck didn't interact it was like off idk but the writing was good and i loved the use of like popculture refs and flaws that many ppl have, like i can see parts of beck and benji in me, to show that this could very well become a real story, not just fiction. 
+ not nice references abt taylor swift but im happy she was mentioned Lmao
ik a lot of ppl see the point of this is like oh social media bad! and shit but like idk i didn't see a way beck could've avoided joe's inevitable obsession. like obvs she posted everyt and that gave him a way to learn shit but like i feel like he wouldve found them out anyway
decent social commentary but if it was deeper, rating defo goes up
3.5 stars!!!
looking back id defo give it 4 i think abt this book alllll the time!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Murder, and Violence

zoeblair's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Confinement, Toxic friendship, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Murder

k_shimer's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Stalking

krispiefries's review against another edition

dark funny sad tense medium-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Emotional abuse, Violence, Vomit, Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Stalking, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Blood, Sexual assault, Death, Domestic abuse, Car accident, Confinement, Drug abuse, Murder, and Sexual content

_andviolet's review

dark funny reflective tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexual content, Murder, and Stalking

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Sexual assault

Minor: Drug abuse, Lesbophobia, and Transphobia

keestan's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

One moment you're thinking this guy is a disgusting freak and the next you find yourself weirdly routing for him?? I find it similar to Dexter in that sense. I think while watching the TV show, it's kind of easy to fall into the "charming" appeal of Joe Goldberg but I do think the book has a great way of bringing Joe's darkness back to the forefront. This series has become a dirty pleasure of mine. The drama, the suspense, the unhinged chaos weaved through out. It all keeps me coming back for the next book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Stalking, and Violence

Moderate: Torture and Gaslighting

Minor: Abandonment

kelseyr713's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-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

2.5

As you can see, this took me a long time to read. For whatever reason, I wasn’t compelled to find out what happened next, and it’s both tedious and upsetting to be in the protagonist’s head for too long. Can’t believe there are THREE more books in this series - how does he keep getting away with this??? Also feels dated in a few ways.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Toxic friendship, Sexual content, Gaslighting, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, and Confinement

Moderate: Alcohol and Car accident

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

fkshg8465's review against another edition

dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

3.0

I never planned on reading this, but a colleague said she enjoyed it better than the show. I generally enjoy the shows more than the books. This was the situation this time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Stalking, Torture, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, and Gaslighting