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zarakoconnor's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Addiction, Confinement, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Blood, Animal death, Death, Kidnapping, Animal cruelty, Grief, Stalking, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Suicide, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Pedophilia and Pregnancy
Minor: Antisemitism
david_slack110507's review
- 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
3.5
To begin with, I do like the aspect of Joe having to not kill due to the circumstances of the last book, which is that he is now in the good graces of the Quinn family and must abide by their rules to continue to live this life of relative luxury in Bainbridge Island. It created some interesting dynamics rather than having Joe just kill anyone in the way of his "love" for Mary Kay DiMarco (This book's central love interest or shall I say Joe's later obsession and fascination, though for this one he does seem to tone it down just a little but many of the usual Joe shenanigans take place still). However, I do feel like while this is a positive aspect of the book, it could also be seen as a lazy one as any issue that needs the removal of a person from a situation to result in Joe's best outcome often happens by chance, for example when Joe has kidnapped Melanda (Mary Kay's best friend), she ends up committing suicide and when Seamus (Another friend of Mary Kay and has a far more sinister relationship with Mary Kay's daughter, Nomi, than expected) kidnaps Joe, he is killed by Oliver (A private investigator sent by the Quinn family to monitor Joe's activities whom also catches Joe in the act of disposing of the recently deceased Melanda's body). Some could see this as a way of writing out situations to get to the next one rather than letting it have any real lasting consequences but for me, it mainly works.
Another thing I liked about You Love Me is that once again, like with how Hidden Bodies, picked up threads from the original You novel, You Love Me does the same with its predecessor but to a much larger capacity as the Quinns and Forty/Henry are much more present in this book in comparison to Amy Adams from the last book and I actually quite liked that the Quinns still had an influence in Joe's life even without being there. When the situation is fully addressed, I do think it is once again done a little too cleanly as Joe gets away pretty much scott-free with only some relationship drama for him to tend with as a result of his conclusion to his relationship with Love.
Something that I noticed in this book is that social commentary is much more present this time around. Social commentary has always been present in the You series/You books both explicitly and implicitly, but I found that this one featured it more heavily, particularly with Joe. In this book, Joe is much more socially aware and he comments on this throughout. I like to think that his inner monologues about being pro-feminism have a deeper meaning or are actually just a deeper message that Caroline Kepnes is trying to convey using Joe as the vessel with which to do it - Either, Joe is doing this to feed into his superiority complex in that he is better than most guys for Mary Kay because he actually respects her or it's a message to show how people use and abuse social movements and ideas to better themselves either for their own good or to portray a better public image. I may be reading too much into it, but I thought it was an interesting thought.
My main issue with this book was the ending, not only did it come out of nowhere and feel quite poorly handled but it also felt like there needed to be something to cause a situation so serious enough that Joe could not be with this family in the next book despite the fact that a chapter or two prior to the end of the book, had seemed to be in the picture-perfect ending (Or at least the picture-perfect ending for a book like this and for a guy like Joe). This twist along with the fact that Nomi had been sleeping with and seeing Seamus, wasn't great and the lack of buildup beyond those two chapters was pretty much non-existent. I know that I have more positives than negatives so maybe that doesn't justify the 3-star rating (Which is actually rounded down from a 3.5) but something just didn't hit the same with this one like the others, but it was still an enjoyable listen.
Graphic: Death, Deadnaming, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Violence, Sexual content, and Blood
Moderate: Confinement, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Grief, Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Addiction, Bullying, Pedophilia, Sexism, Death of parent, and Animal death
Minor: Abortion, Rape, Infidelity, Gun violence, Animal cruelty, Mass/school shootings, and Pregnancy
kuhnja's review
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Moderate: Confinement, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Gun violence, Infidelity, Death, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Abandonment, Abortion, and Blood
Minor: Animal death
ellaticonstellation's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Confinement, Blood, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Addiction, Child abuse, and Toxic friendship
sgonzo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Suicide, Stalking, Infidelity, Death, Death of parent, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Grief, Addiction, and Confinement
Moderate: Blood and Bullying
kaylasbookgram's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Alcohol, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Stalking, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Addiction, and Animal death
_thelitlibrarian's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
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TW; Toxic Relationship, Stalking, Death of Parent, Murder, Addiction, Infidelity, Suicide, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement.
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In this third installment of the 'You' series, we see Joe as he tries to move on from his past life. He's done with the big city - and ready to move on. He moves to a small island in the Pacific Northwest and ready to just breathe, Joe gets a job in the local library where he meets the delightful Mary Kay DiMarco. This time around Joe promises not to revert to his old ways; he will not pry, he will not stalk, and most he will try not to obsess. It's odd to see Joe in this light - I found that in this book his thoughts were a bit more tame, he still thinks of what he could do; but he doesn't always revert to the choices he would previously make.
As he tries to win Mary Kay the old-fashioned way; he realizes that it might prove to be a challenge. She's busy, she's a friend, a mom, and mainly she's a wife. It was interesting watching the story unfold, however, I felt like it focused more on their potential relationship, and less of the stalking that happened in the previous two books. I found the story was slow-to-start, it lulled for the first 200 pages, but once some typical Joe tendencies started to appear I was much more interested. The last few chapters were intense, there was a twist I did not see coming, but the epilogue was a letdown.
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Addiction, Infidelity, Suicide, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, and Confinement
markedwithanm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Cursing, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Infidelity, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Stalking, Suicide, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Abortion, Antisemitism, and Cancer
melissabynature's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Infidelity, Violence, Toxic relationship, Stalking, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Antisemitism, Blood, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Mass/school shootings, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, and Rape