Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - You Love Me

I've finally finished with exams/GCSEs so I'm hoping to be more productive when it comes to reading books and this was one that I made progress during the exam period. Maybe, that hindered my enjoyment, but I feel that for me at least, this was my least favourite You/Joe Goldberg book so far in the series but it does have its positives that kept the story engaging.

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.

Content Warnings

fartplatinum's review against another edition

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dark tense

3.75

Content Warnings

theimposter's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Content Warnings

chxska's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny 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

3.75

Caroline Kepnes knows how to do a good plot twist. I’m surprised I followed Joe to the third book and I always think I’m not going to want the next book but the last chapters are always SO entertaining.

man mk’s whole family is just so messed up but NOMI AT THE END oh my god crazy. She’s the first character in this whole series that I would be okay with having a spinoff book. also the Johnny Bates show Oliver writes LMAOOOOO i see u caroline kepnes.

I’m already in so deep so I’m definitely going to pick up the next book. I Hate to Love Joe <3

Content Warnings

biblio_jordyn's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Oh my goodness. Joe is all grown up in this book...I mean he’s still a bit misogynistic and obsessive and more, but there’s a new restraint and evolution we see in him this book and I loved it.

The book was narrated in Joe’s POV, like the rest of Kepnes’s novel and she AGAIN does an excellent job of making me get the creepy crawlies, making me laugh when I shouldn’t want to, making me root for joe when I shouldn’t want to, and making me keep turning the page until I’m done!

I am already dying for another book in the series, will there be another book?! Please tell me there will be 😭

I’m also eagerly awaiting season 3 of the Netflix show so there’s that...

Content Warnings

_chelseachelsea's review against another edition

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dark funny tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Not the BEST in the Joe series, and certainly about 50 pages too long, but Kepnes is as sharp and darkly charming as ever.

SPOILERS

I would have liked this book to pick back up with Joe and Love together - her crazy and jealous, him crazy and jealous - it could’ve been great. But instead we get... pretty much the first book but with crazier side characters, a more mature Joe, and a less self-centered You. The convenience of these roadblocks being cleared was a bit much, and the ending takes sort of a bizarre turn, but I can’t deny it was entertaining.

Content Warnings

invaderlinz's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious 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

3.0

3/3.5

I’m a big fan of the You series and was on the edge of my seat waiting for this one to come out once I learned that it was happening. This has all the classic Joe drama (lots of death but surprise! He doesn’t actually kill anyone this time) but it did drag in a few parts, and the ending was super rushed. The *twist* was just thrown in there and maybe it will play out better on the show, if they use the majority of this story for season 3. Overall, I was enthralled and wouldn’t read anything else until I finished it. I think everyone will love getting to hate Joe again, and this book shows his true colors.

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