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krystenmoore's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Suicide
casandra_lovealwaysbooks's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-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
I definitely got bored at parts but in the way where I still wanted to know what was happening, I just also wanted him to be talking about characters who weren’t the worst types (which is the point, I know).
I love hearing his internal dialogue and crack up when he says some off the cuff stuff. He’s a great narrator/pov to hear from. He’s the only person who I can read about and be sick of their shit but STILL want to read more him getting himself into some shit.
I love hearing his internal dialogue and crack up when he says some off the cuff stuff. He’s a great narrator/pov to hear from. He’s the only person who I can read about and be sick of their shit but STILL want to read more him getting himself into some shit.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism, Bullying, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Sexual content, Death, Murder, and Misogyny
david_slack110507's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
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
2.75
I've finally finished the You series/books, at least for now, and it's sad to say that as much as I loved the first and most of the second and third books, it seems like the books are running their course by this point which is sad to say because Joe's adventures were often fun and self-aware that would balance his more criminal endeavours with his sharp-tongued and sarcasm filled inner monologues but this one features more of the latter, disrupting the balance, and for that, it feels like, to me at least, the worst book in the series.
First the positives: I really liked the focus on books, writing and the world of publishing, particularly the social commentary on how it is for female authors such as having their work stolen or 'borrowed' by male authors to much higher and more critical acclaim then they would see and experience if it was under their own name. Another strong aspect was the character of Sarah Beth, a member of the fellowship that Joe is apart of and invited to in this book at Harvard, who ends up trapping Joe and forces him to confess to his crimes for better inspiration for her latest book due to her writing career waning, her character I felt like had two purposes: 1) She acts as a self-insert for Caroline Kepnes as like Sarah Beth, she too has struggled to get recognition for her non-You/non-Youverse works and how frustrating it must be for a writer to be stuck in a mould just to be able to have a successful career rather than get to branch out and do projects that they want to do and 2) She acts as an adversary to Joe as she knows what he has done but doesn't go to the police with it, instead using it as a bargaining chip and a way to gain inspiration. This creates some drama and allows for time to be passed in this manner.
However, while I liked Sarah Beth, she is also a criticism I have with this book as later in the book, when it focuses more on the interpersonal relationships between Sly, Wonder and Joe, Sarah Beth is just pushed to the side and then has her plot wrapped up with a semi-cliffhanger as in the epilogue, she gets payoff to her main issue of the book but is then we are left with the question of if she survives as she leaves with Joe and what happens to the tapes that she has of Joe's confessions to all his crimes over the past few books. I hope in the next book, should there be one, we actually get answers to these questions. Wonder, the main 'love interest' of the book, was also a criticism as she was probably my least favourite out of Joe's 'love interests'/obsessions, it felt like she hardly had any depth in her character and all her and Joe did was argue. She just didn't feel all that interesting and a huge aspect of her character, her family, all felt unfinished and just done to either cause conflict or waste time. I will say that I liked how in the end, she wasn't killed by Joe, which was a nice change of pace, but I feel like overall Wonder was just a really boring love interest which could have been a lot more interesting had she been given more characteristics beyond what was necessary to set out her character and cause conflict.
I feel like my experience with this book was really weird as, like with all the previous books, I listened to the audiobook version of For You and Only You and so it went by very smoothly and Santino Fontana continues to be an excellent portrayal of Joe even if some of the voices for the other characters are.... a choice to say the least, but this book for me was just largely forgettable and could have taken a better direction of having Joe take on Sarah Beth or work alongside her whilst also trying to get the tapes of him confessing to all his crimes. Overall, it was decent, and I enjoyed it as best as I could and I would be interested in seeing where the books/series goes next, particularly if it continues with having Sarah Beth as a present figure, but the You series does seem to be struggling to match the quality of the first book and even some of the later instalments.
First the positives: I really liked the focus on books, writing and the world of publishing, particularly the social commentary on how it is for female authors such as having their work stolen or 'borrowed' by male authors to much higher and more critical acclaim then they would see and experience if it was under their own name. Another strong aspect was the character of Sarah Beth, a member of the fellowship that Joe is apart of and invited to in this book at Harvard, who ends up trapping Joe and forces him to confess to his crimes for better inspiration for her latest book due to her writing career waning, her character I felt like had two purposes: 1) She acts as a self-insert for Caroline Kepnes as like Sarah Beth, she too has struggled to get recognition for her non-You/non-Youverse works and how frustrating it must be for a writer to be stuck in a mould just to be able to have a successful career rather than get to branch out and do projects that they want to do and 2) She acts as an adversary to Joe as she knows what he has done but doesn't go to the police with it, instead using it as a bargaining chip and a way to gain inspiration. This creates some drama and allows for time to be passed in this manner.
However, while I liked Sarah Beth, she is also a criticism I have with this book as later in the book, when it focuses more on the interpersonal relationships between Sly, Wonder and Joe, Sarah Beth is just pushed to the side and then has her plot wrapped up with a semi-cliffhanger as in the epilogue, she gets payoff to her main issue of the book but is then we are left with the question of if she survives as she leaves with Joe and what happens to the tapes that she has of Joe's confessions to all his crimes over the past few books. I hope in the next book, should there be one, we actually get answers to these questions. Wonder, the main 'love interest' of the book, was also a criticism as she was probably my least favourite out of Joe's 'love interests'/obsessions, it felt like she hardly had any depth in her character and all her and Joe did was argue. She just didn't feel all that interesting and a huge aspect of her character, her family, all felt unfinished and just done to either cause conflict or waste time. I will say that I liked how in the end, she wasn't killed by Joe, which was a nice change of pace, but I feel like overall Wonder was just a really boring love interest which could have been a lot more interesting had she been given more characteristics beyond what was necessary to set out her character and cause conflict.
I feel like my experience with this book was really weird as, like with all the previous books, I listened to the audiobook version of For You and Only You and so it went by very smoothly and Santino Fontana continues to be an excellent portrayal of Joe even if some of the voices for the other characters are.... a choice to say the least, but this book for me was just largely forgettable and could have taken a better direction of having Joe take on Sarah Beth or work alongside her whilst also trying to get the tapes of him confessing to all his crimes. Overall, it was decent, and I enjoyed it as best as I could and I would be interested in seeing where the books/series goes next, particularly if it continues with having Sarah Beth as a present figure, but the You series does seem to be struggling to match the quality of the first book and even some of the later instalments.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Murder, Stalking, Death, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Cursing, Sexual content, Sexism, Misogyny, Ableism, Addiction, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief
Minor: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Cancer, Terminal illness, Sexual harassment, Chronic illness, Homophobia, Medical content, Alcohol, Drug abuse, and Drug use
muffmacguff's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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
3.75
Thanks NetGalley for the ARC!
I ended up liking this a lot more than the third YOU book, which was mostly depressing. This had more fun Joe impulse murders, and an exciting setting for Joe to talk literature and fall in “love.”
This reminded me a little more of The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P - it had some really good opportunities for Joe to express how he saw things and the reader to see how far off base he was.
A couple of things felt too convenient, especially <s>one character’s seemingly random confession TO Joe, and Joe’s confession to just the right person. </s>
It was also fun to read this while watching the series, since the show Joe and the book Joe have diverged so dramatically; I thought a lot about what his essential characteristics are in both and where the characters differ. I wonder where Kepnes will take this version of Joe next.
I ended up liking this a lot more than the third YOU book, which was mostly depressing. This had more fun Joe impulse murders, and an exciting setting for Joe to talk literature and fall in “love.”
This reminded me a little more of The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P - it had some really good opportunities for Joe to express how he saw things and the reader to see how far off base he was.
A couple of things felt too convenient, especially <s>one character’s seemingly random confession TO Joe, and Joe’s confession to just the right person. </s>
It was also fun to read this while watching the series, since the show Joe and the book Joe have diverged so dramatically; I thought a lot about what his essential characteristics are in both and where the characters differ. I wonder where Kepnes will take this version of Joe next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Stalking, Gaslighting, and Murder
Moderate: Suicide
karifaye's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide and Murder
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