Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.28 AVERAGE
3.28 AVERAGE
You was one of my favorite books I ever read. This book was so disappointing. I still can't even figure out what this book was. Was it YA? Science fiction? A love story? Also, I couldn't understand all the HP lovecraft references and the whole thing was just lost on me and it became a big nope.
It’s been a long time since a book left me breathless. I finished Providence and I need to sit with it for a while. Process, I guess. Well done, Caroline Kepnes!
Such an odd, compelling little book. Really well-developed characters and voices. I compulsively finished it.
Caroline Kepnes has delivered a magnificent, heartbreaking, bizarre, and haunting tale of love and loss.
I first fell in love with Caroline Kepnes with YOU. Her antihero(?) Joe is a masterpiece, and a lovable psychopath. Or maybe he's only lovable because I am also a psychopath! Anyway! YOU and HIDDEN BODIES were fantastic pieces of fiction, and it introduced me to Kepnes' voice, which is powerful and witty and insightful.
PROVIDENCE is the story about Jon and Chloe: two people that fall in love early on, but whose destinies are forever changed after Jon goes missing for four years. The story that unfolds happens over the course of many years, and it is told from three different perspectives.
This book is a dark romance, and it offers surprising critique on addictive love, destructive love, and the ways that we view ourselves in the context of love.
It is poignant. Sad. Funny. And beautiful.
This book will stay with me for a long time. An unexpected tale from Kepnes, showing that she can stretch out into any genre or any idea and bring it fully to life!
This book isn't for everyone, it is peculiar and odd and that is precisely why I fell in love with it.
I first fell in love with Caroline Kepnes with YOU. Her antihero(?) Joe is a masterpiece, and a lovable psychopath. Or maybe he's only lovable because I am also a psychopath! Anyway! YOU and HIDDEN BODIES were fantastic pieces of fiction, and it introduced me to Kepnes' voice, which is powerful and witty and insightful.
PROVIDENCE is the story about Jon and Chloe: two people that fall in love early on, but whose destinies are forever changed after Jon goes missing for four years. The story that unfolds happens over the course of many years, and it is told from three different perspectives.
This book is a dark romance, and it offers surprising critique on addictive love, destructive love, and the ways that we view ourselves in the context of love.
It is poignant. Sad. Funny. And beautiful.
This book will stay with me for a long time. An unexpected tale from Kepnes, showing that she can stretch out into any genre or any idea and bring it fully to life!
This book isn't for everyone, it is peculiar and odd and that is precisely why I fell in love with it.
ARC provided by publisher and NetGalley for free, but this does not influence my review.
I didn't hate this book, but I didn't love it either. I just don't think I am smart enough or experienced enough with H.P. Lovecraft to get all the references. I will say Caroline's character development pulls me in. She writes with such realism. I was rooting for Jon all throughout the book. Chloe, on the other hand, was flat, bland, and not very likable. The beginning of this book gripped me and had me turning pages, until midway I was scratching my head wondering what in the heck I was reading. By 90% it picked up and had me engaged.
Although there is a science fiction element to this novel, I would say it's more about people and how they deal with their different obsessions of other people. I wouldn't classify this book as a thriller. If weird was a category that is where I would place it.
I didn't hate this book, but I didn't love it either. I just don't think I am smart enough or experienced enough with H.P. Lovecraft to get all the references. I will say Caroline's character development pulls me in. She writes with such realism. I was rooting for Jon all throughout the book. Chloe, on the other hand, was flat, bland, and not very likable. The beginning of this book gripped me and had me turning pages, until midway I was scratching my head wondering what in the heck I was reading. By 90% it picked up and had me engaged.
Although there is a science fiction element to this novel, I would say it's more about people and how they deal with their different obsessions of other people. I wouldn't classify this book as a thriller. If weird was a category that is where I would place it.
Great premise with Lovecraft but it never landed. It wasn’t a thriller or science fiction or a love story - it was confused.
Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for an e-ARC of Providence by Caroline Kepnes in exchange for an honest review. I do not normally read reviews before I start a new book in order to have an open mind to write my own review. However, I was so underwhelmed with this book that I thought it must be me. I no longer feel alone. It seems the author tried to write in as many genres as possible, thus creating a confusing and uninteresting text. Halfway through, the reader stops caring what happens to the characters or the storyline. This was my first book by Caroline Kepnes and I understand that her previous work was far superior. This one reads like it was written in a hurry. I look forward to reading other novels by this author.
3.5 mishmash stars to Providence! ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️.5
I listened to Caroline Kepnes’ YOU on audio this exact same time two years ago. THAT was an experience, and if you enjoy audios and don’t mind disturbing content, it’s the best audio I know. When I saw Kepnes had a new thriller releasing under the new imprint Lenny (by Lena Dunham), I jumped at the chance to read Providence.
Providence is a mishmash of genres- thriller, paranormal, urban fantasy, young adult - and also a bit of a mishmash on how I felt about it. More on that later.
Jon and Chloe grow up as best friends in New Hampshire. Their feelings for each other start to grow, but they never talk about it. Just as Jon is about to confess how he feels, he is kidnapped by his teacher. His teacher has an obsession for H.P. Lovecraft, an author of horror pulp fiction, and by kidnapping Jon, the teacher is planning to save the world.
Chloe is left to mourn Jon and becomes an adult without him there to support her. Jon finally escapes, but does so with an uncontrollable superpower, which can hurt the people he loves most. Of course he runs away to protect Chloe from his power, but all the while, he is being tracked by a detective.
I was on board with Chloe and Jon’s story. Their relationship is sweet, they are likable characters, and I loved that theirs was a girl/boy best friendship. I found the H.P. Lovecraft angle interesting because I did not know much about him or his writing, and at first I even enjoyed when Jon returned with his superpower. I was a fan of the show Heroes when it first aired, and some of the inner turmoil that Jon experienced reminded me of that show.
Where the book lost me a little was when Jon left again to protect Chloe. At that point, many things were going on, and the pacing slid for me.
Providence held much promise, and it did, in fact, hold my interest well, until that last section. Overall, it was enjoyable and original. I was expecting to adore it, and it was more of an affinity. Kepnes is an engaging and strong writer, and I will continue to look for her new releases. I hope her next one will be another demented psychological thriller!
Thank you to Caroline Kepnes, Random House/Ballantine, and Netgalley for the copy. Providence will be published on June 19, 2018.
My reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com
I listened to Caroline Kepnes’ YOU on audio this exact same time two years ago. THAT was an experience, and if you enjoy audios and don’t mind disturbing content, it’s the best audio I know. When I saw Kepnes had a new thriller releasing under the new imprint Lenny (by Lena Dunham), I jumped at the chance to read Providence.
Providence is a mishmash of genres- thriller, paranormal, urban fantasy, young adult - and also a bit of a mishmash on how I felt about it. More on that later.
Jon and Chloe grow up as best friends in New Hampshire. Their feelings for each other start to grow, but they never talk about it. Just as Jon is about to confess how he feels, he is kidnapped by his teacher. His teacher has an obsession for H.P. Lovecraft, an author of horror pulp fiction, and by kidnapping Jon, the teacher is planning to save the world.
Chloe is left to mourn Jon and becomes an adult without him there to support her. Jon finally escapes, but does so with an uncontrollable superpower, which can hurt the people he loves most. Of course he runs away to protect Chloe from his power, but all the while, he is being tracked by a detective.
I was on board with Chloe and Jon’s story. Their relationship is sweet, they are likable characters, and I loved that theirs was a girl/boy best friendship. I found the H.P. Lovecraft angle interesting because I did not know much about him or his writing, and at first I even enjoyed when Jon returned with his superpower. I was a fan of the show Heroes when it first aired, and some of the inner turmoil that Jon experienced reminded me of that show.
Where the book lost me a little was when Jon left again to protect Chloe. At that point, many things were going on, and the pacing slid for me.
Providence held much promise, and it did, in fact, hold my interest well, until that last section. Overall, it was enjoyable and original. I was expecting to adore it, and it was more of an affinity. Kepnes is an engaging and strong writer, and I will continue to look for her new releases. I hope her next one will be another demented psychological thriller!
Thank you to Caroline Kepnes, Random House/Ballantine, and Netgalley for the copy. Providence will be published on June 19, 2018.
My reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com
Not rating this, as I couldn't finish it. It didn't grab me at all, not in print or audio. It started pretty well and then fizzled out. Might try again later on.
i received free books from Penguin Random House in exchange for this review.
This is my first Kepnes book and I enjoyed it. I liked the shifting of view points, as well as the focus on the importance of relationships.
I also really liked how developed the characters were.
This is my first Kepnes book and I enjoyed it. I liked the shifting of view points, as well as the focus on the importance of relationships.
I also really liked how developed the characters were.