A review by bakedparmesan
You Love Me by Caroline Kepnes

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

4.0

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis: 
Joe starts out as typical Joe- obsessed with a woman he knows nothing about. Although this time he is "refusing" to stalk her as he has previously, he will not kill for love this time around. Although, he does inevitably play a part in the deaths of 3 (maybe 4) characters without having to do the dirty work himself. He locks Melinda in his basement and she kills herself, making him have to dispose of the body where he is caught and blackmailed by the Quinn's PI. He plants heroin all over Mary Kay's house and manipulates her husband back into his self-loathing ways, leading him to overdose on pills that he did actually purchase himself. And he eventually moves Mary Kay and her daughter Nomi into his house, where Seamus's jealousy gets the better of him. He locks Joe up in his forest cabin where he is killed by Oliver who comes to rescue Joe and frames the whole thing as a "hunting accident". Joe proposes to Mary Kay, they have a wedding, Nomi comes on to Joe at the wedding. He tries to avoid her but she confronts him thinking that he is actually in love with her and not her mother. Turns out Seamus was a pedophile and not jealous of his romantic relationship with Mary Kay, but rather his non-existent one with underage Nomi. Mary Kay comes home during their discussion, Nomi accuses Joe of coming on to her, but proceeds to share how she had been abused by Seamus for years. Her anger causes her to push her mother (wearing socks) down the hardwood stairs. Mary Kay is unconscious and Joe is convinced that Nomi is a psychopath who doesn't feel empathy for what she's done. Epilogue rolls and Joe is in Florida at his new bookshop/wine bar? Mary Kay was in a coma and Nomi texts to tell they're pulling the plug tomorrow. Joe follows Love's mom (who now has custody of their son since Love shot Joe in the head and then turned the gun on herself) on Instagram to see photos of his son and her dad has cancer (possibly hinting at a Netty-Joe-Forty reunion upon his death?). Book ends in typical Joe fashion, a new woman enters his bookstore and he is intrigued. 


Thoughts:
The book took an odd turn, but I enjoyed it. It was unexpected, but with the wrap up at the end, not that far fetched (for a thriller novel of course).
I think in the end, it all made sense with the mixed/confused signals interpreted on everyone's behalf.


Recommend?
Yes, I would recommend this book to people who enjoyed the Netflix series. I like how the show diverged from the original books' plots and became its own thing (I think Netflix did good with making-it-for-TV). I would also recommend this to anyone who likes a dark, 1st person narrator. The author has a way of writing like a total incel but making it just funny enough to be able to read it. But seriously, You will hate Joe while reading this book, he's gross.
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