You Love Me by Caroline Kepnes | Buy from Amazon US | Buy from Amazon UK

About You Love Me

Author: Caroline Kepnes
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: April 6, 2021
Pages: 400

Book Description

You Love Me is the third book in the You series. Joe Goldberg has served time for his misdeeds, and now it’s time for him to enter back into the real world. But when he tried to return to L.A and find his ex-girlfriend Love and their newborn boy, Forty, Joe discovers that he’s not wanted in L.A. Joe is forced to leave his past behind and settle into the small island of Bainbridge in Washington state. And it’s there, in Bainbridge, were Joe finds his calling as a library assistant. But with this new calling, comes a brand new obsession. That obsession is Mary Kay. Will Mary Kay cause Joe to fall into his old ways? Or can Joe change his ways and win Mary Kay’s heart without resorting to murder and manipulation?

My Thoughts

When I read the first book in this series (You), I fell in love with how Caroline Kepnes brought Joe to life. We got to experience New York through his eyes, and it was his snappy internal-monologue that made him feel like a real person. Someone who could be living among us every day.

Joe is a character who’s very relatable because of his snarky remarks and unhealthy love of literature. But what made most people resistant to liking him in the first two books was his creepy and murderous nature. Joe is someone who will orchestrate the kidnapping or murder of anyone who gets in the way of the woman he loves. And he’s the type of person who will stalk his love interest instead of simply letting them know how he feels about them. And these actions are what make most people reluctant to admit that they secretly adore Joe Goldberg.

You Love Me aims to rectify this feeling. Joe has gone through a notable change after his incarceration. He’s more self-aware about his misdeeds and he actively aims to avoid killing. And although this change is immediate very early on, Joe doesn’t lose any of his other quirks that make him interesting. He has the same snide internal-monologue that I enjoyed reading in the previous books, and these are often the parts that I enjoy reading the most. And while there will still be some who find Joe completely unlikable, Kepnes has made it so that readers can feel better about being on Joe’s side without feeling like they’re condoning hurtful and malicious behavior. (Even though I personally feel that liking a character in a book doesn’t represent your real-world views, but I know others disagree.)

Another positive about You Love Me is that the love interest feels like a real person in comparison to Hidden Bodies’ main love interest…Love. Mary Kay is a library manager with a teenage daughter (Nomi), who has a real fleshed out history that leaves footprints all over the small Island of Bainbridge. We get a real sense of how small this community is because everyone knows one another and they’re all aware of each other’s secrets. People talk, and when you’re in a small community, you’re reminded of how much your business gets around each day. This makes Joe’s pathway to Mary Kay’s heart all the more interesting. And this time around, we get a sense that the feelings between Joe and Mary are developing on a mutual level as opposed to feeling like Joe is simply being a forceful creep. But love is never that easy. There are a number of obstacles in Joe and Mary’s way. One of them being Mary’s feminist friend who publicly calls out Joe early on.

A problem I had with Hidden Bodies is that some of the murders were too convenient, which made the story feel less plausible than the original book. The second book strayed too far into an unrealistic direction, but You Love Me draws the realism back a few paces. Are there parts of You Love Me that are a little convenient? Yes! But these are conveniences with grey areas that you can apply some form of logic to. For example, a character goes missing (I won’t say how), and for a long time you’re left wondering when someone is going to figure out what happened, or at least do some digging. But this moment never comes. But although it seems slightly unrealistic that nobody would try to find this lost character again, Kepnes laid just enough groundwork to explain why the community might not wish to find this character. We have enough threads to convince ourselves that this situation might make sense, instead of having to gloss over plot-holes in order to retain the story’s immersion.

Joe’s quest for love with Mary Kay is full of bumpy roads. The two characters will go through a series of hurdles. And these hurdles are what keeps the suspense flowing throughout the story. Kepnes knows how to keep her readers turning the pages, and this talent is ever more apparent here. I also think that Kepnes wrote this book with the Netflix series in mind as I feel this book will make great TV once it’s adapted.

Most of the characters in You Love Me are new, but there are a few surprises in the story that involve returning characters from Joe’s past. And these moments are key in revealing Joe’s growth of character throughout this trilogy.

Verdict

I’ve seen a lot of mixed-feelings about how Joe Goldberg has changed as a character in this book. But in my opinion, he has changed for the better. His growth over the three books is reflected in You Love Me, and there’s nothing wrong with that, because people do grow and evolve in real life. Incarceration is enough to change anyone. And even with the major differences in Joe’s actions, he still retains the condescending, snide and self-righteous inner-monologue that makes him an interesting character to read. For that reason, I hold this book in high regard. I would rank You Love Me higher than Hidden Bodies, but the original book is still my favorite of the series.

If you’ve already found yourself sucked into the Youniverse then there’s absolutely no reason that you shouldn’t read this book.

You Love Me by Caroline Kepnes | Buy from Amazon US | Buy from Amazon UK

You Book 1 review – You Book 2 review

Those who enjoyed the New York setting in You, will be disappointed to know that Hidden Bodies takes place in Los Angeles instead. After Joe suffers some unfortunate events, he packs up and heads to Los Angeles in pursuit of someone who did him wrong.

From then on, Hidden Bodies begins to feel like a bunch of random events. The twists and turns become so bizarre that it feels like a reality show called “A day in the life of Joe Goldberg”. But even if the events feel random, Joe’s voice is so strong that you can’t help but tear through the pages.

Besides Joe —and a few returning characters with a short stay— Hidden Bodies features a new cast of supporting characters. One of the most entertaining aspects of the book is reading about how Joe views people from California, versus people in New York. Expect to see many Californian stoner stereotypes here.

Two of the most prominently featured new characters are Love and Forty, who are wealthy twins looking to make an impact in the show business. They become an interesting part of Joe’s journey, and they wind up changing him in many ways. While Forty is far from a likeable character, Love is so forgiving of everyone around her that her character isn’t at all believable. 

But once again, even with the complete randomness of this book, I was just as glued to it as I was the first one. There’s something about Joe’s character that is complete gold.

Hidden Bodies wouldn’t be a true sequel to You if it wasn’t packed with murders. This book continues tradition in that regard, but I must say that they’re not as impactful. You succeeded by making the reader care about the characters that died.

You, the reader, felt a sense that something significant had changed when a character died in the first book. But in Hidden Bodies, you’ll feel completely desensitized to the murders that occur.  This is partly due to the fact that the same person is able to continue their killing spree almost uncontested. It becomes harder to suspend disbelief with each killing.

But Joe does face some conflict. In general, Joe is much more vulnerable in this book than the first, though it’s often emotional.

With a new book already confirmed, I’m not sure how much longer the magic of Joe Goldberg can continue without the stories becoming laughable. Regardless, Hidden Bodies lives up to the trills of You. You is the better book, but if you finish it feeling the longing for more, Hidden Bodies will fill the void.

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As for the author, it’s clear to me that there aren’t enough Caroline Kepnes books in the world. Looks like Providence will need to be bumped up my TBR.

YOU is about book store manager Joe Goldberg’s obsession with aspiring writer Guinevere Beck, after she visits his book store. After a friendly conversation, Joe falls in love with Beck and looks up her information online to find out where she lives. He begins stalking her and watching her every move, eager to make her fall for him.

Typically when I read a book that deals with this subject matter, I feel so far removed from the psychopath that I could never understand their actions. But Caroline Kepnes is on record saying that Joe is somewhat an extension of herself, and it really shows. Despite being a nut-job, Joe feels so human and so real. He notices people’s taste in books, TV shows and clothes and he judges them for it. He’s condescending, sarcastic, hypocritical and worst of all, in love.

The story unfolds in a first-person current tense perspective, right inside of Joe’s mind. We share his every thought and feeling. We learn what he learns about Beck, and we understand his reactions to each revelation. And although we never see Joe through the eyes of another character, we see how clearly damaged he is. It makes you somewhat sympathetic towards him, despite his wrong-doing.

Beck is no saint herself, as she plays with the emotions of those around her, adding fuel to the fire in Joe’s mind. How Caroline Kepnes was able to understand the plight of a male in the current social climate is a mystery. She created a character of the opposite genre and nailed him. Not that all males are psychotic stalkers, of course; it’s moreso that she understands the consequences of rejection and the blatant disrespect that males are commonly forced to accept and be content with.

YOU has many emotional highs and lows. And it’s a page-turner to the fullest extent. Your mind will soon be deprived of Joe’s thoughts and actions and you’ll find yourself sneaking in chapters whenever possible. 

The only gripe I really have with this book is that there are times when major crimes are happening with zero consequences. There’s no investigation, and hardly any concern shown for the victim’s friends or family. An explanation for this is that we’re seeing things through Joe’s eyes only, and perhaps no word of the investigation gets back to him. But even then, it begins to feel improbable that there are no major consequences to these chain of events.

But the book is so satisfying to read that these gripes are forgivable. You’ll be willing to suspend disbelief out of pure enjoyment. The book does what it aims to do, and that’s keeping us turning the pages until we have no more Joe left on the page. Thankfully, there’s another book with Joe Goldberg to read.

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If you love a psychological thriller, then you NEED to read YOU! It’s that simple. Also look out for the TV show of the same name.