Providence by Caroline Kepnes
Publisher : Random House Publishing Group
June 19th 2018
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A bizarre and thrilling story of love, loss and love? Jon and Chloe share a unique friendship in middle school until Jon is kidnapped. Four years later he escapes and is "changed". This story is loosely a thriller and more of a "will they ever be together". Which begs the question, is this a mystery or a romance novel?

I have yet to read Caroline Kepnes other two books; You and Hidden Bodies but was offered an ARC of Providence and jumped at the chance. It wasn't at all what I was expecting as far as the mystery portion of the story. I wanted to know what happened to Jon in his missing years. Instead I was left without.

That said, there is a unique voice among this story that kept me flipping pages until the very end. There is an easiness to the story here that kept me engrossed throughout, even when part way through the book a new set of characters (Eggs and Lo) were introduced. I think this book is one of those love it or hate it books and I kind of just loved it.

While I wasn't totally thrilled with the ending, it made sense. I'm even more interested to read Kepnes other books in hopes that they create the same sort of experience.

I was offered an ebook from Random House and Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Anyone who has followed my reviews may have heard me mention Caroline Kepnes first book YOU and how much I loved that story so of course I was going to grab anything else that she had written. Picking up Providence I was well aware that it was nothing like YOU and that was perfectly fine with me as I don’t want to read the same story over and over again and love mixing things up and branching out. However, after reading Providence I can’t lie and say I really enjoyed this one.

The story started off rather well and I could immediately tell I was diving into a Kepnes story. Readers are first introduced to Jon, one of those awkward kids that often end up the target of bullies. Jon has one really good friend in Chloe and on one excited morning Jon heads out to school excited to see Chloe and takes his normal out of the path of bullies obscure root to school only to be attacked and kidnapped.

With Jon missing Chloe of course spirals into despair when searches turn up no sign of Jon but eventually time moves on without Jon. Four years later however Jon turns up from seemingly out of nowhere a completely changed man now. Much larger and stronger than when missing Jon quickly starts to realize his kidnapper had done something to him making those around Jon no longer safe.

Up to and after Jon’s return I really thought this one was going to end up very highly rated for me. The whole science fiction fantasy side was really appealing although I’m sure some will be turned off by such an aspect in a thriller I was really loving it. But where things fell apart was when Eggs was introduced to the story, I just never connected to his character or really cared to at all.

At that point Jon’s story kind of takes a direction that seemed to dull my excitement too so from then on out it was just pushing myself to turn the pages and finish. While the little twist at the end wasn’t too bad it was just a matter of too little too late to excite me with this one. While this one wasn’t my cup of tea Caroline Kepnes is still a very talented author and I’m sure some may enjoy this one more than I did.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

This book just wasn't my speed. I love romance, I like romantic suspense but this book lost me with the supernatural/ sci fi spin. I think a lot of readers will like it, I'm just not the audience for a book like this. I was really into the author's writing style though so I'm looking forward to her other books.

OK. Deep breath. Let me start by saying how much I love Caroline Kepnes. Her previous books You and Hidden Bodies are hands down two of my favorite books of all time. I am DYING to see Lifetimes TV adaptation of You by Caroline Kepnes Starring Penn Badgley coming this September.

With that being said, I was really let down by Providence. I wanted to like it so badly, but unfortunately this was a miss for me. Some books are hard to read, digest and review and this is one of those books. I have literally been pondering how to write this review since I finished it March 5. (I am writing this review today, April 24, but it won't be published until the books release date in June.) So it is now over a month since I read the book, and my gut feeling on it is that I just didn't like it. I am having a hard time remembering its details, and I don't get any feelings of joy thinking about it. I didn't love the characters and thought that their lack of communication was what the entire story relied on to keep them apart. While it would have been weird for Jon to just say to his family and Chloe "Hey, when I was kidnapped I was turned into some weird monster/human that kills people by giving them heart attacks.", at least he could have given them a reason for his disappearance. Everyone in his life was left to believe they weren't enough for him, or that he didn't want them. Half of the tragedy was how simple it would have been to resolve had the characters just spoken to each other.I realize we wouldn't have had a story without that lack of communication, but it still annoyed me.

I really enjoyed the detective Charles “Eggs” DeBenedictus in the story. I thought his self deprecating need to solve the mysterious deadly heart attacks was a great way to add another element to the story. I liked Caroline's writing of his character and was rooting for him. I was rooting for Jon too. I wanted him to find the answers he so desperately needed. I wanted him to be reunited with his love and to be happy. The tragedy he faced in his life between being bullied in school to then being kidnapped and released back in to the world only to have to leave everyone he loved behind to protect them from himself was heartbreaking! But these elements I liked weren't enough to save the story for me.

I have to be honest, when I first read the synopsis long before I read the book, I was already concerned. There were too many themes and plots within Providence so I had a feeling this wouldn't be a favorite of mine. But, I gave it a chance due to my love of the author.I also gave it a chance because in the past, I have had great experiences picking up books that sound a little "out there" and enjoying them much to my surprise. Unfortunately, I can't add this one to my list of surprise hits.

I love Caroline and will continue to support her in whatever her future projects are. You can count on this loyal reader picking up every book she writes. I wish her nothing but success! :)

Thank you to NetGalley, Lenny Publishing and Caroline Kepnes for the Advanced Readers Copy in exchange for an honest review.

A special thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Growing up in a small town, Jon and Chloe are the only ones who truly understand each other. Jon doesn't fit in and is bullied. Chloe doesn't seem to care what her friends think when she hangs out with Jon. They each have feelings for each other that are more than friends, but neither expresses their feelings.

Jon finally gets up the courage to tell Chloe how he feels about her, but he never gets the chance because he is kidnapped on the way to school by his substitute teacher. Mr. Blair, who is obsessed with H.P. Lovecraft, has given Jon some kind of power in his plight to save humanity.

Chloe carries on and tries to live a "normal" teenage life even though her best friend is missing. She continues to mourn Jon while trying to fit in and gains popularity with the in crowd.

Four years have passed and Jon wakes up from a coma. Jon realizes that he possesses an uncontrollable power, and that is life threatening to anyone he has any kind of feelings for. To protect Chloe, he runs away, but not before he has attracted the attention of a detective who is obsessed with a string of deaths that appear to be connected.

This was a mixed bag for me. Obviously Kepnes can write, the hook had me until the four years later part. I'm not sure if it was the supernatural element that didn't quite work, but something had me skimming.

So the positive was the writing, as I mentioned. Kepnes explores complex relationships that deal with the multi facets of love/relationships (Jon and Chloe, Eggs and his wife and son), how we struggle with identity, how passion can be dangerous when ignited, and how the lines of all of these things blur into one another. There was some really incredible stuff here. But...for some reason I just couldn't stay invested and engaged in the story.

And now for the negative. I'm not understanding the purpose of the depth of the sub plot with Eggs (yes, that was his name). It was too complex and it was like reading two books at the same time. Eggs' story was about his relationships with his passive-aggressive wife, his non-existent relationship with his severely handicapped son, and his in denial relationship with his own self and his health. There's a lot to unpack here.

I also felt a disconnect to the story because of the H.P. Lovecraft references—fans of his works will definitely enjoy this book more than I did since this was completely lost on me. Again, this was the tie-in to the supernatural elements that really threw me. This book was not what I expected.

All that being said, I have heard amazing things about You. I will definitely pick it up, I'm not done with Caroline Kepnes yet.

I am Providence.
As teenagers, Jon and Chloe have had something brewing beneath the surface. But then Jon disappears for 4 years. Chloe tries to move on. And then he returns. Everything is the same. Except Jon. Something happened in those 4 years and I spent the rest of the book trying to figure that out.
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This book is a coming of age romance, a police detective thriller, and sci-fi. For other reviewers that didn’t work, but in my case it was one of my favorite aspects of the story. This was my first @carolinekepnes book. I loved her writing. It was engaging and compulsively readable. I kept turning pages, trying to figure out what was going on with Jon. And were him and Chloe going to be able to be together. There’s also another storyline. Eggs and Lo. I liked them. But not as much as Jon and Chloe.
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If you’re looking for a light page turner with just enough suspense, I recommend Providence by Caroline Kepnes. I am vacillating between three and four stars. This book releases June 19!
Thanks @randomhouse and @netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. #partner

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing - Lenny for the ARC of this book in exchange for honest feedback.

***Goodreads won’t let you do half stars but this is a solid 4.5 Star book***

I devoured Kepnes’ book “You” so when I heard she had a new one coming out I knew I was going to have to read it. I was a little apprehensive to read a supernatural-esque psychological thriller but that fell away almost as soon as I started reading the book. Once again Kepnes is able to create an intense and compulsively readable story that makes this book hard to put down. One of the reason I think Kepnes is such a successful writer is that she does not try to complicate the complex plot line being overly flowery in her wording. That said, she does still manage to make you “feel” something for the characters and their outcome.

Put this book at the top of your TBR pile right now!

I wish I had read the reviews before picking up this book. The subject matter is not my cup of tea. That said, Caroline is such a brilliant writer. Loved "You" so much. I don't want to leave a bad review as the story isn't bad. Its just not for me.

Wow! Where to begin with this one? There is so much to say about this wonderful book. The cover caught my eye, but Caroline Kepnes' prose kept me interested. Caroline Kepnes has a distinct voice. She also gives each of her characters unique voices, which is rare and refreshing. This is my first time reading Caroline Kepnes, but it won't be my last.

I haven't read H.P. Lovecraft, but I will now. PROVIDENCE is a classic supernatural love story. Jon and Chloe are best friends. Jon wants to confess his feelings to Chloe, but he is kidnapped by his substitute teacher who is obsessed with H.P. Lovecraft and has a plot to save humanity. Chloe still thinks about Jon often.

When Jon finally escapes, he discovers he now has an uncontrollable power that endangers anyone he has intense feelings for. So, he runs away to protect Chloe and find his new identity. To me, this is when the story takes off. I'll stop there because I don't want to spoil anything.

Caroline Kepnes can write. Her characters have tons of depth. Caroline has built a world that I would like to revisit sooner rather than later. The supporting characters are just as important to the story as the main characters. The ending will knock your socks off.

If you like horror and thrillers, then you will like this book! PROVIDENCE is one of the best books that I've ever read.

Highly Recommend!

5/5 stars! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This book was such a disappointment. It had such promise to be something great, but it failed big time. It was trying way too hard to be so many things at once - mystery, love story, thriller, sci-fi - and never really achieved any of those.

The story is about a weird kid named Jon who is best friends Chloe, who loves him despite his strange ways and her popular friends' disapproval. Jon is on his way to school one day when he is kidnapped by his substitute teacher Richard Blair and is missing for four years. Four years later he wakes up and has no memory of anything that happened while he has been gone, He returns home and soon discovers that he has supernatural powers. The premise sounds awesome - who wouldn't want to read a book like that? - but the story begins this slow, boring drag to a terrible ending that does nothing but disappoint.

The characters make you feel stabby: Chloe just pines away for Jon and does absolutely nothing else, Jon just skulks along trying to figure out why he was kidnapped and what happened (all why trying not to kill people with his mind -- seriously?), and "Eggs" is a cut-rate detective who has all of these unresolved feelings about his disabled son. You don't care about any of them so slogging through their perspectives just gets worse as the book progresses.

Do yourself a favor and skip this one.

See link to goodreads review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2409722533?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

I really loved this book! I have read two others by this author that were amazing. I wasn't sure what to expect from this one going into it blind. I enjoyed it! The story unfolded fabulously, the characters were great and I love all the Lovecraft references, extremely different. I could not put it down. Highly recommend this one, great summer read!

There is nothing flashy about this book but what kept me reading and hanging around were the characters. What this book lacked in theatrics made up for in character connection.

The beginning of the story begins fast. There are not a lot of details given about Jon's kidnapping. Yet, all is revealed as the story progresses about what really happen to Jon years ago. To be honest, I feel like what happened to Jon made him a more interesting person. If, he had not been kidnapped, than, he would have been just another guy. Jon and Chloe's relationship is a sad one. They can't be together but yet they are drawn to each other like magnets.

Although, Jon was no the only person that I was drawn to. There is Eggs and his wife, Lo. Eggs is trying to make sense of his life. He works in law enforcement. As part of his job, he witnesses the destruction left behind in Jon's wake. Don't miss out on this book that is sure to be talked about for 2018.

This was the first book that I read by Kepnes and it won't be my last. It was a really different thriller with some supernatural elements. The book starts out with Jon who seems like he really can't function in junior high society other than with Chloe. Jon is having a great day and can't wait to tell Chloe-until he is kidnapped by a disturbed substitute teacher who is obsessed with HP Lovecraft and changing genetics. Fast forward 6 (I think) years and Jon has turned into someone who can kill others easily through powerful emotion. He turns into a hermit in order that he not hurt his beloved Chloe or his parents. I raced through this book looking for answers. I don't know that I ever got all of them but it was still a great read.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for this ARC in return for my honest review.

Awhile ago I tried to read You by Caroline Kepnes because the book was very hyped up and had a ton of very positive reviews but I couldn't get into it and ended up not finishing. I wanted to give this author another chance and her latest book, Providence, sounded like something I might enjoy. I did find the premise of this book very interesting and unique but I couldn't really connect with the characters and ended up not loving it.
But my biggest problem with Providence is that it's marketed as mystery/thriller but it lacks the most important aspect that makes a mystery worth reading - a resolution. When I read mysteries I need to have the mystery solved once I reach the ending. Providence does not have it. Throughout the book, Jon doesn't have memory of his captivity, he is trying to understand what exactly his kidnapper, Roger, did to him. He is also trying to figure out how to control his deadly power. By the end of the book we still don't know what experiment Roger performed to alter Jon (there is a vague reference to some poisonous vines but nothing is explained clearly) and Jon still doesn't know how to control his power! What the point of the mystery if by the end nothing is solved?
I didn't hate Providence but I think Caroline Kepnes' books are not for me. I don't see myself reading any of her other books.

I am going to be straight forward and say, I am a little biased. Caroline Kepnes has been a favorite since, 'YOU". However, with "Providence" she steps out of her comfort zone and the results are amazing. She alternates the points of view between characters in "Providence", which I tend to find annoying. But, her story telling is so fluid, she doesn't miss a beat. This is a love story with a supernatural twist. Kepnes is a stellar writer that knows how to appeal to her reader's emotions. And, she will not disappoint. You will appreciate her for her expressive style of writing. She is an artist with the psychological thrillers and her character development for those with an obsessive mentality is excellent.
I don't want to say too much, because I don't want to ruin the plot for you. But I will say this:
"Providence" is a love story. It is the story of two teenagers, Jon and Chloe. Jon always knew he loved Chloe. Chloe did not realize she loved Jon until he was kidnapped. It is at this point we find Jon couldn't love Chloe in the way he wanted to.. for reasons you could never imagine.
I recommend this book to anyone who loves a good psychological thriller.

Who didn't love You or Hidden Bodies? So, so good. An original voice and two fresh reads. So I was beyond excited to get an advance copy of Providence by Caroline Kepnes from Netgalley. I finished it in a weekend.

Jon is a small, nerd like kid, but he is tightly bonded with cute, popular Chloe, who floats between sitting in a shed with Jon and hanging out with the cool kids, straddling the gap easily.

One morning, Jon is kidnapped by a substitute teacher with an obsession with H.P. Lovecraft. Jon reappears from the basement of a mall years later - I do have to admit the nurse in me wondered how a substitute teacher could put a child into a medical coma for years -hint, can't happen. Sometimes being a nurse is a pain when you are supposed to suspend disbelief.

When Jon comes back, he has a power that causes him to leave home and avoid any close human interaction. I don't want to provide any spoilers, but in this area, the book felt very Stephen King, who I love.

Meanwhile, Chloe grows up, reconnects with an old school friend, all while still pining for Jon. And an emotionally detached detective is working to track Jon down to find out why so many people around him die.

I really liked the book, but I found the detective to be a bit of a drag on the story. I didn't have any desire for him to find Jon, and I didn't really understand his obsession or how he made the connections. I also didn't understand how a certain character showed up at the end, but I liked the Pushing Daisies feel of the climax.

As kids, Jon and Chloe are best friends, even though she realizes that Jon is a little different from the other kids. Then one day Jon vanishes after taking a shortcut on his way to school. The town searches for him, but it's a bit halfhearted they must admit, as he is not one of the popular and beloved kids. But his absence strikes Chloe in the heart. She finds solace in her art and begins fitting in better at school, making more friends. Still, she cannot forget Jon or how much he meant to her. Imagine her shock when Jon turns up four years later, after escaping from a kidnapper, and revealing himself to be viral and strong--everything he wasn't before the kidnapping. He also quickly learns that he has a strange and uncontrollable power over people, especially when he's feeling strongly about something. This power drives Jon into seclusion, isolating him from his beloved Chloe. Jon begins to search for the truth about what has made him this way, while Chloe tries to figure out her place in the world, with or without Jon.

Well, this was an interesting one and nothing like what I expected. Obviously Kepnes is well-known for her novel, You, which is a story of love and obsession gone wrong. Supposedly many reviewers felt that this new book was a far twist from YOU, but I couldn't help but feel that parts of it reminded me of that novel, due to some of Jon's obsession and focus on Chloe. Still, I can understand that feeling, as PROVIDENCE also has a bit of an almost paranormal science fiction twist to it. That is a change. It requires a little suspension of disbelief, but once you go with it, the book is incredibly addictive and hard to put down. I read it in one day while on vacation, completely addicted to the strange and fascinating plot.

There's no denying that Kepnes can write, and you become immersed in her characters. I was intrigued by Jon and a bit by Chloe as well. I didn't adore them, but they were multi-faceted, and their dilemma unique. I'll admit that I didn't even know that Lovecraft--the author on whom Jon's situation is based--was real, so obviously all of those references went right over my head. Ha! I might have gotten into that scenario more if I knew the author, but the whole "turned you into a monster--or did I?" concept isn't exactly difficult to follow, and it's an interesting idea.

The novel is told from the points of view of Jon, Chloe, and a detective named Eggs. I enjoyed Eggs' perspective; he added a much-needed third viewpoint to the tale. Eggs is tracking Jon, but we also get a nuanced look at his relationship with his wife.

In the end, this is a weirdly fascinating novel that is hard to describe. I'm glad I read it, as I can't imagine not reading any of Kepnes' books, truly. It's a story of dysfunctional and potentially misguided love, but I enjoyed how you could feel Jon and Chloe's need for one another stretching and pulling across the pages. Kepnes is just so good at obsession and oddity (and love) that I couldn't stop reading. I enjoyed this one.

(On my blog, the review is preceded by the synopsis found on Goodreads.)

The synopsis I found on Goodreads does a great job of giving an overview of the story and hitting the key points without giving much away. I read something similar when I saw this book available on Netgalley and assumed that it’s fantasy or horror and wondered if Kepnes was going to take a turn into those realms of literature. But instead, I’d categorize Providence as a thriller.

The supernatural quality hinted at in the synopsis as Jon having gained a special ability that endangers those close to him I think could be debated depending on how you interpret Jon’s perception of reality. While reading, I tried to consider events and characters’ reactions from a different angle from what Jon believes, but doing so was hard. It’s hard not to get swept up in Kepnes’s story and agree with what the narrator says. It’s hard to break away from the spell Kepnes casts when she starts weaving her tale, pulling you in and enchanting you with her unique voice that I think I’d be able to pick up in anything she writes.

In some ways, Providence reminds me of You, mostly because of Kepnes’s voice. Since I read You first and it’s the only book by her I’d read prior to this, I associate her voice with Joe, the protagonist in You, because the story is from his perspective but he addresses someone else, “you.” Providence is told in first-person but from three characters’ perspectives: Jon, the guy who is kidnapped; Chloe, Jon’s best friend; and Eggs, a detective investigating a series of uncanny deaths. Though all three perspectives are distinct from each other and different from Joe’s in You, they are all similar in that they all share Kepnes’s voice.

Another similarity I observed between the two books are the themes Kepnes focuses on, most notably social media (how people use it and how it affects our lives); romantic relationships (how young adults (the characters I’m familiar with are usually in their mid-20s, early 30s, I think) develop and navigate them); mental health; and identity (especially posturing (her protagonists are good at seeing through bs when they want to)).

But in Providence, I was most interested in her examination of what makes a monster, her focus on the characters’ use of social media and oversharing on it to compensate for other areas in life that are lacking and to nonverbally reach out to another; and also in her focus on parasitic relationships. I love how Eggs’s marriage is used as a foil to other unhealthy relationships presented in the story. I loved the part where he argues with wife at a party and his wife yells at him: “Stop looking at me and let me look at you.” I also loved that the meaning of “providence” varies throughout the story as we learn more about the characters and their influences.

Though I couldn’t help thinking of You while I read Providence, it is distinct from You and I enjoyed reading it. I was immediately hooked and though the pace is moderate, I quickly swept through the story because I was eager to know what was going with Jon, learn what would become of him and Chloe, and see if Eggs would succeed at solving the case. The story alludes to Lovecraft and is based on one of his stories. (I would mention the story, but I think doing so would probably spoil this book for those familiar with Lovecraft.)

I’ve never read anything by H.P. Lovecraft, but that didn’t damper my enjoyment of Providence or made it difficult to understand the story. It’s not essential for the reader to be familiar with Lovecraft to understand the plot, characters, or dynamics of Providence. But I think having some background knowledge of Lovecraft and his work, especially the story Providence alludes to, would make reading this book a more fulfilling experience.

Overall: ★★★★★

It’s worth the read and it’s best to read it free of spoilers, which is why I tried my best to make this review as spoiler-free as possible.

Whether or not you are a fan of Kepnes or Lovecraft, I think this is one you’ll enjoy.

Well, I liked this book in the beginning, when it was still full of promise and the direction it was heading was uncertain. I liked the alternating POVs, from Jon to Chloe to the interesting choice of using the older detective Eggs (who was an shockingly well-developed character, considering his role). I'm not quite sure when it lost me. Perhaps if I was a big H.P. Lovecraft fan, it would have kept me hooked. But I found myself asking "why?" a lot, and not in the good way. It was still entertaining, and Kepnes's writing is definitely the kind that draws you in and keeps you turning pages, but ultimately its weirdness didn't capture my attention as well as You or Hidden Bodies. Still, Kepnes continues her tendency toward strange, unique, genre-bending, thought-provoking reads, and I'm not sorry I read this. I will certainly keep picking her books up because I can always be guaranteed a surprise!

I'll copy this blurb from the publisher, because for once I think they summed it up pretty well: "Whisking us on a journey through New England and crashing these characters' lives together in the most unexpected ways, Kepnes explores the complex relationship between love and identity, unrequited passion and obsession, self-preservation and self-destruction, and how the lines are often blurred between the two."