Loved it for the most part. It is MUCH better than Hidden Bodies, but You deserved 15 out of 5 stars, and this one isn't quite as good as that. Maybe 4.5/4.8 so I'm just rounding up.

Joe is basically back on his bullsh!t again, although with plausible deniability regarding the dead bodies all over Bainbridge Island. He's haunted by all the RIPs in his past as well as a goon sent by RIP Love's family, but what is most important is that Joe has found real, true love, and an amazing family.

Except it's Joe, and the universe is unfair, and things keep going right and then going wrong, and really, he DIDN'T EVEN KILL THAT PERSON. The universe just laughs.

I liked the book but didn't love it for much of the first part. Joe is basically happy and in love, and no one wants to read about a happy Joe. But then things start going wrong, and it's perhaps even better because nothing is Joe's fault, things just keep happening to him. The happy parts were slow though, and the book was headed for four stars until... Holy smokes, Kepnes throws a curveball in there and we realize that almost nothing we'd been reading was as it seemed.

When I am truly surprised I have to give credit. This surprise was so delicious, so perverse, and so unfair to Joe that even though there were slow spots, I have to give this one credit. Five stars, and it ends with Joe back on his bullsh!t so we know there's another book in our future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC, even though a new job prevented me from reviewing before publication date. If you're a fan of You, you definitely need to get a copy of You Love Me.

Wow, this book had some wild twists at the end! Is it wrong to root for the psychopath? And as in all of Kepnes's books, that isnt always just Joe!
I really enjoyed this but i wish I had listened to it on audio because I loved YOU on audio, it just makes the whole thing sound so creepy im that 2nd person POV!
As usual I am obsessed (not like Joe) with this entire series and cant wait to see what happens in the next YOU installment!!!

Wow. Just when I thought Joe Goldberg couldn't get any better, Caroline Kepnes goes and does just that. There is just something so very likeable about poor Joe, and it was an interesting switch to see all of the chaos that seems to follow him not really being his fault this time around. The twist at the end absolutely blew my mind! I have been recommending this book to everyone that will stand still long enough. I sincerely hope there is more Joe coming in the future, I just can't get enough!

I was beyond excited to see another book come out from the You series! These are super addicting and full of suspense. In You Love Me, Joe leaves the big city and moves to a small island in the Pacific Northwest. He vows to change his ways and do things differently this time. Highly recommend this amazing book! You will be blown away by the ending and all of the shocking revelations throughout!

The only thing I love more than Joe Goldberg is.... MORE Joe Goldberg!
In this third installment of Kepnes' You series, Joe is back more deranged than ever and wanting to give love another shot.

After coming into some money Joe moves to a small island off the coast of Seattle where the “crime rate is low.” Here he meets Mary Kaye, the local librarian. And Joe is adamant to do things right, this time around; to be the “good guy” - whatever that means to him. But of course this is Joe so he can’t keep his creepy antics at bay forever!

The whole You book series is such a guilty pleasure for me, and this one did not disappoint!

When I was hanging out in labor and delivery waiting to give birth, I decided it would be a good time to finish watching You season two. After all, we did not have my toddler there so did not need to keep the TV on something that is appropriate for a three year old to watch. Going back into the world of Joe on screen made me want to dive back into the world of Joe on the page. And so, I started reading You Love Me which is the third book in the You series starring Joe Goldberg.

You Love Me by Caroline Kepnes finds Joe Goldberg living on a quiet island off of Seattle. He owns a home with the payoff money provided by Love’s family. Joe spends his days volunteering at the library. This places Mary Kay DiMarco, the librarian, in his path. Of course, Joe becomes obsessed with her. And well, he knows that she loves him. The feeling is mutual. Only, there’s a couple things standing in the way of true love between Joe and Mary Kay – her friends, her daughter, and more. That won’t stop Joe though.

I’ll admit, I was really looking forward to You Love Me. I devoured the other two books in Kepnes’ You series. However, I did not gobble up You Love Me quite as fast as I had hoped to do so. In fact, the pacing of this book was unexpectedly slow for me. I did not feel emotionally invested or even all that much on tenterhooks. Sure, there’s some shady happenings and Joe is super manipulative.

But, eh, no real connection there this time around. Granted, I was in the midst of having a whole baby while reading this so perhaps that is a part of my issue – being distracted by life. Regardless, I will certainly read the fourth book in the series if there is one and definitely will watch the next season of the show.

Wow. JOE! I love this character that I shouldn't love. The third book in the series could have been my favorite. The library setting was perfect for Joe.

I’ll start by saying that I absolutely loved You. Hidden Bodies, Not so much. Yet somehow I found this one even worse.

The third book in the series isn’t a thriller. It felt like a domestic drama.
I also never thought I would get sick of Joe and his inner monologue. Not even half way and I wanted him to shut the hell up.
I didn’t like a single character. Not even Joe, i was actually missing murderer Joe from book 1.

I honestly felt like this book was pointless. I hate to be so blunt but it felt like a waste of time.

Poor misunderstood Joe. He’s just trying to be a good boyfriend and everything and everyone just gets in the way.
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Joe is learning from his mistakes. He’s a new man! He moves to Bainbridge Island and works at a library, not a book store and he meets Mary Kay. He decided he’s going to win her over the old fashioned way by being a good listener and a good friend and NOT A STALKER!! See! He’s a good guy now!
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Not stalking is hard. Not controlling everyone around you is hard. Handling Mary Kay’s relationships the new way is hard but how long can the “new” Joe last before he is looking to dig a hole that Next Door App Nancy won’t find.
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Compulsive, fast paced and darkly hilarious I love reading about Joe on his search for Love! He’s just a regular, crazy, stalker, murderer, handsome boy next door and I will continue to read every story about Joe that Kepnes writes!
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This is one of my favorite binge worthy shows on Netflix snd I cannot wait for season 3.
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This book is out on Tuesday!!
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Huge thank you to #NetGalley and #RandomHouse for an arc in exchange for an honest review

AHHHH the long anticipated 3rd book in the YOU series! It felt like Christmas morning when I got that the email that I was given the opportunity to read an electric advance reader copy from NetGalley and the publisher. I may have even did a little dance. Well, not may. I 100% did a happy dance much to the dismay of my 15 and 13 year old.

There is so much to say about this book but I don't want to spoil ANYTHING. Its only been about a week since its release date, so I know there are still so many who have to read it. I'll come back in a month or so and go into so much more detail.

This installment started off much slower than the other two books, but it works. Joe is giving up city life (surprised me) and decides to try the quiet life for a while, even landing a job in a library of all places! (Say what!!). Without giving too much away, I felt like we saw a different side of Joe in this one. He seemed a little more mature, almost a little more guarded and a little more determined to change and not give into his obessions so quickly. Its weird because my original opinion of Joe was pure 100% wackado. Crazy as they come. Obessive, stalker and even killer, he seriously was messed up. However, now....now I might go as far as saying that I actually liked him, and hell was even rooting for him. Totally different from how I felt about him in You to be honest. Its amazing to have seen how he has grown over these three books!

How the hell did that happen?!?!?

Well, I can only say that Caroline Kepnes development of Joe led me down that path. Its not often that I can actually sympathize and admire a man such as Joe but Kepnes has done an outstanding, let me say, OUTSTANDING job with the direction she has taken Joe. I rooted for him. I wanted him to beat his demons, I even felt protective of him around those who brought him down.

There is so much more to say, but I don't want to give the plot away, so I will just end with a Thank you, to Caroline Kepnes for this!

Thank you also #NetGalley and Random House for the E-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

It never ceases to amaze me how the protagonist/ homicidal stalker of this series, Joe, manages to find an endless stream of victims that are either as wretched as he is or more than willing to let him light a match to their lives and burn it, and everyone around them, to the ground. This series really makes you question if there is any goodness left in humanity when the bad people just leech on to more bad people like atoms clustering together to form something rotten. On the other hand, the psychology and the writing are so engrossing, so true to life that I simply can’t turn away as each new book churns out and I am drawn to them like a sickly moth to a black flame. Like the two books before, I could not put this one down and it was engaging to the last word. Bravo.

*I received a free copy of this novel from NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for my honest review.*

Joe Goldberg, what are you doing to me? You left your son behind and moved to the Pacific Northwest and fell in love. Again. Are you up to your old tricks? You are, but you are trying so hard to be good.

I have waited so long for the third novel. I have only watched the first season of You on Netflix and now, the book comes to me in Penn Badgley's voice and it is perfect! And I picture Penn while reading. I was immediately transported back into Joe's mind from the first chapter and I had to pace myself through the first half of the book because I didn't want to devour it in one sitting. The build up is the best part, right? I think you would agree with me on that.

I really got the feeling that Joe was trying to turn a corner, but things happen that are beyond his control and he has to react. And he only knows one way to react. And you might think that it would be the same old stories in a new city, but it really feels like a fresh take on Joe and his sociopathic nature that we have grown to love. And the twists were ones that I did not see coming even though they seem so obvious once they are out.

Please, don't make us wait so long for the fourth book! At least now we have the Netflix series to satiate ourselves!

Okay, so it wasn't horrible and had some decent twists at least in the last 20% or so. But the other 80% was just average, not enough suspense or thrills in my opinion. If you are looking for a nail biter or edge of your seat gasping out loud book, sadly this isn't it. It's still worth a read for fans of the series but not quite up to my standards of a great book.

Caroline Kepnes' mind is so brilliantly twisted. How she came up with a character like Joe Goldberg, well, it really makes me wonder about her...

You Love Me moved a bit slower compared to both You and Hidden Bodies. Joe's fixation on Mary Kay was a little dull, in keeping with the new leaf he seemed to be wanting to turn over.
The "action" as it were, didn't really start until about half way through, but once it did things really amped up. Honestly, I don't know where Ms. Kepnes comes up with some of the things she does, but she took us places in this story that I did not expect.

While it was great to be back in Joe's head, You Love Me didn't quite live up to the previous 2 books, at least for me. I'm not so sure I like the small town, semi-domesticated version of Joe. I did enjoy *most* of the twists this story took, although I'm still on the fence about that ending- I reserve the right to change my mind after reading the 4th book! But this is Joe Goldberg we're talking about, and there's very little Carline Kepnes could do that would keep me from loving him, always and forever.

I really enjoyed the way this book was written along with how fast paced it was. I felt like I was on the edge of my seat the entire time and I didn't want the book to end. I love Joe despite being him being who he is. Caroline Kepnes is a great writer and really sucks you in with her attention to detail!

It was hard to know where this one would go after the ending of Hidden Bodies, but Caroline Kepnes's took Joe in a slightly different direction this time. After the Quinn's money and influence gets Joe out of jail, he's relocated to Bainbridge Island is trying REALLY REALLY HARD to not be so bad. He's still like, a really bad person, but he's trying to not murder everyone who gets in his way. Of course, he's found a new object of his affection (a librarian this time!), but naturally the course of true love isn't going to be smooth for Joe. This one is a little slower paced, but for some reason spending time inside Joe's incredibly deranged brain remains entertaining. I was genuinely shocked by the ending of this one, so props to the author for finding really creative ways to craft a story.

I liked this book. I have had a weird relationship with Joe. I read You and expected to fall in love with it but that isn't what happened. I didn't hate it but I wasn't blown away either. Then I read Hidden Bodies and I loved everything about it. Of course, I was ready to dive into this newest installment and find out what has happened in Joe's life since we last saw him. Unfortunately, I didn't like this book nearly as much I liked Hidden Bodies but I did find it to be an enjoyable read.

Joe is trying to get a fresh start. He has moved to a new town, has a new house, a new job, and is determined to do things right from now on. He has a new love in his life, Mary Kay. Mary Kay works at the library with him and while she may not know just yet that they are meant to be together, she does seem to enjoy spending time with Joe. Joe is taking things slow and is going to be patient this time. Sure, he may be stalking her just a little bit but nobody has to get hurt this time.

Joe is a psychopath. He is not a good guy but he is a good actor and Mary Kay does seem to enjoy being with Joe. The story is told in second person from Joe's point of view. Being in Joe's head is an eye-opening experience because we not only get to see the things he does but we also learn his rationale for doing those things. Before this book was over, I found myself feeling bad for Joe which is a sign of great writing.

I would recommend this book to others. I think that this is a series that would be best read in order since the events from the first two books are discussed and come into play in this book. I definitely plan to read more of this talented author's work.

I received a digital review copy of this book from Random House Publishing Group via NetGalley.

A vast improvement over Hidden Bodies, which I finished recently and HATED.

It started off a little slow and awkward because Joe is behaving in the exact opposite way that we expect him to, but at about 20% we start treading into familiar territory again.

Without giving too much away, where Joe was an insufferable douche in the last installment...you have to pity him in this one.

Reading Between the Wines book review #42/115 for 2021:
Rating: 2.5 🍷 🍷1/2-rounded up to 3
Book: You Love Me
Author: Caroline Kepnes
Genre: Mystery & Thrillers | Women's Fiction
RELEASED on April 6, 2021!!!
Recommended to readers who like a creepy PLUS if you like the Joe/Dexter type of stories.

Sipping thoughts: Let me start by saying I love Joe. Yeah, I know! The creepy, weird, stalking, pitiful Joe. I think what I love about Joe is the absurdity of what he does and the fiction behind it. Of course, in the real world, Joe would be someone I would be terrified of but Kepnes really makes him so lovable. I said all that in this “You” installment the thrill of Joe wore off. I liked the first book and loved the second. I really enjoyed the Netflix series even though they changed quite a book from book to screen. I am not sure if Kepnes intended on making this a 3 (or more) book series but I after reading the 3rd one it doesn’t sound like it. This book has the creepy Joe who pines after a girl but it just doesn’t bring that intense, OMG, WTF, how is he going to get out of this, how is so funny yet creepy feel as the first two. It sounds more like the Netflix popularity might have brought on the opportunity for a third book to be made. With that said, I am still glad I read this one and will still read a 4th one if Kepnes decides to make one…oh and I will definitely watch the Netflix season!

Cheers and thank you to @NetGalley and @RandomHouse for an advanced copy of @YouLoveMe

#YouLoveME #RandomHouse #NetGalley #advancedreadercopy #ARC #Kindle #Booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #bookstagram #nicoles_bookcellar #bookworm #bookdragon #booknerd #booklover #bookstagrammer #bookaholic #bookreview #bookreviewer #IHaveNoShelfControl #ReadingBetweenTheWines #fiction #thriller #suspense #mystery #MysteryAndThriller #WomensFiction

The premise is admittedly getting harder and harder to buy, but Caroline Kepnes' writing remains sharp as ever. Love all the pop culture references, and the societal satire still hits all of its marks.