Joe Goldberg is back in third instalment of You to teach us how to stalk people and disrupt their lives. You might think he’d be tired after what he went through in Hidden Bodies. I mean he really “tries” to stay out of everything after moving to a cozy Island in Pacific Northwest. But Mary, oh Mary! How dare thee drag Joe into the mess again.

If you’re familiar with the series, you know how this story is going to end. There is no surprise there, but Kepnes’s writing is so damn good that with each cliffhanger chapter, she deliberately makes the reader to go on.. without food and water for hours together. Joe is an unreliable protagonist one would love to hate and hate to love.

Not sure if there is going to be another book, but if there is, I’d definitely be in line to get it. Excited for the Season 3 of Netflix’s You. I’m not going to lie, its one of the shows that is as good as the book.

Thank you Netgalley & Random House for the arc.

I really liked You and Hidden Bodies but unfortunately You Love Me didn’t work for me. This could very much be about my own mindset but I’m not able to handle reading Joe’s messed up thinking about women. It’s just creeping me out too much and I don’t want to spend the rest of the book in his head. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free book.

Welcome back Joe!

Joe is as crazy as ever and attracts the craziest people who don't wish him well.

If they only knew.

Joe is in love with Mary Kay and is willing to wait for her to realize she loves him.

That never goes well for Joe

It's a wild ride You Love Me and it does not disappoint. My favourite of the series.

I can't or its probably won't say more because it would too easy to give too many hints and it is so much more fun to follow the author's thread.

I so love Joe even though one should run if you meet him.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Random House for a wild yet fun read.

I walked into “You Love Me” with absolutely no expectations as I was not familiar with the earlier two novels in this series. It wasn’t until I was halfway through the book before I realized that there is a Netflix series based on the main character, Joe, and these novels.

Joe has moved to Washington after his past relationship did not work out (to put it mildly). While volunteering at the local library (sounds harmless, no?), Joe becomes entranced with Mary Kay, a librarian, and will do anything he can to make sure she falls in love with him.

About halfway through the book, I started watching the “You” series so I could get a better understanding of what happened in the first two novels. I would not recommend going into this novel blind like I did as there is a lot of backstory about the “intensity” of Joe’s relationships. Some of Joe’s inner monologues make a lot more sense on the screen versus when you’re reading them on the page (or kindle). I did appreciate and sometimes smiled wryily at Joe’s perceptions, but found the overall story a bit twisted and slightly unbelievable. I admit, if I had started with the first novel, my impressions might have been completely different so if you are a fan of the series, I encourage you to dive in, but if you are a newbie like me, you might want to begin with “You.”

Thanks to Caroline Kepnes, the publisher and Netgalley for my advanced copy.

First off, let me just start by saying that I still haven't read the first two books (I'll be fixing that eventually) and that did not take away from my reading experience whatsoever. If its been a while since you've read number one or two, Caroline does an amazing job at recapping while carrying on with the present storyline.

I loved everything about this book. I've quite frankly been in a massive reading slump for over a year now and You Love Me cleared that right up for me. You will be on the edge of your seat on and off all the way until the end. Buckle your seat belts because you are in for a wild ride!

You Love Me is going to pull you in and give you a little romance, a little suspense, lots of thrills and guessing what Joes fate will be right until the very end. Believe me when I say, you are not going to want this one to end.

I really enjoyed the first book in the "You" series, so I was really excited to be back in Joe's mind in the third (and final?) book in the trilogy. Joe is exactly the same in this book as he was in the first two, and I have to give Kepnes so much credit for his character. The things he does are so despicable, but being in his mind makes him sympathetic and I always find myself rooting for him, even when he's being a terrible person. He's definitely a character that you love to hate reading about. I also really liked the whole new cast of characters we met here-I especially was rooting for Mary Kay and Nomi until the very end, I loved them so much.

The plot honestly felt a lot like the plot of the first book with some small changes-Joe said from the beginning he was turning over a new leaf, but he fell into his old habits pretty quickly. That isn't a bad thing though-these bonkers plots are so compulsively readable and so fun in a twisted way. I did feel, though, that way too much happened in this book. It felt like Joe would finish cleaning up the mess from one big thing that happened, and then another big thing would happen immediately after-there was hardly any room to breathe and just take a break. This made for a nice fast pace for the book, but it felt a little unbelievable too.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, and I think other fans of this series will eat this up as well.

*Thanks so much to the publisher for my copy of the book in exchange for my review!*

Frankly, the book starts out slow. Now settled in the Pacific Northwest, Joe Goldberg is obsessed again, this time with a small-town librarian, Mary Kay, who is older than him and has a teenage daughter, Nomi. I found the beginning of this book similar to how The Force Awakens is compared (in some circles) to A New Hope – the same plot with new characters. “Hidden Bodies” was so different from “You” that, at first, “You Love Me” was disappointing.

Here we go again: The Whisper Room in the basement. The suspicious friend he has to neutralize.
The cup of urine left at the first break-and-enter in “You” is now a cup of coffee from the local coffee house.

But we learn that Joe is trying to be a better man. He doesn’t want to murder anyone, he has a legacy he wants to remain untarnished for his estranged son by Love, Forty. As we continue reading, the twists in the plot become more compelling and new characters are introduced and the story starts to peel like an onion. It gets better the closer we get to the core.

In summary, I liked the book after it started heating up. The ending suggests Joe’s story will continue. But I couldn’t help but wonder now that the Netflix series (two seasons) is such a hit, is the author writing for herself, for her readers or for Netflix season 3?

Murderous Joe Goldberg is back again in a new town, and ready for a fresh start. Of course, his old ways come back to haunt him when he begins to obsess over local librarian, Mary Kay.

Joe is snarky, egotistical, and villainess, yet comic from a fictional perspective. For me, this is one of the rare occasions where I prefer the TV show to the books, because Penn Badgley {AKA Dan Humphrey} does an incredible job portraying this deranged sociopath. Unfortunately, the language/writing style in the books is not my taste, and this was a miss for me. However, this series is well-loved by other readers, and I think you will enjoy this book if you have liked the previous two YOU books.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. YOU LOVE ME, the third book in the YOU series, will be released on 4/6/21.

YES. SO GOOD. If you enjoyed the first 2 books in the You series by Caroline Kepnes, you will not be disappointed! I stayed up late reading and found myself reading at any opportunity I could - walking to get another cup of coffee from my remote work desk, waiting for my friend to go for a walk, any time!

Book Summary
Joe Goldberg is back and looking for love again. Moving to the lovely Pacific Northwest island of Bainbridge a short ferry's ride from Seattle. Reeling from his emotional parting with Love Quinn, Joe is ready to start fresh. That's when he notices local librarian, Mary Kay.

Joe immediately becomes infatuating with Mary Kay (as is his style) and Mary Kay seems to be interested in him, too. However, Mary Kay has a busy full life with her teenage daughter, her controlling friend Melanda, her librarian job and more. Joe won't give up easily though!

It's hard to give a full book summary because of all of the crazy twists and turns in these books, so I digress. Trust me when I say that You Love Me is a great continuation of the series!

Thoughts/Opinions on Rating
The only reason I gave this book a 4/5 is because the ages/timeline of Mary Kay and others seemed off and COMPLETELY distracted me. Mary Kay is said to have just turned 40. Mary Kay and her husband Phil were in high school together. Phil was a grunge rocker talking about his time with Kurt Cobain (Phil could have been lying, but he was supposed to have been 'in' the 90s grunge scene). Kurt Cobain died in 1994. Phil's popular album was said to have been released in 1997, which means that both Phil and Mary Kay would have been 16 when that album came out and 13 or younger when Phil was interacting with Kurt Cobain. IT WAS DISTRACTING. The author could have made the characters 5 or more years older, and it wouldn't have been so distracting.

Otherwise, this book is a slam dunk in the series. A roller coaster of constant twists and turns at every chapter. Old characters and new are well developed and the author's character writing is incredible as always.

I highly recommend this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and Randomhouse for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

5 Stars!! I am a huge fan of the YOU series and it was no surprise to me that this book exceeded my expectations. I love the new settting Joe finds himself in. The characters, plot, and blast from the past was just perfect. I would definitly recommend this book (and the entire series) to anyone.

Joe is back and living on Bainbridge Island. And he's met the woman of his dreams... Again. This time it's the real thing. He's sure this island town is safe and quiet. But it's Joe so of course trouble follows. Lots of trouble. I don't want to give any spoilers and there are so many twists it's hard to talk about the story and not give any away. If you enjoy this series you'll enjoy this book!

Thank you so much too Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC. I was so excited to receive this! The title is great!

Give me all the creepy Joe you've got!

He's back and as Joe-like as ever. Despite the fact that he's trying to be a "good guy". He's not going to stalk. He's not going to kill. He's just Joe the library volunteer. But we all know Joe doesn't really roll like that.

New town. Same old Joe. Meet Mary Kay. His new obsession. She's a librarian (of course, Joe likes literary things doesn't he?) with her own issues. The story of their "love" was enthralling as ever.

This had all the fabulousness we expect from Joe! And the ending threw me for a loop. Did not see that coming at all. And I hope we have more Joe to come.

Thank you to Random House, Caroline Kepnes, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Verdict: 4.5 out of 5
~
Overview: Joe is out of prison and on his own again. Love is back in California raising their son, but Joe has signed a contract to keep away from them. Instead in California, he’s settled down on an island in the Pacific Northwest. Here, out in the wilderness, Joe embraces small town living and gets a volunteering job at the local library. There, he meets Mary Kay. However, it’s not like before when Joe would kidnap and kill people standing in his way of love. No, this time, Joe is living by new rules. He’s trying to be good. Unfortunately, trouble seems to always find Joe. Things just...happen.

The Good: In You Love Me, Joe is more likeable than ever. Of his three appearances, I’ve never rooted for him the way I did here. He’s grown a lot, but it is still delusional and overly optimistic. I genuinely cared about Joe and his new love life. It’s strange to care for a murderer, to want him to succeed, but that’s what exactly happens throughout this novel. For its duration, I was very much interested and invested in Joe’s problems and celebrations. The frequent cliffhanger endings to chapters increased my suspense and dared me to keep reading in search of a peaceful moment for reprieve. It is for this reason that the ending shocked me in such a way that I was devastated. There’s also the bonus of incomplete storylines left open for a sequel or two.

The Bad: There are two or three characters that annoyed me to no end. I understand that was their purpose in the story - to drive you crazy - but that still made their scenes difficult to survive. I couldn’t wait for them to die; one of them even had the audacity to live! If they return in book four - and they should - I hope Joe puts them down hard. I also thought that the end - however gripping and upsetting it was for me to accept - was not what I wanted. I expected a cliffhanger of conflict, but Kepnes gave us something sad instead. Honestly, I was a bit depressed when all was said and done.

The Takeaway: You Love Me does an excellent job in making you care about Joe all over again. You’ll hold your breath, stomp your feet, become territorial, emotional and jittery … all in the name of Joe. Can’t the guy just catch a break? This one left me a bit heartbroken, to be honest, but that just goes to show you how much it’ll make you care.

Joe Goldberg returns in Caroline Kepnes’ third installment of the addictive You series as he sets up his new home on the seemingly perfect Washington state island of Bainbridge. After taking the Quinn family’s four million dollar pay off, promising never to see his son nor Love Quinn again, Joe – the ever-plucky stalker cum serial killer – is adamant about leading a respectable new life. He signs up as a volunteer at the local library where he immediately meets the librarian, Mary Kay DiMarco. Joe can’t leave his previous ways behind him and is off to slither his way into Mary Kay’s life via social engineering and social media, but unlike the women in the previous You novels, Mary Kay eagerly welcomes Joe in. She follows Joe on Instagram, easily invites him to gatherings with her friends and openly flirts with him. All is going too well until Joe realizes Mary Kay has her own secrets that are set to destroy the perfect life he’s laid out for the two of them.
Like the previous novels, You Love Me straddles the line between romantic lead and invasive, dangerous stalker. Joe’s behavior is intrusive and disturbing, and would make Mary Kay’s skin crawl if she knew what was happening behind her back: he watches her at night with binoculars, he clandestinely installs cameras in her house and watches the recordings from his home. The body count also slowly piles up around Joe but unlike the previous two novels, Kepnes drops Joe in these situations where he has even less control over the deaths. The pages turn in You Love Me and true fans of the series will love Joe’s dastardly adventure but a bit of his toxicity is missing from this addition and Joe comes off too sappy and less delusional.

There's a third book in the You series by Caroline Kepnes and I couldn't wait to start reading it. Joe has left New York and California behind for a small town in the Pacific Northwest where he's fallen for a very nice librarian. They'll be perfect together and he's planning their future as a couple and for a brief moment it's easy to almost forget who and what he is. I felt like the book got off to a slow start, but once things started to get complicated it got very interesting very fast and I couldn't put it down.

Joe Goldberg has resolved to be a good guy. No more obsessions, no more killing to get what he wants. He's moving to the Pacific Northwest, he's going to work in a library (he has some experience with books, after all), and he's reformed. It's at the library where he meets her. Mary Kay DiMarco. A librarian. Beautiful, older. She's also a mother. She's busy and distracted. But Joe knows true love will prevail, because he's doing things the right way. With his undying love and friendship, Mary Kay will have no choice but to fall for him.

"And of course you couldn't help it. After all, you love me."

I was incredibly excited to hear there would be a third "Joe" book, because I can still remember reading the first, YOU. I was alone on a mini-vacation and spent the entire thing creeped out, feeling watched, thanks to how good Kepnes is at writing Joe and his obsessiveness. The good thing about YOU LOVE ME is that she still captures Joe's voice perfectly. He's just... Joe. Obsessed. Weird. Witty. Over the top.

(Stop reading if you don't want to know what happened in the first two books.)

In YOU LOVE ME, Joe is fleeing Love--not the concept, but the actual person, from book two. After his encounters with her, he's ready to be on the straight and narrow. He realizes he has no more chances, no more "get out of jail free" cards. Starting over in the Pacific Northwest is it.

So, while Joe is still his usual creepy self, he's slightly diminished. We don't get full-on stalk/kill Joe, and it's a little disappointing. I'm not going to lie: I want Joe to triumph over others. I like when Joe wins. And, sadly, I found myself not wanting to go back and pick this book up after I started it. I was so bummed! It was long, meandering, and all the twists seemed either odd and too convenient or just really strange. It dragged on, lacking the ominous tension of YOU.

I still rooted for Joe, of course. That's the talent Kepnes brings, making us cheer on the bad guy. But there was less "Joe versus evil" than "Joe versus annoying" in this read. Of course we wanted Joe to win--his foes were downright irritating.

Overall, this book still captures Joe's voice really well, but the actual story seems lacking. It's long and couldn't keep my full interest. Now, if there's a book four, will I still read it? Sure.

He’s baaaaccck! Oh, Joe...you were missed! Creepy, psycho, stalker Joe has another new love interest. But, has he met his match with a new cast of crazies? To be honest, I cannot remember Hidden Bodies at all (I have it marked read but didn’t write a review) so some references threw me.

This book is definitely similar to the first one. Fast moving with surprises thrown in throughout. Kepnes is back in shape with this book! If you were a fan of You, You Loves Me will not disappoint. Characters you love to hate and hate to love.

Thanks to Ms. Kepnes, Random House and NetGalley for this ARC. Opinion is mine alone.

I really wanted to love this but unfortunately this one just wasn't for me. I loved You, I enjoyed Hidden Bodies but You Love Me I just couldn't get into. In the previous books even though Joe is a total creep I was able to still enjoy him and feel sympathetic to some of his situations but in this story I found him irritating, pathetic and annoying.

I found this book a lot slower paced and dragging way more than the first two in the series. Nothing really hooked me to the story. The characters were all unlikeable and nothing thrilling ever really happens. Then the ending didn't really make the wait worth it for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this e-arc in exchange for my review.

I obviously made a mistake in requesting an ARC of You Love Me by Caroline Kepnes to review. While I have read many books that are the second or the sixth in a series and enjoyed them as a standalone, this is the rare book I have to walk away from. I just could not enjoy Joe’s twisted thoughts. Disturbing and obviously reflecting the sick mind of a stalker, his thoughts, especially those about Mary Kay’s daughter were deeply upsetting. That said, I have read the other member reviews and see that the fault is mine. Fans of the series have a better understanding of Joe. For that reason, I give You Love Me 3 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House and Caroline Kepnes for this ARC.

I was so excited to receive a digital galley of You Love Me after I devoured the first book in the You series! Here, Joe is back and has just moved to the pacific northwest to start fresh after the events of the second book, where he meets librarian Mary Kay. He's so enamored with her but wants to do it right and woo her the normal way. I'm immediately drawn back into this world with its fantastically well-written prose. There are many bombshells in this slowly drawn-out novel. It's chock full of compelling language, and I just want to know what will happen next!