I loved this book and let me just start off by saying a huge THANK YOU to Caroline Kepnes and the publisher for gifting me a copy. My signed copy of "You" from the premiere of the Lifetime/Netflix TV show in Chicago at the Logan Theater is a very treasured belonging of mine and I'm so so so happy to be back into the Joe Goldberg universe.

To get with it: It's been a minute since I've done a reread of the other Joe Goldberg books, but in this one our boy Joe strikes me as being in a new, PARTICULAR vein of misogyny/craziness. It feels like somehow, book after book, he is treading even further into the water (little Easter egg there for ya, whoever is reading this review). That's scary particularly BECAUSE he was already well into it when we met the guy! I sort of had an idea where this might be going when we met these characters (other than SB's plot), but that didn't make me enjoy the ride any less. I finished this book and realized how much I never want this series to end.

The one thing I missed a little bit from this book was some of the more lowkey stalker actions. It felt like it was kill, kill, kill, but with less mundane-but-still-scary-because-holy-cow-this-man-is-unhinged moments that I felt like we got in other books, and I do enjoy those. I found the ending extremely satisfying - my main concern with this book was that it wouldn't feel fresh and different, but it absolutely does, proving why Kepnes is one of the best to do it.

I cannot wait for book 5, and I also cannot wait to own a hardcover copy of this book so it can hang out with the rest of the series!

Absolutely fantastic plot! Could not put the book down once I began reading it. Cannot wait for it to be released. Will recommend it to everyone I know!

Wow! This was so stinking good! Caroline Kepnes delivers once again by hitting this one out of the park. Creepy Joe just stole the show. This was super creepy and I loved it.
This was written and delivered with expert precision. Just couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. Highly recommend. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book

This was a solid 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 star read for me.

We should all know Joe and his inner monolgues by now. He's going to meet some out there named lady and become enraptured with her only to be disappointed that she doesn't live up to the pedestal he places them on. While it is repetitive, it is entertaining.

The problem is, I didn't care for Joe or Wonder this time. Sarah Beth stole the show and I wanted more of her. I really hope we see her in the next one because she is game changing. So much can be done with that story line if he doesn't Joe things up.

The inner Joe was a bit confusing in parts. I had to reread some paragraphs more than once to decipher which YOU he was talking to or about at the moment. Other than that, this is Joe Goldberg. I felt like he grew a tad more but then he went back to his same old ways at the same time. I think he the relationship with Wonder was forced. And can I really be saying this? That little murderer Joe can do better.

Okay, usually I’m head over heels in love with Joe Goldberg and Kepnes’s series, but this one left me a little wanting.

What could have been better?
There were a lot of characters and a few different sub plots, which with the second person narrative could sometimes make it hard to keep track of and be completely engaged with the book.

Overall, it was more scattered than I like in a book, but that may have been a point? I’m wondering if it’s a reflection of a coming change for Joe in book 5? This one just felt very different than the last 3.

What I enjoyed?

Kepnes use of the 2nd person narrative makes Joe all the more creepy and likable at the same time, as always.

She has a great way of making you question yourself and keeps you on the edge of your seat wondering what will happen next.

I feel like there was a lot of stuff brought into the book which is leading to something great, a big change for Joe perhaps? Just a feeling.

Overall, a good read and once I got into it. It just felt very different and a bit like a filler, but again I feel like this could have great implications for a killer book 5.

<b>“All caged animals test the boundaries.”</b>

Okay, Joe, I’ll admit I’m a Goodreads girl!

Gosh, I love these books. You might ask yourself how does Joe just keep on going but somehow by the grace of luck and his fab psychopath skills he just does.

You know the author is good when you find yourself agreeing with the killings. Like, okay I’ll give him that one. Don’t blame him one bit. He acts on his intrusive thoughts while the rest of us just think them. Poor Joe!

He wrote a book! But so did his colleagues, or so they’re trying to.. Harvard isn’t proving to be so easy. Well, it is, but the people aren’t. Joe just wants to be seen. He wants <b>her</b> to be seen. But you know what they say, be careful what you wish for!

In typical Goldberg fashion, things unravel to the utmost stressful situations. Joe spirals in the most dramatic, delicious ways. The extremes he goes go to escape is astonishing and I love watching him dig himself a hole and slowly creep his way out of it.

I think I like the last book a tiny bit more than this one. Joe’s desire to do better in this book was just not Joe! Give us more RIP!

No matter, I’ll read Joe wherever he goes, whatever he does!

*Review posted to Goodreads and on the blog. Will repost to blog and to Amazon closer to release day!

Thank you so much Caroline Kepnes and NetGalley for early access to this book. I was beyond excited to start reading. The book is traditional to other books in the series. The perspective of Joe Goldberg is absolutely hilarious. I enjoy this dark comedy and always "wonder" what will happen next! I feel like the book started off very slow compared to the rest of the series. Once every thing starts stacking up, the domino effect starts!

I will never tire of reading about Joe Goldberg and his murderous antics! Even if this book is a little bit of Joe doing the same old things (stalking and seducing followed by murder) it's done in a new location -- Harvard and that makes the difference. Plus, this iteration of Joe is writing a novel (it's called Me 🤣) and I loved reading his thoughts on the other writers in his fellowship program. I am so curious about what thoughts are Joe's and what thoughts might be the author's!

Thankfully the era of him thinking in all.capital letters seems to be over and there was a lot less "RIP ex girlfriend" in For You and Only You, but I was left wanting a lot more about this true crime podcast and what a dang tease only mentioning his kid once!

Either way, this is one of the better You books and I am primed and ready for the next one!

I love the adventures of Joe! He my favorite toxic/pretentious book boyfriend. With that being said, this book fell flat for me. I didn’t feel the same connection to the characters in this book as the previous ones. We all love our RIPBECKRIPPEACHRIPFORTY previously flawed characters.. I could not muster up any affection for Joe’s new love interest. It just felt forced.

I cannot get into this book. His first book was awesome, but not this one. Had to DNF. Such a disappointment…

I absolutely adore the Kepnes series about Joe Goldberg, and each one I seem to like better than the last! In this one Joe has become a writer of a book entitled ME. Of course it's about him! I admit I was salivating a little as I began and my heart raced through the entire book! Joe meets Wonder in a Harvard writing fellowship and of course, falls in love with her right away. And like the Joe we love, he is charming, vivacious, and witty so she is taken in by his charm and he is delighted. We know how it goes...and that's all you need if you know Joe! I love the many allusions and contemporary references as this is a book you savor as you read. I'm almost sorry I'm done as I await the next novel (just drooling a little)!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC

This is the review I did not want to have to write…

I was SO gosh darn excited for this ARC that I literally set aside the two other books I was reading in order to start this one. And I DEVOURED it…and was left feeling empty instead of full. I’ve read all of the other books and loved them.

I think the biggest problem that I had was…nothing happens. It felt so formulaic: Joe meets girl, Joe obsesses over girl, goes back and forth over girl when he finds out she’s not perfect, Joe kills anyone who gets in way of him and girl…you know the story.
There were several big opportunities for things to get twisty, crazy, spicy…and they never happened. Like SB, wow so much more could have been done with her, or the podcast. The characters discussions surrounding the characters they were writing (they’re in a writing fellowship at Harvard at this one) felt very meta. I felt like his love interest felt very flat in this one - I get that all the girls we ‘meet’ through Joe are from his perspective but usually I can see past that and they feel like three dimensional characters in their own right - Wonder felt 2D to me the whole time.

I did like the academic setting, Joe’s narrative voice, the brief moments with SB…but yeah…it all fell really flat for me. 😔😔

3⭐️ if that, if only for the fact that I love reading Joe’s inner monologues

Thank you for the arc NetGalley and Publisher, and I hope to give Joe’s adventures another shot in the future

I am a die hard, HUGE fan of the you series, and I was so excited when I got approved for this early copy. I was crushed when I just couldn't get into it. The book just fell flat for me and I couldn't bring myself to keep turning pages. It just did not have that unputdownableness of the others in this series.

Everybody's* favorite psycho murderer weasels his way into a pretentious writing workshop at Harvard, uncovering others' secrets along the way.

I don't particularly love this series but I keep reading because I want Joe stopped. It's highly unbelievable that he finds the most opportune moments and situations to just...kill people without getting caught. Or if he is caught, nobody does anything to him, or if they do, it doesn't stick. It's all maddening.

Joe is not charming or likable, so why do all these characters act like he is? I morbidly rooted for Mr. Ripley in all 5 of those books because he truly outsmarted all the dummies he came in contact with. Joe is not Mr. Ripley. Not even a little bit.

*he is not my favorite pyscho murderer. I will continue to shout from the rooftops that I think it's weird women have a crush on him. What even.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley!

I honestly couldn’t get into the book at all I couldn’t even finish it. I hope the tv show is better.

Thank you for the opportunity to preview For You and You Only. I love this series. Serial killer Joe Goldberg has come to Harvard. He’s part of a select fellowship for writing. Joe is writing a book and he is settling in with a group of semi and pro authors. Joe got this offer by kissing the butt of the tutor of the class. Glenn Shoddy and author of a best selling novel who quill take this group to another level. But Joe is Joe. And as you the reader are allowed into his head you know Joe will always be ready to do what’s best for Joe.
Joe meets Wonder. She’s a townie and a wanna be writer. Joe wants Wonder and so he sets his entire being on Her. Her life, Her family, Her book, Everything! But Joe is Joe and he always thinks too much. Who will survive Joe. That’s to be seen in this crazy and ‘unputdownable’ book.
I loved it. Crazy and tense, Kepne keep you on your toes as this book is as unpredictable as Joe Goldberg!!!! 5 stars

You turn off your phone, climb in bed and tear through this fourth installment in the You universe. You are me. The fourth installment in the You universe is amazingly good and just captures everything that I love about the series, and hell books in general.

This time we follow Joe Goldberg to the echelon of Ivy Leagues, Harvard. Where he sets his murderous eyes upon another pretty, intelligent bookworm, Wonder. As usual, Joe stops at nothing to obtain and keep his love interest, knocking down any an all in his way. #dreambf!

What I love about the books in the You universe is the way they talk about books, reading, readers and writers. Some people can write off these books as simple fodder, but not me. These books, when you read them critically, tell of what it means to be human, to be a reader or a writer...

"The point of my book, the point of reading any book...it's self-understanding. We open books to fond ourselves in the pages."

I like Joe because of his snarky voice, that he hates people, says things he doesn't mean and is the bad guy and damn it, he's fictional and has no real victims in real life, so I don't feel a type a way about liking him, regardless of what some people think. As Joe states himself: "You rant about animals dying as if animals in books aren't fictional." He's an unhinged, obsessive stalker who is an emotional masochist. He knowingly puts himself in situations that will hurt him, beats himself up for little things and constantly talks about being a martyr to the women he stalks. Joe will create a whole alternate universe of these women and himself, living happily even after. Just minutes after he's said hi to them! It is so deranged and unhinged it's entertaining and fun.

I did not like Wonder, although I believe I was not supposed to. She wasn't a flat character but she also did jump off the page for me. I liked RIP Mary Kay better. I liked that she loved her family, and at twenty-two, had not moved out. I also liked that she would clap back at Joe sometimes. She was a bit better than RIP Beck cause I couldn't stand RIP Beck.
Wonder seemed like a more mature version of RIP Beck. I can get why Joe liked her but for me it wasn't enough. I can walk away saying "that's such a Joe thing! Or Joe would definitely think that" after I finish these books but maybe that's because I have spent a lot of time with Joe, as that he is my favorite character in the series.

I loved all the pop culture references in this book, the nods to writers both past and present, the quips about being a Goodreads Girl, poking fun of writers, readers and reviewers alike.

A huge, huge thanks to Netgalley and Random House for an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Joe’s story continues in Massachusetts where he participates in a writing fellowship at Harvard. He views the more accomplished writers in his group with disdain, until his next love interest, Wonder Parish, shows up with her Dunkin’ Donuts Coolatta in hand, and basic girl demeanor. Joe and Wonder form a bond as the only middle class, self-learned members in the writers group, and as you can imagine, Joe falls hard, things get intense, but rather slowly, and people die, with a few twists along the way. This novel seems a little tamer than the previous ones. Joe is still absolutely insane, but he’s either growing up…or gearing up to be even more unhinged in a future novel.

Biggest takeaway: Sarah Beth Swallows needs to make a repeat appearance in any future Joe Goldberg installments.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random house for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Kepnes continues the YOU saga and keeps the dark, awful, delicious flame alive. I cannot believe Joe, I cannot believe where we are in this story, and I LOVE every minute of it. Please never stop!

I have been a big fan of the You series and was beyond excited to be approved to read this one early—Thank you Random House! However, this one fell a bit flat for me and to be honest, I hope this is the the last book. It was still entertaining but it didn’t have the “can’t put this down” factor that the first three had.