I have to admit, I’m a huge fan of the “You” series on Netflix, and up until this book, I’ve followed the story exclusively there. It’s to my understanding that the show takes a different turn than the books but when this latest in the series came out I was really intrigued and so excited to be chosen for an ARC copy. Lucky for me, even without reading previous books in the series, I was able to follow along and understand where this new one was taking me. I adore Joe’s voice and wit, and found myself loathe to put the book down. The only thing that kept me from five stars was that I felt I was in Joe’s head a little too much, although still loved the book!


**Thank you to NetGalley, Random House, and Caroline Kepnes for an ARC of this book!

I've loved every Joe Goldberg book until this one. This hurts to say but it's definitely my least favorite. I felt it was missing the witty Goldberg I've come to love and the other characters really just lacked any personality.

Thank you Random House and NetGalley for the copy.

For you and Only You - I loved the movies but just couldn't really get into the books. I am not much into series, so that could be why. I may give it a try another time.

The latest installment in the You series, For You and Only You, by Caroline Kepnes, does not disappoint. Pontificator and murderer Joe Goldberg receives a writing fellowship at Harvard University and creates more mayhem in Cambridge.

Fresh from living in Bainbridge Island, Washington, and then Florida, he's written a book and caught the attention of an esteemed literary author, Glenn Shoddy. He joins the motley crew of writers who all want to be published. There he meets working-class Wonder, a manager at a Dunkin' Donuts and aspiring writer. And that's where all the trouble starts.

With the fourth book, you'd think the antics of Joe and his musings about the world would be old hat. Somehow, the author makes this book as fresh as the first one. You never know what's going to happen or what interesting characters Joe will encounter. And you've grown accustomed to Joe taking other people's futures into his own hands and that will continue in unusual, stealthy ways. Plenty of surprises appear in this book.

I really liked the idea of an ensemble group of people in a writing group. They've all come for their own reasons and from varied backgrounds. There's a rivalry between all of them, and yet Joe finds that Wonder understands him and he her. They're, as he says, in this together. As you will soon find out, he will do anything to ensure that his latest lady love and her book gets the TLC and attention it deserves.

Towards the end, though, the book slows down. I'm not sure that I really liked the ending. It wasn't explosive, and I cannot imagine how the author will position Joe next, but I'm there for it. I wouldn't say that it's a let-down, but it almost felt that way. The wind hasn't been taken out of his sails because Joe always seems to rise from the ashes, but it wasn't what I expected. But I know that the author can come up with something unexpected and take Joe in another fresh direction despite my misgivings with the ending of book four. Here's to book number five!

“For You and Only You” is Caroline Kepnes’ fourth novel in the Joe Goldberg ‘You’ series. This story followed Joe Goldberg to Harvard’s prestigious writing program. Joe finally feels like he’s in a place where people will appreciate him for his mind and not his background…..or not. His fellow students all seem to be pretty snobby, until he meets Wonder. Could she finally be the soulmate he’s been searching for?

Honestly I loved this. I loved all of the novels Caroline Kepnes has written and I’ll continue to follow Joe wherever he goes. There’s not many times when I’ve read a book after watching the TV series (and at this point the books and show are drastically different), but these stories are even better than the show in my opinion. These books always manage to be witty, exciting and messed up all at the same time.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the DRC of this novel.

This review is all about my personal experience and thoughts on the book "For You and Only You" by Caroline Kepnes. Unfortunately, I didn't manage to finish reading it. Reading preferences can differ, and this review is based solely on my own taste.

"For You and Only You" promised to continue the suspenseful and twisted tale of Joe Goldberg, a character known from the previous novels in the series. However, my experience with this book left much to be desired, and I made the decision to abandon it before reaching the end.

One of the most significant issues I encountered while reading this story was the writing style. Caroline Kepnes has often been praised for her unique narrative voice and the ability to get inside the mind of a disturbed protagonist like Joe Goldberg. However, in this installment, the writing felt repetitive and lacking the freshness and depth that initially captivated readers. Furthermore, the plot failed to hold my interest. While the concept of exploring Joe Goldberg's further exploits may have seemed intriguing, the execution fell flat for me personally. I found myself becoming increasingly disinterested as the plot unfolded.

Additionally, the character of Joe Goldberg, who was once a fascinating and complex anti-hero, became increasingly predictable and less compelling. The depth and psychological complexity that made him intriguing in the earlier books were noticeably absent in "For You and Only You." Instead, he seemed to be following a formulaic path, devoid of any surprises or genuine character growth. As a result, the book failed to evoke the tension and page-turning quality that I had anticipated.

I love classic Joe Goldberg. I realize that you aren't supposed to like a stalking serial killer, but I said what I said. From his wit, his obsessive behaviors, to his cunning plans, Joe is just entertaining. Unfortunately I feel like Joe is losing his edge. In this book Joe is trying to be a better person, and spends most of the book striving to be good. We want classic Joe, not a reformed Joe. At about the 60% mark I considered DNF'ing this book, I even put it aside and read something else. But I've read the first three books and wanted to finish this one so I picked it back up. In the last 40% we saw a small glimmer of classic Joe, and the book ended in a way that makes me think there will be another one.
I really like this series as a whole, and while this one is my least favorite of the series; I'm hopeful there will be a fifth book where we get "good" ole classic Joe.


Thank you to @netgalley and @randomhouse for the gifted copy of this book.

Thank you to the publisher for giving me access to a digital ARC of For You and Only You by Caroline Kepnes. I will start off this review by saying that I absolutely loved the book, You. It was and still remains one of my favorite thrillers because of the fact that it is told from the perspective of the stalker. At the time that I read You, I had never quite read anything like it, and I thought Caroline Kepnes was a genius for the way she wrote it. This is probably why I have continued to give her books a chance, even though I have been disappointed by all of the subsequent ones, including the standalone Providence. I am going to set aside For You and Only You for now and consider it a DNF. I just can't get into this one. I gave Hidden Bodies 3 stars and You Love Me 2 stars, and this one just isn't doing it for me right now. The story seems repetitive and too reminiscent of the previous two that I did not enjoy. Maybe I just need to consider Caroline Kepnes a one and done author for me. I really wish that I loved this one, or even liked it, but for now, I am going to pass. Thank you again.

This is my first time reading one of the books from the "You" series, I am a fan of the show on Netflix and was excited to read a new installment. The fourth book and the fourth season on the show do not follow the same storyline, which is great because I wasn't a fan of season 4 and thankfully I enjoyed book 4 of the series.

In FYAOY Joe is participating in a writing fellowship at Harvard, convinced he has written a best seller. There he becomes obsessed with another "autodidact". Joe, meet Wonder.

Joe will kill for Wonder because that's what love is. The book ends with one attempted murder and two followed through, but felt more like reading a drama featuring a serial killer vs. reading a thriller.

Things I loved: Joe's inner monologue - he makes me laugh out loud with some of his dry snark, the writing fellowship/fellows, and "GoodReads Girl".

Things I didn't love: Two kidnappings that felt unnecessary, the overuse of "autodidact" (13 times in the first 5 chapters alone), Wonder as a character (unlikable and overly sensitive).

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the advanced reader's copy of this publication.

A YOU fan! Thank you for continuing the story.

Great writing and pulled me back into the world of Joe Goldberg. This book reminded me of the original story.

I’ve been a fan of her “You” series from the very beginning and this does not disappoint! Putting Joe in a position where he has to be judged by others is the best… and coming from a writers workshop myself I can attest that it is quite the experience (though I enjoyed it a lot more than him). She’s the best.

4.5 stars!!!

This is my second favorite book in this series, though I might be bias because it's set in my hometown of Boston. Joe continues to be Joe showing everyone that you can like unlikable characters and how easy it is to root for someone who has questionable morals. I love morally gray characters, and I love them even more when I can see their motives behind things and Caroline Kepnes does that best. Another great book about the lengths someone who is truly awful will go for someone he loves.

I'll admit that I'm king of losing steam with these books by this point, but I continue picking them up every time a new one releases anyway. In this case, I'm super glad I did - this one was excellent, and made me remember why I love this series to begin with.

HOLY COW THIS BOOK WAS AMAZING! You is one of my favorite shows on Netflix so of course I had to read the books by the fabulous Caroline Kepnes!!! This book kept me on my toes and made me want more! The plot twist was so good and I wasn't;t expecting it at all!

This was a total disappointment and I hope this is where Joe’s story ends. There was truly nothing redeeming about this installment in the series and the show did it better, even if it was more far fetched.

The most recent Joe Goldberg saga can only be described as… arduous. I felt this book was too long, trying too hard to extend the magic of You long past its natural end. I never connected to any of the characters and found the Sarah Beth side plot both distracting and annoying. I wanted to root for Wonder but she felt very one dimensional to me. This is probably where I jump off the Joe Goldberg train.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. At this point, the story isn't very original and yet I eat it up anyway. This one took a second to get into as Joe's narration threw me off but once I settled back into his head and the way Kepnes writes him, I flew through the pages. The last installment took me a bit to get through but I loved the premise for this one. It had been a while since I revisited this story and it was hard to keep straight at first what happened in the last book vs what happened in the show but Kepnes does a good job at reminding the reader what happened last time Joe was on the page and also how he got to be where he was. My biggest complaint about this one and why I did not give it five stars like I did the first two, is that there wasn't enough murder! I come to Joe for the murder and he didn't murder enough people. But don't worry, he's just as crazy as always (if not more so) and Kepnes does a phenomenal job of making him believe he is not the bad guy. Reading from his perspective is something I will always find fascinating and I can't wait to see who Joe selects as his next love interest. If you liked the other installments in the series, there is no reason you won't like this one too.

I love watching the series YOU. After season 2 I decided to finally read the books. The other books are good but I felt the same way with this book as the others. For me I enjoyed it, then was bored by it, I was annoyed, I found some parts to be brilliant, I enjoyed Joe's observations, then I was back to twiddling my thumbs. This must be how Joe feels every day. I still enjoyed reading this book and I would read the next one if she decides to do more but I just can't love these books. I will still recommend these books because I know others that love these books so my opinion shouldn't make someone else not read them. I still want to read her other books to see if they read differently.



Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for allowing me to read this ARC for my honest opinion.

While not my favorite of the "You" series, if you've read the rest, For You and Only You is worth the read to see what Joe, the anti-hero serial killer stalker that we love to hate, is up to now. I quite enjoyed the Sarah Beth character, and Joe bumbling through his kills just certain he was making things better for himself each time. And of course, the Harvard/Boston setting was a nice touch too.

Thank you to Random House and Netgalley for the electronic copy.