When Serena and Chris meet at a grocery store, it almost felt like a meet-cute moment. The reader quickly learns, however, that Chris has anger management issues and control issues. How far will he go to get the woman of his delusional dreams? Yup, you guessed it; far enough to wreak complete havoc in Serena’s life.

Writing this book from Chris’ point of view made for an interesting, yet uncomfortable read. If you’re up for reading a book where you’ll hate the narrator, though, give this one a try.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free ARC. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.

I’d seen some early rave reviews and my FOMO kicked in…

All Because Of You is as obsessive, possessive relationship drama, Chris, meet Serena, obsess over Serena and try to keep a lid on your possessive controlling behaviour.

There were things I liked, not least the lengths Chris would go to keep track of Serena, I like the writing style. I like Chris’s backstory but found Chris himself fairly one dimensional.

I was missing the creeping dread I feel from the best stalker thrillers. Sorry to say this wasn’t really one for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer

Chris is no Joe Goldberg...

So, the very first thing you're going to think as you read this is You by Caroline Kepnes. But as you settle in, you realize the main difference. Despite his wrongness, you like Joe. Chris? Not so much.

This is a solid story of obsession and it's very readable. The problem is that it's a copycat but with icks. Chris gets really ugly about Serena pretty quickly and you never really feel that he's anything but a Joe Goldberg caricature. He's one dimensional

Out of all the characters, I actually only really liked Serena's kid - he was a sweet teen who moves beyond angst into real heart.

All in all, I was kind of disappointed. I felt like there wasn't much original here, though it does work as a quick beach read. Unfortunately, I'll forget Chris by next week.

This was a really good thriller. Thank you to Netgalley for the arc. Chris meets Serena at a grocery store and she leaves her receipt behind where he learns her name. He googles her and finds out she's a single mom and a realtor. He right away schedules a tour and when they meet, they hit it off, but her friend keeps getting in the way. It was giving You vibes.

This psychological mind-bender is sure to be a big hit with readers who love stalker thrillers! This isn't one of my favorite tropes, but all the rave reviews had me succumbing to my FOMO and giving this book a chance. And I really enjoyed it for the most part. The story is told from Chris's POV, and the author does a phenomenal job portraying his slow, creepy descent into madness. What started as love at first sight, spiraled out of control and led him down this dark, obsessive path of delusion and destruction. His character was so well developed and so well written that I felt like I was inside his mind, to the point where I became him, and his actions were somehow justifiable. I would never condone those types of feelings or behavior, so why did I find myself siding with him at times? Crazy, right?! Kudos to the author for having this power over me with her words. My only grievance is that it wasn't creepy enough. I expected it to be more actionably disturbing than it was, I guess. It didn't really become more extreme until the 60% mark. It was ultimately a fast-paced, entertaining read and an outstanding debut. I would definitely recommend!

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer for granting me early digital access via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review!

WOW! I finished this book in one day because I just simply could not put it down! One of the best thrillers I’ve read in awhile.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my e-ARC of All Because of You!

𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔
👤 are obsessed with Joe Goldberg
🥜 believe crunchy peanut butter is king
🐕 named your dog after a Harry Potter character
📖 want to read a spectacular debut

• 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐓’𝐒 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓

For Chris, it’s love at first sight. After their grocery store meet-cute, it’s easy to get her name from a fallen receipt: Serena. A quick online search reveals Serena’s status (single mom), address, and workplace. And once he discovers she’s a Realtor, Chris schedules a house showing right away. But he isn’t pushy—he’ll wait to ask her out.

In the meantime, he’ll just watch. And listen in. He wants to learn everything about her, so he can make her happy. It’s not creepy; it’s true love.

From their first date, their relationship is perfect.
But Serena’s best friend keeps getting in the way. She thinks he’s just a friend, but Chris knows better. He knows better about a lot of things. Keeping her in line is getting harder, but their love is worth the effort.

The stars aligned when Chris and Serena met in that Winn-Dixie. And they’re going to be happy together . . . even if it kills them.

• 𝐌𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒

This was absolutely everything I love in a stalker thriller. It was giving me all the You vibes: Chris was just another Joe, so handsome and definitely not creepy until the red flags continually popped up and he simply couldn’t hide who he really was. A real wolf in sheep’s clothing. I loved Serena’s character. She was smart and didn’t just ignore the red flags like some people might. For being younger than him, I really admired that about her. The POV being only from Chris made the storyline that much better as we delved deeper into his sick and twisted mind and it just got worse and worse. His train of thought flowed, and I really felt the emotion behind every word. Just incredible and well done! I can’t believe this was a debut, and I look forward to more from Lissa!

#NetGalley Arc

Okay, Not what I was expecting at all! Fantastically written and delightfully disturbing. The suspense grips you from the very first page. Highly recommend!

How can this be a debut? This is the best stalker thriller I've ever read.

Chris meets Serena in a grocery store. We know where this is going, right? He starts watching her.

Serena is a realtor, and Chris happens to schedule a showing with her. Oh - what a coincidence! Chris is next-level obsessed with her. They wind up in a relationship and he has completely infiltrated himself into her life. Of course Serena doesn't know what he's up to.

The character development was perfect. I especially enjoyed hearing what Sasha, Derek, and Cole had to say throughout the book. Their red flags were popping up way before Serena's.

I highly recommend this!!

Chris has a brief encounter with Serena at the grocery store and in that split second, decides that she's the one for him. He very quickly becomes obsessed and things take a dark turn.

All Because of You was a dark, creepy read. It's told from Chris's point of view and I must admit, it made me feel extremely uncomfortable at times. I felt almost voyeuristic, like I was the one spying on Serena, and that creeped me out! The author did a great job putting you inside the mind of the main character and it was a twisty place to be. I think the creepiest part of the whole thing for me is the fact that it's not super far fetched at all. That is exactly how those kind of situations develop. Those kind of guys look sweet and innocent in the beginning and then the real personality comes out. I am all around impressed by Lissa Lovik and can't wait to see what she comes up with next!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

4.5 stars

Wow, I absolutely loved this!!! In the same vein as You by Caroline kepnes, this thriller was incredibly dark and intriguing. It was fascinating to read from the POV of the villain. He was unlikeable but the psychological aspect of living in his mind for the story was fascinating. I was so curious how the author would end this book and I think she did a fantastic job. I look forward to reading more of her work.

Chris Fox has a casual encounter with Serena Archer in a grocery store and in very Joe Goldberg-esque fashion, he becomes immediately obsessed with her. He stalks her and manipulates his way into her life, initially coming across to her as the perfect guy. But it’s not long before Chris starts exhibiting red flags and Serena realizes he is not the great guy she initially thought he was.

This entire book (which I read in one day) is told from the perspective of Chris. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the title of this book is All Because of “You” and as someone who watched and enjoyed the Netflix series, I could hear Joe Goldberg’s voice narrating in my head as I read.

Although this touches on many of the same themes as “You”, this one felt a bit more serious and believable and the theme of domestic violence is much more prominent. If actually consider this a bit of a cross between “You” and “It Ends With Us”.

This was a dark and captivating read and I will definitely be on the lookout for anything new from Lissa Lovik. With thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the opportunity to preview this ARC in exchange for my review.

My Rating: 1⭐️ Just a super letdown, I feel disappointed that I kept going!!

Love is blind…. Well not for Chris, its love at first sight when he bumps into Serena at the grocery store. Every step of the way is curated to ensure that Chris meets Serena again… they are meant to be he knows it!!

She will know it too…. Chris is the perfect man, made just for Serena she just doesn’t know it yet. She is perfect for him too, in every way, even the ways that need changing to ensure “their” ultimate happiness.

Its a lot of effort to keep an eye on Serena all the time, but love is worth the effort and Chris will stop at nothing to get and keep Serena all to himself.

OK… this sounded juicy and started out good. It was very YOU in its initial execution (to be clear I haven’t read it only watched season 1) and to be fair I should have known this might let me down these stalker books are very hit and miss and always pretty similar.

I did like the writing, that was engaging and it kept me interested (there are buts) and it was told from Chris’s POV which is expected… its creepy enough, but it didn’t have that full on ominous feel to it that I was really hoping for. I wanted to feel super uncomfortable … these types of books are supposed to send a chill down your spine and make your hair stand on end… that didn’t happen.

Don’t get me wrong it was creepy but just not enough for this kind of story. To me it was predictable and again these stories usually go the same way (I was hoping for something weird and unhinged that we haven’t seen before, but it didn’t happen), so if they are going to be predictable they need to be done 100% right.

It was lacklustre, and the characters sort of got to a spot and then it went flat. Chris was a good bad guy… but then he kind of was flat too. Everything just fell away and it was like the author went oh well I am out of ideas… lets do this and this and wrap this baby up.

I was really let down with the ending.

Overall, I think this will be a huge hit… but like always I am on outlier island and there will be a few of my regular GR friends that will agree with me, some of my GR friends will love this and honestly go for it… I hope you do love it. If nothing else it was an easy read. But yeah for me it was a huge miss.

Thank you to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer and the author for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

All Because of You by Lissa Lovik is a Debut Thriller and I absolutely loved it. It gripped me from page one and there was no dull moment. I liked Serena’s character. Author has taken us deep inside the stalker’s mind and shown us some of the crucial things through psychological facts. I loved how author has shared each character’s thoughts despite being narrated from the perspective of the villain. Expect twists, mystery and unthinkable happenings. The book is utterly gripping and unputdownable.
Thanks to the Publisher, and Author.

This book is a read in one day book. Chris is the guy you tell your everyone to NOT get in a relationship with. This book and Chris was so disturbing but so good. I really felt like I was in the head of the stalker and while I wanted to look/run away I could not. This is is going to be one of the best thrillers I read this year for sure!

Rating: 5/5 Stars
Pub Date: 7/29
•
Oh, hello Joe 2.0, I am intrigued….
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If that doesn’t give you a hint as to what this story is about, then you need to do more reading. I started this one one right after @carrie was raving about it, and she had every reason too.
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The easiest way to describe my feelings towards this book was addiction, shock and horror and rage. The manipulation and gaslighting was wild. When I thought it couldn’t get any worse Chris would (very rudely) be like “hold my beer”. The audacity and the sad reality that this is some people’s real life is eye opening. I can promise you that not once during this book did I ever root or Chris, I found him to be dispicable.
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The pacing was superb, I was addicted to the story and wanted to know what was going to happen next. I finished it in a matter of 24 hours! The suspense and intensity just emanated off the pages of this one. An absolutely phenomenal debut. What an absolutely stellar debut. A must read for sure.
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Overall, this is one you will not want to miss this summer. Thriller fans are going to eat this up. Be sure to check out trigger warnings. Huge thank you to NetGalley, Lissa Lovik and Thomas & Mercer for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book dives deep into understanding love and how far a person can love you —whether it's genuine love or something much darker. It was a gripping, unsettling, creepy read. From the very start, I was completely captivated and left feeling gobsmacked until the very last page. The cover and descriptions are eye-catching, and I was hooked and couldn't resist reading it. It didn't disappoint me, and it lived up to my expectations!

It is told from a "villain perspective" and has this "YOU vibes". Just imagine being stalked by someone like Chris! OMG, I couldn't. I would have freaked out, too. I love it when an author chooses the villain's POV; it often gives me an understanding of why they're doing this, but this one? NO! You'll hate him even more. What starts as something resembling a sweet crush turned into obsession and deadly!

The realism of the plot is another major" highlight—there's no moment where you think, "Sure, that's realistic but highly unlikely." It'll blow your mind, and the impact of the story lingers long after you've finished reading.

A big shout-out to the author for doing a fantastic job with this one.

Wow. I don’t have many words outside of that.
This was incredibly dark yet completely and utterly realistic which made it 100x more disturbing. I was hooked from the start and only put it down once (to sleep so I could finish it the next day). The steady progression of the abusive in the relationship was respected perfectly. It shows how even when you’re surrounded by a great support system, master manipulators can still get their claws into you. Chris was like Joe if Joe was a little less stabby. I loved how we were simultaneously inside of his head yet still against him. There was no attempted redemption arc for him.

When I picked up this book, I expected a horror thriller—something dark and intense, maybe even full of twists. The cover drew me in, and I didn’t think twice. But what I got was something completely different. Not just a story, but something that pulled me in so deeply it was almost suffocating.

What made it even more gripping was that it was told from the point of view of, let’s say, the villain. That made everything feel even more intense. Being inside his mind was infuriating—you want to scream at him, to stop him, to protect everyone around him. And yet, you can’t look away. It’s rare to read a book where you’re so conflicted, torn between rage and fascination.

But what hit the hardest was how real it felt. How easy it is to fall into something that starts off as warmth and love, only to realize too late what’s hiding underneath. The slow realization, the fear, and then the strength it takes to finally leave—it’s something that stays with you. I wish it were always that simple in real life.

This book wasn’t what I expected, but it was something even more powerful. A must-read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this advance copy!
This book will be released on July 29, 2025.
This one has some serious "You" vibes! I admit, I was ticked off at a certain character from the beginning.
We got a stalkerish, jealous, control-freak who crosses too many lines.
Couldn't put this one down!