3.5/5

This may be one of THE most anticipated new releases this summer, I know it was high on my list of must haves and I know many others feel the same, but if you’re looking for a book that is similar to You then you better adjust your expectations because while there are a few aspects of Kepnes’ trademark style Providence takes a completely different turn than her earlier books did. For me this was not a bad thing at all, but I think it’s crucial for future readers to be prepared to avoid disappointment.

Kepnes has one of the most unique voices out there and that’s just as apparent here as it was in You. Her writing is top notch, she really blows me away with the brand of prose she creates, parts of this were pretty out there and I honestly wasn’t totally sure what was going on yet I was still hanging ontonher every word. If that isn’t the sign of an outstanding writer, I don’t know what is then, the woman can captivate me like no other. I did get glimpses of the same obsession and complexities of male/female relationships as in You but it’s SO much different from that, saying it was similar would be like comparing apples to oranges.

This is a little out there, a major plot point deals with the paranormal/supernatural and I know not everyone enjoys that type of thing, but I think the blurb hints at enough that I wasn’t surprised by it and hence, was unbothered. This explores the relationship between Chloe and Jon over the course of several years and alternates between their points of view and a detective named Eggs. The time jumps are frequent and a little extreme but I felt that it propelled the plot forward in an exciting way and timeline changes never tend to bother me anyway. If you’re expecting an edge of your seat thriller you’re going to wind up disappointed because I would say this is more of a deep exploration of the relationship between two people with a side of odd and a handful of suspenseful moments instead of a standard thriller. Yes, it’s mysterious but more in an otherworldly way that leaves you with questions in the end, nothing is straightforward or easily wrapped up in the end so don’t expect a neat and tidy resolution.

Bottom line? This will be a decisive book, I think people will either love it because it’s so different or they’ll hate it for the same reasons, but if you’ve been waiting for it then I say give it a try for yourself and let me know what you think!

Providence in three words: Unique, Complex and Captivating.

Oh.My.God. I love Caroline Kepnes. You and Hidden Bodies had me SHOOKETH. And so did this book. It felt like a ramped up episode of Criminal Minds. Every single word, paragraph, page was just ramping up and up and up, it's so enthralling. I literally got sucked into the book so quickly.

This book is very much different than You and I think it shows how amazing and versatile Kepnes can be. I love how amazing of an author she is. Literally blowing my mind. I find myself wanting to re-read this book again right away.

I had a hard time getting through this book. I was so looking forward to reading something new from Caroline Kepnes, but this book was a struggle. It never grabbed me and I was easily distracted. The summary sounded so great, but the story itself wasn't easy to read. Why? I'm not really sure to be honest. Maybe because it was SOOOOO far fetched. Or maybe because I have not read the book that this book kept referring to. I just know that this book never drew me in and I never fully liked the characters. Her writing style is good but this just wasn't the book for me.

I was very excited to read this book as Caroline Kepnes is one of my favorite authors. I knew going in that it may not be the best book for me but I decided to give it a go anyways. The writing was as good as one can expect from her so no complaints in that department. However, that might be the only positive thing that I can say about this read. First, the so called romance in this novel was very shallow. It was difficult to understand why Jon and Chloe kept obsessing over each other if they were just friends at best. Even after 4 years, even after 5 (or whatever it was) years. It just didn't add up. I also didn't like the introduction of a random cop Eggs, because I have no idea where he came from. Who is this guy?! Lastly, it felt a little pushy towards a superhero narrative and I wasn't really interested in that. Maybe this book will be better off as a Netflix show. Next!

Caroline Kepnes has crafted a masterful mystery/thriller with a touch-o-romance, a smidgen of science fiction, combined with an homage to H.P. Lovecraft. She has paired engaging characters with a unique plot.

I love it when an author can pull me in with their characters. Kepnes’ story shifted between three characters’ points of view. Jon, Chloe and Eggs were exceptional, and I was captivated by each of their stories. Having the three perspectives made things interesting and frustrating at the same time. The story was a comedy of errors of sorts. As the reader, I knew the solutions to each of their problems, but had no way of helping my newfound friends.

Despite the Lovecraft references here, there and everywhere, there was little in the way of a true horror aspect to the story. It did give me more of a desire to read Lovecraft. Yes, that’s right, I have not read any Lovecraft, it’s on my bucket list. Kepnes illuminated the cult following that has built up around the author, she made me question what I may be missing.

For me, Providence became a story of what would you do to protect the ones you love. How much would you suffer to make them happy and safe? The story was unique and well worked out. I’ll definitely be reading more from Kepnes in the future.

*4.5 Stars

4 Wild Stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Wow! This book was nothing and I mean nothing like Caroline Kepnes’s previous books.... this book was a mixture of young adult, crime fiction, the supernatural, and much more! It was a genre potpourri... and it worked... because the thing this had in common with Caroline’s previous books is it was very well written with some interesting characters.... I just don’t want you to enter this book thinking it is a dark demented twisted psychological thriller, it is far from that... although there are some disturbing and demented parts....

The book is told from multiple points of view including John and Chloe.... we met these two when they were still pretty young and I enjoyed the young adult aspect of this book... John is kidnapped when he is young and comes back with a superpower of sorts.... now here is the part that I might not have appreciated as much as I could have.... because I know absolutely nothing about H.P. Lovecraft... so if you are better acquainted with him perhaps this part will resonate with you much more than it did with me....

Our third point of view came from Eggs A detective... and that is not my autocorrect that is his actual name! Eggs has some demons of his own and is consumed with a case of young healthy people dying from heartattacks... he was an interesting character as well and I really liked the growth in him throughout the book.... how do all these characters tied together? Well you’re going to need to read the book to find out!

Recommend you read this book with an open mind, it is unlike anything you’ve read before, guaranteed!

*** many thanks to the publisher for my copy of this most interesting book ***

A highly captivating supernatural love story is at the heart of this tale. When they were kids, Jon was ready to tell his best friend Chloe that he loved her but right before he could, he was kidnapped. Four years later Jon comes back but he is different. He is bigger and stronger and much more powerful. This story takes places over many years and at the very core shows you just how enduring true love is.

Jon and Chloe are best friends. They love Fluffernutter sandwiches, The Middle, and hanging out in a shed in the woods. Things are okay when they’re by themselves, but they’re a little awkward at school where Chloe has friends and fits in, but Jon is a bullied misfit.

When Jon is kidnapped, Chloe mourns the loss of her best friend. She doesn’t give up hope, long after everyone else has stopped searching, and long after her friends think she should have moved on. Her feelings for Jon fuel her artwork, and she doesn’t want to forget about him. But things change during those long years, and inevitably Chloe’s life does move on.

When Jon returns, Chloe is overjoyed to see him again. And he’s much different than she remembered. He’s no longer a scrawny, awkward kid. He’s muscular, attractive. She’s shocked.

Jon has always loved Chloe. But when people around him start to exhibit strange symptoms, he must research the Lovecraft theories the madman kidnapper left him as clues to what really happened during his four-year captivity.

Detective Eggs DeBenedictus is obsessed with a string of mysterious deaths -- this many seemingly healthy people can’t just drop dead of heart attacks, can they? He obsesses over the cases long after his department has written them off -- and it pushes him and his marriage to the breaking point.

I did not love Kepnes’ novel You, which was bleak and disturbing, with no likeable characters. I had low expectations of Providence but it exceeded them. It has just the right amount of suspense to keep readers turning pages.

Jon and Chloe’s love and devotion to each other is a sweet thread through the whole novel. It deftly explores themes of connection, loneliness, and true intimacy.

Thank you for the opportunity for the early read, unfortunately I will not be able to complete a full review as I was unable to finish the book. I absolutely loved Kepnes's book, YOU, however, I just could not get into this novel.

Providence by Caroline Kepnes is a character driven novel, each chapter is in the eyes of either of three characters. We have Jon a boy that was kidnapped and then his best friend and the life they lead and how they felt with Jon's disappearance. We also have Eggs a police officer or detective I can't recall which since I read this a month ago (to let the feelings sink in before talking about it).
The story takes place in many different places and times. We see the different characters grow and we either love them or hate them. I hated the two main characters and their relationship, it felt so fake and unreal. The relationships in Eggs life is much more interesting even if most of the relationship between his son isn't even really seen only talked about.
Caroline Kepnes has a good way of making you fall in love with characters who are making bad choices and I'm sure there are some characters in this novel you won't fall in love with, but it is a good read.
The novel starts up fast paced, but in the middle of the book it felt a bit slow and the main characters actions started to annoy me. I don't want to say to much about the story because I love to go into books a bit blind, but this book isn't revolutionary. Nothing really made me think back to this particular novel, but if your looking for a book that will hook you in the very first chapter this is it. Eggs made me want to keep reading the story and I wanted to know what the resolution would be to the main character's problem (which I didn't really enjoy in the end). There was a romance in this novel that I hated, but it drove the story. In the end I liked Eggs and hated the rest of the book. Well not really hated I just didn't enjoy the end result which again you have to pick up the book to know exactly what I mean.

I got a chance to read this book ahead of it's release date thanks to NetGalley, all opinions are my own. If you want to pick this book up for yourself it is available Tuesday June 19.

2.5/5 stars

Initial thoughts: I was very excited to read this book. It is being marketed as "a novel that is part love story, part detective story, and part supernatural thriller." That is all that I knew about this book before starting it.

I really struggled with this book. The romance part was probably the only part of the story that I sort of liked. I do read some YA fantasy. I do read some paranormal. But I really didn't enjoy the supernatural thing that happened in this book.

Review: Providence is a mystery thriller with a supernatural element. The narrators are Jon, Chloe and Eggs.

As soon as I saw that there was a supernatural element I was really curious. Would it have to do with ghosts? Talking to dead people? Something to do with psychics? It was actually none of the above.

The beginning part of the story takes place in New Hampshire. Jon and Chloe were friends as kids. Jon had a huge crush on her. But something bad happens to him that changes him forever.

Eggs is a police detective who becomes obsessed with certain cases that he has noticed. His wife is Lo.

I am really not sure how to rate this book. The characters were all okay. But I just didn't love any of them. And the story did not keep my interest. I asked myself if the supernatural element was the reason that I did not love this story. I think that it partially is. It makes the story seem completely unrealistic.

The last part of the book was definitely the best for me. It was more interesting and action-packed. But overall I just didn't love this book.

*I was trying to decide how to rate this book. Normally I don't rate books this low. This isn't the worst book I've rated. But since it is such a high profile book I just really expected more.

Sadly I could not successfully get into this book. I am not quite sure what I was expecting but this was not it. I hope to try again at some point in the future but as of right now it is not grabbing my attention.

If you're a fan of Caroline Kepnes, it's probably because you read You and love just how different it was. This novel is no different, in the fact that it is another non-traditional read. She writes about love and just how dysfunctional it is. No matter how hard you chase it, you can never determine the outcome.

Deep down, in the heart of Providence, is the story of true love. Jon and Chloe have a connection that no one really understands. That connection is what tethers them through each hurdle that is set in front of them. Chloe can be slightly naive and immature at times, but then she reaches a point in her life when she realizes that she must chase what makes her happy. Jon, on the other hand, is constant with his feelings. Chloe is the only permanent in his head and heart.

There were a few times where the story seemed a little on the slow side because of all the character development. That may seem like a negative, but Caroline Kepnes allows you to get inside the head of each and every character. It helps you understand the journey that much greater and maybe appreciate it so much more.

The ending? It's slightly open ended (or a lot open ended, depending how you look at it). It leaves some elements up to interpretation. I've mentioned this before, but I love when an author doesn't cross every T and dot every I for the reader. I love when they let you fill in the missing pieces, however you want to.

I need to say that it's completely unfair to judge this book based on Caroline's previous ones. Is it different? Absolutely. But that's what makes Caroline so unique as an author. She writes outside the box. If she wrote another novel like 'You', there'd be people to complain that it was too similar. I love that she took a risk with this one, because growth is hidden in the chances you choose to take.

2.5-3*

I'm calling it. Time of death: 8:41am Sunday, June 17th. 33% in and I just can't do it any longer. I've tried, every day I've tried. This could really be a case of "it's me, not You". And I seriously hate when I read that phrase in a review, but I'm using it this time around. If you're an HP Lovecraft fan, have at it.

Before starting Providence, I knew the name Lovecraft, but if you had asked me who he was and what he was all about, I wouldn't have been able to tell you. Honestly, all I could really tell you now is he wrote some weird books that I have no desire to read. And that's my issue with this story. I don't want to have to know all about someone or something else to be able to enjoy a story. I don't want to have to do research to understand what I'm reading, when I'm reading for pure enjoyment. Yes, Lovecraft is mentioned in the blurb, but it didn't lead me to believe that I would need a crash course on who he was to understand what Providence was going to be all about. That last paragraph of the blurb is what grabbed me and made me really excited to read this, the reason I requested a copy from NetGalley. But unfortunately it didn't live up to my expectations. And to be honest, I think the blurb could have made it a lot clearer that this is basically an ode to Lovecraft.

I may come back one day and finish reading Jon's story, because I did like his character. After getting a third of the way through the book, and then skimming towards the end, I don't see that happening any time soon, though. Ms. Kepnes is a terrific writer, of that there is no doubt. But sadly, this book just wasn't for me.

I very much appreciate the opportunity to read and review. I've rounded my star rating up due to the quality of the writing and the fact that I can appreciate the story being compelling for certain readers.

An interesting read that blends genres to tell the story of Chloe and Jon, who can definitely be described as star crossed lovers. I haven't read Lovecraft in years and years (and wasn't a big fan at the time) which I think hampered my appreciation of what Kepnes has done. That said, it's well written and, at its heart, indeed a thriller. There's a strong paranormal (or is it sci-fi ?) plot element which made this more intriguing. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I'd not read Kepnes before but I'll look for her again.

I found this book fascinating. It was really hard to put down. I hadn’t read the synopsis so I went in totally blind which was such a good decision. It did drag in a few spots but other than that I really enjoyed the distinctive characters and their points of view.

Please see my notes to publisher for my thoughts on this title. Thank you so much for approving me for a copy of this book!

I start this review with an apology to the author. It’s not fair of me to keep reading your books and bringing your ratings down when I haven’t liked any of them so far. I just keep hoping that I’ll change my mind since so many people, including some of my friends love your books. So readers of mine, keep this in mind while reading this review.

Providence starts out with Chloe and Jon, two BFFs who by all accounts shouldn’t be. She is popular, he’s a geeky loner who gets picked on but they make their friendship work. They’re in middle school/junior high so here we have point one that I had an issue with. Do kids in middle school talk about keg parties and hooking up? Things sure have changed if so.

Jon disappears (it’s in the summary, this isn’t a spoiler) and everyone looks for him and then forgets about him (except Chloe). Fast forward four years, Jon is back. Then throughout the rest of the story, we fast forward some more. And then some more. This is point two. I had a really hard time trying to figure out when this book was set (year wise) and where we ended up. It didn’t quite fit for me and I found it took away from the story.

We then meet some other characters including a professor and a detective who really just added to my confusion. This is point three. So many characters, so much fast forwarding, I had the worst time trying to keep up and I got annoyed.

Add in some mystery, murders, some Lovecraft and a tiny bit of romance and there you have Providence. I didn’t hate it but I certainly can’t so oh my goodness YOU HAVE GOT TO READ THIS. Because that would be a lie.

After being completely pulled in by You and Hidden Bodies, I couldn't wait to read the new book by Caroline Kepnes. This is nothing like her first two books and there was a moment when the story jumped narrators and I completely lost track of what was going on...but once I figured it out again I was completely and totally hooked. Jon is kidnapped and comes back four years later, with no memory of the time that he was gone. The only thing he knows is that he's completely changed and can't step back into his own life, no matter how badly he wants to fix things.

Let me start by saying that the author clearly has talent. Providence is well-written and the character development is good. My feelings are based solely on my enjoyment, or lack thereof, of the story itself. Actually, it's two stories, loosely connected until they finally merge together in the latter part of the book. The parallel storylines do make sense once it all comes together and both are easy enough to keep up with.

Caroline Kepnes was new to me, so I went into this one without any expectations or comparisons. The book is listed in the mystery/thriller genre and the blurb sounded intriguing, so I dove in. And then I dove back out - several times. Either I completely missed it or it just wasn't there, but I found absolutely nothing in the book that mysterious or thrilling. The only mystery for me was what happened to Jon while he was kidnapped. What did Roger Blair do to him? No spoiler here, we're told who the kidnapper is from the time it happens. We also know that whatever he did to Jon caused some major changes. Changes that have dire consequences. But, we're never given the details. So, I suppose that aspect is more an unanswered question than a mystery.

All of that, while relevant to my feelings about the book, still isn't what clinched it for me. As I said, I didn't find anything that would make me think this story is a thriller. What I did find is one of the most depressing stories that I've read in some time. We have Jon, who is forced into a lonely existence because of the effects he has on those around him. Effects which cause no small amount of guilt. Then we have Chloe, who can't let go of her feelings for Jon and attempts to move on with a manipulative jerk. And let's not forget Eggs and Lo. We only get Lo's story through Eggs, and while that info leads me to believe she's a bit of an optimist, his view on everything is anything but. I won't go into details, but my opinion of him was clouded almost from the time he comes into the story. Not by his gut instinct that the deaths of so many people must be connected, but by his personal life and how he deals with it. What it boils down to is from the time Jon is kidnapped to the last page, I just felt bogged down and sad. Sad for these characters and their circumstances.

It should be mentioned that there is a good deal of reference to Lovecraft and his work throughout the story, especially one book in particular. Quite possibly, if I were more familiar with Lovecraft's work, I may have had different feelings, but I'm not and I didn't.