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.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for a digital ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

There’s only one person on this Earth who understands Jon, and that’s Chloe. Jon is constantly made fun of and picked on by other kids for being “different,” but Chloe gets him. She doesn’t laugh at Jon, she’s the only person who sits by him at lunch, and the two text each other pretty much constantly about the most random and obscure things. It’s obvious ... Chloe is Jon’s person and he is hers.

When Jon goes missing one day on his way to school, Chloe is expectedly devastated. She falls into a depression, pining after Jon and mourning the loss of her best friend, until he re-emerges one day four years later ... completely changed. For one, he’s a lot bigger ... like, muscle-bound bigger. And strangely, anyone who physically gets too close to him gets weak and dizzy and faint. See Jon was the subject of some bizarre experimentation by his kidnapper, and he is harboring an awful secret about what happened to him while he was missing these past four years. When he realizes that the “new him” has the uncontrollable ability to hurt those he loves, Jon runs away, leaving chaos in his wake.

Although Providence by Carolyn Kepnes, author of the renowned You and Hidden Bodies novels, is marketed as a Mystery/Thriller, this book is more a story of first love than anything else. Told through multiple perspectives, Kepnes explores Jon and Chloe’s feelings for each other, as well as how they try to cope in the world without one another after Jon’s kidnapping and later disappearance. While Kepnes’ writing may feel choppy at times, it resembles a stream of consciousness, allowing readers to really get into the heads of Jon and Chloe as they work out their feelings for each other and find their footing in the world.

When I learned that Carolyn Kepnes had a new novel coming out, I was super excited. I loved You and Hidden Bodies, and found them to be incredibly compelling, so I couldn’t wait to get my hands on more of Kepnes’ work. However, I was disappointed to discover that Providence is steeped in supernatural elements, which are admittedly, not my favorite thing. Psychological suspense is what Kepnes did so brilliantly with You, and while Providence is not a novel that will provoke a lot of apprehension, Kepnes nonetheless does a fantastic job of getting into the heads of her characters. There’s so much to learn about human nature from her books, and any readers who enjoy a good character study will enjoy Providence, even if it’s not their typical genre.

On the other hand, there’s a lot that didn’t work with Providence as well. The storyline was not very compelling, and while Kepnes goes deep with her characters, I always felt one step removed from their lives like I was an outsider looking in instead of being right there with them in the story. When it is all said and done, this story doesn’t really go anywhere, and readers may end up feeling frustrated and disappointed with this novel that often reads “half-baked.”

A little thriller, a little sci-fi, a little romance, a little YA. This is the story of best friends, Chloe and Jon. Jon is a small, not at all popular kid. Chloe is his best friend, she is on the fringe of the popular crowd. Jon, in an effort of avoid his bully, takes the shortcut to school, through the woods and is kidnapped.

4 years later, Jon returns and is now full of an unexplained power and inner strength that injures those that he loves. In order to protect Chloe, Jon runs away.

We follow Jon, Chloe and Eggs, as police detective, as they navigate life through the years --all three with a passion, obsession with each other.

This book is exciting and scary at times. Jon's power is terrifying - he's dangerous and it's ruining his life. We, the reader, feel his pain, his angst and his turmoil as he struggles with his need to protect Chloe, because, ultimately, this is a story about best friends who love each other deeply.

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

3.5 mishmash stars to Providence! ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️.5

I listened to Caroline Kepnes’ YOU on audio this exact same time two years ago. THAT was an experience, and if you enjoy audios and don’t mind disturbing content, it’s the best audio I know. When I saw Kepnes had a new thriller releasing under the new imprint Lenny (by Lena Dunham), I jumped at the chance to read Providence.

Providence is a mishmash of genres- thriller, paranormal, urban fantasy, young adult - and also a bit of a mishmash on how I felt about it. More on that later.

Jon and Chloe grow up as best friends in New Hampshire. Their feelings for each other start to grow, but they never talk about it. Just as Jon is about to confess how he feels, he is kidnapped by his teacher. His teacher has an obsession for H.P. Lovecraft, an author of horror pulp fiction, and by kidnapping Jon, the teacher is planning to save the world.

Chloe is left to mourn Jon and becomes an adult without him there to support her. Jon finally escapes, but does so with an uncontrollable superpower, which can hurt the people he loves most. Of course he runs away to protect Chloe from his power, but all the while, he is being tracked by a detective.

I was on board with Chloe and Jon’s story. Their relationship is sweet, they are likable characters, and I loved that theirs was a girl/boy best friendship. I found the J.P. Lovecraft angle interesting because I did not know much about him or his writing, and at first I even enjoyed when Jon returned with his superpower. I was a fan of the show Heroes when it first aired, and some of the inner turmoil that Jon experienced reminded me of that show.

Where the book lost me a little was when Jon left again to protect Chloe. At that point, many things were going on, and the pacing slid for me.

Providence held much promise, and it did, in fact, hold my interest well, until that last section. Overall, it was enjoyable and original. I was expecting to adore it, and it was more of an affinity. Kepnes is an engaging and strong writer, and I will continue to look for her new releases. I hope her next one will be another demented psychological thriller!

Thank you to Caroline Kepnes, Random House/Ballantine, and Netgalley for the copy.

Even though I was aware this was nothing like Caroline Kepnes's previous books YOU and Hidden Bodies, I still decided to give it a try because of that mere reason, I loved the books, especially YOU and I was intrigued to see how different Providence was from her previous work. Although the story is not a bad one but unfortunately it was not for me. A messy plot and a character-driven story where I don't connect with the characters and what they go through at the end makes it hard for me to feel a part or invested in the story and that is what happened to me with this book. Lost of things happening in this book, but at the end the message the author wanted to deliver was not clear for me.

****4.25 stars.
Starting this review, I would like to say that I have not read Caroline Kepnes' work before this book. I have not read "You" though I have been meaning to pick it up. That being said, I think, based on other reviews, that I have made the right decision to read this one first. A lot of people that were big fans of "You" seem to not like this book. My advice to anyone reading this after reading "You" would be to separate this from the other book and try not to compare.

Providence is the story of Jon and Chloe and how their lives were drastically changed after Jon was kidnapped. I don't want to go too much more into the story. I went into it not knowing much about the plot and I think that it helped my reading experience immensely.
I think one of the things that stood out to me the most was the way this book was written. I am not generally a huge fan of thriller/suspense books because I often find them too tedious. That was not the case with this book. In fact, I found myself wanting more. Kepnes does a good job of not giving too much away. There is a slight paranormal aspect of this book that I found fascinating and a lot of that had to do with how open it was left. It wasn't boxed in so there was a mystery to it.
I also liked the characters quite a bit. The love story was unlike any that I had read before and I appreciated it. I had a couple of issues with some of the pacing when it would time jump. But that was one of my only issues. I cannot wait to read this author's other books.
I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to try something that is more of a thriller especially if it is not their go-to genre.

Thank you Booksparks for sending me this book as part of #SRC2018 below you will see my very honest review. All opinions are my own.

I rate this book a 2 out of 5 Stars.

Sorry guy, but this book did absolutely nothing for me, I was really enjoying the first few pages, especially one Jon disappeared, but once he came back I lost all interest. This book was WAY too out there for me, all the references to H.P. Lovecraft went over my head (If you have read his works, and enjoyed them, than I'd absolutely recommend you read this book) 

I do not feel the synopsis adequately describes this book, I know this is going to sound terrible, but the synopsis makes this book sound amazing. I think this was an instance of buzz words, jargon, and hype,the pages inside just couldn't measure up. I didn't get the love, the passion, nor the obsession, which is really the reason why I initially wanted this book. I could be an unpopular opinion though, so please if you have any interest in reading this, do it. Like I've always said, for every one reader that doesn't like a book there are five people who will. 

I also want to add, this was my first Kepnes book, and I've been told that this is nothing compared to YOU and HIDDEN BODIES, and that those books are incredible, and to not let this one deter me away from reading those. So I really need to read those two.

I went into this book without knowing a lot about the plot. There are so many HP Lovecraft references and I’m not all that familiar with him or his work. This had a big sci-fi/supernatural element that I was not expecting and honestly didn’t really enjoy. It seemed to skip around too much too many leaps forward in time which didn't flow all that well. It was a tough one for me sadly.

A compelling story but I found the execution lacking - it's a bit messily structured and can feel quite juvenile. I would be most likely to recommend this to readers at YA level.

Caroline Kepnes returns with another fine tale of obsession, which was a key element in our first novel, "You". She mixes in a bit of the supernatural and an homage to HP Lovecraft and the result is a fairly fast-paced thriller. .

First, you should know that this is completely different from her earlier books. You and its sequel, Hidden Bodies, are incredibly creepy and darkly funny. This book has very little in common with them. It's a little bit paranormal, but also more of a love story than her earlier books. (None of her books are in any way traditional love stories, but this is definitely more of one than "I loved this girl so I literally stalked her.")

This is incredibly well-written and I wanted to know what would happen. I was curious to see if we would learn exactly what happened to Jon while he was kidnapped. That said, I still can't say for sure if I really LIKED the book. (To be fair, like You, this isn't really a fun, easy read. This book is dark and weird and creepy and really good.)

Proceed with caution, but definitely consider proceeding.

I loved the characters in this book, I loved the writing and I loved the plot. So why do I only give this book 3.5? Well, I had so much hope for this book at the beginning. I was truly invested in the story but I felt like I didn’t get any closure after I read the ending. I just didn’t feel like I got any answers to my questions and I hate when books do that to me. I’m not great with open ended endings. I would’ve enjoyed this book more if it was a series and I knew a second book was coming to give me the answers I need but as a stand-alone it didn’t work for me.

The simplest description would be thriller mystery. Jon goes missing for four years and has no idea what has been done to change him. He's huge, scary and his emotions control his heart at a dangerous level. Chloe was his best friend/crush but she struggles with his disappearance and return. There's a cop trying to solve some odd cases and his POV helps move the story and put the clues together. Tons of running monologues and random paths of thought but it comes together if you stick it out. I've read You and Hidden Bodies, so I was pleased to receive an early copy.

Here’s the thing-you need to read this book as if it isn’t written by the same author of You and Hidden Bodies. I think the people that have disliked it have compared it too much to those books. This is a complete departure from Joe. At its most simple form it is a love story. There is a supernatural twist and I don’t know what Kepnes will do in the future but it reads like an origin story. While I enjoyed the book I did feel like it could have been a bit shorter to tighten up the story but overall this was a pick for me. Thanks to Netgalley, the publishers and Caroline Kepnes for this ARC in return for my honest review.

I did not know what to expect going into this book, as I did not read the synopsis or other reviews by bloggers. I loved both You and Hidden Bodies by Caroline Kepnes so Iwanted to be surprised. And surprised I was!!
Wow. Jon. Wow. Chloe got on my nerves from time to time, but Jon he was something else. He pulled me into the story, trying to understand what was going on with him WITH him, while he was trying to figure out what Roger had done to him. I wanted answers the same way he did.
Chloe sometimes felt like she was loosing herself IN Jon without seeing or hearing him. She was obsessed with him, trying to find him in random people on the streets.
Carrig was putting pressure on himself to make Chloe happy, knowing full well that Jon would always win. He didn’t have to do this to himself, but he did.
Eggie. Well he was a weird character, in this book, I think and it took me a few chapters to see where this would be going, and he (finally) found peace at the end of this story. Good for him and Lo.
I have to say that when Jon met Florie, I thought he’d moved on and was getting better....boy was I wrong!
I would definitely recommend this book to readers who love thrillers that have a kind of quirky writing, not your everyday type characters with flaws and all. I enjoyed this book very much!
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ebook copy in exchange for an honest review.

Providence. I finished the book about 12 hours ago and I still don’t know what to say. I guess I’ll start by saying it wasn’t for me. I love sci-fi, fantasy, thrillers, mystery’s. I generally don’t dwell on the “hows, why’s” of the genres. I accept it as part of the world the author creates but in Providence I can’t get past “wtf” what happened? How did it happen? What did Blair do? And those questions that never get answered really frustrated me. So much so that I wasn’t excited during more than half the story.

If I went into it knowing the story was about a love triangle with otherworldly circumstances maybe it would have been different but I didn’t. I went in thinking I was going to discover what happened to Jon. And I can’t get past not knowing.

All that said, I liked Chloe and Carrig for who they were. None of the characters were perfect. They make human mistakes, human decisions and I loved that. I think Jon had some interesting aspects but my annoyance with not understanding what happened and him not knowing made it hard for me to like him. I wanted to but it never happened.

Then there’s Eggs. Where hell did he come from? He just shows up 6 years later and it took me forever to figure out he wasn’t an old character with a new nickname, he was new. And he was terrible. I found myself skipping most of his chapters because I didn’t care about his story. The way he treated his family, his life, his job, I didn’t care. SO that probably didn’t help my opinion much.

I wouldn’t categorize the book as a thriller at all. There was nothing thrilling about it. Mystery fits and sci-fi fits but for me it just didn’t do it for me. ALL that said, I will still read Caroline Kepnes because I enjoy her writing and mind, this one just didn’t work for me and that’s okay.

Providence has always been one of my favorite words so I was certainly intrigued to read this one, not only because of the title but also the author. And I can say that this book was . . . interesting. I just ultimately felt that there were more questions than answers. Don't get me wrong, I am not someone who needs every question answered or every thread sewn up in a book. I prefer there to be openings and things not resolved but I felt like here, science was used to try and explain some major plot points but without actually getting into the science of it. It felt a bit like betrayal. That being said, I liked the characters and the language and the idea of this, even if I liked all of those things more than actually reading this book.

Providence comes out next week on June 19, 2018, and you can purchase HERE.

Nobody can kick your ass for what you think in your mind, not even your mom.

Loved the mystery with an edge of sci-fi/supernatural of this book. Jon although a villain was a likable character. Caroline’s writing is as quirky and likable as ever. Readers that prefer a conclusive ending, may be left with a feeling of unease and many unanswered questions. However, I will continue to read whatever books she decides to write.

DNF @ 18%, so no rating. (Except on Netgalley where I have to rate it if I want it to count for my ratio.)

This book truly is a case of 'it's not you; it's me.' I loved YOU so much that I requested this one simply because it's Caroline Kepnes. I didn't give much thought to the paranormal aspect of the story, and already it feels ill fitting, so I'm moving on. This just isn't my jam.

Le sigh. Maybe I’ve just hit a reading slump, but it seems like my concerns going into this one ended up being valid (for me) after all. I’m very touch and go with the fantasy/science fiction that I enjoy; rarely do I read any type of urban fantasy and I typically only pick up the YA variety. However, going in knowing that the main characters are younger in the beginning of the novel, I was willing to give this one a go. I’m going to chalk this up to a mismatch of reader and book; the book wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t right for me. Please don’t pass it over simply because it wasn’t my cup of tea.

I found myself mostly invested in the first part, right up until Jon disappears, but somehow became lost and tuned out after that. It could be the fact that most of the Lovecraft references were lost on me; I have yet to experience his work and have little to no knowledge of anything his fanbase would consider basic facts. I also felt like, while this is being billed as a thriller, it was not. This book much more fits in the category of “slow burning mystery full of character development”. The focus is much more on the emotional healing and working out just how to recapture the intimacy lost in the aftermath of tragedy.

Just in case every other review written so far hasn’t given this fact away, this is very different than previous Kepnes work. If you are expecting anything remotely similar to You and Hidden Bodies, this one won’t be enjoyable on it’s own merit. If, however, you sound intrigued based on the synopsis and enjoy a good paranormal, slow burning, character driven story, give this a try.