📚 #BOOKREVIEW 📚
For You and Only You (A Joe Goldberg Novel Book 4) by Caroline Kepnes
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / Pages: 435 / Genre: Psychological Thriller

Joe’s at it again. This time he’s obsessed with Wonder Parish, a girl in his writing fellowship at Harvard. There’s nothing he won’t do to make her happy, including murder. Fast-paced and full of funny cynical observations only a psychopath like Joe Goldberg would think, this fourth book in the series is as entertaining as its Netflix series.

The writing is constantly jumping back and forth between what he’s thinking and what he’s saying, which makes me wonder if this would be confusing to listen to as an audiobook. Santino Fontana, who I love, narrates, and I assume does an amazing job, but I think this would be better to read because of all the in-his-head thinking.

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

Oh, Joe. Can you never change?

Seriously, Joe, can you ever change? I mean evolve, grow, learn from your past mistakes, anything?

So, my summary review of For You And Only You is pretty basic. If you loved You, you will probably LIKE For You And Only You. If you never read You, I am not sure how one would feel about this because You did it better. But for those of us who have stuck with Joe through 4 books now, I am feeling cheated. Am I going to have to end this relationship? I think Joe may have finally pushed me to that point.

I kind of felt like there was a possibility of some evolution for Joe's character in You Love Me (You #3). In fact, but for the bizarreness of the last little bit of that book, I ALMOST rated it as highly as I did You. But For You And Only You was a major setback. Joe's formula for how he picks a girl was the same. How he pursues her by becoming the perfect partner is the same. How he decides what threats must be eliminated are the same....and this is a place where he really should be showing some ability to learn from past mistakes. And the outcome of his relationships is pretty much the same. I hope that if Caroline Kepnes trots Joe out for one more book, she gives him his gloious end. I mean what we all loved about Joe was how unique he was, how he could make the reader ROOT for the stalker, and of course, his witty pop-culture snark. And while he still has that snark, which made me laugh out loud plenty, his supreme intellect is not ringing as true as it once did, given his repeated relational mistakes. So, bring back the growing Joe of book 3 or send him out in a big way. If this was Joe's last ride, it was a bit of a whimper.

Joe has been through too many heartbreaks. Will you be another lost love or has Joe finally found his match?
Starting over yet again, Joe is ready for a fresh start. Now, instead of selling books, he's decided to start writing them. After getting recognized by acclaimed author Glenn Shoddy and invited to his fellowship group at Harvard, Joe sees her. Wonder is different from the rest of the group, just like him. Lacking college degrees, neither of them fit into the pretentious crowd; They're tied there solely by their love of literature. Will Wonder and Joe take over the literary world side by side? Or does fate have other plans in store for them...
Overall, I really enjoyed reading more about Joe and his latest adventure. I'm so disappointed to say that this installment in the You series was my least favorite. It was slow to start, but picked up after a bit. I was really eager to see what wild things Joe would get into this time around, but unfortunately was disappointed. Joe seemed less Joe-like and the ending kind of fell flat for me. I'm hoping to see a fifth book with the return of the old Joe. I absolutely loved the first three books in this series and would love to see it end with a bang!
I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and Edelweiss+. I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

✨ Gentle reader, I can’t recommend this book. After thoroughly enjoying the first three Joe Goldberg books, my readership has concluded. I’ll tell you why, but first, allow me to share a synopsis..

Synopsis:
In this story, we skip over the intervening pandemic years, and we find Joe at Harvard (?) attending a fellowship under a talented writer. Standard academia drama intervenes among Joe, his peer fellows, and the professor. Because this wouldn’t be a Joe Goldberg novel without it, he also hyper-fixates on one of his peers, Wonder Parish. As the story goes on, this escalates into obsession and means death for one or more involved. . .

Sound familiar?

Thoughts:
🐌 While I read this book, I kept being pulled out of flow by the pacing. The second half especially just dragged on, even while the story became overly convoluted.

🔄 It felt like Kepnes over-explained Joe’s thought process to distinguish it from the previous books, but for me, that only emphasized how Joe never changes.

🚫 If you’re a lover of this series like me, I would probably skip this and keep my high opinions from book three. You’ll note that the average review on this book is still a 3.5, so there are plenty of folks who disagree with me.

Disclaimer: Now, I did receive an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley and the publisher, but I got behind on my reading and purchased the audiobook with my own Audible credits after it was released.

I did not have a fun time reading this. I am a HUGE fan of the first book in this series, but my ratings for the books get lower and lower as the series continues. The deaths were very anti-climactic and kinda just glossed over and it makes Joe look like a softie now? Also, Wonder is the most uninteresting person he could've chosen as his "target for obsession".

Fun drinking game idea: take a shot every time the word "Dunkin" is used.

2.5 stars!
Joe Goldberg is back, part of a writing fellowship at Harvard being led by an acclaimed author who liked his manuscript. This is where he meets Wonder, his newest obsession. She is also an aspiring author, trying to make it. Joe thinks Wonder is different, until he realises she’s not.

Oh Joe, I think I am done with you. You have been highly entertaining, but you are becoming repetitive. There is only so much you should be able to get away with, before you get caught? This book was long, at 448 pages. There was a lot of Joe rambling, which we love because of Kepnes’ writing style, but it was too drawn out. I found myself skimming to get to the end. When I finally did, it was a letdown. I still loved the beginning of this series, but if there is another, I don’t think I will be picking it up.

Where to start with this one... Hello seem appropriate so I'll go with that for this one.

Joe Goldberg is at it again, love, death, deception, his ability to plot every conversation and situation out in his head only to have it go badly in reality (which I love by the way) all of it, the only thing missing was... well I'm not going there I don't do spoilers in a review but let me say there was one "character" that was missing and I felt it in.

Arriving at Harvard with a set schedule a new group of "peers" and the potential to fall in love, those are all good things for Joe, meeting Wonder, Sly, Gregg and the others I'm not so sure about that.

Joe as an author fascinates me, how does he tell his story without having to face the consequences, how will he handle the pressures of writing, friends, frenemies, and people that make their way onto his radar, I had soo many questions as I started this book, and thankfully I got some great answers.

Now I won't say I'm happy with where this one ended, I'm just going to say it, there are a couple of characters that are still breathing that well... they shouldn't be at least in my opinion but maybe that just gives me something to look forward to in the next book? Joe seems to have put down roots so maybe he's settling in and book five will pick up here.

While I love these books, they are dark and spicy and soo good to drown away the real world in, this one is missing something, maybe it's that "character" I mentioned before, maybe it's too many characters, or maybe it's just so many people finding out so much about Joe but this one just missed the mark for me.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for providing a copy of this E-book, I have voluntarily read and reviewed it and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

The newest addition to the YOU series, For You and Only You follows Joe as he now embarks on writing books instead of selling the. In typical Joe fashion, he quickly finds himself in an obsessive triangle.
Good book. A must read for anyone following the series.

* I received an advanced reader’s copy of this book from NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Random House in exchange for my honest review

I received a advanced copy of For you and only you. It picks right up as Joe is in Europe looking....always observing and trying to blend in .....
Oh joe always finding trouble....
3.5☆

Well, hello again... YOU
*Cue Penn Badgley's voice!

Joe is back.. he once again escaped his past life and ended up in... Boston.. the home of HARVARD College. Joe even got himself a fancy literary fellowship. This is where Joe is going to change.. he's finally with others who understand the importance of intelligence. He's putting obsessive behavior and killing in the past.. That's when he meets Wonder.. the literary angel of his dreams. Will Joe put his past behind him? Or will he continue to kill all who get in his way of a happily ever after?

This is the 4th installment of the You series. I didn't know when I received this ARC, so I went back and read them all in preparation for this one. This book was much more mild than the others when it came to the killings, but I didn't mind it. The way Caroline writes from the perspective of Joe will keep me coming back for more every time.

This book was released on April 25th so get your copy today!

#foryouonlyyou #arc #netgalley #books #book #bookshelf #bookcase #booktok #bookstagram

I am a diehard Joe Goldberg stan and as long as Caroline Kepnes keeps writing him, I will keep hanging out in his head. That being said… this fourth installment was a bit of a struggle for me. The supporting cast of characters was by far my least favorite of any You book. At 448 pages my unwavering affection for my favorite serial-killing antihero was really tested. Especially when, in the finale, I felt like very little actually happened in the story. The ending to the fourth book was the most disappointing for me, by far.

All of that being said, die-hard Joe fans should still pick this one up. Caroline’s writing was as sharp as Joe’s mind is twisted.

Thank you to NetGalley, Caroline Kepnes and Random House for an ARC copy of For You and Only You.

I love the Joe Goldberg series. He is such an interesting and fascinating character. He is both predictable and unpredictable. You know he will become obsessed with a potential love interest. You also know that he will kill anyone that he deems is a roadblock to his romance. But you won't know exactly what he will do, who he will kill or if this is the time he will finally be caught.

I was hooked from the very first word on the very first page. I loved learning more about Joe's adventure. It's weird because although Joe is arguably a terrible person you are kind of rooting for him in a way. It may be because I just want to read more about Joe.

I highly recommend reading For You and Only You and I look forward to the next book in the Joe Goldberg series.

I’m beginning to think Joe has a problem. He has always killed for the right reasons. He was protecting his soulmate, securing love. Now he is just being selfish, and killing for self gain. It not like him. Boston is changing him.
Joe is no longer the cute, loveable booksmart boy who just wants to be loved. Becoming a Harvard fellow has changed him. Instead of reading books he is writing them, and it’s distracting him. He focus is divided between love and fame. It’s not good. He os pumped full of anxiety and making poor choices. I’m worried about him.
Caroline Kepnes has been peeling back the layers of Joe, through four books. I think we have hit that layer where I don’t like him very much. Maybe he is getting tired, or too comfortable with killing. Maybe finding his soulmate, four times, is exhausting. He needs a break. He needs a few weeks, in my basement, to really think about what he’s done. *heavy sigh… oh Joe.

This was so good. The way Caroline writes Joe just… is perfection. Santino makes this character so incredibly real, like you’re right in his brain. It’s so phenomenal and I will never ever tire of being in Joe’s head. Not sure what that says about me, but here we are.

Thank you Random House Publishing for the ARC. This was my first You book – I haven't seen the TV show either haha. Definitely recommend you read the rest of the series first. Still fun.

I felt a little lost with this one. I did not read any of the others in this series so I felt like there was a back story that would have helped with this one. And I 'm not sure I would go back and read others. Just not my cup of tea.

Joe Goldberg forever! Will I ever tire of being inside his head? Unlikely. I like that we got to see a different side of Joe here- it's about time he try his hand at being an author. There's the same snark and wit I've grown accustomed to in these series, but I will say this one could have probably done with some editing. It's 435 pages and I felt it.

Kepnes, how do you do this? Joe Goldberg is the most unlikable, likable character I have read. Thank you to both NetGalley and Random House for an ARC of this. I could not wait for more on Joe and this piece of work was just as impressive as the rest. Definitely will be adding this one to the shelves! Ordered two copies but might need the audiobook as well ;-)

I hate to give such a low star on this as I was looking forward to this one. I really liked #2 and thought #3 was decent but #4 was too much a slug to get through. Too much inside Joe's head with his musings. I found him to be much more tedious and annoying this time around. This might be on purpose, maybe the author is trying to get us to see the real Joe and not the one we all fell in love with in the first installment. If you enjoyed the previous books you might still like this one as long as you keep your expectations in check. I didn't dislike it enough to quit after this one, i'll give the next one a shot but after that I may be breaking it off with Joe.


*Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

As a fan of Caroline Kepnes' voice and writing style in the "You" series, I was so excited to receive an arc of For You and Only You. However, by the last third of the book, I was forcing myself to read on, willing the book to end.

It's not that the book is bad - I rated it three stars, after all. It's just that it isn't as good as the first three books in the series. I genuinely enjoy Joe's internal ramblings, rife with pop culture references and nods to the reader/author community.

There was so much potential for the Shoddy Fellows characters, and I kept waiting for a plot twist that never arrived. I found Joe's love interest, Wonder, to be a one-dimensional, stereotype of a blue-collar Bostonite. Much of the push-pull between them, along with their conversations, was honestly just boring.

I expected more action from this book, especially after the podcast storyline was introduced. It seemed as though the story was being set up for a Joe "gotcha" moment, but unfortunately, it never really delivered.

Since I'm already invested in this series, I will certainly read the next book, albeit with lower expectations.