Joe is back!!!! I first fell involve with Joe when he made his debut in You. He was the first main character who I openly disliked but couldn't stop reading to see what he would do next. I loved him in Hidden Bodies but by the time he showed up again in You Love Me. At this point his actions and antics were becoming predictable.
When I received an ARC of For You and Only You I was excited. I was hoping the Joe of the first novel was back but instead Joe has just become unhinged from the get go. Joe from the first novel took his time to expose his inner crazy but this novel has him off the rails by the first couple pages of the book. I use to find his inner thought process intriguing now its become annoying and I find myself scanning it instead of actually reading it. IM also not a fan of his newest focal point.
If you are a Joe Goldberg fan its a 50/50 chance you won't like this book
What I did enjoy as a New Englander were the references to Dunkins on every corner (totally true) and the horrible driving (if you use a blinker you count to 2 then move over).

FOR YOU AND ONLY YOU

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

Firstly, the chokehold that Joe Goldberg has on me is concerning. He’s such a unlikeable character for obvious reasons but yet manages to be so likeable at the same time. This book was very much like the first three in this series. It took Joe no time at all to find his “dream girl”, this time taking the form of Wonder, a Dunkin’ employee and fellow member of a Harvard fellowship. The question as to whether Joe will ever find someone with a normal name was answered quickly - no. Joe has written a book, aptly titled “Me” and has joined the fellowship to attempt to have it published by Glenn Shoddy. It’s engaging to see his vulnerability seeking approval. As per his norm, Joe cannot focus on his own literary goals and is immediately scoping out Wonder’s house, planning ways to know her and ultimately become closer to her and learning details about her that she hasn’t yet disclosed to him.

Wonder is somehow different from Beck, Love and Mary Kay but yet the same. Joe is the definition of insanity by finding the same girl again and again and yet expecting different results. Yet I didn’t find her nearly as naïve as the others. She was so focused on being “Dunkin’ Sally Rooney” which made you couldn’t help but love her in a way. She was so convinced of the merits of the novel she was writing. I think it was evident too that Joe knew this from the start.

The prose in this series always gives me shivers and this book did disappoint.

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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

In the fourth book in the “You” series, Joe is back and headed to Cambridge, Massachusetts. He earned a writer’s fellowship at Harvard held by one of his favorite authors. It is through this that he meets his next love interest, Wonder, a Dunkin Donuts Manager that lives at home with her grumpy father, reckless sister, and nephew. Joe obsesses over making sure that they both find literary success by publishing their first novels. Of course, wherever Joe goes, “accidents” seem to follow.

So far, I have enjoyed the “You” series; Joe is definitely a guilty pleasure that I enjoy indulging in. The inner workings of Joe’s mind are fascinating to follow and the stream of consciousness is always entertaining. Joe’s sarcasm never disappoints. However, I found that this installment didn’t hit all the right notes that the last ones did. The beginning was a little slow and found it hard to get through the repetitive ramblings that didn’t go anywhere. It could have easily been told with 100 less pages and would’ve been just fine. Additionally, I found Wonder to be a bit lackluster; her character fell a little flat for me compared to other characters in this story.

Overall, I found this to be a fun, solid, middle-of-the-road read.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the advanced reader copy!

I will read anything Caroline Kepnes writes. However, "For You and Only You" just wasn't it for me. The fourth book in the Joe series felt like a slog compared to the first three.

I did not like this at all.

I forced myself to keep going, hoping it would pick up and be thrilling.

I would not categorize this as a thriller, in any way whatsoever. It was a book about writing.

Speaking of writing, I had no idea what was going on for the majority of this book. The writing was all over the place, and half the time I had no idea what was being talked about.

I wanted to DNF this many times, it took me 27 days to get through, and I ended up skimming to the end after being about 79% finished.

I think this is it for me for this series. After the first book, I don’t feel like they are holding up the the thriller genre. I kept holding on, because I wanted to see what happened and see if Joe would finally get caught.

So many things did not make sense in this book. I tried, but this killed the series for me.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this for an honest review.
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This took me forever to read. I honestly did not care for this one. It was incredibly slow in my opinion. I feel like joe has lost his touch. The first 2 books were the best.

Joe is at it again in his quest for love (no pun intended) will he find the one find the one or will come short like last time.This book had me on my toes and was hoping and wishing everything for our new love intrest to stay safe.

The dark world and layered protagonist that Kepnes has built with the You series are SO GOOD that I find myself completely at the edge of my seat as I get first news of an upcoming sequel. Then I find myself completely enthralled as I finally get my hands on the book and am figuring out what environment Kepnes will be dropping our much beloved/despised Joe Goldberg into. Then finally, I find myself thinking about the book in the days that follow the reading of the last page, ruminating on what just happened, and thinking about what we might expect in the next instalment.

It's honestly THAT good.

For You and Only You puts us back into the mind of the sinister, should-be-unlikable-but-is-somehow-magnetic Joe Goldberg. The novel is written in that same spiralling stream-of-consciousness style that we were introduced to in earlier novels, giving the reader a sort of mental intimacy that allows us to feel bad for him, to be repulsed by him, and worried about what he's going to do next, in equal measure.

Some of the situations that early books were set in were not quite for me (I'm looking at you, hipster LA/Hollywood setting for book #2). But ohhhh boy was I DOWN to dive into the setting of this one - Harvard University, where Joe is one of the handful of fellows selected for a prestigious writing workshop led by a celebrated literary author. As someone whose personality is 75% books, it felt like there were so many little easter eggs for people like us - repeated mentions of Goodreads, substack books reviews, Reese's book club, ARCs, etc. For those who are also interested in the publishing/marketing side of books, there was a little bit of that world in here as well! Basically, if you like reading books about books and writing (of course through the deliriously propulsive lens of Joe Goldberg's twisted mind), this book is going to absolutely hit every single mark for you. As we've come to expect from Kepnes, there are so many delicious twists in this book, and they are all just beautifully executed.

This is my favorite book in the You series so far, and there is literally zero doubt in my mind that I'll be picking up every single book to come in this series. The next season of You on Netflix is coming in Feb 2023 as well, so tons of reading and watching content in the pipeline for fans of Kepnes' world.

This was delicious and wicked and all around excellent. I have read every Kepnes book with relish. Joe is better than ever - Kepnes really knows how to keep us intrigued even after all these books. I did think this books ending was very not Joe. I did love imagining Joe in pretentious Cambridge and sucking up to his professor. I do wonder now what is the end game for Joe?

Well... that was a bust. The slowest most confusingly written book I have ever read... so painfully boring and the writing style is just plain weird. I think this should have been a stand alone novel. Book one was AMAZING and then from there it went downhill from each book. I think it is time for Joe to take a rest This book did not have the keep you on the edge of your seat, wondering what's going to happen next effect like the rest. I found it a chore to pick up and read. I am officially done with Joe and with this series. Thank you to the author for the ARC to this book I truly appreciate it. I'm sorry for my honest opinion but it's just that, honest.

Special thanks to Netgalley for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review.

This series is what I read when I want well written popcorn books, and this one is no different. I could read about Joe going to the store while shopping and never get bored. Kepnes does such a great job of keeping this special balance where you know he’s wrong but at the same time you kind of don’t want anything to happen to him. While I do think this may be my least favorite in the series it’s still a great book and if you’ve loved the others you’ll like this one too. The only reason I liked it less was because the book has a heavy focus on writing, and honestly I just wanted more of the same old Joe. I get Kepnes wanted to do something a bit different, and I applaud her for it because she did do it well, but It took away from the feel these books usually have a bit. That being said I’ll be anxiously awaiting book 5.

All in all, this wasn't as great as I was hoping for but it wasn't terrible by any means. I just think Joe’s story may have run its course. I did feel like some of the plots were a bit repetitive. You could anticipate his actions prior to them being acted out in the book. I also wasn't fond of Wonder Parish. I didn't find her remotely interesting and I couldn't understand what all the fuss was over her. “For You And Only You” felt a bit drawn out to me at times. It was over 400 pages that I felt could have been 350 or even 300. The ending does leave possibilities for more Joe. I’ll still probably read the next one, but I do hope it’s a final book. Thanks to Caroline Kepnes, NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC!

Like others, I have loved this series. It's fascinating to be in Joe's head... his thoughts are chaotic and you root for him in the weirdest way.

To me this book was a filler between what I assume will be the next book. It was a way to transfer Joe's placement and the people around him. I enjoyed the setting of Boston a lot, but I didn't really care for most of the characters in this one.

Joe Goldberg is ready for a change. Instead of selling books, he’s writing them. And he's off to a good start. Glenn Shoddy, an acclaimed literary author, recognizes Joe's genius and invites him to join a tight-knit writing fellowship at Harvard. Enter Wonder Parish. They have so much in common. No college degrees, no pretensions, no stories from prep school or grad school. Just a love for literature. If only Wonder could commit herself to the writing life they could be those rare literary soulmates who never fall prey to their demons.

2*

I wanted to give this book a chance after not loving the third installment. I loved the first book, liked the second, and was disappointed in the third. I wanted to give the fourth book a chance, see if I could fall in love with the series again. Unfortunately, I could not.

The story was so difficult to get into. Which is the same issue I ran into with the third book.
I am a big fan of Joe. a big fan. But in this book he just felt pathetic. He is supposed to be pathetic, he's a stalker. But I should not feel the pathetic-ness through out the novel. The first 2 books had me rooting for his character and wanting him to succeed (creepy but makes sense if you've read the books).

The story fell flat, the characters were nothing special (again, probably part of the point). This was just not a good read for me, Probably will not attempt a 5th novel if it does come out. This is where I say goodbye to Joe.

Calling all “You” fans, Joe is back and and killing it at Harvard! Yes! Joe won a writing fellowship at Harvard so he packed up his Tesla and left Florida in his rear view.
Day one of the fellowship, Joe sets his sights on another fellow, beautiful, uneducated, family obsessed Wonder, and in typical Joe fashion, he begins to woo her.
You and Only You is another Caroline Kepnes gem! Having said that, in this latest tome, we find Joe evolving. He is growing as a person. He is patient with and kinder to his fellows. He has written a great novel, “Me”, and believes that Glen Shoddy, the author/ leader of the fellowship can help him get published.
This book definitely started slower than her other books., but it twists and turns and unwinds to a satisfying (cliff hanging) end.

This was by far the worst of the series, I think she needs to move on from Joe Goldberg.

I’ll stick with the show and skip the books.

When I found out I was approved for a ARC copy, I was so ecstatic. While
I enjoy being in the mind of Joe and his newest love interest, this one seemed a little too slow for me. I always enjoy the snarky / chaotic and sarcastic side of Joe, but this one felt repetitive and anti climactic. I will say there were parts I giggled at as Joe finds him in these chaotic episodes and his quick wit, but I just couldn’t connect with this one. The first two of the series entertained me, but the 3rd and the 4th I was struggling to finish. I felt like the beginning reminded me so much of the first book with the east coast city vibes, but then Wonder annoyed me so much. Will I stop reading these series? No and that’s because the Author has made Joe the strong narrator that he is. Thank you Random House and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review

Okay, I finished this book almost two weeks ago and really had to sit on it. I LOVE Joe Goldberg so intensely.. but Joe.. where were you in this book? I felt you were off your A game and weren’t very present. The majority of the book was amazing. Classic Kepnes and classic Goldberg style. The end was set up beautifully for the next installment to come along.. which I will be impatiently waiting for. I loved the characters and the concept of this episode of Joes life. But again, my only con for the book was the lack in the creepiness and obsession from Joe. I felt he kind of backed himself off a bit.

This book was a total snore for me. I have loved the YOU books for years now, but I must say, this time Joe was insipid, I didn’t believe the relationship with Wonder at all, nor care, to be honest. In my opinion, I think Joe has had a long good life as a stalker, but it’s time to move on. The main emotion I felt this time was not humor or suspense, but rather, irritation.

I didn’t realize this was the 4th in a series when I started reading it but later determined that I actually end the 1st book in the series already.
The writing style of the book is very different than what you’d expect from most books. I’d say it’s written in the perspective of a stalker/killer. He describes the subject as “You.” It really took a while to get used to that. The book had a few twists that I didn’t see coming.