“The eyes of others our prisons; their thoughts our cages.” Virginia Woolf

Remind yourself what you loved about You and come into For You and Only You with your heart and arms open, ready to embrace your friend who still feels familiar if a little different from the last time you saw them. It might feel awkward as the ways you’ve grown apart are most salient at first, but once you start to catch up, the years will fall away.

I’m not going to pretend that FYAOY is for everyone, or even everyone who enjoyed the first book; it’s not. It has a jerky start getting off the runway, and the ride’s a little bumpy for the first third.

You’ll love this installment of You if you love all of these things mutually and without exception: Joe Goldberg, Dunkin’, reading about writing, that season of Gilmore Girls where Rory goes to Yale and dates that rich annoying blond dude, literary critiques, Coolatas, hating dudes who cycle, Electric Lit, BAHSTON, the confidence of mediocre white men male writers, reading about reading, nepotism, and true crime podcasts.

When Joe arrives at Harvard for his first fellowship session, he notices a hot girl in a midi skirt perched on the steps of Barker Center reading Faulkner performatively. Glances are exchanged, but Joe declines to engage.

"I know who you really are. You run, you try so hard to kill your feelings for me that you wind up dead in real life, dead inside. I’m not built like you. I never get over you, any of you."

Just a few pages later, Joe is surveying his cohort with irritation, noticing that all of the female members are married.

"It’s not like I expected to fall in love, but the possibility would be nice—I am human, I am single—and all three of my female fellows are little Mrs. Tuffets [sic]. Visibly married."

This skillful insight into Joe’s questionable psyche and narration is a delight and beautifully sets up Joe as an unreliable narrator. He doesn’t see his own inconsistencies, but we do.

"'We’re writers. We want to be in control all the time…'
I have never tried to control anyone in my entire life. I have only tried to help people make good decisions. 'Absofuckinglutely.'"

I don’t want to give anything else away! I love books about books, I don’t have a hard time turning off my brain and allowing myself to enjoy a work flaws and all, and I thought FYAOY was great. I’d rank it third in overall enjoyment for the series, ahead of Hidden Bodies which is not my vibe.

"But I am real. When darkness falls, we have two choices. We can turn on a light and fight Mother Nature with electricity, or we can go with it. Plunge into the black knowing that we might fall and lose everything."

I couldn't help but read this book in a Penn Badgley voice. Another great storyline with Joe Goldberg right at the center. This time, he is at Cambridge University, and his new obsession goes by the name of Wonder. She is not your typical Cambridge type, but her talent is something Joe can see shining so bright. But of course, he needs her help to refine it.

While I love Joe Goldberg and his storylines, it does seem like this story has 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.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, albeit a bit predictable.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

You want to talk about it being exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero.... I'm a little over rooting for the anti-hero in this one.

I didn't connect with the Wonder and Joe story like I did all of his other "relationships". I still loved reading the inner thoughts and ramblings of Joe Goldberg but, Wonder made me wonder why her? She didn't have the spark or what makes her special like the other girls. She was very lackluster and truthfully...annoying.

However, I love the Massachusetts twist as a New Englander myself and of course Joe had some epic one liners in there. I bet if this had a different path besides Wonder, it would have been a winner!

Thank you Random House Publishing for this ARC. Oh, Joe, Joe, Joe do you ever feel the need not to murder? Thank you Caroline Kepnes for another in the “You” series. There was a lot of depth to this novel, much more than all the others. Eye opening characters, and autodidacts ( which is a new one on me ). Evil and Good galore! Wonder was a favorite character, and I was definitely sure of her demise, but magically I was wrong. Well done twists and turns, keeping me glued to my Kindle, I’m definitely hoping for Netflix on this novel too! Let’s bring a little more Joe Goldberg novels into our reading and watching world. Fascinating! Kudos to Caroline Kepnes, loved the book!

Joe Goldberg is a stalker, serial killer, and former bookstore owner. In For You and Only You he is a Harvard fellowship writer. He’s still a stalker and killer. He’s set his sights on Wonder, she’s a fellowship writer too. Joe wants this fellow writer to read his book, but Joe’s got a warped sense of morality and instead he manipulates his fellow writer, to pave the path for himself.
For You and Only You is a Joe Goldberg Novel written by Caroline Kepnes. This is book four. I highly recommend watching the YOU series on Netflix. The series is based on Joe’s character but it’s so much more. The series expands upon who Joe is as a stalker and serial killer living amongst normal people. He blends in with people assimilating easily into any location. Read it before you watch it.
Wonder applied to the fellowship for her love of her books. She’s a self taught person. She works at Dunkin’ and she’s writing a book called Faithful.
Joe’s fixated on Wonder and her writing. The problem I have with Joe’s character is finding any means to an end. I feel like the challenges have been exhausted in prior obsessions. Wonder’s character doesn’t bring anything to the table. He comes across as whiny. The excitement is gone. All that is left is a guy ready to expose himself to the world.

I find I can handle Joe as a character on the Netflix series. His character doesn’t read well on paper. He’s better in action. Having a visual aid of his inner monologue comes across easier in the show. Joe is a complex character who uses book and movie references to compare peoples personalities. The problem with that is my unfamiliarity with these movie and book comparisons. Sadly, the writing doesn’t flow when these metaphors are written into his inner monologue’s. I find myself drifting away trying to look up these name drops which takes me away breaking the spell that is Joe’s rant.

I love Joe’s character he’s unique in the way he’s passionate about books. His world revolves around books. No one writes the way Caroline Kepnes writes Joe’s character. Her writing voice is unique. It’s almost like reading a riddle. Joe’s thoughts are puzzling and profound. He’s constantly comparing writers to people.
This may sound macabre but I miss Joe hunting/stalking his victims before going in for the kill. Caroline held back that part of Joe’s character instead focusing on building a relationship with a guy who he thought he needed and a girl who he thought he loved. The more time Joe spent with Wonder the more withdrawn I became. This is not the Joe I grew to love.
I’ve grown accustomed to Joe’s inner monologue. I’ve watched the series and have mastered his mannerisms in my mind. I can now formulate images of Joe to match the scene. Like I’ve said before Joe is better in the series than on paper. Flat Joe is a disservice to Joe Goldberg. This is a different side of Joe I’m not invested in. I wish I could like reading Caroline’s words as much as I do watching her words being performed on screen.

Oh, Joe. YOU are the villain that we all hate to love, so it saddens me to say that your storyline has gotten incredibly stale and formulaic. With Joe, we all know what's coming in the plotline, we just don't know HOW it's coming, but this time, even those aspects fell really flat for me.

After reading You Love Me last year (and rating it only two stars), I wasn't sure that I was willing to give Joe Goldberg another chance. Naturally, though, I can't seem to say no every time he comes back around, so when For You and Only You was released, I jumped at the chance to snag an ARC. Sadly, after finishing this book, I hate to say it, but I think Joe and I are breaking up for good.

I actually thought that the Harvard setting and the premise of the literary fellowship were totally perfect, and there was SO much potential there, but then we are introduced to all of the characters who were more like caricatures. Filled with stereotypes, most of the fellows read as incredibly shallow and flat characters, and the ones that did get fleshed out were unlikable at best.

I have no idea why Joe even became interested in Wonder in the first place other than her autodidact-ness because she was about as interesting as a dishrag. Her weak and wishy-washy character made it really hard to believe that THIS relationship was what Joe was fighting for, but apparently, he's gotten desperate, and the pickings must be slim.

I really, really hoped that this book would pick up toward the end and become deserving of a higher rating, but alas, Joe, even with all of his idiosyncrasies, has morphed into Joe Average, and 3-stars was the best I could do.

Side note: Netflix has definitely done its job well because I couldn't read this book at all without hearing it narrated in Penn Badgley's voice, and I'm not actually sure if that helped or hindered my enjoyment of the book.

Psycho Joe is up to his old tricks again and looking for love in all the wrong places. This time he’s moved to Boston and set his sights on Wonder, a woman who just happens to live across the street from him and is in the same fellowship at Harvard. Joe and Wonder start getting close and Glenn, Joes friend and fellowship leader starts criticizing Wonders writing. Joe goes from butt kissing RIP Glenn to planning his demise. The story is told from Joes point of view. He has some wild and crazy thoughts. Sometimes funny. This was a suspenseful read that I couldn’t hardly put down. This is the fourth book in the series. It can be read as a stand alone but I recommend reading them in order. Many thanks NetGalley and Random House. This will be be released April 25th, 2023.

I had just finished and reviewed the third book in the series, You Love Me, within the last two months, so it was a delight to receive an ARC of the 4th book. Thank you! I really enjoyed this one. Regulars of the series and the Netflix show will enjoy Joe's quick wit and creepy, stalker ways. I felt like the storyline really lent itself well to the bookish/Bookstagrammer reader who will likely love the glimpse into the world of writers struggling to get published. It was a fun change of pace after we had seen Joe tackle California and suburbia for the past two books.

The supporting characters were a treat and well-developed. I frequently wanted to see more of Sly, Sarah Beth, Glenn, and poor Kevin. Sarah Beth is the true break-out star of this novel. It will be a miss if she is not added into the Netflix show. In some ways, I think Kepnes could have pushed the psycho card a bit more with both Sly and Sarah Beth. Both ladies had the reader wondering if someone had FINALLY out-smarted Joe Goldberg. It's always fun to see Joe view someone ELSE as being the one that is unhinged. Much of Joe's inner dialogue during the Sarah Beth scenes in the Dead Shed was smart, witty, and kept me up wanting to read more.

My only critique is one that i also noticed in You Love Me - some metaphors and phrases are overused. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, The Prince of Tides, J. Lo's hoop earrings, Dunkin' Coolatta drinks, drinking the Kool-Aid, and Dunkin' Sarah Rooney are all used many, many times. Finding other descriptors would help tighten up the writing.

Overall, I cannot wait to read the next book after the cliff-hanger ending and see Joe on the small screen when the show returns in February to Netflix.

**Will post a review to @thenovelnickole on Instagram after the pub date in April 2023.

For You and Only You Review!

Thank you netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for this gifted copy, in exchange for an honest review! For You and Only You comes out April, 25, 2023!!

Oh Joe. You’re a hot mess. 😅 For You and Only You was a 3.75/5 ⭐️ for me! As all the other Joe books this was a wild ride and fun to read. I love getting in Joes head, he is so messed up. Parts of this one seemed to drag for me, it’s getting a little redundant. I also wasn’t the biggest fan of Joe’s love interest, she was pretty boring. The ending didn’t seem like Joe at all thought either and I was kinda disappointed. It was fun being back with Joe and in a new environment though! It was also snowy and cozy, perfect for a New York City Christmas!!

Synopsis: No more selling books for Joe Goldberg, now he is writing them. He starts a fellowship with other writers at Harvard. That is where he meets Wonder, the new love of his life.

Compelling, disturbing, and intricately plotted. Kenes is an auto buy for me. This one is one not to be missed. Highly recommended.

Oh, Joe...

This fourth installment of the series brings Joe back with a new love, a Wonder Woman who is on a similar path as him to write a book and get published. We spend the book watching the evolution of her and their relationship through a fellowship at Harvard, and Joe is just so Joe.

Of the leading ladies we've met in his life, Wonder is the one I like the least (though I'm curious if this was the point). But overall I very much enjoyed the story and Joe's journey. The peripheral characters were entertaining and author did a good job with the little details.

I will never get sick of Joe's quippiness and his inner monologues. While I understand that some readers are getting a little tired of the "same old shtick", I'd argue that this is why we keep coming back. We like Joe.

3.5 stars rounded up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for this ARC in return for my honest review.

In this book we return to Joe Goldberg’s mind in full force. Almost immediately we are introduced to Wonder Parish and Joe is hooked. He starts off in true Joe fashion by finding her address, but in a legal way because they are both Harvard Fellows and the information was provided for everyone! He takes it one step further by watching house her from nearby and constantly checking her Goodreads and her sisters Facebook for updates. When he realizes there is an on again off again boyfriend in Wonder’s life you know what he has to do.
This is where I lost the Joe Goldberg from the past. He realizes his mistake when he actually talks to wonder and he SAVES Bobby, who he just tried to kill! It all goes downhill from there.
The book is good. It’s Joe doing his thing, finally getting closer to publishing his book, but it just doesn’t quite feel like Joe. Maybe he has matured and learned from the last, but honestly I expected more. More stalking, more attempted murder, just more. Don’t get me wrong, there was stalking, there was murder, just not as much as I expected. The storyline ket me interested but it just seemed to fall a little bit flat. Maybe I set my expectations too high and he couldn’t live up to them.
Overall, if you’re a fan of the series I recommend reading it. Maybe just lower your expectations and you won’t be looking for as much out of it as I was.

I really enjoyed this series I went into this novel already familiar with Joe Goldberg. I enjoyed his narration his version vs what he says. I enjoyed Sarah Beth In this novel it was a refreshing character to go along with this storyline. Wonder is his interest this novel and I had a hard time connecting with her but i think that helped with the storyline. I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and Random House.

This was a big miss for me. I was really looking forward to it but found it to be entirely too long, with long parts that could have easily been cut. Many parts felt extremely repetitive and so much felt unresolved even after so many pages. The ending wasn’t satisfying. Hoping the next will be more entertaining.

DNF. This book seemed like it was written by a different author. Joe was to the extreme. I enjoyed the other books, but not this one.


Thank you, Netgalley and the publisher or a digital copy of this book for my honest opinion

Okay, so it’s kind of more of the same – almost a little (gasp) formulaic now? But it’s still a lot of fun.

I still want Joe to find his happy and I sort of think if he were to start surrounding himself with more people with normal names he might do better. I mean…Wonder Parish? She’s going to be bad for you Joe. You KNOW this.

However, Joe does meet someone in this book who he SHOULD fall for (next book maybe or maybe not because it would destroy our FORMULA).

The book was very entertaining and fast moving and I certainly wanted some people to die, die, die so I think that was a success.

Looking forward to the next book and maybe a tiny switch up in how things happen? Please?

• ARC via Publisher

Great read! Well developed characters, and I was guessing until the end! Have read books by this author before, and this did not disappoint!

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for this ARC!

In the fourth installment of the You series, Joe continues doing what he does best: finding another woman to obsess over.

The difference here, for me, is that Wonder just wasn’t an interesting character. Joe’s past girlfriends and relationships were more intriguing and had Joe doing more insane things to keep them with him. While Joe does resort back to his old ways a little, he’s tamer than in the first two books. I fear no future installment will beat those books, at least for me.

However, I did like how meta the book would get. Discussing writing and galleys and Goodreads as I’m reading a galley that I’m about to review on Goodreads. I just thought it was fun to see Joe pursue something and someone because of a perfect literary future he had planned.

Overall, I think the book was good in its own right. It would just get slow and mildly boring in parts, waiting for the action to happen. But it does show how all that Joe has done previously has led him to this point in his life and why he thinks a certain way. Despite everything, he still just sees himself as someone with so much love to give and no one worthy enough to receive it.

YUCK. I love this series. Is it partially due to Penn Badgley and his wholehearted, unrestrained disgust at Joe and everything he is? Probably. But this is one of the only true series of books I keep up with, and each time I am left scared and confused by my own emotions.

Do I believe Joe can get better? Absolutely not. Does he belong in a maximum security prison like at least 8 years ago? Yes. Do I still somehow find myself nervous for him whenever someone is suspicious? Also yes (but I am also scared for that person, so.)

Truly unlikeable narrators are so tricky to pull off, and Kepnes consistently does it. Somehow I manage to loathe Joe entirely and yet still keep reading.

Have you read the other books in the You series? If not, pause here and go back and read them.

Now that everyone who is here has read the other books: same Joe, different city. How this man has not been imprisoned yet is beyond me. There is a literal trail of bodies in his wake. This man is not so charming that he should be able to get away with it. HOW IS HE GETTING AWAY WITH IT. I couldn’t put it down I was so mad.

But oh, Wonder. It’s always been you.

Oh Joe.
I will follow you anywhere. After three books, it's safe to say, I'm hooked. I'm a fan.
For You and Only You is the fourth book in the series and I hate to say this, but also my least favorite. I imagine it is extremely difficult to keep Goldberg just as sharp and witty as he is in YOU where we all first fell in love with him. With every release, his shine realistically must dull because the newness has worn off.
I didn't love (Love?) Hidden Bodies but then You Love Me was great. I felt like Kepnes really came into her own finding a strong, thriller pace that hit almost as strong as book one.
What makes Joe Goldberg great is when he encounters other people--the characters he bumps up against have to bring out the best (worst) in him and in book four, I'm afraid Wonder Parish is extremely boring. I have no sense of what she looks like, no sense of why Joe is even obsessed with her, really, it's almost an insta-love with Joe just telling us why Wonder is so great instead of showing us.
Glenn Shoddy is also not that great-his persona didn't seem larger than life to me, just kind of your average douchebag.
I do love that this story is AGAIN immersing us in the world of books just like YOU. Joe worked in a bookstore and had that secret room downstairs, remember? In this Goldberg drama, Joe is writing a book and a part of his mentor's writing critique group (which is where he meets Wonder) and the conversations about writing and books and authors, is the best part.
"You're a Goodreads girl..."
This was fun.
And of course Joe starts murdering people close to his "girl" again, which is also fun...but Unfortunately, this one just didn't do it for me.
It was entertaining to be back in Joe's head, a fly on the wall during the drama, but it doesn't quite measure up to the others in terms of that "it factor" that keeps the pages flying.