E-ARC provided by NetGalley for a review! I listened to the first three books in the series as audiobooks, narrated by the incredible Santino Fontana, and so this was the first of the series I actually read on paper. Kepnes’ characterization of Joe is so strong, and he’s such a realistic person(while still being a terrifying psychopath) that his voice just jumps off the page.
In For You and Only You, the fourth book in Caroline Kepnes’ Joe Goldberg series, we follow Joe to Cambridge. Post-COVID, Joe’s been accepted to a Harvard writers fellowship and moves up from Orlando where he meets the latest object of his obsession, Wonder, another aspiring writer who also happens to be a Goodreads Girl. This book does get a little meta, diving into writing and the publishing industry, and Kepnes gives herself a voice in some of the characters, breaking the fourth wall a bit. I wish there had been more of Joe trying to be with his son in this book-there was barely a mention of him in this one and that was a pretty big focus of the last book.
Overall, this is a strong fourth installment, but the ending feels like a little bit of a let down. The previous books have a strong buildup to a climactic ending, but I didn’t feel that with this one. Maybe Kepnes was trying to escape criticism that this book is just more of the same from Joe? Obsession, fixation, murder, his relationship not quite working out for whatever reason, more murder to try and fix things, and then his life blows up because he can’t keep juggling everything and he has to move away and become obsessed with someone else… I haven’t watched the Netflix show but I’ve heard it doesn’t stay true to the books in the more recent seasons, and that seeing Joe grow as a person is more compelling. I think with this ending, she was trying to show that Joe was growing as a person, but it felt a little like a cop-out. I do think that fans of this series will enjoy this latest book (I did, and I was thrilled to be approved for this ARC) but it left me wanting more from this book than excited and dying to read the next installment.

“For You and Only You,” by Caroline Kepnes, is the fourth in the Joe Goldberg “You” series. I’ve read the three previous books, though I did have to jog my memory a bit for some of the names mentioned in passing in this book. While I think one can read this one as a stand-alone, I think at least reading the first book (or maybe watching the show? I don’t know, having never watched the program) would be beneficial as to how Joe Goldberg ticks. One of the things I greatly enjoy in this series is just how powerful Ms. Kepnes uses the second person (you). Joe is his usual self, with his little zingers of humor (I had a smile at the word autodidact being tossed about). I found Joe’s love interest, Wonder, a bit flat this time - she seemed very young and whinged a lot at least on paper. Maybe that was part of Joe’s attraction to her - that she was different from the others he’d fallen in love with. I do like seeing things through Joe’s eyes - from his obsession to his self-justification of his actions. I did fly pretty quickly through this book, but at times I found the pacing a bit slow and some of the side stories seemed to detract from Joe and Wonder more than I would’ve liked. But, overall, another good book in this series that held my attention.

Thanks NetGalley for the arc. Thoroughly enjoyed reading about Joe at Harvard. Hoping there will be another book in the series. Joe fans are going to love this one.

Thank you to #Netgalley for the ARC of this book.

It’s a post-COVID world in Massachusetts, and Joe Goldberg has entered a writing fellowship at Harvard. He sets his eyes on a new “you” and quickly becomes enamored with Wonder (eye roll, yes that’s her name). We see the typical *no spoiler alert* stalking, obsessions, half-cocked ideas, narcissism, delusions of grandeur, but now Joe has written a novel! His love interest/stalking victim is also an author. Joe has his ups and downs through his relationship with Wonder, but all in all it just falls flat. There is a plethora of unlikeable characters, but sadly only 2 get murdered…

I was beyond excited to receive the advanced reader copy of this novel. I thoroughly enjoyed You, Hidden Bodies, and You Love Me, therefore I anticipated devouring this one. Unfortunately, this was my least favorite of the series thus far. This time there wasn’t enough character development for me to be invested in the character. I understand that character growth was intended and that he’s now “breaking his cycle,” but I really just didn’t care about any of it.

In You, I was invested in Beck. In Hidden Bodies, we fell in love with Love and loved to hate Forty. In You Love Me, Mary Kay was relatable, and her death came as such a shock in the end. Wonder is forgettable, whiny, and one-dimensional. I am choosing to look at this entire novel as a plot device to move Joe’s story forward and hoping that #5 will return to the original intrigue and excitement. 3/5 stars.

Hello, You...

The scream I emitted finding out I got approved for this ARC, I probably sounded like RIPFortyRIPBeckRIPBenji... you get it.

In For You and You Only, our love-him-cause-ya-hate-him character Joe Goldberg takes on a Harvard fellowship (dark academia vibes?!), where he stumbles across his next hyper-fixation/love interest, Wonder. Wonder is a wonder to Joe (ba-dum-tskkk); smart as a whip, a fellow writer, and no ex-boyfriends... why it's almost like Love at first sight (ba-dum-tskk x2). And yet problems inevitably pop up, both in the book and outside it.

While this was undoubtedly my favorite You book since the first, some of my sentiments from books 2 and 3 carried over to this installment: Joe Goldberg is stuck in a loop and it's getting repetitive and predictable.

Sometimes that's not a bad thing. But when it comes to You, I preferred the 3rd season over it's novelization because it strayed from the book. Joe had to do a little more self-reflection with a wife and kid, and contemplate his priorities; I mean THE MAN WENT TO THERAPY!! Hell, Book Joe is practically burden-free compared to Netflix Joe.

I nevertheless dug right into this novel and was pleasantly surprised. Kepnes broke the fourth wall in this installment and I LOVED IT. It was so trippy reading about how someone like Joe is written, as well as getting into the psychology of why readers/viewers are obsessed with him. Joe, as part of this fellowship, is finally forced to confront his worst enemy: himself.

And one thing I will always give Kepnes credit for over the show is how recognizable and scarily-human Joe's voice is. I could also practically read it in Penn Badgley's voice, which I will never get sick of. She creates this perfectly imperfect psyche of someone with mommy issues to the nth degree. Her characters jump off the page fully formed and just the right amount of crazy.

The only point in this book where I had to deduct a star was at the ending.

I will not remark on what happens for the sake of remaining spoiler free, but just know that it's... oddly philosophical?? Like imagine if Kepnes pulled a Stephenie Meyer in Breaking Dawn. If you get it, you get it.

Overall, I would without a doubt recommend this book to anyone who's a fan of the You series. My deepest thanks to Caroline Kepnes, Random House, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For You and You Only is available April 25th, 2023 and available for pre-order now!

Joe Goldberg is at it again, this time in a place that his genius can truly be recognized- Harvard University. Joe wants to be a writer, and believes the fellowship at Harvard will offer him connections to publish his brilliant book. He has found a new object of affection in Wonder Parish, who is also a writer in the fellowship. However, Joe makes new enemies at Harvard and struggles to make sure all his former secrets stay buried. Will his brilliance finally be recognized? Will his relationship with Wonder thrive, or will she become another of Joe’s victims?

This book is the fourth installment of Caroline Kepnes series featuring You, Hidden Bodies, and You Love Me. This series is also an amazing show on Netflix, but as always, the books are even better and differ quite a bit from the show. I highly recommend starting from the first book before reading this one. I have read and loved this entire series, so it was truly such an honor to review this book. I love Joe’s voice, his hubris, and it’s such a unique perspective to read a book from the perspective of the anti hero. The academic setting was perfect for Joe, and I enjoyed the other characters in this book, particularly Sarah Beth Swallows. If you have read this series, you’ve got to pick this one up! If you haven’t, what are you waiting for?

Thank you so much to Random House, Netgalley, and Caroline Kepnes for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I have zero self control....

I JUST received this book two days ago and there was no way I could scroll and read another book knowing that this one was sitting on my shelf.

I had to do it.

I need Caroline Kepnes books in my life like I need the air to breathe.

We all obsess over the series "You" I mean come on, what is not to love, not only do we get to watch this suspenseful thriller play out in front of our eyes but we also get to swoon over Penn Badgley.

Buttttttt...

The books are better!!! I know that is wild to wrap your head around but the books are always better. It does not matter how great the series is, the book is where it all originated. I have read all three previous books, including, You, Hidden Bodies and You Love Me.

If you know anything about this series, you know there is no shortage of murder and deceit. If you know nothing about this series, I will tell you that you are in for a wild ride. Caroline Kepnes is a master within her field and will have you salivating as her words glitter across the page.

If I can offer you one book series suggestion for the rest of this year, it will be the Caroline Kepnes series.

I will leave you with one of my favorite quotes

"What a shame to be so angered by what you don't have that you treat what you do have like it's nothing" - You

For You and Only You by Caroline Kepnes carries on this series brilliantly. I love Joe Goldberg and his stream of consciousness. He's just as brash, sharp, and crazy as always. The writing is crisp, moves fast and is simply some of the best. Highly recommend this book, though it might help to read the other books by this author, and get to know Joe the lead character first. Recommended. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

4 stars
Caroline Kepnes does it again! I just love this series, and I love where it’s going. I dont want to give any spoilers but if you e read the others you won’t be let down by this one.