I will be recommending this book to everyone until the end of time 😂 It has been a long time since a thriller has grabbed my attention like this one. Did you watch the show You? If you loved it then this is the book for you. It’s told through the POV of Chris who is also a stalker. This book literally had me squirming and feeling so uncomfortable the entire time, but I couldn’t put it down. I loved our FMC Serena who was a feisty babe. I mean she even has a dog named Sirius 🥹 I think anyone who reads this will be utterly terrified and if you aren’t, you okay boo? Also, the authors note added a whole other level of ✨wtf✨ to this so make sure you read it 🤯 Everyone go grab this one when it comes out or I’ll be bullying you into it 😈

Thank you Netgalley and Lissa Lovik for providing the ARC .
I enjoyed the premise of the book initially and it hit hard we get to know what exactly the man/villain is upto. The writing is good, characters are well-developed and are as faulty as normal human beings. But it did missed a few things for me, May be some editing will do it good. The story is good, just more creepiness I was expecting (blame me) and the story came flat out for me as it proceeded, and overall nice storytelling. Some points were intelligent and some were obvious, still I was interested for how the story will end...possibly that's the reason I was able to finish it.

Hello Joe Goldberg, I think you've met your match.

This book was disturbing and engrossing. Told from the male POV, this tells the story of Chris who falls instantly for Serena and then pursues her, bugs her house, and woos her into falling for him. The story is terrifying because it's probably all to common and it makes you question - how well do I know those closest to me?

For fans of You or any other unsettling stalkerish tales, I would definitely recommend! Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of this ebook!

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and Lissa Lovak for the ARC!

“If love is insanity, then throw me into a padded cell in hell, because I'm fucking crazy, I'll admit it…”

This story of love-turned-obsession grabbed attention and I could not out this book down! Our MMC Chris really had no redeeming qualities - I was shocked and repulsed by his mindset and some of the things he did! I wanted to find something likeable about him in the beginning, because when we first met him I felt a little sorry for him. But that quickly morphed into disgust as he upped his creepiness. In contrast, our FMC Serena is smart and independent; once she was realized Chris was a control freak, she set a boundary. Her loyal pup, Sirius, may have been my most favorite character!

Their story was fast-paced, addictive and had me on the edge of my seat. I was shocked that this was a debut and I look forward to reading whatever Lissa Lovak comes up with next!

“All Because of You” releases July 29, 2025. This review will be shared to my Instagram blog (@books_by_the_bottle) soon :)

This book has the perfect amount of creep factor.

This book is uniquely told from Chris' perspective. Chris is a stalker, and he is absolutely unhealthy with his obsession of Serena, who he met at a grocery store. Chris thought Serena was beautiful and they were destined to be together because they reached for the same peanut butter.

His unhealthy obsession turns into bugging Serena's house, watching her from a distance and advanced to a meet up, "just by chance".

This book is creepy, intense and leaves you wanting to know what's going to happen. This book may be a little far-fetched in some parts, but this stuff absolutely happens daily. I would highly recommend reading this one! Just for the sheer thriller aspect alone.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer for this advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review.

This stalker drama was equal parts creepy and intriguing. This is not a completely one-sided stalker type story, Chris charms Serena after a grocery store encounter into dating and falling in love with him until the possessiveness overcomes the relationship, making Serena question all her decisions.

As the story develops you begin to feel more and more uncomfortable as Chris divulges his inner most thoughts and desires.

I appreciated the POV from the antagonist speaking directly to the other main character/prey instead of the audience. In the beginning of the book I wasn’t sure if Chris’ over controlling behaviors were being misconstrued by Serena or if he was actually being a stalker.

Appreciated the author’s note at the end on abuse.

TW: domestic abuse, animal injury

Tension builds slowly to a crescendo from the POV of a stalker, Chris.

A chance meeting in the grocery store over a jar of crunchy peanut butter changes Serena’s life. It seems like she’s met the one, a smarter, more caring choice than her previous awful choices.

Lovik does a great job bringing the reader along in the story, from the warped mind of a stalker and I enjoyed this for the most part. I mean, it was a stressful, tension-filled, creepy AF read! I felt stalked.

If your jam is a good stalker vibe-add this to your TBR.

With thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the advance digital copy.

I made it to 50% in this book before I DNF'd - here's why:

The cover is really cool, I like the title and the blurb sounds interesting.
This story is told from the man's perspective and is very much giving similar vibes to the show "You".

I am a huge fan of the show "You" so I was actually quite excited by this.

The writing style is just not for me though, and this book began to drag for me very quickly as it became a lot of yearning and stalking, rather than plot twists and entertaining scenes. There was a lot of the creepy main character watching the characters from the outside, and spying. This isn't quite what I want to read in a book. I wanted it top move a bit quicker, for the action to be fast paced, and I was hopeful for more humor thrown in if the pacing was going to be slow.

Overall, I just do not think I am the target audience for this book and I do not think this book is for me. I do think thriller fans will enjoy this, and I just might be picky when it comes to thrillers. I see now this is a debut, so maybe that is why? The writing style just felt detached to me personally.

Thank you for allowing me to read this eARC for free! I am leaving this honest feedback voluntarily.

Wow. Because of You by Lissa Lovik is easily one of the best debut thrillers I’ve ever read.
The writing is sharp, immersive, and seriously gripping. What really set this one apart? The author takes you inside the mind of the stalker, talk about intense. It adds such a chilling, eerie layer that had me on edge the entire time.
It’s the kind of book you pick up and suddenly it’s 2AM because there’s no way you’re putting it down.
The female main character was strong, grounded, and unapologetically herself. She didn’t take crap and stayed true to her convictions, which was refreshing.
If you’re a thriller fan, please add this one to your summer reading list. You won’t regret it!

"𝑺𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒂 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒑𝒉𝒚𝒔𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒑𝒖𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒏'𝒕 𝒃𝒆 𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒅, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒊𝒈𝒈𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝑰'𝒗𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒆𝒕."

Special thanks to @lissalovik @amazonpublishing & @netgalley for the #gifted eARC.

👉🏼 swipe to synopsis ➡️

𝙈𝙔 𝙍𝙀𝙑𝙄𝙀𝙒:

The more I read, the more I find myself yelling at Serena to RUN. This book is unhinged to say the least and is every woman's nightmare. (And if it's not, are you an angel or something?)

Chris is something else. That's the nicest way to put it. But this makes for a great story. Im held in so much suspense, I can't turn the pages fast enough to find out how this all plays out.

✔️ Stalkers
✔️ unhinged story-line
✔️ real life events
✔️ life lessons
✔️ Full of red flags

𝙋𝙐𝘽 𝘿𝘼𝙔:
July 29, 2025

ℚ𝕆𝕋𝔻❓️⁉️❓️ Ever had a stalker? Been the stalker? How did it end?

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#mysteryandthrills #thrillersandsuspense #thrillerfriendsunite #thrillerlover #thrilleraddict #thrillerjunkie #thrillergirlie #bookbuzz #upcomingthriller #allbecauseofyou #lissalovik
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All Because of You is a creepy look into the mind of the guy you fear bumping into at night. They have a casual chance meeting at a store and her life is forever changed. Lisa does an amazing job detailing the workings of a crazy mind as their story evolves. It's the worse case scenario women have long feared, coming true. The story moves fast, and spans a good about of time. If you liked the show "You" you'd love this book. A great read and a great debut novel! Thank you for the read!!

so good i love stalker themed books and the intensity of the relationship. it was creepy and accurate to how some people get obsessed

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer for the opportunity to read a digital ARC of “All Because of You” by Lissa Lovik, which has a publication date of July 29, 2025. This is the first novel I have read by this author, and it won’t be the last. 

In “All Because of You,” a man named Chris sees a woman, Serena, at a grocery store and falls hard for her. However, Chris is a stalker who uses every tool in his toolbox to insert himself into Serena's life. This is the first novel I’ve read that explores the mind of a stalker. 

“All Because of You”  was not a comfortable read, and I found myself on edge as I was introduced to Chris and Serena, a realtor who is the target of his obsession. Chris finds a way to segue into her life. Initially, he presents as a true gentleman who is loyal and understanding to gain control of fair Serena. However, as the story unfolds, the relationship disintegrates as Chris realizes that he doesn’t have control, and some of her friends see that his ingratiations are phony and his behavior creepy. Chris is a chameleon who will do whatever he must to get what he wants. 

While the narrative was engaging, there were many unbelievable moments. I never warmed up to Chris and had many unanswered questions about his childhood. “All Because of You” is filled with twists and turns, obsessions, and mayhem. Unfortunately, I found the ending nonsensical and not as strong as it could have been.  I truly appreciate Ms. Lovik giving the reader insight into the disintegrating mind of a stalker. 

3.5 / 5 stars

Firstly, thank you for allowing me to read this! I really do appreciate it!


Wowowowo. Let me start off by saying I LOVE dark romances and psychological thrillers and this was like a perfect combo because you get the infamous stalking/obsessive/touch her and die trope but make it thriller-y. This book had me all over the place but in a good way because it actually makes you feel like you’re in Chris’s head. You start to feel how he feels in some parts and that’s something I personally love in a book, make me feel something! However, this is a very real topic especially for us females in this day and age where there is alot more Chris’s surfacing so if you have been in a situation like this or are in one, know that you are not alone and there is help out there for you. always.

I will be looking into reading more from this author so thank you again & continue making amazing books like this!(:

Well, that was terrifying. It is mind boggling to think that there are real people out in this world acting like this. Move over Joe Goldberg, there is a new psychopath in town.

Despite this book being creepy as hell, it was very well written and I could not stop reading it! I just had to know what was going to happen next and how this book was going to end.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Right off the bat, the style of this one reminded me very much of the show YOU (yes, I know the show was based on a book, but I have not yet read the book). I liked how we got to see Chris' inner monologue throughout everything, not only because it gave us insight into his motivations at the beginning, but also because we got to watch as the delusions became stronger. I also thought this painted a really good picture of how sometimes we don't see the darkness inside others until it is too late.

BUT -

What was interesting to me is there were times where I found myself actually agreeing with Chris. Crazy right?

One example immediately springs to mind, the first being when Chris and Serena went out and she had too much to drink. He brings her home, and while she is upstairs taking her makeup off he goes downstairs to get her a glass of water and some Advil, fully intending to leave after tucking her in. However, while he is doing so, her fourteen year old son (the age is important here because he is obviously not a child), comes downstairs and tells him that he should stay. And not only should he stay, but in the morning he should give Serena a certain kind of Powerade as well as make her a certain type of breakfast. He says it works best as a hangover cure. Yet the very next morning Serena comes downstairs madder than a wet cat because he is standing at her stove cooking because he spent the night while her son was home. It didn't matter to her that he had left her preferred drink on the nightstand. It didn't matter he was cooking her preferred breakfast. Or that her SON had been the one to tell him to stay. Instead of being grateful, she was a complete brat about it, kicking him out immediately.

The rest of the book follows much the way I would assume stories like this one do. Chris eventually shows too much of his hand (aka using information he's gathered from his spy cameras), and Serena leaves him. From there on out, he spirals into an even more obsessed stalker than he has been, she makes some stupid life choices (I mean COME ON), and eventually everything boils over into an ending that honestly doesn't feel as believable or as climatic as I was hoping.

With everything going on (that didn't involve Serena), I was hoping that Chris would be tripped up much sooner than he was and on the topics not related to her. I also found it odd that if a certain detective could spend so much time just parked across the street from his house (and get a warrant to go through his car), she should have been able to tail him without issue making everything else pointless.

At the end of the day, I feel like this book will appear to casual fans of the television adaption of YOU (as again I never read the books), or those who just enjoy novels where obsession takes precedence.

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.

♡𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗕𝗘𝗖𝗔𝗨𝗦𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗬𝗢𝗨♡
𝔰𝔲𝔰𝔭𝔢𝔫𝔰𝔢
𝙿𝚞𝚋 𝚍𝚊𝚝𝚎: 𝙹𝚞𝚕𝚢 𝟸𝟿, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟻
🤩𝕄𝕪 𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘: 𝟜.𝟝 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕤 ★★★★✮ ʳᵒᵘⁿᵈⁱⁿᵍ 🆙

🤏𝚃𝚎𝚎𝚗𝚢 𝚝𝚒𝚍𝚋𝚒𝚝...you are in the mind of a stalker who is determined to make the girl he just met in the grocery store all his……

🌸𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙸 𝙷𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚊𝚢...Gosh, this one was wicked good!! 👌🤩 I love a good stalker thriller, but this one was so different than most because you were literally in the head of this creeper. At times, I actually felt bad for him too. I mean he had a sweet relationship with his grandpa & some things he did to spy on his now girlfriend weren’t “that bad.” I was sucked into the whole web of psychological deception though. You know where people say “well, he doesn’t hit you so he’s not that bad!” That’s how this one messes with your head. The story was gripping & hella addictive. 🙌Some have compared this one to YOU and that’s an okay comparison, but know it’s also super unique in its own way. I can see this debut being an absolute HIT this summer!

"She gives me another smile, and I want to peel it off her face and carry it around in my picket."

I love true crime because I like to piece together the puzzle and I'm fascinated by how deranged criminals think. This book kept me guessing as to how things would happen, but most riveting, the story was told from the point of view of a stalker. Delusional, obsessive, and seemingly, worryingly untouchable.

I gobbled this up and could not put it down. From stat to finish I was totally invested. If I could give this more than five stars, I would.

Omg! 5 stars!!!! This book had me hooked from the beginning. It deals with so much stuff that has happened to me in real life maybe not as intense but I have been in her shoes once or twice. Why do we attract these people? Then we think something is wrong with us.

A chance encounter in the supermarket turns Serena’s life upside down. The brief meeting Chris has with her makes him 100% sure that they belong together. So what if Chris finds her address and starts stalking her. I mean just because he’s watching her house, her place of employment, and gathering information means that he will meet her again. He just has to be sure that he knows enough about her to make her love him. Oh, and Serena will love him as much as he loves her, he will make sure of that. You can probably surmise that this relationship will be built on secrets and lies. Yep, Chris will do whatever it takes to make Serena his.
We spend the majority of the story in Chris’s head. Let me just say it is not a warm and cozy place to be. No spoilers, but I was pretty sure that even if Chris could manipulate Serena into a relationship, there was a 0% chance that he could make it last.
Another book that makes me glad I have a long-term partner. I honestly kept holding my breath, fearful of what Chris would do next.