All Because of You is a debut thriller novel from Lissa Lovik. I was really excited to have the opportunity to read this book. A novel told from the perspective of the stalker and his journey into obsession and madness. Yes, please. This felt reminiscent of Joe and You, but with a more serious tone. In the beginning the pacing/flow of the novel felt off, but after about the halfway mark it founds its grove. And after it founds it grove, I couldn’t put it down, and finished it in one sitting. Thanks NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The was the book You with some extra helpings of craziness! The fact that this book is told from the stalker’s perspective really gave me the ick. I had to stop reading at times. This discomfort is an indication of good writing, and I consider this an excellent book. I really liked Selena and rooted for her, though it felt like I was cheering for a losing team. If you like suspense and feeling ill at ease, read this book! It’s a great psychological thriller! Thank you to Thomas and Mercer and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

That was a difficult read emotionally. It absolutely wrecked me. Definitely check trigger warnings, but if you will be ok with them then this is an absolutely great book,

This thriller hooks you early with Chris’s intense obsession after a chance grocery store encounter with Serena. What starts as a seemingly innocent interest quickly takes a darker turn, blurring the line between devotion and dangerous fixation. The tension ramps up as Chris watches, listens, and manipulates his way into Serena’s life—all while her best friend unknowingly complicates things. It’s a chilling look at how love can twist into something unsettling, with plenty of suspense to keep you guessing. Definitely worth a read if you like your thrillers packed with psychological twists and uneasy vibes.

Thank you to the publisher for giving me the chance to read an early digital copy of All Because of You by Lissa Lovik. It was out yesterday, so happy pub day as well! If you were a fan of YOU by Caroline Kepnes, you absolutely must read this book. It was SO good. I haven't seen it too much on social media, but you don't want to miss out on it. The vibes and atmosphere was so creepy and eerie, it made me feel like someone was watching ME. I felt like I could feel the tension and suspense, and seeing the story from his perspective was so good. This one was entertaining and I enjoyed it. I will definitely be recommending it!

Chris is a man who believes in love at first sight. After a chance meeting over peanut butter at a grocery store, Chris discovers the name of the woman who took his breath away from a fallen piece of paper. Her name is Serena and from that moment on Chris's fixation consumes him. Online, Chris finds out that Serena is a single mother and a realtor. He also discovers her address and her workplace. Rather than being pushy (yeah right), he orchestrates an appointment to look at a house that Serena has listed, just to get close to her. Then, he begins to watch and listen in. It isn't creepy.. it's just proof of Chris's true love and the depths he is willing to go to so he can make her happy. But soon the charming first few dates are over and the closer Serena gets, the more unhinged Chris becomes.

This book totally took me by surprise and I flew through it! Told through the unsettling perspective of Chris, a man who completely redefines the word obsession, this book pulls you deep into his mind where manipulation, stalking, and gaslighting is love. Lovik's writing is sharp and immersive. The tension builds with every chapter and the slow unraveling of Chris's relationship with Serena is perfectly paced. What really elevated this for me is how real it all felt. The setting, the characters, the emotional manipulation, it's all grounded in reality and it's truly chilling. Overall, if you want to read an absolutely stunning debut that is haunting, gripping, and full of obsession, control, and the lies some people tell themselves in the name of true love, do not sleep on this book or Lissa Lovik!! Definitely an author to keep an eye on!

Thank you to NetGalley, Lissa Lovik, and Thomas & Mercer for this eARC and physical copy! Publication date is July 29th 2025.

📚: All Because of You by Lissa Lovik
⭐️: 4/5

Such a classic meet cute.

Boy meets girl in a grocery store. (They reach for the same container of Jif, how cute!)

Boy thinks girl is cute. (Aw!)

Boy follows girl through the rest of the store (Wait a minute…)

Boy tracks down girl’s name, address, and personal information in a matter of minutes to start stalking out her house. (🥴)

Boy then arranges a faux meet cute to have girl fall in love with him. (🚩🚩🚩)

And by the end, there’s dead bodies.

First off, this is an *incredibly* impressive debut. Tons of suspense and enough creep factor to make my stomach turn at moments, this screams of Joe Goldberg from You, and I devoured this book in under a day.

Thanks to Thomas & Mercer via @netgalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. All Because of You is out today.

This debut was amazing! It’s very well written and a great, exciting read!
The story itself was suspenseful and enjoyable, The characters were great and the style of writing was perfect.
An intriguing story with characters who draw you in and keeps you flipping the pages.
I didn’t want to stop reading the story until I knew how it was going to end!

📚 E-ARC BOOK REVIEW 📚

All Because of You By Lissa Lovik
Publication Date: July 29, 2025
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer | Amazon Publishing

📚MY RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨
(Rounded Up To 5⭐)

Thank you so much to Thomas & Mercer, Amazon Publishing, and NetGalley for this gifted e-arc in exchange for my honest review!

📚MY REVIEW:

All Because Of You is a creepy and unputdownable debut thriller from one-to-watch author, Lissa Lovik, about a man who is determined to be with the love of his life forever - no matter what it takes. While this may sound like the synopsis of every stalker thriller, I assure you that All Because Of You is different. Because part of what made this book so undeniably creepy is that you read about everything happening through the lens of the stalker -- not the woman being terrorized by him. And somehow, that makes the story even more terrifying.

Twenty percent of the way into the book, I was a little confused because the book still almost felt like the beginning of a rom-com. If the rom-com includes one half of the couple sneaking over to the other's house while they're away, drilling a hole into the exterior wall of the house, and secretly inserting a microphone into the wall so they can stay close even while they're apart. 😳 #seemsnormal

Once I started reading this book, I couldn't stop. However, it was also such an intense read that I had to get up and walk away every once in a while, just to give myself a breather. There's a reminiscent similarity between the main character Chris's narrative and Joe's narrative from the show "You." There were times I heard Penn Badgeley's voice in my mind as I read -- if he's available to read this one as an audiobook, I'll be buying a copy immediately.

I've been a social worker for my entire 20+ year career and I've worked with so many victims and perpetrators of domestic violence. And the way Lovik details the situation from Chris's perspective was so terrifying and so unsettling that it reminded me of some of the worst cases I've seen through my work. This book left me shook and I needed time to process it all before I could write my review.

While this was a tough read, it was also incredibly powerful. High praises for Lissa Lovik in this startlingly brilliant psychological thriller debut. This one is out July 29th -- and I definitely recommend it!

#AllBecauseOfYou #LissaLovik #ThomasAndMercer #AmazonPublishing #ARC #NetGalley #NetGalleyReviews #thrillerlover #thrilleraddict #stalkerfiction #bookreviews #bookrecs #booklover #bookaddict

It's hard to believe that this is a debut novel by Ms Lovik. It's a psycho(logical) thriller, which gave me the willies. I'm not a regular reader of this genre but, I like one a few times a year when life gets busy and I need something easy to read.

It's written in the first person with Chris, the stalker, narrating. We get to witness all of his thought processes. He meets Serena in a grocery store and it takes off from there. Obsession at first sight!

The first part was a little slow. A couple of times, I thought it was just weird, and I was almost ready to give up. But I didn't. I can't pinpoint the trigger, but all of a sudden, I couldn't stop turning the pages.

Chris, the stalker, is a slimy, creepy, demonic, controlling and psychotic. The devil incarnate. I felt like I needed a shower after I finished reading the book.

Others have mentioned that it progresses predictably. Perhaps it does, but as someone who doesn't read a lot of this genre, it was interesting to me, to see how it played out.

The ending was as it should have been. I could have used a third-person epilogue, to satisfy my fairy tale mind.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.

Wow. This book. Started off slow but then took off like a train. It was so creepy and unsettling. Super stalker vibes and they just got worse and worse as it went on. Chris was an absolute creep and hearing the story from his POV was the perfect way to tell it. Majorly unhinged and I thoroughly enjoyed this read!

Reading "All Because of You" felt like going over someone's stalking log.

At first, the narration starts like a rather amusing crush at a supermarket. I actually really enjoyed the typical male thoughts spotting a sexy female while shopping for groceries, and totally admiring her. But it was done in a very passive and personal way. Almost adorable, at times.

Like some previous reviews have mentioned - who wouldn't want to find a man who adores you and loves you THAT MUCH.

But then you remember the synopsis and realize that you're dealing with a person who's not ready to STOP at anything to get his way. And thus the "fun" begins.

The scariest thing about this story isn't the story itself. It's actually a fast-paced and exciting read. The creepiest and crawliest of emotions start arising when you, following this stalker's thoughts and actions step-by-step, realize HOW REALISTIC it all actually could be. And that this could totally be based on someone's real life story.

A fantastic debut. Can't wait to read more from Lissa Lovik.

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer for this wonderful ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The new Joe from You! It's a creepy book, but the MMC has few redeeming qualities, whereas some other characters that are written like this usually have something that makes you want to continue reading. I kind of want Chris to go away, 2 stars

This book was sufficiently creepy. Nothing like stalking someone you've just met then dating them. Unfortunately it was a little too over the top for me.

Wow - this book was an absolute ride. First, thank you to NetGalley and the publishing team for the ARC! I really enjoyed this unique thriller being told from the POV of the sickly obsessed MMC. It was incredibly unique and I had so much fun with it. Certainly was a quick one and very easy to stay up past your bedtime diving into. I recommend!!

Chris bumps into Selena in a grocery store, and it’s love at first sight for him.

Now all he needs to do is convince her.- even if he can’t, he won’t ever let her go.

This book has major Joe Goldberg energy. It reads like You by Caroline Kepnes, but with much darker vibes.

I loved the unreliable narrator, Chris, and the short fast paced chapters. Also, the dog, Sirius, was the best- what a hero!

For a debut this book was amazing, and I definitely will look forward to Lissa Lovik’s future books.

I highly recommend this book for fans of stalker thrillers, romances gone wrong, or just someone looking for an edge of their seat book to get them out of a reading slump- this book is addictive, I finished it in one day!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, Lissa Lovik, and the publisher, Thomas & Mercer, for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book releases, July 29th!

All Because of You by Lissa Lovik is a classic story of love at first site. A meet cute in a grocery store leads to love. An intense, all encompassing love. A love that the reader experiences through Chris, the narrator. I love a good crazy lover story and this book gave me crazy lover. I really liked how the whole story is told by Chris. His inner thoughts give us insight on his hardcore love for Serena and everything he will do to have and to hold her. Thank you Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for the eARC.

I was literally drawn to this book like a moth to a flame & I can't begin to tell you why. I saw it on Netgallery and thought it looked interesting. But I'm hoping to be approved for some great looking books on Netgallery, therefore I try to be mindful of my numbers. So on I went, but for whatever reason I just could NOT stop thinking about this book.

AND THIS IS WHY WE LISTEN TO OUR GUTS PEOPLE!

This was the best suspense book I've read in a longgggggg time

I make comparisons a lot. Not necessarily because I think two books should be in competition with one another, but more because I personally have always found comparison making a useful tool in determining whether or not something might be for me.

Why do I feel the need to say this on this particular review and not on all the rest? Glad you asked.

Because I know this comparison I'm about to make is a big one. But you have to hear me out until the end.

Everyone who wanted to love the Haunting Adeline series, but found it "too much" (which I can understand) this one's for you.. This is like the vanilla version, believable version..Now these books are very VERY different, in a lot of ways!.. But they have the same stalker/Joe from YOU vibe.. similar to Haunting Adeline..So if Haunting Adeline was something you truly wanted to love but found it too dark for you and you wanted something a little less intense & a little more believable, this is the book! 5,000%!

For me this was the kind of book that pulls you in and makes you forget the outside world around you even exists. Not even kidding, it's a good thing there wasn't some type of major catastrophe while I was reading this because I would have failed to notice.. I could of been inside a burning building but would of had no clue, because I just HAD to know what happened next here.

I wish reviewers were given one gold buzzer inspired 6 star review a year, this book would definitely be in the running for my buzzer

It's safe to say this is a book I will definitely be recommending & buying

Stalk much, Chris Fox? For someone who claims to be too busy for friend, your creeper skills are legendary.

Serena Archer meets Chris at the grocery store when they reach for the same jar of peanut butter. For him it is love at first sight. For her it is just part of the shopping experience.

In this thriller debut, the reader spends the entire narrative inside the mind of Chris Fox. It is a scary place to be. There were times when I wanted to cover my eyes and not see what he would do next. 🙈

There is a special dog named Sirius who does his job well.🐕 Good boy!

Lissa Lovik has a quirky sense of humor that comes out in subtle ways -- especially in her Author's Note and Bio.

Two issues keep me from giving this one all the stars: 1) Too many F-bombs for my taste. 2) The pacing was off with the narrative taking too long to bring the relationship to a crisis. Could have edited out some pages and lowered the page count.

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

I have a feeling that Chris Fox is going to be compared the OG stalker (here's looking at you, Joe Goldberg), and, while there are similarities, I think Chris is darker. Maybe just because I wasn't expecting his level of obsession, but he is a seriously deranged, unhinged character. Lissa Lovik's debut caught me by surprise with how much I was riveted. I might never look around my house again without wondering if someone is watching, and, to all of those wondering...the dog is okay in the end.