You Love Me: The highly anticipated sequel to You and Hidden Bodies (YOU series Book 3)

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tragically this installment contains a lot more writing about writing than it does writing about murder. and also a lot of self-soothing.

The other thing I didn’t much enjoy was the ending of the story. I thought a few alternative endings on my mind but I cannot share it with you for not giving spoilers. But this conclusion wasn’t the kind of Joe Goldberg kind of ending I expected! You Love Me” is the third novel in the obsessively addicting series, “You” (now a Netflix series starring Penn Badgley) . The good thing about this series is each novel is just as addicting as its predecessor yet, at the same time, you don’t need to read the other novels to be able to follow along (although I highly recommend it!) . Yellowface by R.F. Kuang, published by William Morrow, Harper Collins. @kuangrf @Morrow_PB, @HarperCollins #review #Bookrecommendation #blog

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I just cut two points because slow burn storytelling, semi satisfying ending and a repetitive cycle push us stay on Joe’s mind too much longer ! I enjoyed the previous book a little more and I have to admit it was so much better than season 3 of the series! nonetheless, i think what could be improved is that sometimes the scenes felt forced because of the random du’a/islamic knowledge inserted. i understand that the author’s trying to include beneficial information for the readers, but too much of it might make readers feel like they’re reading a non-fiction book instead.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review. After reading this book, i'm disappointed. The plot is flat and nothing complicated happened to the main characters, apart from one thing or two. The ending is cliché. While i'm fully aware that this author usually instills Islamic teaching in her novels, however in some parts of this book it became too preachy, which makes the dialogues sound unnatural. However, I was still entertained. Joe is Joe. He’s a character we love to hate and I couldn’t resist seeing what he was up to. MK was meh for me. I didn’t warm to her as much as I would have liked. I was both surprised and not surprised by the ending. This time the people Joe got involved are more broken, resentful, self destructive; they don’t belong to a big city, living their lives in a small island of Pacific Island which made them feel like more trapped, miserable, regretful.

For the next two weeks, Joe diligently takes care of Mary Kay. Meanwhile, Nomi has been spending a lot of time in Seattle with Don and Peg, her (surrogate) grandparents. Though Mary Kay is initially too upset, after she and Joe finally sleep together again, Phil’s half-brother ( Ivan) goes to visit and finds Joe at Mary Kay’s house.

Then, along comes YOU LOVE ME. Up to this point, Joe has been infatuated with extremely flawed women that are not exactly "good" people. Not that any of them deserve the emotional gaslighting (and worse things) that Joe unleashes on the people he chooses to "love" but the women are not likable/relatable (to me, in my opinion). I don't see myself in the choices they make, the way they respond to certain situations, and ultimately, the danger they put themselves in. There was a terrible death toll among the vulnerable and elderly in care homes during the pandemic, with more people dying in residential accommodation than hospitals; afflicted not only by disease but by profound isolation at a time when they needed loved ones more than ever. Mary Kay does make for a refreshing object of affection, in that she's in her forties and has a daughter that's a high school senior. It's honestly a pleasure to see a woman in this demographic being depicted as desirable. But other than that, I personally didn't warm to her all that much. I don't think that matters though, as I don't think Kepnes tries to convince readers that Joe wants what he wants for rationale, relatable reasons. It's Joe's world, and we just live in it.

You Love Me is no exception. Again, we have Joe’s obsessive and close first-person point of view, expressed in his unique way, calling the object of his obsession “you” in his thoughts rather than using her name. This novel takes the same tone, uses the same character archetypes and signature antics from the previous books, and ups the ante on Bainbridge Island. Also multiplied are Joe’s literary and cultural references. I felt like I needed to read more books and watch more classic movies to fully appreciate all Joe’s inside jokes. However, it didn’t diminish the reading experience. Part stalker romance, part thriller, the arc of this story is a bit blurry, but fans of the You series will be delighted.