Book Review: You Love Me by Caroline Kepnes

You Love Me
by Caroline Kepnes

I can’t escape, the shark inside my shark.

Our favorite sociopath is back in You Love Me, and Joe is a changed man, or at least, he is trying really hard to be so. This book feels like heartbreak and redemption– or is it redemption and heartbreak???– as he navigates life after we left off in Hidden Bodies.

I feel like I’ve waited forever for the next chapter in Joe’s life. In fact, as soon as I received my Netgalley I preordered the audiobook because Santino Fontana is Joe, and I read this book with his voice in my head.

We fast forward a bit from the ending of Hidden Bodies to Joe’s new home, on an idyllic island in the Pacific Northwest off the coast of Seattle. Without spoiling too much, Joe is starting fresh and trying to be a good person, however his past is harder to escape…

There are few things more tragic than a man hell-bent on becoming something he just can’t be.

Again, I find myself rooting for Joe as I’m trying to decipher what has happened since the end of book 2 and where we are now. There’s love… and betrayal and a promise of a new beginning.

I love the way Caroline Kepnes writes. It’s addictive, as Joe speaks to You and it makes me kind of wish he was speaking to me, and now I sit and write and wonder if there will be a book 4 because I miss him and I want him to be ok.

If you loved the first two books, you will need to pick up You Love Me and see Joe’s evolution. Yes, the show is great, but the books are so much better. If you can get ahold of the audiobooks with Santino Fontana– 👌 perfection!

*I received an advance copy from Netgalley for an honest review

On My Shelf

In honor of Asian American/Pacific Islander Heritage Month, here’s a peek at what’s currently on my bookshelf. At the moment I’m reading The Gangster We Are All Looking For by Le Thi Diem Thuy.

What The Kids Are Reading (Mini Book Haul)

My Big Kid is starting to outgrow the Captain Underpants series and he’s been really interested in history and non-fiction. The other day Little One and I went to the bookstore and found a few new books for him. He’s most excited about the Guts & Glory World War II book!

On The Bookshelf: Vietnamerica by GB Tran

I can relate so much to Vietnamerica, as a daughter of immigrants who has only recently started wondering about where she comes from. This was the first book of many from Asian American authors I’ve read, and it really stuck with me.

Sale Alert!

Recently I borrowed I’m Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid through my local library. I couldn’t put it down. I started this book not knowing anything about it and I highly recommend you do the same. Just now I noticed it is on sale for Kindle at 1.99! Snatch this up!

 

 

I’m Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid 
(link will take you to Amazon)

Book Haul (Little One edition)

It’s been a while since we’ve added to Little One’s library collection. We took advantage of the last Scholastic book order of the year to load up on some books for the summer!

Weekend Reading: Fire and Fury by Michael Wolff

 

Thank you local library! I am so surprised at how quickly I was able to get a copy of this book, as I was something like 50th on the waitlist earlier in the week.

What We’re Reading (Kids Edition!)

We are big bookworms in this house. My kids devour books (like their mom!) and I thought it would be fun to share what we’ve been reading this past week.

Little One’s favorites this week

She loves theDuck & Goose series, we have a few of those. The most recent book we’ve read is Giraffes Can’t Dance, a really great story about finding your own rhythm in life!

My oldest is obsessed with all things Titanic as of late

We really enjoyed Can You Survive The Titanic? It is a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure style book with multiple different endings depending on which path you choose. Though it’s a surprisingly quick read, after he finished going through the different story paths he was inspired to write his own Can You Survive stories!

What are your kids currently reading?

Recent Kindle Haul: The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui

I am so happy to finally have a copy of Thi Bui’s illustrated memoir, The Best We Could Do. I can’t wait to dig into this beautiful book!

Cover Reveal: After All by Karina Halle

I love this gorgeous cover!! After All is expected to be released later this month!

Emmett Hill is the perfect gentleman.

At least that’s what his PR team wants the world to think.

Tall, handsome, and wickedly charming, Emmett is in the midst of a career comeback, having landed the role of a villain in a popular TV show. The only problem is, Emmett has come a long way from the “nice guy” characters he used to play and his old squeaky clean image is quickly being tarnished by bar fights, womanizing and bad boy behaviour. Considering he’s two years shy of forty, it’s an act he needs to drop. And fast.

Enter Alyssa Martin.

At twenty-eight, Alyssa is tired and ready for a change. Her job as office manager has grown stagnant and unfulfilling, while she’s become continuously frustrated with Vancouver’s lackluster dating scene, always searching for Mr. Right in a city of Mr. Wrongs.

When Emmett and Alyssa’s paths cross at a mutual friend’s wedding, their chemistry is off-the-charts hot, culminating in a steamy one-night stand.

What neither expected was for the media catch wind of their coupling – and run with it.

Now Emmett has to convince Alyssa to date him for the sake of his image. Her curvy, cute and “normal” persona is just the ticket to smoothing out his reputation, while Emmett provides Alyssa with the excitement and change her life has been lacking.

The only problem is, the two fight like cats and dogs outside of the bedroom.

And considering their arrangement is just for show, they shouldn’t be in the bedroom with each other anyway.

Right?

Try telling them that.

Nook: bit.ly/AFTERALL-Nook

iBooks: bit.ly/AFTERALL-iBooks

Kindle, Kobo & paperback: live release