442 Pages
Sequel to You. Joe Goldberg is no stranger to hiding bodies. In the past ten years, this thirty-something has buried four of them, collateral damage in his quest for love. Now he’s heading west to Los Angeles, the city of second chances, determined to put his past behind him.
In Hollywood, Joe blends in effortlessly with the other young upstarts. He eats guac, works in a bookstore, and flirts with a journalist neighbor. But while others seem fixated on their own reflections, Joe can’t stop looking over his shoulder. The problem with hidden bodies is that they don’t always stay that way. They re-emerge, like dark thoughts, multiplying and threatening to destroy what Joe wants most: true love. And when he finds it in a darkened room in Soho House, he’s more desperate than ever to keep his secrets buried. He doesn’t want to hurt his new girlfriend—he wants to be with her forever. But if she ever finds out what he’s done, he may not have a choice…
I felt the ending to You (read my review here) was perfect. When I found out there was a sequel, I was skeptical — was this just a money grab?
FULL DISCLOSURE: This is a review of a SEQUEL; if you haven’t read the first one, be strongly cautioned. While I will try to keep this review entirely spoiler free of the first one, I cannot make any promises.
I’m happy to report, that when I picked this up, I fell into a similar rhythm as I did with You — it was very hard to put down.
On the good notes, Joe is a character you just can never get enough of. He’s a character that you can also really never make your mind up about. He’s pure evil, pure crazy, yet you can’t help but feel sorry for him and want good things to happen to him.
This novel overall was action packed, sexy, and filled with many things that I loved about the first one.
Now onto the reasons why I just can’t give this a full five stars like it’s predecessor.
While there was an overall sense of not being able to put the book down, there were a couple moments and chapters that I felt added absolutely nothing to the main plot. It felt as if Kepnes was trying to figure out where she wanted to go next with Joe, but just wasn’t quite sure.
I also feel that the story, as a whole, was very unplanned, very unrealistic. The one thing that made You so thrilling was that it felt so real. At times, however, some of the situations Joe was finding himself in just seemed so absurd that it pulled from that realness.
As with the people who don’t . . . survive. I felt that in the first one, you built a rage with Joe — that these people deserved their fate, as Joe was just so convincing — made you hate them too. And I just wasn’t getting that with these victims.
But, even with those critiques, I still felt it was a strong sequel. Do I really think it was necessary? No. But, it entertained me, and I got to spend more time with a character who I really enjoy.
Rating
Page to Page 