Book Review: You Love Me by Caroline Kepnes

Kepnes has done it again. Somehow she made Joe even more likable if that's the right word. Somehow she made it so that we wanted Joe to have that happy ending, that he really was "a good guy", because in this book he kinda is, for the most part.

Sure he did some stalking, as in previous books, but nowhere near to the level he was at before. He kept his promise to himself that he would win MK over the old fashion. (Well, again, for the most part). But while there were deaths, surprisingly none were from Joe himself! He's racked up quite the body count over the last two books but he actually didn't harm or kill anyone. (Even though he did mean to kill Phil, but he didn't follow through so, good guy? haha. How Kepnes makes me rout for Joe makes me question my morality).

I like how this book "returned to form", so to speak. In the first book, he would narrate using the pronoun "you" all the time for Beck, but in the second book when he met Love, it was written (still in Joe's voice so props for that), like any other first-person POV. "Love did this." "Love said that." As opposed to something like "You looked at me like this." or "You did this thing." I liked that it was focused on "You" again. The series is called, "You" after all.

I didn't like how some events were glossed over so fast. Mostly stuff at the beginning and the end.

The last book ended with Joe madly in love with Love and him being in jail and this book starts out with him in a completely different city, out of jail, and in love with a new character. Sure we get some explanation but not gonna lie, when I started this book I thought I missed a book in between. (We do learn more about what happened later but I was just so shocked at the contrast of the last book ending compared to the start of the third one). Also, Kepnes brings to light some heavy stuff in regards to Nomi right in the last few chapters and it happens so fast and suddenly it's the epilogue. SOmehow Kepnes did end the series nicely (assuming it's a trilogy), but I would have liked to see it extended just a bit more.

All in all, great series. The narration was unique and truly welcomed. Loved this book (and the other two), from start to finish.

For anyone looking for a good read, I recommend this series.

Now to see if the Netflix version lives up to the books haha.

You Love Me

by Caroline Kepnes

Book Review: Hidden Bodies by Caroline Kepnes

Unclear how Kepnes does it, but like her first novel, YOU, she's done it again. She makes you empathize with Joe. Somehow she makes you see things from his perspective (besides the obvious first-person POV). By this I mean somehow we see Joe's horrible actions as justified and we feel for him as a character. We somehow don't want him to be caught for or all his murders, we want him to be with the girl of his dreams and we want the best for him. How Kepnes makes me like a serial killer/stalker is beyond me.

Again, like the previous book, this one was very well written, giving our MC Joe plenty of personality. It was, however, written (in my opinion), slightly different than the first. He wasn't "talking" to anyone this time. (Like saying "YOU did this thing and YOU did this other thing"). It was just Joe narrating his life. I expected this book to follow the writing style of the first one, with a new "you", being other Amy or Love. But it didn't. I'm not mad. It works. It still sounds just like Joe would sound.

I'm happy to know that there is a third book, because the way this one ended, though perfect for Joe's behavior, does leave me wanting to read more. Although I can't possibly imagine how Joe is getting out of trouble this time, or even how the third book will end. My guess is another jail for good or death haha. But I won't know until I read it.

All in all, this series so far is hella enjoyable and to anyone who likes a good thriller out there, I highly. recommend this series.

Now. onto the third book!

Book Review: The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Not gonna lie, this wasn't a book I would have normally picked up for myself, let alone read. But there was a time when someone I knew was selling a bunch of books for a really good price. I only wanted one of the books and the price they were being sold for was cheaper than the cost of the book I wanted, so I thought it was a great deal. Now, having all these books in my possession, I felt I needed to read them all and now the time came where I was to read The Kite Runner.

The book was told in an interesting way. There were moments where I felt like the passage of time jumped so randomly between chapters or scenes, and it felt like we were skipping some of the action in a way. (Like going from one bad event but not exploring it because now it's a year later or something). However, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. It was very well executed.

I love how this story mingled so well with actual historical events (like war and 9/11) yet still wasn't a historical novel. It was its own story set in the real world. This is a story about redemption and many events really hit the heartstrings.

Though the book is called The Kite Runner (named after the character Hassan), the kite runner himself isn't in the story much. Not physically at least. His presence is always there and the time Amir, the MC, spent with Hassan had such an impact on his life. It was sad to hear what had happened to Hassan, but I believe that Amir did find redemption in the end. And not only that, love and forgiveness from Hassan and his son, Sohrab.

On a side note, this book was also a fascinating read for the fact that I learned so much about Afghanistan that I never knew. I loved learning about the culture and country. If anything, this book is a good read of that alone.

Khaled Hosseini

All in all, a great read. A little slow at the start but it does pick up.

Actual rating is 4.5/5.

Book Review: The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa

This was for sure an interesting book to read. The concept, the unique storytelling, was gripping from start to finish. Apologies if this review is all over the place. I have many thoughts on the book haha.

In this book, we have an unknown narrator, of which I named "Megui" after a friend of mine. We don't get much description of her other than she's a female, occasionally wears makeup, and has longish hair. But that doesn't take away from the story. In this way, it helps us become "Megui" and puts us in her shoes.

The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa

The whole idea that things "disappear" is very interesting. When the Memory Police make something "disappeared" (of which we never find out why they do this other than to be dicks I guess because some of the things they deem useless are not), things aren't actually gone. The objects still exist. People just simply lose all memory associated with them and then get rid of the physical objects. what's interesting, however, is how some people don't forget. They live remembering everything that was "disappeared". It's never explained why some people are like this but it all adds to the mystery.

Like, 90% of the characters don't have names, for example, our MC. I had a theory that at one point the Memory Police decided names were useless so they make them disappear. However, that can't be the case as there are like 3 people who do have names, one being the MC's editor, R. (A letter still counts as a name haha).

I also enjoyed the story within a story. It paralleled with the main story so perfectly. "Megui" is a novelist, and we get to see snippets of her work throughout the book. It's unfortunate for her that novels "disappear" at some point, but somehow at the end, she manages to finish her story, and it was every bit as sad as the actual ending for the book.

The ending itself was so sad. No real conclusion. It was abrupt, like the loss of memory of things that disappeared. She just kinda... died. I thought maybe "Megui" would figure out a way to remember things, or figure why/how the Memory Police make people forget things, but she didn't. She just lived her life until she forgot about her entire self.

Yoko Ogawa

As a side note, I did notice a few inconsistencies. One of them being on things that had already disappeared. Like, photos disappear at one point, but there is a time when "Megui" and the old man are being ID checked by the Memory Police. "Megui" mentions that the police are checking the identification that has photographs on them, but how does that work if they had disappeared in an earlier scene? Like, they burn everything that has an association to do with the thing that disappeared.

That being said, while I didn't particularly like how it ended, I'm not mad at the book. I actually really enjoyed it. It was an easy and fast read and I highly recommend it.

Book Review: Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld

This is a confusing book to rate, but I'll do my best to explain why.

The book itself has no real plot and reads kinda like a memoir. It's literally just a girl going through high school. I've nothing against this type of storytelling, if it’s well done, and this book does it well. The writing is the best part of this book, as well as fairly realistic portrayals of kids going through life in high school, (though I can't comment on the boarding school part as I've never been to one).

Prep

by Curtis Sittenfeld

A New York Times bestseller.

However, the main character Lee Fiora can be a bit insufferable at times. She doesn't really grow as a character. She's constantly judging other people and her depressive nature is a bit of a downer to read. She gets mad over petty things and seems to think she knows most everything better than everyone else. Not always, but that's the sense I got anyway. I would have LOVED to read the story from Martha's (her best friend and roommate) perspective. I love Martha as a character.

Yet, despite Lee's desputable persinatliy, I did enjoy the book. Mostly because of the writing. I loved the writign syle.

If you want action or character driven plot, or a plot in general, this isn't the book for you. But if you want a nice little read to pass the time with a book that was well written, give this a read.

Prep

by Curtis Sittenfeld

(Alternate cover)

Book Review: The Guardian by A.T. Duguay

A.T. Duguay

I have the pleasure of actually knowing the author personally. Duguay and I go way back to high school, and though we haven't really spoken to each other for nearly 15 years (wow that makes me feel old haha), we recently re-connected through our love of writing.

Now, onto his novel. For a first-time author, this book was very well written and the formatting was gorgeous. (He did the formatting and cover design himself and it turned out dope!) Duguay was able to do excellent world-building without making it a big info dump. I was constantly excited to learn more about Gauthak's world (and the world around him). It's obvious there is still plenty to learn, but knowing this is the first in the series definitely helps. As it stands, the story itself is a good stand-alone in terms of world-building and character development.

Before I gush about all the good things about this book, there were only a few "negative" things I should mention. I wouldn't even call them negatives. More like nitpicking based on my own personal preference.

For starters, I loved all the names of the main characters, Gauthak, Lauranna, and the names of the Northmen. But it seemed as though if the character didn't have a big role to play, their names were taken from our world and "made to look fantasy". Names like Samanda, Josiph, Sorcha, for example. Nothing wrong with that. Again, it's me being nitpicky.

Second, I found it odd that after each part, (the book is divided into three parts), the chapter titles would reset back to one. This may be a common fantasy practice that I'm unaware of, but from the books I've read that were divided into parts (my unpublished one included), the chapters never reset to one.

The story did drag--only a little!!--a bit at the start of part three, but did pick up again. But, can't have action all the time!

Last, sometimes the character's voices sounded more modern than I feel they should. (I just imaged in the setting they're in to sound all Game of Thrones like, and they totally don't have to, but yeah). Sometimes they sounded like they were in the fantasy setting they were in while other times a few modern sounded phrases seemed to pop through. At least, that's how it felt to me.

Anywho, as I said, nitpicky stuff. All very minor.

Now, onto the good stuff.

First off, LOVE Gauthak. He's a well-written character and has a great history (albeit sad) and a very interesting culture to learn about. I love how it isn't insta-love between him and Lauranna and it was sweet to Gauthak slowly get smitten with her.

I loved all the Northman, but I'm sad about how some of their stories had ended. They are a strong group of characters and the camaraderie between them and the rest of the cast felt very realistic.

Faron is easily one of my favourite characters aside from Guathak. He's the magic user in this world and I love his sarcastic yet hard truth-telling attitude. Plus the way Duguay wrote how Faron performed magic was pretty cool. Can't wait to learn more about him and the magic system of this series.

All in all, a solid good book. Great read. For a first-time author, Duguay should be proud of what he's accomplished. Here's hoping book two comes out soon!

The

Guardian by A.T. Duguay

New revised cover for the first book.

Book Review: You by Caroline Kepnes

Wow, where do I begin with this one?

First off, hats off to Kepnes for writing an engaging main character. Kepnes really dives into the mind of a serial stalker/killer. It's almost scary how much she makes Joe seem rational in all his decisions. I mean, Joe straight out murders anyone who gets in his way--and has even done it before!), yet somehow the way it's all written it seems... justified. I don't like how that made me feel as a person but I love how it made me feel as a reader. It was interesting to see the world the way a serial stalker/killer like Joe does.

Second, I want to praise Kepnes for her writing style. It was such a unique way of writing. Yes, plenty of people write in the first person, but this was handled much differently. The style of how Joe speaks, always referring to his love interest (obsession) as "you" was a bold choice. Not many authors I know can pull off using the same word repeatedly so much that it doesn't come off as annoying and overused.

Third, Kepnes has you on the edge of your seat the entire book as you wait to see if Joe will be caught during his many, many, illegal activities. The way this book played out, however, makes me think he's the luckiest bastard in the world to have gotten away with so much.

I will say, however, some of the language Joe uses, (cunt, pussy, dick, f***, ext) was a little jarring. However, it fits Joe's character perfectly. It may have felt a bit vulgar, but I believe that was Kepne's intention, and it worked.

Solid read. Now to read the sequels!

Caroline Kepnes

Author of You (and many others!)

You - Netflix

Now streaming!

Book Review: Every Single Lie by Rachel Vincent

Wow, just wow. There is a reason Rachel Vincent is an auto-buy every time she releases a new book.

Not gonna lie, just by reading the description alone, I probably wouldn't have bought it if it wasn't by Rachel Vincent. It didn't sound like my type of book. But man was this ever a good read. Vincent had me hooked from chapter 1. With great characters and an extremely well-researched book.

Every Single Lie by Rachel Vincent

I sorta figured out who the mother was a little bit before Beckett did (and I'm proud of that as I don't usually figure things out before the characters do), but that didn't take away from the shock value.

The issues this book tackles are very deep and very real. Something not many people talk about but should. And it was handled so well. Not to mention the writing is--as always--spot on.

If you think this book isn't for you, I'd still suggest giving it a gander. I didn't think it was a story I'd like but it turned out to be one of the best reads this year. You may even learn a thing or two, as I did!

Anyway, 10/10, would HIGHLY recommend.

Rachel Vincent

Author of Every Single Lie and other amazing books.