I tried, I really REALLY tried to read this book slowly but as much as I wanted to sit back a savor every single word……it just didn’t happen and I ended up reading it in just over a day, ooops!
If you know me IRL or have read my blog enough, then you know that You is my absolute, most favorite book ever. I love Joe, he’s the most original, unique and fascinating character I’ve ever read about. Yes he’s a narcissistic serial killer but if we’re being honest here, he also thinks and speaks what most of us are thinking but are too chicken to admit. Needless to say but when I learned that the brilliant Caroline Kepnes was making a sequel to You, I about died!!! I honestly believed that You would remain a stand-alone novel.
In You, Joe Goldberg fell for Guinevere Beck, an unassuming customer that walked into the book store he worked at. In the quest to win her heart, Joe relentlessly stalks Beck and proceeds to take out anyone who gets in his way. Written in a second-person, present tense narrative style it was as if Joe was constantly speaking directly to Beck and it was this style, along with Joe’s personality that made You so unique. When I first heard that Kepnes would not be returning to this second-person narrative I was momentarily worried that it wouldn’t feel the same being inside Joe’s head. Thankfully I was wrong and being inside Joe’s mind is just as addictive in first-person, present tense :)
Hidden Bodies starts with Joe having put his past and Beck behind him, well except for the cupofpiss that still haunts his thoughts. He’s thankfully in a new relationship with Amy, the girl he met at the end of You and at first glance she seems a little better suited for Joe. They both work at the book store and seem to share similar views on life and people. Things are looking up for Joe until Amy does something really stupid (no spoilers here) which causes Joe to drop everything in New York and move to L.A. so that he can track her down and seek his revenge. Of course we all know what that means, more bodies!!!!
Unfortunately, when Joe arrives in L.A. he discovers that Amy is much more difficult to locate than he had anticipated. While searching for her, Joe meets a woman named Love who works with her brother in the entertainment business and comes from a very wealthy family who like to hobnob with the stars. Joe fits in with Love’s family seamlessly, her parents love him, her brother loves him, and all seems perfect for our anti-hero…….at first. As Joe begins to fall for Love he also begins to forget about Amy (mostly) but he never seems to forget about the cupofpiss and just like in You, what starts out as a perfect (in Joe’s mind) relationship quickly goes sideways.
Joe once again finds a way to get rid of anyone he feels is a threat or is getting in the way of his plans and here’s the true brilliance of Kepnes’ writing, we cheer for him to do so every step of the way! Joe points out every flaw and annoying character habit so that soon you realize that you hate these people just as much as he does and yes the world would absolutely be a better place if they weren’t here anymore so really Joe is just doing us all a very big favor by getting rid of them because they really are just a piece of wasted space, go Joe!!! See what happens there? It’s brilliant!
There’s really not much else I can say about Hidden Bodies without giving away any spoilers so I’ll just say that if you loved You, then you will definitely love this sequel. It’s one of those rare occurrences where the second book is just as good as the first and I was really, pleasantly surprised by this. I’ve started to see some spoilers floating around in the recent reviews I’ve read, mostly in regards to the opening of the story but I really hate that! So please, don’t read the reviews, just dig into an evening or two with Joe and enjoy the ride :)
Now for a wee bit of fan-girling!! On Goodreads, Caroline was recently asked by a fan if the rumors were true that Showtime bought the rights to turn her books into a series. Here is her answer: “You heard correctly, (…..)! YOU is in development at Showtime. We’ll see what happens this year. I love Showtime–The Affair and Shameless are two of my favorites–so this is so exciting. And I’ll keep you posted!” I had heard this same rumor in early 2015 so I’m glad to see this is still green lighted, I can’t wait for this to happen! I think a TV series based on Joe will be huge, especially with the legion of Dexter fans out there begging for something to fill that void. Joe is the perfect person to do this, as long as he’s cast well! Personally, I would love to see Jake Gyllenhaal play Joe. It’s hard for me to picture anyone else nailing Joe’s mannerisms but I know he’s played this character type a few times already so it’s probably just wishful thinking on my part. For anyone whose read You or Hidden Bodies, who would you love to see cast as Joe???
A huge thank you to the publishers, Atria Books and to NetGalley for providing me with a complimentary, advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review! And a special thank you to David over at Simon & Schuster/Atria Books for recognizing my obsessive love for Joe and these books and thus rewarding my blog readers with a totally awesome giveaway, you rock!
$13.99 with 22 percent savings
Print List Price: $18.00 
The Print List Price is the lowest suggested retail price provided by a publisher for a print book format of this title, available on Amazon (e.g. hardcover, paperback, mass market paperback).
Learn more
Learn more
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Shop this series
See full series
Shop this series
There are 4 books in this series.
Bundle price:
Kindle price
$39.97
Bundle price:
Kindle price
$52.96
By placing your order, you're purchasing a license to the content and you agree to the Kindle Store Terms of Use.
This option includes 3 books.
This option includes 4 books.
Customers who bought this item also bought
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
Popular Highlights in this book
It is possible to know people. They show you who they are. You just have to be looking.Highlighted by 487 Kindle readers- “Tip the world over on its side and everything loose will land in Los Angeles.”Highlighted by 280 Kindle readers
- Can you imagine yearning for attention so badly that your identity required all those hyphens?Highlighted by 240 Kindle readers
About the author
A MUST READ.... I love Joe!
Oh Joe. Joe. Joe. Joe. What a wonderful, twisted mind you have! You leave my soul feeling dark, just the way I like it. Your fascination with life leaves me with a twisted smirk on my face!Welcome back to the world of Joe. If you have read his first book (and YOU better have), YOU, then you have a little incling of what I mean. But just a little. This continuation of the story of Joe is so much more and so much more twisted than the beginning. This one will have your inner sinister persona laughing and clapping.Yes, you guessed it. More murder. More stalking. More danger. More of everything. I could not have enjoyed this story any more than I did. I read this MONTHS ago and have been itching for everyone else to read it. I needed a support group after this book. I needed daily meetings. Who is in for a Joe support group? You will need it after this book!I want to dig around in Caroline's head. What makes it tick? How does it create such wonderful, twisted plots? How does this messed up material materialize in her brain? Then getting the words to paper? Such a genius Caroline Kepnes is. Pure. Genius.As I wove my way through Joe's new journey, I couldn't imagine where Caroline was going to take me. I sat there soaking up every word, shaking my pom-poms cheering Joe on. He is the perfect anti-hero hero. He is the best villian you will find. And you will be on his villianous side. I promise. As the story plays on, I am thinking happy ever after for Joe... Then the ending came...The ending. (Insert a bunch of swear words here since I can't type them. I mean I could, but Amazon won't post my review if I do.) What can I say? Well, nothing really. I can't tell you how this ends. I can tell you that I messaged Caroline right away begging and begging for information. Just so you know, she refused to give it to me. Denied. Yes, I was denied. Damn her.Basically, what I am telling you is that this book is a MUST read. MUST. READ. If you haven't read YOU yet, then do so. Then read this. Don't read this until you have read YOU. I mean, technically you could read this without reading the first book. But if you did, you wouldn't get the full effect that is Joe and you will be missing some key pieces to the story. Hidden Bodies will make more sense when read after YOU.P.S. READ THIS BOOK!
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews. Please reload the page.
- Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2016
- Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2016
Top reviews from other countries
- Catherine Craig (Angelic Light), UKReviewed in the United Kingdom on June 5, 2023
Awesome
-
Gabriela EckertReviewed in Brazil on September 14, 2020
gostei muito da compra, mas a capa veio com a ponta um pouco amassada.
-
