Book Review: Verity by Colleen Hoover
Verity
Author: Colleen Hoover
Published: December 7, 2018
Audiobook
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: January 25- 28, 2022
Jessica’s Rating: 5 stars
Book Description:
Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of bestselling author Verity Crawford, has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series his injured wife is unable to finish.
Lowen arrives at the Crawford home, ready to sort through years of Verity’s notes and outlines, hoping to find enough material to get her started. What Lowen doesn’t expect to uncover in the chaotic office is an unfinished autobiography Verity never intended for anyone to read. Page after page of bone-chilling admissions, including Verity’s recollection of what really happened the day her daughter died.
Lowen decides to keep the manuscript hidden from Jeremy, knowing its contents would devastate the already grieving father. But as Lowen’s feelings for Jeremy begin to intensify, she recognizes all the ways she could benefit if he were to read his wife’s words. After all, no matter how devoted Jeremy is to his injured wife, a truth this horrifying would make it impossible for him to continue to love her.
Jessica’s Review:
Verity is my first ‘CoHo’ novel, though I have several more of hers on my TBR. Hoover is known for her romances, but this one is far from that: Verity is an extremely dark thriller and more. It is very different from her other novels, and I wish she would write more like Verity!
Verity will not be for everyone and there should be trigger warnings galore which will also be
***SPOILERS:
There is graphic sex which includes adultery, child abuse, child murder, and attempted home abortion.
END SPOILERS***
Verity is a novel where it is best to go in knowing as little as possible. To say much will be giving things away. What you need to know is that it is a dark, intense, disturbing novel that pulls you in from the beginning with a gruesome death. The reader will have no idea what they are getting into by starting this novel and from the start this one pulls no punches. I’ll just say this: I have read a few novels with dark characters (Eva in We Need to Talk About Kevin should have never become a mother and Amy Dunne in Gone Girl.. Well… Let just say I wanted to throw my kindle with that one…) These characters are NOTHING compared to Verity!
We have two POVs in Verity: Lowen which is present day, and Verity’s memoir which is beyond disturbing. I can’t say enough how dark this novel is and it will be too much for some. But… in addition to the disturbing nature this novel will be compulsive and addicting. As you get closer to the end you don’t want to stop reading. If I had been reading the physical book I bet those pages would have kept turning! There was a part I had figured out, but not quite the why behind it. And then we have that epilogue! The reader is left to determine their own thoughts at the end of the novel, and I still haven’t decided for myself what I want that to be!
I don’t know what it means for both Hoover and myself: How was Hoover able to come up with/write a novel so twisted and that I really enjoyed it! My message to CoHo is this: PLEASE write more thrillers and I promise to read more of your romances!
Verity is extremely recommended if you can handle the content.