Verity - Colleen Hoover

Verity by Colleen Hoover

Genre: Thriller

Blurb (on back of book): 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.

MY OPINION: ****

I honestly do not know how to review this book. It's my first thriller novel (basically) and the fact that it was written by romance-extraordinaire Colleen Hoover makes it all the more surreal and hard to write about. I was in shock the entire time while reading it and it was the first time I genuinely felt a little bit of fear from words on a page. I don't plan on reading any more books from this genre but I do think it was very fun and a unique experience from all the other books I normally read. 

I knew basically nothing about this book before starting it. I've had it downloaded in my Apple Books library for quite some time but never got around to reading it. I've read my fair share of Colleen Hoover's romance novels and found some favorites (and some not-so-favorites). However, after hearing so much about this book and seeing everyone and their mother raving about it, I decided it was time for me to see what it was all about (especially since I was in a horrible reading slump).

Well, it sure brought me out of my reading slump.

I'm not going to really describe too much about this book because it's written as a suspense. I don't want to give anything away. I think that the fact that I went into it basically blind made the experience all the better. The blurb does not do this book justice. At all. It's full of twists and turns, horrifying truths, and a sinister tone. I was sickened to my core when reading some parts of it and was literally in shock for most of it. I read this at 3AM in the morning (which I 100% do not advise) and it took me a while to go to sleep after finishing it in that same night. (Her eyes were definitely watching me.) It's a lot to take in.

Basically, the most bare bones summary I can give without saying anything spoiler-ish:

Lowen is a struggling writer who is called upon by the husband of famous thriller writer Verity to complete his wife's unfinished book series. Verity has been in a car crash and is unable to continue writing (she's in a coma-paralysis sort of thing, hard to explain). Lowen is invited to their house to read through Verity's notes to try to finish writing the books, but along the way, she comes across a way more eye-opening manuscript to Verity's thoughts and life. 

The writing in here is very palpable and made you fully step into the lives of these characters. I could see exactly every single scene described in this book, could feel the emotions of each character, in a way that was almost unreal. Maybe I'd feel differently if I was a thriller fanatic, as I am very obviously aware that this is not the best thriller novel (and probably doesn't rank very high at all, considering Hoover's background) but I personally thought it was very well-written. It gave off the horror movie vibe but in a book. I was scared to keep reading the next sentences for fear of seeing something horrible, just as I feel afraid in the tense scenes during a horror film. I've never experienced something like this from a book, and I think it was a very fun but strange feeling. 

I feel like this is one of those books that you will never understand unless you read it. The hype around it is very strong but nobody ever truly explains what the heck this book is about. You have to experience it firsthand to truly understand what everyone else is talking about. I felt as if I was opened up to a whole new world after finishing this book. 

I was not here for the romance. I understand that it was a CoHo novel and there HAD to be romance, but eh. It felt very forced and out of place in the context of this book. It did add another layer to the story that made it all the more intriguing but eh, I felt as if it didn't really need to exist.

I would love to read more books like this (theoretically) so please leave recommendations down below. I've heard a lot about how unique this book is, especially considering CoHo's romance background, and I definitely agree. For people who generally aren't fans of Colleen Hoover, I would definitely recommend trying this one out. It's very different from her usual writing and it leaves you with a confused, empty feeling by the end that is just so strong and different from the normal emotions Hoover leaves you with. I really enjoyed this one and am definitely open to reading more of Hoover's writing should it be in this genre in the future. 

Main Character: Lowen

Sidekick(s): Jeremy, etc

Villain(s): Verity, lying, etc

Thriller Elements: This book was full of suspense and twists and turns.