Verity | At a glance

Title: Verity

Author: Colleen Hoover

Published: December 7th 2018 by Hoover Ink, Inc.

Pages: 333

Genre: Romance, Thriller, Mystery

Goodreads Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Stars

Verity was the third book I read this month and was off of my February Reading List, which you can see HERE. I had heard really great reviews of this book which was the main reason I decided to add it to my list this month. Other than that though, I really hadn’t given to much thought into what story I was about to dive into. Before I get too deep into my review though, I will say that there is some vulgarity and mature content within these pages. It all ties the story together and is very relevant to the plot line as well, but if you’re triggered by graphic depictions then you might want to avoid this book.

Synopsis

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 the night their family was forever altered.

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.

Thoughts

To start I have never read any of Colleen Hoover’s works, even though she is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of at least eleven novels. I believe most of her books are more romance, love stories so they would generally be outside of my normal genre. A romance book here and there is fine, but I live off of thrillers and mysteries. Verity is by all accounts a romance book but I would classify it more as a suspense mystery novel more than anything else. And while her other books might not be my speed, this one, this book about an author named Verity, is outstanding and is right up my alley.

Verity: Noun: is the quality or state of being real or true. It can also be described as: a true principle or belief, especially one of fundamental importance. In other words, verity means ‘truth’ and let me just tell you that the plot of this story can basically be summed up in that one word. I could never in a million years pick a better title than what Hoover picked for this story. That alone deserves all the stars.

I feel as if I don’t even need to write a full review for this book at this point, since Verity describes the whole thing in one beautiful, obscure, and concise word. But here is at least some of my thoughts past the title of the book.

“She said we were Chronics. Prone to chronic tragedy. One terrible thing after another.”

This story is dark, hypnotizing, and addictive.

The first few pages of this book were traumatic and immediately grabbed my face and screamed “pay attention to me.” After the first initial scene, I was hooked. I knew this book was going to ‘mind fuck’ me (excuse my frenchh, but if that made you uncomfortable this book is not for you) when the first few pages depict a man missing the crosswalk sign and having his head implode after being run over by a car in the middle of New York City.

This book is all about perception. It’s what looks to be true from a surface level and what we are willing to believe of people. And while the book has three main characters, Verity is by far my favorite.  I love the villainous characteristics Hoover gives to Verity and the way in which she does it.  Every time we get a chapter of her memoir, the only words I could even think of were “what the actual fuck”, because of how dark and twisted her inner monologue was. By the time I had a few pages left, I thought I had wrapped my head around the plot of the story but I was wrong, very wrong. This had me craving more and I’m dying for Hoover to write Verity’s book series for us to read!

This book is a ★★★★★ read for me and honestly between this one and The Hearts Invisible Furies, I’m going to have a very hard time picking out my favorite for 2019. Reminder that there are some mature graphic scenes but if you’re interested in reading it, get it HERE!