Verity by Colleen Hoover
Stacey • July 29, 2019
Release Date: December 10, 2018
The best nail biter of the year, has struggler writer Lowen accepting a job she doesn’t really want but desperately needs. A self confessed recluse and verging on bankruptcy, she has nowhere else to go. After a harrowing trip to her publishers leaves her with no alternative to take what’s being dangled in front of her, she travels to the impressive abode of the one and only Verity Crawford.
Verity is a highly successful and starlet of an author. Her book series, a hot commodity to her publishers has them reeling when Verity now unable to complete the last books in the series, leading them to do whatever it takes to see their hard work bought to fruition. After an accident leaves her without the ability to finish the last 3 novels in her series, it falls to Lowen to decipher her notes and ghostwrite in her stead…
With the gentle nudging from Verity’s husband Jeremy, Lowen starts the process of organizing the thoughts of a woman who scribbles everything down on any median she can find. The unexpected discovery of a self-written biography has Lowen gripped, appalled and unable to leave it alone, putting herself into a situation she can’t understand or seem to get out of. The heart-racing and deeply penetrating look into Verity’s very psyche and soul has Lowen questioning Verity’s own character while the eerie goings on in the Crawford household has her questioning her own sanity.
Will she reveal what she has discovered and take Verity’s husband, as well as her career or will she succumb and crumble under the weight of the confessions she did not expect to find….
Will the truth set any of them free? Or will it lead to something much more sinister??
Lowen is a struggling author and self confessed hermit, locked in her apartment, taking care of her ailing mother, who fears and loathes her only child. Putting herself into ruin to take care of her sick mother, with death came the release she needed. That is until she finds out that her mother lied about leaving her a nest egg after having Lowen spend all her money on taking care of her. Evicted from her apartment, now has Lowen accepting a job she doesn’t want. She not only feels she can’t fill the shoes of the author she will be ghostwriting for but also feels uncomfortable being around the handsome and charismatic Jeremy Crawford, Verity husband.
Verity is the exact opposite of Lowen. She loves the parties and the glitz that comes with the book tours and having her name in print. Lowen avoids any interactions with the public, which is essentially the reason why she doesn’t make the kind of money Verity makes from her own work. After being offered the kind of money she can’t refuse, she goes to the Crawford home to organize and find the inspiration to write the books the publishers are so desperate to have.
Lowen feels unsettled and fearful being in the house with the woman who’s life she has virtually invaded. Verity is basically brain-dead and has a room in the home set up as a hospital room. She has a nurse taking care of her, feed her and bathe her. She doesn’t move, or react to sounds or notice anything around her…. Or does she? Lowen has this feeling like Verity is watching her. Assessing her and making her feel like she is losing her mind. You can literally feel the intensity of the paranoia comes across loud and clear. It had me, a few times, turn around and check no one was behind me. Finding the biography penned in Verity’s own hand had me curious and fearful for Lowen on so many occasions. I never did feel like Lowen wasn’t reading the situation correctly so I always had a feeling what was happening really the truth.
Lowen’s feelings of inadequacy and jealousy ring authentically throughout the whole novel. The pace is well set and my jaw dropped so many times from the twists even I didn’t see coming!
My biggest grievances? There is never any real explanations about Jeremy. I have a million questions and this book has left me with nowhere to go for answers. This was the one pitfall for me, unless there is going to be a second book, which from my understanding, there will not be. I have an underlying feeling that he isn’t who he pretends to be but I also don’t think he’s the person that Verity wrote about either. They both lost 2 children, twin girls, it’s apparent he has a lot of suppressed angry and sadness that he has yet to deal with, especially after Verity’s accident. I felt his character could have had more built in. I really would have like to know if my theories on him were correct. The whole crux of the story, seems to hinge on what happened to their daughter at the lake. Having been presented with two scenarios and no actual conclusion, seems to invite more questions than it answered.
Lowen really had me sympathizing with her and rooting her until pretty much the very end. I felt she was well written and I felt certain camaraderie with her! She was relatable, quirky and not your usual protagonist. The ending was where I started to question who she was! She seemed content, armed with the new information she got, to just ignore the revelations in black and white and go on her merry way! That does not jibe with the woman, I felt I had gotten to know through the entire book. I didn’t feel she had any misgivings after her discovery and any woman, in her right mind, would have some.
Verity was a very interesting piece of a very complex pie for me. I thirsted to know more and yet, wouldn’t want to be left in a room alone with her. I began to fear her. Irrational fears too! Which version was the truth? That was the biggest crux for me and I’m guessing that is exactly what the author wanted but it left me feeling a little short changed. I get the concept of leaving it to the readers interpretation to decipher what was true and what wasn’t, as a place to get people discussing the book but it actually angered me a little. Clever trick by the author or an oversight? I don’t feel lead in any direction as each scenario is plausible but also neither can be the complete truth in my opinion.
If you enjoy thrillers with romance, deceit and jaw dropping twists then I highly recommend Verity. My heart still palpitates when I see the cover of the book and while I loathed the open ended conclusion, I still give this book a star rating of 5/5.
Sincerely, The Lioness
Dark Academia at its finest
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