Verity

“Warning: Verity is not going to melt your heart. It’s going to fry your soul.”

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1. VERITY by Colleen Hoover

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.

BOOK REVIEW

Verity was such a mindblowing suspenseful novel, a true masterpiece. I was sitting in front of my laptop and staring at the screen for an hour like a total idiot, not knowing how to describe how I feel without spilling too much information and spoiling such a unique experience for a potential reader. So in the end, I decided to briefly talk about the main characters and the general atmosphere enveloping the book.

“I think the idea of me is better than the reality of me.”

First things first, Lowen was a struggling writer saddled with loneliness, desperation, and introvert nature, seeking and finding escape in books. Verity’s autobiography was as unputdownable for her as the entire book was for me. I wanted to be there for her. Actually, hell NO. The reigning tension in the house was too palpable and freaky. I was so scared that I was mentally screaming at Lowen to leave the damn house.

Now let’s move to mysterious Jeremy. He was tender and so sweet and tentative to his son. I was fascinated by his small interactions with Lowen, and I could really feel his hesitation and maybe fear (?) at starting a new relationship, his inner struggle against obvious guilt and some twisted sense of duty.

If we were friends, I would do something to comfort him. Maybe grab his hand and hold it. But there’s too much inside me that wants to be more than his friend, which means we can’t be friends at all. If an attraction is present between two people, those two people can only be one of two things. Involved or not involved. There is no in-between.

Jeremy and Lowen experienced irresistible gravitation towards one another. Their sexual tension was out of this world, easily explosive and dangerously unstable, ready to combust any minute, second even.

Also, I felt bad for Crew. The poor kid was sandwiched between two damaged parents and torn apart by them at the same time.

A writer should never have the audacity to write about themselves unless they’re willing to separate every layer of protection between the author’s soul and their book. The words should come directly from the center of the gut, tearing through flesh and bone as they break free. Ugly and honest and bloody and a little bit terrifying, but completely exposed.

Finally, we have Verity who was a complex narrator with some very twisted mind, a wicked puppet master behind the main stage. To be completely honest, I still haven’t decided how I feel about her…

““It’s natural, to assume the worst in people, even if that assumption is only for a split second.””

SPOILER! The ending is vague… and it makes me literally insane. So, there’s a supposed autobio of Verity revealing all her crazy shit as well as a letter saying that the things mentioned in the autobio are products of mere imagination. Obviously, both stories cannot be true.

So, the million-dollar question is, was Verity an innocent victim of a misunderstanding, or was she the psychotic liar she appeared to be from the outset?