Verity

I wanted to be surprised by all the reviews on this book. Verity means truth. Here comes the spoiler.... Crew is plain old creepy but always kept in the background. What would have been a nail bitten ending was if he tipped the boat. If instead of his butter knife incident, he could have blamed it on the visitor. But no. This book is as "shocking" as the lables on orange juice are "vegetarian". At least here in the UK they feel the need to let buyers know that in this bottle of 100% organically squeezed oranges...that there is NOT a single drop of blood. That's nice of them, if I were a moron. Not to be so cruel to just one nation... we live in a time when the professionals feel it is necessary to print out instructions on a box of Pop-Tarts! If you enjoy reading books, but are ironically looking up on Google the vegetarianess of a box of fruit juice- then this book might just be your cuppa!

Unnerved doesn't begin to sum up how I feel having finished this book. Also kind of needing a shower... although less so that some I have read - *cough* Gone Girl *cough*. This is one of those books that makes you doubt yourself and whether what you think you know is actually true. I found the atmosphere to be realistically creepy and the situation really felt for Lowen as she becomes steadily more paranoid, never quite sure that it isn't her mind playing tricks on her. The multi-faceted lies and manipulations are excellently shaped and laid out. I'm not going to say that I enjoyed the diary excerpts; they are deeply, deeply disturbing. However, they felt real and whilst I certainly couldn't empathise with the person behind them, they are very good at forcing you to see through her eyes at the world. It is frightening at points and it is easy to get sucked into the fear and the disgust that Lowen is feeling. Characterisations are generally quite well done, although the gratuitous and constant sex became tedious rather quickly. I felt like I was getting to know all of the characters, with all their faults and whilst I wouldn't want to go on holiday with any of them, they definitely felt real. Each and every one of these characters is flawed and each and every one feels utterly real. It is also a realistic glimpse at the very nature of grief and loss without ever becoming preachy, with all three adult characters grieving for someone close to them in very different ways. The concept of grieving for someone who you don't particularly like all that much is also woven into the narrative quite well, and how that gives a different but no less raw experience. I did however think more could have been done with the child; at times he seemed to be there just for the cuteness factor and his reactions and interpretations of what is going on could have been utilised to a far greater extent. I liked the kid, but that's all that I can say about him. He's in therapy, then he's not in therapy, he doesn't mention the girls and he loves his mother and he's back in therapy. There's no emotional pull with him though, it's all surface platitudes. A full star gets knocked off however due to the constant use of sex as a blunt implement throughout this novel. It's almost every other page and it got really boring. If it's not Verity being screwed by Jeremy in her diary, it's Lowen thinking about screwing Jeremy or actually screwing Jeremy. I'm no prude and I have no issue with sexual content in books, but the over-reliance on it here really did work against it. I could see that it was part of how Hoover is building Verity's character, but it did very little for me. It's a pity because otherwise I flew through this dark and nasty book at a rate of knots, desperate to find out just what was going on and just as confused and horrified as Lowen.

I don’t know where to start with this one.it got so many rave reviews from, mainly US, readers and book clubs, I thought I’d try it myself. I’ve never read a Colleen Hoover novel so had no preconceptions but I didn’t think it was either well written or interesting. The novel is supposed to be creepy and suspenseful but it’s just a bit silly. I don’t want to give any spoilers but there were just so many parts of this novel that were completely unbelievable. When was the last time you heard someone say they ate a letter they wanted to dispose of? Seriously? I hate romance novels as they don’t really reflect real life - they are far too convenient - woman meets handsome man, they fall in love and it’s all perfect - and they really undermine the idea that women can live happy fulfilled lives without being in a relationship at all times. Anyway, I hate romance and this is really just a romance with a slightly odd twist to it. I’m glad it s a short book as it meant I didn’t waste more than a day on it and it’s safe to say I won’t be reading any more “CoHo” books ever again!

***warning— this is not something I would have wanted to read while I was dealing with PPD*** This is most likely the worst review ever written because I honestly don’t know how to go about it without giving much away. I hate to read a review just to see spoilers. I guess I just feel I hated all of the characters and felt so grossed out by so much of this book that I couldn’t fully enjoy it. I had to finish it in that “can’t look away from the train wreck” sense and the fact I hate to not give it my all with books once I start them, but I just disliked it in the end for that shock value factor it seemed to have. Read for yourself! It’s what I did. There was a lot of hype for this book, for the level of smut and the “edge of your seat” kind of stuff in my Facebook book group so I tried it but it was a bit much, like trying TOO hard. I am not a prude by any means, but some of the stuff in this book made my stomach turn, referring to the hate towards the children and whatnot. And I never understood all of the alluding to Low’s issues from childhood with her mother and sleepwalking, other than I imagine it was just a plot helper when it came to locks on doors and whatnot. I have read fantasy books that seemed more plausible and feasible than this. I just felt really disappointed in it. I would be willing to try other Colleen Hoover books. I like her writing style in this, I think it’s why I was able to finish it, too. It helped. But this story, this plot, just didn’t do much for me.

It is no secret that I am a died-in-the-wool fan of Colleen Hoover's writing. She knows how to bring the reader into the story and be a participant. Verity is one of those books that I will remember years from now. There were so many things I loved about it. First of all, Lowen is an author I could relate to. She's written a few books and makes a little money, but she's an introvert and shies away from any public interaction with her readers. Things take a huge turn when her agent calls her about a meeting he insists she attends. And what are the odds that a man would step out in the path of a vehicle and die right in front of her on the way to the meeting? Not only die but splatter blood all over her blouse. She is beyond traumatized when a stranger steers her into a nearby restroom and gives her the shirt off his back so she can still attend her meeting. But then imagine Lowen's surprise when the stranger is in the same meeting. The stranger's wife is Verity Crawford, a world-renowned author who is now incapacitated from a car wreck. They need someone to finish the series Verity was working on before the accident. Jeremy Crawford chose Lowen and insists she is the right one to finish the work. They make Lowen an offer she can't refuse. Step in and finish the series and, in return, receive a million dollars. While everything inside her screams, "No," she can't refuse an offer like that. And there is something about Jeremy she can't say no to. What Lowen finds in Verity's office is horrifying. Then when she begins to suspect the woman is faking her injuries, the tension mounts. And it doesn't help that Lowen has now fallen in love with Jeremy. I wish I could express this multi-dimensional story layout in a way you could visualize. Between character interactions and Lowen reading Verity's autobiography, it's a gripping tale I could not put down. I couldn't read it fast enough. The climactic ending left me stunned. I will not leave any spoilers. I'll just say that if you love a suspense-filled story with strong sexual undertones, you will devour this book as I did!