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 how to write a review for this book. I'm underwhelmed and feeling blank. I have never liked one of this author's books, sappy romance isn't my thing, so I haven't read anything by her in years. But when I saw Tarryn Fisher had promoted it and called it dark and twisty, I was exited. I enjoy a dark and twisty book, but I like smart books. Hitchcock is a favorite of mine. This is not quite that. And leaving the ending open, felt rushed. Sort of like she got down to the wire, and didn't have time to finish it. Or she wrote the book without knowing what the ending would be. I know she has a large fan club who always leave her glowing reviews, but if you are looking for a review from someone who loves this specific genre and doesn't leave fan reviews, read the Sugar and Spice review. It's a very honest three star review. I had seen it, I discounted it. I wish I hadn't. I'm finished the book and left with a meh taste in my mouth. Underwhelmed for the cost. I might have paid 0.99 for the book had I listened to the three star and less reviews. But I paid full price and it just wasn't worth it. I had to force myself to finish after the halfway mark. Great idea for a novel, but maybe better written by someone who enjoys the genre more. I hate to say stay in your lane to anyone, but clearly she has a large crowd of adoring fans for a reason. Perhaps romance is better for her.