Diary of a bookworm

Verity – Colleen Hoover (CoHo)

Content Notes:

Published/Pages: 2021/333

POV: Single – Heroine

Trope: Friends to Lovers, Forced Proximity

Goodreads Bookshelves: contemporary romance, favorites, forced psychological thriller, proximity, friends to lovers, suspense

HEA: Yes

Steam Level: Sensual/Steamy

Swearing: Moderate

Trigger Warnings: Alcohol, Anxiety, Attempted Murder, Cancer, Child Abuse (fetus abuse), Child Death, Death, Depression, Dysphoria, Grief, Hospitalization, Mental Illness, Murder, Nightmares, Paralysis, Pregnancy, Violence

My Rating:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Book Description: 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 her family was forever altered. Lowen decides to keep the manuscript hidden from Jeremy, knowing its contents could 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 loving her.

My Goodreads Review (No Spoilers)

My Review (w/spoilers):

Lowen & Jeremy 

This is the first Suspense Romance/ Psychological Thriller, I’ve read, and I have to say… I’m hooked! I would definitely read this type of book again. It was so good; I have seriously never read a book as fast as I read Verity. I was just dying to know what happened next. At one point, I was in the kitchen making dinner and reading (not an easy task), I was so into it I was mumbling things and rocking back and forth. My nephew asked “Um, are you okay?” I hadn’t even realized how sucked in I was. I’m not a fan of horror or seriously scary things, just not my thing. However, this book has the right amount to keep you freaked out and, on your toes, but not completely terrified. 

This book was also Colleen Hoover’s first Suspense Romance, she even mentions how much she enjoyed writing it; “Thank you for taking a chance on this book. It’s a departure from the emotional love stories I usually write, so I very much appreciate you coming on this journey with me.” 

“Some families are lucky enough to never experience a single tragedy. But then there are those families that seem to have tragedies waiting on the back burner. What can go wrong, goes wrong. And then gets worse.” -Lowen

From the get-go, I was like… “WHAT?!” The freaking accident, and how she meets Jeremy. It was a lot to take in. And then of course her background was a lot too. The whole story is really not for the faint of heart. It has a lot of dark themes in it. 

So, what I love about Goodreads is that you can see and share your notes and highlights, choosing which ones are public or not. When you go to the ones for Verity, Hoover highlighted and made her own notes throughout the book. Giving insight to her thought process, which was different and fun. She does mention that she identified with Lowen a bit. That she felt a bit small and unimportant at times, even that her words and stories weren’t always good enough. Which sounds crazing, coming from a #1 bestselling author. But we are human…  

Anyway… I truly can’t find the exact words to describe how I feel about this book. It was insane, shocking, sexy, and scary. Even that description feels off. This is one of those stories you truly have to read to understand.  

“And that’s why I stay at home and write. I think the idea of me is better than the reality of me.” -Lowen

I originally read this story via Kindle Unlimited. However, the hardcover edition was on sale at Target, and I’m a sucker for a beautiful hardcover. But what really sold me was the bonus ending at the back of the book. Yes, I could have totally stood in the book section at Target for fifteen minutes and read it without buying the book. But it really is a beautiful cover, so shiny. Haha 

The original ending really let you make your own decision on whose truth was really the truth. And let’s be honest, almost all of us believed Verity to be completely batshit crazy. I mean… seriously. Every time I have doubts about that, I always think about what Lowen said about having children; she wasn’t able to completely understand before she became a mother, but no mother would be able to write the things that Verity wrote, even if it was an exercise. Which leads me to believe that Verity was batshit and she did all those terrible things… 

The bonus ending… kind of has you questioning all that. I mean, the guy killed another person! An innocent lady. Even if he was protecting his family. I think I liked the original ending better. The bonus ending made me question everything AGAIN. Ugh. 

I could seriously talk about this book forever. But I’ll always be left with the same question Lowen was; “No matter which way I look at it, it’s clear that Verity was a master at manipulating the truth. The only question that remains is: Which truth was she manipulating?”