Verity by Colleen Hoover

  

    My mom is one of the many that criticizes me for reading Colleen Hoover. While her claim -- that Hoover's books are baseless and have the same effect as preschoolers watching too much TV -- unfortunately has a valid point, everyone needs a break from the drag that is homework and reading for enrichment. Some people mindlessly scroll; I read Colleen Hoover. I know hordes of people criticize her writing, the themes in her novels, and so much more, but I love reading her books because they don't require too much of my brainpower. I'll read one of her books, devour it within a matter of hours, and feel content; because no matter how outlandish the happy ending in her books, it's always happy. I have read MANY Colleen Hoover books, but Verity is my favorite. Albeit the writing leaves some to be desired, the plot is genius. You'll see. 

    Verity starts with struggling writer Lowen Ashleigh's life circling a downward spiral. Her mom just died; her books aren't performing well; nothing is going according to plan. You know. The usual. She's on her way to meet with her ex-boyfriend of a literary agent when she's offered the opportunity to ghostwrite for a superfamous and currently comatose author, Verity Crawford. Lowen doesn't know how she feels about this, but before you know it, she's moved into Verity's house and is ghostwriting, full steam ahead. She learns more about Verity's husband, Jeremy, and the incidents that shook their household to the core: the separate incidents of the death of both their daughters. The deaths are ruled an accident, but while Lowen is sorting through Verity's notes for writing material, she comes across an unpublished manuscript. The manuscript is a detailed account of Verity and Jeremy's relationship, from when they first met, to their marriage, to even what happened the fateful night of their first daughter's death. Apparently, Verity was injured in a car accident, but as Lowen gets deeper into the autobiography no one was ever supposed to read, she becomes more and more horrified as to who's supposedly brain-dead upstairs. She starts seeing things: Verity standing in her room, lurking on the stairs, windows and doors open when they were previously closed. And as she and Jeremy start their relationship -- because of course they do -- Verity's seemingly perfect life is stripped of its lies for good. 

    I loved this book, especially because it's impossible to put down, and Hoover grips you from the very first page. I got BEYOND scared while reading it and even more scared while writing this. The book, as with many CoHo books, alternates from the manuscript in Verity's voice to the present day from Lowen's point of view. Readers were able to watch Jeremy's development from a naïve twenty-something to a depressed father as a result of what Verity did, which I won't tell you, because you gotta read it for yourself. Verity just builds upon itself until the climax, which is possibly the most satisfyingly dramatized thing I've ever read. 

    However, there were more than a few things with this book that nitpicky me just needed to point out. Lowen doesn't have much personality, her and Jeremy's relationship starts a little abruptly (he bakes her cake for her birthday, and I suppose you know the rest), and the entire book is reaching -- but like I said, I don't read Colleen Hoover for believability. I read Hoover because her books are good. But this is where my mother is unfortunately right; the plot of the book can only take it so far. Lowen has some crazy backstory of childhood trauma vis-à-vis her mother, and somehow, it's incorporated into one of her many, lengthy musings in the book. Also, Hoover's use of italics is a little unnecessary and excessive. Nevertheless, I seem to have surprisingly low standards, because the book is just so fun to read. I don't know how else to describe it! When I was going over the book before writing this post, I found myself still reading it some fifteen minutes later, absorbed in the life of a reclusive girl who is attending the meeting of a lifetime after just watching a man die by getting hit by a car. And yes, that's how the book starts. 

    So, basically, READ THIS BOOK! Although the writing is Colleen Hoover, the plot is ALSO Colleen Hoover, and you can pretty much always expect the craziest outcomes from her. I promise you, if you're looking for a super creepy somewhat romance, Verity won't disappoint. I got so spooked in the middle of the book that I simply put it down and walked away ... and then came back some two minutes later, because it's Colleen Hoover. Her books are just good in an inexplicable way. 

- Simrah