Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

Verity by Colleen Hoover

294 reviews

nikrib's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

Zero stars. I’m not on the hate train for CH. If this type of writing engages more people in reading books then so be it & good for them, everyone should read more. However, this is where CH & I go our separate ways. I read ‘It Ends With Us’, ‘It Starts With Us’, & now ‘Verity’. At least I can say I tried. Again, not on the hate train but I will give my spiel. 

CH books read like a high school project & an aspiring author. Where is the depth to these narratives? Why are the plots always good in theory but then the execution falls terribly flat? These books aggravate me, yearning for even an ounce dynamic character development. Why over saturate the narratives with numerous sex scenes? Are all CH books smut? ‘Verity’ was suppose to be a thriller? Perhaps this book read as a thriller to those who aren’t avid thriller fans. 

Other reviews mention that this book had great twists. What twists? This narrative was predictable & severely underwhelming. It seems the positive reviews stem from readers who are shocked of the subject matter & let that hang over them for the entirety of the book. Just because an author writes controversial topics does not make the narrative automatically shine. Where is the world building to immerse readers? Where is the sufficient depth of themes & motifs? Where are the relatable characters or even likable characters? 

I found myself flipping back & forth in the book due to the plot holes, contradictory writing, poor descriptive language, & plot jumping. This book was by no means difficult to read, it reads like a YA, which is how the other two CH books I read also are. 

Lastly, the endings to these books. I’ve never shut the back cover of a book & then wanted to re-read the last chapter again & again to ensure I did in fact not miss anything. Why are the endings so unfulfilling? There are far better ways to weave in traumatic experiences into a narrative where the reader feels empowered by the end to seek help or finally fix/leave a situation, but instead we’re left gripping the pages & shaking the book in frustration. What on earth is the moral of the story with all this problematic misogynistic female to male relationship dynamic? 

If you read CH books like a campfire story instead of a novel, all is well. If you’re reading this review & are a fan of CH, more power to you & I’m genuinely glad you enjoy the books. I gave it a go & will be returning to my Stephen King TBR pile. Cheers!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Grief, Self harm, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Car accident, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Child death, Death, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Suicide attempt, and Sexism

matiiiiiilde's review against another edition

medium-paced

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Pregnancy, Child death, Grief, Death, Medical content, Self harm, and Toxic relationship

tabby09's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

Was a fun read. Really disturbing at times. Ending was kind of questionable 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Medical content, Child death, and Child abuse

Moderate: Death of parent and Car accident

Drowning, attempted abortion, attempted infant murder

ksilvio's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Grief, Medical content, Abortion, Cancer, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Child abuse, Death of parent, Blood, Body shaming, Physical abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, and Vomit

aimeefranks's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Death, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Child death, Death of parent, Medical content, Violence, Dementia, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Confinement, Murder, Abortion, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Pregnancy

gracielou2000's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Medical content, Pregnancy, Car accident, Child abuse, Death, Medical trauma, Murder, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Abortion, Child death, Blood, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

Minor: Death of parent, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Rape, and Gaslighting

angeliquescollection's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0

I read this because it was the only book I had that fit a book challenge prompt and to be honest, not mad at it. Well at least not in the beginning. I was very intrigued with the way the book started and the way Lowen and Jeremy met.

This book made me feel so anxious, nervous, freaked out, and disgusted. This is my first "thriller" book so I had to get used to the eerie nature of it all. I was so freaked out, I had to finish it in day light.

But then was so disappointed at the ending. I was freaked out for no reason. It sort of felt rushed in a way. Like it was a cop out. I expected more. But to be clear I wasn't expecting it to end that way. It caught me off guard but it lacked oomf.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Car accident, Pregnancy, Body horror, Child death, Toxic relationship, and Sexual content

Moderate: Medical trauma, Medical content, and Murder

Minor: Vomit

zoe_333's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Child abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Death, Toxic relationship, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content

Moderate: Infidelity

emmajh91's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gaslighting, Medical content, Sexual content, and Car accident

el_wheel's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I actually, rather grudgingly, have to give this a good rating. It's ridiculous, it's batshit crazy. It made me laugh at moments it shouldn't have *because* it was batshit crazy. But it did have me invested and the ending did actually get me. I wasn't expecting that. And the writing was good barring the profound amount of sex and absurdity. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Sexual content, Grief, Cancer, Gaslighting, Child death, Death, Medical content, Car accident, Vomit, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Child abuse, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Infidelity, and Gore

Moderate: Ableism, Abortion, and Death of parent