Reviews tagging 'Suicide attempt'

Verity by Colleen Hoover

343 reviews

emmaxab's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

The second half of this review does contain spoilers - I’ll add a paragraph break and a warning beforehand :) 

 

Right - I swore off Colleen Hoover’s books because I knew that they included a lot of toxic relationships, and that’s just not something I find myself wanting to read about. But I heard through a friend (hi Emily :) that this was a singularly good book and the blurb intrigued me, so I thought that I’d give it a go. I’m glad I did (I don’t give books star ratings, but I’d probably say this was a solid 3 out of 5 (and I’m quite generous with my stars)). 

 

I enjoyed the fact that this was a suspense/thriller novel - not a genre I typically read as I’m a scaredy cat at heart - but truthfully this book did not feel that scary to me. Creepy, definitely, but scary? Not particularly. The scariest thing was probably the narrator’s unwillingness to do anything to actually get herself out or call anyone (when she had multiple opportunities to do so). 

 

Whilst I was reading I couldn’t help but draw similarities to Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier, a book I love - which probably worked to Verity’s disadvantage, as it paled in comparison. Even though less ‘scary’ things happen in Rebecca, Maurier’s ability to create a sense of unease me feel far more fear than Verity did. There’s also similarities between the heroes of the book - Maxim de Winter and Jeremy Crawford - the fact they are older and richer than our heroine, and in the way the narrators have a healthy suspicion of them that is overpowered by their hatred for Verity/Rebecca. The fact both are named by the corresponding (not) heroine too, is interesting, and makes me think that maybe Rebecca was a real source of inspiration for this novel. 

 

SPOILER WARNING (MILD): 

 

The passage where I first felt that there was a clear sense of inspiration/similarity between the two was when Hoover writes about Lowen, the narrator, driving up to this big house in the Vermont countryside, where the hero and wife live: 

 

“The GPS is leading me down a long, windy road flanked by flowering dog-wood trees and houses that keep getting bigger and more spread apart. […] Two tall brick columns loom on both sides of the driveway - a driveway that never seems to end. I crane my beck, trying to see the length of it, but the dark asphalt snakes between the trees. Somewhere up there is the house, and somewhere inside that house is Verity Crawford.” - Verity 

 

Something gave me the feeling that Hoover was doing her own version of the opening chapter of Rebecca - the whole “last night I dreamed I went to Manderley again” type. Only, Verity isn’t written that well - and the writing seems to flounder the more the book goes on; as the plot unfolds, and the twists are twisting, the writing gets more and more sloppy. This was really disappointing - because I don’t think the plot was all that bad. 

 

SPOILER WARNING (HEAVY): 

 

The issues I had with the writing came to a head with the letter Lowen finds under the floorboards. This was such a pivotal scene - it was the last twist that is meant to leave the reader guessing beyond the book. As a twist it was powerful, but it didn’t have nearly as much impact as it should have done because the writing suddenly became rushed, sloppy, and the pacing went completely out of the window. I understand that it’s meant to be a kind of cliffhanger of sorts, but we should have witnessed the effect it had on Lowen a little more. (If you want my thoughts as to whether to believe the letter or the manuscript - given how badly the letter scene was written, I think it’s a better book if the manuscript is true, but if the letter had been given more precedence and better writing then it could have been the more interesting, creepy narrative as Lowen is still with Jeremy). 

 

In short, I believe the potential creepiness of it all was lessened by the writing and the romance (unbelievable at best, absolutely sh*t at worst), which was probably why I was able to read it as I tend to steer clear of the genre. That being said, I read it in less than 24 hours - so maybe I was more invested than this review suggests. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Pregnancy

giannaa01's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

this book was INSANE. i’ve never read a book like this but i loved it. 

the ending was absolutely INSANE. team manuscript or team letter?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Mental illness, Sexual content, Medical trauma, Abortion, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Grief, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Medical trauma, and Suicide attempt

ksalzanooo's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Car accident, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Violence, Abortion, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol

henolte's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Infertility, Abortion, and Suicide attempt

nialiversuch's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

taulkstoomuch's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

1.0

This book had such potential to be an excellent novel on the struggles that women face, especially surrounding pregnancy. Not only were those problems not addressed, but the women were also villainised for resenting children that they did not want in the first place.

After seeing my visceral reaction to the awfulness of the book, my sister asked me if the book was actually good since it was able to get such a reaction out of me. I wondered about this for a while, maybe she had a point, but after thinking about it for a couple of days, I can say that she was wrong. It's not that the book was amazing bar one thing... it was awful bar one maybe. The plot was awful, as mentioned above; the ending felt like a cop-out.

All that disgusting description of all the things Verity can't be justified by it all being antagonistic writing. That doesn't make up for the fact that all that horrible stuff was written.

This was accompanied by not-so-good writing. How are 2 women so besotted by what seems like the most average man in the world, to the point where they are able and willing to commit actual crimes? There's no man in the world that is worth that, it has to be a joke.

I can't think for a second why someone would enjoy this book, let alone make it one of their favourites. If this is the case, I thoroughly recommend some sort of psychiatric help, even if it is for reassurance purposes. If you are considering reading this book, I suggest you heed the instructions written in Colleen Hoover's acknowledgements to her husband and 'don't' :)

Anything I have missed is more eloquently and passionately said by Cindy (withcindy) in her YouTube videos about this abomination people call a novel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Sexual content, and Violence

Moderate: Mental illness, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Ableism, Body shaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Car accident, and Abortion

lucygraham_27's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Sexual content, and Murder

Moderate: Abortion

Minor: Vomit and Suicide attempt

carloscapy's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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? No

4.5

Holy moly this book was so good, but so terrifying. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

asheedan's review against another edition

medium-paced

2.0

this was miserable lowkey. the writing style felt childish and explained even simple concepts. the characters were so unbearable and extremely one dimensional. i was genuinely disgusted throughout most of this book. however it was very entertaining lmao

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, and Suicide attempt

oliviapankiw's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK. i don’t like colleen hoovers other stuff but this. she needs to stick to writing thrillers because DAMN. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail