Reviews with content warning for Ableism - Verity

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.

Content Warnings

csharp's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

2.75

This was a quick and easy read, Hoover’s writing and storytelling isn’t innovative or complex at all, but that’s fine.
This wasn’t really a thriller at all to me, there was a creepy part here or there but by the time I finished reading it was all explained to be normal.
I didn’t really appreciate the little bits of ableism, referring to a brain damaged person as an empty egg shell. I understand carer’s stress but treating a disabled person like they’re a burden is gross.
It seems like Hoover didn’t want to admit that she wanted to write smut, so tried to throw in some elements of a mystery/thriller when really this is mostly smut with a side of story.
I liked the characterisation of Lowen, however not much going on with Jeremy.
The ending:
I thought the twist at the end was so cheap and convenient. Why the hell would you write a manuscript “pretending” to admit to your own daughter’s death after your husband is already suspicious of you? So stupid. Also as I said Verity’s long ass letter at the end just watered down every creepy part of the story because she explains how everything happened. Made the whole plot a cop out
.
All in all, an easy and enjoyable read. 2.75 ⭐️ because I felt the storyline was very basic and most of it was undone by the end.

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infjkiki's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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squidknees's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious 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

3.25

Quick and fun. Thrilling!

Content Warnings

polly_zilhaver's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad 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

3.0

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lcesario's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

I honestly went into this book thinking that I wouldn’t enjoy it but, saying that would be wrong. While I did enjoy the book, I feel as though Colleen Hoover tackles such harsh topics without a delicate hand. It’s disappointing seeing the topics that were covered so callously and it felt as though it was thrown in for shock value. However, I do think that this is a well written book. I really enjoy the plot, and while I did have a feeling about the ending, I still was just as shocked as if I didn’t know it. She did throw in a great twist at the end, and I would be excited to read something similar if it wasn’t so gruesome in it’s nature regarding topics that are hard for most people. I probably will pick up this book when I’m in the mood for feeling scared, but I don’t think I will be recommending this to anybody who may be has suffered some of the themes that were covered in this book.

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