Reviews with content warning for Body shaming - Verity

I read this in a day which I rarely do. The story was well written and I felt I got to know the characters well. The quick pace and dark subject matter make it seem like a horror/mystery only without much depth but the characters are what I will think about for weeks.

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martini666's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced

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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lisa_m's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

This book was crazy and I do understand why people love it. I'm not used to reading thrillers (I don't even know if Verity classifies as one?) but this was horrible to read. I was so disgusted and horrified by the things Verity described in her biography.

I do know, that I'm very sensitive and that books, that are as graphic as this, probably just aren't for me. Also I absolutely hate cheating in books. This book would have been so much better if there hadn't been a romance in there. I do understand though how it made the experience in the house more intense for the protagonist and how it made the ending more intense.

I don't particularily like Lowen. She was terrified even when nothing has happened yet and I feel like it was kind of unrealistic that she chose to stay in that house after reading the manuscript. I would have read the whole thing in one sitting, grabbed all my stuff and then left.
I belive she even says that the only reason she didn't was because of Jeremy. I have to admit that I kind of liked him in the beginning. He was nice to her and even in the biography he seemed like a fun and genuine person. After the ending though it kind of feels like he orchestrated the whole thing.

The romance was just weird. I feel like it wasn't at all a problem for him to cheat on his wife. Like I guess he says he feels guilty but we get to see none of it. I felt like he was flirting with her ever since he met her. (He even kind of admits that when saying he felt a connection to Lowen that was stronger than the connection to his wife had ever been in the bathroom! Like that was 5 min. after they met and coincidentally right when he sees her in just her bra? - I don't actually think that is the reason, still.) Lowen also did not feel like someone still grieving the death of her mother. The romance just felt like it was so disconnected to the rest of the story and didn't make any sense in the context.

I did think it was quite interesting to read the autobiography though. I generally really like different POVs / that every other chapter showed the past. It was disturbing but it was still interesting to see her thoughts. It's unlike anything I've ever read for sure.

I have been spoiled for the plottwists in this book but I don't think it took away too much. I think I would have expected it anyways. Also the letter in the end was a truly great ending. I do not like Lowen and the way she acted throughout the book but especially the end was just weird.

Some of the book reminded me of a modern Jane Eyre. I mean he's rich and has a child to take care of, he hires her and she lives with him, there is his wife (locked up) in the 'attic'... I do not particularily like Mr. Rochester either so I guess my feelings towards the two books are similar. (Jane Eyre is better though)

I did read it all in one sitting though so I guess it couldn't have been that bad. I was completely captivated. I sometimes didn't want to continue and get it over with but sometimes I was genuinly intruiged. I have way more thought on this book than that but I don't really want to think about this book anymore. I don't think it's written badly and I liked the format. The story was alright and I don't like the 'romance'. I get why people like this book but if you're sensitive when reading about neglected children and abuse be careful when reading this. I would definitely tell anyone thinking about reading this to check out the trigger warnings first.

Content Warnings

cassroberts89's review against another edition

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dark 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

2.0

I hate giving low ratings for many reasons, not least of which is because I have a harder time articulating why I don’t like a book than why I do.

1) Characters. I just couldn’t connect with any of them. Like, at all. Lowen is supposed to garner my sympathy and support, but I just couldn’t get behind her. Not because I didn’t like her as a character, but because she is not well-written. There’s a big difference. Jeremy is completely flat. Apparently he’s hot and amazing enough in bed to result in bite marks on the headboard (ouch??), but that’s literally all there is to him as a person. Okay, he had a couple of sweet moments with his son. That’s all I got. No idea why these two women were so obsessed with him. Verity was… not even a character?

If we are to accept that ridiculous letter twist at the very end, then we know absolutely NOTHING about the title character and the reason for everything that happens in the book. I guess that’s the point, but it’s weird. And if her story is real, writing all of those horrific scenes with her now-dead daughters is completely unrealistic for a sand person. I don’t care if it’s a writing exercise, there is simply no way a grieving mother would be able to stomach writing those things. And even without that letter at the end, if we base our knowledge of her on her “manuscript” alone, she’s a seriously disturbing person. More on that below.

2) Trauma for NO apparent reason. I’ve seen this mentioned with CoHo as a whole. This is my first of her novels and while domestic abuse doesn’t really play a part, I thinkI see what people mean. There are quite a few traumatic events that serve no purpose whatsoever. The very first scene with the pedestrian getting hit by the truck? It was jarring and traumatic, both for Lowen and the reader, but was never actually dealt with. Had any normal person witnessed that, they would be dealing with shock and emotions for much longer than what, an hour? And Lowen’s mom dying? Is she even affected? Was that just to give her a talking point with Jeremy? Sure, her relationship with her took a dive after her sleepwalking incident, but there was zero depth to that situation.

The girls’ deaths were obviously major plot points, but Jeremy’s grief just didn’t seem realistic enough. For a minute there I wondered if that was another twist, that he has written the manuscript and done it all himself or something.

3) I still have no idea what reason there was for Lowen’s sleepwalking issue. Maybe just to have an excuse to put locks on her door? There is literally no other possible reason I could think of. It served no purpose and added nothing to the story except one creepy but unnecessary scene.

4)

The stupid last twist. I docked an entire star just for the letter at the end. The story was stronger (less weak?) as it was. It was plenty twisty and disturbed without that last jab. As I mentioned above, her manuscript character (disturbing as it is…) actually makes a lot more sense WITHOUT the letter.

I’ve heard mixed reviews of CoHo as a whole, but I had also heard that this was better/different than her other novels. I’ll admit it was digestible and a quick read, but I can’t get behind all the issues with her actual writing. I don’t think I’ll bother to find out if her other novels are any different after reading this one.

Content Warnings

lilyatwell's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
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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the_bookish_wallflower24's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
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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