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A review by thosebookishpages
Verity by Colleen Hoover
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
getting straight to the point- if you've read Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier and then read Verity, you know exactly what im gonna talk about in this review.
I feel like Colleen Hoover read Rebecca and decided that she wants to write Rebecca Fanfiction, and thats how this book was born. so many of the plot points, character arcs and plot twists have been picked up from Rebecca and just directly thrown into this book, so i made a list of those :)
Rebecca and Verity:
- Title is the wife’s names (Rebecca and Verity)
- Nameless character-character with more than one name (lack of identity)
- Older man falling in love dynamic
- Wife dead/can’t move around by her self so incapable of doing things
- The house’s description, the driveway, everything
- Trusted maid/nurse who judges the main character and doesn’t like her (Mrs. Danvers and April)
- Verity’s office- Rebecca’s morning room
- The conflict of not being as good as Verity/Rebecca
- Landscape surrounding the house
- Husband killing the wife and getting away with it
i honestly tried so hard to like this book but it just wasn't for me. the main reason for this was the fact that the author's originality was lost amongst all the points she took from Rebecca. even the writing just wasn't doing it for me. i feel like it lacked nuance and wasn't refined.
SO MANY of the things in this book were disturbing to an extent that it was physically hard for me to continue reading. the way in which the things were described was so traumatic and unnecessary, i feel like this shouldn't have been the case and it shouldn't have been written in the first place. (please read the trigger warnings before reading the book)
i don't know what else to say about this apart from the fact that i didn't like this book.
the only good critique is that Colleen Hoover is fairly good at writing horror/supernatural elements and i would've enjoyed this book much more if i got to see more of that.
I feel like Colleen Hoover read Rebecca and decided that she wants to write Rebecca Fanfiction, and thats how this book was born. so many of the plot points, character arcs and plot twists have been picked up from Rebecca and just directly thrown into this book, so i made a list of those :)
- Title is the wife’s names (Rebecca and Verity)
- Nameless character-character with more than one name (lack of identity)
- Older man falling in love dynamic
- Wife dead/can’t move around by her self so incapable of doing things
- The house’s description, the driveway, everything
- Trusted maid/nurse who judges the main character and doesn’t like her (Mrs. Danvers and April)
- Verity’s office- Rebecca’s morning room
- The conflict of not being as good as Verity/Rebecca
- Landscape surrounding the house
- Husband killing the wife and getting away with it
i honestly tried so hard to like this book but it just wasn't for me. the main reason for this was the fact that the author's originality was lost amongst all the points she took from Rebecca. even the writing just wasn't doing it for me. i feel like it lacked nuance and wasn't refined.
SO MANY of the things in this book were disturbing to an extent that it was physically hard for me to continue reading. the way in which the things were described was so traumatic and unnecessary, i feel like this shouldn't have been the case and it shouldn't have been written in the first place. (please read the trigger warnings before reading the book)
i don't know what else to say about this apart from the fact that i didn't like this book.
the only good critique is that Colleen Hoover is fairly good at writing horror/supernatural elements and i would've enjoyed this book much more if i got to see more of that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment
Moderate: Child abuse, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting
Minor: Body horror, Cancer, Vomit, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail