A review by stwriter92
Verity by Colleen Hoover

dark mysterious tense 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

2.0

I must admit that I've been avoiding reading Colleen Hoover because of the mixed reviews I have heard of her work. However, I read this novel because a former student lent it to me. From what I understand, this is one of Colleen Hoover's more well known novels. 

The novel centers on Lowen Ashleigh, a struggling writer who is given an incredible and peculiar offer: continue writing a series for bestselling author Verity Crawford, as Verity can no longer continue writing due to severe health complications. Lowen takes the offer, partially because she needs the work and partially because Verity's very handsome husband, Jeremy, asked her particularly. When Lowen arrives at the Crawford's mansion in Vermont, she sets to work immediately. However, among the boxes of notes Verity has left, Lowen finds a scandalous autobiography written by the currently comatose award winning author. As Lowen reads more and more of the autobiography, she uncovers secrets and scandals that explains the truth of how Verity's daughter died.

I did think that this novel was interesting. The story was good and I love myself an unreliable narrator, which is exactly what Lowen is. However, I was not a fan of how unlikeable nearly every character was in this novel. If they weren't unlikeable, they were too one-dimensional for me to really have any opinion of. The story was straightforward, but the ending seemed sloppy to me (especially the "epilogue"). Lowen as a character was extremely unlikeable, reeking of self pity and a façade of helplessness. She spent more time wanting to sleep with Jeremy than she did doing anything else (including writing the book she was supposed to be there for). I didn't feel strongly about anyone (except the three children, two of whom are deceased for the entirety of the novel). I felt like the ending was quite cheap and a last ditch attempt to keep some sort of "thrill" in a book that was altogether not incredibly thrilling to begin with.

I think this book was just not really my cup of tea. I'm sure it's other people's entire pot, but I think this will be my only attempt at reading Colleen Hoover's work.
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