Verity by Colleen Hoover
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Pros: another easily read book by Colleen, with creepy twists and graphic depictions of violence
Cons: still bad and problematic, of course
TW: Child death, Child abuse, Murder, Abortion click here for a more in depth list of the triggers
WELP I read another Colleen Hoover book, this time I chose Verity! I feel like if you are a booktoker, you kinda have to, right? Also, I feel like there is a really great joke to be made about how her last name is Hoover and when I read her books, I DEVOUR them in one sitting but I digress.
This is way different than It Ends With Us and from what I'm told, it is different than most of her other books. Since I read (and only somewhat disliked) It Ends With Us first, it kinda allowed me to learn on my own that her books are fine regardless of genre. I feel like Colleen Hoover is very talented at writing books that you can just tear through. Good books? Well written books with solid plots, character development and no problematic nonsense? No... but readable, yes. Like, Ashlee Simpson wasn't changing the pop music game in the 90's but she that shit was catchy and there's something to be said about that.
ANYWAY back to Verity...
The story is told from the perspective of a struggling NYC based author named Lowen (which is kind of a weird name but sometimes, other people call her "Low" and I kinda love that) She goes to a meeting with her agent + another few folks and is offered a deal: a very well known author (Verity) is unable to finish out her half finished but very popular book series after she was involved in a horrific accident. The series has 3 books left until completion and Lowen would co-write them under a pen name. She is reluctant at first but ultimately agrees and goes to live in a mansion in the middle of nowhere with Verity, her husband Jeremy and their kids (there were 3 of them but now I think there are 2? I don't know). Verity is in a vegetative state, unable to walk, speak or care for herself in any way so Jeremy cares for her with the help of a nurse. It is all a very strange situation but the idea is for Lowen to spend time at the home, sorting through Verity's notes, drafts, office, etc. in order to get into the headspace necessary to finish the books. Once she gets there though, she finds an autobiographical manuscript hidden away that reveals some dark and troubling shit about Verity, her relationship with Jeremy and their children. Lowen also starts a sexual relationship with Jeremy as if that isn't the worst fucking idea ever. You're living in a house with a disabled woman, her husband and children - one of which she may have killed - and you think "I should bang this emotionally disturbed woman's husband that she is/was clearly obsessed with." Yeah, yeah, yeah, that is a great idea and what could go wrong?
The book is dark -way darker than most of Colleen's other books so be warned of that; there are lots of themes of death, loss, heartache, etc. The trigger warnings kind of don't even really do justice to the graphic descriptions in this book, especially in the manuscript. I was surprised to be honest, I wouldn't call any of this "body horror" or anything but it was pretty vicious. I enjoyed this way more but the fact that it is still labeled a romance is weird to me.