Editor’s note: This review contains spoilers of the book.

After reading this book, my profound love for reading took a turn for the better. I go for more realistic stories, so Hallmark plots aren’t really my thing. As I discovered author Colleen Hoover, the TikTok reading community continuously described her as “sensational.” People couldn’t put down her books — she was definitely a must-read for my list of resolutions.

The Goodreads Choice Award for Best Romance author — for three consecutive years, Hoover has set the bar high so I felt the need to see what the hype was about. After reading the popular series, “It Ends With Us” and “It Starts With Us,” Hoover’s writing motivated my reading even more. Scrolling through TikTok, there were so many suggestions of what readers had considered her best novels. “Verity” ended up as my next read, which I finished in two days.

Summary

Witnessing a fatal car crash in the busy streets in New York City, Lowen Ashleigh’s life takes a twisted turn. Running into one man, Jeremy Crawford, husband of famous author Verity Crawford,  changed Ashleigh’s life — not in the way she had envisioned. Experiencing financial issues, she received an opportunity of a lifetime from Crawford, or at least she thought so.

Traveling to a whole different state for the new job opportunity, the Crawfords experienced an emotional time with Verity after her car wreck. The book continues to follow Ashleigh’s alienating experiences in the Crawfords’ house.

My thoughts

As I was reading it, I assumed it was another one of Hoover’s romance novels. I can usually tell what’s about to happen between characters or the setting it will involve, but this one was unique. Usually, Hoover tends to have the same writing style, introducing the lovebirds and then a predictable twist.

Hoover is the author I would search for at Barnes & Noble whenever I felt like I needed a fun and romantic read on the weekend. It surprised me when this story turned out to be creepy in certain parts, and I wouldn’t suggest reading it before you’re going to sleep. Hoover includes romance but in a different writing technique, and it just kept me hooked. I do feel like the plot took a while to settle, as she did write all scenes with detail, having them flow at a slow pace. I considered putting the book down, but I didn’t feel like my resolution would be fulfilling. I like getting to the point, but I understand when other readers want to feel like slowing down in certain events in the book.

Overall “Verity” deserves an 8/10. Hoover still brought the same writing style, but she did add a different genre. The thriller genre didn’t seem like it was her greatest, but she included many more specific details – where I felt like I was living in those moments. I think a warning should be recommended, as it can reach parts where it may be uncomfortable and controversial for readers. I would suggest it to young adults and teen readers who love to solve mysteries.

Spoilers: the dark aspects of the book

After the disturbing read of Verity’s letters and manuscript, it was hard to see what was true or not. I saw Verity as this ugly and disgusting woman, someone who only desired her husband’s love. Once I read the letter, I believe Verity didn’t kill her children as she probably would have burned those old manuscripts if it was true so it wouldn’t ruin her success — but she didn’t.

If she was writing the opposite of her so-called happy life, I think Jeremy killed their children since he was obsessed with her at first sight. He’s read those manuscripts before, which is why he wanted to kill her the first time, so it could cover his own tracks. The second time I think was just his ticking time bomb and he had Lowen as his witness, making Verity look like the killer and poor Jeremy was mourning. However, she didn’t make him look like the killer in the letter because she still loved Jeremy.