Rant Review: "Verity" by Colleen Hoover

Quick Summary

Type: Novel

Genre: Thriller, romance, suspense

Back Cover: "Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of bestselling author Verity Crawford, has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series his injured wife is unable to finish.

Lowen arrives at the Crawford home, ready to sort through years of Verity's notes and outlines, hoping to find enough material to get her started. What Lowen doesn't expect to uncover in the chaotic office is an unfinished autobiography Verity never intended for anyone to read. Page after page of bone-chilling admissions, including Verity's recollection of what really happened the day her daughter died.

Lowen decides to keep the manuscript hidden from Jeremy, knowing its contents would devastate the already grieving father. But as Lowen's feelings for Jeremy begin to intensify, she recognizes all the ways she could benefit if he were to read his wife's words. After all, no matter how devoted Jeremy is to his injured wife, a truth this horrifying would make it impossible for him to continue to love her."

Read Time: 3 days

Rating: 1 stars

Review

Once again, I've read a thriller that commits the cardinal sin of thrillers: it was boring. On top of that, it was kind of insulting. I love kids, I'm pretty sure I want some later in life, but goddamn, I'm not here for the vilification of women who don't want or like kids. Women are allowed to not want kids. It is not the worst thing in the world to be childfree. On top of that, many women who have children despite not wanting them (usually due to partner pressure) sometimes have regrets, and those feelings are completely valid and, as long as the woman does not mistreat her children, those feelings should not be villainized either.

Now onto the story. It starts with a guy getting crushed by a car in front of our MC, Lowen, getting blood all over her shirt. She meets the love interest, Jeremy, who helps her clean up and gives her his shirt. So far, okay introduction. Except that Hoover makes the crazy claim that New Yorkers don't care about the guy who just died a violent death because it's just another Tuesday in NYC. Seriously, Colleen? Have you never been in a city? People would stop and stare and freak out. They would not ignore a person who violently died in front of them.

This event plays pretty much no role in the story except to maybe show how great Jeremy is? Except his behavior following the events in NYC kind of ruin that, but more on that later. Anyway, they are both in the same meeting - quelle surprise! - and it turns out the meeting is because the publishing company wants Lowen to ghostwrite some books for Jeremy's wife. They're offering her $250,000 - a crazy amount for an author who doesn't seem like she has a ton of success. And Lowen makes it obvious that she needs the money. She's broke, she's spent all her money on her ill (now dead) mother's care, she's about to be evicted - she needs this money. So naturally, she turns it down. Why? Because she doesn't want to do book tours or the other stuff authors have to do. Seriously? How dumb is this lady?

But of course, it's only a way for Colleen to get Lowen and Jeremy alone together so he can tell her to ask for double the amount and anonymity. I don't know much about publishing, but this feels a little divorced from reality.

And so that's how Lowen ends up living in Jeremy and Verity's massive mansion up in Maine (?). And pretty much as soon as she's up there, she starts lusting after this married man. The fact that Verity is in some kind of weird vegetable coma state apparently means nothing to her, although it gives her a chance to feel bad for Jeremy because he's...honoring his wedding vows? Apparently neither Lowen nor Colleen are 'in sickness and in health' girlies.

Lowen goes through Verity's office and stumbles upon a manuscript that seems to be an autobiography. In it, Verity presents herself as a comically sex-driven woman, which is apparently a bad thing? Way to go on the slut-shaming, Colleen. Then there's the Verity-hates-her-kids storyline in this secondary manuscript, which I didn't appreciate because it seems that it's shaming women who have legitimate regrets about having children. Yeah, the part where Verity seems to attempt to kill one daughter and favor the other is pretty bad, but tied in to the rest, the message seems to be that if you're a mother with genuine and legitimate regrets about motherhood, you're as bad as a child murderer. It's harmful, and I don't like it.

On top of that, it was so repetitive. If it's not Verity obsessing over sex with Jeremy, it's Lowen obsessing over sex with Jeremy. And the few times where no one is obsessing over sex, Lowen is convinced Verity isn't as vegetable as she presents. She's right, of course, but even without Lowen freaking out, I probably could have guessed that twist (and did, let's be real).

And then we get to the end. In the manuscript, Verity claims she killed the unfavored twin, Jeremy freaks out, and he and Lowen kill Verity. Then - twist! - a few months later, Lowen finds a note from Verity to Jeremy about how the manuscript was actually fiction and she never hated any of their children. We're supposed to think: "which Verity was the real one?" I just thought: "I didn't know I could roll my eyes so hard my eyes hurt."

I don't understand why Verity couldn't tell the truth to the cops that Jeremy tried to kill her. She could have gotten her editor or agent or whatever to explain the "antagonistic journaling" thing. Or she could have kidnapped Crew and disappeared during the night without finding the manuscript and just escaped to another country. Cross the border, get fake papers, then get to a non-extradition country.

Finally, Jeremy was a shit partner and person. Abusive, judgmental, litterer, paranoid...he read this manuscript and his first thought was to kill his wife, not hear out the mother of his children and person he supposedly knew the best. But no, straight to murder.

This was not a good book. It was barely a thriller, and while I know that theoretically there was a romance, the romance with Jeremy was actually scarier than anything to do with Verity (and I'm pretty sure that wasn't Hoover's intention). Add that to the frankly harmful stereotypes of women who don't want children, and there was nothing redeeming about this book. It wasn't even entertaining - at least 7 jours à River Falls was entertaining in its sheer terribleness. This book couldn't even manage that.

Definitely the last Colleen Hoover book I read. Frankly, I wish I hadn't read any Colleen Hoover book.