Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

Verity by Colleen Hoover

95 reviews

dev921's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Blood, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Miscarriage, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Vomit, Ableism, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Pregnancy

lindasoderlundd's review

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Child death, Cursing, Murder, Body shaming, Infidelity, Vomit, Child abuse, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Grief, Fatphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Car accident, and Confinement

Minor: Terminal illness, Animal death, Alcohol, Cancer, and Suicide attempt

tatimarie8284's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

kept me hooked from the beginning. i loved the switching povs from lowen and verity. so many twists and turns yet i did not expect the ending.

Spoiler

i’m definitely team manuscript though

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Infidelity, Murder, Abortion, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Child abuse, Child death, Gaslighting, and Sexual content

Moderate: Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Stalking, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Animal death, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Bullying, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Self harm, Vomit, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Abortion, Addiction, Alcohol, and Cursing

emmaxab's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

The second half of this review does contain spoilers - I’ll add a paragraph break and a warning beforehand :) 

 

Right - I swore off Colleen Hoover’s books because I knew that they included a lot of toxic relationships, and that’s just not something I find myself wanting to read about. But I heard through a friend (hi Emily :) that this was a singularly good book and the blurb intrigued me, so I thought that I’d give it a go. I’m glad I did (I don’t give books star ratings, but I’d probably say this was a solid 3 out of 5 (and I’m quite generous with my stars)). 

 

I enjoyed the fact that this was a suspense/thriller novel - not a genre I typically read as I’m a scaredy cat at heart - but truthfully this book did not feel that scary to me. Creepy, definitely, but scary? Not particularly. The scariest thing was probably the narrator’s unwillingness to do anything to actually get herself out or call anyone (when she had multiple opportunities to do so). 

 

Whilst I was reading I couldn’t help but draw similarities to Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier, a book I love - which probably worked to Verity’s disadvantage, as it paled in comparison. Even though less ‘scary’ things happen in Rebecca, Maurier’s ability to create a sense of unease me feel far more fear than Verity did. There’s also similarities between the heroes of the book - Maxim de Winter and Jeremy Crawford - the fact they are older and richer than our heroine, and in the way the narrators have a healthy suspicion of them that is overpowered by their hatred for Verity/Rebecca. The fact both are named by the corresponding (not) heroine too, is interesting, and makes me think that maybe Rebecca was a real source of inspiration for this novel. 

 

SPOILER WARNING (MILD): 

 

The passage where I first felt that there was a clear sense of inspiration/similarity between the two was when Hoover writes about Lowen, the narrator, driving up to this big house in the Vermont countryside, where the hero and wife live: 

 

“The GPS is leading me down a long, windy road flanked by flowering dog-wood trees and houses that keep getting bigger and more spread apart. […] Two tall brick columns loom on both sides of the driveway - a driveway that never seems to end. I crane my beck, trying to see the length of it, but the dark asphalt snakes between the trees. Somewhere up there is the house, and somewhere inside that house is Verity Crawford.” - Verity 

 

Something gave me the feeling that Hoover was doing her own version of the opening chapter of Rebecca - the whole “last night I dreamed I went to Manderley again” type. Only, Verity isn’t written that well - and the writing seems to flounder the more the book goes on; as the plot unfolds, and the twists are twisting, the writing gets more and more sloppy. This was really disappointing - because I don’t think the plot was all that bad. 

 

SPOILER WARNING (HEAVY): 

 

The issues I had with the writing came to a head with the letter Lowen finds under the floorboards. This was such a pivotal scene - it was the last twist that is meant to leave the reader guessing beyond the book. As a twist it was powerful, but it didn’t have nearly as much impact as it should have done because the writing suddenly became rushed, sloppy, and the pacing went completely out of the window. I understand that it’s meant to be a kind of cliffhanger of sorts, but we should have witnessed the effect it had on Lowen a little more. (If you want my thoughts as to whether to believe the letter or the manuscript - given how badly the letter scene was written, I think it’s a better book if the manuscript is true, but if the letter had been given more precedence and better writing then it could have been the more interesting, creepy narrative as Lowen is still with Jeremy). 

 

In short, I believe the potential creepiness of it all was lessened by the writing and the romance (unbelievable at best, absolutely sh*t at worst), which was probably why I was able to read it as I tend to steer clear of the genre. That being said, I read it in less than 24 hours - so maybe I was more invested than this review suggests. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Child death, Child abuse, Confinement, Medical trauma, Murder, Suicide attempt, and Violence

proudtobeabookaholic's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.5

Lowen Ashleigh is a rather unknown writer when she gets an offer she can't refuse. Verity Crawford is a bestseller author who, after a car accident, is unable to finish her succcessful book series, so her husband Jeremy hires Lowen to do it for her. To be able to go through all of Verity's material and notes she moves in with the Crawford's. What she hadn't expected to find was a biography written by Verity. When Lowen starts reading it she feels sick...

This is definitely different from Colleen Hoover's other books! Yes, there's love and steamy sex scenes here as well, but this is first of all a dark psychological thriller. The feeling of discomfort is almost constant, and I both want to read more, but at the same time I'm not sure I will be able to. The thing with alternating chapters from Lowen's POV with chapters from the biography is brilliant, and sets the tone for the whole book. As a reader I often doubt who - if anyone - I can trust. I wouldn't call this a horror story, but it's definitely one of the most uncomfortable books I've ever read (in a good way)!

The reason for not giving "Verity" five stars is that Lowen feels a bit pale as a character. Despite being mostly from her perspective I find her slightly underdeveloped. It feels like I get closer to both Jeremy and Verity - and Verity is kind of in a coma. Otherwise I have nothing to complain about. I also don't want to reveal any more, because I think you should read this book without too much knowledge going in. If I were to choose a book that's similar to this one I would probably say "Shutter Island", and I believe "Verity" would be a great movie as well!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Grief, Sexual content, and Confinement

lindsay424's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

This is by far one of the most tense books I have ever read. I couldn't stop reading it. Amazing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Abortion, Alcohol, Body horror, Cancer, Confinement, Pregnancy, Car accident, Child death, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Stalking, Terminal illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Medical content, Medical trauma, Vomit, Blood, Gaslighting, Gore, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Grief, Infidelity, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Self harm, and Sexual content

nialiversuch's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Child abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Vomit, Pregnancy, Self harm, Abandonment, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Violence, Ableism, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death of parent, Murder, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, and Miscarriage

courtneyblack's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Justice is such a hard topic to tackle and Colleen Hoover has done it brilliantly. The book is disturbing, challenging and mind warping. I can’t believe I hadn’t read it sooner. It is a letter to the psyche of a writer’s mind in the most complex and nuanced way. It is not a love letter but not a hate letter either. It makes you think about your own prejudice and thought processes and at its end makes you reflect on how you perceive narrative and perspective. It is so well done and really helped me get out of quite a long reading slump only taking me 4 days to read. I could have smashed it out in a day or two if it wasn’t so thrilling and scary and disturbing it is definitely not for the faint of heart. For the first time in a long time I’m giving a book 5 stars.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Grief, Death, and Child death

haileyehughes's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Spoiler

  This book contains major triggers for child loss, infant loss, and domestic violence. However, this book is a whirlwind and didn't end at all how I thought it would. I never expected Verity to die, I more expected her to do the killing. I'm still not sure which side of Verity to believe; the manuscript or the letter. Lowen started out as a likeable character that was 'forced' into the situation. But, by the end of the book she seemed very much like a willing participant.

Also, I had Lowen on my list of future baby names and now I won't ever be able to look at a child and like that name... 

Spoiler

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Car accident, Medical trauma, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Murder, and Mental illness

infjkiki's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Vomit, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Death, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Child abuse, Child death, Murder, Blood, and Infidelity

Moderate: Abandonment

Minor: Alcohol, Animal death, Cancer, Confinement, and Addiction