A review by acogna
Verity, by Colleen Hoover

dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

The thing is, this book has an excellent plot. I mean that in the best way. It's extremely Rebecca-esque with the big house and beautiful untouchable husband and the shadow of the former wife that needs to be filled in. But the strange inability for this book to engage with its meta-narrative of writing
Spoilerand especially writing as a tool for destruction
and in general its extremely uncomfortable moments of prose genuinely shattered any praise for this book I could give.

SpoilerThat twist in the end is also quite expected, but in hindsight it was also extremely dumb. There's a lot to be said there about whether or not writing should be believed at face value, but it doesn't go into it farther than that. Also, I just think the twist is just super inconsistent with the rest of the plot. And I also think just writing fucked-up shit like that, even as a coping mechanism, should be put under lock and key forever. Why the fuck was her laptop open for that? Why the fuck was it open on something like that?


Anyway, like all Hoover books I will never read, I will give it the same diagnosis: great plot, terrible execution. Her plot made me finish this in a day; her prose made me want to finish it faster, and not out of love for it.
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