“Verity” book is a romantic and psychological thriller, a creation of the infamous Colleen Hoover. This book has been rated as one of the most spine-tingling and addictive books in recent memory.
Its initial mystery is what hooks readers who just cannot put it down. Once start reading, you will want to delve further into this chilling composition about the life of famous but ultimately tragic writer Verity Crawford.
The quality of the book itself comes as no surprise. This is just what you’d expect from a writer of the caliber of the #1 New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover.
Colleen Hoover is an author of other books such as “It Ends with us” and “Ugly Love”. She has outdone herself once again through “Verity”. Colleen Hoover has pushed the envelope in psychological thrillers and introduced her own unique style of writing and telling a story.
Even though Goodreads readers are naturally critiquing and difficult to please, their overall acceptance of this hugely popular novel is pretty high at 4.36 stars in over 300,000 ratings.
So, what’s the plot of Verity, and, more importantly — is it worth your time?
Minor spoiler alert as we’ll be covering some of the plot details — so be careful.
“Verity”: The Plot
Lowen Ashleigh is a writer who’s going through her worst times, both financially and mentally. Unexpectedly, she’s offered the job of her life by Jeremy Crawford, the husband of world-famous and best-selling author Verity Crawford. The offer is to complete a series of successful books left unfinished by his ill wife.
An elated Lowen arrives at the Crawford house to sift through hundreds of Verity’s notes. What she didn’t expect was to find the unfinished secret autobiography of Verity herself.
Unable to control her curiosity, Lowen finds page after page of bone-chilling confessions and dark secrets. Turns out Verity’s autobiography includes details of what really happened the night her daughter died.
The book starts making Lowen see everyone in a different light including her employer Jeremy. With Verity herself in an induced coma, the trouble begins when Lowen finds herself attracted to her husband. This happens largely due to his explicit sexual description written by Verity herself.
Even though keeping the manuscript hidden from the already grieving father would be the right thing to do, Lowen starts realizing all the ways her love for Jeremy could win out if she showed him his wife’s words. This is a dark and harrowing tale that’ll make the reader recognize all his true fears.
Should I Read “Verity”
In our opinion, “Verity” is not every person’s cup of tea. The publisher has rated it 18+ for adult themes and sex scenes.
However, there are a few other reasons this book might be a good fit for you.
For those who do enjoy a bit of romance or psychology, we can say with certainty that you will be hooked from the book’s first paragraph. And as you go on the journey of Verity Crawford’s life, your appreciation for the book will grow with each sentence you read.
Here is a quote from a 5-star reviewer:
“Just sit back and be prepared for your heart to race and your mind to run with possibilities.”
To further back up this claim, a Goodreads reader had this to say about the ending:
“I finished this book feeling completely sapped of life, as if I’ve been bleeding freely for the past few hours instead of simply reading.” – chai.
However, like most thrillers especially of the psychological variety, not everyone was a fan. Some even critiqued the book for being predictable whereas some found it a little too disturbing.
One Goodreads reader who gave the book only two stars had this to say about it
“I’ve read darker novels and enjoyed them, but this one gave me an uncomfortable feeling that it is hard to express.” – Holly B.
All in all, the people who truly enjoy suspense and intrigue in their novels with a touch of psychology, will definitely enjoy this one.
Lastly, all readers should make a note that this was Colleen’s first time writing a book of this genre while she’s mostly known for writing romance novels. So for a person who’s writing outside her comfort zone, we have to give kudos to Colleen Hoover for perfectly capturing the essence of the thriller genre.
In a nutshell, “Verity” is a great read for you if you like:
- Suspense
- Psychological Thriller
- Romance
More Questions About Verity
What genre is “Verity” by Colleen Hoover?
Although at the heart of it “Verity” by Colleen Hoover is a romantic novel, its creepy and dark nature has caused readers to term it as a romantic psychological thriller.
Who published “Verity”?
This book was first published on December 7th, 2018 by Grand Central Publishing.
What kind of book is “Verity”?
Reviewers and critics have used plenty of choice adjectives to describe the book and among them are spine-tingling and bone-chilling.
However, our verdict is that this book is a creepy yet suspenseful psychological and romantic thriller that includes some graphic sex scenes.
Is the book “Verity” scary?
We would say that Verity isn’t scary in the traditional sense as it doesn’t have anything superstitious.
But the book will cause the readers to reflect on their own life experiences and decisions. To be honest, this can be a pretty scary thought as well. But overall, the answer is no because “Verity” is not a horror novel.
Is “Verity” by Colleen Hoover a good book?
These days the parameters for judging a book are usually through online reviews. Based on the reception “Verity” has received from a number of casual readers, we’d call it an excellent book.
There are plenty of psychological thriller books in the world nowadays. And what sets this one apart from the others is the writer’s way of subverting expectations.
In our experience reading the book, there is no point in the book where the story becomes predictable. Due to the constant plot twists and turns it takes, the ending also becomes equally unpredictable.
Its overall rating by Goodreads is 4.36 stars out of 5 which is incredible considering how nitpicky we, readers, are.
Furthermore, it received ratings of 4.75 out of 5 from Barnes and Noble, and 3.5 out of 5 from The Bibliofile which is very impressive in its own right.
What is the age rating for “Verity” by Colleen Hoover?
Verity contains a number of adult themes and a few graphic sex scenes so the book has been rated 18+ according to Amazon.
“Verity” Colleen Hoover ending discussion
How a book ends is usually the biggest concern a reader has right after they finish a book.
That’s true in the case of “Verity” as well and there has been plenty of debate online on the consequences of that ending and on whether or not it was a good one.
In fact, based on the ending there have been plenty of theories floating around as well.
To give a little context to this debate we’d have to talk a little about the ending first. But before we start, there are some minor spoilers so proceed with caution.
We won’t go into much detail about what the ending exactly was because you should have a chance to read it yourself and form your own opinion.
But we are going to mention the main point of discourse online which was the letter in the end written by Verity herself.
Some readers have debated that Verity was lying in the letter. Some have claimed that the letter wasn’t written for her husband Jeremy but Lowen herself as a means of punishing her and making her regret her decision to steal Verity’s husband for herself.
However, if you’ve finished the book and want to get in on the discussion yourself or just read what others think about it, check out these Reddit and Goodreads discussions.
Finally, there have been plenty of other reviews written about Verity as well on blogs like Roses and Thorns, and Charlotte’s Book Spoilers.
However, we want to warn you that these blogs contain heavy spoilers. We recommend finishing the book before you view them.
Let us know in the comments if you liked “Verity” book and if you are just planning to read it.