Like I mentioned above, Verity was a reread for me. I read this probably six ish years ago and was gripped the whole entire novel. While I stayed glued to the book the entire read this time as well, I found it even more disturbing on the second read (which could be because I’m a mom now…). We all obviously know that Colleen Hoover has solidified her place as a romance author, this was one of her first deep dives into a different genre (Too Late has a few of these vibes, but it’s still mostly romance). Verity has definitely gotten high praise and a HUGE following despite the fact that it’s not CoHo’s usual novel.

So, with that being said, it obviously has wonderful writing. I loved the characters and the plot, but found the second time around that Jeremy gave me mega vibes for Andrew from Freida McFadden’s The Housemaid (if you know what I’m talking about, then you know). Lowen felt super mysterious the whole time too, and not necessarily in a good way. It just always felt like she was hiding something and I was never able to pinpoint exactly what that may have been. Verity obviously gave off bad vibes the whole entire novel, but if I’m being honest here, I think every character was written to seem like an unreliable narrator of his/her own story. 

With the plot, Lowen basically moves in with Jeremy and the bed-bound Verity while she does research for Verity’s next book (already a bad idea, trust me, I know). Not only that, but (minor minor spoiler that happens within the first few chapters) she literally sleeps in Jeremy and Verity’s bedroom!!!! Like, y’all, I am uncomfortable just thinking about it. Who wants to sleep in a married couple’s bedroom??? Especially if you don’t even know the people. Disturbing on so many levels. Anyway, she sleeps in their bedroom in their bed, and basically does research in Verity’s office all day long. That’s where she comes across Verity’s memoir that details some seriously scary and unsettling things about the woman. This, rightly so, turns Lowen into a psychotic, anxious mess around Verity even though Verity is supposed to be verifiably, for lack of a better term, in a vegetative state. 

This all makes for a super interesting story and you can tell why audiences are practically sitting at the edges of their seats waiting for this movie adaptation. And with Anne Hathaway? It’s gonna be so good. 

All in all with everything that goes on in this book, there wasn’t a whole lot I really had a problem with besides its disturbing content and over-exaggerated-feeling plot from Verity’s memoir (but I’ll mention why that doesn’t bother me nearly as much as it would if it weren’t for the ending). What captures readers the most with this book, I think, is obviously the open ending. 

Spoilers ahead.

Alright. Here we go. The debate of all debates. Who was telling the truth?? 

So, Verity leaves behind a letter saying she feared for her life and had to pretend to not be all there. This is because Jeremy had already read Verity’s memoir (before Lowen even showed it to him) and tried to kill her twice. Which means Verity had a right to be afraid. Want to know my take on all of it? I’m gonna bullet point some of my biggest reasons below, but I think Verity really was telling the truth. 

• You guys, (this is so small but I have to point it out), verity literally means TRUTH. This is just a small part of why I think Verity really was being truthful. 
• Jeremy seriously got Lowen to fall in love with him, had sex in he and his wife’s old bed (with teeth marks on the headboard 🤢), and pretended like he didn’t even see Verity’s memoir before. Not only that but this man legitimately got Lowen to help him kill Verity when they had only known each other for, what, three weeks at most??
• Lowen has had literal psychotic breakdowns in the past, sleep walks and doesn’t know what she’s doing, and (this was a big one for me) BITES THE FREAKING HEADBOARD to “mark” her territory. Neither of these characters felt like good, honest people to me.
• My friends harp on this one a lot: what mother could write about her kids that way? This one was easy for me to brush off as a writer before I had kids. Once I had kids, though, while I could still overlook it, I definitely was a little more disturbed. Verity mentions, though, that her editor (or agent, I can’t remember which one) even suggested antagonistic journaling. Y’all, as a writer, it makes so much sense to me to put your brain into the same headspace that your MC might be in. Writers do it all the time. There have been many many far more disturbing novels, I promise, where writers come up with the craziest things. These types of things come out of writers’ brains all the time. It’s not that hard to get past in my opinion. 

My opinion, then? The letter was, in my opinion, the actual truth. Verity was traumatized and depressed. She needed her writing to feel better. Once in a “vegetative state”, she had to wait for the advance to come in before she could leave Jeremy. Which means she couldn’t leave until Lowen got her advance (which doesn’t happen until Verity is already dead). The whole novel was just a huge mind frick if you ask me. 

Overall, I enjoyed this just about as much as I did the first time. Still a 5/5 easily, and I absolutely can’t wait for the movie. I’m super excited to see how they interpret the “debate of all debates” haha. Now, to read Colleen Hoover’s newest thriller, Woman Down. 

Source: Audiobook from Libby Public Library

(P.S. You can read tons of books—including ones written by me—by trying a free trial of Kindle Unlimited!)