After last weeks overview on a classic, we’re switching it up a bit this week. Author Colleen Hoover has been making waves across social media (especially Tik Tok) for her gripping opening lines and plot twists that leave you not knowing if you want to throw your book at a wall or never put it down. Her novel Verity is no exception.

Synopsis- The novel follows Lowen Ashleigh, a writer struggling to make ends meet when she stumbles upon the opportunity of a lifetime, completing the unfinished books in a very popular series for an author who has become injured and unable to complete them herself. Lowen is hired by author Verity Crawford’s husband Jeremy; he claims Verity was a big fan of the works of Lowen and felt they had similar writing styles.

When Lowen arrived to the Crawford mansion, she was ready to sort through the notes and outlines of Verity, planning to do a deep dive into the mind of the famous author and do the remainder of her novels justice. What Lowen didn’t expect was to uncover an unfinished autobiography, unintended to ever be found by Verity. We follow Lowen as she reads page after page of the bone-chilling autobiography, illustrating unthinkable things, such as Verity’s recollection of what really happened the day her daughter mysteriously drowned, and the reason one of her twins came out of the womb with a scar across her face.

Upon discovery of the autobiography, a horrified Lowen decides to keep it a secret from Jeremy, as she knows the contents would absolutely devastate him, and taint his view on the woman he loves, who is non-responsive and basically a living corpse in her bedroom. However, as she sits on the autobiography, Lowen begins developing stronger feelings for Jermey, and in turn begins to realize all the ways Verity’s autobiography confessions could benefit her if Jeremy reads them. After all, no matter how strong ones love is for their spouse, some truths are just so horrifying they prevent anyone from ever looking at their lover the same again.

First Line- “I hear the crack of his skull before the spattering of blood reaches me”

Last Line- “No matter which way I look at it, it’s clear that Verity was a master at manipulating the truth. The only question that remains is: Which truth was she manipulating?

My Favorite Quote- “The things lurking around inside the mind can be just as dangerous as tangible threats.”

Rating- 10/10 I can genuinely say that never in my life have I read a book that 1-had me permanently slack-jawed from being so shook for pretty much the entire thing and 2- had me needing to put it down at night before bed because it was kinda scaring me a little bit. This book is an interesting one to start with in terms of Colleen Hoover reviews because it is truly so different from any of her other novels, but genuinely one of the best in my opinion. Every single character will make you hate them in one way or another (even the kid), and you’ll finish the book angry, questioning your sanity, and looking up other peoples opinions on the ending just to make sure you all read the same thing because of how much of a whirlwind it is, but it’s really in the best way possible. I could not recommend this novel more if I tried.