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?
Lowen Ashleigh is a writer, but not a successful one. Her mother died a week ago and she is about to get evicted, so she has nothing to lose when she’s about to have a meeting with her agent to discuss her next project. On her way there she witnesses a deadly accident and a stranger who happened to be there as well helped to clean her up.
It happens that this guy, Jeremy Crawford, is one of the people Lowen is about to meet. He is the husband of the famous author Verity Crawford, who is brain-dead after a car accident. Lowen can help finish the last three volumes in a nine part series and officially as a co-writer because the public does not know about Verity’s condition.
Lowen accepts and for the next couple of weeks she not only goes through Verity’s office and dozens of notes, she also lives with the couple and their son, Crew, under the same roof. Little does she know what she got herself into and that her world will be turned upside down once more.
I read my first Colleen Hoover book more than a year ago when after seeing It Ends With Us all over my Instagram feed. I am not really into romance books, but this turned out to be better than anything I expected and so I read three more of her books. They are all beautifully written featuring tragedy, love, and hope, which is a nice mix and not cheesy at all.
While she is looking for information for the three books she should write for Verity, she finds another script which turns out to be an unfinished brutally honest autobiography, one nobody should ever read. It is full of Verity’s darkest thoughts and secrets. Throughout the manuscript, Lowen learns how Verity and Jeremy met, how they fell in love, and how her career started. Verity describes in details how their sexual life was and how it changed, what she thought about getting pregnant, about being a mother, and how she wished they would have been never born because they took her husband away from her.
The story takes you through everyone’s fears and darkness. Lowen starts to see everyone from another perspective and begins questioning their behaviour. However, that does not stop her from falling in love with Jeremy. He was and still is one of the best men she has ever known. Verity did not deserve such a man. The only thing she ever did was hurt him without him even knowing. She deserves what happened to her.
But, what does Crew mean that her mother is talking to him? Why is Verity staring right into her eyes? How can the door be closed from outside, when Jeremy was with Lowen? How can a brain-dead woman stand above Lowen and watch while her husband is cheating on her?
When I found out that Hoover had published an ebook, I got it immediately. Verity is addictive. I could not put it down. It is consuming you and leaves you speechless. Never in my life have I read a book so well written and with so many plot twists that you just cannot wrap your head around it. You just do not know what the truth is in the end.
That is the only parallel to her usual works as the book ends with an ending which is not quite really an ending. You have room to question it. Ask yourself how the story could continue and with this book, it can drive you insane.
Hoover calls her personal indie project – which is the reason why it was only published as an ebook – a “departure from the emotional love stories” she usually writes. This book is brilliant! It constantly has a spooky tense atmosphere around it. Like the Netflix show Haunting of Hill House or A Simple Favor, it seems nothing really scary is happening, but still you feel that something is lurking around the corner. Trust me, never will you guess what the truth is! For me, it is by far her best work and I pray that she will write more books in this genre!
Verity is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of bestselling author Verity Crawford, has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series his injured wife is unable to finish.
Lowen arrives at the Crawford home, ready to sort through years of Verity’s notes and outlines, hoping to find enough material to get her started. What Lowen doesn’t expect to uncover in the chaotic office is an unfinished autobiography Verity never intended for anyone to read. Page after page of bone-chilling admissions, including Verity’s recollection of what really happened the day her daughter died.
Lowen decides to keep the manuscript hidden from Jeremy, knowing its contents would devastate the already grieving father. But as Lowen’s feelings for Jeremy begin to intensify, she recognizes all the ways she could benefit if he were to read his wife’s words. After all, no matter how devoted Jeremy is to his injured wife, a truth this horrifying would make it impossible for him to continue to love her.
