Verity by Colleen Hoover
Stacey • July 29, 2019
Release Date: December 10, 2018
The best nail biter of the year, has struggler writer Lowen accepting a job she doesn’t really want but desperately needs. A self confessed recluse and verging on bankruptcy, she has nowhere else to go. After a harrowing trip to her publishers leaves her with no alternative to take what’s being dangled in front of her, she travels to the impressive abode of the one and only Verity Crawford.
Verity is a highly successful and starlet of an author. Her book series, a hot commodity to her publishers has them reeling when Verity now unable to complete the last books in the series, leading them to do whatever it takes to see their hard work bought to fruition. After an accident leaves her without the ability to finish the last 3 novels in her series, it falls to Lowen to decipher her notes and ghostwrite in her stead…
With the gentle nudging from Verity’s husband Jeremy, Lowen starts the process of organizing the thoughts of a woman who scribbles everything down on any median she can find. The unexpected discovery of a self-written biography has Lowen gripped, appalled and unable to leave it alone, putting herself into a situation she can’t understand or seem to get out of. The heart-racing and deeply penetrating look into Verity’s very psyche and soul has Lowen questioning Verity’s own character while the eerie goings on in the Crawford household has her questioning her own sanity.
Will she reveal what she has discovered and take Verity’s husband, as well as her career or will she succumb and crumble under the weight of the confessions she did not expect to find….
Will the truth set any of them free? Or will it lead to something much more sinister??
Lowen is a struggling author and self confessed hermit, locked in her apartment, taking care of her ailing mother, who fears and loathes her only child. Putting herself into ruin to take care of her sick mother, with death came the release she needed. That is until she finds out that her mother lied about leaving her a nest egg after having Lowen spend all her money on taking care of her. Evicted from her apartment, now has Lowen accepting a job she doesn’t want. She not only feels she can’t fill the shoes of the author she will be ghostwriting for but also feels uncomfortable being around the handsome and charismatic Jeremy Crawford, Verity husband.
Verity is the exact opposite of Lowen. She loves the parties and the glitz that comes with the book tours and having her name in print. Lowen avoids any interactions with the public, which is essentially the reason why she doesn’t make the kind of money Verity makes from her own work. After being offered the kind of money she can’t refuse, she goes to the Crawford home to organize and find the inspiration to write the books the publishers are so desperate to have.
Lowen feels unsettled and fearful being in the house with the woman who’s life she has virtually invaded. Verity is basically brain-dead and has a room in the home set up as a hospital room. She has a nurse taking care of her, feed her and bathe her. She doesn’t move, or react to sounds or notice anything around her…. Or does she? Lowen has this feeling like Verity is watching her. Assessing her and making her feel like she is losing her mind. You can literally feel the intensity of the paranoia comes across loud and clear. It had me, a few times, turn around and check no one was behind me. Finding the biography penned in Verity’s own hand had me curious and fearful for Lowen on so many occasions. I never did feel like Lowen wasn’t reading the situation correctly so I always had a feeling what was happening really the truth.
Lowen’s feelings of inadequacy and jealousy ring authentically throughout the whole novel. The pace is well set and my jaw dropped so many times from the twists even I didn’t see coming!
My biggest grievances? There is never any real explanations about Jeremy. I have a million questions and this book has left me with nowhere to go for answers. This was the one pitfall for me, unless there is going to be a second book, which from my understanding, there will not be. I have an underlying feeling that he isn’t who he pretends to be but I also don’t think he’s the person that Verity wrote about either. They both lost 2 children, twin girls, it’s apparent he has a lot of suppressed angry and sadness that he has yet to deal with, especially after Verity’s accident. I felt his character could have had more built in. I really would have like to know if my theories on him were correct. The whole crux of the story, seems to hinge on what happened to their daughter at the lake. Having been presented with two scenarios and no actual conclusion, seems to invite more questions than it answered.
Lowen really had me sympathizing with her and rooting her until pretty much the very end. I felt she was well written and I felt certain camaraderie with her! She was relatable, quirky and not your usual protagonist. The ending was where I started to question who she was! She seemed content, armed with the new information she got, to just ignore the revelations in black and white and go on her merry way! That does not jibe with the woman, I felt I had gotten to know through the entire book. I didn’t feel she had any misgivings after her discovery and any woman, in her right mind, would have some.
Verity was a very interesting piece of a very complex pie for me. I thirsted to know more and yet, wouldn’t want to be left in a room alone with her. I began to fear her. Irrational fears too! Which version was the truth? That was the biggest crux for me and I’m guessing that is exactly what the author wanted but it left me feeling a little short changed. I get the concept of leaving it to the readers interpretation to decipher what was true and what wasn’t, as a place to get people discussing the book but it actually angered me a little. Clever trick by the author or an oversight? I don’t feel lead in any direction as each scenario is plausible but also neither can be the complete truth in my opinion.
If you enjoy thrillers with romance, deceit and jaw dropping twists then I highly recommend Verity. My heart still palpitates when I see the cover of the book and while I loathed the open ended conclusion, I still give this book a star rating of 5/5.
Sincerely, The Lioness
Book review - Fiction - E-ARC - ALC - Psychological Thriller - Mystery Thriller I just finished When I kill you by B A Paris and here are my musings. Nell is certain she is being followed but she never actually sees anyone. She has every right to be afraid… 14 years before she went by another name.. She witnessed a girl get into a mans car and she was found murdered. Obsessed with the crime she went to extreme lengths and people ended up dead. Has someone discovered her new identity or is it something else entirely? Oh man this book was GOOD!!!! The greedy book gremlin had both the ARC and Audio and the narration was amazing. I always try and do an equal balance of both for reviews but I got gripped a few times with the audio so be warned if you try to switch medias haha First things first.. This is done over two timelines… Elle in the past and Nell in the future.. It takes some time to piece together why these two timelines are overlapped this way and it's juicy. It felt like a mystery wrapped up in another mystery and it was a little slower paced than I liked but honestly the story building needed to be done this way. I was gripped. I was invested. The book was loaded with obsession and a fair amount of multiple people stalking and it was clever the way the story weaved itself together. It will keep you gripped from start to finish. Its not a wild ride but it is a richly complex story with a lot of heart racing moments. 4 stars Thank you @stmartinspress and @macmillanaudio for my gifted copies. #bookreview #bookblog #bookblogger #readersofig #booktalk #audiobooks #readerblog #blogofbooks
Book Review - Paperback - Romantic suspense - Romance - frenemies to lovers I just finished Decoy in Stilettos by Selena Robins and these are my musings. "Picture this: You’re a professional decoy, looking like absolute fire in six-inch stilettos, getting paid to catch a dirty cheater in the act. Easy money, right? Wrong. The target drops dead, the Russian mob is suddenly blowing up your phone, and you’re officially the world's most stylish person of interest. Now, Ryan has to go on the run with the only man more annoying than a hitman: her high school crush turned 'I-have-no-personality' Detective Gabriel Marchetti. We’re talking 'forced proximity' with a man who thinks your career is a felony. Strap in for Decoy in Stilettos —it’s a chaotic, slow-burn disaster where the only thing sharper than the wit is the footwear. Seriously, if you like your romance with a high body count and even higher heels, this book is for you! Firstly the author, Selena, is absolutely one of my favorite people and you can find our interview at https://open.spotify.com/episode/1UYKCtd1Pcr9fU73omPGfC on my book podcast. Let’s get down to the brass tax. This book was hilarious and will smack you right in the face from chapter one. So much stuff goes down right out the gate and your head will explode from being thrown into the deep end but the execution was so precise you will be hooked from the first sentence. I loved chaotic and wild Ryan and she meets her match in stoic and A type Gabe. Imagine knowing your life is in the hands of someone you can’t really stand but I adored watching Ryan and Gabe slowly appreciate and learn to love the difference in who they are and it was romantic. The writing was tight, not a plot hole to be found and it is beautifully paced. It was a solid book. Plot vs Character driven in perfect balance and I gobbled it up! The tropes were troping and the banter was top notch! Oh and a mother that will make you run through the asylum door and close it firm behind you! If you love forced proximity with a protective MC.. Grab this one today! 4.5 stars! Loved every moment. Thank you @selenarobins for giving me the opportunity to read and chat with you! #booklover #bookinfluencer #bookishpod #romancereader #oppositesattract
Book Review - Fiction - ALC - Ebook - Horror - Mystery - slasher I just finished Dollface by Lindy Ryan and here are my musings. When Jill moves to New Jersey she doesn’t expect to end up as part of the cliquey PTA moms group. She is a horror author, keeps to herself… But maybe for once, she can make some real friends. Things seem good in suburbia until a plastic faced masked serial killer begins taking out each one of the PTA moms… Jill can’t help but be caught up in the crimes and wants to unmask the killer but will she be that final girl? Or is she next? AGHHHHHHHHHH I saw the cover…read the blurb… HAD TO HAVE IT. It did not disappoint! I was a greedy little book gremlin and got an e-arc and the ALC from netgalley and I dove head first into this book. It was GOOODDDDDD. I’ve never read this author before and I will definitely be looking for more from them. I loved the storyline. It was great! I liked how engrossed Jill was by the crimes and how the book was horror without being over the top…. It had a great mystery of who the killer was and the twist at the end… yayyyyyy!! Loved that. Jill is my kind of person. Loves horror, bit weird, comfortable being who she is! Gimme all those vibes. MINOR SPOILER! The fact her hubs wasn’t a cheater… EXTRA PROPS! I loved how graphic the murder stuff was and offset with the make up tips, the need to be beautiful.. It was awesome. I thought the ending was fabbo! It was well paced, fun, mildly horrifying and 100% pure entertainment. 4.5 stars Thank you to @stmartinspress @brilliancepublishing and @netgalley for my gifted copies!!! #bookpodcast #litdulterous #lionessofliteracy #bookblog #bookishblog #readerblog #reading #bookinfliencer
Book review - Fiction - audiobook - Horror Sister Creatures by Laura Venita Green Tess is a college drop out and her current job… watching 2 bickering siblings. Her alcohol infused days are interrupted one day by sister Gail…. A girl from the religious fundamentalist group… The night leaves its mark on Tess… It sets Tess on a new path with her life intersecting with 2 women on a bike ride years later and a malevolent shapeshifting entity calling itself Thea… I read the book… I did the audio in one sitting… I am still not sure what it was I read. It was massively disturbing. It scared the sheet out of me. I am still thinking about what the heck it was about days later. I can’t even decide if I liked it. It was weird… The pace was decent and the story… It was bizarre!! The ending was WTAF just happened… I don’t even know what to say except if you like books that keave you scratching your head.., This is it.. 4 stars… Crickets… I have no words haha @netgalley thank you for my gifted copy #bookreview #bookblogging #readervlog #netgalley #audiobookreader #audiobooks
Book review - ALC - Dracula reimagining - Gothic Fantasy - Slow Burn romance Tea & Alchemy by Sharon Lynn Fisher Mina Penrose is no stranger to tragedy. Working at the local tea room to chase away the lonely days after her losses. Her curious mind is desperate to know the truth of the old tales around her town. She keeps seeing shapes in her tealeaves and how bad is the omen of finding a murdered man?The suspect? Harker Tregarrick. A man living on an old estate and never ventures outside… that is until the day after the murder and visits her place of work… Mina is strangely drawn to him and his heartbreaking history is too much to bear but can she discover the real murderer before it is too late? What an interesting twist on dracula. It's very loosely based on vampire lure and the story was really done in giving us something new and refreshing on a very old tale. It was a really slow burn so if that's not your jam normally.. You may wanna rethink that because this book is worth it. The writing is fantastic. I really enjoyed the story of Harker and Mina. I loved the atmospheric themes and how well the author did bringing me into the story. It was excellent. I was thoroughly entertained from start to finish. The narration was perfect too. All in all it was a solid audiobook. 4 stars Thank you @netgalley for my gifted copy #bookalorian #lionessofliteracy #gothicreads #bookblog #bookishblog #readingblog #bookishreview
Book review - Fiction - E-ARC - ALC - Suspense - Mystery - Thriller - Debut Novel I just finished How to get away with Murder by Rebecca Philipson and here are my musings. When the body of a 14 year old is murdered in a local park, DI Samantha Hansen who has been on leave for six months after a breakdown.. Trudging back into the station. Her body was found with a book called How to get away with murder by Denver Brady. A literal how to guide to murder and literally getting away with it. The book claims to be a serial killer's crime diary and how he got away with it but what does this book have to do with the murder… Is there more to the author? Can Sam help bring the murderer to justice while finding out how much of the crimes in the book are true? This was a really different book than I was expecting in the best possible way. This little book gremlin had an arc and an alc and I have to say both formats were excellent. The narration was really solid. I have to say that I was most intrigued with the book.. I also wondered how true it all was but was too afraid to google it haha I really liked Sam. I felt she was very realistic and you can feel she had trauma. She wasn’t prepared to come back to work but she walked across the crime scene and that was the push she needed. It wasn’t a fast paced thriller. It brought all the information slowly and it led to quite the build up. My fave part was that I had no idea who killed her. I was actively trying to solve it but NOPE! The only downside was it was a touch monotonal and that was the only thing that I found a bit of a con. Really good writing. It was very very entertaining and I was hooked from start to finish. 4.5 stars Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress @macmillanaudio for my gifted copies. #bookblogger #readersoffacebook #booklover #bookcommunity #lionessofliteracy #bookpodcast
Book Review - ALC audiobook - Historical Fiction - Family Drama - Double Agent The Star Society by Gabriella Saab When Ada discarded her life after the war and became a Hollywood star… She never expected that her resistance work would come back to bite her. Ingrid escaped the invasion and fled to Washington. She is now a private investigator and she is sent to Hollywood to sniff out nazi influence. Her target… Ada… Her sister… The narration was brilliant and it was probably the worst thing about the book. Yep this book… It’s that good. It's absolutely beautifully written and I was charmed from the get go. I had historical fiction set in the post war era fatigue but something about this book called to me. I am so glad I took the chance because it's clever how the author blended historical details with fictional characters and it felt real. Like this really happened. Historical fictions tend to have a slower pace because they build the historical information we need. This book was well paced and the story was so tight I could not find one plot hole. I felt like I was really in old Hollywood.. It was amazing. I was hooked from start to finish and I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves historical fiction with a brilliant balance of character driven with an excellent plot. 6 stars! YEP!!!! Thank you @netgalley and @harpermuse for my gifted ALC! #bookreview #bookblog #bookishblog #readerblog #historicalfiction
Book review - Fiction - Paperback ARC - Series - Mystery - Police Procedural I just finished First Sign of Danger by Kelley Armstrong - Haven’s rock Book 4 and here are my musings. Casey Duncan and Sheriff Dalton are living their best lives.. They are raising their baby in their sanctuary town of Haven’s rock. Except their private town is in danger of being exposed. One of the hikers that found the border of the town is found dead the next day, the people of the town have no idea who these people are, why they were where they were and how much danger they are all in. Big big fan of Kelley Armstrong and this is one of the series I have invested my time in. I really like the offgrid living which is one of the reasons I keep coming back to this series. I am a sucker for small town tropes and it doesn’t get smaller than this. I love Casey and Dalton.. I am super invested in them as characters. Dalton is such a protector and I love that too. I always love this author's writing.The pacing is on point and I love all the twists and turns that are executed with perfection. It’s going to be bitter sweet having this series end. 4 stars Thank you to @minotaur_books for my gifted copy. #canadianauthor #bookrecs #bookseries #bookalorian #literaryinfluencer
Book review - Fiction - Audiobook - horror - Vampires - Paranormal Hollow by Celina Myers Mia is not even 25 when she dies in a car crash… and wakes as a vampire. Knowing she cannot go back to her old life… She has to decide which vampire clan she is joining… 2 clans with old feuds via for her and a gift she lost as she grew older has started to return and she needs it to protect innocent lives. I was super sonic excited to read this book…. I kept seeing it on booksta and I was so pumped… It was boring. The book only covered a few days and nothing much happened. The vampire plot was fine and we got a lot of world building around it but it wasn’t massively interesting. I had to go back and listen a few times because I stopped paying attention. All the good stuff happens at the end and it was so rushed. It wasn’t a terrible book… It just wasn't brilliant but maybe I am too old now for this kind of book? 3.5 stars Thank you @netgalley #bookblogger #bookreader #booklover #booklorian #lionessofliteracy #bookish
Book review - Fiction - ebook - Fantasy I just finished The Younger Gods by Katie Shepard and here are my musings. Iona headed the rebellion of mortals to overthrow the Gods… Losing her betrothed has broken her more than that last battle ever could have. In a moment of grief, ione makes a deal with her former patron goddess… If she can convince Taran, her love, to follow her home from the underworld, he can live again. If she fails… she will be trapped there forever. As soon as she arrives she finds the dead gods have been reborn and are out for revenge and the worst part.. Taran is one of them and his reincarnation does not remember her… Can she stop the next war? Can she get Taran out of the underworld? That was one beautifully fun ride!! I really like the story of Opheus and Eurydice and this one loosely fits their Greek mythology… It is loosely.. Very loosely based and I really liked how this story panned out. It was totally heartbreaking. She travels to the underworld in her heartbreak just to find out he has no clue who she is but dang it hurts my heart. I thought the characters were well written and I fell in love with Taran and Iona and the love they had before he forgot her. I thought the writing was so beautiful and the slow burn worked really well. I usually like a more expedient pace but this was clever and I felt drawn right into the story. 4.5 stars I cannot wait to see what happens next!! Thank you @berkleypub and @netgalley for my gifted copy. #berkleypub #romance #fantasy #greekretelling #booklover #bookishblogger
