Hello, beautiful people! Welcome to a new review! For this review, I get into Verity by Colleen Hoover, a personal first for me with this author. Colleen Hoover (to my understanding) writes lots of romance-based books, which isn’t my personal cup of tea. When I heard about Verity and that it had Freida McFadden vibes, I was down to give it a roll. I also, of course, like everyone else, have been force-fed the silly drama going on with the cast for a book of hers that was recently made into a movie, so I was interested to see what her work is about. I am not totally certain that I’ll check out another book of hers, not because Verity was bad, but I doubt outside of this one that I would be into much more of her work.
Main Characters:
Lowen Ashleigh: An aspiring and struggling writer who has a dream but not the funds to keep it rolling, when her day goes from bad to worse through a series of events she runs into Jeremy Crawford who may just be able to solve all of her problems, now working in the Crawford home Lowen is forced to question those around her and how Jeremys wife came to be in the state she is in
Jeremy Crawford: A husband of a famous writer who has lost a lot and has an odd home life to add to his stress, Jeremy’s wife Verity has become confined to her bed after an accident and is no longer able to function as a normal adult, now a carer for his wife and son Jeremy hires Lowen to care for her which turns out to lead to more issues then solutions
Verity Crawford: A once famous writer who is now is a semi-comatose state and no longer able to function as she once did, when Lowen is hired to help take care of her she finds an old journal of Verity’s and is thrown into what her life was before her accident, in her current state Verity is forced to watch the world go on around her
My Review
As mentioned before, Verity is my first Colleen Hoover novel, and let me tell you what an introduction. This book is absolutely wild, from the very first chapter to the final page. It’s the kind of story that grabs you by the throat and doesn’t let go, even when you want to scream at the characters (which, trust me, you will, they all have their terrible quirks). It’s one of those books that’s riveting, intense, and often infuriating. Verity had me constantly wondering who I could trust, if anyone. I overall gave the book an 8/10 rating.
Verity follows the story of the Crawford family and Lowen Ashleigh’s newfound involvement in their lives. Verity Crawford was once a well-known writer, famous for writing riveting books beloved by the public. It all comes to a screeching stop when Verity suffers an accident that leads to her being in a semi-comatose state, unable to function or care for herself any longer. Jeremy, her husband, has now not only lost his wife but also their twin daughters, well before her accident. Now, just having their son Crew to take care of, Jeremy is at a loss to have all of this on his shoulders. Lowen Ashleigh is struggling to make her life work with blow after blow. Another comes in the form of a person dying right in front of her, and being covered in their bodily fluids on a busy street. Saved by the Dashing Jeremy Crawford, he also comes through for her in more ways than just a fresh shirt; he offers her a job, coming to live in their family home and care for his wife. When Lowen finds out Jeremy’s wife is the famous Verity Crawford, an author she aspires to reach a level to one day, Lowen jumps on the opportunity. What Lowen doesn’t realize is that she is walking into a home filled wall to wall with horrifying secrets. Weird things are happening in the home, and when Lowen finds Verity’s diary hidden in a drawer, she is thrown into what went on in Verity’s life before she became incapacitated. Lowen is forced to question what the truth is, and just how exactly Verity ended up as she did. Further, she is forced to look at her own self and see who she really is behind her own dark secrets.
The book kicks off with a literal bang when Jeremy saves Lowen from a gruesome accident, leaving her covered in human remains and fluids. Over the top? Definitely. But also kind of perfect, because it sets the tone for the chaotic, dramatic rollercoaster that follows. It’s like the universe throws Lowen straight into Jeremy’s arms and says, Here is the man who will save you from all of your troubles. From there, we’re launched into a twisted world of secrets, manipulations, and a mansion that’s haunted not by ghosts, but by trauma, lies, and a comatose, maybe evil woman named Verity.
Let’s talk about Lowen. At first, I felt for her a struggling writer with a string of bad luck and even worse confidence. But as the story went on, she devolved into someone totally unrecognizable. Her insecurity, especially in the shadow of Verity and under the gaze of Jeremy, becomes her whole personality. Her decisions? Unhinged. Her reasoning? Almost nonexistent. And yet, I couldn’t look away from the chaos this woman brought into her own life. It was like watching a slow-motion car crash. You know it’s going to end badly, but you’re glued to every second. Jeremy, on the other hand, gave me the ick early on. He’s painted as this dream husband, devoted, tragic, and handsome. But the cracks in that image start to show quickly. Something about him felt off from the jump, too good to be true. And when we learn that two of his children with Verity are dead and he’s now inviting this total stranger (Lowen) into his home under the guise of helping her career by offering her a good job and a place to live, the red flags are practically screaming at you. I understand why Lowen saw him as her saviour, he literally pulls her out of a traumatic moment and hands her a career lifeline, but from the outside, it just looked calculated.
Then comes Verity’s manuscript. The twisted, unfiltered diary that paints her as the literal worst. It’s through this manuscript that we (and Lowen) get to know Verity, and honestly, it’s hard not to side with Lowen’s horrified reactions. But when I finished the book, I had to stop and ask myself, why was I so quick to trust Lowen’s perspective? She’s the one reading the manuscript. She’s the one interpreting everything. And her own judgment? Clearly shaky. It made me realize how little we actually know for sure in this book. Everything we learn about Verity is filtered through Lowen or Jeremy, two deeply unreliable sources.
The pacing of the book was spot-on for me. Fast, dramatic, and constantly escalating. It matched the story’s chaos and made it hard to put down, even when I was rolling my eyes at how over-the-top some moments were. Yes, parts of it felt theatrical and borderline absurd, but honestly? That’s part of the appeal. If you’re not into high-drama thrillers with morally questionable characters and plot twists on plot twists, this might not be your vibe. But if you do like that kind of thing, welcome to the mess.
Verity was an addictive, frustrating, and surprisingly thought-provoking read. I wouldn’t call it perfect, too many characters pissed me off and the logic didn’t always track, but I was absolutely entertained. If Colleen Hoover has more books with this dark, twisty energy, I’m intrigued and ready to dive in.
*** Don’t read any further if you don’t want to see any spoilers***
As we could have guessed from the start of the book, Lowen and Jeremy eventually create a romantic relationship, all while an incapacitated Verity lies in bed upstairs. I saw this coming from the start, but I didn’t realize how crazy it would make Lowen.
When Lowen starts to read Verity’s diary, it is revealed that Verity was a terrible person, an abusive partner, and a horrific mother. In the diary, we learn that the Crawford twins, Harper and Chastain, died in very different ways. Chastain, who was Verity’s favourite, died first from an allergic reaction. Verity blamed the death on Harper, whom she felt purposely killed her sister. Verity then takes Crew and Harper on a boat ride. She purposely tips the boat, saves Crew and leaves Harper to drown. She then gets into a car accident, leading to her current state. This gives Lowen the idea that Verity is terrible and eventually tells Jeremy. The two want to be together and kill Verity by making her choke on her own vomit. Lowen becomes pregnant, and we think the two are going to start a new family with Crew.
We then find out at the very end of the story that the diary was never a diary. It was Verity’s way of trying to work through the death of her children, and she never actually did anything she said in the book. Further, the abuse she perpetuated on Jeremy in the diary was a representation of how Jeremy actually abused her. It was essentially her writing a fantasy where she had control over all the terrible things in her life. At this point, Lowen is now pregnant and has killed her man’s ex with him. Jeremy actually caused Verity’s accident when he read the diary himself and thought, like Lowen, it was a legitimate diary. Which always seemed off to me because wouldn’t he have realized that other things she wrote about in the diary weren’t accurate to what actually happened?
Oh yes, and of course, one of the other biggest secrets of all! Verity was never actually in a vegetative state. She was just playing it up so that she could eventually escape Jeremy with their son after he tried to kill her. The only thing, though, is that she didn’t expect Jeremy to bring a new mistress into the home who would also think she was terrible and would eventually help her husband kill her.
We don’t totally know what happens with Lowen and Jeremy or if she ever confronts him with the truth she knows now, but I would assume not, considering she killed someone. A lot of craziness for one book, that’s for sure!
Thank you for checking out this review. I hope you enjoyed it! Feel free to sign up for the email list at the bottom of the page to be one of the first to know when I release a new review!
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