Book Blurb:
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.
My Review: 4 stars
Colleen Hoover isn’t known for writing thrillers, but you wouldn’t know that after reading Verity. I like to consider myself pretty good at piecing together breadcrumbs that the author leaves throughout the book so that the ending is never too much of a surprise, but man oh man, did this ending make my jaw drop.
The POV switches between Lowen, the ghostwriter for Verity, and Verity’diary excerpts. I didn’t necessarily love Lowen – I liked her, but that’s all I can really say about her. Her personality isn’t anything special and she seems content with being boring. Regardless, Hoover did do a great job of making me feel like I was experiencing and second-guessing every twist, turn, manipulation and lie right alongside her. When Lowen finds a secret diary that Verity had kept, the book begins to incorporate excerpts from said diary. These diary excerpts are not for the weak – they were deeply disturbing and sometimes hard to get through. Although they made my stomach turn, Hoover was able to make you see life through their eyes, regardless of whether you had any empathy for them. The two narrators make you second-guess who is telling the truth and to what extent, which pushes this thriller forward with each new chapter.
I don’t have issue with sexual content in books by any means, especially if it drives the plotline forward, but it was a little overused in this book. Almost every other chapter featured a very detailed sex scene, and I found myself saying thinking “again?” each time I got another one. I suppose I should’ve remembered that this author is a romance author, first and foremost.
When I finished the book, I felt almost guilty for enjoying it due to the pit in my stomach. If you’re a Colleen Hoover fan, you should definitely read this book. There was a great push and pull throughout the novel – the suspense gave me goosebumps and had me looking over my shoulder, but I couldn’t stop turning the pages. Well done!
Quotes I liked:
I wasn’t heroic. I wasn’t simple. I was difficult. An emotionally challenging puzzle he wasn’t up for solving.”
“I think the idea of me is better than the reality of me.”
“A writer should never have the audacity to write about themselves unless they’re willing to separate every layer of protection between the author’s soul and their book. The words should come directly from the center of the gut, tearing through flesh and bone as they break free. Ugly and honest and bloody and a little bit terrifying, but completely exposed.”
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