Verity
"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 the night her family was forever altered. Lowen decides to keep the manuscript hidden from Jeremy, knowing its contents could 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 devotes Jeremy is to his injured wife, a truth this horrifying would make it impossible for him to continue loving her."
Verity by Colleen Hoover is my second read in her infamous library of global sensations, and I was not disappointed. I was warned that this one was a hardcore page-turner with several dark twists and turns.
I feel that Hoover was in her element describing the tumultuous life of a suspense author, and therefore able to tell a wildly creative story that just keeps getting more sinister with every chapter. This one is on-brand with the spice and sexiness of her literary brand, while also juggling complex family themes, death, and the paranoia of the human psyche. I found myself gasping at each dramatic twist until, quite literally, the very last page of the novel.
The end of this one is up for interpretation as to which way this story ended. Was Verity simply an extremely skilled author when writing about the perspective of the antagonist? Or, perhaps, is she every bit as evil as her manuscript suggests?
We are left with two options, but the same bitter conclusion. It's all a matter of the flavor of guilt and darkness that Lowen chooses to take on.
Stay tuned for more Hoover book reviews! I am far from done exploring this genre of literature.