"Verity" by Colleen Hoover - Book review & Movie gossip"
When Your Love for Books Leads to Murder (Or... something else?)
Crystal ball crackles with Netflix adaptation energy
Recently a disheveled client with ink stains on her hands entered my parlor, crying about her stalling writing career "Every time I sit down to work, I end up stalking other authors on Instagram and feeling like a fraud."
Adjusts tarot cards while accidentally setting one on fire with a nearby manifestation candle
My third eye twitched, and it wasn't just from watching Dakota Johnson's blood-covered photos for the upcoming Verity adaptation. The cards (the non-crispy ones) are pointing to Colleen Hoover's deliciously twisted psychological thriller that'll make your impostor syndrome look like a cozy tea party.
Lowen Ashleigh, a struggling writer who, like my client, probably spent too much time comparing herself to others until she landed the gig of a lifetime: finishing successful author Verity Crawford's remaining books. Simple enough, right?
Laughs in plot twist
Speaking of plot twists, this book has more of them than my attempts at reading tea leaves. Lowen discovers a manuscript in Verity's office that makes "Gone Girl" look like "Eat, Pray, Love." While living in Verity's house (red flag number one through infinity), she develops feelings for Verity's husband, Jeremy (because apparently professional boundaries are optional when abs are involved).
The real tea? This book will:
- Make you grateful for your boring writing setup at Starbucks
- Question everything you've ever read, including this review
- Possibly inspire you to never accept a ghostwriting job ever again
Current relevance: With Dakota Johnson set to bring this psychological nightmare to screen, we're all about to witness what happens when "50 Shades" meets "The Woman in the Window "meets" why am I sleeping with the lights on?"
Side Effects May Include:
- Suspicious glances at your manuscript
- Trust issues with unreliable narrators (and authors in general)
- Sudden appreciation for boring domestic life
- Compulsive checking of locked doors
Attempts to cleanse the room's energy but accidentally summons more book boyfriend drama
Look, if you're going to procrastinate on your writing anyway, at least do it with a book that'll make you feel better about your life choices. Just maybe don't read it alone. Or at night. Or ever, if you're faint of heart
Disclaimer: This review was written under the influence of mercury retrograde and possibly too much caffeine. Reader discretion is advised.
P.S. If you think the book is wild, wait until you discover the online debates about that ending.
Sage stick mysteriously extinguishes itself
Author's personal notes:
Colleen Hoover's "Verity" was extremely page-turning in a way that I find rare—I literally couldn't wait to find out what happens next. Hoover's blurs the lines between victim and villain so masterfully that you're never quite sure who to trust. I will say that the ending of this psychological thriller left me feeling morally gray in a very uncomfortable way - many book reviews are along the lines of "WTF did I just read" haha. Unlike "The Housemaid," which gave me that satisfying thriller resolution, "Verity" had me questioning my own moral compass long after I closed the book. Maybe that's the point. The book is undeniably brilliant and will mess with your head in the best possible way, but be prepared to sit with some very uncomfortable questions about what people are capable of to get the love they deserve (also a topic in my upcoming novel "The Love or Death Cocktail").