VERITY – COLLEEN HOOVER

**Spoilers Ahead, Read On With Caution**

Well, hello there. Long time no see it seems, sorry about that, it’s really my fault isn’t it. A lot has happened between my CUFFED review and now. Mostly Christmas, New Years, and then my trip to America – more on that I suppose, that’s not what we’re here for. We’re here to talk about VERITY and cleverly it’s written, and how much you simply have to read it, because of the afore mentioned clever writing and plot.

Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin. When Jeremy Crawford, husband of bestselling author Verity Crawford, asks Lowen to complete the remaining books in a contract his permanently injured wife is unable to fulfill, Lowen has no choice but to accept. Lowen arrives at the Crawford home with the intention of only staying one or two nights—long enough to sort through Verity’s chaotic home office to collect all the notes and outlines she’ll need to start writing the first novel. But the more time Lowen spends with Jeremy Crawford, the less of a hurry she is in to leave. While there, Lowen uncovers a hidden manuscript. An autobiography containing chilling admissions Verity planned to take to her grave, including the truth behind the events that turned their lives upside down. A truth that, if revealed to Jeremy, would further devastate the already grieving father. Lowen decides to keep the manuscript a secret, allowing Jeremy to continue to believe Verity is merely an innocent, unfortunate victim of circumstance. But as Lowen’s feelings for the devoted father and husband deepen, she wonders if keeping Jeremy in the dark is in her own best interest. After all, if Jeremy were to read his wife’s autobiography, the disturbing truth would make it impossible for him to continue to love her.

“Here, I’m invisible. Unimportant. Manhattan is too crowded to give a shit about me, and I love her for it.”

The excitement I felt for getting to finally read this book was palpable, at least to me it was. I was practically buzzing and fidgeting like I had just drunk a giant mug of black coffee on an empty stomach. I held off on reading it for a week, as I wanted to have something truly meaty to read on the flight out to Boston; only a casual eight hours to fill up. Naturally, I didn’t start reading the book until maaaaybe hour six, as like everyone getting on a long-haul flight for the first time in ages, I got distracted by the little TV on the back of the chair in front of me. I watched three films back to back (Love Simon, Adrift and Night School) tried oh-so-desperately to sleep a little, and got pampered by the Delta flight attendants. And then VERITY happened…

“I think the idea of me is better than the reality of me.”

VERITY starts with us following Lowen Ashleigh to a meeting and witnessing a mans skull being crushed on a New York crosswalk by a passing van. Now tell me this isn’t an enticing beginning. Lowen then meets a man (Jeremy Crawford) who escorts her from the roadside into a bathroom to clean up before her meeting. And here our story begins! Another perspective we get to read is that of Jeremy’s bed-bound wife, Verity. But not Verity in her current state, a past Verity, a Verity who wrote a graphically descriptive and mentally unstable biography about her life onwards from the moment she met Jeremy. It’s deceptively addictive to bounce between the minds of these two women, and see how one sees Jeremy compared to the other.

“I wasn’t heroic. I wasn’t simple. I was difficult. An emotionally challenging puzzle he wasn’t up for solving.”

This is by no means a romantic story, not even in the mist of Verity and Jeremy’s young love; nor for Lowen and Jeremy when they meet either. This book is pure filth. Pure shocking, suspenseful, sick filth. And I loved it! Incredibly hard to put down, and even harder to get to sleep once you’ve put it down. Verity is one sick fuck, and the end of VERITY leaves you absolutely gagging on what your thoughts are. And let me tell you, you’ll have a lot! Please read it, and discuss it with me, it’s mostly just available on kindle at the moment, so it’s a real steal for its price.