Verity

Just One More Chapter Book Club met on October 18th to discuss Verity by Colleen Hoover. As a group, we gave the book a 3.5-star rating, largely because of the disturbing subject matter and the unsettling nature of the characters and events throughout the story. The book started off with a graphic, gruesome scene that immediately set a dark and uncomfortable tone. While the story certainly grabbed our attention, the graphic content and themes of child abuse were particularly disturbing for our group. These elements made the book difficult to enjoy, even as the suspense continued to build. As the story unfolded, we found ourselves questioning the characters’ motives, especially as the darker aspects of their personalities became apparent. The themes of obsession, narcissism, manipulation, and murder made for a disturbing psychological thriller. The apparent lack of maternal concern and the willingness to engage in horrific behavior were especially unsettling. Although Verity kept us talking and gave us plenty to debate, we felt the story left too many questions unanswered. The ending felt unresolved, leaving us hanging and wondering what to believe. While that ambiguity may have been intentional, it left some of us wanting more closure. Our final verdict: Verity was undeniably suspenseful and conversation-provoking, but its graphic opening, disturbing treatment of child abuse, deeply troubling characters, and unresolved ending kept it from earning a higher rating from our group. It certainly gave Be Just One More Chapter plenty to discuss, but it was not an easy or comfortable read. Rating: ⭐⭐⭐½ out of 5 stars

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Five stars honestly doesn’t feel like enough for this one. I LOVED this book. I went into Verity knowing very little about it, and I am so glad I did because this book was an experience. I was completely hooked. I wanted to know what happened next, but at the same time I kept wanting to stop and process what the hell I had just read. This book made me uncomfortable. It made me suspicious of absolutely everyone. It made me question things I was positive about five pages earlier. It shocked me, disturbed me, fascinated me, and somehow kept finding new ways to make me think, “What the actual hell?” And I loved every second of it. 😂 I don’t give five stars easily. For me, five stars means a book did something more than entertain me while I was reading it. It means it stayed with me. I read Verity over a year ago, and I am STILL thinking about that ending. That is what takes this book from something I really enjoyed to something I consider exceptional. An author can keep me entertained for a few hundred pages and I’ll happily give them credit for it. But if you can create something that has me thinking about it, questioning it, and wanting to talk about it with other people more than a year after I closed the book? You did something right. And God, did Colleen Hoover knock this one out of the park. I wanted other people to read it just so I could hear what THEY thought. I literally gave it to my mom because apparently when a book psychologically torments me this successfully, my love language is making my family experience it too. 😂 There are books you enjoy, and then there are books that grab you by the brain and refuse to leave when they’re over. Verity did that for me. If you haven’t read this book, do yourself a favor: don’t look into it. Don’t Google it. Don’t watch the movie first. Don’t watch trailers that might give something away. Go into this book blind and enjoy the ride. Five stars on a five-star scale. Eight out of ten when you actually give me room to be picky. 😂 Either way, Verity earned its place on The Shared Shelf. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I have no words except OMG

Quick read … definitely questions your own perspective as to what happened between Verity and her horrific husband.

I felt like I was reading the Housemaid, but it was a quick, engaging read.