“Verity” Take Two

“Verity” Take Two Ok, so I'm actually writing two reviews for this one since I read it twice, approximately one year apart. The first review: This was an ….um…. interesting book. I honestly don’t know if I liked it or not for two reasons: 1. Definitely a psychological thriller à la “Gone Girl” (a book which I did not care for). I’ve met a lot of people lately who really don’t like this genre, so if that’s you, steer clear. 2. There is a lot of sex in this book, so much so that it reminded me of “50 Shades of Grey.” Granted, there is not the BDSM angle, but graphic sex is definitely one of this books’ prevalent themes. Now with all that being said, this book did have some redeeming characteristics. Colleen Hoover certainly held my attention throughout the suspense/mystery portion and left me guessing on how it would end. And I’m not disappointed by the ending; in fact, I’m still mulling it over, trying to wrap my brain around it all. I also enjoyed her first-person writing style, but I don’t miss any of the characters now that I’m done reading it. I was attracted to this book initially because Goodreads has an average rating of 4.34 from 264,509 people, so when I say I didn’t enjoy it, I’m wondering if I missed the point somehow. Of course, I didn’t like the two books it reminded me of (“Gone Girl” and “50 Shades”), which also have high Goodreads numbers, so maybe I’m just an anomaly here. Either way, I won’t recommend it for anyone to read unless they go in knowing what’s in store first. Now for the second review: I read this book again after it was recommended by a friend. I had forgotten I read it once already but remembered as soon as the characters were introduced. Honestly, I enjoyed it much more the second time around. I think I got too wrapped up in the sex during my first reading. This second time, I knew how the mystery would end so I was able to read it from a totally different angle. I won't spoil it for anyone, but like most mysteries, I was able to pick up on the clues and nuances much more the second time around. And as for the ending, I had some great discussions with other readers about what was true and what was a lie. (Again no spoilers, but was the journal the lie or the ending letter? Because if one was true, the other could not be.) Great question that really made me think; glad I gave this book another shot!