I just ordered Verity by Colleen Hoover and I'm seeing a lot of mixed opinions online. Some people say it’s amazing, others really seem to hate it.
I'm curious—if you've read it, what did you think? Why do you think it gets so much criticism? (No major spoilers please!)
by Ok-Presentation-7659
9 Comments
The plot is lazy and overdone for me
I liked it. I thought it was engaging. I think people hate on popular books a lot but I like her books
Here is my guess… I think because with any of these books that become super popular…some of the people who read them don’t read much at all, don’t have a lot to compare it to, and probably require certain things to keep them hooked and interested. This results in a certain type of book, and an author recreating this book over and over because it is accessible and makes money. There’s nothing wrong with this, it’s great that there are books that encourage non-readers to read. But people who read a lot might dislike this because it doesn’t bring an interesting plot, or the writer maybe doesn’t spend a lot of time on prose, dialogue or character development as some other books. Sometimes people are snobby and just like to hate on popular things.
It’s overhyped, which makes sense since Hoover’s gained so much attention and readership due to the people who gushed over her work. Whenever something gets popular, the public’s gut reaction tends to be to hate it or treat it as lowbrow. IMO it’s pretty mid, and I still think of it as an edgy retelling of Rebecca (not a compliment).
It’s the only Hoover book that I have read, and I plan on keeping it that way – I enjoyed it, it was an easy, very quick read, and it was fun trying to predict where the story was heading. If you like her, you like her, nothing wrong with that. I didn’t dislike her, but there are a lot of other books out there to read.
I’ve read three Colleen Hoover books(including Verity) and honestly, all of them were pretty terrible. Her writing tends to feel lazy and melodramatic, with flat characters and overly convenient plot twists. Verity in particular is a mess of cliches. It relies heavily on trauma and disturbing content as a cheap way to keep readers hooked, but doesn’t explore any of it with nuance or depth.
People who enjoy it usually say it’s fast-paced and addictive, which is fair—it is a quick read. But if you’re looking for strong writing, layered storytelling, or believable characters, Verity isn’t it.
Read it. Was very engaging. Was a little disappointed by the ending. Felt sort of abrupt. I can’t really say how I think it should have ended, but I loved it right up until the end.
When books get really popular, they become read by more people, including those for whom it’s simply not their cup of tea. I personally thought it was just okay, nothing special, not bad either. Just a pretty generic thriller, a quick read.
For me, the order of importance for what makes a book good is thus:
Quality of prose > Interesting and nuanced characters > an engrossing plot > emotional impact > escapism and having interesting twists and turns.
I don’t enjoy Hoover’s writing style, I find her characters stilted and formulaic, and her plot lines are trite to me, so I don’t read her works. But different people read for different reasons, so if you disagree with my flow chart above entirely, then my reasons for disliking Hoover are irrelevant to you.