Colleen Hoover Is UNHINGED

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Time for another book review, this time looking at Verity by Colleen Hoover. Verity is supposedly Co-Ho's foray into the thriller genre but that doesn't stop the romance author from...writing romance. BookTok is crying now, thanks.
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#Booktok #BookTube #colleenhoover #Verity #BookReview

[@AlizeeYeezy]

Buy a DNA kit here: bit.ly/Alizee_MH. Use the coupon code 'ALIZEE' for free shipping. As an added bonus, you can start a 30-day free trial of MyHeritage's best subscription for family history research - and enjoy a 50% discount if you decide to continue it.

[@pennyraehawkins9788]

Verity is a villain because… *checks notes* …she’s the primary breadwinner, enjoys sex, has female friends, understands science and possesses a spine.

[@kanafinwereincarnation]

And doesn't want to have kids. Wow, so evil

[@pennyraehawkins9788]

@@kanafinwereincarnation diabolical, really. it’s totally justified for Lowen to scream into a presumed-disabled woman’s face, throw shit at her, fuck her husband and, of course, kill her.

[@weareone9341]

And have mental health issues

[@KateeAngel]

So...a female character who doesn't want to be a doormat for a man? Literally opposite of regular Coleen's heroines. No wonder she's a villain

[@kitkatboard]

@@weareone9341 Honestly, the more it went on, the more I felt sorry for Verity...

[@alexcuevas1973]

Alizee finding out that she’s barely English was more shocking than the plot twist in Verity

[@AlizeeYeezy]

My entire life is a LIE

[@Breadbathbeyond]

you can tell she wasn’t that english the way she pronounced the foreign names

[@chansesturm7103]

​@@BreadbathbeyondDo you mean to imply that how someone pronounces names is somehow genetic? If so, I'd genuinely like a source on that bit of information.

[@EL-jq1sq]

⁠@@chansesturm7103 I think it was a joke haha

[@Taemtiddies]

​@@Breadbathbeyondnot really, in the uk there are like 53485747382892028475 accents.

[@staying_silent]

It's not a thriller just because your protagonist is unjustifiably paranoid. Imagine if the big twist was that Verity wasn't faking. She's trapped in the house of the man who tried to murder her, completely unable to move or ask for help. Maybe all those times Lowen caught her staring was her using the tiny amount of control she had left over her body to try and warn Lowen. Jeremy obviously has no objection to murder if it's convenient for him, so Lowen was in danger just being in that house. And by time she finally figures that out, there's a lock on her bedroom door. That would be a thriller.

[@FrumiousMing8]

Yeeeeesss my thoughts exactly

[@AlizeeYeezy]

This would have been a much better story

[@queenlilaerys13]

It's apparently a thriller because Lowen's afraid of the creepy scary evil disabled woman who might... wait for it... catch Lowen having sex with her husband. 😹

[@KairiMorin]

@@queenlilaerys13 That's called guilt.

[@KairiMorin]

Verity murdering the mc is the only way it would be a thriller.

[@Stonedandbookish]

Verity was whole ass having an eating disorder and didn’t want kids and lowen said “yeah she’s a villain”

[@mer_acle8101]

that's the CoHo way of doing it, "Layla" already taught us eating disorder and bipolar disorder are instant villain material and make that character okay to be murdered by the so called "pro"tagonists...

[@Stonedandbookish]

​@@mer_acle8101Absolutely. I read Layla too and have bipolar disorder alongside bulimia and BPD. I remember thinking WTF with both. Genuinely this woman needs to market everything she writes as horror bc that's what it is

[@talynhastime9343]

It’s not bad to write junk food books that are widely accessible and written for quick reads, but for the love of God PLEASE write romances that aren’t utter dogshit.

[@alyssapinon9670]

I enjoy junk food books but it’s so hard to find ones that don’t promote internalized misogyny or toxic relationships 😷

[@worldwidefunnyguy]

well junk food usually isnt good for you

[@mer_acle8101]

fr I'm aromantic and I'm confident the romances I've written were better than this junk AND I HAVE LITERALLY NO IDEA HOW IT EVEN WORKS

[@flutterg1035]

​@sarahcrisper isn't good for you in exess*

[@TheLadyLiddell]

​@@mer_acle8101that's how I feel about sex scenes as an asexual person.

[@ineffablepenguin5052]

As a delightedly childfree person, the way coho writes about motherhood and pregnancy makes me want to get a hysterectomy.

[@mer_acle8101]

yup, how about we go together lol

[@sumatiarora5557]

I'm not even childfree, and she makes me want to run to get my tubes tied

[@lillyvalley7362]

I had one when I was in my 20s, and the first doctor I saw, actually wanted to delay the surgery put me on hormone suppression to slow the growth of what was already a grapefruit sized tumor, because he didn't think 25 was old enough to be sure, I wouldn't change my mind. And wanted to give me a year to consider harvesting my eggs.The only thing I changed my mind on was the doctor, the second doctor I saw, called the ambulance directly from her office, and I had the surgery done next morning, I had sepsis and was dying. 10 years later, still don't want kids, i don't regret it, unfortunately, this is just one of many many similar stories. But I recommend getting your tubes tied over the hysterectomy. Because there are some side effects, and it's really only done for medical reasons but if you don't want kids and you really want to be sterilized don't let anyone talk you out of it!

[@randompromises1038]

I gotta leave the state to get my tubes tied but I fully plan to the moment I can

[@xLiLlyx98]

Get in loser(s), we're going hysterectomied

[@theteamaster3305]

a possible problem with coho is that she writes her characters with nearly identical voices of narration so without being identified by name they’re indistinguishable from each other

[@songweretson]

I feel like the book tries to lampshade that fact

[@TPNsBiggestFan]

its not even just character voice, i honestly could not tell you the difference in personality between most coho characters. like all of the female leads are THE SAME PERSON

[@queenlilaerys13]

And other than that, I feel like most of them having weird names makes them even more indistinguishable somehow, even if one would think the opposite. I mean Lowen, Fallon...

[@ana_bananass]

@@queenlilaerys13 lily blossom bloom 😭😭😭😭

[@smciuha3254]

Honestly whenever i shit talk coho i can never remember which book im even talking about because they're (the characters) so similar

[@TwizzleTown]

I cannot stop laughing at the mental image of someone biting a headboard hard enough to leave teeth marks 💀

[@hustlemalonefan1015]

Gopher coded

[@kai_maceration]

tbh you could absolutely do that, some woods are softer than you think, but i just don't know why you ever would.

[@salemmarz3809]

help its so fucking funny in my head

[@salemmarz3809]

@@hustlemalonefan1015😭

[@kirin-6202]

I have no idea what kind of headboard they got in murica but the ones we have here are thick and heavy and wooden. My mouth won't even fit around it to bite it and I love my teeth, would like to keep them lol.

[@sineadlucas3682]

I've been on the Internet too long to be surprised by anything Colleen Hoover writes, the real surprise of this video was that Rachel Oates bullies her friends into reading bad books. What a queen

[@akisatsuki8444]

I never thought I’d see “Rachel Oates” and “bullied” in the same sentence 😂

[@maledictionwolf]

So, there might be a reason why Jeremy waited months before finishing killing Verity--he needed someone to finish her books so the money would keep rolling in. Once he had a new author in his clutches, he was free to get rid of the old one. This is, of course, dependent on the Jeremy being the villain interpretation.

[@xLiLlyx98]

Oh, I don't think anyone here has trouble declaring any of coho's male protagonists as the villain. So yeah, that sounds like a sound theory/an interesting angle at least. Why WOULD he wait months to actually kill her off?

[@LakinMae5]

Insurance payouts, wait until the insurance kicks in to off her.

[@GenXLisa]

I had a friend tell me once, that she saw CH at a signing and a fan in a wheelchair asked for a hug and CH refused to because she didn't want to get up. My friend told me everytime she hears her name now she remembers her reaction that day. I also heard she used to be a social worker...

[@eveandaedrul]

That's clinically insane behavior if true. Actual psycho.

[@ana_bananass]

That is so disgusting. Not everyone can be a good writer, but there's no excuse for being a bad person. I want to give that person a hug, they didn't deserve this treatment 😢

[@ihatemickiegee]

that’s disgusting. that poor fan, so delighted to meet their fav reader and be deliberately ignored by her because of the position their disability leaves them in. furthermore, what kind of social worker could POSSIBLY GO ON TO WRITE THIS PSYCHOBABBLE seriously it makes me CONCERNED for the advice she will give her children when they grow up to start dating and whatnot

[@icyphrog802]

@@ihatemickiegee her kids are adults (most of em) and one apparently sexually assaulted a minor girl, who was blocked by coho after she told coho so yeah her kids r fucked

[@randompromises1038]

If she used to be a social worker than she has to know why many women don't want to be mothers and what happens to the kids if those women end up being forced to become one. This book reeks of misogyny.

[@jacksyoutubechannel4045]

This is a particularly painful one, especially since there is such an _easy_ and _obvious_ better twist, and she'd hardly have needed to change anything until the end: Jeremy wrote the manuscript and put in the room where he insisted Lowen sleep (after getting her there in the first place by lying about his wife being the one to recruit her), because he wanted Lowen to find it after falling in love with her via her book. Perhaps it persuades Lowen to kill Verity, doubling the gut punch when a pregnant Lowen discovers that _Jeremy_ was the one who didn't want the girls, who orchestrated one twin ingesting peanut at the sleepover (put peanut oil in her vitamin capsule or something), left the other twin to drown, _and_ tried to stage Verity driving herself off a cliff. Maybe end it with a sinister allusion from Jeremy about how dangerous Lowen's sleepwalking can be.

[@apeescapefan]

I'm not finished with the video yet and I thought the twist *would* be that jeremy wrote the manuscript. your version is much better

[@piffba]

This would’ve been so much better because it could lead to DISCUSSION as well :( like, how Lowen now felt trapped because she actually did kill Verity and now she feels that she can’t leave Jeremy, because he has just as much dirt on her as she has on him, or maybe Lowen has conflicting feelings on the matter because she feels like she’s just as bad as Jeremy now; she deserves to be with the man who made her kill. It could’ve brought up topics of morality and questioning your own goodness, or maybe have Lowen admit wholeheartedly that she is a bad person. Like, how can she still think at the end that she is a good person? Or that Jeremy is? It doesn’t make sense to me

[@DsRelaxingSounds]

It's good but it wouldn't leave anything up for debate. As trash as the book is, I do appreciate that you're left to wonder about what was real.

[@jacksyoutubechannel4045]

@@DsRelaxingSounds I have a practically pathological aversion to ambiguous endings, so I can't be objective about that.

[@imnotirish3221]

I thought that would be the twist, but I now realize that would be giving CoHo too much credit.

[@abbyharris9161]

As someone who has lived in New York - New Yorkers are very jaded but we’re not monsters, we would pay attention to a dead body… geez

[@emma-xr1fc]

I’ve been WAITING for you to do this one…I absolutely hate when the plot twist is just “woman crazy!”

[@AlizeeYeezy]

lol wait until the video i've got ready for tomorrow then 😭😭

[@emma-xr1fc]

@@AlizeeYeezyplease don’t tell me it’s “the wives”, that book is literally insane and Colleen Hoover is a self proclaimed lover of the book….

[@AlizeeYeezy]

@emma-xr1fc 😏😏😏

[@bluebow5014]

@@emma-xr1fcFunny you mention that, Hoover actually acknowledges the author of “The Wives” in her acknowledgements in this particular book so

[@andreagonzalez7161]

​@@bluebow5014if memory serves, they even co-wrote a book

[@trashpanda3544]

Imagining this happening to me whilst I'm paralysed or in a coma is making me more angry than it should. Imagining my boyfriend hiring an artist to finish off my art projects, only for her to try turn him against me and sleep with him, all the while verbally abusing me would be my personal hell. I work too hard on my art and my relationship for a psycho to highjack it.

[@denomen3391]

yeah, jeremy's obviously a murderous psycho but lowen is also pretty unhinged imo. verity was like the least crazy person in this novel

[@dee_is_tired]

"but you'll always forgive your children" means a lot when it comes from a coho book considering the fact that she pays for her son's victims to keep quiet

[@beaniebaby485]

My favorite part of Verity is when Crew shuts the door in Lowen’s face. Iconic

[@salem-01]

Favourite character hands down

[@xiumiaomei]

It is wild that Colleen Hoover even has a platform to peddle her books! What on earth are people smoking for these to be best sellers?

[@d_alistair-years]

Some say it’s people who never had a fanfiction phase, but I think it’s another symptom of the rising anti-intellectualism online. People who were forced to study boring things like Shakespeare, Moby Dick and Great Expectations in high school Literature class, and peddled the “curtains were fucking blue” rhetoric, now calling the first book they finished on their own within a day masterpieces (somewhat spitefully), thanks to their narrow frame of reference. No wonder her fans say CoHo is a master at writing dialogue if their only other examples of dialogue writing are teen dramas they used to watch instead of starting their Lord of the Flies homework essay. At least CoHo’s characters use three swear words every page!

[@miss_musicality]

@@d_alistair-years I agree. It's very saddening to see people set her as the standard for contemporary literature because she's one of the 'remotely relatable' writers out there, in comparison to classics that students study in school. Colleen's books are fine for getting out of a reading slump but they shouldn't be classified as 'masterpieces' (as many of her fans tout them).

[@d_alistair-years]

@@miss_musicality I remember CoHo saying that writing this book got confusing at the end because “she couldn’t tell whether Lowen or Verity was the villain”, and it was paraded around the internet in a somewhat “CoHo’s a master storyteller” way. But to me, if you’re writing a story and you get confused in the middle over who to frame the plot’s POV around, you’ve done something wrong and need to go back to the drawing board to do a rewrite!

[@miss_musicality]

@@d_alistair-years Agreed! It looks like Colleen decided to start with Verity being good and ended with her being bad? It isn’t even good in the sense of dark psychological thrillers where the world is grey. The writing is just lazy and a question of morality. It’s a convenient medium for Hoover to push her personal agendas on characters to make them the protagonist or antagonist. It’s ridiculous.

[@amen_thol]

speaking from experience here, my ex is a die hard coho fan. Shes basically the type of person to live inside their own hollywood dreamworld they created in their mind because no one ever gave her a reality check (not even meant in a bad way, just a general lack of realistic thinking). She never had a wattpad/fanfic/aoo phase or anything so maybe thats also a reason for her bad taste. Dont judge my english im a barbaric german

[@MelodyLee19]

9:59 trauma and loss aren’t contests… like yeah, someone’s daughter dying sucks, but your mom dying also sucks. both can be true without one invalidating the other. everyone in a coho book needs to speak to a licensed therapist.

[@chuangtzuandstuff]

Coho needs to talk to a licensed therapist, if nothing else to get educated on mental health.

[@randompromises1038]

When I read this part I was so goddamn uncomfortable, like it took me years to open up to my own trauma.

[@lunar-1340]

I don't think she's ever actually lost anyone close tbh.

[@torih5613]

It’s definitely a weird thing to compare out loud but as someone who lost her dad too young last year, I’d say losing a child is probably one of the worst things one can ever go through… so unnatural for a child to die before the parent. This writing was still super bad though lol

[@morganorwhatever]

Lowen, Tate, Fallon, Verity, Chastin… how come CoHo likes to name female characters like they’re Disney channel movie protagonists?

[@Stonedandbookish]

Don’t forget lily blossom bloom lol

[@d_alistair-years]

According to her: to make her characters memorable.

[@mer_acle8101]

@@d_alistair-years well I hope she doesn't do the same to her kids then no wait, I actually don't think she should have kids tbh

[@xLiLlyx98]

​@@d_alistair-yearsthey are. In the worst way. Like "ugh that batallion of unlikeable, judgemental, misogynistic dunces with the dumb names"

[@dekxu6673]

@@mer_acle8101 she does have kids

[@brookeguy5547]

I just realised if Jeremy's last name is Crawford, that means they elected to name their child 'Crew Crawford'. Interesting move Coho.

[@ana_bananass]

Lily blossom bloom 😍 🤮

[@TecTitan]

@@ana_bananass ebony darkness raven dementia wade (I might have some of this meme wrong. my b)

[@blondebimbowannabe]

​@@TecTitanI think it's Ebony Darkness Dementia Raven Way

[@Vampgurl202]

Ebony Darkness Dementia Ravensway, I think. Never read that fanfic myself, but died laughing at Alizee reading it ​@TecTitan

[@akisatsuki8444]

@@Vampgurl202ALIZEE READS MY IMMORTAL?!?!?

[@mrbubbies_]

i see alizee and colleen hoover, i click

[@Mels0103]

Immediately

[@TheSlimmestJim]

Real asf

[@lesbiangoddess290]

Same. I hate her books through alizee

[@kal5061]

Omg yes me too!

[@ChildLikeEmpress86]

Instant dopamine

[@lottevanderpaelt1684]

Rachel was like "This is terrible. Alizee needs to read this." 😂

[@kaisetic3150]

my biggest red flag is that i don't like anything about Coleen hoover book but i can't stop hatewatching these videos 😭

[@maebee23]

My red flag is I'd never heard of Colleen Hoover before starting to watch these videos and now I low key judge anyone I see reading them😂

[@mer_acle8101]

@@maebee23 same hon, let's call it a green flag for common sense lol

[@DWhoLover]

I’m a writer & I 100% agree about writer characters enjoying meeting people! I love meeting my readers & doing signings, con panels, etc.! It’s a lazy stereotype that we’re all awkward recluses.

[@midgematic]

Ngl the idea of meeting fans of anything i make fills me with giggly joy like mwah thank you for liking my crazy ass sht lemme talk to you about it for hours ❤❤❤❤

[@Saphia_]

I am an awkward recluse and even I would love meeting the hypothetical fans of my hypothetical books. I'd feel so grateful that there are people who read through and enjoy the stuff I put out that I'd happily meet them and do book signings and stuff for them and talking about books, even if it's just to show my gratefulness.

[@randompromises1038]

One time a follower on my Instagram revealed they read all of my silly oneshots from my AO3 and I felt silly gushing about my own books but it was just the unbridled enthusiasm that someone really liked what I was doing enough to talk to me about it and saying how talented I am that makes me so genuinely touched. I would love for that to happen in real life.

[@PixelPioneer88]

The amount of people justifying Verity being the villain on GoodReads because her writing was “too realistic” is actually laughable

[@Teajay21]

If that's true what does that say about CoHo??

[@chxilya]

But when CoHo writes about incels it's not the same for them somehow. (Just to clarify, "the author wrote this so they believe in it" without nuance is pretty stupid. It becomes more valid when one introduces the questions "How is the author phrasing x problematic behavior? Are they discussing it? Are they encouraging it? Are they romanticizing it?" "What is the intent of the author in writing about same x problematic behavior? Do they want to bring awareness? Do they want to propose a conversation about it? Are they talking about their experiences? Are they trying to excuse it?" CoHo's books are in fact romanticizing and excusing toxic behavior and unhealthy relationships. Does that mean she believes it's right? Not necessarily, but it is a pattern.) Edited a spelling error :)

[@Razzioli]

Another KZbinr who read this book said Verity is basically a rip off of a book called Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. It's from 1938 and a proper Gothic novel. I've only read a bit of it but I can confirm *that* book is a proper thriller and what Colleen Hoover wishes she wrote.

[@aleehaangel]

Rebecca is an amazing book

[@Ashbrash1998]

That and gone girl

[@skye3088]

rebecca is a work of art, that forces you to question the narrator’s perspective. this is such a cheap version it’s so sad

[@julianna8790]

Random but fun fact: If you want to test if someone is really unconscious, while they're lying on their back you can hold their hand right above their face. Then you can drop their hand, and if it hits them right in the face it means they're actually unconscious. If they're faking it, they'll subconsciously move their hand to the side slightly to avoid hitting themselves. I took a class in Emergency Medical Response and our professor told us this. Never tried it, but maybe Lowen could have LOL

[@juliabrouwer1284]

Ngl I've tried this and it's really hard, because I've let myself get hit naturally without moving but my eyes flinched every single time.

[@eajaros]

Ok but true story one time my arm fell asleep itself and as i held it up to get the blood flowing it was basically dead weight and it slipped from my other hand and hit me in the face so this isn’t foolproof lol

[@Mylittlestcorner]

I would totally smack myself in the face to be convincing lmao

[@crowdemon_archives]

@@eajaros oof

[@AK-rx8gp]

​@@eajarosif it's numb that's obviously different

[@Catsafari25]

If it weren't for CoHo going on record to call Verity a villain, I'd say this whole book sounds like a deliberate attempt at an unreliable narrator - like Joe from You - and that we're not meant to take Lowen's POV positively, but as a descent into increasingly amoral decisions. (The parallels that you pointed out between Lowen and manuscript!Verity only serve to reinforce this.) Buuuut CoHo doesn't seem to have realised this, and at best has retroactively made Jeremy a villain in her extra chapter, which is a shame 'cause this could have been an interesting concept had Lowen deliberately been an untrustworthy POV.

[@mer_acle8101]

honestly if she had just not said that, the twist wouldn't be half-bad like... i mean killing your own child is pretty bad, without the extra chapter Jeremy even has the tiniest chance to be redeemable imo (Lowen not tho she homewrecked long before Verity had written out anything damming) but like CoHo... your own book makes it pretty damn clear that Verity is not the villain, if you think she was, well don't add the twist at all, with it, Verity as THE villain doesn't work, period. Either she's psychotic and evil, then she wouldn't be able to chalk it up to a writing exercise bc well that kind of reflection seems very lucid and lets be real coho can't write mental illness that well anyway, or she's letter-verity, then she's just someone with slightly disturbing coping mechanisms to some real trauma and she was definitely unjustly murdered for it. Make it make sense, hoover, make it make sense.

[@arieldee2665]

I said this on Rachel's Verity video, but I think it's worth repeating: Verity feels like Coho trying to do her own version of Rebecca, but like a worse version that still tries to do the whole "the ghost of the man's former relationship haunts his current relationship" plot point, but she doesn't understand how Rebecca did its twist and thriller/horror elements.

[@jito7377]

That's what I thought! This is like a horny Rebecca ripoff without any of the finesse to make it impactful or iconic. It is not trash. It is a disaster.

[@eriskalliste]

I would have been impressed if she thought Jeremy and Lowen were the villains, since it would be kind of meta and clever. That she thinks Verity is the villain makes me think CoHo is really the idiot you think she is.

[@mer_acle8101]

funnily enough if she really thinks that that makes her in some paradox way more stupid than the book she's written like the twist isn't even that bad but how do you believe verity is the villain still -_-

[@antidelusionalpeeps]

And then going on goodreads and seeing everyone make Verity the villain too...

[@amnahammad5560]

It’s funny because when I read the book I thought the point of the book was that every character was MEANT to be evil but I guess my standards for CoHo were too high.

[@osmo_sian]

Would Jez not realise that the conversations where his wife is so obviously being villainous just didn't happen? Like I assume Verity is a fine mum and loves her kids, since she wrote it in her opposite thoughts. And therefore the conversation where Jez is like 'why don't you love the other twin' just never would have happened, right?

[@eveandaedrul]

Plot holes? In my colleen hoover books?? No way!! Nice catch tho fr

[@jessicaeggertson5884]

Forget that, how did Verity fake the brain scans that determined she was in a vegetative state?

[@callmekerrigan]

I just took that as evidence that the manuscript had some truth to it because of Jeremy’s reaction to it. I assume he knows his wife best and wouldn’t read a bunch of lies and say “well, the only choice now is to kill her obviously” unless it subconsciously resonated with him.

[@EL-jq1sq]

@@callmekerrigan My interpretation was kind of the opposite, he caused her initial injury and now that he’s found out she’s still conscious and capable of telling the truth he finished the job. He knows what’s written in the manuscript isn’t true, but goes along with Lowen’s misunderstanding because it keeps her on his side and him looking like the good(er) guy

[@callmekerrigan]

@@EL-jq1sq killing her in either case was wrong so I think it makes sense he’d want to finish the job and cover up the murder in any case. Just because he thinks his wife is evil doesn’t mean he’s allowed to kill her. Dude could have just gotten a divorce

[@FrumiousMing8]

I wonder if CoHo actually thinks Lowen doesn't have any flaws (beyond the sleepwalking which is not something she could control) or if she thinks Lowen does have flaws but she's clearly not evil because she loves children. Lowen does, says, and thinks some heinous sh*t about Verity but we're supposed to root for her because Verity is clearly evil but Lowen isn't because she wants to be a mother. 🙄

[@WolfGoddess77]

That's one of the bad things about writers who aren't very good. They create these characters that they think are just the Best Things Ever, but then readers like all of us here get ahold of the books, read about the characters, and are just _horrified_ by how awful they actually are. I don't know if their creators genuinely don't see it, or if there's some serious denial going on, but it's becoming way too common.

[@FrumiousMing8]

@@WolfGoddess77 Yeah, you're right. There's a very noticable difference in tone when someone intentionally writes a character to be very flawed versus when someone writes a very flawed character but thinks their the best. There's nothing wrong with falling in love with your character, but it's so unintentionally funny when an author is seemingly blind to their character's flaws. It's like that Parks & Rec meme "I have done nothing wrong in my life ever!" - "I know this and I love you."

[@TricksterPrince]

By the way she writes her “antagonists” versus her protagonists i am convinced coho doesn’t like other women

[@jacobbesler3214]

Either Lowen is a hilariously slow reader for someone whose livelihood revolves around books, or Verity's manuscript/writing journal is substantially longer than her published full-length novels

[@LadyBrightcynder]

It's always a good day when Alizee is reviewing Colleen Hoover! For us, not so much for Alizee.

[@AlizeeYeezy]

i laugh through the pain

[@samlerf]

One day we'll have a livestream where Alizee and us rewrite the twilight books in real time and make them worth it, lol.

[@AlizeeYeezy]

that's a great idea lemme steal it

[@billciphergirl6049]

​@@AlizeeYeezyyesssss

[@ishani1274]

Im really surprised to find out that CoHo said that she views Verity as the villian, because i thought that the fact that Verity writes books from the villians' perspective was a clear indication that this book is also written from the same perspective.

[@queenlilaerys13]

I love how you and Rachel can have almost identical opinions on this book, yet both have such different styles that make me want to watch both of your videos more than once, essentially making me suffer through this story four times on purpose.

[@justmeagain4662]

Not Lowen destroying the only piece of evidence that Verity wasn't actually a horrible villain to cover her own ass and then saying it's to protect Jeremy from the truth. Girl, who are you trying to fool? The way we're supposed to sympathize with Lowen, the woman who in a few weeks got somebody else killed and stole her husband over Verity, the one whose husband tried to straight-up murder her and then took advantage of her apparent disability to sleep with another woman. In a perfect world, Verity would have gotten away with it and Lowen's self-righteous ass would have been left with Jeremy, slowly realizing that she got the short end of the deal.

[@SilentTrip]

It piss my brain off that Collen have this much publicity and fame, while there are amazing writers who are getting rejected by the minute around the world.

[@soursugarrr]

As I was watching this video I slowly realized that my *mom* has read this book. The sheer horror of this realization was something I’ve never experienced before.

[@cubecopyright872]

All of our moms have probably read 50 shades in secret let's be real here 💀

[@kazdupaix]

SAME

[@geekgirl_luv4262]

My mom mentioned that she read It Ends With Us and loved it, and I was just like “ok good you only read the decent one, please dear god _do not read any of her other books_ “

[@tuvaandersson7006]

I love your vibe, I'd never read/listen to these horrible books without your sarcasm and insults

[@mewmew6158]

This is why I love these videos too!

[@randompromises1038]

I tried so hard to read the book but I don't think it's possible unless someone else reads it sarcastically

[@NowakiStar]

The twist ending should have been that Lowen was a spy from Macy’s sent to investigate the missing dress.

[@ninavale.]

I absolutley HATE that thrope of 'look how insecure I am uwu' I remember Jenny Trout say in her review of Handbook for Mortals that this stems authors fearing that the female audience/readership that reads these kinds of books won't like the protagonist if she's not modest and humble and mousey. Because there is this internalized idea that confident and outgoing women are the arrogant and proud bitches. and that's the role of the rival in this genere. It's always irritating but in this book it's even more insuferable. I'm a pretty shy person IRL but as someone who does still write fanfic I LOVE when people read it and I love talking to other writers and readers. It's a nice thing to hear someone like your style and have thoughts on it. and also this bitch JUST TURNED DOWN A LOT OF MONEY. AND SHE NEEDS THAT MONEY. Like who the FUCK goes 'I'd rather be homeless and starve than go out and do some books siginings and talk to a few reporters'. Like HOW IS THAT RELATABLE?

[@emmyrose233]

Unrelated to your comment, but I would kill for Alizee to review Handbook for Mortals

[@Saphia_]

Insecure characters/ protagonists can be done well, I'm sure, but up till now, all my favorite characters have been ones unafraid to be unapologetically themselves and unapologetically strong-minded. Sure, they have had insecurities at times, have had doubts and done negative self-talk but it's not their whole personality, you know?

[@cloudfrost8403]

Exactly. I am autistic and have literally walked out of social situations before but I write fanfic (not as much as I'd like) and adore comments. My absolute favourite are the long and specific ones, and I respond in an equal amount of detail. It's absolutely incredible to think anyone has read my work and even better to discuss it when I have spent so long thinking about it. I hope to be a published author someday and if I am I will jump at any opportunity to meet readers and answer questions about my work. It's something I already do for free. Again, as an autistic and ADHD woman, FUCK female characters who are insecure and isolated for some obscure harmless reason. Some of us are genuinely fucking weird and difficult to like and we deserve better. If I took this kind of book seriously I would feel like literal dirt, unworthy of mention and therefore of love. Thankfully I'm not a pushover like a CoHo protagonist, and in fact, I don't think any woman exists who is so perfectly and blandly meek.

[@chekhovs_gundam]

not to mention how a good author should be able to pull off a character who acts confidently despite having insecurities or doubting their actions, or some kind of an unreliable narrator who thinks of themselves as a good, modest person while we have just enough insight to know that they are not. but nope, female characters are rarely allowed to be so nuanced because they must be a symbol/a role model/a reader surrogate first and a person second (if the author even bothers to let them develop personality outside of snarky comments)

[@randompromises1038]

This was the kind of toxic mindset that made me really stupid when I was younger, molding myself into what I thought I should be just because a few books told me to be.

[@bubblesbelmont5603]

If Colleen Hoover loves to write women who go crazy when their kid dies, why didn't she just imply the husband went crazy?? Like if he cared SO MUCH about his kids, wouldn't he go crazy if they died, y'know, like women "naturally" do in her eyes?

[@sharkloving_aquarist]

BECAUSE WOMAN NATURE TO LOVE BABY MORE THAN FATHER AND WOMAN NATURAL INSTINCT BLAH BLAH BLAH

[@silverdragon1286]

I’m, like, 50 minutes in and… as someone with BPD, I actually feel sympathy for Verity. I know what it’s like to be so paranoid about loss of love, about loss of attention. I want to help her get therapy, I want her to get help. I just can’t see her as a villain, she’s just highly struggling with relatable (though exaggerated) mental health issues

[@red3009]

It's genuinely weird that modern "villains" often have a mental illness or implied mentally illness

[@CANINETHEROPY]

exactly.. I have bpd too, and I couldn't help but see myself in her with some of the thoughts..

[@geekgirl_luv4262]

I hate how people with mental illness are always made to be the villains in media. Especially since people who are mentally ill are very unlikely to be dangerous, and if they are it’s probably only to themselves.

[@GamersHolyArmy]

I know the romance genre is formulaic, but Jesus Christ I swear Colleen Hoover writes a few templates and just changes the character names and publishes them as different books.

[@Daniellelovesit]

YES I see her books everywhere now and I don’t buy them because: 1. awful; 2. I know you are going to do commentary on it that brings me so much joy. Thank you for taking one for the team!!!

[@halfwen4575]

Hehe yes, as soon as I see her name I get excited for a potential Alizee video

[@LunarAngel]

I was on a FaceTime with my friend and she was explaining this book to me and WHY she loves it. I’m like.. oh honey.

[@viciousbagel]

An over-2-hour video on coho by my favorite booktuber? I am about to FEAST

[@warlordofbritannia]

Looks like Alizee is back on the menu bois! Hang on…

[@AlizeeYeezy]

@@warlordofbritannia hahahha

[@Lizalieu]

Jeremy read the manuscript and tried to kill Verity, but then he pretended to read it as if he had never seen it before. So, his rage was clearly fake. Even without the extra chapter, Jeremy is clearly the villain.

[@TheLadyLiddell]

I'm convinced just from these descriptions that Colleen Hoover has never actually had sex before.

[@shanicek5188]

She had her kids via parthenogensis

[@salemmarz3809]

the chewing on wood thing? like hello?? 😭 who has sex like this

[@kanafinwereincarnation]

​@@salemmarz3809CoHo, probably. Half convinced she's an alien trying to imitate humans and she thinks this is how people work, which might explain the wildly unrealistic and disturbing writing...

[@65firered]

Or doesn't remember

[@1Lanavis1]

I wish the twist would be that Jeremy actually planted that fake autobiography to slander Verity abd nake Lowen fall for him. That'd make more sense than someone writing a full autobiography that would destroy their career/reputation if it ever came out AND choosing to leave saud document where their spouse could find it. Especially since Verity would realize that such a document would likely make Jeremy hate her. I haven't finished the video yet but I doubt this is the twist

[@beaqi_]

People who empathize with Jeremy and demonize Verity for not wanting to be a mother should listen to the song Labour by Paris Paloma, especially the line “it’s not an act of love if you make her”

[@bowbooks5659]

Omg yes, nothing makes me want to never read a book by an author again more than a character being anti-writing. Like, slush piles are massive, eff off and let someone else have a go then! And ghostwriting? Penning a book, people reading my stuff, getting paid and no stress about marketing? The actual dream!

[@kazza6078]

I can't believe how popular this author is.

[@nicola4900]

I haven't read this book but if anyone feels like there's a seed of a good idea in it that was deeply mismanaged and never realized, you're right and you should just read Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier instead.

[@songweretson]

That was the comparison I thought of as well!

[@Kaige010]

It also made me think of Jane Eyre, but in a slightly more obscure way.... Rebecca is the stronger comparison by a landslide though and I was looking through the comments trying to find someone else who agreed!

[@universal_stupidity]

omg thanks because literally all I could think was "This could have been a great book! if someone who actually knew how to write wrote it, it could be amazing"

[@nicola4900]

​@@universal_stupidityit's super good I really hope you like it!

[@nicola4900]

​@@Kaige010now that you mention it I do see the Jane Eyre comparison.

[@Alresu]

Since I knew there'd be a twist I started to think, Lowen was not reading but writing the "autobiography" all the time. Which would also explain why she never talks about the stuff she writes while he Jermsy does talk about it taking a toll on her.

[@NighttimeLibrary]

I'm always amazed at how horrible the character names are, it's impressive honestly. Thank you for suffering for our entertainment.

[@ana_bananass]

You really have to try to make up names that stupid. I will never get over 'lily blossom bloom'

[@kanafinwereincarnation]

​@@ana_bananassI'm still recovering from Leeds

[@ana_bananass]

@@kanafinwereincarnation she should call her next character Manchester or Sheffield

[@kanafinwereincarnation]

@@ana_bananass The scary thing is I can see that actually happening

[@LakinMae5]

Razor Scooter! 😊

[@atherisGAY]

Because all needed was more vilification of postpartum depression and psychosis ❤ thank you Colleen ❤ such a feminist (edited for clarity, I wrote "uplifting women always" but not only women have babies)

[@WinningSidekick]

hey it's super cool of you to remember us non-women with uteruses! much love

[@iggyelle]

I'm so mad at this book because there are BONES of something great. A competent writer would have utilized the bait and switch breathtakingly. The Gothic horror of the extra chapter is rather intriguing tho. I'm beginning to suspect that bad writing isn't just being incapable of stringing a word together but taking a really good concept for an erotic thriller and completely fucking it up.

[@userabbie17]

I think the most interesting thing about colleen hoover stans, is that they are so delusional, and so in denial, like it's insane. You could shove the most OBVIOUS issues in their faces and they would still say" it didn't happen", or that "you're blowing it out of proportion", "it's just fiction", "some people relate to these stories" (Idk how you would relate to falling in love with your arsonist but ok). For example, IN THIS BOOK JEREMY VERY VERY CLEARLY CHEATS ON HIS WIFE WHO HE STILL KNOWS IS IN A COMA??? It's not hard to see, idk how the heck someone read that and could say it didn't happen, or brush over it. surprised

[@CazuhLynn]

I've recently started reading Verity and with every page I turned, I thought to myself, goddamn it I wish alizee had a video on this book. I'm really curious what she would say about it. And now I see this. This video is heaven-sent. I can't wait to watch it when I have finished reading.

[@satan6437]

I went to a bookstore yesterday and next to a bunch of Colleen Hoover books was a „recommended“ note from one of the employees. It read: "Colleen Hoover is probably our most frequently demanded author! Which one will your next pick?” If the only good thing about an author is their popularity, I stay away from their books.

[@theflumpsydumpster7228]

Man, that one scene where she describes not realizing how much she'd have to keep swallowing, like she's drinking a soda? Like... CoHo, have you ever been with a man?

[@froggywithaheart]

these unrealistic shit in smuts turn me off SO HARD...and as someone who reads her porn, it sucks. like im reading something, in the zone...and something comes up and i be like "have u ever had s3x...have u even touched another person in ur life...?????" especially wen the woman comes with like 2 thrusts and zero foreplay and she's orgasming like a fountain....like...WHAT?

[@tyler-df3wy]

I literally just had a conversation with my friend this morning about Verity and recommended your channel during it, impeccable timing

[@can_can9119]

At a certain point while watching this video I completely forgot that this is supposed to be a thriller. Vast majority of the book is just this girl being horny for a married man, it read like all her other books.

[@em-ily1227]

As a happily childfree woman, I never know how to feel about the villainization of us childfree people. On the one hand, it's a frustrating and sad thing that there are people who believe you're a bad person if you don't want kids, especially if you're a woman. On the other hand, it gives me a lot of satisfaction that people like CoHo are so threatened by our existence that we are evil by default to them. I can't explain why, but it does.

[@MENACE-km6bd]

Being angry at childfree and single women is more about the person's insecurity than your choices. As someone who's contemplating having kids, I see how stupid those people are. Because choosing to have a child, bring another person into the world, while not fully committed IS dangerous and selfish. And many do it to fit in with society or check of a box in life. Many screwed up people in the world were born of others who didn't truly parent them.

[@dbarrett1539]

Being childfree by choice is often the best, least selfish decision -- if you don't want kids, why should you be shamed into having one? Does nobody care about your autonomy, your emotions and experiences? Childbirth isn't a miracle, it's a messy, agonizing, sometimes fatal ordeal that nobody should be forced into. And it's a life-long change. For the record, I want kids, and I don't understand where the villainization of childfree people has come from. Is it jealousy? Regret? A need to make everyone just like them? It's crazy that people think they have a right to comment over the status of your family Edit: I did not expect to get so heated about this but also I thought of another point. In this current climate, with all the issues, with the misogyny, racism and classism of the world, the fact that our planet is dying and we are dancing over its grave --- adding children to an already overpopulated world isn't the best idea, especially if you don't want them

[@cosmictraveler1146]

What the hell was *THAT* HOW DO PEOPLE READ THIS UNIRONICALLY

[@GloomyFish]

Lowen: I hate pizza No the hell you don't, Lowen. Everyone likes pizza. There are even vegan, gluten free and lactose free versions there is literally no excuse to not like pizza. I call BS. And if anyone replies to this saying they hate pizza, you're lying.

[@tuarweneruanna]

Words of wisdom 🤌🤌

[@Stonedandbookish]

My cousin hates it but I think it’s bc he doesn’t like red sauce lol. He’s good with white sauce pizza tho

[@oblong814]

​@@Stonedandbookishwhat is white sauce pizza ngl that sounds horrific imo

[@chuangtzuandstuff]

​@oblong814 Alfredo sauce. I've had it with chicken and parmesan cheese. It's not bad.

[@screamingbegins4688]

i dislike pizza but thats bc the flavor isnt my favoriate and the guilt makes it not worth it

[@nyssalynn5216]

I love watching reviews that both you and Rachel have reviewed, the fact that you both share similar viewpoints but express them wildly differently is so entertaining and refreshing

[@BishopSaysWHAT]

this is the one coho book i’ve actually read before alizee covered it, i’ve been WAITING FOR THIS MOMENT

[@wildandbrey]

**SPOILERS** I've watched at least 3 videos on this book now and I still don't understand why Jeremy kills Verity after Lowen gives him the manuscript at the end. Was he intentionally pretending that it was his first time reading it so he could deceive Lowen? And then Lowen is still on his side after she finds the letter????

[@0nlydans]

My mother told me that she didn't love me right away when I was born because she didn't know me. I think that's a very common thing for women to experience especially in the gestational period. She told me for the first couple months if she had to choose between me and my father she would choose him because she could make another me but she couldnt get another of my dad. And honestly I get that.

[@sharkloving_aquarist]

Exactly. We expect women to get this overwhelming "motherly love" from literally just pregnancy and birth because "hormones" and "women's nature" which is all made up bs to try to make women the sole responsibility of a new baby and take responsibility off the father. We like to act like mothers care more or have a "special bond" in order to control women, view them the way we do, and to put responsibility on them. But truly it takes time to love your kid sometimes, mothers and fathers. And some mothers and fathers love them from the moment of existence. And some fathers love their infants more than mothers do. Love towards children isn't a female thing, nor is it immediate

[@nickywal]

I don't know how booktok became drooling over "dark romance" which is mostly just abuse, let alone this disaster

[@chilling_koala]

Come on. It's tiktok. What do you expect?

[@Teajay21]

The thing is at least Dark Romamce/erotica are usually self aware. CoHo is not

[@milquebox]

this was actually the first and only coho book i've ever tried to read. i got like three pages in, said "why do people read this shit?" and binned it lol

[@flawrest]

“Trigger warning: CoHo book” is a perfect line that should be printed on every first page of all CoHo books

[@michellegrimard9894]

Sometimes I imagine you reading my own fiction with such derision and utter contempt that I want to set my manuscript on fire and never write again. Love you!

[@jebipop]

i was talking about coho books with my mother a while back (specifically how bad november 9, ugly love and layla are) and she was like "oh you've only read her worst books you have to read verity!!" and now listening to this i'm starting to question what the hell my mother was thinking.

[@TecTitan]

Plot twist: I accidentally made my characters seem incredibly stupid and immoral when i meant to be writing them as brooding and mysterious, and they're actually just cartoon villains complete with headbonks and leaving a lady tied up on the train tracks.

[@akisatsuki8444]

That sounds so hilarious ngl

[@sourpatchkids351]

i loved rachel oates’s review of verity and i’m so excited to hear you rip into it too! this book is so unhinged, i (almost) can’t believe it’s real

[@RenaDeles]

I mean she IS a protagonist, your protagonist being the bad guy doesn't stop them from being the protagonist. I am just so deeply disturbed by CoHo thinking Verity is the villain, when we see the husband murder again in the bonus epilogue.

[@LakinMae5]

“But murder is only okay when I do it, if other people murder they are the bad guys!”

[@crowdemon_archives]

Villain protagonist.

[@hayunnie]

To be completely fair to the headboard biting thing... when I was a kid, I once slipped while I was running up our wooden stairs and I fell, face first, onto one of the steps. My two front teeth bit into the soft edge of the wood and the marks are still there almost twenty years later.

[@AngbangCorp]

After watching several reviews of CoHo's books I already had issues with her but seeing her put E.L. James in her acknowledgements and talking about how amazing she is was the final straw

[@Ashbrash1998]

I remember hearing from another commentor that Coho & E.L. James were a part of a writing clique that were just known for being jerks

[@priscillamalkieh6496]

I read this book and just thought it was a wannabe “Gone Girl”. You crack me up and I love these videos! 😂❤❤

[@eeren-c2v]

never read a coho book before a date, you’ll reconsider romance as a whole

[@rangermedic4]

One of my new favorite pastimes is watching Alizee tear apart terrible books.

[@strangeaelurus]

I'M ALWAYS SO EXCITED BY YOU AND RACHEL'S COLLEEN HOOVER VIDEOS!! Keep up the good work Alizee :)

[@Seldarius]

Finished the book not buying the twist at all. It made no sense that Verity would hang around the house pretending to be comatose in front of her murderous husband - while also stalking him and his new lover. I did think she was just fucking with Lowen’s head, trying to ruin whatever future they would have together. A final act of villainy. So, the extension made the book even worse for me.

[@SophReads.]

“Trigger Warning: It’s a Colleen Hoover book”

[@Kaylin_elizabeth]

There’s an absolutely terrible book series by Erin Watt called the Royals. The first book is called Paper Princess, and it has got to be one of the hardest reads (cause it’s bad not actually challenging) and I would DIE to hear your reactions

[@inanimatecarbongod]

Oh, I was there for the premiere of Rachel's video on the "bonus" chapter. The collective "what the fuck?" was amazing to behold. Like the book wasn't bad enough without this tacked on afterthought.

[@KairiMorin]

Depression=evil in this book's la la land. So I guess I'm just evil now.

[@overreactive0079]

Me too wanna plot world domination?

[@emmah1161]

The reason why collen hoover protags are so annoying is because they constantly hate themselves for making bad decisions and THEN CONTINUE MAKING THEM this lady was like "oh No!!11!! I keep CreePinG oN ThiS MarrieEd MaN!!1" AND THEN CONTINUES TO DO SO!???!!

[@Lemoncakelover678]

And that the never pops up as they continue doing so like that's way too unrealistic

[@lexa2310]

Some people won't want children. And some people hate pregnancy, even to the point of self harm. Which is why I'm such an advocate for pro choice.

[@graciejames3752]

There is truly nothing I love better than listening to Alizee's Colleen Hoover videos during my daily dissociation time after work.

[@catsinwonderland7473]

The thing with Colleen (besides a lot of other stuff, but shhhhh) is that she feels the need to describe the wrong things in detail. Shes typing vigourously on her google doc going, YESSS, YESSSS, THE READER NEEEEEDS TO HEAR ABOUT THE POETIC DETAIL OF DOORFRAMES! Or she's describing something already gross, and wants to make it grosser. My ears are never gonna recover

[@longlivebeans]

I love telling my kid she’s the favorite child because she’s my only child but I’m always met with this look -> 😐 because apparently I’m not funny.