I read this book to understand the hype around it… and I still don’t understand it.

I can see why people like Colleen Hoover’s writing. It was simple and easy to follow, but it really felt like i was reading a Wattpad story. Now, there’s nothing wrong with a good Wattpad story but with the editing and publishing power behind someone like Colleen Hoover (versus none behind a Wattpad author) made me expect a lot more.

A lot of what happened seemed unnecessary. Why so many sex scenes? Why such graphic detail, not just in the sex but in literally everything, when half did not relate to the plot?

I can see why people who have never read a thriller, or anything similar, before might think the storyline was great but as someone who has read their fair share of thrillers, it felt a bit been-there-done-that. I guessed both the plot twists early on in the book and the storyline never once made me question if that was right.

I also felt like there was no difference in the “voice” or writing style of Colleen Hoover writing from Lowen’s POV and Verity’s manuscript, which meant that the immersion factor wasn’t there as they felt like the same person writing.

Also, the names? Why is there only two characters in this whole book with common names? I have heard this is common for her, too (and yet another thing that feel Wattpad-y).

Don’t even get me started on the ending. How mediocre and rushed. I would’ve liked an epilogue (or even the bonus chapter, if it had to be that way) to explain to the readers which events were the real ones, even if the characters didn’t know. Felt a little lazy to do a 180 in the last chapter then be like “we’ll never know the truth!”. I read the bonus chapter online, too, and it didn’t really add anything except extra unnecessary sex scenes and maybe a bit less ambiguity, but it still didn’t state what actually happened so there wasn’t really any benefit to reading it.

Overall, I can’t say I really enjoyed myself whilst reading this. There’s far better thrillers out there with better concepts. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Edit: I initially rated this 2 stars but it's been over a year and I still get angry when I think about this book and the unnecessary sex and horrific acts purely for shock. This review seems relatively passive but this was my first review lower than a three stars and I felt bad but I did actually really not like this book. Please, if you're interested in the premise, there are so many better thriller books out there that execute a similar idea well and without so many unnecessary horrific acts.