Time for another round of Yvo’s Shorties! This time two psychological thrillers that have received a lot of hype since they came out… While neither turned out to be a 5 star read for me, I still found both to be very entertaining. Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell and Verity by Colleen Hoover.
Title: Then She Was Gone
Author: Lisa Jewell
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense
First published: April 17th 2018
Publisher: Atria Books
Finished reading: March 14th 2019
Pages: 369
“May was like the Friday night of summer: all the good times lying ahead of you, bright and shiny and waiting to be lived.”
I have enjoyed Lisa Jewell‘s books in the past, so of course I have been looking forward to read Then She Was Gone as well. With all the hype around this title, I thought it was best to wait a little while before picking it up though… I’m glad I did, because while I did find it an entertaining read in general I can’t say the story managed to blow me away completely. It was fast-paced and the writing is engaging and really flows, but I found the plot to be quite predictable and I saw most plot twists coming from a mile away. This lack of surprise was a bit disappointing, but because I was warned before starting Then She Was Gone I already saw this coming. It’s quite easy to guess most things and figure out what is coming, but there were also certain details I didn’t predict. The story switches between past and present as we slowly find out more what happened to Ellie back in 2005 and why and how the police haven’t been able to find any clues so far. The link to the present and the whole Laura-Floyd situation was a bit too farfetched and convenient for me. The outcome of the whole mystery just didn’t seem realistic to me and this took away some of the strength of this story. I can’t deny it was still a very entertaining read though and I had a great time discovering if my guesses were right.
Title: Verity
Author: Colleen Hoover
Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Romance
First published: December 7th 2018
Publisher: Hoover Ink, Inc.
Finished reading: March 14th 2019
Pages: 333
“If an attraction is present between two people, those two people an only be one of two things. Involved or not involved. There is no in- between.”
I have always had a love-hate relationship with Colleen Hoover’s books, but lately the scale has been tipping towards the love side and was hoping to get lucky again. Especially since she has crossed to the dark side and branched out to the suspense genre with Verity… Now I’ve had the chance to read it, I can definitely say that it was a success for me. While not my all time favorite CoHo, I still had an excellent time reading this story. Some parts were a bit predictable and I did see some twists coming, but I think the shock of that ending made me completely forget about that. What a way to mess with our minds and leave us hanging like that! It’s an open ending that will most definitely leave you wanting for more and second-guess what you just read and thought was true. And aren’t those just the best feelings when reading this genre? The writing is of the same solid quality as always and together with the fast pace I just couldn’t stop reading and literally finished Verity in one sitting. The fact that Lowen’s POV is mixed up with chapters out of Verity’s autobiography is a brilliant touch and definitely adds a lot of suspense to the story. Those chapters are seriously disturbing and twisted! The main characters are well developed and I enjoyed seeing them develop over time and react to the circumstances. There was a bit too much adult content to my taste (you all know my allergy to those scenes!), but surprisingly they weren’t that big of a turn off as I would have expected. I was just too distracted by the mystery around Verity and her family to focus on the details that normally would have bothered me more. Verity is a true pageturner and a disturbing romantic suspense story with an ending that will leave you with your mouth hanging wide open. Recommended if you enjoy the genre!
You can also find me at Goodreads. Twitter. Instagram. Facebook. Bloglovin’.
Can’t wait to read Verity! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hope you will enjoy it! 🙂
LikeLike
Aw, sorry Then She Was Gone wasn’t as good a reading experience for you as her others. I listened to the book and was lulled into a direction that went awry in a good way. Glad, tough, it was still entertaining.
I’ve got Verity on my current reading plan and must admit I’m nervous about it because of the mixed reviews. Yours is encouraging, Yvo!
Excellent reviews💜
LikeLiked by 1 person
Then She Was Gone was definitely still entertaining for me and I think the warnings about the predictability of the plot probably saved the story for me. I hope Verity will be a good one for you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree with your thoughts on Verity. There were things I liked and disliked, but that ending made those things not matter as much! Great reviews!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I was SO shocked by that ending! It’s one of those exceptions where an open ending works though.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oooh! I had the same thoughts about Verity! Don’t really like ‘those scenes’ either but ok.. I’m not a fan of open endings but this time it really worked! I love a novel that can make me think about it after I finished it and this one did! Wonderful reviews Yvo!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I completely agree! I normally don’t really like open endings either as it leaves so many questions and I hate seeing things unfinished, but with Verity it just works.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great reviews! These both sound great! 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
They were! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Fab reviews, Yvo. I can’t wait to read Verity. You have gotten me excited about it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hope you will enjoy it when you pick it up! 🙂
LikeLike