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Verity
Cami Martin is offered a dream job as a nanny to young Quentin Blanchette. Her employer owns an infamous plantation home called Verity. Verity is famous for the cruelties of its antebellum past and, some say, for the strangeness of its current inhabitants, be they alive or dead. The old antebellum home is full of secrets, some of them deadly. Still there is the promise of love at Verity, love for her pupil and a powerful attraction to Christopher Blanchette who has secrets of his own. Cami begins to suspect that someone or something in the house wants something from her, something she's not prepared to give.
- GenresHorror
314 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 24, 2021
22 people are currently reading
579 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 5, 2021
One of the best haunted house books I’ve ever read, filled with vivid haunting imagery, ghosts, and possession. The story is told by Cami, a young woman who’s brought to the storied southern mansion named Verity to be a live-in tutor and nanny for the young boy who lives there with his adoptive parents, both of whom are infirm and slowly going mad. It’s the story of a sentient house, built on a foundation of cruelty and pain, where the dead walk.
October 18, 2024
If you're looking for a review of Verity by Colleen Hoover, you've made a wrong turn. Run away and don't look back. If you're looking for a review of Verity by Cynthia Lee, you're in the right place.
Possible spoilers below...maybe...I don't see how because nothing in this entire book made any sense.
I finished this book. I should've quit. I wanted to quit. I hate-read the entire book. Here's the deal: I'm a sucker for a good ghost story. Haunted house? Yes. Haunted lake and/or haunted property? YES. I like spooky vibes. I'm in several book groups across various social media platforms and someone recommended this as one of the best books they've ever read. I looked it up immediately. I read it so you don't have to because it was terrible.
A woman, Cami Martin, runs into a man in a coffee shop, Louis Blanchette (Mr. Louis), who just happens to be looking for a nanny for his little brother/ward/adopted child(?), Quentin. Mr. Louis owns an old plantation house named Verity which is infamous for the atrocities committed during the antebellum period. It's the perfect setting for a classic, creepy haunting, right?
And then what happened? The author wrote some words, mixed up story lines, forgot names, introduced half thoughts (hello? what's with those texts?), and then married off the two main characters who could possibly be closely related? We'll never know because the author told too many contradictory stories and I don't even think she knows. I think the part that really bothered me about that is that they, Cami and Christopher, knew they could be siblings or even related in some way, but didn't care because they were in love. Ew. They didn't want a dna test. Ew.
A continuity reader would have made a world of difference here. It felt like the author started writing one story and forgot what she was writing halfway through. Names were mixed up, simple story elements changed from one paragraph to the next. So many thoughts were introduced throughout this story and not a single one came to a coherent conclusion. I don’t know. The bones of a good haunting tale are here, but the errors and writing quality made it impossible to hold onto any one story thread all the way to the end.
Possible spoilers below...maybe...I don't see how because nothing in this entire book made any sense.
I finished this book. I should've quit. I wanted to quit. I hate-read the entire book. Here's the deal: I'm a sucker for a good ghost story. Haunted house? Yes. Haunted lake and/or haunted property? YES. I like spooky vibes. I'm in several book groups across various social media platforms and someone recommended this as one of the best books they've ever read. I looked it up immediately. I read it so you don't have to because it was terrible.
A woman, Cami Martin, runs into a man in a coffee shop, Louis Blanchette (Mr. Louis), who just happens to be looking for a nanny for his little brother/ward/adopted child(?), Quentin. Mr. Louis owns an old plantation house named Verity which is infamous for the atrocities committed during the antebellum period. It's the perfect setting for a classic, creepy haunting, right?
And then what happened? The author wrote some words, mixed up story lines, forgot names, introduced half thoughts (hello? what's with those texts?), and then married off the two main characters who could possibly be closely related? We'll never know because the author told too many contradictory stories and I don't even think she knows. I think the part that really bothered me about that is that they, Cami and Christopher, knew they could be siblings or even related in some way, but didn't care because they were in love. Ew. They didn't want a dna test. Ew.
A continuity reader would have made a world of difference here. It felt like the author started writing one story and forgot what she was writing halfway through. Names were mixed up, simple story elements changed from one paragraph to the next. So many thoughts were introduced throughout this story and not a single one came to a coherent conclusion. I don’t know. The bones of a good haunting tale are here, but the errors and writing quality made it impossible to hold onto any one story thread all the way to the end.
April 9, 2023
Cynthia Lee knocks it out the park yet again, and still holds strong as one of my favorite indie authors. I find myself wanting to break the cardinal rule of a book review and just throw out there spoiler after spoiler just to keep talking about this one…but don’t worry, I won’t do that.
Some call Verity a Gothic Romance, some say gothic horror. Some say a haunted house story, and others say Southern Gothic. I say…yes, all of the above. Romance, ghosts, possession, mediums, paranormal investigators, eccentric families with old money…this story has it all.
Verity, which came out 6 months before Colleen Hoover’s novel of the same name by the way, is told from the perspective of Cami, who’s detailing her time spent at the old plantation home Verity, and the effects the property had on her.
Cami comes from a pretty troubled childhood, and is doing anything and everything to escape her past. When a chance encounter with a rich old man in a café lands her a live-in nanny type job at a secluded old plantation home in Louisiana, Cami immediately sees a way out of her past life. But little does she know, her past life has driven her to this place with every step she’s ever taken.
Cami takes the position of teaching pre-K age Quentin, who she immediately falls in love with. Quentin has spent all of his short childhood at Verity, accidentally or intentionally kept from the outside world. Cami spends all her time with Quentin, teaching him the best she can, while also secretly protecting him from the two elderly inhabitants of Verity, Mr. Louis and Miss Audrina, and their slow decent into madness. And of course, Cami is pushed into a slow burn romance with Christopher, a man who lives in a separate house on the property; a broody, melancholy man with a strange past of his own.
The story follows Cami and her development from a social chameleon, able to say what others want to hear just to benefit herself, to actually feeling welcomed, loved, and a part of something. How much of that is the people that live at Verity versus how much of that is the house itself is a slow reveal though.
The house itself pretty much becomes its own character in the book. We learn of its dark past, the lives its destroyed, the lives its ended, and the lives it will not let go of.
As for the other characters, each finds themselves fitting perfectly in this modern gothic tale.
The way Cynthia Lee writes here characters is what I think I fall in love with. Her characters enter into the stories already broken in some way. They can have the most creepy and strange things happen to them, and they just carry on like it was nothing. Not in a disengaging way. It leaves you wondering what about their mental states have them so scarred and used to these things, and rest assured, Cynthia Lee weaves her tales to let you know why the characters are the way they are.
We see Cami go through some major developments from start to finish. Her transition from self-centered, only look out for #1 mentality to her devotion to the child Quentin was a fun read. There are many subplots with each character and growth or decline throughout this story, but it never gets complicated or troublesome for the reader.
Mr. Louis seems to have stepped out from an earlier time period, but still comes across as very believable…especially if you are from or have ever been to any rural southern town. Because of his wealth, he is respected in the small community, but because of his reclusiveness and all the legends around Verity, the rumor mill continuously churns about him and his sister…sometimes to the point of absolute fear.
Miss Audrina, Mr. Louis’s sister, takes on the quintessential “mad woman in the attic” type role. Is it just because she’s old? Is she suffering dementia or some other ailment, or is she truly haunted to the point of madness? The author has readers jumping back and forth early on between these options, but the mystery and lead up to the truth stays continuous for readers and keeps you engaged.
The child Quentin is withdrawn, and could possibly be mentally stunted in development. The possibility of it being medical versus just him being cut off from the modern world is something that is explored. Cami quickly is able to get him out of his shell however, and her love for the child is returned by Quentin 100 fold. Quentin’s development from the shy, quiet inhabitant of a large home of elderly people to pure childlike enjoyment of his time with Cami was written superbly, and those interactions were the rays of sunlight in an otherwise dark and bleak story.
Christopher is the moody withdrawn character that each story like this requires. The writer has done a wonderful job of developing this character while still leaving the reader questioning his motives and every move throughout the story.
This has been the first Cynthia Lee novel that I’ve read that didn’t revolve around a young adult cast. I was amazed at the writer’s style change to fit more adult characters while still holding true to her own individual style and themes that made me fall in love with her writing in the first place.
Imagine a snake swimming through the water. How the body constantly zig-zags left to right, but it still moves straight ahead in a seamless, graceful flow. That is how I would describe Cynthia Lee’s storytelling style. I knew I was in for a dark ride just from the prologue of Verity, and it is a perfect example of her style of moving from one emotion to the next seamlessly.
There you have it. I know a lot of readers and reviewers shy away from indie writers, and I totally understand that. There are so many books out there that one tends to pick and chose what they know for sure they will like. I challenge you though; if you are a lover of gothic literature, check out Verity by Cynthia Lee. If I could turn on just one avid reader to a single indie writer, I would recommend Cynthia Lee over my own writing any day.
If you take up that challenge, let me know your thoughts on this book. I absolutely loved it, and I can see this being one I revisit often. Until next time, find yourself a good book and enjoy a break from reality.
Some call Verity a Gothic Romance, some say gothic horror. Some say a haunted house story, and others say Southern Gothic. I say…yes, all of the above. Romance, ghosts, possession, mediums, paranormal investigators, eccentric families with old money…this story has it all.
Verity, which came out 6 months before Colleen Hoover’s novel of the same name by the way, is told from the perspective of Cami, who’s detailing her time spent at the old plantation home Verity, and the effects the property had on her.
Cami comes from a pretty troubled childhood, and is doing anything and everything to escape her past. When a chance encounter with a rich old man in a café lands her a live-in nanny type job at a secluded old plantation home in Louisiana, Cami immediately sees a way out of her past life. But little does she know, her past life has driven her to this place with every step she’s ever taken.
Cami takes the position of teaching pre-K age Quentin, who she immediately falls in love with. Quentin has spent all of his short childhood at Verity, accidentally or intentionally kept from the outside world. Cami spends all her time with Quentin, teaching him the best she can, while also secretly protecting him from the two elderly inhabitants of Verity, Mr. Louis and Miss Audrina, and their slow decent into madness. And of course, Cami is pushed into a slow burn romance with Christopher, a man who lives in a separate house on the property; a broody, melancholy man with a strange past of his own.
The story follows Cami and her development from a social chameleon, able to say what others want to hear just to benefit herself, to actually feeling welcomed, loved, and a part of something. How much of that is the people that live at Verity versus how much of that is the house itself is a slow reveal though.
The house itself pretty much becomes its own character in the book. We learn of its dark past, the lives its destroyed, the lives its ended, and the lives it will not let go of.
As for the other characters, each finds themselves fitting perfectly in this modern gothic tale.
The way Cynthia Lee writes here characters is what I think I fall in love with. Her characters enter into the stories already broken in some way. They can have the most creepy and strange things happen to them, and they just carry on like it was nothing. Not in a disengaging way. It leaves you wondering what about their mental states have them so scarred and used to these things, and rest assured, Cynthia Lee weaves her tales to let you know why the characters are the way they are.
We see Cami go through some major developments from start to finish. Her transition from self-centered, only look out for #1 mentality to her devotion to the child Quentin was a fun read. There are many subplots with each character and growth or decline throughout this story, but it never gets complicated or troublesome for the reader.
Mr. Louis seems to have stepped out from an earlier time period, but still comes across as very believable…especially if you are from or have ever been to any rural southern town. Because of his wealth, he is respected in the small community, but because of his reclusiveness and all the legends around Verity, the rumor mill continuously churns about him and his sister…sometimes to the point of absolute fear.
Miss Audrina, Mr. Louis’s sister, takes on the quintessential “mad woman in the attic” type role. Is it just because she’s old? Is she suffering dementia or some other ailment, or is she truly haunted to the point of madness? The author has readers jumping back and forth early on between these options, but the mystery and lead up to the truth stays continuous for readers and keeps you engaged.
The child Quentin is withdrawn, and could possibly be mentally stunted in development. The possibility of it being medical versus just him being cut off from the modern world is something that is explored. Cami quickly is able to get him out of his shell however, and her love for the child is returned by Quentin 100 fold. Quentin’s development from the shy, quiet inhabitant of a large home of elderly people to pure childlike enjoyment of his time with Cami was written superbly, and those interactions were the rays of sunlight in an otherwise dark and bleak story.
Christopher is the moody withdrawn character that each story like this requires. The writer has done a wonderful job of developing this character while still leaving the reader questioning his motives and every move throughout the story.
This has been the first Cynthia Lee novel that I’ve read that didn’t revolve around a young adult cast. I was amazed at the writer’s style change to fit more adult characters while still holding true to her own individual style and themes that made me fall in love with her writing in the first place.
Imagine a snake swimming through the water. How the body constantly zig-zags left to right, but it still moves straight ahead in a seamless, graceful flow. That is how I would describe Cynthia Lee’s storytelling style. I knew I was in for a dark ride just from the prologue of Verity, and it is a perfect example of her style of moving from one emotion to the next seamlessly.
There you have it. I know a lot of readers and reviewers shy away from indie writers, and I totally understand that. There are so many books out there that one tends to pick and chose what they know for sure they will like. I challenge you though; if you are a lover of gothic literature, check out Verity by Cynthia Lee. If I could turn on just one avid reader to a single indie writer, I would recommend Cynthia Lee over my own writing any day.
If you take up that challenge, let me know your thoughts on this book. I absolutely loved it, and I can see this being one I revisit often. Until next time, find yourself a good book and enjoy a break from reality.
October 6, 2024
The story was alright, felt like I drug on for awhile. It was the grammar mistakes that really took me out of it and I don’t usually pay attention to those things but they were so glaring you couldn’t look past it.
December 30, 2024
Was so excited to start the book. Louisiana and hauntings.. everything I love! Unfortunately I struggled the whole way through this book.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews