June and Athena are grad school classmates who develop a friendship that is marred by envy. Specifically, June envies Athena’s success in not only getting her manuscripts published, but earning both a large sum of money and critical success at a young age. June is struggling to publish and to find her way.

Fate intervenes when Athena chokes on a pancake in front of June. While waiting for emergency services, June makes a quick decision to steal the only copy of Athena’s latest manuscript. A manuscript that no one else has seen. Athena is dead, so she isn’t talking.

June manages to change a bit of the manuscript to justify in her mind that she contributed to its creation and she passes it off as her own. It sells and just like Athena’s previous works, it does well. However, certain people become suspicious of June. They wonder why she, as a white woman, would decide to write about Chinese History? She is known to be Athena’s friend and the one who was with Athena when she died, and this work seems to be Athena’s style. Matters are not helped, when the publishing company decides to change June’s name obscure her identity and they post a picture of June that looks somewhat ethnically ambiguous. Is June trying to be someone she isn’t?

June’s paranoia at being discovered and having her success come crashing down is increased when she receives threatening emails from someone claiming to know the truth. In her paranoia, June even believes that Athena might still be alive and stalking her.

I’m not really a fantasy reader and although all of my coworkers have gushed over R.F. Kuang, I have not read her other books because of their genre. However, Yellowface is straight up literary fiction and when multiple coworkers described the plot, I knew that it was my kind of book.

I was loaned a copy of the arc by my manager and I absolutely could not put it down. Both June and Athena are difficult characters, but June’s behavior is so repugnant that even when there are moments that you might empathize with her, it’s hard. She deserves what comes to her.

Yellowface brings up uncomfortable scenarios such June’s publishers being accomplices in obscuring her identity. Song is June’s actual middle-name, given to her by hippie parents, however, anyone can easily see that it is also a common Korean and Chinese last name. The intent is to lead readers to believe she isn’t white. However, on the flip side, it also points to another situation where the publishing industry saying if June is her authentic self, that they cannot sell the idea of June paired with this work. This is damaging in more than one way.

First, it is implying that the author’s identity matters more than the merits of the work, and second, it is saying that neither June, nor Athena, matter much beyond their physical attributes. It made me wonder if this book could even be the same if the authors were male? This type of race promotion or hiding is somewhat similar to how female writers use male pseudonyms or initials to obscure their gender from swaying readers.

Of course all of these deep questions are tempered in the story because June did steal Athena’s manuscript and she does play along with all of the changes and lies. She feels that she deserves the success, and most insidious of all, that Athena’s success was not purely talent based, but also due to her ethnicity. June feels that life has been unfair and as Athena has been given an advantage, it is okay for June to cheat to win. We can look at all of the perceived or real injustices, but in the end, June is a thief.

Yellowface brings up unflattering aspects of art and the publishing industry. It also reveals an ugly side of human nature. It’s not an easy read, but it is a page turner and great pick for book club discussions. Also, I enjoyed Kuang’s storytelling and writing style so much, that I will definitely pick up her fantasy titles. I think Babel next!

Desperate for money and low on options, writer Lowen Ashleigh takes a business meeting that will change her life. She is offered a contract to finish a book series by famed author Verity Crawford, who has suffered an accident, but who is still alive. Verity’s husband, Jeremy, invites Lowen to stay in their home, so that she may sort through Verity’s office and writing notes. Verity cannot speak or move, but she is still living in their home, confined to the master bedroom, where she is cared for by Jeremy and day nurses.

Lowen is hesitant to stay in the Crawford home, but as she is low on cash and being evicted from her apartment, the offer comes at an opportune time. She spends her days studying Verity’s notes and her nights growing closer to the handsome and charismatic Jeremy. As time passes, Lowen begins to suspect that Verity’s accident and resulting trauma may not be what it seems.

This was my first Colleen Hoover novel. I work at a bookstore and I’ve witnessed such an enthusiasm for Hoover’s books, that I needed to understand the hype for myself. All of Hoover’s other novels are shelved under romance, while Verity is considered a mystery. I tend to prefer mystery to romance, so I thought Verity would be the best choice for my first Hoover novel. This may be an unpopular opinion, but I think Verity leans more romance than mystery. It has a lot of steamy scenes, much more than an average mystery novel. Yes, it does have heavy elements of mystery and suspense, but quite often, more that I thought necessary, it dove back into romance. I’m not a prude and I don’t mind romance, but I have to confess that I wanted Hoover to get back to the mystery/suspense elements of the story.

I can see why Hoover is popular. Verity is a quick-paced, intriguing read with strong characters and great twists. I read it on a flight from Los Angeles to Hawaii, never putting it down to rest my eyes: a true page-turner. I loved the unsettling vibe of a strangers house and the intrigue of a “too good to be true” offer from the family of a prominent author. The concept for Verity was appealing and had me hooked from the first chapter. The ending is quite surprising and diabolical!

I enjoyed Verity enough that I am interested in stepping outside of my book comfort zone and reading one of Hoover’s romance novels. My stepdaughter read Hoover’s It Ends with Us and loved it. I might try that one next!