Review: VERUM by Courtney Cole

The truth shall set you free.

My name is Calla Price and I’m drowning.
My new world is a dark, dark ocean and I’m being pulled under by secrets.
Can I trust anyone? I don’t know anymore.

The lies are spirals. They twist and turn, binding me with their thorns and serpentine tongues. And just when I think I have it figured out, everything is pulled out from under me.

I’m entangled in the darkness.

But the truth will set me free.

It’s just ahead of me, so close I can touch it. But even though it shines and glimmers, it has glistening fangs and I know it will shred me.

Are you scared?

I am.

Kindle Edition
Published February 2nd 2015 by Lakehouse Press, Inc.

Source: Purchased  Add to Goodreads | Purchase on Amazon

Shel: I need to start this review with an apology to Courtney Cole; I tweeted her about Verum all day Saturday because I lost my shit as I was reading it. I couldn't hold it together; I was feeling tortured and angsty and had so many questions... Court: Awww. I was seeing that...and it made me curious. And excited! Epically excited to find out all of the answers. And this mid-series installment did not disappoint me one bit. 

"...It must be paid for. With tears. With blood. With everything we have. 

And it is not until the end, the very end, that we will know if it was worth it."

Shel: If you've seen teasers for Verum, you've seen references to falling down the rabbit hole. This couldn't be truer. I felt like I wasn't just falling with an end destination; I was flailing in free fall for about 80% of the novel. I was grasping at every italicized word, every flashback, every detail--trying, TRYING to figure out what the everloving fuck was going on. Court: And I was grasping at every italicized word, every flashback, and every detail because the attention to detail from Courtney Cole is seriously inspiring, and beautiful. BEAUTIFUL words on these pages...and I am so in awe. Everything flows together in a way that made our hearts race, and love each character and every flawed word that they might utter. 

"What a strange thought. But then again, I'm a strange girl." 

Shel: So why torture myself? I was curious. I wanted to know what the secrets were and what her flashbacks were all about. I needed to know what Dare was withholding and how she ended up in England. I needed to know more about the people she was meeting and why they were being so weird. With every new bit of knowledge gained, I felt that I still had so much more to know. Court: I felt there was a minor jump that could've been very confusing between book one and two, and was prepared to wax on and on about it...and now...at the end...I get it. It makes sense...and just whoa. Don't ever think there isn't a reason for the words that we are given. There is clearly a plan! Even if we don't quite know what it is... Whew. The gothic feel that was also brought forward was pretty epic too.

"Calla will save me. Or I will die. I will die. I will die. Serva me, serva bo te. Save me and I'll save you." 

Shel: To Courtney Cole's credit, she had me so immersed in Calla's head that I felt everything she did..the concern, the curiosity, the fear, the yearning, the ..everything. I couldn't quit reading. If you liked Nocte, you must read Verum. Court: I think this series is and should be a high priority on your to read list. Just sayin'...Calla's every emotion is so deep and vivid. I felt everything she felt too. Whew. 

"There's a fork in the road and even though I see it, I can't avoid it. One road goes left, one goes right, and neither of them ends well..." 

Shel: Thanks again to Courtney Cole and my friends for putting up with my obnoxious texts and tweets about this novel. I'll try to get it under control for Lux. Court: Love it. Love it. Love it! I can't get enough of this series.

"Nocte liber sum. By night I am free."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Courtney Cole is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling novelist who would eat mythology for breakfast if she could. 

She has a degree in Business, but has since discovered that corporate America is not nearly as fun to live in as fictional worlds. 

Courtney was born and raised in rural Kansas, but has since migrated south. She now lives in Florida and writes beneath palm trees. 

Learn more about Courtney and her books atwww.courtneycolewrites.com 
Find her on Facebook at:https://www.facebook.com/#!/courtneyc...