Surely everything in a novel is in service of the story? I read Verity, and thought it started well, with a gripping opening, descended into soap opera-ish nonsense for much of the book (complete with soap opera bloke stereotypes) then actually ended with a pretty cunning twist.

I've not read any of her other books, in fairness. I saw the trailer for It Ends With Us the other day, and that looks decidedly soap opera-ish too. But obviously, I'll judge it with an open mind when I see the full film.

Is she overhyped? Based on the one novel of hers I've read, definitely. But I can't say her work provoked much hand-wringing from me. :)