tHE ROMANCE REVIEWER
Credence
Author: Penelope Douglass
Holy shit yeah holy shit… because Credence is not the book you pick up when you want light reading. It’s like someone took a complicated family tree, set it on fire, and threw in some romance for good measure. What do you get? A dark, intense, and, let’s be honest, somewhat insane ride that’ll have you questioning every single thing about your morals… in the best possible way. For a second I kept thinking why the hell would someone want to read this? But Douglass does such an amazing job in capturing you in that hook and keeping you in there.
Tiernan, is fresh off a tragedy (her parents died in a pretty tragic accident). So, of course, the logical solution is to go live in the mountains with her other family aka her step-uncle and his two equally mysterious sons. Yep. This is where the line between family and, uh, not family gets very blurry, and you find yourself reading things you never thought you’d read. And like I said I kept questioning my morals but its Penelope Douglass, if anyone has read any of her other books, she has a very creative yet messy ideas.
The step-uncle? Definitely not the type you bring home to meet your mom. The stepcousins? More like the types you’ll avoid bringing up at family reunions (because, let’s face it, that’s awkward). They’re all intense and quiet yet practically dripping with tension.
But what’s really amazing about Credence is how much it makes you root for the characters despite, well, their complete disregard for every social norm. Is this a love story? A tragedy? A giant, emotional trainwreck? Yes, yes, and yes.
There’s so much sexual tension in this book. Is it messed up? absolutely. But it’s the kind of messed up where you can’t look away, even if you’re shaking your head while you do it. Every time you think, “Okay, this is the line,” Penelope Douglas goes ahead and writes another chapter that casually erases all your boundaries. You’ll feel guilty for enjoying it, but that’s part of the fun!
In short: Credence is like a family reunion on steroids lol, except instead of awkward small talk, there’s this kind of tension. If you’re not into your characters being deeply, deeply messed up, maybe skip it. But if you’re into pushing your reading limits and feeling totally scandalized (while kind of loving it), buckle up. I did go out of my comfort zone with this one and I am glad I did. Is the whole concept uncomfortable? yes. But did I enjoy the reading and the messy plot? yes.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆ — 4/5 stars for being delightfully twisted, uncomfortable in the best way, and ridiculously hard to put down.