Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

Credence by Penelope Douglas

108 reviews

kupomog's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny inspiring relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

 My first five Star of the year. Brilliant amazing gut-wrenching. A lovely ride.  

I understand a lot of people shy away from this book due to it's semi taboo subject matter but I'm so glad that didn't bother me. 

The characters are vibrant and unique. The story is well planned and so comfortable to fall in to. I read this book in a single day because it sucked me in so fully. I didn't want to put it down. The scene setting is vivid and vibrant, the story is relatable to a degree. There are some heavy topics but there is also a large dose of humor on an adult level and I appreciated that so much. I found myself laughing out loud and talking to no one in particular when certain things happened. By the end of the book I was crying for multiple reasons. 

It was, from start to finish, a journey that you find yourself captivated by. I don't know why I'm surprised I loved Punk 57 and Penelope delivers even better in this book. If I ever start to do rereads (because I don't typically), I will pick up this book. I could see myself enjoying the ride again and again. If you can handle the content, read. this. book. I would definitely give it four out of five chili peppers for spice if that's not your thing then I wouldn't recommend it. Again though, absolutely five stars. Period.

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Death, Gun violence, Incest, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

lydialou419's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

The title could easily be Trauma: Everyone is Dealing Something and Trauma Bonding Through Fucking. 

Didn’t think I’d be into the whole sharing thing but it was done in a way that it was more of a progression than sharing per.

Made me wanna cry sometimes but was also nice and spicy. Honestly, I kinda wish it was a smidge longer to really explore everyone’s trauma. I’ve decided I am a huge fan of Penelope Douglas. This lady is WILD and I’m here for it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, and Grief

booknerdcoco's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Quite a challenging read.  Not so much because of the step family vibe, but more because of a young lady who was quite impressionable and ending up in the situation she was in. Very sad beginning. But the ending was quite sweet.  Don't get what everyone sees in Uncle Jake, I was rooting for Noah.

Book boyfriend:
Jake 2/5
Noah 4/5
Caleb 3/5

Spice: 5/5 🥵 
Plot: 3/5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Death of parent

Minor: Bullying, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

michey2015's review against another edition

adventurous reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

This one was heavy. But I LOVED every second of it. I don’t think there was a time during the 470 pages that I thought parts could be removed. I felt a lot of feelings in this book. Will definitely be a reread!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, and Alcohol

lizvalenz92's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Read this with an open mind and the underlying theme of trying to find oneself in life and in the world. It's very well written and some might think taboo even though there is no blood relation between the main characters and the age gap. Overall, emotional and engaging book for anyone looking for a challenge.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, and Grief

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent

Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Suicide, and Violence

kamilamalves's review against another edition

can't even remember if that's the percentage i was at, i just rage quit and deleted it. one of the brothers tried to

fucking rape

the girl WHO IS SEVENTEEN YEARS OLD and not only do the characters act and try to convince her that it's normal but the author makes the girl say

"oh but for a moment there i wanted it"

fuck that, fuck this book, and fuck this author for ever writing this. this is completely irresponsible and it's baffling to me that this book is in the "romance" category. and what i mentioned isn't even the start of it. yes, "uncle jake", it is fucked up of you to think of and picture your 17 year old niece (putting a "step-" before that doesn't make her less your responsability)

fucking someone

when you were supposed to take care of her after her fucked up parents both commited suicide. what's wrong with people who read this shit and even recommend it?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Incest, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Blood, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

booksalacarte's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

Credence- 1⭐️ 5🌶️

Contemporary Romance

Taboo Romance

Multi POV 

Small town

Polyamorous FMC

Tw: suicide, parental death, SA, Rape, emotional abuse, physical abuse, pedophilia, predatory behavior, grooming a minor

The start of this book is interesting. A 17yo, raised by her parent’s assistant, looses her narcissist parents to suicide and goes to live with her step uncle in the middle of nowhere… but then the FMC turns 18 and things take a turn that I knew was coming, but by the end I felt like I was reading a train wreck I wanted to just finish and be done with. I think the setting was the only thing I enjoyed about the story. The rest just was a giant red flag. I think I kept reading because I was interested in how the situation could be sustainable enough to be considered a happily ever after.

This… was not the book for me. I don’t enjoy reading about the romantic couples abusing each other. I don’t consider that romance.

All of the characters were sad and depressing. There wasn’t a single person in this book that knew what joy or contentment looked like. Every single person in this book needed interventional therapy. The men were all misogynistic and gross. And once they had their “turn” they basically disappear from the plot . How? What? 

The POV shifts were fine, but the 1 POV from the MMC (who is barely in the book other than SA/R scenes) was written to make his internal monologue sound like an absolute psychopath. 

 This was definitely a “taboo romance”. Although there was not really anything romantic about it. The girl sleeps with her step-uncle and step-cousins, who are supposed to be alpha males, but didn’t get possessive when it came to their own family. Nope. The spice was very disjointed and flipped on and off like a switch. It read more like Stockholm syndrome. The only character that showed her any type of romance was her pedophile step-uncle. 

As if it could get any worse, it was over written. There is more than enough plot with the step-family…. Absolutely no other plot tools were needed to add to the drama. 

Thank you NetGalley and Berkeley Publishing Group for the Advanced eReader Copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

potalian's review against another edition

medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Suicide, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Animal death, Cursing, Infidelity, Violence, Blood, Grief, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child abuse, Confinement, and Drug abuse

kimmytanzone's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Incest, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

sldibened's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

I saw a review that said “wtf is this book?” And I could not agree more. This book was OFF. Really distasteful writing and plot. I’m by no means someone who gets offended or believes in political correctness, but a female referring to her own genitalia as the “c-word”, is tasteless and just not for me. On top of that, the plot  doesn’t kick off until the mid 200 pages. Definitely read the content warnings on this one and good luck lol

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment