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adventurous
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I officially regret putting this off for so long.
Yeah, I know this is one of those “you either loved it or hated it” books. I loved it.
Was it taboo? Yeah. Very age gap-y? Also yeah. But I thought it just worked. Totally fiction? Absolutely, that’s why it’s fun, if you ask me.
I fell in love with the characters, their struggles (and how they overcame them) and the overall story telling and just loved how Penelope ended it.
I loved the setting and do find that I’m always a sucker for a “snowed in” trope and this one took the cake in that regard.
I’ll be thinking about this one for a while for sure.
*This book and stories like this one aren’t for everyone. Read the trope lists on multiple reviews. Check the trigger warnings.
What to expect:
🌲 taboo romance
🌲 age gap
🌲 Colorado setting
🌲 snowed in
🌲 trauma rep
🌲 forced proximity
🌲 heartbreak
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Sexual content, Sexual harassment
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
funny
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
First half of the book RIPS, and then the second half is a total snooze. Ah well. ALSO, obsessed with the fact that monogamy is the one line they won't cross . We can excuse [literally so much weird shit], but we draw the line at polyamory . This is why more of these *~*dark romance*~* need to be written by little homosexual freaks like myself.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was recommended this book by a few friends. I'm down with the smuttiest of books. While I liked the book overall and was satisfied with it, when I break it down, I'm really not super impressed with it.
To start, there's obviously a lot of very triggering topics from the beginning of the book. The main character, Tiernan, isn't super loveable or charismatic and I found myself not even sympathizing with her for much of the book. Some of the reveals about her relationship with her parents I really felt like should have been explained earlier on, then I might have had more empathy for her.
Much of the time she spends with her uncle and cousins is very triggering. Basically lowkey rape to start with. And while I know they weren't technically blood relatives, the fact that that's how she addresses them the whole book, just weirded me out to be honest.
The ending also frustrated me sooo much. I'm all for a happy ending, but I definitely thought that given the darker theme of almost the whole book that it would have a more on brand ending but NOPEKaleb miraculously shows up, makes the romantic gesture and suddenly starts to speak. Of course they end up together, with a child and happily ever after. . I genuinely wish that Kaleb had the character development and nuances that we learned in the latter half or latter quarter of the book in the beginning. Again, I liked the book overall, it was a bit of a slow burn to start with, got intense in the middle and then just had the perfect resolution.
To start, there's obviously a lot of very triggering topics from the beginning of the book. The main character, Tiernan, isn't super loveable or charismatic and I found myself not even sympathizing with her for much of the book. Some of the reveals about her relationship with her parents I really felt like should have been explained earlier on, then I might have had more empathy for her.
Much of the time she spends with her uncle and cousins is very triggering. Basically lowkey rape to start with. And while I know they weren't technically blood relatives, the fact that that's how she addresses them the whole book, just weirded me out to be honest.
The ending also frustrated me sooo much. I'm all for a happy ending, but I definitely thought that given the darker theme of almost the whole book that it would have a more on brand ending but NOPE
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship
Minor: Animal death, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Not my cup of tea i guess.
The reason im not rating it a 1 is because it was immersive only in a way that i read it fast. I hate every character. I was expecting the book to end every chapter from 30% on.
The reason im not rating it a 1 is because it was immersive only in a way that i read it fast. I hate every character. I was expecting the book to end every chapter from 30% on.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
In its own right, it’s a trip. And if you’re down for erotica, you should take the trip for sure. But I’m not a huge fan of the tip-toeing around the incest and underage vibes. My first read through, I almost DNFed because of being a mother and how I felt like I shouldn’t be enjoying it. But I did get over it and finish to say that I did it…. and then handed it off to my mom saying “wanna read something f’ed up?” 😂 (to which she responded “not like the book your sister just read” which was Dead Inside for context and I loudly said “oh god no, this is a spicy book”).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment
Moderate: Animal death, Cursing, Death, Pedophilia, Rape, Suicide, Violence, Death of parent
Minor: Stalking, Abandonment
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Death of parent, Gaslighting
Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, Abandonment
adventurous
emotional
relaxing
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
4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Credence is another Dark Romance novel by Penelope Douglas and once again, she managed to make me fall in love with the characters, the peak and the cabin, the atmosphere and the storyline.
She created a very calm and relaxing mood throughout the book, probably due to the snow and the winter vibes. The characters were complex, lovable and realistic with their own individual flaws, character traits and passions, which resulted in me instantly liking all of the Van der Bergs, Mirai and of course Tiernan.
The plot offered unexpected turns, thus creating suspense in just the right amount and the right moments within the story, so that it didn’t feel forced or rushed, but rather very natural for all of it to unfold the way it did.
Chapel Peak is a place I would love to stay at, if only it was real. It felt like a dreamy place, with small town vibes, as if it could be anywhere (given there are snowy mountains of course).
All in all, I have to admit that in the beginning it took me a while to get into the story, just because it wasn’t clear which of the guys was the main love interest for our Tiernan, which confused me quite a bit until the plot started to develop into a bit more.
Would definitely recommend this, especially to everyone who loves complicated characters with a lot of personality. And of course to everyone who loves dark romance.
“pain always reminds us that we’re alive. And the fear along with it that we want to stay that way.
“Credence. It means ‘belief as to the truth of something.’ ”
“ ‘It was time’, he said.”
Credence is another Dark Romance novel by Penelope Douglas and once again, she managed to make me fall in love with the characters, the peak and the cabin, the atmosphere and the storyline.
She created a very calm and relaxing mood throughout the book, probably due to the snow and the winter vibes. The characters were complex, lovable and realistic with their own individual flaws, character traits and passions, which resulted in me instantly liking all of the Van der Bergs, Mirai and of course Tiernan.
The plot offered unexpected turns, thus creating suspense in just the right amount and the right moments within the story, so that it didn’t feel forced or rushed, but rather very natural for all of it to unfold the way it did.
Chapel Peak is a place I would love to stay at, if only it was real. It felt like a dreamy place, with small town vibes, as if it could be anywhere (given there are snowy mountains of course).
All in all, I have to admit that in the beginning it took me a while to get into the story, just because it wasn’t clear which of the guys was the main love interest for our Tiernan, which confused me quite a bit until the plot started to develop into a bit more.
Would definitely recommend this, especially to everyone who loves complicated characters with a lot of personality. And of course to everyone who loves dark romance.
“pain always reminds us that we’re alive. And the fear along with it that we want to stay that way.
“Credence. It means ‘belief as to the truth of something.’ ”
“ ‘It was time’, he said.”
Content Warnings
Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment
dark
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What the heck did I just read. Someone get me some bleach for my eyes. I have a real issue with dnfing books cause I have major fomo and think that maybe the book will get better and i don’t want to miss it but I was so wrong with this one.
I will say, for a “tiktok book” my expectations were low so i was pleasantly surprised with the actual writing. Sometimes with popular books it can feel like a teenager is writing it but this one wasn’t like that.
BUT the plot… yikes. I think it had potential for sure but there were too many red flags and just over all yikes.
FIRSTLY, this girl IS LITERALLY A CHILD. I ain’t trying to yuck the age gap yum but like seriously, she’s 17, get your 40year old self out of here. I don’t care if she was 18 when anything serious happened. You were flirting with a 17year old.
SECONDLY dark romance doesn’t mean no consent. Let me say it one more time. DARK ROMANCE DOESN’T EQUAL NO CONSENT. You can write dark romance with consent. Come on guys, this isn’t something you should play around with. This happened at least twice in this book and I seriously should have stopped reading there.
THIRDLY why are these men literal animals, they can’t last one day without having sex or “needing” sex. Get out of here. You are adult men you can keep it in your pants
FOURTHLY… YOU ARE LITERALLY RELATED YUCK EW STOP. this I could kind of put to the back of my mind cause they aren’t blood related but you can’t be talking like family and then turn around and make it sexual. On top of that, how do you just feel chill about your brother/dad/son is having sex with the same girl you are. Like what? No thoughts on how that is weird to you at all??
Overall, this girl was seriously taken advantage of, the men were not good men. Anyone would be seriously confused by the way each man was treating her. I was waiting for some sort of redeeming factor from the man she ends up “choosing” but really I don’t think the character development happened. Every person in this book needs some therapy.
The only thing I liked about this book is the living in a forest (slay farm vibe #cottagecore) and the mention of Amber run (an artist I like)
I will say, for a “tiktok book” my expectations were low so i was pleasantly surprised with the actual writing. Sometimes with popular books it can feel like a teenager is writing it but this one wasn’t like that.
BUT the plot… yikes. I think it had potential for sure but there were too many red flags and just over all yikes.
FIRSTLY, this girl IS LITERALLY A CHILD. I ain’t trying to yuck the age gap yum but like seriously, she’s 17, get your 40year old self out of here. I don’t care if she was 18 when anything serious happened. You were flirting with a 17year old.
SECONDLY dark romance doesn’t mean no consent. Let me say it one more time. DARK ROMANCE DOESN’T EQUAL NO CONSENT. You can write dark romance with consent. Come on guys, this isn’t something you should play around with. This happened at least twice in this book and I seriously should have stopped reading there.
THIRDLY why are these men literal animals, they can’t last one day without having sex or “needing” sex. Get out of here. You are adult men you can keep it in your pants
FOURTHLY… YOU ARE LITERALLY RELATED YUCK EW STOP. this I could kind of put to the back of my mind cause they aren’t blood related but you can’t be talking like family and then turn around and make it sexual. On top of that, how do you just feel chill about your brother/dad/son is having sex with the same girl you are. Like what? No thoughts on how that is weird to you at all??
Overall, this girl was seriously taken advantage of, the men were not good men. Anyone would be seriously confused by the way each man was treating her. I was waiting for some sort of redeeming factor from the man she ends up “choosing” but really I don’t think the character development happened. Every person in this book needs some therapy.
The only thing I liked about this book is the living in a forest (slay farm vibe #cottagecore) and the mention of Amber run (an artist I like)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual content, Abandonment
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
I want to know... WHO HURT YOU, PENELOPE DOUGLAS!
Fantastic book, while as taboo as they come. The underlying theme of grief and abandonment was compelling and emotional.
Fantastic book, while as taboo as they come. The underlying theme of grief and abandonment was compelling and emotional.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment
dark
tense
medium-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Incest, Misogyny, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment