Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Credence by Penelope Douglas

23 reviews

caitlinreads123's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

2.0

wtf was that.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Incest, Grief, Drug use, Animal death, Alcohol, Violence, Torture, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Rape, Murder, Medical content, Mental illness, Gun violence, Gore, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Cursing, Child abuse, and Bullying

savannah_faith's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad tense fast-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

5.0

A 5 star rating for Credence, can we get a round of applause for Penelope Douglas? Because wow, just wow am I speechless after finishing this book. I went into Credence knowing some but not all about this book. I knew the relationship of the characters and that there were some questionable actions happening between them, I just never would’ve expected to love it so much. The overwhelming way I instantly connected to the emotional struggles of the FMC, I wanted to put the book down and never pick it up again but it continued to call me and read it. So I gave in to the temptation and stayed up till 4/5am just trying to read as much as I could. Feeling every emotion Tiernan felt throughout the whole book, placing myself in her shoes, in her story, just to escape from mine. I cried, I laughed, and I loved all through this fictional girl who probably saved my life tonight. Waiting till the day I find my Kaleb. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Sexual harassment, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Blood, Grief, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, and Emotional abuse

booksofautumn's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Grief, Violence, Abandonment, Classism, Sexual content, Drug abuse, Drug use, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Addiction, and Alcohol

jacqelaine00's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Sexual content, and Incest

Minor: Blood, Grief, Adult/minor relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Drug use, and Addiction

unicornofthesea's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, and Sexual assault

Minor: Drug use, Addiction, and Alcohol

britrcup's review

dark emotional reflective 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

2.0

This book is dark. It's  taboo. It's spicy. It was like watching a car crash, I wanted so badly to look away but I couldn't. I enjoyed the endgame but I do think a lot of the dark/taboo parts of the book could have been cut out. The complex trauma is written really well and overall the plot is okay. If you are a fan of dark (and I mean really dark) romances and can look past the content warnings the romance might be worth it for you. This is not a book for you if you are looking for fluff.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Violence, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Cancer

naza16's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective 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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Cursing, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Grief, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Abandonment, and Death of parent

Minor: Cancer, Drug use, and Sexual violence

mkc_0423's review against another edition

dark emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Rape, Physical abuse, and Sexual violence

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Child abuse, Death of parent, and Drug use

itsmeyseniab's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

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

3.5

What a goddamn RIDE. Penelope Douglas writes bully romances and the "bad boy" archetype so well that it literally has me debating my morality after each book I read of hers LOL. My brain literally can't comprehend what I just read, and I feel the need to take several showers and rinse my eyes with holy water but I'll do my best to sum up my thoughts:

"Spicy" doesn't even begin to express this book. This is hands down the dirtiest book I've ever read. If my review was based on smut alone it would've been an easy five star read - Penelope Douglas knows how to write a love scene! However, where she lost me was the plot. It wasn't bad by any means, but I also wasn't very invested and guessed who our main character Tiernan was going to end up with pretty early on, so my level of intrigue wasn't as high as it could've been. It also didn't help that I didn't feel much chemistry outside of the palpable lust between Tiernan and who she ended up choosing.

My biggest issue I had with this story was how it handled the topic of consent. We got Tiernan's internal dialogue and we clearly knew that she desired a sexual relationship with each of the men at one point or another, but my issue with the consent specifically had to do with (view spoiler). She specifically was saying no while actively pushing him away and he kept going anyway, until she eventually "liked" it. It was gross and very triggering, but like I said there was so much gray area because her internal dialogue was clearly showing that she wanted to be intimate with him.

That being said, this book is not for the faint of heart, but I'd be lying if I said that I didn't want to pick up more of her novels.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Bullying, and Blood

Moderate: Child abuse, Rape, Fire/Fire injury, and Animal death

Minor: Death of parent, Suicide, Drug use, Cancer, and Suicidal thoughts

maeflowerreads's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest

Moderate: Suicide, Death, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Drug use and Drug abuse