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A review by julie2525
Credence by Penelope Douglas
Did not finish book.
I tried. I really tried. I listened reviewer advice to give it a shot and look past some of the taboos because the story is unique and interesting. Yes, it is unique and interesting. But I couldn't. The ick factor was too high for me. dnf 65%.
The story is about a neglected and lonely 17-year old whose famous parents killed themselves together so they didn't have to live without each other. Unfortunately, they never thought of their daughter and didn't think of waiting the 8 weeks to her 18th birthday. Being underage, she was shipped off to relatives, a step-uncle and his boys who live in the middle of nowhere, in a place that is unreachable after the first snow. *sigh* Here we go. The dad. I have trouble with age gaps, and 17-45ish is too much ick. And when, during a heated scene, he commands her attention and asks "yes, what?" He is satisfied with her answer--not "yes, sir" but "yes, uncle." Ew. As for the boys, while I had less issue with 18-20 year old step-cousins in the rural mountains, the first scene with the brothers was sexual assault and the second was on her 18th birthday and beyond my comfort level. I skipped ahead to the epilogue and then looked for scenes where she fell in love with the final love interest. I ran into more uncomfortable scenes. I cannot with the dad. I gave up. I have also decided I've had enough contemporary romance for a while.
The interesting part is the idea of 3 relationships before you settle down: one for lust, one for learning, one for love. That is, one is adventure, excitement, and a crush. The second is a a bad decision, someone who may be using you, someone you aren't willing to give your whole heart to, but someone you can be selfish with and learn about yourself. The third is the one you can settle down with, the someone you can be with long-term, imperfections and all. I like the idea of each man representing one, but I can't confirm if that happened because I didn't get that far.
The story is about a neglected and lonely 17-year old whose famous parents killed themselves together so they didn't have to live without each other. Unfortunately, they never thought of their daughter and didn't think of waiting the 8 weeks to her 18th birthday. Being underage, she was shipped off to relatives, a step-uncle and his boys who live in the middle of nowhere, in a place that is unreachable after the first snow. *sigh* Here we go. The dad. I have trouble with age gaps, and 17-45ish is too much ick. And when, during a heated scene, he commands her attention and asks "yes, what?" He is satisfied with her answer--not "yes, sir" but "yes, uncle." Ew. As for the boys, while I had less issue with 18-20 year old step-cousins in the rural mountains, the first scene with the brothers was sexual assault and the second was on her 18th birthday and beyond my comfort level. I skipped ahead to the epilogue and then looked for scenes where she fell in love with the final love interest. I ran into more uncomfortable scenes. I cannot with the dad. I gave up. I have also decided I've had enough contemporary romance for a while.
The interesting part is the idea of 3 relationships before you settle down: one for lust, one for learning, one for love. That is, one is adventure, excitement, and a crush. The second is a a bad decision, someone who may be using you, someone you aren't willing to give your whole heart to, but someone you can be selfish with and learn about yourself. The third is the one you can settle down with, the someone you can be with long-term, imperfections and all. I like the idea of each man representing one, but I can't confirm if that happened because I didn't get that far.