A review by booksta_adventure
Credence by Penelope Douglas

challenging dark emotional 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

This one tends to be one of the more controversial books written by Penelope Douglas, and thatโ€™s saying a lot, because Iโ€™m not sure they have written any other kind! ๐Ÿ˜‚ 

After a family tragedy leaves her orphaned just before her 18th birthday, Tiernan has gone to stay with her step-uncle and male step-cousins who happen to live in a secluded cabin that gets snowed in for months every winter. I think you can figure out where this is goingโ€ฆ

This one wasnโ€™t my absolute favorite of PDโ€™s book (those ๐˜‹๐˜ฆ๐˜ท๐˜ช๐˜ญโ€™๐˜ด ๐˜•๐˜ช๐˜จ๐˜ฉ๐˜ต boys have really stuck with me) but I still found it an enjoyable and engrossing read.

๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜บ ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ค๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ค๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜บ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ข๐˜บ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ฑ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฎ๐˜บ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด. ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜บ ๐˜ท๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ฅ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ [โ€ฆ] ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜บ ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ณ๐˜ถ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ง๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ๐˜ด๐˜ต, ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ช๐˜ต ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฌ๐˜ข๐˜บ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ต. ๐˜ž๐˜ฆ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ฉ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ, ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ญ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ด๐˜ข๐˜บ ๐˜ข๐˜ฃ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ต ๐˜ธ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ฑ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ถ๐˜ฑ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ, ๐˜โ€™๐˜ฎ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ญ๐˜บ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ.

I enjoyed seeing these characters grow over the long winter months, as well as the ๐ŸŒถ๏ธ that went along with that growth! ๐Ÿ˜‰ 

My main issue with this book was what felt to me to be a sudden shift to the endgame love interest. I felt I personally got kind of got lost on Tiernanโ€™s journey to that choice, and it felt a bit out of left field for me. I would have enjoyed having a bit more development on that front, and maybe a bit less development with the other main โ€œrelationshipโ€โ€ฆto make it feel a little more fluid.

Overall I found it a decent and addicting read. I think Iโ€™m finding I really enjoy PDโ€™s writing and storytelling, and they certainly always push those boundaries.

What this book is giving:
โœ… Taboo Romance
โœ… Age Gap
โœ… Forced proximity
โœ… Step-uncle + cousins
โœ… Winter + Secluded cabin setting

Rating:
โญ๏ธ โญ๏ธ โญ๏ธ โญ๏ธ / 5
๐ŸŒถ๏ธ ๐ŸŒถ๏ธ ๐ŸŒถ๏ธ ๐ŸŒถ๏ธ / 5

Look out for (possible spoilers):
โš ๏ธ Mentions of suicide and attempted suicide
โš ๏ธ Mentions of child abuse/neglect
โš ๏ธ FMC underage at start of book
โš ๏ธ Non-con
โš ๏ธ This is a taboo romance and is NOT for everyone
Expand filter menu Content Warnings