Book Review: Credence by Penelope Douglas

 

4/5 ⭐

❗This Review Contains Spoilers❗

Is this book taboo? 

Yeah.

Is it the most wild taboo novel I've ever read?

Not by a long shot.

I want to give it 5 stars, because I was entranced, and could not put it down from the first word to the last.

But, alas, there are a few things that bring this book down a notch for me.

I don't always read for fantastic writing and detailed plot lines.

If that's what you're looking for, look elsewhere.

The story was intriguing enough to keep my attention, but it does drone on for longer than was probably necessary.

Main Character Tiernan was pretty flat. I didn't really see any development from her. She was pretty much in love the second she arrives in Chapel Peak, and is a moody teenager the rest of the story.

Kaleb is the type of man I'm genuinely afraid of. I spent half the book thinking he had a serial killer den hidden in his attic bedroom. He abuses Tiernan to no end, and openly manipulated her into loving him; talk about Stockholm Syndrome.

Jake was hot and cold for me. I loved the moments where he gave Tiernan what she needed; a sturdy parent who loves her. But then he does this authoritarian shit, bending her over his lap. He absolutely abused the power dynamic between himself and Tiernan to the point I started feeling bad for a fictional girl.

Noah... The only redeeming character for me in Credence. He was sweet, sexy, and genuinely wanted to love Tiernan the way she deserved. She only said about 100 times that she should be with Noah; and she was right. The story would've been so much better had she stayed with Noah... The bit at the end with the two of them on Huntington Beach really had me thinking they were going to get together. Shame on me for being bamboozled..

All in all, this book was captivating from start to finish, if for nothing else, to know how it ended. I'm giving it 4 stars because there were many moments that had me laughing out loud, and wiping tears from my eyes. Also, the smut. It was good smut (as per usual from Penelope Douglas).

I would only recommend reading this book if you're capable of separating reality from fiction, because this book crosses many lines that I would never condone IRL (dubcon, etc).

Happy Reading!