[Review] Credence by Penelope Douglas

PUBLISHER'S SYNOPSIS:
 Three of them, one of her, and a remote cabin in the woods. Let the hot, winter nights ensue...

Tiernan de Haas doesn't care about anything anymore. The only child of a film producer and his starlet wife, she's grown up with wealth and privilege but not love or guidance. Shipped off to boarding schools from an early age, it was still impossible to escape the loneliness and carve out a life of her own. The shadow of her parents' fame followed her everywhere.

And when they suddenly pass away, she knows she should be devastated. But has anything really changed? She's always been alone, hasn't she?

Jake Van der Berg, her father's stepbrother and her only living relative, assumes guardianship of Tiernan who is still two months shy of eighteen. Sent to live with him and his two sons, Noah and Kaleb, in the mountains of Colorado, Tiernan soon learns that these men now have a say in what she chooses to care and not care about anymore.

As the three of them take her under their wing, teach her to work and survive in the remote woods far away from the rest of the world, she slowly finds her place among them. And as a part of them.

She also realizes that lines blur and rules become easy to break when no one else is watching.

One of them has her. The other one wants her. But he...

He's going to keep her.
  

MY THOUGHTS: This probably says more about me and less about the plot itself, but I went into Credence expecting it to come off as more taboo than it felt. I knew pretty early on who I was rooting for Tiernan to end up with, so every other entanglement until then seemed more like a passing thing rather than a potential endgame. 

I did love the depth of the four main characters. This story was about so much more than the physical relationship between Tiernan, Jake, Noah, and Kaleb; everyone had their own demons to overcome, and I thought Douglas developed each and every backstory well. Everyone had their own resolution, some more extensive than others, but I loved that everyone seemed to be in a good place by the story's conclusion. I do think Jake should be in the running for a worst father/caregiver award, but since everyone had their own issues, at least Jake wasn't alone. 

This story was a solid four stars for me. I ended up wishing for more closure when it came to the physical relationship between Jake/Tiernan and Noah/Tiernan, but loved the edginess that Kaleb brought to every scene. Kaleb was, by far, by favorite Van der Berg; I loved the intensity of his character, both physically and emotionally. He had some of the biggest obstacles to overcome, and I thought his journey had the best resolution. 

Credence was definitely on the milder side of taboo romance, but it was a worthy story full of complex emotional journeys, leading all the main characters to their rightful happy endings. 

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Release date: 1/13/2020
Format: physical/ebook
Ebook obtained via: Kindle Unlimited

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