Credence by Penelope Douglas

Credence
by Penelope Douglas

Reviewed by Valerie Palmer

BookTok got me again and this is why I chose to read this book. It has become so popular, and I had to see what it is all about and if it is worth the hype. I realized that this is considered a "taboo romance" which I was not aware of when I started to read it. That is a new term to me, and it means it is about a relationship that is considered disapproved or inappropriate by society. 

Summary
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. If you are into spicy romance novels, this is a book for you.

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.

What I Liked
I highly enjoyed the setting of Colorado, and I could picture myself at the house, the lake and when they went into town. I think the writing was well done and I enjoyed Tiernan's character. I liked her Uncle Jake and his gruff demeanor which is what you would expect from someone who lives out west and on a bunch of secluded land. Noah was honestly my favorite character out of the three main men because he was so kind to Tiernan and understood and could relate to her the most.

What I Didn't Like
My moral compass had issues reading this book. 😆 I was not aware of this being a "taboo" romance novel. It definitely crosses boundaries like the definition states, but that being said they were also step relatives versus blood related. This book was a bit too spicy for me as well.

Rating⭐⭐⭐⭐

I gave this book 4 stars on Goodreads, because I just could not get past certain parts of what happened in this book. I did enjoy reading it overall but could not give it a five because of the taboo romance part and the spice level 🌶🌶🌶 was a bit much for me.