Credence

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1. CREDENCE by Penelope Douglas

SYNOPSIS

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.

“Credence. I’m close enough to read it now. It means ‘belief as to the truth of something’. I’m not sure I understand. And then, maybe I do.”

BOOK REVIEW

Penelope Douglas took me out of my comfort zone with her usual witty and engaging writing incorporated in a shockingly different from all of her other works plot. The premise of the story intrigued me very much, and I dropped everything on the date of release and got sucked in. Credence (a fitting title for a story about a pretty much non-existent woman in search of her truth after years of painful neglect) was one hell of an angsty ride!

Lust, Learn, and Love. Jake, Noah, and Kaleb van der Berg in all their manly glory. Residing up in the mountains of Chapel Peak, Colorado, these extremely rugged and damaged in their own way hotties lived in complete seclusion. They were almost animalistic. They ate. They fought. They mated. And they were totally inexperienced when it came to dealing with a woman (not in a sexual way, of course). Especially a broken one such as Tiernan de Haas...

When the world feels small, nothing can hurt you. But then you realize you’re the only one who fits there in that small world, and being alone feels worse than not feeling safe.

Tiernan was a young beauty with a sharp but forcibly toned down character, yet still displaying an amazing range of sensibilities. After years of unsuccessful battle for attention and struggle against feelings, she turned colorless and forlorn. I guess, her youth and inexperience stood behind her bad decision-making and frustrating life choices. Seeking remedy in the wrong places, Tiernan found herself confused and in a taboo situation for a hot minute. Her multi-faceted personality evolved, no doubt, but became overwhelming for a still broken heart to be secluded in the mountains among men who were just as damaged as she was. In the end, I loved how she learned not to be afraid to get hurt once again and understood the necessity to move on to the next stage of her life in order to find her true self.

Kaleb was rain. Passion, a scream, and my hair sticking to my face as I wrapped my arms around him. Spontaneous and loud all over my skin. He was whispers, too, though. Snow, firelight, and searching for his warmth between the sheets at two a.m. when the rest of the house is asleep.

SPOILER! Three men shook up Tiernan’s very existence in a remote cabin in the woods, but it was Kaleb van der Berg who shaped her as a person, showing her tenderness mixed with roughness, showing her love. I don’t want to spoil the build-up and general development of the entire book but I will say that I was almost one hundred percent sure that Tiernan would end up together with Kaleb after the scene of their very first encounter.

PS. OMG this book was deliciously erotic. It was filled with smut and filth to an extreme. I was blushing like an idiot all fucking day. My hubby will soon divorce me… Thank you, Penelope Douglas…

People may live different realities, but the truth is always the same.

Credence was one of a kind. A perfectly imperfect love story, but more importantly, an incredible journey to self-discovery, finding peace with oneself and coming to terms with life.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Penelope Douglas is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal best-selling author of books within New Adult, Erotica, and Contemporary Romance genres. She loves breaking rules and taking herself out of her comfort zone as much as taking her readers out of theirs.

She lives in Las Vegas with a husband and their lovely daughter, Aydan.

What inspired this book?
I find that I love forbidden-type relationships lately. Not only does the synopsis imply that all three men are connecting to her and interested in her, but these men are relations by marriage, which poses its own level of challenges, too. This story takes place in a remote location, and I loved the idea of making this atmospheric and making the readers feel they are hidden away with the characters. I wanted a story setting and plot where you’re in a situation where you can make your own rules and characters that you can see yourself in.
Would you say this book showcases your writing style or is it a departure for you?
It’s absolutely something different for me. I hope the style of the writing is the same, but the plotting is different. I normally favor much simpler relationships and high school angst and shenanigans, and this book is four main characters as opposed to two, all of them dynamic and tortured in their own way.
What do you want people to take away from reading this book?
As always, I want them to question their perceptions of the world. I have so many readers over the years who say “I never would’ve read something like this, but I’m so glad I did.” “You changed my palate.” “I read reviews, and I was scared off from reading this, but I’m glad I gave it a shot.” I want to see us all broaden our viewpoints, and most of all, I want them to travel with Kaleb, Noah, Tiernan, and Jake and escape to the peak and enjoy the quiet, winter nights I wrote!
- Penelope Douglas