Credence by Penelope Douglas

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 Review

I love the playlist the author included in this book. I think it is fascinating to listen to music that inspires the story. I do feel this book should have a trigger warning as there are some dark themes in it. The author doesn’t have one but does have notation on Amazon about some of the explicit material in the book.

Tiernan is bitter, resilient, and damaged. Dealing with her parent’s suicide and a lifetime of issues. It is pretty sad to see a child neglected in favor of the parental wishes and deeds. Even with all the luxury and decisions, she receives a call from her step-uncle.

I guess she decides to travel to Colorado and no be an emancipated minor. This life is sure to be different than her previous life of boarding schools and nannies.

Her uncle’s life is way more rustic than she is used to, but then again, she seems to like the solitude and simple lifestyle. This will undoubtedly be an adventure for her, not just the new habitat but also the new people and being surrounded by men on a mountain in the middle of know where.

There is a lot of moments that make me wonder about this book. She is an impressionable teenager who is very sheltered. The men she lives with, unfortunately, aren’t used to a woman around. The story gets complicated as she adapts to her new environment and the new people in her life.
This book does get very steamy. It also kinda becomes a reverse harem. Albeit interesting since It is technically family, it is pretty disturbing.

This book has emotional drama times and times when all is well. She starts to become a new person, but then the twists start again, leaving the reader looking for answers in the story.

Well, I didn’t expect that ending. And omg, the epilogue is fantastic. This book worked out, albeit I didn’t see it all coming. This story was as much about not being alone as it was about finding yourself and overcoming your past on your own terms.

I love how the author used a dysfunctional family to help each other find themselves and get over past issues. I loved how the story was confusing, and at times, I wondered what the author was working toward. I love watching the main character transform from a city girl to a country girl. I loved how deep the author got into issues of feelings and thoughts. This book has a lot of depth in the story. Yes, parts of it were weird, but circumstances aside, it was easy to get over. I love to read a story that contains so much heart. Her characters all had their own personality, quirks, and issues, but they all became a stronger family despite themselves. The main character in this story was really broken. I love watching her become whole again and watching an unexpected love contribute to that and the family aspects.

If you want to read Credence by Penelope Douglas, you can find it on Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, I earn on qualifying purchases.

If you like this book, you may also like books with these tags coming-of-age fiction, college, and standalone books.