Book Review: Credence

• Book Blurb

  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.

  *Credence is a full length, stand-alone romance suitable for readers 18+.

  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.

  *Credence is a full length, stand-alone romance suitable for readers 18+.

• My review

  Credence sat on my TBR for months. It kept showing up in recommendations for exactly the kind of story I was looking for (something darker, ranch life, spicy, taboo), buuuut the premise, the daughter of two superstars, just wasn’t doing it for me. And then one day I finally read it, despite my doubts.

  The story had the things I was looking for: a lot of sexual tension, a ranch in the middle of nowhere, snow, spicy moments. But it also had unexpected things. I genuinely didn’t know who Tiernan, the protagonist, was going to end up with, which is very rare in romance. And there were heavy themes that are central to the story: suicide, childhood abuse, toxic family dynamics.

  About the protagonist
  Tiernan is very guarded, very introspective, and carries this sense of being lost or empty inside.

  “I’m angry. I’m actually angry. And it feels good. I’m still here.”

  She’s the city girl going into a rural world, but she’s not condescending about it.

  About the romance
  There’s a lot of tension between Tiernan and the guy…or guys. I’m keeping that deliberately vague to avoid spoilers. I’ll put MF as the relationship type, but that’s it. Who she ends up with (and how many) is a big part of the plot, and I don’t want to spoil it. The men in this story all had their personal issues and they all found a way to connect with Tiernan.

  About the story
  As you can guess, to enjoy this book, you need to have a very open mind about unconventional relationships and very complex family dynamics.  You also need to be okay with, or at least not put off by, a lot of discussion of suicide, trauma, and dysfunctional family dynamics. This is like a darker or more taboo version of the found family trope.
  The epilogue was really good. It’s five years after the main story ends, and it’s one of those epilogues that just works, not the kind where you feel like the story could continue in another book. This is a proper happily ever after.
  This book has a 3.67 on Goodreads. To me, that means it didn’t find its audience. For the right reader, and I’d say I’m the right reader, it’s very, very good.

  Credence sat on my TBR for months. It kept showing up in recommendations for exactly the kind of story I was looking for (something darker, ranch life, spicy, taboo), buuuut the premise, the daughter of two superstars, just wasn’t doing it for me. And then one day I finally read it, despite my doubts.

  The story had the things I was looking for: a lot of sexual tension, a ranch in the middle of nowhere, snow, spicy moments. But it also had unexpected things. I genuinely didn’t know who Tiernan, the protagonist, was going to end up with, which is very rare in romance. And there were heavy themes that are central to the story: suicide, childhood abuse, toxic family dynamics.

  About the protagonist
  Tiernan is very guarded, very introspective, and carries this sense of being lost or empty inside.

  “I’m angry. I’m actually angry. And it feels good. I’m still here.”

  She’s the city girl going into a rural world, but she’s not condescending about it.

  About the romance
  There’s a lot of tension between Tiernan and the guy…or guys. I’m keeping that deliberately vague to avoid spoilers. I’ll put MF as the relationship type, but that’s it. Who she ends up with (and how many) is a big part of the plot, and I don’t want to spoil it. The men in this story all had their personal issues and they all found a way to connect with Tiernan.

  About the story
  As you can guess, to enjoy this book, you need to have a very open mind about unconventional relationships and very complex family dynamics.  You also need to be okay with, or at least not put off by, a lot of discussion of suicide, trauma, and dysfunctional family dynamics. This is like a darker or more taboo version of the found family trope.
  The epilogue was really good. It’s five years after the main story ends, and it’s one of those epilogues that just works, not the kind where you feel like the story could continue in another book. This is a proper happily ever after.
  This book has a 3.67 on Goodreads. To me, that means it didn’t find its audience. For the right reader, and I’d say I’m the right reader, it’s very, very good.

Character & romance details

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