Corrupt: 1 (Devil's Night, 1)

Synopsis: Rika can't wait to get out of her sheltered life and start a new one at Meridian City. Away from Trevor Crist, her childhood friend and ex, away from everyone who doesn't let her be… But, there is Michael, a famous basketball player, and Trevor's intimidating older brother, and Rika will be staying close to him again. And when Michael is there, the other three of the four horsemen won't be far. Review: I always love a good risqué story and this is my first read by Penelope Douglas. Alternating between Rika and Michael's past and present in Thunder Bay, where she and the Crists grew up, both belonging to powerful families, Corrupt tells their story in the dual first-person perspective. It is a patient and interesting wait as one by one the events of the past unfold. "I’d seen that look in her eyes long before I even noticed her face or her body. That look of something being contained and wanting to claw its way out." The events that unfolded involved the four horsemen, befittingly named, one of which is now twenty-three-year-old Michael. From the first few pages, there is a sense of mystery, which gets heightened as one turns the pages. There are masked men, threatening notes, and an act of revenge that is three years in the making. Revenge for the incarceration of Will, Kai, and Damon. "There were things we wanted, impulses we felt, but acting on those desires brought consequences we weren’t always willing to accept, either. And maybe they were consequences we shouldn’t have to accept, but they existed nonetheless." Corrupt is such a corruptible read, of course, depending on how you take it, and especially where Thunder Bay's crazy youngsters are concerned with what all they get away with on Devil's Night. But there is a certain thrill in reading about everything, okay, mostly everything, that they got away with, especially the harmless pranks, that I'd never think of doing, not even in my dreams. It was amusing to see Michael warring within his mind about whom to go after, and whom to side with, his friends who deserved justice (or did they get what they deserved?), or Rika, for whom he may be starting to feel more than he thought he would. "I would always circle her. It never stopped. … If she moved, I wanted to move. If she left a room, I wanted to follow. My body was always aware of where she was. And it was the same for her." The book is as scary as it is hot, and there is erotic ménage too, even though it involves friends who are like family instead of family. Now, the way the story progressed, I certainly expected it. This is the second time I'm reading erotic ménage and all I can say is that it takes a certain flair to write it in a way so as not to gross out the reader. And Penelope Douglas definitely maintains the class in her writing. The four horsemen are beyond any doubt, outlandishly crazy. Consisting of Michael Crist, son of a real estate developer; Damon Torrance, son of a media mogul; Kai Mori, son of an influential socialite and banker; and William Grayson III, grandson of Senator Grayson; these four always have something up their sleeves. Even if they are not always model citizens, Michael and his insecurities were like any other human's. And when you have such a demented family as these four do, how are you even supposed to cope, how are you supposed to be "normal?" In the end, the story is all about breaking free, doing what you want, taking your power into your own hands, not looking at everything like it's black and white, and just pushing your boundaries. I loved how it came back full circle, with a beautiful ending, and an insight into how it all really started, which was a complete surprise since I was not expecting anything like it. P.S. The "girl power" is unparalleled though, the way Rika comes out as a strong character, building up on her strengths as the story moves forward, is well worth a mention.

Step into this world of deceit, secrets, obsession, revenge, and the kind of love that rivals it all. Presenting the horsemen of Thunder Bay. The untouchable princes — everyone wants to be them, but no one knows how. Michael, Kai, Will, & Damon — filthy rich, owning the town and everyone in it. This book focuses on Michael, offering a glimpse into the lives of the other three. Michael Crist, son of a real estate developer, has a bane of his existence always in front of him in the name of Erika Fane. For Erika, Michael has always been the force she can never pull away from, and there was a time she didn’t want to. After losing her father, now straddled with her stagnant mother, Crist’s have been her whole life. But it’s her life, and she wants to discover who she can be without them. Little does she know that Michael’s been waiting — and now the wait is over. He lost his friends that night; now Rika will lose everything. The Devil’s Night, three years ago, brought Rika close to Michael like never before; he entered her system like she always wanted him to. Michael couldn’t stay back anymore because his Rika had a spark, a flame that wanted to burn harder. She had the spirit to fight against a fate decided for her. But the events of that night forever scarred their discovery of each other due to her betrayal — or should I say a betrayal he presumed to be hers? His brothers separated from him. But now, they are back — with a vengeance and a vow. To make Rika pay — by any means necessary. This book is a dark romance in its truest sense. It explores the themes of presumed betrayal, revenge, loss, helplessness, surrender, courage, and love. As a devourer of romance in all its forms, I was scared of the events as they were unfolding. I was terrified of Michael but couldn’t look away from Rika and how he affected her. The surprise was how bothered Rika made Michael feel; he couldn’t trust himself to think straight in her presence. The deliciousness of their encounters, her surrender only to him; him who once gave her the courage to spread her wings. He will always want her, but will he let himself choose her? Becomes the main plot of the book. The writing is so fresh and addictive that despite being still scared, I know I cannot stay put until I pick and finish all the other books in this series.

just the beginning to better parts

‘Corrupt is a twisted romance packed with suspense and a twist of heated thriller. A killer of a read!’ ~ Kelly, Perusing Princesses This book for all its intents and purposes not only satisfied my craving for something new, but it knocked it right out of the park and left me wanting more - not just from these intriguing, complicated characters but from Penelope Douglas because damn, this woman can write! There were moments in this story when I didn’t think our heroine would actually survive, I was absolutely terrified for her. This is no easy romance, and from what I could tell in the earlier chapters, I was setting myself up for a dark capture story, yet the way the scenes flitter between past and present POV narrative starts to paint a very different picture, loving the fact that I had no idea what direction it would eventually go. Some readers get frustrated with past and present tense as it can become a little complicated keeping up with the separate time frames, especially if you stop reading halfway through a chapter, but all I can say here is that it worked so well! This story focuses on first love with the one you can’t have. A tale of rich kids who have it all, but are left bereft from loss or impossible parental aspirations that take the talented, rich and untouchable to dabble wholeheartedly in the adrenaline rush of rebellion. One Burns Night three years ago, friends Michael, Kai, Damon and Will take their pranks to a whole new level, and when they invite Erika ‘Rika’ Fane, the downtrodden girlfriend of Trevor Crist, Michael’s golden boy younger brother, things start to take a precarious turn. What was supposed to be some harmless fun turns nightmare when a prank goes too far and there are serious repercussions as Michael says goodbye to Kai, Will and Damon as they are carted off to Prison. Three years they were incarcerated. Three years, Michael and his friends have been plotting their revenge and now the time has come to make good on those plans. Rika, now at college, alone, away from the security of Thunder Bay, has no idea that she’s about to become a key part of a sick and twisted game of cat and mouse, as everything she holds dear is about to be destroyed… Complication comes in the way of Rika loving Michael since she can remember. Trevor was always a friend, one that promised a comfortable home and a loving heart but she was never content with just kissing her friend, she loves the danger, the monster that resides in the penthouse above her new apartment. She’s alone, not a threat but he looks at her like she’s the enemy, so why does she want nothing more than for him to see her? She never forgot his words he whispered to her that night three years ago as she let herself be free for those few hours; ‘own who you are.’ Yes, she wanted to own herself, own her actions, be the person she wants to be, and her heart is telling her that Michael should be a part of that... sleeping with the enemy can only go one way, and Rika is about to find out the hard way. Corrupt had me literally hanging off my reading chair by the thread of my pants. This book touched on every conceivable emotion including fear. What I loved most though was the anticipation of what happens next. The sexual tension is electrifying and yes, the sex is fabulous with one steam room scene in particular that I just cannot seem to get out of my head, and trust me… I don’t actually want to. I could scream about this book from the rooftops because I loved it that much, alas I will just implore you to read it. You can Corrupt me any time Penelope Douglas! 5 ‘Own who you are’ Crowns

I was really excited to get Corrupt by Penelope Douglas, but the top front corner arrived bent, and the design is peeling off. If I try to fix it, the whole cover film might tear. It’s disappointing because the rest of the book looks great, but the damage definitely brings the rating down.

Okay, so first of all I just want to say this isn’t the type of book I normally read. I decided to dip my toe into the waters of this genre and this was highly recommended by female booktubers. I didn’t think I was going to like this at first, the young impressionable woman who sees a rich bad boy male as some sort of god is overdone. However, what I loved about this book is that I was actually really interested in the plot. There is a dual timeline and the promise of something kind of cringy hanging over things for a lot of the story. I think most of us can relate to the feelings one gets when they experience unrequited love. You will have to suspend your disbelief a little as the small town filthy rich families situation is a bit convient. It tends to lead to some dramatic events that are a little unrealistic, but you don’t read these things for a taste of reality do you? I was really invested in the female lead Rika. Throughout the story we get to see such a huge amount of character development in her. She really is everything a semi kinky feminist woman would want in a female protagonist. She starts off as an awkward teen who is trying to belong in this group of cool older guys, but she becomes a badass woman. She doesn’t let Michael or any of the guys rule her, they may harrass her but she is mentally strong. She is finding and embracing her sexuality and learning to just be who she is, regardless of the expectations of others. I really loved following her story. This book is part of a series so I found myself paying closer attention to the other “Horsemen” trying to figure out what their stories were. The author does a great job of making the others dynamic by giving us hints about who they are and what role they’ve played in the past story. The curiosity about the fact that the next books are all based on these guys makes me want to read more of them. My favorite side character was probably Kai, he has a moral code and keeps the others from doing anything too bad. He is also particularly tortured by his experience in jail. The male lead Michael is in some ways your typical bad boy gone romantic, but he also has some deep feelings that are well explored in the book. I didn’t like him at first but he grew on me. So yes the sex scenes are very spicy, I know you all are wondering about that. However they are well placed and make sense with the story, and I don’t think they are overdone. It reads like a soft Bdsm experience. So if you’re interested in a story that will keep you on your toes and also curling your toes *wink wink* or you’re curious about Dark romance like me, this is a pretty safe one to start with. I didn’t feel like there was anything terribly problematic that happened in this book.

Den var i bra skick när jag fick den.