Stepbrother Dearest by Penelope Ward

Stepbrother Dearest by Penelope Wardfive-stars

Stepbrother Dearest by Penelope Ward
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Also by this Author: Hate Notes
Published by Self-Published on September 28, 2014
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 246

Heat Rating: five-flames

Audiobook Narrator: Simone Lewis
Audiobook Length: 8 hours and 10 minutes

This book may be unsuitable for people under 18 years of age due to its use of sexual content, drug and alcohol use, and/or violence.
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Synopsis

You’re not supposed to want the one who torments you.

When my stepbrother, Elec, came to live with us my senior year, I wasn’t prepared for how much of a jerk he’d be.

I hated that he took it out on me because he didn’t want to be here.
I hated that he brought girls from our high school back to his room.
But what I hated the most was the unwanted way my body reacted to him.

At first, I thought all he had going for him were his rock-hard tattooed abs and chiseled face. Then, things started changing between us, and it all came to a head one night.

Just as quickly as he’d come into my life, he was gone back to California.

It had been years since I’d seen Elec.

When tragedy struck our family, I’d have to face him again.

And holy hell, the teenager who made me crazy was now a man that drove me insane.

I had a feeling my heart was about to get broken again.

Stepbrother Dearest is a standalone novel.

**Contains graphic sexual content and harsh language. It is only appropriate for adult readers age 18+

My Review

This is the book that has brought stepbrother stories into the mainstream and has started a trend!

Books that included falling in love with the stepbrother used to be exclusively pseudo-taboo, but now you can find them everywhere, and I believe Stepbrother Dearest has started this trend. This isn’t straight-up erotica. This is a contemporary romance by every definition. Elec is the standard OTT alpha male bad boy with a heart of gold. I fell in love with him alongside Greta, his stepsister!

I would give this book SIX stars if I could. The first part is a new adult tale full of angst, a bad boy, and a virgin. Sounds like all the rest of this ilk? Nooooooo! With humor and tears, Penelope Ward has given us, especially in the second part, a second chance romance, death (not the main characters), and destruction of relationships and feelings. I had wondered through the whole book how ANYTHING these two put each other through could ever be repaired.

After the classic epilogue, I had been left with warm, fuzzy feelings, and a kindle warm from hugging it. Thank you SO MUCH for this clever story, Penelope Ward! It has sent me on an adventure to read 20 stepbrother books before the end of 2015, with Stepbrother Dearest as the centerpiece. My friends had wanted me to read this last year. The book bullies had pushed this book HARD. I haven’t a clue why I waited so long, but now I’ve read it, and I know that it will be read again. And maybe again. And maybe read aloud to my husband. Because it’s awesome.

Whew. I think I had composed all of that without fangirling (maybe a little). That’s hard to do, because this book is a must read. You, too, need the experience of wanting to fling your kindle at the wall pretty much right after meeting Elec in this book. It had taken everything in me not to do that. Okay, somebody shut me up before I start fangirling. I’m out.

StepbrotherDearest

five-stars

About Penelope Ward

Penelope Ward is a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author.

She grew up in Boston with five older brothers and spent most of her twenties as a television news anchor, before switching to a more family-friendly career.

Penelope lives for reading books in the new adult genre, coffee and hanging out with her friends and family on weekends.

She is the proud mother of a beautiful 10-year-old girl with autism (the inspiration for the character Callie in Gemini) and a 8-year-old boy, both of whom are the lights of her life.

Penelope, her husband and kids reside in Rhode Island.

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