Stepbrother Dearest by Penelope Ward Published by Self-Published on September 29th 2014
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Format: ebook
Source: Borrowed
Purchase @ AMAZON or BN
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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.
Liezel’s Thoughts:
“Stepbrother Dearest” …The title alone made me feel a little jittery. Knowing the writing capabilities of the author however I knew that I just had read this one. Reading throughout the night, I am glad that I set all my hesitations aside because behind the story concept that originally creeped me the f* out – what I found was an exquisite (forbidden) love story.
As the title mentioned Elec is Greta’s “stepbrother”. Elec and his dad have never been close but due to circumstances he has no choice but to live with them. First meeting Elec you can’t help but hate his character. He was such an unhappy person and at every turn he attempts to spread misery around him. It didn’t matter how Greta welcoming was. He seemed to make it a point to find certain ways to get under her skin.
You can immediately tell that both were attracted to each other and no matter how terribly awkward that made me feel I just couldn’t stop reading. The way they tried to curb their feeling towards each other over time was great. It made that angst that I love in romance mesmerizing.
“You are the only girl in the entire world that’s forbidden, and fuck me if that doesn’t make me want you more than anything.”
Throughout the book I couldn’t help but think “please, don’t go there!” but when they finally do… it’s a thing of beauty. It wasn’t just about satisfying this physical need rather it was about making that soul deep connection. But of course something like that couldn’t last forever. When Elec leaves it was if my heart was breaking along with Greta’s. The emotions that were described in this book felt so tangible. I too could feel her longing throughout the years.
When they do finally meet again it was wondrous. Elec truly blew me out of the water! It could have gone so many different ways but the way this one turned out was beyond perfection. The little details especially the word scramble was simply amazing.
Do you ever have those moments when you are dying to know what the counterpart of the story was thinking (that is…without reading a whole entire redundant book)? In this book we do get to see into Elec’s mind. I have to say that his POV towards the end was don’t creatively and for me it was the icing on the cake.
I have to say that immensely enjoyed this book and if you had any doubts like I did… Look past it and read this one. You won’t regret it.
The Verdict:
About Penelope Ward
Penelope Ward is a USA Today Bestselling author.
She grew up in Boston with five older brothers. She 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 9-year-old girl with autism (the inspiration for the character Callie in Gemini) and a 7-year-old boy, both of whom are the lights of her life.
Penelope, her husband and kids reside in Rhode Island.
She is currently working on her third novel and loves friend requests from readers!
