Title: Corrupt
Author: Penelope Douglas
Genre: Romance
Rating: 5/5
“Redefine normal. None of us know the full measure of our power until we start pushing our boundaries and pressing our luck, and the more we do, the less we care what others think. The freedom feels too good.”
Rika has always been drawn to her ex-boyfriend’s older brother, Michael. He’s handsome, dark, and dangerous which makes Rika even more fascinated by him. She has spent her childhood watching him from afar, never being noticed, not that she knew of anyways. However, Michael has plans for Rika, and she may not like where they take her.
“The most valuable lesson anyone learns in life should be learned as early as possible. That you don’t have to live in the reality someone else had invented. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. Ever.”
Corrupt is by far my favorite Penelope Douglas book to date! A friend recommended I read it because it’s very spicy and I am so happy that I did. The spice level of this book was off the charts. The scenes in the catacombs…pure gold. Penelope Douglas did a great job portraying dark romance without making it uncomfortable. There were a lot of dark romance scenes (think kinky fantasies) but there were never any moments that took it too far. Rika and Michael had a very messed up romance story, but I loved it.
This book is technically the first book of a series, but each book can also be a standalone. Each covers a different romance story of different characters that are present in the first book. For example, the second book Hideaway, is the secondary character Kai’s love story. Kai plays a large role in the first book Corrupt, but we don’t ever learn who his love interest is in it. I have only ready Corrupt, but I may try out the others eventually.
“Those who are patient, plan. And beware the man with a plan.”
The book is told in a dual timeline format. One timeline is in the past when Rika and Michael were in high school. It unfolds the story of what happened to cause Michael’s friends to go to jail. The other timeline is in the present when Michael and his friends are trying to get revenge on Rika, who they believe is the reason Michael’s friends went to jail. Both timelines were equally interesting to read because the present timeline had spicy romance building between Rika and Michael and the past timeline was slowly chipping away at the big reveal. This made it difficult to put the book down.
If you are a fan of dark romance and enemy to lovers tropes, you should definitely read Corrupt!
