Reviews
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️“All I ever wanted was to love waking up. To be counted on to make someone’s life better. And I want a man who breathes me. Who craves me and needs me.”There’s nothing like a fast-paced dark romance to pull you out of a reading slump, and Five Brothers was a wild — albeit fun — ride. I had the best time trying to figure out who our FMC would ultimately end up with, and I was genuinely happy with the outcome.I really enjoyed the characters, and I’m always a sucker for a rich-girl-falls-for-the-boy-from-the-wrong-side-of-the-tracks dynamic. What I especially appreciated here was the twist on that trope — the “wrong side” wasn’t truly lower class. Instead, the wealthy were the ones hiding the darkest secrets beneath polished exteriors.My only real complaint is that in the beginning (and parts of the middle), the story leaned heavily into why-choose vibes — which isn’t typically a trope I gravitate toward. That said, I stayed fully engaged and hopeful for a solid HEA, and it delivered.Tropes: rich girl x bad boy, darker elements, girl x brothers, spice, age gapI’d recommend this to fans of dark romance with why-choose elements, or to readers who already enjoy Penelope Douglas’s work.
I'm not sure how to feel abt this book. The spice was good and that's just abt it. The storyline was just
Warning: Do your research and read the trigger warnings. I've only myself to blame.Would give this a 3.5 out of 5 for beautiful writing that keeps the reader hooked.TRIGGER WARNING: Discusses depression, suicide, (please dont read this if you're struggling with these issues right now, your mental well-being is important), age gap relationships and manipulation.I don't know what it is about the 3 books I've read by Penelope Douglas so far, but they both give me the icks and have me yearning to read on. The book is well written, and the female characters do show great strength at times.However, I'm internally screaming at the teenager getting into relationships with men significantly older than her who I feel manipulate/coerce her at times. She ends up doing things that she probably wouldn't have done, had she been directed to by the men. This is quite a real thing, and having experienced that power imbalance myself as a teenager with an older man and dealing with the related experience and trauma, morally, these relationships rubbed me the wrong way. If I ignore the age gap, though, the tender moments between the characters were lovely, and they spice was spicing. The written was good, just the scenario triggered me.Now on to the themes of depression and suicide. It was again beautifully written and so raw and real what Macon was going through. His words hit so hard. Again, this was my own fault, but dealing with my own struggles right now, it triggered me hard. I would recommend Penelope Douglas as a writer and if you enjoy these slightly morally grey 'taboo' subjects then dig right in but maybe skip this one for now if you are going through some mental health problems right now.
I have a book hangover after all of Penelope Douglas' books. Books in this genre can lack a certain depth, but Penelope would never. She writes emotions so well and makes all of her characters so complex. I also can't help myself with a quiet and broody love interest and she nails it every time. Is there questionable content? Yes. Can I suspend my disbelief and moral compass for a book to leave me feeling some kind of way? Also yes.