Stepbrother Dearest
By Penelope Ward
Release Date: September 29, 2014
Book Summary
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+
Buy Links:
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ITunes: bit.ly/YER0mT
Review
For Greta, having her 17 year old step brother, Elec O’Rourke come to live with her was both a blessing and a curse…a fantasy and a nightmare, and it ends up being the most heartwarming and heartbreaking experience of her life. Elec didn’t want to come and live with his father and his new stepmother and stepsister, which he makes abundantly clear from the start and then he takes it even further by making Greta his target. All of his hatred for his father and his previous actions are taken out on her with every condescending and nasty look and remark. Elec wants nothing more than to close himself off to everyone and count down the days until he can return to California and the life he prefers. But Greta refuses to give Elec that play; she wants to understand why he’s the way he is and every time he pushes, she pushes back, and slowly, a connection is formed that both elates and depresses Greta because she knows Elec is leaving, and he’ll take her heart with him when he does. But for one night, they’re the only two who exist, and Elec gives Greta something that alters her life forever, even after he leaves, and they don’t see each other for 7 years. But Greta and Elec’s story doesn’t end there; in fact, it really is only just beginning. When they finally see one another again, everything has changed, except one thing – the pull they feel towards each other…the need they feel to reconnect and pick up where they left off…the desire to see if there’s more to them than their one night together. But seven years seems like a lifetime; they’ve both moved on…grown up…changed. But how do you move past the one person who makes your heartbeat just a little bit quicker…the one person you compared all of your other boyfriends to? Greta may have figured out how to live without Elec in her life, but can she do that all over again, deal with the heartache once more, now that they’ve seen each other again? You’re going to need to read their story to find the answers.
This was my first read by Penelope Ward, and I loved every aspect of it. It’s a very unique and captivating storyline that has readers experiencing every emotion Greta feels as she tries to control her attraction to Elec when they first meet and heal her heart when he leaves. Greta is a pretty spectacular heroine. She may seem innocent and a pushover, but she’s incredibly strong, protective, and kind. She sees underneath Elec’s smug attitude and asshole ways and tries to understand what prompts him to be that way towards her and his father. Penelope Ward writes Greta’s heartache in such a way that it becomes a living and breathing thing, not only to her but to readers as well, and just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse than when she had to let him go the first time, they return to each other’s lives and their reunion is full of pain and closed off feelings, which make sense, but it was still extremely difficult to read. Elec is an enigma to me. I wanted to hate him at first, but I saw through his façade pretty easily. I needed to understand his decision of no contact after he went back to California; it didn’t make sense to me after witnessing their connection and their feelings for one another. But then Penelope Ward gave me what I needed, and she did so in a truly magical and creative way and her approach to Elec and his words solidified him as a top book boyfriend and her as an author that I definitely need to read more of.
Stepbrother Dearest is a multifaceted, angst filled story that will break readers’ hearts and slowly put them back together. Greta and Elec are complicated characters who teach each other valuable life lessons even through heartache. It’s a truly fabulous read!
A complimentary copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.
5 poison apples
Author Information
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 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.
She is currently working on her fifth novel, Jake Understood. She is the author of Gemini, Jake Undone, My Skylar and Stepbrother Dearest.
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