Stepbrother Dearest by Penelope Ward

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+

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Review by Brittany

Greta Hansen’s mother remarried a few years ago, and her stepbrother is now coming to stay with them for about a year while his mother is out of the country. She’s anxiously awaiting his arrival, but is severely disappointed when she finds out he’s a total butt.

            Elec is seventeen, just like Greta, but he holds a deep hatred for his father. Unhappy that his dad left his mom and found a new family, he’s determined to make Greta’s life miserable.

            As the book hints, these two slowly develop feelings for each other, but they don’t act on them until the last night that Elec is in Boston. That night they explore each other’s bodies, taking and giving things the other will never experience again.

            Years pass and Greta and Elec never speak. Both are dealing with the pain of losing the other. They don’t realize it, but their feelings for each other are more than they ever thought.

            When an unfortunate accident causes the two to come face to face for the first time in years, they are forced to realize the feelings that they had never went away. Can they handle the changes that have occurred in the other’s life?

            This book was absolutely amazing! It was funny and it was heartbreaking. I got to feel many things while reading this book. I love Elec! He’s hysterical! There were many places where I was laughing my butt off.

            This was one of those books I hated putting down. There were many places where I just wanted to crawl into the book and scream at them, because it’s one of those things, dramatic irony. Where we know what the characters don’t know. It drove me insane.

            The only thing that really bothered me about this book, and the reason I am giving it four stars, is that Elec wrote a book. No, that’s not the reason. But about ten to fifteen percent of the actual book, was Greta reading Elec’s book, and I felt cheated. Elec’s book was about his past life and his time with Greta. While I loved getting a look at Elec and why he is how he is, I didn’t want to read things I had always already read.

            But other than that, I love Elec and Greta. This isn’t one of those incest novels. I was wary at first to read it, but I heard so many amazing things about it and just had to give it a try. I was not disappointed!

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Video Review by Brittany

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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 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 and loves friend requests from readers!

FOLLOW ME FOR UPDATES ON NOVEL #5 - JAKE UNDERSTOOD.

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