Credence

Penelope Douglas’s bold bestselling romance set at a remote cabin in the woods—now in a beautiful collector’s edition featuring gorgeous stenciled edges and special new cover art.

Tiernan de Haas doesn't care about anything anymore. The only child of a film producer and his starlet wife, she's grown up with wealth and privilege but not love or guidance. And when her parents suddenly pass away, she knows she should be devastated. But she's always been alone, hasn't she?

Jake Van der Berg, her father's stepbrother and her only living relative, assumes guardianship of Tiernan. Sent to live in the mountains of Colorado with Jake and his two sons, Noah and Kaleb, Tiernan quickly learns that these men now have a say in what she chooses to care and not care about anymore.

As the men take Tiernan under their wing, she slowly finds her place among them.

Because lines blur and rules become easy to break when no one else is watching.

One of them has her. The other one wants her. But he's going to keep her.

Penelope Douglas is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author. Their books have been translated into twenty languages and include The Fall Away Series, The Devil’s Night Series, and the stand-alones, Misconduct, Punk 57, Birthday Girl, Credence, and Tryst Six Venom. Please look for The Hellbent Series, in the works now!

They live in New England with their husband and daughter.

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"Readers who are drawn to emotionally charged narratives with well-developed characters and intricate relationships will find Credence to be a compelling and unforgettable read."—Alaska Commons

Penelope Douglas’s provocative romance novel, Credence is an intense exploration of grief, isolation, and taboo desire. The story centers on Tiernan de Haas, a teenager who grew up with everything money could buy but lacked the one thing she desperately needed: love and attention from her parents. As the only child of a wildly successful Hollywood actor and a prominent producer, Tiernan was raised by nannies and boarding schools, entirely neglected by a mother and father who were completely consumed by their own toxic relationship. Her world shatters when her parents abruptly die in an apparent murder-suicide. Left entirely alone just months before her eighteenth birthday, Tiernan is emotionally numb, used to feeling invisible, and entirely indifferent to her own future. Guardianship falls to Jake Van der Berg, her late father’s estranged stepbrother. Jake offers to take Tiernan in, removing her from the glaring media circus and bringing her to his extremely remote home in the rugged mountains of Colorado.

Arriving at the mountain property, Tiernan discovers she will be living in absolute isolation. Jake’s home is a sprawling cabin deep in the woods, entirely cut off from the rest of the world for six months of the year once the winter snow sets in. She is thrust into a harsh, survivalist environment with three imposing men: Jake, her stern and authoritative step-uncle, and his two sons, Noah and Kaleb. Noah, the younger brother, is approachable, charming, and eager to make Tiernan feel welcome. Kaleb, the older brother, is the exact opposite. He is intensely brooding, openly hostile to her presence, and refuses to speak a single word, harboring deep-seated resentments and a dark past of his own. As the first blizzard traps them in the valley, Tiernan realizes that the sprawling wilderness is both a beautiful sanctuary and a terrifying cage.

In the forced proximity of the snowed-in cabin, the strict boundaries of polite society begin to erode. Tiernan, who has spent her life being silent and obedient, slowly starts to find her voice and her physical strength in the unforgiving wilderness. The men, who are used to their solitary, masculine existence, find their routine completely upended by her presence. A highly complex, tension-filled, and undeniably taboo dynamic begins to unfold between Tiernan and the three Van der Berg men. Starved for any form of genuine human connection and physical affection, Tiernan finds herself drawn to each of them in very different ways, and they, in turn, become fiercely protective of and captivated by her. The profound isolation strips away their inhibitions, leading to relationships that blur the lines between family, guardianship, and forbidden romantic desire.

Noah is the first to cross the line from family to lover, offering Tiernan the gentle, playful affection she has craved her entire life. However, the dynamics do not stop with him. Jake, despite his role as her guardian and the obvious moral implications, finds himself unable to resist the intense, magnetic pull between them. He represents an authoritative, commanding presence that Tiernan simultaneously rebels against and craves. Most complicated of all is her relationship with Kaleb. Their interactions are explosive, characterized by fierce arguments and an underlying, possessive passion. Kaleb communicates with Tiernan through actions rather than words, and she realizes that beneath his terrifying exterior is a deeply wounded boy who understands her own brokenness better than anyone else. As the winter drags on, Tiernan engages in a sexually charged, polyamorous exploration with all three men, using the intense physical connections to awaken herself from her lifelong emotional numbness.

The arrival of spring brings the melting of the snow and the stark realization that their isolated fantasy must come to an end. The roads clear, reconnecting them to the outside world and the societal rules they have completely abandoned. Tiernan turns eighteen, legally freeing her from Jake's guardianship, but the emotional fallout of their winter together is chaotic. The men are fractured by jealousy and the impossible nature of their shared obsession. Recognizing that the dynamic is unsustainable and ultimately destructive, Jake steps back, acknowledging his failure as a guardian and pushing Tiernan to leave the mountain to figure out who she is outside of their suffocating world. Tiernan departs, moving away to attend college and build a life of her own, forcing herself to heal independently.

Time and distance provide much-needed clarity for everyone involved. While she cherishes the role Jake and Noah played in waking her up to life, Tiernan realizes that her heart ultimately belongs to Kaleb. They are kindred spirits—two survivors of severe emotional neglect who found a profound, raw understanding in each other. Kaleb, who has also spent the time apart working through his own intense trauma, eventually tracks her down. In a deeply emotional reunion, Kaleb finally speaks to her, breaking his years of silence to confess his love and his desperation to be with her. The novel concludes with Tiernan and Kaleb building a healthy, committed future together, leaving behind the taboo entanglement of the winter while carrying forward the strength and self-worth she discovered in the mountains.