Hi Y’all! As I pointed out in my last post, I read Devil’s Night #1 and #2 over the weekend. Since I went and read Hideaway first, I figured I should write up my reviews in that order as well. I daresay, I was glad I read Hideaway before Corrupt. Without giving too much away, I just wanna say, I hope the third book, Damon’s story will make everything worth it. Otherwise . . . . But, I’ve digressed. Here’s my book review for Penelope Douglas’ Corrupt.
Title: Corrupt (Devil’s Night #1)
Author: Penelope Douglas
Genre: Dark romance (Suitable for ages 18+)
Format: E-book
Publication Details: Penelope Douglas LLC. November 15, 2015.
Synopsis:
Erika: I was told that dreams were our heart’s desires. My nightmares, however, became my obsession. His name is Michael Crist. My boyfriend’s older brother is like that scary movie that you peek through your hand to watch. He is handsome, strong, and completely terrifying. The star of his college’s basketball team and now gone pro, he’s more concerned with the dirt on his shoe than me. But I noticed him. I saw him. I heard him. The things that he did, and the deeds that he hid…For years, I bit my nails, unable to look away. Now, I’ve graduated high school and moved on to college, but I haven’t stopped watching Michael. He’s bad, and the dirt I’ve seen isn’t content to stay in my head anymore. Because he’s finally noticed me.
Michael: Her name is Erika Fane, but everyone calls her Rika. My brother’s girlfriend grew up hanging around my house and is always at our dinner table. She looks down when I enter a room and stills when I am close. I can always feel the fear rolling off of her, and while I haven’t had her body, I know that I have her mind. That’s all I really want anyway. Until my brother leaves for the military, and I find Rika alone at college. In my city. Unprotected. The opportunity is too good to be true as well as the timing. Because you see, three years ago she put a few of my high school friends in prison, and now they’re out. We’ve waited. We’ve been patient. And now every last one of her nightmares will come true. (Goodreads).
My Review: As the first book to a new series, I was kind of disappointed. To start off, I know this book was labeled dark romance. Still, I think one of the main messages in this story was to shed light on the elite class and the many consequences of reckless, privileged, teenage actions, including those of bullying and harassment. Somehow, the book made it seem as though these actions were not only acceptable but also was never highlighted as problematic.
The backdrop of the novel was in this small suburban town where literally, the rich and powerful ruled everything. In walked the Four Horsemen (Michael, Kai, Damon, and Will), the four most popular, privileged teen boys, who ruled high school. They were the ones who came up with Devil’s Night. I don’t think I need to say more about this. We’ve seen this in motion picture one too many times. Eventually, something goes wrong, somebody(ies) get hurt, and everything goes downhill. The book was structured so that there were multiple flashbacks. Despite this framework, I still got an overall high school vibe from the book. That was not to say there was not any character development because there were, but it felt as if the timeframe was in one sequence rather than over the course of three plus years. So, that was kind of a downer.
My thoughts on the H and h. The chemistry between Michael and Rika was no doubt over the top. Rika has had a huge crush on Michael for as long as she could remember. She even, and while this was not indicated explicitly, I thought she moved to a new city for him. She knew all along that there was a possibility she’d run into him; he was the only person she knew there. And when the two finally encountered, sparks flew.
As for Michael, he was a lost boy who didn’t even know he fell for “the kid”. He thought he was in control of everything. What he didn’t realize was that Rika had a hold of him long before the “incident” took place three years back. It was a game of cat and mouse for him — until it wasn’t.
What drew me to this read was the language. In multiple ways, this was a sort of coming-of-age novel, even if it leaned on a much darker side. It was about two kids who wanted freedom and learned to grow up, given the baggage they carried.
“There are too many people that try to change us,” he went on, “and not enough people who want us to be who we really are. Someone once made me see that, and I wanted to give that to you.”
“Our scrapes and bruises, tattoos, scars, smiles, and wrinkles told our stories, and I didn’t want a pristine piece of wallpaper. I wanted her and everything she was.”
What I found frustrating, was the length Michael allowed his so-called friends to mistreat Rika. The girl was manhandled so many times! Not to mention the fact that she was shoved and pushed to the ground (literally!). And what did Rika do?! She welcomed Michael into her open-arms with not a single confrontation or question raised . . . . No matter how intense the chemistry was between the two, I couldn’t put myself to continue reading. I had to skim through the last fourth of the book . . . .
The only saving grace here was the epilogue. I thought the author did a nice job in bringing closure to her readers for everything that has happened. It humanized Michael and showed that his love for Rika didn’t just sprout out of thin air. Rather, they were just a boy and a girl who found each other without even realizing they were meant to be.
“Well, it’s like you’re saving your energy for something. Holding back,” she says, nestling into me and getting comfortable. “But it doesn’t make any sense. Life is one-way, and there is no return trip. What are you waiting for?” — Erika.
So, here we are. Corrupt had potential, but I did not like the way it unraveled. It could be that I’ve moved on from the YA, high school drama scene, but that was what Corrupt felt like: A dark romance set in a YA book. If I hadn’t read Hideaway first, I think I would’ve given up on this series. It did not meet my expectations for as an introductory novel.
MY RATING: 3 Stars
So are you all about character development when it comes to the novel? Or, does other literary elements, such as setting and plot, weigh in more? Or, does everything need to be two-thumbs up for you to continue reading? Let me know! And, if you haven’t checked out my review on Hideaway yet, you can find it here.
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