Five Brothers by Penelope Douglas: My Review of the Taboo Romance

Check out my book review of Five Brothers by Penelope Douglas to see what I thought of Krisjen having her pick of Jaegar brothers in this opposites attract, taboo romance!

*Disclosure: This post may include affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Five Brothers Summary:

One woman learns the secrets of the five Jaeger brothers in the new romance from New York Times bestselling author Penelope Douglas.

On the other side of town, there are five Jaeger brothers: Macon is the oldest and ex-Marine, Army the single dad, Iron who will probably be in prison soon, Dallas, the cruel one I hate, and Trace who was mine for about two seconds. I should go back to my side of the tracks, but I crash on their couch that night instead when everyone’s asleep except for one. He sees me crying and comes at me from behind, but I don’t think it is Trace.

Five Brothers: My Review

Penelope never fails to push boundaries and completely hook me with her books!

Penelope Douglas is that go-to author for romance books that push the line and make you enjoy the taboo with a sly smile on your face. I’ve been looking forward to Five Brothers since the end of 2023 which is why it made my list of most anticipated new romance books of 2024 and she gave everything I come to expect from her books.

Krisjen is an 18 year-old from the “rich” side of the tracks that borders the Bay where the Jaeger brothers live. Her family life is unhinged with her absent father (who stole her college fund) divorcing her mother and a mother who’s also absent from caring for Krisjen’s younger brother and sister.

Life looks a lot better across the tracks but somehow only Krisjen can see it because the Jaeger brothers are all dealing with their own struggles in a pressure cooker of a house with all of them under one roof.

I didn’t read Tryst Six Venom before this one which is the sapphic love story about the Jaeger brothers’ sister but found Five Brothers easy to read as a standalone. I have a feeling more books will be coming after this one too.

This taboo romance had a great opening scene that already has you going WTF? and then has you guessing along with Krisjen who her mystery one-night stand brother is throughout the book (though you pretty much can guess it early on).

But mystery guy aside, that doesn’t keep Krisjen from sampling a few brothers as the story unfolds. So if you don’t like “sharing” then this isn’t the book for you.

It gave me similar vibes to Credence so if you liked that book I think you’ll find some similarities here in terms of the characters and who Krisjen is drawn to.

Sharing aside, what struck me most was how this 18 year-old became the glue, keeping this household and family together when two in particular were really falling a part. Though the overall storyline did seem to veer in a lot of different directions at times, it kept me hooked and wondering how it would end.

There is one very heavy theme that is discussed in this book so I highly recommend checking out the trigger warnings before reading it but if you’re into something a bit taboo, with characters who are all a mess in their own way then check out Five Brothers!

*Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

Related Book Lists:

• Romance Books that Make You Go WTF!
• July 2024 Most Anticipated New Romance Books
• My August 2024 Reading List: What to Read & Skip

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