Thank you, Berkley, for an arc of Corrupt by Penelope Douglas. This novel is the first in a series that was originally independently published. It is a dark romance, so please check the trigger warnings before picking it up.

Erika Fane has a bit of a crush -or obsession- with her ex’s older brother. Michael Crist is a handsome college basketball star and a member of the four horsemen, a group of friends who like to go around the town on Devil’s Night and terrorize the city.

Erika, who fears Michael as much as she adores him, finds herself caught up in their game of revenge. With multiple POVs and a dual timeline, this novel is compulsively readable and definitely spicy.

The plot of the novel was mid-tier, but if we’re being honest, no one is picking this up for the plot. The spice, however, delivered and was the most entertaining aspect of the novel.

It took me a while to get into this book because I felt little investment in the characters' plot, motives, and dynamics, but once I got to the halfway mark, I found myself enjoying the experience a little more. More specifically, I enjoyed Michael’s journey as a character because I felt Erika’s to be a little stagnant.

I’d recommend it if you’re looking for a dark romance, and I’ll probably continue the series.

I don’t normally mind dark romance books but this one was too much for me. I was disengaged from the first flashback where the Horsemen were being pedophilic and the reason for their power over the teachers being that they’re good at basketball. I think if the reasoning for their power had more oomph and they weren’t adult men picking girls out of a high school I could have gotten into the book more and been interested in the Horsemen.

Corrupt by Penelope Douglas was a dark, yet entertaining read. This novel was very intriguing, and I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. The characters are all complex and very well developed. This book is definitely a page turner, and I enjoyed the intensity and emotion felt throughout.