As soon as I saw this book on my NetGalley shelf, I physically jumped for joy. This was my most anticipated read of 2024, and I am so honored that I was able to read it early. I read this book start to finish in one sitting. I could not put it down no matter how hard I tried, which is usually the case when I'm reading anything written by Penelope Douglas. By the time I finished reading, I felt like I knew these characters personally, and that I had lived an entire life with them, which again, is usually how it goes with Penelope Douglas characters and I. There were several times throughout the book that I paused to giggle, kick my feet, gasp, scream, slap my hand over my mouth, take a cool down lap around my room, and think out loud as I tried to figure out Penelope's next move/who exactly chapter one's mystery man was. I enjoyed every single second of this book. I have once again fallen in love with a group of fictional men within the Penelope Douglas universe, and I'm perfectly content with that.

4/5⭐️ 4/5🌶️

I listened to this book and had the opportunity to ARC read this and LOVED it WAY more than I expected too. I had never read a Penelope Douglas book before (not even Credence), but having heard about Credence specifically, I thought I knew what to expect based on the title and I was pleasantly surprised that it was so much more than that (and a little misleading, but in a GOOD way!)

Tropes:
- Taboo
- Age Gap
- Best Friend’s Brothers
- Found Family
- Mental Health Rep
- Lots of angst
- Multiple MMCs (but she only ends up with one)
- Multiple POV’s

I may have stayed up too late reading this and sitting extra minutes just to listen to it more. I did not want to stop and was sad when it ended! This book had me on an emotional rollercoaster. One minute I was HOT, the next I was crying. The relationship between the guys and each of their relationships with Krisjen will get you!

This one had me guessing if she was going to pick one of them or if she was just going to have them all. That is ALL I'm going to say, because I do not want to give away the BEST parts!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the author Penelope Douglas for the ARC of this book!!

I don’t know why I did this to myself. Every once in awhile I’ll pick a book or author out of my norm and give it a go. I’ve read other PD books that weren’t bad but this was awful. It’s all over the place and the FMC just enters this troubled family of older men and can heal them through sleeping with them all (mostly) and having randomly inserted deep conversations and breakthroughs. I don’t have the suspension of disbelief to believe an 18 year old is playing therapist to everyone but it’s even less believable with how oddly placed the dialogue is.

Simply put a wild ride! Penelope is nothing like these five brothers on the surface but behind closed doors they are more alike than it seems.
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Thank you #berkleypartner and #NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

Penelope Douglas could make a burlap bag sexy, and I would eat it up.
I loved this book! I loved the first one too!
I think P Doug's character development is only getting better, and the spice is ALWAYS spicing!
10/10 stars!

3.5 stars. The good: captivating premise, interesting characters, lots of emotion. The not-so-good: bizarre character names, unrealistic drama, not a lot of backstory, some odd character interactions. Overall this book held my attention and was tough to put down.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

Pen is one click for me.
And this certainly didn’t disappoint.

To enhance your reading experience, read Tryst Six Venom first. I hope this series expands in the future 👀

I have been a Penelope Douglas fan for several years now, and I can honestly say Five Brothers is one of my favorite books from them (and one of my favorite books I have read in 2024). As unconventional the book may be, you can't deny how well Penelope has fleshed out the main cast of characters. Krisjen, our heroine, is the kind of woman who can find beauty in everything and has lots of unconditional love to spare. While the book doesn't have a concrete plot (i.e., there's no particular goal in mind), you get to watch as Krisjen gets interweaved into the dynamics of the Jaeger family. And you watch her as she makes their lives better and vice versa.

Yes, the title, "Five Brothers," should be a telltale sign of what to expect when it comes to the spice. I'm not a fan of sharing/reverse harem at all but somehow, the way the book was written made it tolerable for me. And when Krisjen finally settled with her one, ultimate love interest—I could not have been happier! I was rooting for him way before the book was released, and him and Krisjen are just the perfect pairing.

If you liked Credence by Penelope Douglas, I'm sure you'll be a fan of this too. As soon as I finished reading, I went back to read all my highlights and favorite parts. This book put me into one of the nastiest book slumps to date because nothing else could compare. Loved, loved, loved!!

I’m not going to lie, this may have been the second why choose romance I’ve ever read (the first was the author’s other book, Credence), so I’m still new to the trope.

That being said, the FMC’s multiple partners definitely kept the story interesting! And I really loved the found family storyline. But I will say I was surprised that the FMC was young. That aspect made me feel a little umcomfy.

Other than that, this was a fast and spicy read. I’d say it was 4-4.5/5 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

(Thank you, Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley, for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.)

Penelope Douglas has become my guilty pleasure. This read was fantastic! I just wish it was a littttlllleeeee shorter😅

This was a bucket full of hot mess, but those spicy bits I was here for ladies 😍🔥 It really gives same vibes as a other one of Penelope's books that I've read before. I liked half of it but I was also on the fence about half of it. So I'd say 3.5 to 4 stars. It definitely has the smut if that's what you're looking for. And not gonna lie, Mason ended up being my favorite!

I received this ARC from NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group to read/review. All of the statements above are my true opinions after fully reading this book.

Douglas, Penelope. Five Brothers. Berkley 2024. 560 pp. ISBN 9780593816578. $19.00.

**1/2

While not terribly written, this new adult novel did not compel me to want to read anything else by the author, in part because I don't feel she delivered on the implied plot that Krisjen was going to sleep her way through a family of five very different, very hot brothers to figure out which one screwed her on the couch in the dark one night (spoiler: it wasn't the one she'd been sleeping with). I love me a good dirty reverse harem, plot-what-plot? tale, but this just didn't work for me.

The barely-there plot involved figuring out where the hard-working siblings get their money from, if Krisjen will figure a career and future for herself, and how to manage her wealthy, prejudiced parents. The writing is deliciously spicy, bantery, scandalous, and sexy, but the story just felt like a fantastical exploration of the exploitation of marginalized, impoverished people. Krisjen is slightly redeemed by her caretaking of her younger siblings, but the brother she eventually picks had an ick factor for me. I found Erin Watt's Paper Princess and sequels to be better written, more interesting, and with more likable characters and deep, mature themes.

I received a free advance reader's review copy of #FiveBrothers via #NetGalley courtesy of Berkley.

This was my second Penelope Douglas and I enjoyed every second of them both.

The characters were so well developed and perfectly flawed. People talk about the spice in her books, and yes, it’s very well done, but her characters feel so real, with 100% believable motivations, There’s no stupid decisions made to further the plot even though those decisions are ridiculous. If you took the spice away, you’d still have an amazing story.

Utterly captivating from the first line, this was a story that once I picked up, I couldn't put down! And it was LONG, but every page was well worth the late night's it kept me awake!

Five Brothers by Penelope Douglas was unlike any other book I've read. I've read a multiple love interest book before but this was something else. This was passion, heat and a deep rooted feeling between every touch, every kiss that our heroine experienced with the Jaeger brothers.

Personally I was rooting for 2 of them to be the happily ever after but it was hard not to fall in love with them all. Iron may have been my favorite, but Macon and Army stole my heart by the end as well! It was hard not to try to find the good in all the Jaeger brothers.

If you want something captivating, to steal your attention, to steal your soul right from the get go, this is definitely your story. Pen Douglas has always been a favorite of mine for her ability to hold her audience mesmerized with the words on a page and she did just that again with Five Brothers! I can't wait to go back and read Tryst Six Venom, shouldn't have put it off so long! What's next? Can't wait!

This is just TURRRRRRRRIBLE. I think I've outgrown the mindless porno. No plot - just smut is not my jam.

It’s always a hit or miss with Penelope Douglas and while I did really enjoy the story and spice, the plot had me a little confused and the writing style wasn’t my favorite. That being said, I really did miss being in this world after reading Tryst Six Venom and I loved seeing all the old characters I loved so much. I spent half the book rooting for every single brother and I’m happy with who the FMC ended up with. I will definitely continue reading any book Penelope Douglas comes out with!

✔️ Secret Identity
✔️ Taboo Romance
✔️ Rich/Poor

I was taken off guard by how much I enjoyed this one. I gravitate to cinnamon rolls and there were none to be found here. However, Penelope Douglas just knows how to hook me right off the bat with complex characters.

Kristjen is the FMC and could have been the quintessential sad little rich girl (big house, absent parents, etc) but she is more than that. Fierce, loyal to a fault - a porcupine that hides a soft underbelly.

I also loved getting to know all the Jaeger brothers. Listen, I'm a reader who is bad with names and gets confused easily so a book like this should have overwhelmed me. However, the characterizations of each were distinct and I loved getting to know all of them through Kristjen's POV.

I fell headfirst into this book - it felt like I was sucked into the story right away, partly because I rooted for Kristjen from the beginning and just had to know what her HEA would be.

4⭐️. Thanks to @berkleyromance and @netgalley for the ebook.

Steam 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Banter 🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️
Swoon 💕💕💕💕

I wanted to like this book more than I did because I really like the other books I've read by Penelope Douglas. This one just didn't do it for me. I felt the storyline had good potential, but I felt like the 18 year old female character spent a lot of time "counseling" all of these brothers. I didn't find this female character that strong of a character and that really hurt the story for me.

4.5 rounded up :)

I am a Penelope Douglas Stan FOR LIFEEEEEEE okay 🥹🥹🥹 this immediately became my top read of theirs. After reading this, I will be diving into Tryst Six Venom soon (both standalones but you do get a glimpse of the brothers in Tryst Six).

I ate this up in a couple sittings. Literally no complaints other than the fact it’s a little lengthy and quite literally the only reason I knocked half a star off.

I knew from the beginning which brother I was falling in love with. Ofc Macon. What does that say about me? 😂😂 I loved all the brothers in their own ways, but Macon stole my heart from page one.

This book immediately starts off zesty and literally had my heart racing.

Despite it being so long, I would 10000% read it again if I could. This is one of those books I wish I could read again for the first time 🫶🏼