Reviews with content warning for Bullying - The Ritual

4 Stars!

I can’t say this was the best dark romance book I have ever read, but I can say with 10% certainty that after reading half of the book and then attempting to sleep. I got no sleep. I couldn’t stop thinking about what might happen next, and how Blakely and Ryat were going to either fall in love or kill each other... Most likely the latter.

While there were so many amazing kinks in this book, I did find myself tensed and anxious at how some of them were portrayed and played out in the book. I wish at some point during their relationship a little more discussion about boundaries, hard limits, and safe-words would’ve happened, but alas… it will not keep me from reading the next book in the series next time in I’m the mood for something super dark and kinky!

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mykindamagical's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

Read the triggers. It borderlined non consent in many chapters (aside from fantasy play). You either like the guy or you don't. He was meh. Just did too much because he "could".
Id recommend for a fun yet cringy laugh out loud "dark romance" with A LOT of spice. It's almost so over the top it's not exciting.

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girlharbour's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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tamiesue's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This is a VERY dark book. With Many triggers, please check trigger warnings before reading. But I thoroughly enjoyed it. The romance although dark, was sizzling!

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booklloveer101's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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amanda_reads13's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Brighton University is home of the LORDS. A secret society that runs on violence and includes the most powerful men in the world. Trying to escape her expectations of her parents, Blakely is thrown into this chaotic world when she agrees to be Ryot's "chosen".

You need to check the TW before reading this one and check your feminism at the door, because this was dark.

The LORDS, a glorified frat, have high expectations for their members. Their initiation process includes forced celibacy and murder. After three years of celibacy, each man gets to chose a "chosen" (essentially a sex-slave). Of course Ryat, psychopath that he is, is a member.

Blakely's boyfriend of 3 years (another psychopath) is also a member of the LORDS, but she has no knowledge of it. She is also in a forced arranged marriage with this douche, no biggie. How has she been in the dark this long, considering both her boyfriend and father are members?

Anyways, Ryot choses Blakely as his "chosen" after being told to do so from her FATHER. WTF! and it spirals out for control from there.

Ryot is your typical controlling, possessive, jealous asshole. Blakely is the innocent virgin who is magically into all these intense acts .. ya ok... She is honestly the most idiotic and naive character.

Their connection was very forced, shallow, and based on a physical connection. He protects her, she gives herself to him, that pretty much sums it up. This is basically Stockholm Syndrome at its worst.

Tropes: dark, secret society, touch her/you die

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bergha1998's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Woah this is a dark romance, check those TWs. The plot was great, I’m not usually into college romances, but it being so secret society focused kept it very interesting. The spice is crazy: drugs, primal, dubcon, breath play, and a lot of BDSM. I loved how possessive Ryat was from the start.

Dark Romance, Arranged Relationship, Secret Society, 4 1/2 🔥

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