Reviews tagging 'Blood'

The Ritual by Shantel Tessier

216 reviews

elleecoons's review against another edition

2.5

adventurous challenging dark tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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WILD. definitely read the content warnings first. you really only read this book for one reason

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail

ellykristina's review against another edition

2.5

dark medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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Even porn needs a plot, Shannon

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting

jess_thefacts's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark emotional informative tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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"The Ritual" by Shantel Tessier is a dark and gripping tale that delves into the depths of obsession, revenge, and the consequences of choices made in the name of love. In this captivating novel, Tessier introduces readers to a world where power and control reign supreme, and the lines between right and wrong blur with each turn of the page. Tessier's expertly crafted plot keeps readers guessing until the very end, while her vivid descriptions and well-developed characters bring the story to life in chilling detail. "The Ritual" is a haunting and atmospheric read that will leave readers spellbound from beginning to end. With its gripping narrative and unexpected twists, this novel is sure to captivate fans of dark romance and psychological thrillers alike.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail

ink_mon's review against another edition

3.75

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Torture, Medical content, Medical trauma

quietmarki's review against another edition

1.0

dark emotional fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Please send Shantel Tessier to therapy please! This book is bad, has every trigger warning that exist!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Stalking, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Classism

kbugz724's review against another edition

2.75

dark emotional

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: N/A

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 Honestly... wtf. I had such high hope for this and they just all fell super flat for me. I love a good spicy dark romance and this one def had the spice but NO PLOT. I mean I am exaggerating there was obviously plot. But there would be one plot point to move the story further and then just an absurd amount of the same smut over and over. 
The " plot twist" literally came out of left field so hard that it made no sense. 
This was just NOT my cup of tea. At all. 

CHECK THE FREAKING TRIGGER WARNINGS

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail

m0czy's review against another edition

4.0

dark medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Stalking

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood

Minor: Gun violence, Vomit, Medical content, Pregnancy

midnightrose_reads's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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The Ritual is the first book in The Lords series and is a dark romantic suspense about a secret society, that resembles an assassin guild. Ryat and Blakely attend Barrington University, a college for the super wealthy. Ryat has been in The Lords secret society since freshman year, and in his senior year, he is ordered to take Blakely as his ‘Chosen’.  Blakely, agrees to the arrangement in order to get back at her very controlling boyfriend Matt. Little does she know how much her life will change….

This is a pretty solid start to this series, with plenty of scorching hot spicy scenes, and tense nail-biting moments. It’s not a five star, for me, however. I feel as though because this book is clearly half romantic suspense the page count should have been tightened up considerably. I feel as if the suspenseful parts would have popped even more if it didn’t feel like in parts it was starting to drag. I don’t mind a long romance book, but for books that contain romantic suspense elements the page count needs to be much shorter than 600+ pages to really be effective in those parts.

(Just as an aside: I hope the word ‘whimpers’ is decreased in the next installments of this series. Its constant mentions in this story drove me nuts! LOL.)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail

jrandol7's review against another edition

4.5

dark tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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It's dark and not a closed door romance. The flashback scenes are great for development, but pause some of the plot action. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Drug use, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail

confectionsandfiction's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Abortion, Pregnancy, Alcohol