Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

The Ritual by Shantel Tessier

70 reviews

cookies101's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Death, Rape, Murder, Gun violence, Violence, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

jess_thefacts's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative 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

4.0

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

ink_mon's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Medical content, Torture, and Medical trauma

quietmarki's review against another edition

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

1.0

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

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Content Warnings

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

kbugz724's review against another edition

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

2.75

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

midnightrose_reads's review against another edition

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

4.0

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

jrandol7's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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

bethxbooksss's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

kenziescoggin's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Domestic abuse, Murder, Child death, Sexual violence, Gore, Pregnancy, Drug abuse, Blood, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Kidnapping, Rape, and Violence

kazandrov's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, Pregnancy, Death, Rape, Torture, Cursing, Drug use, Alcohol, Blood, Sexual content, Stalking, and Violence