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kajakuba's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Death of parent, Violence, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Rape, Pregnancy, Blood, Murder, and Gore
chauntel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Alcohol, Death of parent, Medical content, Stalking, Grief, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Murder, Sexual violence, Blood, Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Kidnapping, Addiction, Bullying, Car accident, Drug use, Gore, Pregnancy, Abortion, Body horror, Medical trauma, Abandonment, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual harassment, and Gun violence
Moderate: Vomit, Suicide attempt, Torture, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Violence, and Suicidal thoughts
whichdirection's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
This book is marketed & listed as stand-alone but I would argue you absolutely need to have read Sin & Ty’s books for a good chunk of this one to make sense. Otherwise the immediate introduction of all these characters & the things they know about Luke and Whitney would make No Sense.
There were a lot of plot holes, and inconsistent characterization.
Additionally Ash & Saint’s relationship (like their Romance and their Love) is developed mainly in flashbacks which I found incredibly unfulfilling. They have plenty of sex but he gives her Zero aftercare and they never really talk/bond.
Overall I was just really confused and disappointed for the majority of this book.
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Sexism
Moderate: Vomit, Death of parent, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Car accident, Blood, Death, Alcohol, Violence, Torture, Murder, Medical content, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, and Drug abuse
Minor: Toxic friendship and Trafficking
missrandomess's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I loved the storyline. The pace of the story. The twists and turns. It was great.
Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual assault, Torture, Murder, and Death
firequeen_ash23's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Author: Shantel Tessier
Series: L.O.R.D.S #5
Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
Spice: 🌶🌶🌶🌶
The first book I ever read by Shantel Tessier was The Ritual, and from that moment on, I've been obsessed with her writing, the characters, just this whole series. I've been looking forward to reading Carnage since I read about the spade brothers. And of course, Shantel Tessier DID NOT disappoint with this 5 star read.
I love that Carnage, like the other books, was filled with mystery. Carnage is riddled with questions, unclear motives, secret agendas by multiple people, some of them unknown, and of course, it's got plenty of villians. I love how each book can be tied together in some way with whether it's the same characters in the same universe, the timeline, or just something that happened in one book but affected others in another book. I couldn't get enough of the darkness in Carnage. It’s raw and gritty, I love it and couldn't help but want more. Shantel is a fantastic smut author! You could forget about the hot and spicy moments in this book, whew 🥵🥵!! I really did enjoy the scenes between Ashytn and Saint, not to mention when Saint let Haiyden and Kashton play, too. The way Saint and Ashytn's owned their toxicity with their selves and with one another was just HOT! I love Saint's depravity. I love Saints' obsession with Ashytn. Yes, he loves her, but he's also obsessed with her to the point it's slightly toxic, but of course, that makes it even hotter!
I also really loved Haidyen and Kashton, the other Spade brothers, in this book. Haiyden and Kashton, though scary and maybe a little crazy, they're both sexy AF, bad@$$, and killers, but they both care about soft spot for Ashytn, especially Haiyden.
I really don't think I have one bad thing to say about this book, though I do wish some things would have been a little more fleshed out with better explanations, but I still loved the book. I CAN'T wait for the next Spade brother book. Shantel Tessier has become an autoread author for me with this series. If you haven't read the L.O.R.D.S series, then I highly recommend Carnage and the rest of the L.O.R.D.S series; they're all 5 star reads!
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Cursing, Death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Rape, Sexual violence, Grief, Murder, and Torture
Moderate: Grief, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Drug use, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, and Sexual assault
Minor: Addiction, Car accident, Alcohol, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy
booklovinmamas's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
Graphic: Rape and Sexual assault
robdftch's review against another edition
4.0
This book was a ride. I had no idea what was going to happen from start to finish. I will say, Ashtyn got on my damn NERVES. The whole time. She didn't know how to follow any type of direction. The definition of brat, but like, in a stupid way. I absolutely cannot wait for the next book in the series. Shantel has very quickly become a 1-click author for me.
Graphic: Rape, Kidnapping, and Sexual assault
livvyreads's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
CHECK YOUR TRIGGERS
HOLY MOLY!! Shantel did it again. She blew me away with this book. Carnage is darker, spicer and all around one of the best books I’ve read this year.
Saint and Ashtyn’s story is not a happy one but they love each other I was on the edge of my seat for the last half of the book and all of the twists and turns had me guessing the whole time. Just when I thought I had it figured out bam plot twist. Saint is hands down the best lord to date. He’s so complex and twisted but his love for Ashtyn is strong even after everything they went through. I truly believe Ashtyn had the best character development and after everything she was still confident in her sexuality and wasn’t ashamed of what she liked. Learning about carnage and how the spade brothers came to be was just as twisted as I expected and I can’t wait for the next book.
Graphic: Sexual violence, Confinement, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Death, and Sexual assault
kaadee's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.0
Also, the plot is so all over the place, last 100 pages never make sense but I stay for the smut.
Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Abandonment, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Violence, Gaslighting, Grief, Sexual content, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Stalking, Torture, Toxic relationship, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Blood, Death, Medical content, Mental illness, Car accident, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
laylareadsthings's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Overall this series is basically a perfect five stars for me. It’s top tier dark romance and my favorite to recommend when someone is ready to dive into DARK dark romance (please take TW and content warnings very seriously, they are lengthy and there for a reason). The smut is iconic, I don’t think anyone comes close to Shantel in this genre. So it pains me to say that this wasn’t my favorite of the series. And LOOK like I said I LOVE this series, so by ’least favorite’ I mean no insult, there were just some issues for me and each new addition is competing with perfection. Spoilers will be hidden, open at your own risk.
One of the reasons I’ve enjoyed this world is the attention to detail with the plot. The long conning and planning, the way characters maneuver around an incredibly strict set of rules. In Carnage, some of the character motivations and decisions felt more juvenile to me than previous books. More chaos than control. This may be because you’re juggling more characters here so the story doesn’t feel as tightly woven. There is more reiteration in this book than previous ones of the FMCs consent and interests, which some may find repetitive but I think is extremely important with this story. Ashtyn and Saint will make you work for their love, and I’m going to be thinking about them for a long time. Saint is SO GOOD, might be right behind Ryat for me as #1. And Ashtyn is really unlike any FMC I’ve read before which I mean as the highest compliment, especially in this genre where FMCs can feel repetitive to me.
There’s incredible interconnectivity from the other books in the series, people pop up for a reason and it doesn’t feel frivolous. This book is written as a standalone, however I recommend you read the prior books to get the full impact. If you go in blind, the ending may feel confusing to you - but I actually think it would be a wild ride to go back and piece everything together knowing how this book wraps up.
I am so freaking thrilled to continue in this world and I’m dying for the next two brothers’ books (and hopefully many more)!! Once I’ve read a few palette cleansers, I’m excited to go back and do a reread.
Graphic: Death of parent, Sexual violence, Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Body horror, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, Torture, Kidnapping, Medical content, Miscarriage, Murder, Rape, Physical abuse, Sexism, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, and Abandonment