Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - The Ritual

Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

The Ritual by Shantel Tessier

146 reviews

thirdeyeangel23's review against another edition

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? No

2.75

This book is a lesson in overcompensating. It felt as though this was trying to prove how dark it was without actually doing much of anything.

First off, I like Ryat and Blakely for what they are but there was so much lacking in their dynamic. For this to be a dark romance with an almost enemies to lovers dynamic, there was no tension or true chemistry until about 50% in. The fact that the FMC is drugged for a good portion of the book probably contributes to that. That just segues right into the fact that this did not need to be 600+ pages. If you took away most of the points when our FMC is knocked tf out and the repetitive (and pretty boring) sex, this could’ve been wrapped up in 300 tops. That being said the latter half of the book served far more of what I expected than the former. Tessier definitely has some storytelling chops, but the execution took so much away from this one.

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danayorton's review against another edition

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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

3.0

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hereiskyra's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Like everyone else who’s been late to the game, I heard a lot of mixed reviews on this book so I knew I’d either love it or hate it. Fortunately for me, I love it! I didn’t even know I had the ability to read a 600 page book in less than a week but I could not put it down.

It started off a little rough, I think a lot due to Matt being an absolute soggy biscuit of a person. But as soon as Ryat came into the picture. I was hooked.

There was so much in this book and somehow I still wanted more. I genuinely think I might need some therapy… but I loved the twisted romance, the secret society and everything in between. There were just, I mean JUST, enough plot elements to balance out the spice to make this perfect for me.

The spice in this book started early (like 16%, I think) and once it started it didn’t stop. I usually need a little more slow burn and some time to form an attachment but this one was different. I felt the chemistry right off the bat and just hoped it would get deeper. It was kinky and chaotic and I loved it.

And as crazy as he is, Ryat is top tier. 🙌🏼

Tropes/Themes:
Enemies to Lovers (vibes)
Secret Society
Possessive MMC
V*rg*n FMC
Degradation/Praise
Kn*fe/Bondage/Breath Play

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

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morgydunn's review against another edition

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Absolute brain rot. The writing felt like a horny highschool Wattpad submission. Nothing that should warrant a multiple book series…

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allymurphy's review against another edition

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4.0

is this even close to a somewhat decent book? no. did I have a great time and fall in love with Ryat Archer? hell yeah I did
it lost a star due to

everything that happened with her mom at the end and that Matt didn’t have a painful enough death, it felt a little like throwing everything at the wall and seeing what stuck with not a ton of success. the rest of the book was fantastic

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