Reviews with content warning for Cursing - Carnage

So much goes on in this book and it’s just wow. But there is a plot twist I didn’t see coming that had me stopping my car to listen without distraction. At this point I love all of these books in this standalone series and it’s hard to pick a favorite now. Hayden is my favorite and he’s not even the main main character. I loved this book and the characters and the storyline. All of it.

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ahbee_p_'s review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

2.5

2.5 stars purely for entertainment value.
The FMC needs serious therapy.
The second half of this book was messy, and the flashbacks were repetitive.
MMC isn't "morally grey," he's abusive.
I've read other books from the L.O.R.D.S series, so I went into this with a fairly open mind.. overall, I was disappointed.

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carolxleigh's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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? Yes

4.0

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booknerdcoco's review against another edition

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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? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book seemed like pure smut towards the beginning (not complaining) and i felt like I really got to know the characters, though they jad brief appearances in the previous standalone novels, I didn't get the opportunity to properly get to know the , so I appreciate that opportunity.

Shantel Tessier is (imo) iconic for her plot twists, and I knew something HUGE was coming. And when it arrived...well, it bent me over and had its way. Because I was not expecting it...any of it!!!!!

The story starts off slow, but it does set up the history of the characters really well. I also really liked how this particular novel started to really build on the relationships she characters had from the other interconnected standalones.

Dark and gritty are what springs to mind when I think about this book (very dark, in fact).

I got to the final 47 pages, and all hell was breaking loose. I was so worried. I would be left with questions that would go unanswered. Whilst I do have questions, a lot were answered in those final 47 pages. I think the other questions (like all of the series) are to set up to maintain a relationship with future novels. I'm OK with this. It's ST'S MO.

Now, for those of you who dont know, ST is the queen of the tease
And what the plot twists hit, oh man, do they slap- HARD!!!

Plot 4.5/5
Spice 5/5
Book boyfriend 4/5

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colorcrystals's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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

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marieb_reads's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I cannot recommend this book enough

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chauntel's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

3.25

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firequeen_ash23's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

5.0

Title: Carnage
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!

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