A review by booklovinmamas
Carnage by Shantel Tessier

challenging dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

Sadly, Carnage will not be my favorite in the L.O.R.D.S world, and I’m upset it wasn’t because this was one of my most-anticipated books after reading Sacrifice earlier this year. I really wanted to like this book, but unfortunately, I found myself skipping over most of the book. Now, I enjoy a book that has smut in it, especially if written well, but if there is too much smut and a lot of repetition doing the same thing over and over, then I tend to lose interest. I needed a storyline and felt this book lacked it, especially when it’s considered a revenge story. The revenge plot didn’t come until toward the end, and by that time, I was ready to be done with reading the book. 

Shantel Tessier split the book into two parts—the first part was okay and kept me intrigued enough to keep reading the second part, especially with how Ashtyn became Saint’s Chosen. I did feel for Ashtyn because she grew up in this world of the Lords and knew what was expected of her. She was okay with it and had wanted to be Saint’s Chosen. She didn’t have much of a backbone like previous FMCs that I had read in this world, but I believe it had to do with her mother and how she treated Ashtyn. Ashtyn’s mother was the worst, and I couldn’t stand her. 

My main issue was with Saint and how he was described as being an OTT J/P MMC, and he was to a point, especially in the second part of the story. I believe this book would have been better written as an RH, especially with how he shared his Chosen with the other Spade brothers. One of the Spade brothers admitted to having feelings for Ashtyn, too, and Ashtyn liked all the brothers, but she loved Saint (supposedly).  

I wished I had enjoyed this book more because, again, this book was one of the most anticipated reads for 2023. I wanted the revenge storyline more in the story, and it didn’t come until the end, when everything was revealed. This is when Saint showed his OTT J/P side, and I was here for it. You can call me a sadist for it, but I love reading the part ‘Who hurt you’ or ‘Where is my wife’ and reading the MMC go off the deep end to save his significant other/loved one.

Will I read the next book in the series? Yes, because I need to know who Kaston and Haidyn end up with, especially since they did have Chosens, but they were rarely mentioned. Haidyn is the one I am mainly intrigued with after what happened to him in this book.

Story Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Steam/Spice: 🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶 

Standalone or Part of Series: I know it’s been mentioned that this book can be read as a standalone, but I recommend reading the other books set in the L.O.R.D.S world. I loved having Ryat, Sin, and Tyson show up in this book, plus other characters from Shantel’s other series that I need to read now.

Would I recommend this book? Although this book didn’t get a high rating for me, I’m still going to recommend it to readers who enjoy reading Dark Erotic Romance, that has a lot of smut in it.

Genre/SubGenre(s): Romance | Dark Romance | Erotic Romance 

Trope(s)/Element(s): Secret Society | Revenge Romance | OTT J/P MMC | Virgin FMC

Content Warning(s): Please check your triggers before reading this book. Shantel lists TW at the beginning of the book.
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