The Ritual

What I Loved:Shantel Tessier delivers a gripping blend of dark romance, secret societies, and seductive power dynamics in The Ritual. From the first page, Ryat and Blakely’s chemistry crackles—packed with steamy, boundary-pushing scenes that are both raw and purpose-drivenRyat is a dominant, confident alpha who doesn’t shame Blakely for exploring her desires—instead, he guides her, and that authenticity hit hard for me (). Blakely grows throughout the story, proving herself more than just a trophy—she evolves into a force within their twisted worldPlot & Pacing:The narrative moves at a frenetic pace, pulling you deeper into the L.O.R.D.S secret society. With shocking twists, cult-like rituals, and reveals that kept me turning pages late into the night, the climax was absolutely worth the intensityThings to Know: • Trigger Warning: Contains heavy kinks and darker elements (bondage, sadism, forced-roleplay). Not for the fainthearted

Dr. Smut's Checklist Book Review: The Ritual:1. TWs: this book had all the TWs but they felt too safe. I didn't feel like there was enough danger. 0.75/1 point2. Plot: There was SO much potential here but the plot totally fell flat. I would have liked to see so much more of the plot. 0/25/1 point3. Characters: If Josh from Lights out and Zade from Haunting Adeline had a baby, it would be Ryat so OBVIOUSLY I'm madly in love! 1/1 point4. Smut: The smut is where the book really shined. Which was good because the book was 95% smut. It was actaully really fun smut because it was like a little sampler platter of a bunch of different k*nks. There was a ton of variety in the spice. 1/1 Point5. Fun to read: The spice was really fun and I love Ryat! During some parts of the book I didnt want to put it down but because of the lack of plot, there were some parts that were a bit boring. 0.5/1 point.TOTAL Points: 3.5 stars (rounded up to 4). I liked it and I'm definitely going to continue to series but I'm not going to be thinking about this book for the rest of my life. @dr.smut.miami

Absolutely devoured this book. I ate it up and left no crumbs behind at all. I honestly did not know what to expect when I picked this book up but dammmn it was soooo good.This book gives all of the sexual fantasies. The spice was *chefs kiss* better than anything you could imagine. It is dark & twisted but oh so good.I think we would all love a man like Ryat who would do anything for us. His possessiveness over Blake was so hot and attractive. I loved that he let her explore her sexual fantasies & gave her what she needed.Blake was very much head strong & sassy but I love her for it. She was a ride or die for Ryat. I know I’d serve my man too.Only thing that kept this book from being a 5 star read is that there’s no real plot line but I honestly enjoyed the sexual fantasies & LORD society.

This book ended up surprising me! Even though it has tons of sex, it has more of a plot than I expected! And more complex than I could've expected, too! Also, even though there is drama, it's not the kind that made my heart feel heavy. So I recommend it! It's fun, intriguing, thrilling and sexy! Loved the tension and heat between Ryat and Blake! Loved this masculine and dominant man, and a girl who just looooves being taken by him!

I couldn’t put this book down. Ryat and Blake are so good together. It’s been on my TBR for a while and I’m so glad I finally picked it up. Definitely gave some new ideas. Will be put on my read again list. Now off to check out the next book