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

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.

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

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

Words can’t describe how my taste in books DRASTICALLY changed after reading this. Holy smokes does she know how to write a book! The whole series has me in a chokehold. Between her descriptive righting and the dialogue…. Chefs kiss!

I enjoyed this story more than I should've. It was well entertaining to read and learned a lot from it.... If I'm being honest, hehe. But let just said the Music choice was spot on as well.. My type of music but my favorite was when I read In This Moment and the song. Omg. I put it on my spotify while reading that chapter. 😋😍

Wasn’t sure what to expect with this one. It definitely has some steamy chapters and I loved the chase to get the girl but there are definitely some disturbing moments as well. The sex scenes start to become ridiculous eye roll moments after a while adding nothing. The female character is very blaze and disappointing for me. She’s another beautiful damsel in distress: shallow, dumb, and a doormat. She doesn’t seem to learn from mistakes either. She’s basically another version of Bella Swan or Anastasia Grey. Ryats character had a lot more depth. as much as I hate to admit, I loved him. He’s quirky, arrogant, strong, smart, creepy possessive, and yet dependable.I didn’t see where this even resembles a love story or even dark romance between these two because there really is no story. The author failed to build a relationship between these two characters other than constant kinky sex scenes. For a 600 page book there isn’t much substance to it. A lot of filler could have been left out with the same result. Similar to Twilight, there’s no relationship one day and the next they are in love and married. It didn’t make sense. It does have its happy ending though (sort of) but I don’t think I will waste time reading the other books of the LORD series.

If your looking for lots of spice and an easy ready then this might be for you. The first half of the book was almost too much to take.. definitely read the trigger warnings. Page turned but wanted more development of the characters.

First of all this book is dark. Know your trigger warnings. I wasn't aware of what I was really getting into when I first started this book, and I almost did not finish it. I had a love hate with MMC. I loved him so much 😍 but wanted to punch him too. It's spicy 🌶️ . Like it's spicy, dark... it blurs some lines. However, if you finish this book, you'll be glad you did. It's so much more than the first 1/2. Just read it... but again: KNOW YOUR TRIGGERS AND YOUR WARNINGS.

This was such a great story and wellWritten. I was thoroughly impressed. Hated for it end. Can’t wait to read more about the Lords

This book was 80% smut and 20% plot but you know what, I enjoyed it. I loved the college secret society, falling for someone you shouldn’t be with and the thrill of the story. I had fun and that’s all that matters. The audiobook made this a great experience.Will I read the rest of the series? Likely4.5 ⭐️

First dark romance ive ever read and it did NOT disappoint. I loved every bit of it. I cant wait to read the rest!

This story is full of secrets, intrigue, and suspense! Loved all of the characters and how they developed throughout the book. Definitely read alone. It will have you blushing.

This book was 80% smut and 20% plot but you know what, I enjoyed it. I loved the college secret society, falling for someone you shouldn’t be with and the thrill of the story. I had fun and that’s all that matters. The audiobook made this a great experience.Will I read the rest of the series? Likely4.5 ⭐️

Make sure to read TW before reading this because I’m sure it won’t be for everyone.I’m going to rate this in context of the world it was written in. It’s a very dark, mafia-like world where the L.O.R.D.S rule & make things happen. They control everything and whatever they say goes. If you look at it that way, you can somewhat understand the FMC’s character & maybe forgive the MMCs’s red flags. I’m still unsure how they fell in love in the middle of all the chaos but I’m sure the very spicy spice helped along the way. 😅I could’ve very much dnf’d this w/ the number of times I rolled my eyes but she told a twisty story & like I said, there was some well-written 🌶️. So make sure you’re in the mood for some dark spice before you pick this up.

I didn’t really know what I was getting into when I first started reading this. It has been in my TBR for forever. This book is so addicting and I loved it. My emotions were all over the place and it was just such an amazing book. 10/10 would definitely recommend!!!

The story was amazing. Loved it and it sucked me in from the beginning. I devoured it. Heat was 10/10. It's a dark read, so read the triggers, but I loved all of it!!!Would've been a 5 star but the editing was lacking. It switches POVs in the middle of paragraphs, spelling errors and switches to third person out of nowhere.

The story was amazing. Loved it and it sucked me in from the beginning. I devoured it. Heat was 10/10. It's a dark read, so read the triggers, but I loved all of it!!!Would've been a 5 star but the editing was lacking. It switches POVs in the middle of paragraphs, spelling errors and switches to third person out of nowhere.

After having several people and content creators recommending this series, I decided to give it a try. I could not put this one down. One more chapter was my motto for 24 hours, with the exception of the six hours I forced myself to sleep. I enjoyed the storyline, but I absolutely loved the dynamics between Ryat and Blakely. The only con is I have had to add one more book husband to the collection, and I am going to assume several more within this series.

After having several people and content creators recommending this series, I decided to give it a try. I could not put this one down. One more chapter was my motto for 24 hours, with the exception of the six hours I forced myself to sleep. I enjoyed the storyline, but I absolutely loved the dynamics between Ryat and Blakely. The only con is I have had to add one more book husband to the collection, and I am going to assume several more within this series.

Stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Spice 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️I’m writing my review after reading this book again. The Lords are ruthless. And Ryat is not an exception to that rule-unless it comes to Blakely. There’s nothing he wouldn’t do for his girl. He embodies the I will 🔥the world down for her. And she’s just as devoted to him.This book had action from the beginning. There’s ☠️, masked man, primal play and lots of kink! It’s dark so check triggers but this book is one of my favorites!

I will never get over Ryat Archer.My first read of the Lords series and first ever book read of Shantel’s, I freaking loved this! Allllll the spice, the story was brilliant and I loved the plot overall. A lot was going on but I really enjoyed all of it. The twists and turns along the way too made it exciting. And man, I fell in love with Ryat every page. I need a Ryat in my life 🥵 Can’t wait to read the rest of the Lords series!

This book is so damn goooooooooodddddddd!I originally read the book in kindle and then wound up buying it on Audible because it was WOOOOORRRTTTHHHH IT🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️Book was so good: like had me GAGGED 😱It was amazing…the scenes were SO HOT (WHEW!!)And story line is phenomenal! I’m not even joking. It was an interesting plot and I loved the ending…it was exactly what I wanted to read!!!I PRAY (even though I prolly shouldn’t be reading smut)…I PRAY she writes a story on the twins AND the daughter. Like PLEASE LET ME READ ABOUT THEM 😩

I can see why BookTok picked up this series. It was a little much for me, but that's ok! I'll probably read the next book after a pallet cleanser. This isn't to say it was a bad book, because it well written and a decent book. I just had to put it down every 1-2 chapters and pick it back up later on. I would recommend to my friends if I *knew* they were into this genre of books.

I definitely had a love-hate relationship with this book. On one hand I could barely stomach at times how Ryat treated Blakely especially at the beginning of the book, but then as the storyline progressed I began to love them as a couple more and more. A few times I found myself wondering what exactly I was reading, but Ryat’s growth as a man throughout this story more than made up for the cruelty he imposed on Blake at the beginning. He proved himself worthy to her many times over in this book and I only wished book 2 in the series was a continuation of their story. They were such an amazing couple! I loved the final epilogue! On to Book 2 in this series!

This is a ritual I’d like to perform every day!Just kidddiiinngggggg!So let’s talk statistics first,The book was easily a 5⭐️ read for me. The characters were intensely made, the banter was priceless, the romance was steamy, and the plot was incredible. This one kept you coming back for more. The plot twists at the end of the chapters the author throws at you makes you eager to read the next one. I found myself having a hard time putting it down. I have always loved a good Dark Romance novel, but this one? This one took the freaking cake.I will say the spice on this was waaaaaay spicer than I thought it was going to get. A definite check your trigger warnings first kinda thing. But the open door romance it describes was HOT! 🥵 I would read this book all over again just to get the touch her and ☠️ vibes Ryat gives off throughout the entire thing!I honestly did not expect myself to come to this conclusion but I must say, this book is a series I could easily see myself reading over and over again. And I can already see it climbing the ranks as one of my all time favorite dark romance novels yet. Incredible story, intense plot twists, steamy romance, and banter for days definitely kept me begging for more and clinging to the edge of my seat wondering what comes next. If The ritual was this good, I’m eager to see what The Sinner holds in store for us.Until the next one y’all,Muah 💋

This is a ritual I’d like to perform every day!Just kidddiiinngggggg!So let’s talk statistics first,The book was easily a 5⭐️ read for me. The characters were intensely made, the banter was priceless, the romance was steamy, and the plot was incredible. This one kept you coming back for more. The plot twists at the end of the chapters the author throws at you makes you eager to read the next one. I found myself having a hard time putting it down. I have always loved a good Dark Romance novel, but this one? This one took the freaking cake.I will say the spice on this was waaaaaay spicer than I thought it was going to get. A definite check your trigger warnings first kinda thing. But the open door romance it describes was HOT! 🥵 I would read this book all over again just to get the touch her and ☠️ vibes Ryat gives off throughout the entire thing!I honestly did not expect myself to come to this conclusion but I must say, this book is a series I could easily see myself reading over and over again. And I can already see it climbing the ranks as one of my all time favorite dark romance novels yet. Incredible story, intense plot twists, steamy romance, and banter for days definitely kept me begging for more and clinging to the edge of my seat wondering what comes next. If The ritual was this good, I’m eager to see what The Sinner holds in store for us.Until the next one y’all,Muah 💋