Book Source: Kindle
Cross-post Review: Goodreads Review
Starred Rating: ⭐⭐
Smut Rating: 🌶🌶🌶
Type of Book: Novel
The Ritual
The ritual by Shantel Tessier was one of those reads everyone was talking about. I noticed it on Tick-Tok and had to get the book. Ever since then, it had been sitting on my TBR, moping to be read. A few days ago, I noticed a few of my book friends reading it and thought I would jump on the bandwagon. To say I was taken on a ride was an understatement. Not a good one.
Ryat and Blakely were the two protagonists in this dark college romance. Ryat joined a secret society referred to as Lords and lived in a fancy hotel off campus. What’s not interesting about that? I witnessed each stage he went through in this cult since his freshman year. This built up to why the book was titled The Ritual because, hey, during senior year, every successful Lord was given a chance to choose a chosen one. Each chosen would have to go through a ritual. In other words, a chosen one was literally a submissive.
That senior year, Ryat was rewarded with Blakely, his nemesis’s girlfriend. If that wasn’t drama waiting to happen, then I didn’t know what was. Or that was what I thought. We jumped from Ryat laughing at his senior Lord at the mention of Blakely to him obsessing over her. I thought that was weird and sudden. Not to mention the whole ordeal with Blakely and her boyfriend. I couldn’t help but cringe at some moments. Like seriously couldn’t we find a better way to reveal hidden truths? Maybe if Ryat had held some interest in Blakely beforehand, I would have understood and digested the obsession a bit. I found the portrayed dominance to be overly done. Even more so with the naïve personality Blakely gave off.
I have no words to describe Blakely at this point. Until the end of the book, I found no interest in her character. Through most of her POVs, I couldn’t help but ask myself ‘why?’ Why? ‘Curiosity always killed the cat, Blakely!’ No one told this girl that. No one and she didn’t seem to hear me. The fact this girl thought gaining freedom was giving another man full control over her was mind-blowing. Like Why? Even Sarah, her best friend, was more intriguing. And that said a lot since that girl was crazy. From her introduction, I was like ‘this girl is mentally unstable’. I liked her. Wished there was even a book about her. I would read it. Even Matt had something going for him.
Even so, the latter chapters of the book were interesting. The whole society thing got me curious. The book could have gone down a more enjoyable road from those chapters. Maybe I’m a psycho at heart and that was why those chapters held me down. Or maybe my opinion of the book was based on me finding Blakely annoying. The fact I had to wait until 50% into the book to have an enjoyable read spoke volumes. Either way, I would recommend this dark college romance to readers who enjoy a bit of a chase and an alpha male who is not afraid to go after what he wants. The plot line was interesting after the 50%, though. Everything happened in college. There were dark themes and interests. Was there romance? Unless you’re a potential book psychopath like me, you won’t find the romance. It was all lust we pretended was romance.
Ryat and Blakely were the two protagonists in this dark college romance. Ryat joined a secret society referred to as Lords and lived in a fancy hotel off campus. What’s not interesting about that? I witnessed each stage he went through in this cult since his freshman year. This built up to why the book was titled The Ritual because, hey, during senior year, every successful Lord was given a chance to choose a chosen one. Each chosen would have to go through a ritual. In other words, a chosen one was literally a submissive.
That senior year, Ryat was rewarded with Blakely, his nemesis’s girlfriend. If that wasn’t drama waiting to happen, then I didn’t know what was. Or that was what I thought. We jumped from Ryat laughing at his senior Lord at the mention of Blakely to him obsessing over her. I thought that was weird and sudden. Not to mention the whole ordeal with Blakely and her boyfriend. I couldn’t help but cringe at some moments. Like seriously couldn’t we find a better way to reveal hidden truths? Maybe if Ryat had held some interest in Blakely beforehand, I would have understood and digested the obsession a bit. I found the portrayed dominance to be overly done. Even more so with the naïve personality Blakely gave off.
I have no words to describe Blakely at this point. Until the end of the book, I found no interest in her character. Through most of her POVs, I couldn’t help but ask myself ‘why?’ Why? ‘Curiosity always killed the cat, Blakely!’ No one told this girl that. No one and she didn’t seem to hear me. The fact this girl thought gaining freedom was giving another man full control over her was mind-blowing. Like Why? Even Sarah, her best friend, was more intriguing. And that said a lot since that girl was crazy. From her introduction, I was like ‘this girl is mentally unstable’. I liked her. Wished there was even a book about her. I would read it. Even Matt had something going for him.
Even so, the latter chapters of the book were interesting. The whole society thing got me curious. The book could have gone down a more enjoyable road from those chapters. Maybe I’m a psycho at heart and that was why those chapters held me down. Or maybe my opinion of the book was based on me finding Blakely annoying. The fact I had to wait until 50% into the book to have an enjoyable read spoke volumes. Either way, I would recommend this dark college romance to readers who enjoy a bit of a chase and an alpha male who is not afraid to go after what he wants. The plot line was interesting after the 50%, though. Everything happened in college. There were dark themes and interests. Was there romance? Unless you’re a potential book psychopath like me, you won’t find the romance. It was all lust we pretended was romance.
Comments
Post a Comment