The Ritual
Shantel Tessier, 2021
A secret society, a binding ritual, and a man who calls obsession devotion — dark romance for readers who like their love interests dangerous and their promises absolute. A tense, obsessive romance that moves fast, with a sharp, sometimes witty voice and an undercurrent of dread beneath the devotion.
Feels like dread and melancholy. About love and power.
Who it’s for
You may like it if you enjoy dark romance with dangerous, possessive love interests and a secret-society backdrop. Be aware that it carries content many readers flag with trigger warnings, including obsessive dynamics, so it is not for you if you want a gentle romance.
Why read it
It gives you a charged, dramatic escape into a world where promises are absolute, and the tension between love and dread keeps the pages turning.
A page from the book
The famous definition of love, and someone who won't be measured by it.
They say love is patient and kind. I’m not either one of those things when it comes to Blakely. Shantel Tessier.Tessier is an independent author who publishes her dark romances herself; The Ritual spread through BookTok, where readers trade trigger warnings the way others trade recommendations.
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Where to get it
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Questions readers ask
- Is The Ritual for me?
- You may like it if you enjoy dark romance with dangerous, possessive love interests and a secret-society backdrop. Be aware that it carries content many readers flag with trigger warnings, including obsessive dynamics, so it is not for you if you want a gentle romance.
- What is The Ritual like?
- A tense, obsessive romance that moves fast, with a sharp, sometimes witty voice and an undercurrent of dread beneath the devotion. Feels like dread and melancholy. About love and power.
- What should I read after The Ritual?
- If you liked The Ritual, try God of Malice (Rina Kent), Kingdom of the Wicked (Kerri Maniscalco) and Twisted Love (Ana Huang).
A taste of the feed
What does love look like when it is pure, untamed obsession?
Understand this, Glyndon, there’s nothing noble or tender about what I feel for you. It’s violent volcano of obsession, possession, and deranged lust. If you want love, then I do love you, but it’s the unorthodox version of love. I love you enough to let you within my walls. I love you enough to let you talk to my demons.
God of Malice · Rina Kent
The world resumes; she refuses to let it resume quietly.
Young women died. Life resumed. Such was the way of the world, at least according to men.
Kingdom of the Wicked · Kerri Maniscalco
The hardest sacrifice might not be death.
Love.” The word floated between us on a soft gust of air. “Deep, abiding, unconditional love. You want it so much you’re willing to live for it.” Most people thought the biggest sacrifice they could make was to die for something. They were wrong. The biggest sacrifice someone could make was to live for something—to allow it to consume you and turn you into a version of yourself you didn’t recognize. Death was oblivion; life was reality, the harshest truth that had ever existed.
Twisted Love · Ana Huang
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