Shantel Tessier

Carnage

This is weirdly the closest thing to a second chance romance that I will get in this series😂

So the first half of this book I felt was incredibly tame for what this series has consisted of and I really liked it, but once that part 2 hit the switch was flipped and I was worried this would feel like book 2 antics would occur again. But instead of that the book focused primarily on plot. Don’t worry the spice was there just not what I expected it to be. It’s really hard to explain my thought process on this. Outside of the relationship between the characters the plot is really dark compared to what has happened especially on page, so please read that content warning page because it is detailed, explicit, and can be triggering for readers. 

Priscilla Stanfield

4/5⭐️ • 5/5🌶️

This is weirdly the closest thing to a second chance romance that I will get in this series😂

So the first half of this book I felt was incredibly tame for what this series has consisted of and I really liked it, but once that part 2 hit the switch was flipped and I was worried this would feel like book 2 antics would occur again. But instead of that the book focused primarily on plot. Don’t worry the spice was there just not what I expected it to be. It’s really hard to explain my thought process on this. Outside of the relationship between the characters the plot is really dark compared to what has happened especially on page, so please read that content warning page because it is detailed, explicit, and can be triggering for readers. 

jenna

Renata

holy fuck, this was one of my most anticipated reads and it didn't disappoint me, i feel like ive been through hell and back to get that ending but it was damm worth it, saint and ashtyn were amazing and most of all made for eachother i loved this i cant wait for the other books agh 

- "Ashtyn Lane Price belongs to me. She just doesn't know it yet. But she will, very soon. And once I make her mine, the world will know it too."

- "but she's exactly what I want, and I compare every woman I see to her. Not a single one even comes close."

- "I've waited years to have her. She's mine. I refuse to let the Lords take the one thing I want away from me. Not when I've already given them so much. They can have whatever I have, except for her. She's off-limits."

- "Ashtyn was made to be mine. I've always felt that way about her. And any man would be lucky to have her. That's why I'm going to take her. I saw her first and wanted her first. I'm in it for the long game. Even if that means I have to chain her up in my basement to keep her away from the world that seems to want to take her from me."

- "I love you, Ashtyn." It's the first time I've ever said those words out loud, to anyone. But I've felt it for years.
"Please..."
"Remember that, sweetheart. I love you so much that I have to hurt you." She shakes her head, tears filling her pretty blue eyes. She's starting to come back around, and my chest tightens. She'll survive. But I can't promise my love won't be what kills us both. The Lords have taught me to fight until death to get what I want. I'll do the same for her."

- "I love you, Ash."
"No," 
"Yes." "I've been in love with you." "And when forced to choose-keep you or let you go—I will hurt you before I live a life without you."

- "Would you end my life if it was the only way to save me?"
"No," "I never want to exist in a world without you in it, sweetheart."

- "Everything with Ashtyn has always been complicated. I love her. I hate her. It's always been black or white. Never any gray areas."

- "She's always been the girl of my dreams-the one I
wanted and needed."

- "But it's only a half-truth because she won't actually leave Carnage. She'll be buried here in the cemetery next to me, where we'll remain together forever just like we said that day in the cathedral when she became mine. We took vows, and I took them very seriously, even if she thought they were a joke."

- "We all enter our office, and I walk to my desk. I catch sight of the picture on my desk of the four of us from years ago. The one Elli had seen when she visited. It's our senior year at Barrington. She's got a smile on her face. The guys aren't smiling, but you can see how protective they are of her. I knew that if anything ever happened to me, they would make sure she was taken care of. That's all I ever wanted. To make sure that she got everything I ever wanted her to have-the world.
Now she's gone. Naked, bleeding, and probably crying. She needs me, and I'm nowhere to be found.
Maybe Haidyn was right...I should have never brought her back here. She deserves a life outside of here. Without me."

- "Ashtyn Lane Price.." I start, and her lips part. "I'm in love with you." She blinks, and the first tear falls. "I've been in love with you all my life. This is me, a Lord, asking you to be my Lady. Will you marry me, sweetheart?"

- "I don't deserve the life I have. I get to lie in bed with my wife at night, holding her, loving her, and talking about our future while during the day, I'm covered in another man or woman's blood, making them pay for their betrayal. I'm not sure what I did to deserve the life I have, but I'll do anything to keep it."

- "I was born a Spade brother, but I will die a husband and a father. And when I am buried in our cemetery and arrive at the gates of hell, I'll smile because I'll already know what to expect from the devil. A very short life with my family is worth an eternity of damnation."

This is like a 3.75 to me. Doesn’t compare to The Ritual or The Sacrifice, but I still found myself needing to flip the page over and over and had to know what was next. Main disappointment was how disconnected I felt from the MMC and the FMC I didn’t find myself caring about them like have have past characters on the series. The only time I felt anything for Ashtyn was when she left Saint at the end of part one. Other than that, they were hard to appreciate. Spice was great, the the romance/relationship was meh. 

Kristen G

Be sure to check the triggers because boy it was a lot! I was so happy to get back to the Lord world - the first half was absolute perfection, with the tension, world building. The second half? It felt so rushed, after what Ash endured. 😭 I still love every single book S Tessier puts out 🥹