A Guide To The Lords Series By Shantell Tessier

Book Reviews
Written By Shenaye Suggs
 
“A LORD is a Leader, believes in Order, knows when to Rule, and is a Deity. They must be initiated in order to become a member but can be removed at any time for any reason. If he makes it past the 3 trials of initiation, he will forever know power and wealth.” 
— The Ritual, Book 1
 

What’s It About?

The Lords series is a dark romance series written by Shantell Tessier. Each book covers a new love story amongst the members of the Lords secret society.

This series is intense. It is also dark. If you’re new to dark romance, just know that the first book in this series [The Ritual] is probably the ‘lightest’ out of all the books. Each book gets progressively darker from there.

These men are not your typical book boyfriends. They are raised in a ruthless environment where it is kill or be killed. They are taught to take what they want and to make no apologies. The women, on the other hand, are taught to be subservient. Their lives are planned out for them. The women we meet in these books, however, decide to rebel against that.

The spicy scenes are intense. I highly suggest you read trigger warnings before proceeding. But, if you can get past all of that, the plots are plotting and they are thick. There are so many twists and turns and lies to uncover. What often starts out as a game, an obsession, or a plan for revenge becomes a story of love while fighting against the very system these characters are part of. The men are possessive and dark and slightly unhinged. The girls love it and are willing to go to the deepest of depths with their guys.

The Lords series is available on Kindle Unlimited. You can find it in my Amazon Shop here, or you can click the images below to go to each book.

Tropes Include: dark romance, college romance, revenge, BDSM, and more.

The Setting

The Lords book series primarily takes place in Pennsylvania amongst many fictional locations including: Barrington University, the Cathedral, the House of Lords, and various establishments and residences belonging to Lord members.

The Major Locations

The House of Lords

The Archer’s Cabin

The Archer’s cabin is a location we’re introduced to in book one [The Ritual]. Our main male character, Ryat Archer, purchased the property to have space for himself. What he didn’t realize was that Blakely Anderson [and their future children] would soon be joining him.

So, welcome to the Archer' Family’s cabin in the Pennsylvania mountains.

The Main Characters

While there are many characters in this book series, there are some that the books center around: Ryat Archer, Blakely Anderson, Easton [Sin] Sinnet, Ellington [Ellie], Tyson Crawford, Laikyn [Lake], Colton, Raylee, Saint, Ashtyn, Haidyn, and Charlotte.

New character images will be added soon as they are completed! Click each image to get a brief description of each character.

The Side Characters

While there are many characters in this book series, there are a some side characters that you’ll find make a big enough impression.

New characters will be added as they are completed! Click each image to get a brief description of each character.

The Future Families

At the end of each of the Lords series books we get introduced to the future families of the couples involved.

New families will be added as they are completed! Click each image to get a brief description of each character.

The Archer Family

We are introduced to the Archers Family in book one [The Ritual]. This family includes Ryat Archer [now 39/40], Blakely Archer [now 38], Reign Archer [18], Royal Archer [18], and Ryann Archer [17].

My Rating For The Series

Full rating coming soon!

Book One: The Ritual

My Personal Rating — ★★★★★ — 5/5 Stars

The Ritual is book one in the Lords series. It is a dark college romance book written by Shantell Tessier.

The Ritual. Where do I begin? First off, I’ve read this book twice — all 600+ pages of it. I loved it just as much the second time as I did the first.

If you’re new to dark romance, the Lords series in general may be a bit too dark, BUT out of all the books in the series, I would say that The Ritual is the least dark out of all of them.

In The Ritual, we’re dropped into the world of the Lords, a secret society that essentially runs the world by placing its members in positions of power — from being senators, presidents, CEOs, etc. All future members must attend Barrington University and complete 3 years of initiation before they are accepted into the fold. These initiations are tough, but once you’re a member you will have power and wealth for the rest of your life.

The first newly inducted member we meet is our main character Ryat Archer. As a new member of the Lords and a senior at Barrington, he gets to take on a chosen as his reward. What’s a chosen? Basically a woman who serves him in every way for the rest of the year. Now, most times, the new members get to pick their chosen from a list of women. In this case, however, Ryat is told who to choose: Blakely Anderson. And the kicker? She’s the current girlfriend [and promised wife through arranged marriage] of his ex-friend, someone he now considers an enemy. But, since Ryat is so devoted to the Lords, he follows through and he makes Blakely his chosen. From there things explode and we’re taken on a wild ride. What first started as a game to Ryat became so much more. And what started out as a way to escape her life became everything and more for Blakely.

I give this book 5/5 stars. There is SO MUCH THAT HAPPENS. I really don’t want to give it all away. There are so many twists and turns and so many lies that Blakely doesn’t know up from down. And just when she thinks she has an answer, everything is flipped upside down. And then to watch Ryat fall completely head over heels for a girl he originally saw as an assignment? SWOON. He is the definition of possessive with ‘touch her and die’ vibes.

I’m telling you. Each chapter just gets more and more intense. And yes, the spicy scenes are spicy. And just know this: if The Ritual is too intense for you then I highly recommend you stop there. Do not move on to the future books because they only get more and more dark. I also highly recommend you read the trigger warnings before diving in.

With that being said, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I absolutely love the world Shantell has created with the Lords.

The Ritual is book 1 in a multi-book series. There are currently six books available, but I have an inkling we may be seeing more come from the Lords secret society. It does not end on a cliffhanger as each book covers a brand new relationship, though future characters are introduced in the books prior. The Ritual is available on Kindle Unlimited. You can get book one in the Lords series here.

Scenes From The Ritual

A Playlist For The Lords Series

Below, you’ll find a playlist full of songs that either matched the vibe of the town, the school, the secret society, the main characters, or the events that occurred throughout the series. You can listen below via Apple Music or Spotify.

Don’t forget to give me a follow on whichever platform you use most and add the playlists to your library as new playlists and music are always being added!

Did you listen to the playlist? Let me know what you thought of it in a comment below or tag me on instagram [@shenayesuggs] or use my hashtags #shenayesuggs or #thatgirlsreads so I can see that you’re listening!

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Shenaye Suggs

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