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readwithmesashamarie 's review for:
The Sinner
by Shantel Tessier
This review is intended for audiences over the age of 18. Please check the trigger warnings for this novel before continuing. I will try not to include major spoilers.
After finishing The Ritual I immediately started reading the next book in this series. While each novel can be read as a standalone, characters from previous novels will pop up from time to time with minor roles.
I wasn’t sure, honestly, if I’d make it through this novel. What I loved about the previous book was that it toed a personal line so beautifully, and delicately, that I truly enjoyed the experience from start to finish. This book was emotionally exhausting. I knew if I put it down to take a break I wouldn’t be strong enough to come back to it and finish it. So I never put it down.
This book deals with a woman who’s stepfather, a Lord, groomed her from when she was twelve until the day he died. He did so under the guise of readying her for the life of a Lady, of what it would be like to be passed around from Lord to Lord once she was married off. The scenes of her grooming are explicit, and at times made me feel physically ill to read.
In a way it was fascinating to read about two characters who were both so deeply flawed, but just trying to survive together. There were many times in this novel when I felt myself detach from what was happening on the page, seeing the words but no longer taking in their meaning. In some ways I found this novel deeply cathartic and equally horrifying. I needed Sin and Elli to have their version of a happy ending, and I could not rest until I knew what happened to them.
Because I had already read one novel by Tessier I was now able to pick up on her machinations and plot patterns. I knew when characters were being deceitful, when actions had double meanings, and when something was simply smoke and mirrors. While I didn’t experience quite as many surprises in this second novel, the ones that did come out of left field had a much greater impact.
I don’t think this is a book I could ever read again, and I don’t even know if I recommend it to other readers. This was extremely heavy, emotionally taxing, and physically draining to read. It was also sexy, gorey, and somehow left me rooting for two of the wildest characters I’ve ever read about. I don’t know if I’d ever be brave enough to write a story like this, but it’s given me a lot to think about.
After finishing The Ritual I immediately started reading the next book in this series. While each novel can be read as a standalone, characters from previous novels will pop up from time to time with minor roles.
I wasn’t sure, honestly, if I’d make it through this novel. What I loved about the previous book was that it toed a personal line so beautifully, and delicately, that I truly enjoyed the experience from start to finish. This book was emotionally exhausting. I knew if I put it down to take a break I wouldn’t be strong enough to come back to it and finish it. So I never put it down.
This book deals with a woman who’s stepfather, a Lord, groomed her from when she was twelve until the day he died. He did so under the guise of readying her for the life of a Lady, of what it would be like to be passed around from Lord to Lord once she was married off. The scenes of her grooming are explicit, and at times made me feel physically ill to read.
In a way it was fascinating to read about two characters who were both so deeply flawed, but just trying to survive together. There were many times in this novel when I felt myself detach from what was happening on the page, seeing the words but no longer taking in their meaning. In some ways I found this novel deeply cathartic and equally horrifying. I needed Sin and Elli to have their version of a happy ending, and I could not rest until I knew what happened to them.
Because I had already read one novel by Tessier I was now able to pick up on her machinations and plot patterns. I knew when characters were being deceitful, when actions had double meanings, and when something was simply smoke and mirrors. While I didn’t experience quite as many surprises in this second novel, the ones that did come out of left field had a much greater impact.
I don’t think this is a book I could ever read again, and I don’t even know if I recommend it to other readers. This was extremely heavy, emotionally taxing, and physically draining to read. It was also sexy, gorey, and somehow left me rooting for two of the wildest characters I’ve ever read about. I don’t know if I’d ever be brave enough to write a story like this, but it’s given me a lot to think about.