A fighter with a venomous grudge.A monster with an immortal curse.A girl with a terrible gift.All three out for blood in a land torn apart by harsh gods and holy wars. Each entwined with the other, on their own quests for vengeance, and yet held together by strange links to sinister pasts. As their fates unravel, a dangerous romance blooms, and violent darkness beckons. At turns both darkly … violent darkness beckons.
At turns both darkly humorous and utterly morbid, STRANGER RITUALS is the startling first novel in Kali Rose Schmidt’s dark new series.
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Overall: 4.5/5
Steam: Kissing only
Feels:
~REVIEW~
The Quick and Dirty: Elemental magic. Blood magic. Religions – ancient and new. Secrets. Scandal. Betrayal. And the girl who is the key to unlocking it all.
Scarko is the king’s personal guard but she is also has a special type of Vrakan magic: blood magic. Her king receives a vision from his gods and sends her on a mission to kill a rival who is not only immune to Vrakan magic but has been killing Vrakans. She assumes it will be an easy task, but upon arrival he is not what she expects. He makes her an offer to obtain retribution against a common enemy and she seizes the chance. When things don’t go as planned, she realizes that all is not as it seems. Secrets are revealed and they may change everything she knew about herself and about the king she serves.
An interesting take on vampirism and elemental magic, I was completely enthralled with Scarko, Vojtech and Rhodri. I loved the worldbuilding and how the ancillary characters were just as interesting as the leads. While I felt it was a good read, I did have a few small qualms. The first has nothing to do with the story really; I was lucky enough to win the Audible version of the book from the author but unfortunately felt that it was narrated in such a stilted and monotone manner that it didn’t at all do the story justice, and so I ended up just getting the e-book, but was disappointed in not being able to listen to it. The two small issues I had with the book itself were that the middle lagged just a smidge and that I felt the reaction from certain characters after certain key parts (i.e. the betrayal) could have used a little more fervor. Small issues in an overall great book. I can’t wait to see what happens next!
~QD STORY DETAILS~
Tear jerker: No
Paranormal/Fantasy: Yes
Location: Various: Gotheberg, Warskia, Kezda
Character age range: late teens/early 20s & immortal
Lead: Scarko Kadezska
Love interest(s):
HEA: No – cliffhanger
~QD BOOK INFO~
Kindle Unlimited: No
Audible: Yes – Narrated by Corrinne Lepage
Series: Yes –
1. Stranger Rituals – released 07/09/19
~QD ~
Sex/kink type: kissing
Possible triggers: graphic violence, mention of rape
When I read the description of this book, I saw the phrases “darkly humorous” and “utterly morbid” and signed the heck up. Don’t let my golden retriever Fred Rogers fool you guys because in this body beats the heart of an emo goth chick and I’m here for anything remotely morbid.
And let me tell you, this book DOES NOT disappoint. There are people drinking blood, dudes with horns, street fighters, stabbing, bone eating—a gothic delight! It’s definitely not for the faint of heart if blood isn’t your thing, but it actually pairs with this story really well. I liked the way this universe was set up and all of the bloody elements complimented it without being too distracting. It did take me a hot minute to acclimate myself with all the new terminology and magic in the beginning, but it was surprisingly easy to pick up and I actually had fun navigating my way through this world with Scarko.
Speaking of Scarko, I kind of love her?? She’s such a badass with her magic, wielding her knife like a pro. All of the other characters were awesome too and I enjoyed getting to know them all. I can’t really say more because I don’t want to give anything away, but they were all so rich. The entire time I was reading this I had absolutely NO idea where the story was going or who the bad guys were and I LOVED IT. It had kind of a similar vibe to Wicked Saints , but for an older audience and was still uniquely it’s own. This completely had me on the edge of my seat the whole time and I am SO HERE FOR BOOK TWO.
*FINAL WORD*
If you’re a goth at heart like me and needing a good adventure story with some twists, do yourself a favor and read this one.
This is a dark, twisted, intense story about a fighter with a venomous grudge, a monster with an immortal curse and a girl with a terrible gift. The characters are interesting and well developed. I absolutely loved this fantastic world this author created and even though I loved this book it’s a world I don’t want to visit in real life. I can’t wait to read more books in the Stranger Rituals series.
Don’t plan on starting this book and reading “a few chapters” before bed or on a lunch break. This is one you’ll want to set aside a good part of a day for you to read all at once, or as much as possible, as it just won’t let you go. It had me hooked from the first pages, and the action and suspense just never stop. Even when the story “slowed down”, it still kept its grip on me, and I would stop whatever I was doing to go back and read “one more chapter”. There are lots of twists and turns that keep things unpredictable also. I’m sure I had a few out-loud gasps while reading it. There’s also a lot of blood, bones, and gore in it, so if you’re into that, you’ll love it! The only downside is that there is a big cliffhanger at the end, so it’s not a standalone book, if that’s an issue for someone. I would still rate it as more than a 5 if I could, and I’ll be looking out for the next book in the series.
Stranger Rituals by Kali Rose Schmidt is a great story that I have read. I really enjoyed reading this story very much. If you like reading horror and fantasy then this story is definately for you and I recommend this story to you .
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.