Book Review: Sinmaker, Garrotte, Ensnared, Seduction, and Duplicity

 

Emily

The Carnival holds all the secrets and tells no lies.

This morning that's all people are talking about.

Red tents

Gold lights.

Rumor has it you should go after dark.

I wasn't planning to.

Until the invitation appeared on my desk.

I thought it was a joke, a prank.

Boy was I wrong.

The man in the black hat looks at me like he can see my soul.

I was invited.

I was chosen.

Whatever the man sees when he looks at me..

I'm certain I don't want him to stop.

My Review

Reading Riven and Emily's story is amazing. In fact, I kind of felt like I was crashing something very intimate between these two. It was like two lost souls had finally found each other and intertwined to become one. Twin flames. 

I absolutely love this book. It is so sinfully dark and delicious! Someone requests the seven deadly sins. I love how author, Julie Ravencroft incorporated this element into this story. This is one story that will stay with me for a long time. 

They paid to handle her. Then they paid for it. Until he handled her.

Every performance has a price.

Kordi is the Colony's puppet mistress by day, stitching exquisite marionettes from the remains of those who fed the Carnival's hunger. By night, audiences gather to watch her impossible theatre. A puppet show of carnal desires, where flesh meets fantasy. A select few can even pay to become her handler, taking hold of the strings that make the final act possible.

Some never leave.

But when a handler mistakes possession for permission, Kordi ensures they don't survive the performance. She assumes the Colony has worked its magic to simply dispose of the bodies she leaves behind, until she catches Drogue: towering, masked, and kneeling in the dark beside the bodies of men who hurt her. A stranger who has been silently collecting her carnage ever asking for recognition.

Drogue was there the night she first killed. He could have stepped in to save her from that darkness. Instead, he watched her survive.

As the Colony's appetite grows and its patrons surrender to their darkest desires, Kordi and Drogue transform her theatre into something far more dangerous than entertainment.

Every show becomes a judgment. Every string a sentence. Every standing ovation another step toward exposing the monsters hiding beneath velvet masks.

In a Carnival where everyone feeds on what people are willing to become, the most terrifying performance has only just begun.

WARNING: This book is Erotic Splatterpunk and contains detailed descriptions of horror, gore, and more. Please read the trigger warnings before reading.

My Review

Korden is a masterful puppet maker. Every great person needs an assistant. This is where Drogue come in. He is a demon. He helps Korden by cleaning up her messes after her creations are made. Barker is the narrator of this novella. Love him.

I screamed in giddiness when I read the mention of the wee dolls. I love the Nightmares on Lull Lane series. There are a couple chapters that I wanted to call out specifically. Chapter 11...OMG! Chapter 15 is hilarious. Barker narrating this novella really made it even better. Lots of blood will be spilled!

I thought I knew my father. I was wrong.

Now I’m hiding in a carnival, hiding from the monsters he’s tried to sell me to.

There’s no way out. Every path twists back in on itself, every escape turns into another trap.

And then I saw her.

She took my breath away in a way nothing else ever has.

They call her the carny—the one who runs the game no one has ever won.

I know I should stay away. I know better.

But somehow, I still found myself playing.

And now… I’m not sure I want to win anymore.

Note: This is a dark Splatterpunk Horror Novella It contains horror elements, graphic violence, and sexual content, so it's not suitable for readers under 18. Check your triggers

My Review

Penny, oh Penny. Her father is a horrible man. He sold her to a man at the carnivale. If this had not happened, Penny would never had met Astra. 

"I need her soul connected to mine and mine alone." 

I love this novella. Who doesn't love a steamy FF romance. Penny grew in the short span of time in this story. As soon as I met Astra, I was captivated by her. Instantly fell in love with her. This novella is one of my favorites in this series. 

SEDUCTION draws you into The Colony Carnivale, where people come searching for beauty and leave craving something far more dangerous. Hadley offers an elixir that restores youth, awakens desire, and makes you feel chosen, but there is a cost................................

My Review

Hadley manages a beauty tent at the carnivale. Jack is her assistant. He helps tidy up the messes. 

"You wanted beauty, I say. My voice is a silken blade. "There is always a price to pay."

I liked the relationship and bond that Hadley and Jack had formed with each other. If you have watched Ryan Murphy's The Beauty tv show, then, you will enjoy this novella. 

Just beyond the midway sits the Infinity Maze.

Pairs enter laughing, hand in hand, expecting nothing more than a private thrill. Inside, the reflections stretch, the paths shift, and the space between them disappears. By the time they realize something is wrong, they’re already separated—forced to watch, helpless, as love turns into something far more fragile. Sweet smiles, soft voices, and hands that spin pastel sugar into something that tastes just a little too good.

Every attraction serves a purpose, every path leads somewhere deeper, and in the main tent, the night is only just beginning.

Welcome to The Colony Carnivale—where the fun never dies, it just screams louder.

My Review

Anne and Marie make a great team. Due to their past, they only have black hearts. Lovers beware. Anne and Marie are double the trouble. I love seeing these two in action. They sure made a bloody mess. There are two others that were featured in this novella. They are Asher and Cole. The little bit that got to meet of them, I liked them. I could picture Marie and Anne double dating, or I should say wreaking havoc with Cole and Asher. 

Come meet Anne and Marie but don't enter their maze. All who enter don't exit.