Strike

The Colony Carnivale #29

by S.J Curlee

They say The Colony Carnivale appears without warning—rolling into forgotten towns under blood-red skies, offering laughter, lights, and salvation for the bored and broken. But beneath the painted tents, hides a different sin, each act a different obsession. Lust. Power. Revenge. Fear. The Carnivale feeds on it all—and so do the souls trapped inside..

The games are rigged, the prizes are cursed, and the performers aren’t quite human. So buy your ticket, brave the insanity, and pray the lights go out after you do. Because once you enter, the show owns you.

Emery is eighteen years old, just graduated high school during the summer, is taking a year off and is planning on attending college in New York the following fall.

When Emery steps inside the Colony Carnivale with her boyfriend and four friends she is expecting a normal night filled with fun, prizes and food.

However when she meets twin workers Asher and Cole, at first they look normal on the surface, working the Milk Bottle Toss attraction during the day, but Emery and her friends' night starts to take a darker turn.

Once she wins Briney, a porcelain male doll dressed in a sailor suit with blue gray eyes that match the twins from the Milk Bottle Toss attraction. Strange things begin happening, and Emery and her friends find themselves trapped in rounds of twisted Carnivale games run by the sadistic twins.

Where each game is more unforgiving than the last.

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

176 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication October 29, 2026

Reviews

[Jessi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book! It was nice to see the twins again 😜 and the tiny biblical tie in, love Lilith 😍

PLEASE BE MINDFUL OF THE TRIGGERS!!!

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

[Melissa Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 29 of the Colony Carnivale...
We have twins again! Asher and Cole, twins who run the milk bottle toss game. Why do they run this booth, you ask, well Asher played baseball before his life fell apart and he joined the Carnivale!
Asher comes home from the war to find his fiancee with his best friend in his home! *gasp, I know, right.
Asher joins the carnivale with his twin Cole and boy do they like to play games!
Emory and her friends get to be the lucky ones to get caught up in Asher and Cole's games. For some reason Asher is really drawn to Emory, but he really wants to hate her.
This is another one that I really did enjoy the characters, however I wish there was more to the ending!
Reading is fun, when there is twins involved! xoxo

[Neapolitan670 📚🖤 · Rating 3 out of 5]

How many strikes? 🤣

I was looking forward the Asher & Cole’s story, learning their background and subsequent joining the Carnivale. Don’t get me wrong we still got all the gore and spice, just I couldn’t seem to gel with the storyline, there were parts that were fragmented and I had to go back a few times to see if I’d read it wrong, I hadn’t. It also jumped from a few storylines to another quite quickly without preamble. I also found it predictable that’s not say others would and I dare say lots of readers will enjoy it. Though I did like the inclusion of Anne & Marie to keep the interconnection going.

I did finish it but it definitely wasn’t one of my favourite in this shared world.

Body Horror | PTSD | 🩸 & Gore | Graphic Violence | Spice | Identical Twins | Substance Abuse | Psychological Horror | D3ath Games

[Jennifer Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 29 of The Colony Carnivale. This is Asher and Cole’s story and starts with learning some of Asher’s backstory. Cole takes him the Carnivale and the rest is history for them. Coming to current time, the story takes us along with Emery, her boyfriend Brad and best friend Mandy going to the Carnivale. Brad and Mandy pick up Emery and I am sure you can guess where that story is going. The first tent they go to is Asher and Cole’s and gets the twin’s attention. Emery, Brad and Mandy are joined by other friends through the story. The way Asher and Cole use them as entertainment had me hooked.

[Jenni · Rating 5 out of 5]

here we see Asher and Coles story emerge the carnie twins, their past and present, the we have Emery and her bf brad going to the carnival with her best friend Mandy but where will the night lead? Well written dark twisting horror

[Cindy Fletcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love that all the authors worked together to create such an erotic, gore, fun filled 🤣, creative series for us to enjoy.

Thank you, I love it!

Happy Reading 📚

[Jolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who doesn’t love some carnie crazy twins? 😉 I loved getting to know more about Asher and Cole in this quick read and as you can guess there was lots of chaos and gore with a whole lotta spice. My heart kind of hurt for Asher honestly though but this quick read had me devouring it to the end because I couldn’t put it down.

[__boundbybook__ 🥀Shaunie🥀 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a good story! I seriously loved reading it every page kept making me want to go for more!
And i mean who doesnt love twins 👀

This was definitely the perfect addition to the carnivale!

[Misti Binkley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dark and delicious I didn’t want it to end
The ending made me wish that the story would’ve kept going

[AJ Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I honestly enjoyed this one more than I expected. It's probably because the ending leaves you wanting more. This is Asher and Cole's story, and it's definitely rather interesting. You first learn Asher's history, which isn't the best, but it leads him to the Carnivale. You learn a little about Cole, but he's got his secrets about him, too. We enjoy our scene with Anne and Marie, but unfortunately, we do not get the extra we absolutely deserve at this point.

Emery is going to the Carnivale with her boyfriend, Brad, and best friend Mandy. They arrive to pick her up with Mandy in the front seat. I'll let you figure that one out for yourself 😘. Now, we get to all the fun parts of people being cut up, chased down, and even have an all-out Carrie scene, and other absolutely Carnie crazy things. However, the end of the night brings unexpected changes, and I'm pretty sure we learn a little secret about Emery that even she's unaware of.

[Ruby Nyx · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed the paranormal take on her twins, Asher and Cole. The pacing was good and had me racing to the end looking for more.

[Kim Rahr · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a good book! Definitely dark so make sure you check out the triggers before you read. I loved reading about the twins, Asher and Cole. This is probably my favorite book so far.

[Kalene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can we just talk about how this entire shared world so far has been full of gore horror spice and some unhappy endings... This one left me needing more!!! Amazing job SJ!!!

[Charlene's Bookish Archives · Rating 5 out of 5]

Win the doll… and the nightmare begins.

S.J. Curlee delivers pure, heart-pounding dread in this gripping, twisted addition to the series! From the very first page, you’re right there with Emery, eighteen, bright eyed, expecting nothing more than fun, cotton candy, and silly games with her boyfriend and friends. The Colony Carnivale looks like any other… until it absolutely isn’t.

Asher and Cole, the Milk Bottle Toss twins, are the perfect kind of creepy: charming and normal on the surface, with something sharp and hungry lurking just beneath. Emery wins Briney, the sweet-faced porcelain sailor doll… and that’s when the games change. The fun vanishes. The rounds get deadlier. And suddenly, escape feels impossible.

The escalation is brilliant, each game more unforgiving than the last, the tension coiling tighter and tighter, Briney watching with those uncanny matching eyes. It gives classic carnival horror vibes with that signature Carnivale darkness: where the prizes are cursed and the fun never truly ends, it just screams louder.

Fast-paced, eerie, and impossible to put down. You’ll think twice before tossing a ball at milk bottles ever again! 🧸🖤

[Bonnie James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Strike is short, sharp, and intense.
The atmosphere is thick and immersive, while the combination of obsession and unease keeps the story moving. I was locked in from the beginning and finished it with that familiar Colony buzz.
Another strong addition to the series.

[Veronica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whoa take me out to the ballgame okay okay I got these twins they were something serious they were the true definition of F around with us unified out this was amped up so high and then the back story was like oh I know he's going to break later I knew later on that Asher was going to break the gore and the crazy s*** you had going on here when Emery got away I like that was all y'all but all this was crazy gory sexy and we played baseball a little bit and i for one did not feel sorry for Robert he when he deserved this book was so much fun to read

[Sabrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 29 of the colony carnivale

And that right there it's the end of the game. The twins are sharing cold, mess around and find out!

[Selina Nagy · Rating 5 out of 5]

PLEASE CHECK YOUR TRIGGERS!!!

loved this book, love the horror, loved the twins, I wanted more

[Jess Goudie · Rating 4 out of 5]

🖤🎪 ARC REVIEW 🎪🖤

📖 Strike
Colony Carnival — Book #29
✍️ S.J. Curlee

💀 Jess’s Skeleton Rating:

💀💀💀💀 — Carni crazy twins? SAY LESS. 😂🎪💀

⚠️ PLEASE READ ALL TRIGGER WARNINGS BEFORE READING! ⚠️
The Colony Carnival has NO limits, and we all know by now that stepping inside means anything can happen. 🎪🔪

💭 My Thoughts

I mean...

WHO DOESN'T LOVE CARNI CRAZY TWINS?! 😂💀

This time we finally get the backstory of Asher and Cole, and I was definitely interested to learn more about these two and what made them who they are.

Then we have Emery and her friends...

Who just happen to get caught up in Asher and Cole's games. 👀🎪

And after 29 books inside the Colony Carnival...

WE ALL KNOW HOW THAT TENDS TO TURN OUT. 😂🔪

Strike was another fun, twisted addition to the series, and getting more of Asher and Cole's story made this one worth the read.

Seriously though...

🎪 29 DOWN... 2 TO GO! 💀

TWO. BOOKS. LEFT. 😭

After spending this long inside the Carnival, I'm genuinely not ready for them to let me leave!

🎪 THE CARNIVAL WON'T LET YOU GO UNTIL THEY SAY YOU CAN. 🎪

#Strike #SJCurlee #ColonyCarnival #ARCReview #JesssSkeletonRating

[Pretty_Poisons_Dark_Romance · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is novella #29 in the series. I felt like I had a hard time with this story. I think it was a little difficult for me to follow and I had to really lock in extra hard. There is a connection in this one with the first set of twins, Anne and Marie. Here, we follow another set of twins, Asher and Cole. They run the battle toss game. It wasn't a bad and I would skip it but I just personally had a harder time with it.

[Katie P · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

Check your triggers.
This book def had the potential to be really good but it felt rushed at times and the details didnt add up.
I loved the MMC's. They were feral & unhinged. The plot was good it just left me wanting.
I want to know more about the dynamic w Anne & Marie. And what happens with Asher now.

[Villanerareads · Rating 4 out of 5]

As soon as I realised this was about Cole and Asher, the twins we briefly met in Duplicity, I was excited to get into their story.

This one leaned more into the slasher side of horror, which I thoroughly enjoyed. It was fast-paced, kept me engaged the whole way through and gave me more of two characters I already wanted to know about.

Another great addition to the Carnival.

[danie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to the author for the arc opportunity!

The storyline here was good, I loved what it added to the story and the twins were really fun to read. I personally just didn't vibe with this one as much as the others so far, but i know a ton of people are going to love this one!

[Tanya Kolb · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story. It was nice to see this from the boys' perspective after reading the girls' story. I was left feeling confused about their relationship after the last one.

I'm still not sure about Cole after that ending, but I loved it.

[Cindy Penner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this one! Asher and Cole are feral, unhinged which I can’t get enough of. These twins take what they want and never look back, and I was here for every second of it! This book had me hooked from the start, and I flew through it. Definitely one of my top favorites!

[Lila · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can definitely feel the thrill from the visitors running from the twins. Everyone has their own motives for attending the carnivale.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read but some of the timeline felt a little off and some of it felt rushed! I was really looking forward to Asher and Cole’s story but it felt like there was almost something missing.

[Aura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Arc reader review.

I was happy to see that Asher and Cole had their own book but it turned out to be disappointing, in my opinion. But who doesn't like crazy twins right.