Butcher & Blackbird: The Ruinous Love Trilogy

For the past year, everyone has been talking about Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver , especially the audio version. I don’t usually read dark romances, but I love romcoms. This is a dark romcom! I was intrigued. Butcher & Blackbird was probably the #1 TikTok book for the past year, and some of the other big Booktok books I read were total letdowns. But I still had high hopes. I am so happy to say that Butcher and Blackbird lived up to the hype. It was like nothing I’ve ever read before, which is definitely part of the appeal. The story was fun, but it was the personalities that made the book. Sloan and Rowan are both serial killers. They each kill the bad serial killers that the police can’t catch, but make no mistake, they LOVE the killing. Even though they have sometimes gone after the same guy, they have never met. When they finally do, it's at a murder scene that’s become a bit...shall we say... dicey for Sloan. Sloan, “the orb-weaver” plucks her victims’ eyeballs out and turns her crime scenes into intricate web-like art exhibitions made from flesh and body parts. Rowan aka Butcher has been a big fan from afar but meeting her in person had him instantly falling for her. Their banter was so amazing! I know it’s weird to say about a serial killer, but Rowan was adorable. He was so sweet and romantic! Yes, I said that. Yes, I know he's a serial killer. What can I say? I'm a sucker for the sweet ones. These two are complete psychopaths (as are their friends and family who we will read about in the next two books) and they were so much fun! I don’t read or watch horror at all, and some of this was pretty gross, but because of the humor, it was never too much for me. "Rowan rests the handle of the ax against his shoulder and huffs before giving me a wink. “Getting revenge for hurting my girl, of course." Likes: •It’s so unique! •Laughing while gagging. •How can I fall in love with a serial killer? •Rivals to lovers. •Though he had insta-love, she took a while to catch up so it was slow-burn. •But once they started burning…holy moly it was HOT. •I loved that it pretty much ended with an HEA. It’s called a trilogy, but each book features a different couple. •He was so sweet, and I loved how much he loved her. Dislikes: •The timeline jumps. •I would have liked to get to know them on a deeper level. The Narration: OMG, this is one of the best narrations I have ever listened to. It’s full duet, so Lucy Rivers and Joe Arden had full-on conversations with her voicing the female parts and him the male. I am sure I wouldn’t have loved Butcher and Blackbird as much if I just read it, the narration made it so much better. The Down & Dirty: Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver isn’t perfect, but I can totally understand the hype around it. It’s unique, it’s dark, it’s funny, it’s raunchy, it’s gory, it’s romantic, and it’s hot AF. If you haven’t read it yet, I highly recommend the audiobook. But make sure you listen to the trigger warnings. They are no joke, but they also made me laugh. “accidental cannibalism” anyone? I am so happy Leather and Lark,(book two) is out because I’m not ready to leave this world.

This book was an absolute delight to read. From the very beginning, it gave me strong Dexter vibes, which only enhanced my enjoyment. The banter between the two main characters is absolutely comical, adding a light-hearted touch to the story. It also explores the theme of love at first sight, with the characters having to navigate their emotions, making it a compelling romcom. The spicy moments are intense, with emotions running deep, adding an extra layer of excitement. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun and engaging read.

This book is diabolical in the BEST WAY. In the last few years it has CONSUMED me, and lives rent free in my head. Chapter 7-CUBISM- made this strong willed, feminist, QUESTION THINGS ABOUT MYSELF. 😂 Rowan Kent is the textbook definition of Red Flags COMPLETELY acceptable in fiction. I cannot count how many times I have read (or listened) to this book at this point… because yes. I have every copy probably ever released. Kindle✅ Audiobook✅ Hardback ✅ Paperback✅ At least three? AT LEAST 3?? YES. One of my book groups chose to do the-annotate a book while you read and pass it along-I choose this because I love it. But my dog, Ruhn Dannan, keeps eating the paperback copies— he already got his teeth on copy #3 (PHOTO ATTACHED). He has refined taste, because it’s only ever been B&B and an Sherlock comic I picked up in Brussels..Send help.🤦🏼‍♀️ Back to the WHY: I have three books I generally recommend: 1. The Night Circus- Erin Morganstern (All Time Fave) 2. The Wishing Game-Meg Shaffer (Cures a book hangover) 3. Butcher and Blackbird- Brynne Weaver (the humor/slow burn is ON POINT. And if the 🌶️, is not your flavor it is EASY to skip.) So, if you enjoy snarky, witty banter, dark humor, a fun nod to 80’s-90’s scary movies, this is the book for you. There are like 3-4 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ scenes- but as I mentioned you can easily turn the pages and keep reading the story if you not a “Spice” reader.

I really wanted to like this book. It has all of the elements I enjoy: romance, gore, humor, and spice. Despite these things this book fell flat for me. The book follows two serial killers as they hunt together in a yearly competition. These guys kill other serial killers. They kill the lowest of the low without remorse. The male lead, Butcher is not a good guy. He’s dangerous, violent and dark underneath a social, charming facade. He meets the female lead, Blackbird after one of her kills didn’t go as planned. Once Butcher sees her he’s instantly in lust. He wanted her. He needs her, but she is a loner and bolts easily. He comes up with a yearly competition to keep her in his life. The book follows these characters over 4 years! The book is 68% over before anything real happens. It’s a very slow burn. Once something happens between them, the rest of the book just feels rushed. The spice is good in this book if you want dirty, visceral, and animalistic. There are few loving words, no romantic connection, not any sentimentality. This is NOT a sweet love story. I liked Blackbird’s character, but they didn’t really develop her character. She’s shallow at best. I feel like I know Lark (her bff) more than I know Blackbird. I might be being too hard on this book. I just finished Phantasma and I loved it so much that I’m in a terrible book hangover. The love story in Phantasma was so sweet and sincere even though the male lead was an evil paranormal being. I was hoping this book would be similar, but it wasn’t. Still worth a read though. I suspect the second book will be better. I hope so anyway.

This contemporary dark rom com was a quick and amusing read for me. Even though this is technically dark themes with serial killers and such, this was light-hearted and funny. It made me laugh out loud multiple times. Plenty of snarky sarcastic witty banter. And it is all interspersed with action suspense and gross out factors. I hope the next book is similar. I will definitely be reading it.

This book completely lived up to the hype, and then some. This was one of the easiest 5-star ratings I've ever given! Sloane and Rowan are two serial unalivers who accidentally find someone just as delightfully unhinged as themselves. What starts as a twisted annual competition to hunt down a mutually chosen target slowly turns into one of my favorite romance stories. Somehow this book manages to be dark, hilarious, romantic, and ridiculously addictive all at once. Rowan was everything. Sexy, protective, sweet...and yes, still a serial unaliver. 😂 He completely stole my heart with the way he cared for Sloane. Their chemistry was absolutely electric, and every scene between them had me grinning like an idiot. Sloane was sharp, witty, and the perfect match for Rowan. Watching their relationship grow over the years was just as entertaining as all the murder and mayhem. As for the audiobook, Joe Arden and Lucy Rivers absolutely CRUSHED these performances. Arden was perfection (as always!), and together they brought so much personality, humor, and emotion to the story that I never wanted to hit pause. If the premise has you thinking this book is going to be all doom and gloom, trust me, it's not. It's dark comedy at its finest with an unforgettable romance at its core. Do yourself a favor and pick this one up. You won't regret it...or maybe you will. 😜🔪🖤 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐ HEA? yes 3rd act break-up? yes Audiobook 🎧 5/5 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/5

TITLE: Two narrators. One Irish accent. Zero recovery. And the *ICONIC* introduction of THE Mr. Joe Arden. 🎧 Overall 5 · Performance 5 · Story 5 **Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver · The Ruinous Love Trilogy, Book 1 · Narrated by Joe Arden & Lucy Rivers · 8h 43m** ⭐ Rating: 6 / 5 (*yes, I'm breaking the scale. No, I will not apologize. The star box only goes to five and I need you to know that.*) 🌶️ Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ / 5 (*unreal. Years of longing and then… well. You'll see.*) 🎙️ Narration: 5 / 5 (*Joe Arden & Lucy Rivers. Two narrators. One Irish accent. I was not prepared.*) ⏱️ Audio Length: 8h 43m ⚠️ [MILD SPOILERS AHEAD — MOSTLY THE FIRST TWO CHAPTERS. IF YOU HAVEN'T READ OR LISTENED YET, GO DO THAT FIRST, AND THEN COME BACK SO WE CAN SCREAM TOGETHER] ⚠️ ——————————————————————— *sits down. Sets the earbuds on the desk. Stares at them like they personally did something to me* 🎧 Okay….. This review technically already existed. Past-Claudie wrote it, before her "booktok running shoes" were worked in. And… *sighs* it sucked. So I made the very demure, very professional decision to re-read AND re-listen to Butcher & Blackbird, and I discovered something very, very important….. *taps a blunt fingernail against the table, since I chewed them all off* I was right. *scoffs, smirking smugly* I was right then, and I am right now. A six-star read then. A six-star ducking read now. And I will say that with my FULLL chest. *chuckles darkly* 😈 Six stars. I gave this six stars then and now. But unfortunately, rating systems are too stubborn and leave no room for being *extra*. *sighs. Rolls eyes. Sips red glass of bitter, rich goodness* 🍷 The box says five. But my heart? MY HEART AND BOOKISH SOUL????????? Says six. I need you to know that. Kay? *looks over at the reader with an intense stare that leaves no room for arguments, then nods approvingly* Okay, now let's jump into this MASTERPIECE properly. *pours another glass of the red goodness. Sits comfortably, criss-cross-apple-sauce. Very calm. Suspiciously calm* 🍷 Let me give you the premise first, just a general overview, and then *you* decide whether we can be friends or not. *says this calmly, too calmly. But my green eyes are "glinting" with… something… unhinged* **THE PLOT, THE CHARACTERS, THE STRUCTURE, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY…. THE SHEER, UNDILUTED, UNFILTERED INSANITY… THAT IS BUTCHER & BLACKBIRD.** 📖 Two "serial-bye-byers." *clears throat* Two people with the same very… *specialized* hobby, who meet in a very interesting manner. I can't go into too much detail, but it involves one of them being stuck in a certain steel thingy with certain vertical steel other-thingies that made it impossible for Sloane, our FMC, to…. get out of by herself. So, she "chills" there for about three days with a… a person… who… uhm… was… permanently deleted from the realm of reality, and she just has to watch… as nature does what nature does. 💀 Now if you're imagining what I hope you are — YES — it was very… icky, and also NO, she wasn't freaked out…. In fact… she was hilariously annoyed… at herself. Her inner monologue is so black-cat, dry-dark humor that your nervous system is literally like: "This isn't funny, so why the heck am I laughing?" *sets the glass down, smirking fondly at the memory* Because, dear reader, that is GOOD writing, and an incredibly bold, unique and, quite frankly, super awesome way to introduce a character. Now…. *steeples fingers together, elbows leaning on the table with a very satisfied grin* This is also how we meet our MMC, Rowan… (Quick interjection: Rowan is Irish. Rowan is voiced by Joe Arden. Which means: Irish Joe Arden. That's all. I just needed you to know that.) ☘️ ….Continuing: …. because he shows up at the same location, and oddly decides doors are just "suggestions," and rather uses a window — the very window that leads to where our FMC Sloane and the… person… is… because… because… he too is on the search for said person lying on the ground playing the "nature game." "Now you might be thinking…. Claudie… why is this relevant?" *nods, drains the whole glass, puts it down* 🍷 Because: You see, the reason Rowan shows up there, the reason Rowan dismisses the idea of doors as "suggestions," is because… guess what??? *gasps mockingly* THAT person, on the GROUND, playing nature's game, is ALSO….. a serial-deleter. Just like…. Sloane. And wouldn't you guess it: JUST. LIKE. ROWAN. *nods slowly, giving you time to process, not being snide at all, just enjoying the look on your face* Yes, yes, you heard that right. Our MMC Rowan, the Irish MMC, the Joe Arden-voiced MMC, is also, in fact, a serial-deleter. And now I know what you're thinking. Your brain is REELING with questions and concerns, and it's literally only been like one or maybe two chapters and we already have THIS as JUST the setup for the book??? JUST the introductions? Yeah, I know. It's okay… I felt the same way the first time too. But let's continue. *clears throat and lazily twirls hand in the air* So now…. we have not one, not two, but THREE serial-deleters all in the same room! Rapid-fire recap: Window Guy. Floor Guy (three days of the nature game in a hot, humid basement — yes, a basement, I can't remember if I said that and mama is on a rollllll and not scrolling back up). And Steel-Thingy Girl, still very much stuck. Now I know what you're thinking. Three serial-deleters, all in the same place. Why? Why, Claudie? *turns head to look at Brynne Weaver, gives a knowing smirk and a wink, and turns back to the reader* Well, you see… in "normal" dark/contemporary romance, this is what we call a "meet-cute." Every book has one. It's how the two characters meet. How the story starts, blah blah blah…. But this setup? *closes eyes appreciatively and nods, making a "chef's kiss" gesture* 🤌 is the most unique and insanely creative meet-cute I have ever experienced, because this book is not "just a romance." It's not "just a dark romance." *stands slowly, grinning madly, eyes sparkling with GLEE* THIS, DEAR, SWEET READER, IS A NEW GENRE…. DARK-ROMANTIC-COMEDY. AND I…… *inhales sharply, leaning forward, getting in your face* …….am ducking OBSESSED. 🖤 Because you see, even though all three of these characters are very much serial-deleters, Rowan and Sloane are… different. Because unlike the trash bag on the floor stinking up the room, Rowan and Sloane both only delete other serial-deleters. Never. EVER. Innocents. (Dexter, but hotter, and funnier. Moving on.) So you see, both Sloane and Rowan were professionally following Stinky Pants on the floor. Sloane got there first, some stuff happened — she is a skinny legend with some IMPRESSIVE SKILLS — but unfortunately, Stinky-McGee was big. Really big. So she had one teeny tiny moment of misjudgment, Stinky shoved her down, she got the upper hand and, long story short, she made him go bye-bye in a way she had not planned on — you see, our girl Sloane is very methodical, very smart, plans everything down to the last letter — but since this teeny misjudgment happened, she had to improvise. Now, credit where credit is due, she did in fact make him go bye-bye…. But…. she also accidentally got herself locked in that steel thingy… so yeah… you live and you learn, right? *leans forward, getting excited, knee bouncing* So when Rowan shows up to do the exact same thing Sloane planned to do, he's kinda caught off guard. He's also a little annoyed that HE wasn't the one who got to delete Mr. Stinky, and that someone beat him to the punch, because apparently Stinky here was a REALLY, really bad dude. (My point being, Rowan wanted to give Stinky worse. Much worse. Sort of like "if you can dish it out, you gotta be able to take it too" kinda vibes, you following?) Anyway…. Rowan finds Sloane in the… steel thingy… assumes maybe she's a… smicktim of Stinky's…. for like a split second… but then… then… instead of helping her…. I don't know???? GET OUT?? He instead gives her a devastatingly handsome smirk, leans against the window and speaks…. in that… beautiful…. incredible… Irish accent… and asks her, "What happened here?" AT FIRST… both Sloane and I were like: "WHAT THE HECK?? LET HER/ME OUT." But Rowan just chuckles, shakes his head and says not until she explains how she *got in there* and Stinky got *deleted on the floor*. Sloane is rightfully…. Level 27 angry… but she's desperate to get out. It's been three days, no food, no water, just Stinky and his stink, and the little friends that playing the nature game brings forth. And thanks to Brynne Weaver's incredibly, insanely hysterical — yet slightly concerning — imagination…. those little friends *look* like living, breathing… and stay with me now… orzo pasta. *YES — that's exactly how Sloane described those tiny creatures…. orzo pasta… and I can never, NEVER look at orzo pasta again without getting full-body chills paired with an insane feeling of BLEGHHHH* 🤢 Thanks, Brynne. Thanks a lot. And fair warning, she does this A LOT…. and I mean A… DUCKING… LOT… She has this kink for absolutely ruining the most random food for you for the rest of your life. Anyway… Sloane can't think of anything to say, so she decides to tell the truth. She is a serial-deleter, and she came to delete Stinky because he was such a big pile of actual trash. Now, understand: Sloane's plan here was simple. Standard procedure. Get him to trust her, get out of the steel thingy, and then make HIM go bye-bye too. Clean. Methodical. Done it before. But Rowan… reacts… unexpectedly. And his reaction is the thing that makes her PAUSE. Hold onto that pause, because the whole book lives inside it. *chuckles and sips more red goodness* 🍷 Rowan… strong… powerful… Irish… FAN-GIRLS like a tween at a [insert current young-people famous person(s) here] concert, because… he knows her… well, he doesn't know Sloane… BUT he knows her public persona. And he has been obsessively following her… successful deletions in the news, admiring her work (we'll get to what she does as "work" in a minute) and basically idolized her. "You're her. You're the Orb Weaver," Rowan says, almost religiously. *turns to Brynne Weaver with a surprised, shocked smile. Hey — I never noticed that UNTIL RIGHT NOW. Brynne WEAVER. Orb WEAVER. You self-inserted there! That's so ducking cool. How did I not notice that the 18 times I've read this??? Maybe because I never "wrote" it out before. So clever. I love it.* 🕷️ *pauses, looks back at the reader with red cheeks and shrugs. What? I love a good easter egg, sue me lol* Anyway, back to Rowan and his fan-girl moment. He jumps from the window and immediately helps her — lord, finally — and gets Sloane out. He offers to take care of Stinky while she cleans up. Now Sloane is rightfully suspicious and slightly weirded out… because why is he treating her like a celeb when she just confessed to being one of the most famous serial-deleters in the state, AND he's offering to help? So Rowan confesses too. He's *The Boston Butcher*, and he expects… some sort of reaction… since he too is well known. But our girl… love her so much… plays dumb and pretends she doesn't know what he's talking about. This flusters Rowan, and Rowan doesn't get flustered — cue the longest, super nerdy-but-cute-but-also-a-little-cringe monologue where he tries to tell her who he is and what he does, and Sloane just keeps messing with him. So much so that HE gets insecure about his profession, due to the fact that HIS IDOL has no idea who he is or what his deletion metrics are. It was such a power move. It was so funny. And literally… STINKY IS STILL JUST CHILLING — literally and biologically — ON THE FLOOR NEXT TO THEM. I gaped. I wheezed. I fell in love with Sloane instantly. 🖤 That meet-cute? LEGENDARY. Anyway, Rowan catches on pretty quickly that Sloane is a skittish little thing, and he doesn't want to let her walk away. So in a diner, as she stuffs her face with ribs and they have a casual conversation about their shared deletion hobby, ROWAN HAS A LIGHTBULB MOMENT. 💡 An idea. A plan. A ducking work of ART that will ensure he sees her again. Because in the short time he's known her, he's found out that even though she's flighty, isolated and very careful about the people she lets into her life… SLOANE IS… COMPETITIVE. So right there, in the diner, with a cup of coffee in his hand and rib sauce smeared all over her stunning face, he comes up with the BRILLIANT idea of a yearly easter egg hunt. *the easter egg being similar to Stinky — if you catch my drift* SOOOO he says: once a year, they find a prize, set a location, and the first one to press the delete button wins. Wins what, you ask? *laughs hysterically, head thrown back* I genuinely cannot remember, and I have read this 18 times. All I know is it's five rounds, and the one with the most deleted files "wins." If YOU remember, tell me in the comments, because it is driving me up the wall. Sloane is skeptical at first, but her competitive nature simply cannot resist, so she agrees. And then… the magic of this sickly, hysterically twisted story begins. So we are talking: STRANGERS TO ACQUAINTANCES TO FRIENDS TO LOVERS over the course of FIVE YEARS. Planned by A MAN who met this WOMAN once and decided he could not let her leave his life. Via a game of hunt-the-rabbit (the deletion of bad serial-deleters) as a GAME. A YEARLY GAME. So she won't run away and disappear out of his life. If that didn't grab you by the collar and make your bookish little knees buckle… *raises a little judgy eyebrow* That's a choice. A wrong choice. But you're allowed it. 😌 And Brynne… *turns to face Brynne Weaver directly* …Brynne. Brynne Weaver. You are a gwaddang UNICORN. An actual gwaddang unicorn of an author. I have receipts. 🦄 *pulls out receipts* Receipt one: you are HILARIOUS. The dark humor had me cackling out loud in public like a feral person. 😂 Receipt two: you are DISGUSTING. And I mean that as the highest compliment I own. There is a scene involving ice cream. If you know, you know. If you don't, I am *legally not allowed* to describe it here *gestures vaguely at the guidelines* but I will simply say I have not looked at a dessert menu the same way since, and I never will. 🍦💀 Receipt three: you are SEXY. The spice in this book was unreal. But not fast, Brynne. Oh no. You made us WAIT. YEAAAAARS. Chapters. Whole seasons of these two circling each other with the worst timing in the history of timing, doing the most insanely unhinged things on their little adventures, and then one day…. oh ho ho ho… one day… Sloane gets hurt. Not badly. But Rowan SNAPS. He scolds her for being irresponsible (she wasn't, she was caught by surprise, but semantics) and then she throws the "we're just friends" line at him, and that she "didn't even think he liked her that much" (oh sweet, sweet baby girl, how could you miss that????) and we get THE MOST *ICONIC*, MOST INSANELY *ROMANTIC*, AND MIGHT I JUST ADDDD…… *BEAUTIFUL LOVE CONFESSION* IN THE HISTORY OF UNHINGED DARK ROMANCE COUPLES: Rowan: *"Like you? I would make people go bye-bye for you. And I have. I would do it again every dang day. I'd turn myself inside out for you. I don't just LIKE you, Sloane. And you ducking know it."* (lightly paraphrased for the guidelines police *mehemehe*) Sloane — sweet, silly, stewpid Sloane — is taken aback, because of course the most intelligent female serial-deleter in modern history was sooooooooo isolated and socially awkward that she completely missed all the signs, and just stands there like….. "HUH!?" And our boy Rowan? *grabs my glass, acts like a Viking at a feast hall, chucks it against the ground and grins like I was just invaded by the bookish community as a whole* ROWAN SNAPS……….. 🔥 I was a fly on the wall with a glass of wine and I had to physically put the glass DOWN. 🍷⬇️ Because what followed was the most… insane… most toe-curling… most Niagara Falls-inducing "love scene" I had ever read — at the time. I'm seasoned now, but at the time — cheeeesus!!! Rowan went FULLLLL CAVEMAN. And I was literally having the time of my life. And trust me, so…. were…. they… *reaches for a new glass, fills it generously. Fans myself as I relive it. Not so subtly checks out my husband across the room, then blushes when I see you caught me* 🍷 Annnnnyway….. Receipt four, and this is the one that actually MATTERS: because…. underneath the chaos and the red gooey stuff *mocking voice* which I'm not allowed to talk about because of guidelines *mehemehe*, you told a genuinely creative, genuinely tender slow-burn love story that made me feel THINGS. Two terrible people. Being terrible. Together. And so, so SOFT for each other. 🥺 You gave me an MMC who was *content* to yearn for however long it took. Years. It took YEARS. You gave me an MMC who was *patient and attentive* enough not to just "demand" a hawk-twoa on the edge of a cliff in chapter one *not judging, just slightly side-eyeing while smirking at a certain blonde MMC*. No, Brynne, no. Instead you gave us a respectful, attentive MMC who took one look at this woman, saw right through all her shields, sarcasm and defensive coping mechanisms, and said: "She's worth the wait." And in Dark Romance???? That is something you DO NOT find often. Like I said in the beginning: UNICORN. 🦄 Because…. *takes deep breath*…. THE YEAAAAAAARNNNNINGGGG?????????????? *actually gets lightheaded and leans back in the chair* The yearning was ART. And when the payoff finally paid off? I was fed. I was delighted. I was…. well, I can't say that part, but it rhymes with "thorny"…. And mostly, the writer in me? She stood back, leaned against the wall with a proud smile and said: "Now THAT is how it's done. And done RIGHT." This book is the one that made me realize morally bankrupt characters are my own personal love language. The longing. The years of buildup. The banter. The tenderness hidden under all that… *ahem*… g-word. (Rhymes with "more." I'm not allowed to say it. *mehemehe*) Let the bookish angels feed it to me like grapes while I lay back, like the truly unhinged delulu reader that I am. 🍇 *slams hands on the desk. Wine survives. Barely* 🍷 PERFECTION. Absolute perfection. *finishes the glass. Sets it down. Serene. Deranged* 🍷 Brynne, you wrote a unicorn. 🦄 Joe and Lucy, you made it a haunting. 🎧 This is the one that started my Joe Arden problem, and also started to fix said problem. (I'm good now, I swear.) The one I recommend when someone says "I want something dark but FUNNY." The one I think about every time I see an ice cream truck. 6/5 stars. Yes, I'm breaking the scale. No, I will not apologize. Put your earbuds in and lock your doors. 🖤🔥

4⭐️ brynne weaver is looking like the next ali hazelwood for me – a consistent 4-star romance that serves great as a palate cleanser/slump buster. brynne just goes much, much darker than ali. that said, if you love serial killers, spicy BDSM romance, and a healthy dose of comedy, brynne weaver is for you! this book had an excellent balance of humor, romance, tension, banter, mystery, and gross factor (necessary for this type of book imho). if you like to eat while reading, approach this book with caution; there are a few scenes that can definitely turn your stomach. it was still a great way to pass the time, and i intend to keep reading brynne weaver in the future. as a dark romance, some of the elements of this book might not be for everyone, so check the tags at the beginning to be sure this works for you; the tags are a dead dove do not eat situation – take them seriously. tropes: serial killer romance, rom-com, dark romance, friends to lovers, he falls first, touch him/her and die, dual POV, dark humor similar titles: great for readers who have a dark sense of humor and love spicy, k!nky romances. this book is near keri lake levels of darkness, but make it comedy instead. 4🌶️ another high spice rating for brynne. truthfully, some elements of the explicit sexual conduct in this book mandate a higher spice rating. THIS IS NOT FOR EVERYONE – CHECK THE TAGS!!! while some of the k!nky stuff isn't for everyone, the scenes are well-written and have a good amount of detail and length without feeling gratuitous or overpowering the story. they definitely pick up in the second half/final third of the novel, and those who want to skip the spice should be able to without missing any plot. cw: genital piercings, rough sex, warming, all holes used, toys, choking, & dom-sub interactions.

Physical copy + Audiobook ❤️ God-tier enjoyment tbh and the best way to consume an excellent book like this. Joe Arden and his "sexy gravelly Irish voice." Panty-dropper.😮‍💨 I love a story that can genuinely make me laugh, and this one delivered. Sloane has officially earned a spot as one of my favorite FMCs. The concept of a straight-up badass female people deleter getting all shy and cutesy around her crush, and not knowing how to be around him without blushing, is such an adorable concept to me and I ate it right up. And Rowan… 🥵 A man who is completely obsessed with his woman and backs it up with actions? The bar has been raised. Permanently. This book really had everything, spice, sharp banter, addictive side characters, plus that perfect sprinkle of angst and grovel to keep things interesting. Genuinely an amazing read.

If you are looking for a dark rom-com, filled with witty humor, some suspense, emotional moments that tug on your heartstrings, mutual yearning in form of a delicious slow burn, and two morally grey heroes who are just the cutest together — then dig right in, this is the story for you! If you are able to, do yourself a favor and listen to this as an audiobook, which in my opinion makes the whole experience SO much better 🖤🩷🎧 As someone who is fairly new to the dark romance genre myself, I whole-heartedly recommend this to anyone; beginners and conoisseurs of this genre alike. Obviously check your trigger warnings, although in my opinion they make the book sound FAR darker than it actually is. So in short, this is undoubtetly a five star read for me, and I will DEFINITELY reread this in the future, in fact I loved the audiobook so much that i bought the physical copy too as a trophy for my shelf 😂

How not to love, laught and cry with this two? OMG! I just love every page in this book. The chemistry between both, their dark sides, their kind of funny moments, the cookies and ice cream stuff (must say i saw that one coming, no pun intendeed). But I also love their “human” moments, their fears, the overthinking time that everyone has in their daily basis… and have to say that I didn’t see that “plot twist” coming. Can’t wait to read the next story. I’m bitting my nails to know about Lachlan’s and Lark’s stor!

Questo libro è una scoperto. Mi sono decisa a comprare l’ebook alla vista delle numerose recensioni positive, e non me ne sono pentita. Storia carina, divertente e romantica tra due killer. Di solito non amo i genere dark romance, ma devo dire che non è stata una lettura pesante né tantomeno disturbante (come molti dark mi hanno suscitato, al punto da dove interrompere la lettura). Non vedo l’ora che escano gli altri libri focalizzati sulle altre coppie. Consigliato!

★★★★★ Brynne Weaver's Butcher and Blackbird is a captivating dark fantasy that completely swept me away! 🖤 The world-building is richly detailed and immersive, creating a truly unique and atmospheric setting 🏰 The characters are complex and compelling, with believable motivations and relationships 💕 Weaver masterfully blends elements of romance 💖, murder✨, and mystery 🕵️‍♀️, creating a truly engaging and suspenseful read. The plot is cleverly crafted, with unexpected twists and turns 🤯 that kept me guessing until the very end. Highly recommended for fans of dark fantasy, especially those who enjoy strong female leads 💪 and morally gray characters 🤔!