DNF @ 36%

I heard so many good things about this book, but I just couldn’t get into it. Then I got to the part with severed eyeballs and cannibalism. Nope!
Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

It starts as friends to lovers trope but also feels like something I have already read somewhere. So, didnt not finish.

Thank you NetGalley and Zando for giving me the opportunity to read this.

Thank you NetGalley for the e-ARC of Butcher and Blackbird by Brynne Weaver.

Check out this review on Fable
https://fable.co/review/5784452e-52bd-4369-9aca-16af35edcaf2/share

This is the first book in The Ruinous Love trilogy. This book. It is a SPICY dark/horror romantic comedy.

To my surprise I really enjoyed this book. I am a scaredy cat and I was worried that I was going to be scared while reading this, but Weaver does an excellent job balancing the dark/horror aspects with cute romantic parts.

We are introduced to Rowan and Sloane, two infamous serial killers (they only kill bad guys, think Dexter) whose meet cute has to be the most original meet cute ever! They develop a friendship through a yearly game, where they see who can kill the baddie of the year. Sparks Fly!

Definitely check the trigger warnings! But it is a fun journey, that I think is best going in blind. I am excited to read the other books in the series

Welp, this was an interesting book. The disclaimer at the beginning of the book should have been enough to scare me off, but yet I was intrigued by what I was jumping into. To be fair, I was 100% sold on a serial killer romance. Yes, that might sound dark but I wanted that, thank you very much.
The serial killer parts were awesome! They were messed up, gory, intriguing and occasionally fun (yes, I stand by that- the dinner party made me laugh).
Buuut, the romance part was very meh, with little character development or backstory, I did not really know them as people and it was hard to get invested.
And that brings me to the sex. So basically, this was a sex book (dirty, dirty sex) with a tiny hint of plot. I was not expecting that, I went into this expecting serial killer sprees with a touch of romance and dash of sex. Yeah, I was completely wrong. I prefer more plot and character development than sex, but I am aware that there are those who want the sex- and this is for you, as long as you don't mind the super dark serial killer tidbits along the way.
This is the start of a series with each book having different characters, but I will not be continuing.

I SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO get the hype. This book is so funny and dark and amazing at the same time. LOVED IT and every SECOND I was reading.

As soon as I saw this book, I was taken in by the cover as it sounded amazing. Then opening the pages and reading the first couple which were filled with the best trigger warnings, I knew I was going to be in for a crazy-filled ride. To sum it up in a sentence - this is Bonnie and Clyde with comedy and dark humor. The book starts with two serial killers known as The Orb Weaver aka Sloane and The Butcher of Boston aka Rowan meeting at a killing. Rowan was ready to do some killing but found that Sloane had got there first. The pair connect and then to up the ante, Rowan suggests a competition - they will be each given a serial killer to track down and kill - the first to succeed wins bragging rights or whatever the other proposes as a prize. The competition starts as something fun, but throughout the novel -we see Rowan and Sloane having sparkling serial killer chemistry and the romance starts to blossom, but can these two serial killers survive romance and a HEA? This book has some crazy twists, serial killers with cannibalism on their plates and chainsaws and crazy mum attachments. In parts of this book, the main female character reminded me of Eclipse Anderson aka Lips from J.Bree's Hannaford Prep series. I can see Lips as a teenage version of Sloane. The second to last chapter of this book was also an OMFG twist as I didn't see that coming. If you are in the mood for a book that is dark but comedy in places then Butcher and Blackbird is the read for you.

"Every serial killer needs a friend. Every game must have a winner."

In Butcher & Blackbird, the captivating first installment of the Ruinous Love Triangle trilogy by Brynne Weaver, readers are plunged into a world that masterfully blends darkness, thriller, romance, and spice. From the very first page, the narrative grips you with its intensity, introducing a cast of complex, seductive characters that draw you deeper into the story. This book is a thrilling ride that keeps you on the edge of your seat, leaving you eager for more.

thank you to NetGalley for an advanced arc reader, this did not affect my rating.

Weaver's writing is sharp and evocative, effortlessly drawing readers into a world where violence and passion are inseparable. The narrative is fast-paced, with unexpected twists that keep you on edge, yet it’s also infused with moments of raw vulnerability that add depth to the characters.

What stands out most about Butcher and Blackbird is how it deftly balances the macabre with the romantic. Weaver isn't afraid to push boundaries, delivering a love story that feels as perilous as it is heartfelt. Despite the bloodshed and brutality, there’s a strange beauty in the way these two lost souls find solace in each other.

This book is not for the faint of heart, but if you’re looking for a dark romance with gripping tension, complex characters, and a plot that keeps you guessing, Butcher and Blackbird is a must-read. It’s a bold, unforgettable story that will leave you breathless and questioning just how far love can go.

Unfortunately I had to DNF this one :(
I just got a little too cringed out with these main characters and for some reason I’ve totally gone off really spicy scenes in my reading when I used to strictly read only spicy books!! What happened there??!! I did just skim through these scenes but like I said, these characters were kinda insufferable to me, especially the male love interest and the way he would talk about our fmc!
I know a lot of other people love this, and maybe if I’d of read this a couple years ago I might have liked it more

This book absolutely lived up the hype! It was hilarious, romantic, gross (but like - in a positive way? Cookies and cream ice cream, anyone?) and spicy! Better still, it’s a standalone in a series that focuses on a different couple! All wins in my book.

I was extra lucky that my book club also decided to read this story too once published and we all honestly had the best time.

Can I also make note that the audiobook is positively wonderful! It’s a duet narrative that flows SO well!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the author for this arc! I thoroughly enjoyed myself!

This book is definitely not for everyone, especially those that are squeamish, but I really enjoyed it! There are laugh-out-loud funny parts, as well as a super steamy romance that builds between the hero and heroine. The ending was satisfying and I'll be picking up the next installment soon!

So, I think my main take away from Butcher and Blackbird is that I could not be romantically involved with a disorganised serial killer. Like, I lose my shit when my partner leaves a teaspoon out after making a cup of tea. I could not be doing with someone who regularly punches people to death in a fit of feral rage. Just the thought of the mess that would cause is making my toes twitch. I need my murders to be like my cutlery drawer: precise, ordered, in their place, very clean.

Anyway, this is a damn charming book, as long as (and this is a serious 'as long as') you're comfortable with the premise--which is that it's two serial killers who fall in love while engaged in a series of murder games with each other. There's a responsibly long list of content warnings in the front (or on the author's website) and you should probably check them before reading because while the violence mostly has a kind of stylised, tongue-in-cheek, hyper-real quality (think The Boys or Preacher) it's also pretty hardcore. Personally, I appreciated that. I mean, not the violence for its own sake, but if you're going to write a romance about a pair of serial killers, then you might as well go for it. And, say what you like about this book, nobody could accuse the author of not going for it. At least most of the time.

Obviously there's moral complexities here, especially given the typical gender breakdown of serial killers versus victims of serial killers, and the messy place serial killers occupy in the cultural imagination. But one of my favourite TV shows of all time is Hannibal so I am not the person to unpick them. Or rather, I could unpick them but it would an act of arrant hypocrisy. Then again, Butcher and Blackbird is clearly drawing heavily on those TV-show Hannibal vibes and, while I'm not trying to claim romantic murder for the queers, I think it's worth, y'know, pondering the ponderables when one of the ur-texts of a particular genre or subgenre explicitly exists as an exploration of a specific marginalised identity and what it means when that dimension is lost, forgotten or stripped away.

Or maybe it doesn't mean anything because I can over-think a can of beans and Butcher and Blackbird is one of those books that doesn't necessarily benefit from over-thinking. It does, however, benefit for enjoying the ride. And, you know what, I did enjoy the ride.

Sloane Sutherland aka Blackbird is a serial killer who preys on serial killers, presenting their corpses in an artistic, eye-less way, strung up on fishing wire, earning her the nickname the Orb Weaver. Having accidentally locked herself in a cage with the decomposing body of her latest target (girl, how? what even?) she is rescued by Rowan Kane aka Butcher, another serial killer who, you guessed it, preys on serial killers. Instantly intrigued, attracted and suspicious of each other, they nevertheless agree to a yearly murder game, as organised by Rowan's equally murderous brother. Needless to say, the murder games bring them together, teach them about each other, and they fall in love--presumably going on to live murderously ever after. I mean (semi spoilers but it's a romance--it's not what happens that's important, it's how) the final chapter of the book is them in full serial killer swing. And frankly I wish more m/f romances ended like this instead of leaving the central couple staring goopily into a cradle since I can't be the only person in the world who would much rather commit a murder with someone than raise a child.

Butcher and Blackbird is an interesting piece of work, straddling as it does between contemporary romance and dark romance and managing, in my humble opinion, to blend them seamlessly into something uniquely appealing. It wasn't, in the end, quite the book I thought it was going to be--I was expecting something a touch more thriller-ish--but I ended up liking what it was. For a book about, like, serial killers, there's remarkably little tension here. Rowan and Sloane are mistrustful of each other for barely a chapter but, in reality, there's very little true antagonism between them. The so-called murder game is mostly an excuse for them to meet up over a little light homicide and neither of them, for a single on-page second, seem concerned about ... y'know. Law enforcement? DNA evidence? If serial killing was as easy-breezy as this book makes it seem, we'd probably all be doing it.

The murder game itself is also a little lacklustre. Essentially Rowan's Murder Sibling tells them a place and the first to do a murder wins, but what that comes down to, textually-speaking, is a couple of entertaining set-pieces. I mean, I appreciated the set-pieces (they each pay homage to a particular flavour, so to speak, of fictionalised serial killer--one of them being a riff on Hannibal, another the Texas Chainsaw Massacre etc.), it's just when I'm promised a game, I'm looking for a *game*. This might well be my own brand of psychopathy coming to fore but I kind of thought I'd see more genuine competition between Rowan and Sloane or at least a little more, you know, of the logistical side of serial killer identification, tracking and murder prep. Not that I was looking for a how-to or anything, only I think I got a deeper sense of how Rowan runs his restaurant business than how the pair of them did their serial killing.

Then again, I think the book has to make some careful choices around its premise. We do, after all, have to be able to relate to both Rowan and Sloane, and most serial killers are ... well not relatable, for very, very good reasons. More to the point, we have to believe they're sufficiently in control of their darkest impulses that they're not going to, like, flip out and murder each other the first time one of them has a rough day. And then, on top of that, there's the whole issue of trauma to navigate. That Rowan and Sloane have been, to an overwhelming degree, shaped by traumatic events is necessary to keep them as sympathetic protagonists but, equally, dwelling on that could have felt exploitative, gratuitous, or just unbalanced the tone of the book--from the delicate to chiaroscuro that it is to dark AF. For the most part, I felt this was very well-judged. As readers we learn what we need to understand about who Rowan and Sloane are, and where their murderous needs have come from, but it isn't foregrounded or explored in detail. I did, at times, feel slightly iffier about Rowan, since--as far as I can tell--his deal is that his father was physically abusive. And I under no circumstances wish to downplay the significance of this (seriously, I'm not about to get hyper personal in book review but I do kinda know what I'm talking about here) but I ended up feeling therapy would have done more for him than a history of murder. Also isn't it kind of time for the "drunk abusive Irishman" trope itself to be thoroughly serial killed. It's, uh, a little bit racist.

I also think gender might be playing into this a little awkwardly. Obviously both Rowan and Sloane suffered abuse at times in their life when they were disempowered and unable to seek help, but with Sloane living in the world as a woman that's kind of an on-going issue, culturally-speaking. Given that somewhere in the region of 70% of serial killer victims are, um, women there's something both fucked up and poignant about Sloane's commitment to preying-on-predators. Arguably there are more useful ways to protect victims, but I understood why Sloane's experiences at the hands of a serial abuser would specifically manifest in a vengeance crusade against serial killers. Rowan, by contrast, is basically just psycho-Batman (well, more psycho Batman). And maybe that's hot, I don't know? But essentially Daddy hurt him as a kid and now he goes around murdering people in fits of bestial rage, nominally so nobody has to go through what he went through? Except serial killers and men who beat their children are a different category of terrible human being, and there would be more direct ways to actually make a difference in the lives of children in abusive situations than by murdering people whose victims are--statistically speaking--somewhat more likely to be adult women.

Oh fuck, I said I wasn't going to overthink this. But overthinking is kind of my love language.

The reality is that both Sloane and Rowan are fantastically likeable characters. Because of the already-discussed need to have them remain plausible as romantic leads we could root for, they're not necessarily super deep and some of the more potentially troubling aspects of their characters are elided. For example, we see Rowan do his murderous rage thing early on, and then his violence is solely used protectively--which, I think, helps the reader come to peace with the fact we're dealing with a violently impulsive criminal here, ain't he dreamy--and neither character seems notably inconvenienced by their apparently overwhelming need to kill, which is sort of like writing a book about drug addicts who only need to shoot up when it's plot convenient for them to do it. Also let me clear, that this is not a *criticism* - God knows I don't want to read a book about realistically depicted serial killers getting it on. I think I'm just interested from a, y'know, semi-professional standpoint about how a book like this is constructed and the choices and compromises it needs to make to be functional. And not, like, gross.

Because it's not gross (I mean, okay there's definitely gross moments but they're deliberate). It's genuinely delightful and I had a lovely time with it. I think I also probably gave it more passes than I might have done otherwise because the central characters were serial killers--so a lot of the straight romance bullshit that I normally find confusing at best and alienating at worse, I was able to file under "oh, but they're literal psychopaths so it's fine." I also ended up really liking Rowan but in a way that made me wonder if I have been implicitly operating under the assumption that most straight rom heroes are basically serial killers anyway. I mean, possessive, violent, shredded to filth, and sexually aggressive seems to come as an expected part of the package. But Rowan also brings some hardcore pining, a capacity for genuinely romantic gestures, and a willingness to be consistently outshone by his womanz so, y'know, progress? Also, the chemistry between Sloane and Rowan is chef's kiss.

It does get fairly, ah, spicy up in there, as I believe the young ones are saying. I wouldn't say full on dark rom spicy but spicier than your average contemp. To be honest, I was just glad to read a sex scene in a contemporary-adjacent romance that broke the mould a little (since the current trend seems to follow an unwavering pattern of "he goes down to prove he's one of the good ones, she goes on top to prove she's sexually empowered, he flips her over and finishes on top to prove he's still a real man" - eyeroll) but I did find Rowan and Sloane's sexual dynamic (as much as I enjoyed it) intersected in slightly complicated ways with their trauma. I mean, we have a violent man whose childhood was shaped by physical abuse, in the dominant role, and a woman whose boundaries were eroded through long-term sexual abuse in the submissive one. Don't get me wrong, Sloane is very actively consenting to all of it, and I'm definitely not claiming kink is inherently linked to trauma, or that people who have undergone trauma cannot enjoy kink, and definitely definitely not saying it isn't hot, but ... I think, for me, part of the problem was it was only hot?

And, wow, is "the sex scenes were only hot" a first world problem of erotic writing. But, purely personally (and this is very much about my personal preference, not about a flaw in the book), if I'm looking for something only hot I won't be seeking it in fiction--so I tend to be most interested in sex scenes when they're doing emotional and character work as much as, perhaps even more than, delivering the spice. Basically with Rowan and Sloane, while I was happy they finally got to bang each other (Rowan makes a big deal about the fact he waited four years for it - classy, my dude), I kind of wish there'd be more emotional development around it. Especially because we have two characters here for whom vulnerability is so terribly, terribly charged. Again, I'm very much not saying the book did fucking wrong. And I can certainly see that there's something emotionally satisfying in the idea that Sloane and Rowan have reached a point where they can give their bodies to each other in perfect trust and harmony (and where the only conversation required is "what's your safe word"). It's just that, as a reader, I'm usually looking for sex to be part of that journey, rather than merely its culmination.

The thing is though, while not everything about Butcher and Blackbird ended up hitting for me--the writing is a little raw in places, which I skipped over because I initially assumed it was a debut, the bants (and this is personal taste again) sometimes fell flat or felt like it was trying a little too hard, and it's best if you don't think too hard about the ethical implications of what's going on (Sloane and Rowan are damaged by their trauma in nuanced ways, but each of the serial killers they gruesomely take out is a cartoon monster)--it ultimately worked for me as a kind of ... romantic allegory I guess? Dancing deftly on the border of light and dark, it speaks rather poignantly to the experience of finding love and understanding when you feel like a lonely, broken monster. Which I think everyone does, or has, at some point. Um, right? It's probably a weird thing to say about a book about serial killers but there's a sweet and sincere heart to Butcher and Blackbird; I may have come for the murder games, but it was that, in the end, I stayed for.

I also learned that I find involuntary cannibalism hilarious but puppet shows with corpses significantly less so. So that's a thing.

I know I'm late the party to this dark comedy party, but gah this book is just so unique and so captivating. I'm here for this serial killer romantic comedy party- and I had a blast.

By now most know the premise, but what a fun and novel idea. A rom-com about two serial killer friends...who kill other serial killers?! WHAT! Ah yes, this is a story about the hysterically chilling and unconventional relationship between two serial killers, Sloane and Rowan, whose lives intersect in unexpected and deadly ways. It's a gripping narrative full of dark humor where friendship evolves into slow burn romance...all set against a backdrop of murder and mayhem. Sounds fun!

Sloane and Rowan's relationship evolves slowly over the years, both of them struggling with their own baggage and insecurities, which prevent them both from feeling worthy of one another. I also love the duality of their characters. They do dark things and have very dark sides....but they also exact vigilante justice on the worst people. Which unites them in a really interesting way, they are two people who share a penchant for violence and an understanding of each other's dark desires.

You wouldn't think serial killer romance would be so sweet at times...or also so funny. But Brynne weaves the genres together effortlessly, even if at the outset it seems like oil and water. At the heart, this is a story about the complexities of human connection....even if the backdrop is one of horror. Sloane and Rowan's bond transcends conventional morality or traditional romantic tropes in the best of ways. Their connection is real, authentic, and engaging- two souls doing dark things for good, both plagued deeply by their own demons.

And even with the dark elements and the triggers, there is so much clever dark humor here. I laughed, loved the edgey humor, and the audio in particular really showcase the comedic charm. It was the moments of unexpected tenderness, particularly as Sloane and Rowan confront their own vulnerabilities, that I loved the most though. The heart that Brynne finds in the sea of dark activity, the purity in moral ambiguity. And, it's also just loads of fun.

This book skirts right on the line of being too much. Two Dexterlike killers meet and engage in a yearly bad guy murder competition and growing infatuation with each other. Definitely original but this may not be for everyone.

Thank you to NetGalley and Zando for the e-book copy!
When a book gets a lot of hype on TikTok I'm always curious about whether or not it's actually good. I was wary of this title since I don't tend to read dark romances, but this kept me entertained. Butcher & Blackbird follows Sloane and Rowan, rival murderers who meet one day and decide to play a cat-and-mouse game with specific targets. I will say this book does deliver on the gore and if you decide to read please check the triggers in the beginning. Outside of that, I felt the romance progressed at a good speed and I enjoyed the side characters a lot. There is no huge plot but there is a third act that I felt was a bit random and not needed. Overall, this was not bad but definitely could have been better. I am likely going to continue with the trilogy since I liked the side characters.

"You're all the best things to me, Sloane. No matter how many bruises are in your heart or on your skin."

- Dark romantic comedy
- Serial unalivers unaliving other serial unalivers!
- Data scientist x restaurant owner
- He falls first
- Dual POV (and duet narration)

Okay, I get the hype. If you're also sceptical about going into Butcher and Blackbird and nervous it might be *too* much, let me reassure you. If you watch Criminal Minds, you should be fine. While there are some darker moments, they're not overly prolonged or described in too much heavy detail.

Brynne's writing also expertly balances these darker themes with an incredible amount of humour, banter, and wit. About 10 per cent into the audiobook, I felt like I could read about these two characters forever. If you can make me laugh when a character... you know, you get five stars.

"You literally scared him to death. You should be proud." I cannot 🤭.

Sloane and Rowan are also such complex and layered characters. Sloane is strong yet shy and vulnerable, ruthless and chaotic yet calculating. Rowan is fun yet fragile and completely gone for her. The restaurant? The tattoo? Who would've thought I'd fall for a golden retriever serial unaliver? 😂

I feel like this sums up their relationship: "We're not normal people. We are monsters. But if we're monsters, we'll thrive in the dark. Together."

Finally, the spice was HOT. It was actually quite a slow burn, but when the spice hits, it HITS 🔥.

While I don't want to draw too much attention to the audiobook, there's no denying it's an actual masterpiece and one of the primary reasons I adored it so much.

This book blew all my expectations for it out of the water from the very first page! I was obsessed with Sloane and Rowan so much so that they were all I could think about for the two days it took me to read this. I cannot wait to read Lachlan and Lark’s story now and I’ll definitely be picking up some titles from Brynne Weaver’s back catalogue.

4.5 stars

This was definitely... something.
But let´s be honest - the dedication to "everyone who was hooked by the trigger warning of canibalism" had me laughing and turning the page.
I loved this. The juxtaposition of the gory thriller and the cute love story really did have me hooked. I didn´t think it was possible to combine these two very different styles, but the author did so beautifully.
So excited for part 2!

This series is quickly becoming one of my all time favorite 2024 reads! It's such a fun premise and I am so excited to read the last one once it comes out. This story follows Sloane and Rowan as they fall in love and hunt down serial killers together. They meet when Sloan accidentally gets locked in a cage while hunting down her latest target. Rowan also happens to be hunting down the same target when he stumbles upon Sloane - his greatest idol - the Orb Weaver. He frees her, feeds her, and the two set up an annual event to hunt down serial killers together.

I have been seeing this title all over the internet and am glad I decided to take a chance and choose the popular book for once.

Psycho, gory and depraved, but make it cute and romantic!

I’ve never read anything like this before and I absolutely loved it. There were moments where I had to question my sanity, but it was an absolute ride!