AMAZING!!! It is a great sequel to Butcher and Black Bird. Brynne Weaver really needs to keep writing books like this serries.

The second installment in the Ruinous Love series follows contract killer Lachlan as he marries Lark as she helps him with a job. This marriage of convenience quickly becomes more, but Lark is hiding a huge secret.

This book is dark and dramatic and spicy, in a way that you simply cannot stop reading. There’s great banter between Lachlan and Lark, however their romance was harder to connect to than the first book.

The audiobook was phenomenal. Samantha Brentmoor and Eric Nolan were phenomenal narrators and the effects within the audiobook were incredibly done. This was one of the best produced audiobooks I’ve listened to!

Thanks to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the advance copy.

The narrators of this audiobook were very good! I feel like the story and characters were very similar to the first book in the series. While I like them, I was hoping for something a little more different. It just felt like the same story, different font. I will say I do love the way this author writes banter!

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

Happy to report that the book was very entertaining 😁 This was a marriage of convenience, the premise for which did seem like a big stretch (i.e., romance reasons), but did I care? Not even a little bit.

I love marriage of convenience, especially when the man takes the marriage vows way more seriously than he should. Let me explain: nobody wanted the marriage, and Lachlan wasn’t pining for Lark (yet, it was like the first 30%), but he meant every word he said at the altar — and that’s what melted my *** off 🥵🥵 Generally I liked him more than I liked her, even though he was a big jerk in the beginning and then spent most of the second half of the book grovelling.

Now, Lark is a controversial character, for me. The universe the author created is what I would call “casually dark”, which makes sense because we’re talking about a serial killer (ahem, multiple deleter ) romcom. And still, somehow in my weird mind, I had no problem justifying Sloan and Rowan from the first book, and I had no problem understanding Lachlan, but Lark — she seemed disproportionately cruel. Her victims definitely deserved punishment, but it was hard to convince myself they deserved this kind of punishment. And her level of enjoyment in her “work” seemed a little too genuine.

I’m not going to think too much about it, because I enjoyed the romance, and Lachlan was the husband we all need, and truly — what else do we need from a good read?

I’m super excited to read Rose and Fionn’s story next because it was set up with so much angst I swear I wouldn’t care if they both m0rd3r people for funsies just let me enjoy my romance 😅😅

The narration was great, the performance was immersive and the narrators’ voices fit the characters perfectly!

Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️
♥️♥️♥️♥️

When our contract killer main male character Lachlan, butchers a job he knows he will never be able to get out of the business he has grown to resent. Then our light hearted song writer/singer, Lark, finds a way to help him get out. The one thing is that involves getting married. I liked that Lark has more to her than meets the eye.

To me this book was completely different from Butcher and Blackbird and I think if it was a standalone then everyone, including myself, would have enjoyed it more. That being said Butcher and Blackbird is such a hard book to follow up and I think this dose have a lot of the same points and flow. Was it a lie down? Maybe? But I did enjoy the story it just was not quite what I thought it was going to be. That's what makes this hard. It was a great story that had a lot of what I love in it. Fake dating (or marriage that is), banter, opposites attract and I loved all of that. I think if people look at it like another dark(ish) romance standalone then they would love it. I know I did but if you look at it like a sequel I get why people think it fell flat. I will definitely be continuing the series and reading what else this author puts out. I enjoy her stories and her inclusion of dark elements in her light romance reads.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes their romance stories to have a side of darkness. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this story.

This audiobook was amazingly done! The story was very addictive and I could not stop listening to it. I would highly recommend this book!

5 STARS!

Brynne Weaver, you fabulous, devious minx! "Leather & Lark" is scandalous, wicked, and delicious. I think that this book is just as good if not better than "Butcher & Blackbeard." I have come to adore the marriage of convenience trope, and this is one of the better ones I have read recently. Seriously, it's *so* good. I *loved* Lark and Lachlan both together and separately. Their chemistry is palpable. An attractive but psych0 singer and a hot, tatted-up grump? HECK YES, BABY. They start the book out hating each other, but they quickly realize how much they are obsessed with each other. This is a dark romance, but I feel like if you're reading the sequel to the first book, you should know this already. Because of this, some truly disgusting stuff happens in this book, not so much that it was an issue for me, though. In fact, I think the sweet, spicy, and gruesome are balanced perfectly. You have to mightily suspend your disbelief, but who cares, honestly. I laughed, I fell in love, I was grossed out... this series is so freaking good. Samantha Brentmoor and Eric Nolan give terrific narrator performances. They are spectacular, and I am so glad this book had a dual narration. Nolan's accent is swoon-worthy. A MUST READ/LISTEN!!!

Thank you to NetGalley, Brynne Weaver, Dreamscape Select, and Zando for the complimentary ALC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

3.5 Stars

I've been in a bit of a reading slump lately, which may have affected my overall enjoyment of the novel. The beginning and ending were quite entertaining, but I wasn't entirely convinced by the romance between the two protagonists. It didn't feel genuine to me. Despite this, it was still an enjoyable read, although not as much as the first novel. I'd still recommend it to fans of dark romances. If you're interested, I highly recommend checking out the audiobook - the narrators did a wonderful job.

***Thank you to NetGalley, Brynne Weaver, and Dreamscape Select for graciously sending me the audiobook to review. As always, all thoughts are my own.***

Fantastic audiobook! This needs to be listened to for full enjoyment. I will say it’s out of my comfort zone so that’s the only reason it lost a star — as it’s not quite for me as the audience.

I love the marriage of convenience trope and this was no exception! “My wife” — need I say more?! I did feel the dynamic between the characters could have been a bit better, but enjoyed it enough.

I don’t know what else I can truly say about it because it’s so unique that you just have to read it yourself! It’s definitely not for everyone so check out the content warnings.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.

I *loved* Butcher and Blackbird and was so looking forward to this one. While this was different for sure (as it should be), it did not disappoint for me.
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Marriage of convenience is a favorite trope for me - and when it’s between a multiple deleted and a hit man, what’s not to love?
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Lachlan is grumpy on the outside, but he definitely has a gooey center! Lark is quirky, a bit dark and a baddie. Both of them will do anything - and I do mean anything - to protect their families. Both families were added bonuses!
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Lachlan and Lark were definitely a slow burn. But when the sparks flew, it was a fireworks display!
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Brynne Weaver had a way of telling a story with some of the most bizarre characters I’ve ever loved and brings my kind of humor from start to finish!
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Thankfully I have a cast iron stomach so I will be able to continue to eat pizza! 🤣

Thanks to NetGalley and Zando Audio for an ALC in exchange for my honest review.

I really think this may be one of my top reads of 2024! I am in love with Lark and Lachlan <3

It’s not often that a sequel is better than the first book but this one for sure was in my opinion. And by no means did I think Butcher & Blackbird was bad! There was so more depth and chemistry between Lark and Lachlan. I was swoon!

Also that bonus chapter at the end…. Omg amazing.

As loathe as I am to admit it, because this was one of my most anticipated reads of the year, I unfortunately did not love this.

I think what B&B did so well was rooted in its simplicity: 2-3 major plot points, not too many tropes, a simple story line, and it was epic. What L&L did was B&B on drugs with 4-5 plot points, a ton of quirks, the pacing wasn't consistent, and there were more than 3 acts. I was lost within the first few pages and couldn't really find the plot because there was just too many.

The ending was muddled because of all the many plot points and reading on audio, I was mostly just confused.

I didn't feel the chemistry between our main characters until about 70% of the way through and then we started to get some relationship movement, but I wanted that a lot earlier on.

Again, where B&B shined was in its simplicity, its simple structuring, but the quirkiness it built from that was what made it an incredible read. Leather and Lark was muddled by just how much was going on. I mean we have the arranged marriage trope, the serial killer/hired killer trope, the "I'll do anything to protect my friends" trope, the "he has to grovel for what he did to her/bad first impression trope," then there's a plot where another serial kiiller wants revenge and is after Lark. It's too much.

If there were even just 2 less plot points, I'd be giving this novel a full additional star. As it stands, this just, unfortunately, didn't measure up to B&B.

“I will give her everything she wants and more.”
Okayyy Brynne just keep throwing Irish men my way.
Lark and Lachlan’s relationship didn’t have that OOMPH you get between Sloan and Rowan, but we still adore them. Lark gives me heavy Harley Quinn vibes and I can’t tell if I’m crushing on her or Lachlan more. And can I just say, Samantha Brentmoor and Eric Nolan brought these characters to life through the audiobook! They really captured the personalities to a T!

This was one of my most anticipated reads for this year, and what a crazy ride this book was!

When Lachlan meets his brother's fiancé's best friend, the last person he expected to find was the crazy lady that cost his boss a contract, and him a longer life of servitude. But when Lark approaches him with a deal that he really can't turn down, what's the worst that can happen? Him a contract killer and her all things sunshine and glitter (right?).

Lachlan and Lark were such a great slow burn. There was so much tension between them, you really didn't know where things were going to go. This definitely had a different tone and pacing compared to Butcher and Blackbird, I found it less dark comedy and more a truer dark romance, though it did have some funnier moments. Brynne does not hold back with this one, and left me squirming on more than one occasion. This pushes all your boundaries but is so unique and captivating, you really can't help but be glued to each page.

The audio was so well done. I just love a duet narration, I find the story and characters come across so much more authentic. Eric did a fantastic job with all the accents, and his voice was just magic to listen to....that growl! Samantha and Eric were a great pairing, they really brought the characters to life and really enjoyed how they played off each other. Highly recommend this audio!

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape for the advance copy to listen to and review.

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲:
🩵 dark romance
🩵 marriage of convenience
🩵 hate to love
🩵 toucher her/him and die
🩵 morally grey MCs

A sweet and spicy romance! As a long-time fan of the author, I was delighted with this story. A must-read for romance enthusiasts!

Thank you Netgalley and dreamscape select for the alc. My opinions are being left voluntarily. What a perfect follow up to book 1. I loved the narration the story every little bit of this perfect read. I have a copy of its way to me ans cannot wait.not sure if more bookings the series is coming I sure hope so!!!

4.5/5

Brynne Weaver has gone and done it again with a sequel that is just as shocking and amazing as Butcher & Blackbird! Leather & Lark is about Sloane’s best friend Lark Montague, whose glittery personality and hobbies hide her dark side, and Rowan's brother Lachlan Kane, a grumpy contract killer/leather worker. The story starts with a marriage of convenience, and Lachlan took awhile to grow on me with his "fecking Jesus" type comments, but in the end I laughed, cried, and loved their whole crazy story. I was also impressed how much was packed into this book - there's also a bit of a murder mystery and a complete cast of side characters with their own stories to tell.. I can't wait to read about circus motorcycle performer Rose and doctor Fionn next year.
The audiobook is a fantastic duet narration by Samantha Brentmoor and Eric Nolan, which includes not only actual singing 🎶 but an original song written for the series!
This book has everything you could ever ask for, including spoiling a few more foods (RIP pizza and beer) and a lot of triggers. I really appreciated that they were all listed at the beginning of the audiobook, including the very important fact that the dog is okay in the end.

Thanks so much for the audio arc! I loved listening to Butcher & Blackbird so I was psyched to listen to Leather & Lark!

What a wild kind of book (series)! Weaver mixes gore, murder with romance in such a creative way. We’ve already met our two main characters in book 1- so I would recommend reading in order.

Lark Montague is the best friend of Sloane. Her family is in a bit of a pickle and it’s up to her to bring some justice. She meets Lachlan Kane when she calls in a crew to clean up a “mess.” He's a jerk. They have great banter and immediately give each other nicknames. They meet again later on and find themselves needing to enter a marriage of convenience. (always a messy and wild trope.)

We follow these two and they battle real life demons and the start of feelings for each other. There was alot of similarity to B&B. I will say some of the gory scenes were hard to stomach. There was also some heavy spice in this story.

What a cool genre Weaver has opened my eyes to. It’s such a niche blending of topics. I really liked the dual narrators on audio- hate when a woman reads the guys part. I feel like that really brought such life to the book- especially the accent!! I’m totally intrigued by these books!

This book, like the last, was a fascinating, odd, and enrapturing experience.

It’s so strange, finding sympathy and relatability in characters who are going off on murder sprees. Yet somehow, that’s what Brynne Weaver has us all doing as we read this books. There’s absolutely a connection to the characters that feels real and warranted, though of course suspension of disbelief is a necessity. And while I would caution everyone interested in reading to look at the trigger warnings first, I’d also give this a high recommendation.

In short-
Q: Is serial killer romance as wild and weird as it sounds?

A: Yes, but at least in this case, it’s worth it.

A note on the audiobook. 5/5 hands down one of the best audiobooks out there. I wish every recording was this good. Perfection