Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver Series: Ruinous Love Trilogy #1
Published by Zando on October 23, 2023
Genres: Fiction / Romance / New Adult, Fiction / Romance / Romantic Comedy, Fiction / Romance / Suspense
Pages: 368
Format: eBook
When a chance encounter sparks an unlikely bond between rival murderers Sloane and Rowan, they find something elusive—the friendship of two like-minded, pitch-black souls who just happen to enjoy killing other serial killers.
From small-town West Virginia to upscale California, and from downtown Boston to rural Texas, the two hunters collide in an annual game of blood and suffering, one that pits them against the most dangerous monsters in the country. But as their friendship develops into something more, the restless ghosts left in their wake are only a few steps behind, ready to claim more than just their newfound love. Can Rowan and Sloane dig themselves out of a game of graves? Or have they finally met their match?
I keep going back and forth on how to rate this book. There were some elements I really loved and others that I didn’t connect to or could be better worked on.
Starting with what I didn’t like. I know I’m not a fan of insta-lust or insta-love trope, I feel like with this type of story having two people who are serial killers and connecting over a yearly competition should’ve gradually made them become friends and then fall in love. Having them immediately like each other, or more having Rowan immediately like Sloane, made their relationship not feel as authentic. Sloane’s chapters of her struggling to open up to him made way more sense for the plot.
Spoilers: The bit of plot at the end felt out of left field. This could’ve been handled better. There could’ve been hints that David was a serial killer throughout the book. At first, I thought it was going to be Dr. Stephen Rostis that snuck up on Rowan since his name kept being dropped throughout the book. With having David be the serial killer, I was also confused by him bringing up Sloane’s schooling and her first kill. Again, thinking he was going to be someone from her past or someone related to the first person she killed. So that felt like a let down too. Ultimately, it felt like this bit of plot at the end with David could’ve been left out and was only put in to have a third-act break up. Just let them have this romance between serial killers and a yearly competition game. End Spoilers
As I said, I liked Sloane’s chapters on struggling with letting Rowan in and have a relationship with him. But I felt a little bored at times with their romance in general. Once they were together, I didn’t really care. I do still want to read the rest of the series, especially with that epilogue chapter. Plus, I’m already here for Lachlan and Lark’s relationship from the few tertiary scenes we get in this one.
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