Butcher & Blackbird: The Ruinous Love Trilogy: 1 Paperback – 12 Dec. 2023

Oh my gosh I loved this book so much! Rowan and Sloane are amazing characters. The storyline kept me hooked. There were some absolutely brilliant comedic moments. It's really well written. I didn't realise it was going to take place over such a long time period, so there are a few time jumps where I wish I'd known a little bit more what was going on with the characters. But the time jumps also meant the story kept progressing at a good pace. And (spoiler) the cat lives! Really, really enjoyed this one and purchased the second book before I'd even finished with this one :)

I honestly wasn't sure if I had a strong enough stomach for this book after the introductory trigger warnings. But what a read it is, gruesome, incredibly raw, not for the faint hearted..and also a love story that is heart filled ,emotional and absolutely hilariously funny. Butcher and Blackbird will stay in my head for a long time ,however I'm not sure if I will be able to eat ice cream for quite some time. Well worth a read, a very cleverly written book.

"Even serial killers deserve a meet-cute"I laughed out loud so many times reading this book and loved the budding relationship between Rowan and Sloane. I must admit I was really frustrated that it took them sooooooo long to realise they both felt the same 🙄, but once they got going, there was no stopping them 🥵🔥I enjoyed the author's style of writing and I was captivated by their story and I adore dual POV's. It was funny, the main characters banter was top notch, their chemistry sparked a flame, their love story sweet and totally unpredictable events and wee surprises were weaved into this tale. I've already purchased Leather & Lark, the 2nd book in the Ruinous Love Trilogy, and can't wait to dive into Lachlan and Larks story.

If you're new to dark romance and would like something to try out then this is the perfect book, it's not too dark or very spicy and is a slow burn but with quite a bit of comedy in and less darker themes. As someone who is a little bit more "seasoned" in dark romance books I prefer my books a little bit darker and way more gory. However it was a good plot and a very enjoyable read overall

This is the first instalment of the Ruinous Love Trilogy and the story of Rowan Kane and Sloane Sutherland - a rather light and breezy rom com about two serial killers finding a fairy-tale love.And I was having so much fun reading this.I am not new to this topic - I love a dark romance, I love an antihero, and I love the topic. I read a lot of it, and I am a huge fan of Trisha Wolfe so I was pleasantly surprised to learn at the end of this book that so is Brynne.. in a way. Unlike in any other dark romance about serial killers I have read so far though, the tone here is light and carefree, and there's no real sense for danger. As if they're just two normal people with the usual relationship anxiety and don't like to pluck out people's eyeballs in their spare time at all. Almost.Rowan, the Boston Butcher, lives a relatively boring life running his beloved and quite famous restaurant during the day (so to speak) while quietly disposing of some of the worst scum humanity has to offer when the night comes - until he meets Sloane, the Blackbird, in an unlikely and rather gruesome event involving one caged lady in distress, putrefied body and a crawling heap of orzo pasta. And they make an even more unlikely deal to meet up every year for a simple competition - whoever gets the target first, wins. And the games begin.The dynamic between Rowan and Sloane works brilliantly. There's a lot of humour, great banter, and there's some hilarious inner monologue. And being also a fan I very much enjoyed all the film references - and I can totally appreciate Kenau's Constantine form too!Sloane's best friend Lark is one I would love to have, and she as well as the brothers and other side characters are well built - they feel alive, they are just as intriguing as the MCs, and some of them actually have pivotal roles in this love story.And there are some iconic moments here indeed! I felt some serious Psycho vibes in the original home of Winston Church, I couldn't stop laughing when old Mama Mead dragged herself over terrified Harvey, and then there's the wanabe Hannibal Lecter with only about half the class of the real one. The ice cream moment? Thank you for the trigger warning but it sure as hell wasn't enough:-D"...Then, low and behold, bits of his body were strung up in fishing line with his eyeballs gouged out."Sloane huffs, but I can see the spark that flashes in her tired eyes. She sits a little straighter, wiggling in her seat. "I didn't gouge them out, Butcher. I plucked them. Delicately. Like a lady." Sloane sticks her finger in her mouth, pressing it against her cheek as she wraps her lips around it only to snap it out with a pop. "Just like that."..."You know what they say, Blackbird. 'It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye'", I whisper. "And that's when the real fun begins."The book might have felt a bit slow at the beginning, especially as a lot of time has passed in the first few chapters, and just as I thought it was getting predictable and not really what I was hoping for, the pace picked up and all the pieces started to fall in their place. Quite a roller coaster ride and fun all the way - all the ups and the downs.Oh, and you might want to be ready - the smut comes late in here but when it does.. oh boy.The only thing I was missing was some bigger underlying storyline. Perhaps it's because I'm used to it but I like the read to not just focus on the two main characters but to take it a little further.I thought this was going to be the Forest Phantom and it clearly will - based on the epilogue - and I am looking forward to it. But he was only really mentioned a couple of times so far and I would like to have had more. Even David and his part felt a bit like a shortcut - I was expecting to have seen more of him, especially as he had such a crucial role to play. But that's just my opinion, I'm sure most people won't mind.Certainly a unique read and I am already looking forward to the next instalment.Can't wait to learn about Lachlan and Lark and Fionn and Rose!"Maybe I was right. We're not normal people. We are monsters. But if we're monsters, we'll thrive in the dark. Together."

The media could not be loaded.  O livro é maravilhoso, para mim o enredo é incrível, os personagens principais são muito carismáticos e engraçados. A autora faz com que um livro de serial killers seja engraçado e romântico na medida certa.Em relação ao livro físico em si, é o material de livro britânico/americano padrão, não é uma capa muito resistente igual as brasileiras mas é ok

Usually not into this trope but it kept coming up on my FYP on TikTok and decided to give it a shot and I'm so glad I did!!

Just added another new author to the list with this read, and what a fantastic book it was! I loved the writing and the entire concept of the book was a great twist on the typical dark romance, I laughed so much and boy was it fun!Sloane and Rowan were just wonderful right from page one! I could not get enough of the dynamic they shared. Not one but two serial killers…I just had to know how these two were going to pan out!And could these two be any cuter together?!?!Sloane was beyond amazing, I loved her entire story, my heart went out to her and I loved how powerful, strong and smart she was. Rowan was so so good, swoony, protective, dominate-and he fell hard, but was cautious and very in tune with Sloane.I loved how this friends to lovers story was written, it made for great character and relationship developments. Such a neat way to do the timeline of the book to, I loved the banter, the ‘game’, and the twist (so good)! I was here for every moment, and hung on every word. Right up to the ending, it was just perfectly them!I may never look at a few item the same again without thinking of this story, and it is WORTH it! But if needed be sure to see the content warnings at the beginning of the book.I can not wait for the next two books in this series since we got a few little hints about them.I may have also ordered the paperback because this cover (and story) is too great not to have on my shelf!Highly recommend and I look forward to checking out this authors backlist as well!5 stars.

Potevo esimermi dal leggere un libro ultimo fenomeno dei social del quale hanno anche annunciato il film? Penso che la risposta sia ovvia quindi eccomi qui per darvi la mia opinione su Butcher & Blackbird di Brynne Weaver..Finito in circa 48h è stata una ventata di aria fresca. Sloane e Rowan sono i nostri protagonisti, due serial killer buoni se possiamo definirli così in quanto fanno fuori altri serial killer. Si incontrano perche entrambi erano interessati ad uno stesso uomo ma lei è arrivata prima finendo con rimanere incastrata in una situazione veramente assurda e lui la salva..Dopo quattro chiacchiere i due decidono di sfidarsi e ogni anno si mettono sulle tracce dello stesso individuo il primo a farlo fuori vince..Ho trovato questo romanzo unico, le battute, le scene che fanno ridere anche se non dovrebbe essere così e il modo iconico in cui l'autrice rovina la nostra visione del gelato sono quel qualcosa che ti fa dire solo wow..Sloane e Rowan sono due anime tormentate che si trovano al momento giusto e vedere come piano piano si innamorano l'uno dell'altro è stato bellissimo..Sicuramente continuerò a leggere gli altri libri della trilogia solo per vedere se l'autrice continuerà a rovinare, passatemi il termine, altri cibi!

😳😳 the pining, the slow burn 🥹 the found family. i just couldn’t put it down. one of my friends got me this book for my birthday and after a lot of convincing from this book group im a part of i finally picked it up, only putting it down to sleep for a bit.i felt the pain sloane felt when rowan got threatened with her life, and i love that despite both of them being serial k*llers they loved each other and truly understood each other, that’s sometimes hard to find. sometimes in the back of my mind i had a thought, what if they got caught in the book? would’ve been fun to read lol