Review: Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver

I have seen Butcher & Blackbird (the first book in The Ruinous Love Trilogy) by Brynne Weaver all over Bookstagram lately, and for every post and every review I came across, my curiosity only grew. Described as a serial killer dark romantic comedy, it certainly sounded unlike anything else I have read before.

In this book we meet Sloane 'The Orb Weaver' Evans and Rowan 'The Butcher of Boston' Kane - two twenty-something young people who also just happens to be serial killers. They both specialize in hunting down and killing the scum of society - other serial killers, pedophiles/child molestors and drug dealers - and so it is only natural that their paths would one day cross. When a chance encounter leads them to meet face to face, Rowan proposes a friendly competition: An annual game of hunting down and disposing of an unknown monster chosen by an objective third-party. And so their bloody game begins. What neither of them expected was finding their soulmate along the way. But who better to understand a serial killer... than another serial killer.

The first thing that meets you when you crack this book open is a mile-long list of content and trigger warnings. These include (but are not limited to): Cannibalism, amateur surgery, eyeballs and eye sockets, skin ornaments and questionable use of a mummified corpse. That alone should probably tell you that this is no ordinary book. I was a huge Criminal Minds junkie back in the day, so I was not scared off by the promise of gore and messed-up murders. And while I understand that these triggers will probably scare off quite a few people, remember that the book is a romantic comedy. For instant, I cackled like a madwoman when I came to the scene with the questionable use of the mummified corpse. It was hilarious! And the unorthodox proposal scene? Pure comedy gold.

Because at the end of the day, this book is just a pure delight! I did not expect to have this much fun reading about two absolutely unhinged characters finding each other, but here we are. Butcher & Blackbird manages to be both cute, funny and romantic, despite the backdrop being anything but. Make no mistake, Sloane and Rowan are as batshit crazy as they come (Sloane's nickname 'The Orb Weaver' comes from her making these intricate webs of strings lined with skin pieces and eyeballs from her victims, and Rowan's 'Butcher' nickname does not come from him leaving neat murder scenes), but you just find yourself rooting for them anyway. Their chemistry is on point, and at one point I may or may not have screamed at my book to just let them kiss already. When they finally do get together, they're absolutely adorable (and also a little bit kinky - there's plenty of smut in this book).

The murder acts themselves were actually quite fun to read about, despite being a little gory. Am I allowed to say that? Because it sounds so wrong! I just mean that part of me enjoyed how creative the scenarios leading up the individual murders actually were. The yearly hunts were so silly and funny, and I can only imagine how much fun Brynne Weaver must have had when she planned out the individual cases - one of them more absurd than the next. The guy in the wall? The cannibal? Chainsaw dude? While I certainly do not condone murder in real life, I apparently don't have those same reservations when it comes to fictional book characters, because those guys definitely had it coming! And that is probably why it is so easy to root for Sloane and Rowan despite their weird, mutual hobby: They do not hurt innocent people.

With this being the first book in a trilogy of interconnected standalones, we are introduced to our other two couples in this book. The second book in the series, Leather & Lark (to be released on June 4, 2024), will be about Rowan's oldest brother (Lachlan), and Sloane's best friend (Lark), while the third book will follow the youngest Kane brother (Fionn) as he gets involved with a circus motorcycle performer (Rose). If you wonder if these characters knows about their friend's/brother's unconventional and murderous hobbies, the answer to that is yes. And from the hint we get throughout this book, it is pretty safe to say that these characters are no angels themselves.

I'm ready for more murder and mayhem, so bring on Leather & Lark already!