Reviews with content warning for Drug use - Butcher & Blackbird

This was interesting. I didn't know anything about the book but a friend bought it for me so I thought I'd give it a read. It was a lot more fun than I was expecting and less gross. I can't say I'm a dark romance girly in the traditional sense because when most people talk about dark romance I feel like they're talking about all these bad things happening to the FMC by the MMC against her will. Like I'm all for the dark romance being like "oh he's a killer" "he's unhinged" "he's scary" but as long as he doesn't hurt the lead character then I'm cool with it! Like why are you trying to hurt the object of your affection? That should be the exception to the rule. BUT IDK THAT'S JUST ME. Either way, this was funny because the two of them were so unhinged but like functional??? In everyday life??? Which I guess is true for sociopaths but I also don't think sociopaths are capable of love so I don't know what to call them. The FBI apparently calls them vigilante's so I guess that??? But something Rowan said at the end about her evolving and not devolving like most people believe killers would do really got to me. Like I know this was fake but it was really stretching some truths here.

REGARDLESS!!! Rowan and Sloane were really cute together and I enjoyed their banter. I'm really looking forward to reading about the rest of Rowan's brothers. Their stories are already kind of built up so I think they'll both really exciting too.

Content Warnings

elonn's review against another edition

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dark lighthearted tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.5

This should’ve been two different books - a serial killer romance novel and a chef romance novel, but instead they were crudely crammed into one book. If you’re going to make both your main characters lovable serial killers, you need to commit. The author didn't and consequently I never bought either of them as killers. They had zero killer traits outside of their actual killing. In the scenes where they are killing, they felt like completely different people. I wish I had gotten to spend more time with those people bc they were way more interesting than the normal versions of themselves. I never even understood why Rowan liked killing or what motivated him. The whole serial killer plot (the MAIN fucking plot) felt completely unfinished.

This book was also SO gory in ways it did not earn. I don’t even mind gore. It was just so out of place in this otherwise tame book.

The dialogue was atrocious, I could barely get through their stupid “banter.” And some parts barely even made sense, like

why did he fly there just to hide behind a tree?? If you had no plans to see her or talk to her, wouldn’t it have been easier to just Instacart her the ingredients from Boston?? Has this author never heard of Postmates or...? I know delivery fees are high but they’re definitely not the $500 you paid some random kid.

I am so confounded by this plot choice.

I think the worst part was

the intensely rough sex scene that took place hours after she was severely injured. Maybe I’m CRAZY, but I just don’t enjoy sex scenes when one character has a fresh, grievous injury.

WEIRD, I know.

Content Warnings

edilyaaang's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The perfect book to get me out of the reading slump I had fallen into for more than a month now.

I love morally gray characters especially when their purpose is for the greater good. All those gory details never bothered me. Though, I think being a true crime fan had made me immune to that. And the fact that the "victims" were serial killers and their targets were innocent people kinda lessen's the MCs guilt it, I guess? My moral compass is askew but idc.

I love Sloane and Rowan. I love their banter. How they looked out for each other and accepted their respective flaws because they can relate to one another. I love how Rowan insists on talking and being honest to one another and how Sloane makes an effort to overcome her trauma to trust him.

I also love every one of the side characters and can't wait for their stories, too. And I will definitely be reading more works from the author in the future.

PS:

And proposing by stuffing the ring into a dead serial killer's empty eye sockets was the icing of the cake lmfao. Perfection

Content Warnings

wickedgrumpy's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

3.5

Honestly pretty fun. There were some things I wasn't a huge fan of but it was silly and campy in a good way, amidst all the blood and gore.

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velorum's review against another edition

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dark funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Diverse cast of characters? No

2.25

I know you’re scared, but you deserve to be happy. So put some of that bravery to use for yourself for a change.

This was waaaay more smutty and a lot less murderous than I anticipated. It’s actually quite insane that I wanted the serial killer aspect of this to be explored more. Nevertheless a quick read and Weaver delivered a solid dark romance; I enjoyed the crazy journey and succinct writing.

Mind the TW’s bc the author brazenly holds no bars back, e.g. descriptive body gore,

the opening scene is Sloane (FMC) trapped in a small space with her latest murder victim who is literally three days into the decomposition process, and the maggots that burst from his stomach are compared to crawling ORZO PASTA.

Content Warnings

evren219's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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