Butcher & Blackbird: The Ruinous Love Trilogy (The Ruinous Love Trilogy, 1)

Yall THIS BOOK!!!! I am so glad I listened to yall because this book kept popping up on my feed, and I was contemplating it because I have never read anything like this and OMG AM I SO HAPPY I DID!!! This book is deliciously dark. It's like other romances with the slow burn and the pining and the build up the major difference being that both of the main characters are killers of serial killers. Sloane & Rowan (with a slight Irish accent) meet under not normal circumstances. Sloane has found herself in an unfortunate situation, and Rowan ends up being her savior. He asks her out to lunch afterwards where they realize that they have something major in common- they both hunt killers. They take the worst people of society off the map. Rowan can sense that is flighty so he comes up with a game. Every year they will have a competition. They will go to a city that Rowan's brother picks and have to find who they are hunting. Best out of 5. And so we go on a journey with them over the course of 4 years. We get to hear how they start texting each other. How they both are thinking about the other and wondering if what they have could be more. How Sloane takes the first step and shows up at Rowan's restaurant as a surprise. Then Rowan buys her food so they can cook together. They are basically "best friends" as they call it. Neither one of them is sure if they should make a move. All of this changes one night when they are hunting and Rowan lets some of his feelings slip. Moving things foward Sloane hits another hiccup on a hunt and Rowan almost loses her and FINALLY they kiss and it's explosive. It's everything I wanted and hoped it would be. The chemistry between these two is beyond top notch!! The spice was HOT! Now they are in a relationship and omg how Rowan woos Sloane is just the cutest. One of my favorite quotes by Sloane was simply "This man." He knows how to treat his lady. It is in the little details that he notices about her and how he opens up his life and business to her unabashedly. I of course hated the third act breakup (does anyone actually like those) BUT it was short lived and we got our HEA. I would HIGHLY recommend reading the Skulldiggery bonus scene if you haven't already. It makes you fall that much more in love with Rowan. I am BEYOND excited to learn about Lark and Lachlan and finally Fionn and Rose. These characters are just so awesome. The brothers together added another element to this book that I wasn't expecting and enjoyed. Brynn I am so thankful for this piece of art you have brought to us!

Butcher & Blackbird is book one of the Ruinous Love Trilogy. I’ll admit that I was a bit hesitant to read this book due to all the hype that it has received on social media. Turns out, it was well-deserved! I can’t say that I’ve ever read a book quite like this before. There was laughter, suspense, mayhem and spice. I’ll even admit that I cried twice. Don’t judge me! Also, I would like to point out that I didn’t physically read the book – I listened to it via Audible. I never listen to audiobooks so this was unusual for me. The narrators crushed it! Honestly, it’s the best I’ve listened to. I quit listening because there were times that I didn’t get the right vibes between the narrators and the characters (if that makes sense) but this was on point! Please read the following tropes and triggers. If the tropes don’t get your attention, the triggers absolutely will. Please read on to find out why I’m giving this book FIVE STARS and FIVE SPICE! Tropes include: serial unalivers, grumpy sunshine, he falls first, rivals to friends to lovers, dark romcom, touch her/him and die, forced proximity, one bed, hurt/care, dual POV, spice. Triggers: eyeballs and eye sockets, amateur surgery, skin ornaments, chainsaws, axes, knives, scalpels, accidental cannibalism, not-so-accidental cannibalism, questionable use of mummified corpse, lobotomized manservant, ill-advised use of kitchen implements, detailed smexy scenes, with roughness, praise, butt stuff, toys, hand necklaces, spitting, dom/sub, piercings, references to parental neglect and child abuse, parental loss (not depicted), references to child smexual assault (not in detail), and due to the nature of the serial unalivers, unaliving and general chaos. When I read, I am interested in the point of view (POV), the plot, and the spice. I prefer dual POV, I don’t want a predictable or bland plot, and I like my books HOT! This story is told from first-person dual POV by the female main character (Sloane) and main male character (Rowan). There isn’t a single element of their personalities that you miss here. These two are very well-written and their chemistry and banter is fantastic! The story is suspenseful, fun, and quite emotional at times. It really is the embodiment of a dark romantic comedy. The plot was in no way predictable. Even with the evolving relationship between Sloane and Rowan, from rivals to friends to lovers. . . I was always guessing. That relationship is also to blame for the tears I shed! I’m not going to dive into a plot summary because I feel that the blurb/synopsis does a great job of conveying what you need to know. I’m also not into spoilers! THE SPICE! I’m going to just say it – all the emotional twists and turns were 100% worth it to get to the spice. I loathe a slow burn, but this was such a good book I don’t even know that I noticed I was being consumed by the flames until I was on fire. I would do it all again. This book as the hottest spitting scene that I’ve read to date – in case anyone is interested – and everything else is perfection. If it’s on your tbr – move it on up!!!

I enjoyed this book, loved the characters and their love story. It’s a fun mix of horror and romance. Don’t be afraid of the warnings at the beginning of the book, yes those things are in there but it’s not as intense as it looks. It was an enjoyable read! Even though as a reader you want the two main characters to fall in love and have a happy ending, I did find it a tad sappy and a bit boring at the end of the book but I would still recommend this book. Maybe I just wasn’t used to the blend of romance in horror. I can’t wait for the other 2 books to continue this trilogy! The author has an easy to read style of writing and draws you into the characters and scenes!

Like, really. I didn’t expect to like so much, I was expecting to be a flop like others recommendations but really Rowan is AAAAAAAAAAAAA It was a romcom dark romance

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.

Murder • comedy • Spice I freaking loved this book😍 The chemistry between Rowan & Sloane… Yes please. And the banter, *sigh* it makes me sooo happy. In a way, I really liked that the FMC even though she was a serial killer she wasn’t overly confident and cocky in her personal life. One thing I absolutely love is an obsessive MMC. It was a slow burn but in the end they burned hot 🥵🔥