Book Review: "Leather & Lark" by Brynne Weaver

Title: Leather & Lark

Author: Brynne Weaver

Series: "Ruinous Love" #2
Genre: Dark Romance Comedy

Page Length: 416 pages

Publication Date: June 4, 2024

Rating: 5 // 5 stars

Goodreads

Butcher & Blackbird Review

Butcher & Blackbird is one of the most unique and fun romances I've read in my entire life. It was a highlight of the start of this year and I have not stopped thinking about it since. Therefore, I was pretty excited for Leather & Lark, the companion sequel, to come out. 

Leather & Lark follows two characters we met in B&B and their hate-to-love romance through the situation of a fake marriage. First of all, the premise had me beyond intrigued. Enemies-to-lovers and fake marriage scenarios are always fun for me to read about. This book was no exception.

I loved this book but I will say that it did have a different vibe to it than the first one. It wasn't in a bad way but it was rather different. I almost felt like this one was more of a serious romance compared to a romcom-esque romance. The two main characters were super fun to read about, though. They're very intriguing and I really enjoyed getting to see them open up to each other. 

The plot was somewhat dealing with the consequences of the first book and partly dealing with previous events. Since we actually ended on a rather big ending, I'm pretty desperate for the third book to come out soon. 

Overall, I loved Leather & Lark, but not as much as Butcher & Blackbird. Sequels are hard and it's often difficult to measure up or surpass a first book when it's as stellar as B&B is. However, that's not to say it was a bad sequel. It was fun and addicting but in different ways. I loved the characters and I know I'll be revisiting this book often. 

P.S. Please make sure you read the trigger warnings at the beginning of either book if you decide to read these! There's a long, long list and I want to make sure everyone is reading responsibly! 

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Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Lauren

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July 2024 Wrap-Up + Book Haul

If the first half of the year seemed like it flew by, July felt like it dragged. I truly feel like I've aged years in the span of a month. It was a long, busy, and overwhelming month in a lot of ways. Books, per usual, were an escape. I read a lot of romance this month compared to usual and enjoyed them all, including some new all-time favorites to add to my list. My hope, though, is I get into more fantasy books as we get into the later months of the year since I'm craving those cozy, fantastical stories. 

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1. 

Title: Check & Mate

Author: Ali Hazelwood
Rating: 5 // 5 stars

Review

2. 

Title: Blood Oath

Author: Morgan B. Lee

Rating: 3.5 // 5 stars

3. 

Title: Shadow Heart

Author: Morgan B. Lee
Rating: 3.5 // 5 stars

4. 

Title: Not In Love

Author: Ali Hazelwood

Rating: 5 // 5 stars

Review TK

5.

Title: Flawless

Author: Elsie Silver

Rating: 4 // 5 stars

6.

Title: Heartless

Author: Elsie Silver

Rating: 4. 5 // 5 stars

7. 

Title: Midnight Sun
Author: Stephenie Meyer
Rating: 4.5 // 5 stars

Review TK

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June 2024 Wrap-Up + Haul

Book Review: "The Throne of Honor and Blood" by J. Bree

Mid-Year Book Freakout Tag: 2024 Edition

Book Review: "Check & Mate" by Ali Hazelwood

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I didn't get very many books in July but I am very excited about the ones that I did get. I got three books, of which one of them I paid for many many months ago. I'm also on a no-buy challenge for a few weeks so these books are going to be exciting enough to hold me over. 

Up first I have Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver. I actually read this many months ago but I read an ebook through the library. I knew the moment I finished it that I was going to want my own copy but I told myself to wait until Leather & Lark released. Well, I finally have said copy! I was on vacation and, as we all know, vacation shopping doesn't count. What's most exciting is that I'll be able to annotate it when I reread it and I can lend it to friends and family now that I have a copy to lend. 

Then I finally got the first book from the Seasons of Shadowhunters Kickstarter that I pledged to back in November 2023. It's wild that when I pledged for it, I was living in another country in a long-term relationship and now I've moved countries and am single again with a whole new plan for my life. But I digress. This first shipment was the Secrets of Blackthorn Hall by Cassandra Clare. This is a collection of the weekly series she did on Tumblr, similar to the novella collections for The Bane Chronicles, Ghosts of the Shadow Market, and Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy. I am thrilled to have this added to my shelf and I can't wait to dive into it when I get to that point in my Shadowhunters read-through.

The last book I picked up was Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer, which is my current read at the time I'm writing this post. I was so excited for this book back when it came out in 2020...and then I never read past page 200. I think that's because I'd just read Twilight and I didn't have it in me to read the same book over again. I'm about halfway through on this read and loving it. It's an insightful look into Edward and the Cullens and I'm already wishing we could have an entire story about what they were all up to during New Moon as well as their versions of events in the rest of the books. 

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Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Lauren

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June 2024 Wrap-Up + Book Haul

June has come to a close and we're already halfway through the year! This was a very busy month for me and I did not read as much as I'd hoped to. I enjoyed the two books I read, though, and I'm very much looking forward to July's reading goals!

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1.

Title: Leather & Lark

Author: Brynne Weaver

Rating: 5 // 5 stars

Review 

2. 

Title: The Ever King

Author: L.J. Andrews

Rating: 4 // 5 stars

Review TK 

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May 2024 Wrap-Up + Book Haul

Book Review: "Butcher & Blackbird" by Brynne Weaver

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I hauled four books this month, which is a rather large number compared to the past few months. I'm pretty excited about all that I got, though, so let's go ahead and dive in!

Up first, I got Leather & Lark by Brynne Weaver. This is the sequel to Butcher & Blackbird which is one of my favorite reads of the year so far. I was so incredibly excited for this sequel (which I've already finished and loved). Not only that, but the first printings had a typo with a mini "i" and I know it's silly but I really wanted one. This one does indeed have the baby "i" and I'm just so thrilled about it!

Then I picked up I Am Grey by Jane Washington. This is a standalone from Jane that she recently announced she'd re-edited and changed a bit. This version was going to be going out of print and I wanted to snag a copy so that I could compare the original versus the new version. It's also just beautiful.

When I was visiting my hometown, my mom and I went to the local used bookstore I've been going to for years. I just browsed for a bit and ended up grabbing a copy of The Candy Shop War by Brandon Mull. This is one of my favorite stories from when I was a kid and I had actually never had a copy before. So when I saw a hardcover in perfect condition I snagged it up. And now I can reread it and finally get to the sequels!

The last book I picked up this month was the Fairyloot edition of Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett. I ordered this ages ago, I think right when I moved back to the USA, and it's finally here! This is the sequel to Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries which I got in a Fairyloot box a while back. It was the most stunning edition and I knew I was going to want the matching edition for this one. I haven't yet read the first one but it's on my fall TBR so I can't wait to get to it then and be able to dive straight into the sequel after!

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Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Lauren

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You can follow my bookstagram here for more bookish content!

To get more awesome posts like this post, click the follow button to the right!

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Book Review: "Butcher & Blackbird" by Brynne Weaver

Title: Butcher & Blackbird

Author: Brynne Weaver

Series: "Ruinous Love" #1

Genre: Dark Romance Comedy 

Page Length: 360 pages

Publication Date: August 15, 2023 
Rating: 5 // 5 stars

Goodreads

As a fan of dark romances and a fan of rom-coms, I was quite eager going into Butcher & Blackbird. A dark romcom about a competition between serial killers? It sounded right up my alley, particularly after my enjoyment of the Mindf*ck series in 2022. Butcher & Blackbird lived up to my expectations and far surpassed them, giving me a new all-time favorite to add to my shelves.

In Butcher & Blackbird, we follow two serial killers who take out other killers. After a rather hilarious first encounter, they begin an annual murder competition that takes them across the country over the span of multiple years. And, of course, romance starts to bloom. 

I loved both the main characters in this. In a romance book, good character building is essential to keep readers invested. After all, romance plots revolve mainly around rooting for two or more characters to get together. Brynne Weaver did a stellar job at making me fall for Sloane and Rowan. Between their witty banter, toe-curling flirtation, and surprising tenderness, I was ready to fall for these characters myself. 

Apart from the characters, Weaver crafts an exciting adventure for us readers to go on with Sloane and Rowan. It takes a truly skillful writer to make murder into a hilarious endeavor but she truly succeeded with this story. From ruining cookies & cream ice cream to accidental cannibalism, the trials these characters endure on their quest to kill had me cackling out loud. 

It's rather rare to have both an exciting plot and well-crafted characters in a story. However, Weaver managed to achieve that and more with Butcher & Blackbird. On top of that, the spicy scenes were stellar and well-balanced. I'm not someone who loves a lot of spice in books but Weaver managed to make the scenes both exciting and purposeful. 

While I love Sloane and Rowan, we also got to meet a variety of side characters that we'll get to see featured in the future installments of the Ruinous Love trilogy following the Kane brothers and their romances. I am particularly excited to see how Lachlan and Lark get on in the next installment after their frosty demeanors towards each other during the rare moments they've been on page together. 

All that being said, I'll leave you with this: Butcher & Blackbird is an addicting, hilariously gruesome story with a surprisingly touching romance that tugs at your heartstrings. It's not for the faint of heart and the trigger warnings should be taken as the warning they are, but if it hits your preferences, it will surely become a new top favorite. 

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Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Lauren

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You can follow my bookstagram here for more bookish content!

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