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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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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Series Review: "The Butcher of the Bay" Duet by J. Bree

Series: The Butcher of the Bay

Author: J. Bree

Genre: New Adult Dark Romance 

Reading Order & Individual Ratings

1. The Butcher of the Bay: Part 1 - 5 // 5 stars
2. The Butcher of the Bay: Part 2 - 5 // 5 stars

Overall Rating - 5 // 5 stars

Goodreads

The Butcher of the Bay Duet is another spin-off to the Hannaford Prep series, which I recently reviewed as one of my new favorite series of all time. In the span of just a few weeks, I read nine books set in this world of Mounts Bay, including this duet. Sadly, with my finishing this duet, my time in this world is finished for now until the author releases another book or I decide to reread it all again. 

This duet is actually a prequel that follows a beloved character from the other two series: Illi. More specifically, it's the origin/love story of Illi and Odie, his wife. We meet both of this characters in the original Hannaford Prep series, and they play an even bigger role in the Queen Crow trilogy. This duet is their turn to have the spotlight. And seeing Illi turn into an absolute SIMP was everything to me. 

I will say, I was unsure if I was going to love this as much as the others. Don't get me wrong, I was excited to read about Illi but I wasn't sure if knowing the outcome was going to impact the reading experience at all. I can safely say that I underestimated just how much I would love it because this duet was stunning. 

First things first, just because it's a prequel does not mean that I knew what was all going to happen because that was absolutely not the case. Obviously I knew there would be a happily ever after at the end but I didn't realize just how much these characters fought to get there. Which brings me to my next point...this duet needs more trigger warnings than the original series (see below). It's a lot darker and a lot grittier. Basically, whereas the original series was dark and stabby, this duet amplifies it tenfold.

It makes sense. This is the story of Odie, a girl sold into slavery by her own family, and Illi, a criminal known as the Butcher of the Bay for how he leaves his targets. And it's about the lengths they'll go to to be with each other safe and sound. There's a lot of blood, there's a lot of murder, there's a lot of traumatizing shit in here. 

But there's also soft moments...the ones that show the fierce gentleness of love. Illi would do anything for Odie, and she'd do the same. Their love is fierce and passionate and stunning and wonderful. Whereas plot is a huge thing in the other books and romance is equal or less, this duet has their love story at the forefront. It's their love story for the people who have read this series and already love them. 

I read this duet in less than 24 hours. I basically binged it from the moment I started (thank you KU) and couldn't stop for anything. It was amazing and wonderful and fantastic and I loved every second, whether it was heartbreaking or steamy or fluffy or stabby. Their story moved me in such a way and I am so thankful that I decided to give it a go now rather than wait until later because it was truly wonderful. It was also quite bittersweet because even though it was a prequel happening before all the other events of the other books, it was also my last book in this world for a long time. 

Overall, absolutely loved it. Illi is one of those characters you can't help but love and Odie was absolutely phenomenal. She doesn't get as much page time in the other books so it was lovely getting to know her in her own story. I cannot wait to reread all of the Mounts Bay books in the future and revisit these characters because they truly are a special bunch to me. 

Series Review: "Mindf*ck" by S.T. Abby

Series Title: Mindf*ck

Author: S.T. Abby

Genre: Dark Romance

Reading Order & Individual Ratings:

1. The Risk - 5/5 stars
2. Sidetracked - 5/5 stars
3. Scarlet Angel - 5/5 stars
4. All the Lies - 5/5 stars
5. Paint It All Red - 5/5 stars

Overall Rating: 5 // 5 stars

Goodreads 

TW: Please check trigger warnings for the book at the end of this post!

Oh boy was that a ride! I think my feelings can be best described as the phrase, "I support women's rights. But more importantly, I support women's wrongs." 

This series is like if Criminal Minds met Dexter with a splash of romance. It's dark, it's graphic, it's thrilling, it's obsessive, it's amazing. We follow Lana, a serial killer (but one who's side you're on), and Logan, an FBI agent working on her case (but who doesn't know who she is) and their romance over the course of five short books. Overall the series is only about 700 pages long and I read it in one night in one sitting. I stayed up until 8 AM to read this series when I was supposed to be getting up early the next day. 

I'd love to say that the romance was why I loved this book so much but that's not the case. The romance was great, don't get me wrong, but it's not as front and center as I thought it would be. This series truly thrives off the plot and the thriller vibes. There's plenty of mysteries to unravel, like why Lana is killing people, the other cases Logan works on, the true history of the town of Delaney Grove, and more. Then there's the consistent underlying thrill of wondering if or when Lana will be discovered. And, of course, the romance was enjoyable and added just enough lightness to keep the series from being too dark.

This series is not for the faint of heart. It is very graphic and holds nothing back. There's rape, sexual assault, pedophilia, graphic torture and graphic murder, amongst others (full trigger warnings at the end of this post). It can be sad and upsetting and rage-inducing. But it's also about getting justice for those wrongs. Lana is out for revenge and she will make sure vengeance is had. 

The writing was astounding. I've read other books by this author (under a different pen-name) and they were also just as addicting and well-written. I think this series far outshines the other I read, though. I was hooked and couldn't turn away, in part because of the writing style and in part because of how deep the plot and background goes. 

The characters were stunning. I loved Lana so much. My heart would break for her at times but I was cheering her on throughout the entire series because you're truly on her side for why she's killing people. She goes through immense character growth, both from flashbacks of who she previously was before to when the series started and throughout the series itself. She's phenomenal. Logan, our other main POV character, was enjoyable to read from. I think he was very well-written and I enjoyed getting to see him figure things out across a variety of cases. We also have Jake, Lana's best friend and partner in crime. He's a computer genius who helps Lana behind the scenes with her murder revenge. And I have to give a shoutout to Hadley, who was a surprising favorite by the end. If you'd asked at the beginning of the series if she was going to be a favorite I would have said no but now I would protect her with my life. 

This book series was amazing. It's full of heartbreaking and dark revelations on the world but there's also revenge and the desire for things to be made right and the sense that things are going to be better after the end. The relationships formed and grown across the five books drove the story hard, but the actual plot was phenomenally written that the characters could have been worse and I still would have loved it (which is rare as I'm a big character-driven person). 

Overall, I loved it. It was dark and unsettling but it was amazing and full of heart. I will definitely be picking up the paperback bind-up and rereading this series in the future. Originally I rated these four stars each but after truly thinking on it and writing this review I realized I loved these and have no faults with them that makes them deserving of anything less than five stars. And it truly is heartbreaking that the author passed away before seeing how popular her books got and how much love for the series there is. 

TW: abuse, assault, blood, castration, gore, kidnapping, murder, molestation, pedophilia, rape, torture, violence

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Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Lauren

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Book Review: "Neon Gods" by Katee Robert

Title: Neon Gods

Author: Katee Robert

Series: "Dark Olympus" #1

Genre: Adult Romance

Page Length: 380 pages

Publication Date: June 1, 2021

Rating: 4.5 // 5 stars

Goodreads

Hands up if you like romance or Greek mythology? Boy do I have the book for you...

I first encountered Neon Gods last summer when it got big on BookTok. I've had it on my TBR since then, but the timing to read it never felt right. I wanted to wait until I was reading it because I was interested, not because I wanted to fit in. And, well, that time finally came. 

This book was everything I wanted and expected it to be. It hit my expectations dead on, which sometimes doesn't happen in a book. However, it also didn't exceed my expectations which is something I always wish for. That being said, this was a strong novel that kept me engaged from the first page.

So, let's dive into it then. The main thing I liked about this book was the main character. I liked our narrator, I liked her character voice, I liked that she was strong but also accepted help when she needed it. I just liked her a lot. When it comes to the love interest, I enjoyed him. I think he's a lot more nuanced than a lot of romance leads tend to be a lot of the time. But I mostly enjoyed him when he was interacting with the main character.

The romance itself was great. I liked how it seemed to grow naturally. It felt, to me, that even if there was insta-lust at the beginning the emotional elements of the relationship grew on their own. And we actually got to see some of that formation rather than these characters just being instantly in love and as close as can be. Obviously I read romance books for the romance, and this one didn't disappoint. 

When it comes to most romance books, I always kind of expect some level of steam to them. But I also have to be in the mood for steamy books and I'm not always wanting to read these types of scenes. I purposefully waited until I was in the mood for this kind of spice before reading this book because I didn't want the necessary steamy scenes to negatively impact my reading when they otherwise would make it better. Since I did wait until I wanted them, I really enjoyed them. I won't get too deep into the sexual dynamics in this book but, honestly, it all was great and very much what I'm into reading about. 

What honestly sets this romance book apart for me from so many others that I've read is the world, the relationships outside of the love pairing, and the plot. This is such an interesting world based in Greek mythology and I'm so fascinated with the world and society itself outside of any romance plot lines. I would probably read a book that had no romance in it that was set in this world purely because it fascinates me so much.

The plot itself was a little similar to some romance books but because of the way the world and society are set up, it seemed unique while reading it. Even if looking back it has familiar elements, the way it was done for me was unique as someone who doesn't read a lot of dark romance or mafia romances. If I read more of this type of romance, which I always enjoy but don't reach for nonstop, I would probably have found the plot a little less original. But, because I don't read this as often it was perfect. 

Additionally, the characters had relationships (friends, family, etc) outside of the main romance pairing and it was nice to see these explored and discussed. I think not only did it add depth to this book, but it also made me care about the characters that we're going to be seeing featured in future books set in this world. 

Overall, this book was great. I was sucked in from the first page and read it in one sitting. I loved the world and enjoyed the characters a lot. I am excited to see how the rest of the series goes and can only hope that they are as good, if not better, than this first book. 

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Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Lauren

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