Rating: 5 out of 5
Genre: Romance / Horror
Hello friends!
In this blog, I’m reviewing Butcher and Blackbird by Brynne Weaverl. As usual, the first half of the review will be spoiler-free, and more about my overall thoughts, whereas, for the second half, I’ll be doing a technical review. There will be spoilers there to help you strengthen your craft.
I don’t know what this book says about me. I’ve gone down a gruesome path. How did people watch Dexter?
Make sure you read the trigger warnings carefully. They don’t exaggerate and I’m not sure they prepared me for the gore (and I can handle gore).
The dedication had me turning the page.
There was a lot more depth than your typical romance book – think more Ali Hazelwood. There was a strong world and characters.
Rowan is everything that I want in a female/male romance. Strong. Compassionate. Alpha. Artists. Loves his family. Emotional depth. Sloane comes toe-to-toe with him. She’s a strong woman that can’t be controlled. Still, she is able to become his partner. There’s equality in the relationship, which, I think, is hard to pull off in writing. Sometimes the woman becomes too dominated instead of being able to keep up with the male protagonist.
I wouldn’t call it insta-love. There’s a physical attraction from the start, but it’s believable. They fall in love as they spend time together.
It says that you can read these books as standalone, but I see a strong thread weaving through them. I would start with book 1. Sadly, the last book won’t be coming out until next year. I was too early to jump on the train.
I struggled with the good guy take. They are serial killers killing serial killers. They are just as bad. I want to love the book, but I also feel guilty. The story is beyond dark. We’ve entered no man’s land where the killer is romanticized. I love dark books, but this seemed to cross an imaginary line I didn’t know I had. Still, I was pulled in by the tropes that I love. Rowan won the shor. I appreciate the parts where no one was being killed. Luckily, there were only a few killings to get through.
And, to let you all know, this is definitely R rated in terms of sex.
Now look away if you don’t want spoilers.
Because here we be entering our spoiler section.
Somehow, Weaver was able to write the most depraved book about serial killers and the world loved it. The ratings on Goodreads are off the charts. I’m shocked. The high ratings made me feel okay giving Butcher and Blackbird 5 stars. Now I feel guilty that people are going to want to read this book because I gave it 5 stars. I need an asterisk next to my rating.
Butcher and Blackbird draws a hard line in the sand. Weaver has set herself up to be boxed in at the start of her career. Can she pull this off again, or will she always be known as the gory writer? Maybe she’s fine with that title. It’s something to consider if you’re a debut author. And what if people didn’t like this book? What if it had all blown up in her face? What if only a select few could handle the gore? Then she would have lost her audience before she even got off the starting block. I hate to be a downer, but this is the time to build your brand. I’m glad that she didn’t fail.
This book easily checked off all the boxes to be rated 5 stars. Well fleshed-out characters. Strong backstory. Believable romance. Entertaining. Tropes that I like. It had that sparkle to push it over to 5 stars.
Excellent cliff hanger at the end. This is why you need to read the books from the beginning to the end. How else would we have an understanding of her friend’s backstory? Or else, that gets rehashed in book 2.
I’m starting to see a lot of books use the male’s POV for the sex scenes. It’s an interesting choice that I think works. Especially now that I’m reading female led scenes. Their missing the same level of spive. The male POV lends the scene to this caring, while also dominate, dynamic – my favorite style. Readers want to watch the man come undone, easier done with a male POV. It’s a way to also show the man’s infatuation with the woman.
If you need a technical reason to read Butcher and Blackbird, it’s how Weaver wrote the most disturbing romance book and the world loved it.
Happy Reading!
Love,
Kait