Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver

49 reviews

autumn017's review

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

purplemermaid's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

 “It’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye, and then that’s when the real fun begins.” Imagine Dexter as a rom-com with a healthy dose of smut, and you’ve got Butcher & Blackbird. It’s dark, twisted, and yet somehow incredibly fun. This book surprised me in the best way possible! Sloane and Rowan are serial killers, but somehow, they’re also completely adorable—and yes, I can’t believe I’m calling serial killers "adorable." The characters are so well-written that you end up relating to them in ways you never expected.

The book is packed with fantastic descriptions, sharp humor, and unforgettable moments. That said, it comes with all the trigger warnings. It doesn’t shy away from tough topics, but if you can handle them, it’s an unforgettable ride. Highly recommend for fans of dark romance and unconventional storytelling! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Stalking, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

astandidge's review

dark funny fast-paced

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

2.5

I have heard so many great things and also that the spicy scenes were *hot* but I thought the book was a bit all over the place and the spicy scenes were just meh for me. I cringed a lot but I don’t really like the domineering man trope. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Cannibalism, Murder, and Abandonment

laylaa005's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Cannibalism

Minor: Sexual assault and Abandonment

now_booking's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

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

3.0

I’m not quite sure what I was expecting when I got into this but I didn’t expect the horror, blood, gore, dark humour this delivered in spite of the synopsis. The premise is that serial killers (whose victims of choice are serial killers) Rowan and Sloane meet when they go to take care of a serial killer. There is instant attraction and they develop a friendship and competition to bag the worst serial killers while falling in love. But Sloane’s past trauma makes her doubt whether she’s loveable and Rowan’s love manifests as worry for Sloane and the couple has to find their way.

This was interesting and in its way darkly humorous. I just think it was a bit too gory and gross for me. Maybe too dark as well and I say this being an avid reader of dark romance. This was dark in a horror way. If you enjoy movies like Scary Movie or think a parody of a serial killer psychological drama might be your speed, this might be your book. As humorous and readable as this was, I did think it was missing a bit of character and plot development - terrible incidents in Sloane and Rowan’s pasts are alluded to, but it is never quite said what these incidents are, the murders are pretty public and bloody and theatrical yet they do not fear being caught by the police or anyone else, there’s no tension or conflict about getting caught in the act and we’re never quite sure why. Indeed the why of the plot is a little shallow and weak where there could have been a bit more depth and robustness to make the reader sit up a bit so that there are 4 years summarized in a quarter page of text messaging and an annual meet up for a gory murder. The relationships between Sloane and her BFF Lane and between Rowan and his brothers  are surfacey at best when they could have been developed to give us more insights about Sloane and Rowan as characters and make us care a bit more about the secondary cast of friends and siblings who are clearly going to be important in the other books in the trilogy. The sparing detail provided about the characters does not align with the gratuitously explicit nature of the rest of the book and I think that kept this from being a proper 5 star read for me in addition to the matter of it being not quite my taste. It was a bit too spoofy for me without that character and plot development. That said, this WAS sexy and darkly humorous in a horror movie way and I’d recommend it to lovers of horror, gore and dark romance.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse

thisteachreads's review

adventurous dark funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

My god, the hold this book had on me! I’m not sure what it says about me that some of my only 5 star reads have been dark romances, and both of Brynn Weaver’s books in this trilogy so far are on this list. 

First of all, where can I find a Rowan Kane of my own because hot damn, any golden retriever of a man that falls hard, fast and would kill for you is a keeper!

The banter between Rowan and Sloane is just so friggin funny and

despite the trigger warning and everyone else being so grossed out by the semen ice cream, I was somehow less shocked after he had just eaten a piece of human ass… ???

Once again, I have to INSIST you listen to the audiobook version of this one. It is a literal masterpiece and I looked like a straight up psychopath walking my dog and giggling like a school girl to this book. And the way I did a happy wiggle when I heard Rowan say “feckin’ eegit” (I listened to Leather and Lark first) must have made me look truly insane.

Seriously - do yourself a favour and pick this one up. Listen to the audiobook and friggin DIE when

Sloane (Lucy) and Rowan (Joe) finally get together and have the most spicy bathtub scene everrrrr - god the passion!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

tonyay's review

adventurous dark funny 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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Cannibalism, and Murder

Moderate: Torture

Minor: Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Abandonment

spacecadetlav's review

adventurous dark funny medium-paced

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

5.0

I had so much fun with this book! The banter was so cheeky, it had me giggling while kicking my feet. I usually don’t do a ton of gore but the choice to go dark comedy made it thrilling in a way that didn’t feel excessive. I’m hyped to read the next one!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Mental illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Stalking, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Vomit and Cannibalism

Minor: Sexual assault, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

sierrat's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense 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? Yes

4.0

This was a pretty quick read which I can appreciate; it didn’t feel drawn out. It was a bit choppy in the beginning and I found certain parts to be a little silly but as the book progressed the silliness really plays into the character personalities. It is very dark in parts and very gory so beware and make sure to read all of the trigger warnings. The ending was great and overall I really enjoyed it! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, and Abandonment

Moderate: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Torture, Grief, Stalking, and Injury/Injury detail

safton's review

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Cannibalism, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Sexual violence, Stalking, and Abandonment