Reviews with content warning for Cursing - Leather & Lark

I gotta say, I like and enjoyed this book so much more than Butcher & Blackbird. I think slow burn works well for the couple and the overall theme. It could do without all the "this is a serial killer romance" trope, as it taking a back seat made this love story more fulfilling than it did in the former book. There were parts that confused me, like

maybe it was because I was listening to it in audiobook form so I missed it, but this whole time I thought her onstage instrument is a guitar only to get confused when it says she's using a bow, then later find out it's a cello... for a band?? And I am sure it would have been so obvious to everyone what was going on, cause isn't she also singing too?

and

the whole explanation of who her father and step-father are and their relationship to her mother was also confusing.

I like the fact that there are more dimensions to both character, and yes, of course they have the physical attraction, which we get in like chapter 2, but the story goes into more depth on their feelings and building their relationship rather than just wanting to fuck the other person. I also like that despite being killers,

they're both squeamish about extracting eyeballs xD

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kitsunasaur's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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kaelizaco's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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laneelizabeth's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

Genuinely one of the best romances I've read in a while. Not as dark as B&B, but still dark so check trigger warnings. Serial killer x contract killer. Lachlan Kane is a cinnamon roll with hardened edges to survive and I love him.

The way Brynne Weaver gets into serial killers' heads -not just the main characters who do what they do for a reason, but the actual psychopaths that are also in the story - it's very impressive and incredible how realistic it is.

Tropes: arranged marriage, hate to love, nicknames, banter! he falls first

Content Warnings

amateur_bookworm's review against another edition

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dark funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.5

My summary:

Lark Montague is a singer—and a serial killer. Once the victim of abuse at her boarding school, she has since made it her mission in life to rid the world of as many other abusers as she can. When one such event goes wrong, Lark has to call in a cleanup crew. The responding guy is a complete asshat, who she later finds out is Lachlan Kane. Lachlan’s brother, Rowan, is marrying Lark’s best friend, Sloane. And now Lachlan, a leather worker by day, is stuck in his contract job even longer after he botched Lark’s cleanup job. When a threat emerges against Lark’s family, the only way to save those she loves is to do the unthinkable and marry Lachlan. And also find the person hunting them.

My thoughts:

Leather & Lark is the second book of the dark romance Ruinous Love trilogy by Brynne Weaver. This book, just like the first in the series, is a wild ride.

This book is completely fecking unhinged, right off the bat. Lark is the beautiful singer and sparky serial killer that I never knew I needed in my life. And Lachlan’s determination to win over Lark is, well, sweet and hot.

I love the little bit of overlap in time between this book and Butcher & Blackbird. Somehow this was a more tender and less murder-y book than Butcher & Blackbird. There is still plenty of dark humor here but not quite as much as I hoped to have.

Brynne Weaver does say the injured dog listed in the trigger warnings will be ok. But seriously, if he wasn’t, I would throw hands over it. I can deal just fine with the serial killers but I absolutely cannot deal with dogs being harmed. So, I will confirm that she told the truth and the dog is ok.

I enjoy that it ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, but I do *not* enjoy now having to wait for the third and final book of this trilogy.

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