Reviews tagging 'Cannibalism'

Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver

1074 reviews

beccabookworm's review against another edition

dark funny medium-paced

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

4.5

What a fun romance! I read this in less than a week, which is fast for me. If this was in another context, I would be disturbed and repulsed by a lot of the “romance”. But I walked into this book knowing that the protagonists are serial killers who make a game out of killing people, so they’re bound to exhibit some toxic behavior. The attraction is very intense and very possessive very fast on Rowan’s part. There is the whole break-their-heart-by-gaslighting-them-into-thinking-you-never-loved-them trope that I hate towards the end. I feel like Sloane’s characterization changed a lot too, but I’ll just attribute that to her getting softer because she’s in love I guess. It just felt a little disjointed.     

Just a note on the writing that I found hilarious. There’s some overused imagery throughout the book that’s not haha funny but it’s so ridiculous how much they’re repeated that it makes me laugh. My favorites include bleached white knuckles from gripping something so hard, lip-biting n all contexts, savoring/memorizing the “nuances” of each other’s faces, and seeing/feeling someone’s pulse through their neck/wrist.    

Was it a perfect book? No. Did I have a good time? Yes.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Murder, Violence, Vomit, Cannibalism, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, and Torture

Moderate: Gaslighting and Gun violence

Minor: Pedophilia, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault

imcourtneymarie's review against another edition

dark funny fast-paced

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

4.25

I get the hype around this book! 

Yeah, there is some vivid storytelling going on that isn’t for the faint of heart, the romcom is delightful. Love Rowan and Sloane and love the way their story is told. A little fucked up, but nothing a seasoned Criminal Minds or murder-y podcast pro can’t stomach. 

I thought this was going to be too spicy for me given what the internet has said but there’s really only a few truly spicy chapters (and even they are not THAT spicy). 

A truly fun book and I can’t wait for the next. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Cannibalism, and Gore

livin4hymn's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

lemonsforyu's review against another edition

dark funny medium-paced

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Murder, Medical content, Stalking, Blood, Cannibalism, Cursing, Torture, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Physical abuse, and Violence

emdiddy01's review against another edition

dark funny lighthearted fast-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Kidnapping

Minor: Cannibalism

annaprmaia's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Body horror, and Cannibalism

hayleythompson's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

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

cardenasjamiee's review against another edition

lighthearted slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Murder, and Blood

oxfordcommas91's review against another edition

adventurous dark fast-paced

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

3.0

I think I must have watched too much Dexter and Criminal Minds as a teenager because I was honestly expecting the gore and violence to be far more intense than it was. Yes, they are serial killers. They kill people. There were a few scenes that are probably too much if you don’t have a strong stomach, but I didn’t find any parts overwhelmingly gross… except maybe the vanilla ice cream, that was a bit much. 
I liked the concept here and it was an incredibly fast read that I found myself (embarrassingly) a bit hooked to. I liked the second half of the book a lot better than the first - understanding the motivations of both butcher and blackbird made me connect to their stories and actions and added a level of depth that wasn’t there at first for me. 
The spice was…. Spicy. I’d give it at least 3-4 🌶️ which is a bit spicier than I typically enjoy. The spice had a BDSM/kink hint to it, which is also not my favorite genre of spice. It got a bit much for me and I found myself skimming parts of the spicy scenes because it felt a bit overdone. 
At the end I was a bit like “okay what did I just read?” But no regrets and I enjoyed it enough that I will likely pick up the sequel, Leather and Lark, for when I need some more mindless fun. 
(I appreciate this author's writing style and also appreciate her insistence on checking and listing the content warnings for her book. Please do so before reading, for sure!)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Cannibalism, Murder, Confinement, Medical content, Stalking, Death, Body horror, Gore, Grief, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Gun violence

Moderate: Abandonment

fashion37's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Death, Body horror, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, Vomit, and Blood