Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - Butcher & Blackbird

Okay, this was surprisingly adorable. I absolutely loved the pairing of shy but snarky Sloane and charming but annoying Rowan. I loved that Rowan's POV had him willing to back down and be patient, but that he was such a sucker for her anyway.

The conversations between these two were hilarious, and Brynne Weaver does an amazing job of showing the fragility of Sloane underneath her strong facade.

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bekkah_co's review

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adventurous funny fast-paced

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

3.25

I picked up this book partially because of the hype and partially because of the whole "Cannibalism?? Murder?? Sex??" angle people were taking towards this. I understand that many consider this book pretty disturbing. It does handle some pretty intense themes. The content warnings are there for a reason, trust me. But also, if you're thinking this book is going to be an absolute raunchy gore-fest, it's not that bad.*

I went into this wanting to be disturbed. *If you're someone, like myself who read fanfiction in the late 2000s and early 2010s, none of this is going to get to you. It's pretty tame compared to a lot of the fanfiction I've come across and read. Now Butcher & Blackbird does manage to capture that fanfiction-like charm. It's cringey and weirdly place, but I love it for that.

I think the two biggest issues I have with the book are the pacing and the interesting character "development". The pacing is "loosely" two chapters are a year. This is very loose, and the timeline does get a bit messy as Rowan and Sloane begin to see each other more. As they develop their relationship, everything moves too fast. I'm a lesbian, I get fast moving relationships. However,

moving in and then promptly naming your restaurant after your "couple name" is fucking insane,

even for serial killers. Similarly, there was no character development. Rowan was an obsessive fan boy with a hot head and a protective streak. Sloan started out with two very distinct sides of herself: her Normal Side and her Serial Killer side. Eventually both of these sides seemed to disappear to have Sloan's personality meld with Rowan's. There was a point in the book I had to go back to the start of the chapter to make sure that I was reading Sloan's POV and not Rowan's. They do not grow as individuals, they grow into an amorphus amalgamation of a couple. But hey, at least they do it together.

I was going to give this book a flat four. However, the epilogue and the bonus content really killed me. It was too cringe, even for a book filled with cringey dialogue. I've read some abhorrent shit, including most of the squicky stuff in this book, and I guess I draw the line at

Dragon Onesie Sex RP

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briandagutierrez's review against another edition

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dark funny lighthearted fast-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

4.0

Eyeballs and eye sockets
Amateur surgery
Skin ornaments
Chainsaws, axes, knives, scalpels—a lot of sharp objects
Accidental cannibalism
Not-so-accidental cannibalism
Questionable use of a mummified corpse

Two serial killers have a meet cute and agree to have a hunting match every year after that. If that doesn’t sound interesting or like fun then steer clear.

This was so fun. Rowan was the right amount of unhinged to work and Sloane was just as attracted to red flags as me to be drawn in by it.

If you like dark but lighthearted reads definitely pick this up BUT please read the full list of trigger warnings first because that will definitely give you a good idea of if this will be for you or not.

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lotusenelise99's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny fast-paced

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

4.5

A darker but still rom com feel. With great characters. It's a quick read with really well written dual POV and great spice scenes. Spice wise i would rate it 3/5🌶🌶🌶

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megad_06's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny tense medium-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

5.0

I adored this, absolutely devoured the story. Two serial killers who kill other serial killers have a chance encounter, make a "game" out of their "hobby" and fall in love.

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