Reviews with content warning for Stalking - Leather & Lark

"'What the hell was your plan, Lark?'
'I don't know,' she says with a dismissive flap of her hand. 'Maybe follow her home. Break into her house--'
'Christ--'
'Rig up a few cans of spray adhesive and put a glitter bomb in her closet I guess.' The devious glint in Lark's eyes becomes downright maniacal. 'Can you imagine that woman with a tricked-out, sparkly wardrobe? I think that would be her personal hell.'
'... Seems like you have a bit of a glitter psycho streak going, duchess.'"

✨
To say I’ve been waiting for this one is an understatement because I’ve been OBSESSED with this world since diving in last December… and this sequel DID NOT DISAPPOINT! Everything you love about B&B remains true in L&L, but this story is vastly different. The “Irish-isms” come in strong, the banter is leveled up between our main characters (plus the Kane bros are back at it with their teasing ways), the criminal “deleter” behavior is… glittery, and the whole world of these characters is cracked open and expanded. Flowing from B&B to L&L feels natural as we get to know Lachlan & Lark more and, can I just say, I LOVE them! The writing is brilliant and every narrative choice, from the humor to the storyline to the character development, feels realistic and natural. Brynne is such a smart writer, and this sequel is sure to leave you singing her praises… or cursing her for ruining more foods… or bowing down to her genius… or all the above!

“‘I get all the boys’ numbers, missy…’
‘Love you, hell-raiser.’
‘Shh. Don’t give the devil any ideas. I want to sneak up on him…’”

Read this book. Just do it. If you liked the first one, you'll love this one, and the surprises within its pages. I laughed out loud, clutched my heart, gasped in shock, abruptly sat up during intense moments, and remained thoroughly entertained from the dedication to the acknowledgements. There's so much about this book I loved, but in an effort to not spill any piping hot tea, I just want to thank Brynne for a fantastic read. And can we take a second to congratulate Brynne's excellence in detailing the vile behavior of those hunted by our main characters? More often than not, the things that make them villains worth being "deleted," is the predatory destruction of their victims' lives. Often, in the real world, these crimes are difficult to prove and too many of these monsters take advantage of the holes in our system and walk free. So to have justice finally served at the hands of our main characters feels like Brynne has righted a wrong (or several), making these books even sweeter.

I can't wait to celebrate L&L's official release as everyone falls in love with this new story!

Content Warnings

maggie_the_ferocious_reader's review

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dark funny mysterious

Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Thankfully, a bit less gross than B&B in my opinion, but more Criminal Minds-y but like, without cops. 😅 I liked Lark & Lachlan a lot, I was rooting for them the whole time. Gotta love a marriage of convenience when they don't even like each other at the start of it.

Content Warnings

phoenixfaie's review

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dark funny tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A

5.0

I just want to thank Brynne and the publishers Zando for providing me with an E-arc of Leather & Lark.

Leather & Lark is the 2nd book in The Ruinous Love Trilogy and follows the "enemies to lovers" story of Lachlan Kane and Lark Montague...

If you enjoyed Butcher & Blackbird then you should love this, don't worry though Lachlan and Lark aren't Rowan & Sloane 2.0, they are very much their own characters with entirely different personalities that we only glimpsed in Butcher & Blackbird.

Leather & Lark has the same humour and sarcasm that you would expect from Brynne, the spice is Spicing- and very much a slow burn; but my god is it worth it!
The development of Lark & Lachlans relationship feels so real, Brynne really does have a way of making you connect to her characters, you honestly end up feeling like you *know* these characters and you just want the best for them.
You feel their pain, their trauma, their joy, their love, their humour, I'm still chuckling at "Budget Batman" among maaaany other things.

This is primarily told through Lark and Lachlans POV but we do also have a phantom POV sprinkled throughout (sprinkled like glitter... get it? Hopefully you'll get that terrible pun when you are lucky enough to read L&L)

I honestly can't wait for the official publication of L&L.

Content Warnings

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