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A review by ren_stevens
Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
I picked this book up on a whim because I was in the mood for an angsty romance with a fun premise. I did not get that.
The only good thing I can say about this book is that it's fast paced and somewhat engaging.
This reads like it was written by a smut fanfiction author who knows nothing about true crime except that she thinks the concept of a serial killer is sexy. Admittedly I've never been particularly drawn in by the romanticism of serial killers in general, but this book failed to treat victims of heinous crimes with even a modicum of respect. It was so off-putting how the main characters joked and flirted while innocent people were actively in danger of being brutally murdered.
Mild spoilers to follow
The characterization of the two leads (Sloane and Rowan) was also off-putting and bizarre in a way that can't be excused by "they're serial killers! Of course they're not normal!" I lost count of the number of times the leads were engaged in a completely nonsexual scene (cooking dinner, explaining their serial killer modus operandi as they set up a scene with a recently killed body, etc) and Rowan suddenly, out of nowhere, drops two sentences of narration about how hard his dick is, and how he wants to shove it against Sloane's ass.
Additionally, Rowan is just a garbage person and we're supposed to ignore it? Sloane asks him to give a dishwashing job at his restaurant to a victim of lobotomy, and he just like laughs at her? She essentially has to agree to go on a date with with him to get him to care at all about the victim of the serial killer they just killed. Later, Sloane and a potential victim are in danger from a chainsaw serial killer. Rowan saves Sloan, but tells the other girl trapped with her to shut up and leaves her naked, crying and begging for help in the cellar she was trapped in while he comforts Sloane and goes after the killer. Rowan and Sloane then proceed to make out until they hear the cellar girl screaming and running from the chainsaw murderer, at which point they finally try to help her.
Not to mention, Sloane is definitely complicit in how that victim was treated, and in the process, she's portrayed as a helpless girl who needs to be saved for the second time in the novel. She saves him too, but when she saves him, he's drugged-up comic relief. When he saves her, she's a blathering mess who can't think for herself.
Sloane and Rowan are not written to be sociopaths who lack empathy. They just read like average romcom leads most of the time, but then suddenly they'll be completely unbothered by the suffering of innocents (completely contrary to Sloane's backstory) or behave in some other bizarre way that's completely out of character.
The serial killeing scenes lack even a basic amount of care. They are written as a backdrop for the romance and nothing more, which costs the novel many things: (1) an interesting plot, for one, (2) suspense, (3) any cleverness or three-dimensionality the leads could have displayed, and (4) my belief that the author is a decent person who cares about people's suffering.
Despite what tiktok thinks, if you like a half decent book, I'd look elsewhere. If you want to laugh at some of the most unedited, out-of-pocket, ridiculous lines of dialogue and narration you've ever heard? You may find some value here.
The only good thing I can say about this book is that it's fast paced and somewhat engaging.
This reads like it was written by a smut fanfiction author who knows nothing about true crime except that she thinks the concept of a serial killer is sexy. Admittedly I've never been particularly drawn in by the romanticism of serial killers in general, but this book failed to treat victims of heinous crimes with even a modicum of respect. It was so off-putting how the main characters joked and flirted while innocent people were actively in danger of being brutally murdered.
Mild spoilers to follow
The characterization of the two leads (Sloane and Rowan) was also off-putting and bizarre in a way that can't be excused by "they're serial killers! Of course they're not normal!" I lost count of the number of times the leads were engaged in a completely nonsexual scene (cooking dinner, explaining their serial killer modus operandi as they set up a scene with a recently killed body, etc) and Rowan suddenly, out of nowhere, drops two sentences of narration about how hard his dick is, and how he wants to shove it against Sloane's ass.
Additionally, Rowan is just a garbage person and we're supposed to ignore it? Sloane asks him to give a dishwashing job at his restaurant to a victim of lobotomy, and he just like laughs at her? She essentially has to agree to go on a date with with him to get him to care at all about the victim of the serial killer they just killed. Later, Sloane and a potential victim are in danger from a chainsaw serial killer. Rowan saves Sloan, but tells the other girl trapped with her to shut up and leaves her naked, crying and begging for help in the cellar she was trapped in while he comforts Sloane and goes after the killer. Rowan and Sloane then proceed to make out until they hear the cellar girl screaming and running from the chainsaw murderer, at which point they finally try to help her.
Not to mention, Sloane is definitely complicit in how that victim was treated, and in the process, she's portrayed as a helpless girl who needs to be saved for the second time in the novel. She saves him too, but when she saves him, he's drugged-up comic relief. When he saves her, she's a blathering mess who can't think for herself.
Sloane and Rowan are not written to be sociopaths who lack empathy. They just read like average romcom leads most of the time, but then suddenly they'll be completely unbothered by the suffering of innocents (completely contrary to Sloane's backstory) or behave in some other bizarre way that's completely out of character.
The serial killeing scenes lack even a basic amount of care. They are written as a backdrop for the romance and nothing more, which costs the novel many things: (1) an interesting plot, for one, (2) suspense, (3) any cleverness or three-dimensionality the leads could have displayed, and (4) my belief that the author is a decent person who cares about people's suffering.
Despite what tiktok thinks, if you like a half decent book, I'd look elsewhere. If you want to laugh at some of the most unedited, out-of-pocket, ridiculous lines of dialogue and narration you've ever heard? You may find some value here.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, and Gore
Moderate: Pedophilia, Torture, Cannibalism, and Stalking