robinbridgefour 's review for:

Leather & Lark by Brynne Weaver

3.75

adventurous dark funny medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

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 Leather and Lark answers the question, what do you get when you have an Assassin + Serial Killer “multiple deleter.” + Marriage of Convenience. The answer is a better time than you think. Add in the grumpy one and sunshine one trope and overall it is a win.

Lark is kinda adorable with her penchant for glitter and stars along side her need to dish out vengeance against pedophiles and asshole boyfriends...well just that one time. She is great at picking her moment and getting even.

“A snow globe,” I say slowly, waiting for her to look up, which she doesn’t do. “You made a severed finger into a feckin’ snow globe.”
“It was almost Christmas,” she says with a shrug. “It felt … festive.”

Lachlan is the brother paying the price for father they they made disappear. He was ready to get to "know" Lark :winky face: when they figure out they have some history from a cleaning job he was sent on. That job cost him his way out from under his boss, now he is stuck there for the foreseeable future.

“Sometimes, you need to carve the things you've lost right into your skin so you remember what you left behind.”

But fate has other plans. There is someone looking for his own vengeance against the Butcher and the Blackbird. It is time for an eye for an eye. He will take away the closest things they have to family to make them pay.

Lark and Lachlan end up in a marriage of convenance so her family doesn't take out a hit on him. He is the prime suspect in a line of murder impacting their business. Who knew muffins could be so dangerous. Lark will marry him to keep her family from killing the brother in law of her best friend.

This is probably as cute as you can make a book about a serial killer and an assassin. I really felt for Lark and how she was struggling with who she was and how to be happy. She projects that for all the world but Lachlan is the first to really see into who she really is and want to be there anyway.

Don't get me wrong this took a little while to get all set up, but after than it was a lot of fun. I also have to love the great Aunt who put all this in motion in the first place. I'm pretty sure she knew what her grand niece needed more than anyone else.

While not quite as good as The Butcher and the Blackbird it definitely had it's moments and was still a fun and different romance with a solid bit of heat.

Narration

Performance: ★★★★★
Character Separation: ★★★★★
Diction: ★★★★★
Pacing/Flow: ★★★★★
Sound Effects: none

I am so happy with the duet narration for this book. Samantha Brentmoor and Eric Nolan did a great job and sold the dangerous and sweet of this couple. Another great Irish accent when it came to Lachlan. They complimented each other and really made this book so much fun. The sex scenes were beyond hot. But the narrators brought out the vulnerable sides of them as well. Just a fantastic listen. Highly recommend the audio! Again!