When a chance encounter sparks an unlikely bond between rival murderers Sloane and Rowan, the two find something elusive—the friendship of a like-minded, pitch-black soul. From small-town West Virginia to upscale California, from downtown Boston to rural Texas, the two hunters collide in an annual game of blood and suffering, one that pits them against the most dangerous monsters in the country. But as their friendship develops into something more, the restless ghosts left in their wake are only a few steps behind, ready to claim more than just their newfound love. Can Rowan and Sloane dig themselves out of a game of graves? Or have they finally met their match?
Butcher and Blackbird by Brynn Weaver is at the top of nearly every dark romance TBR list, but if you’re a fan of horror, it just might make your list as well. A chance encounter sparks an unlikely bond between rival serial killers Sloane and Rowan. The two hunters collide in an annual game of blood and suffering. One that pits them against the most dangerous monsters in the country.
After reading the trigger warnings, you would be expecting something super gory. But as someone who reads and watches mostly horror, it was fairly tame. However, there’s enough blood, guts, and suspense to satisfy even the most seasoned horror fan. And speaking of being a horror fan, something that I noticed, like right off the bat, was that each of Sloane and Rowan’s targets is based on a popular fictional serial killer. The first one is a man who owns a roadside motel and loves his mama a little too much. It’s just one of those subtle touches that I appreciate about the book.
The romance aspect of the story was really well balanced with the horror aspect, so fans of either genre won’t feel overlooked or feel like there’s more than one or the other. The relationship between Sloane and Rowan builds up over time, and some of their dialogue can get a little cheesy at times, but that just adds to the vibe that they share with each other. There are only a couple of spicy scenes, but they hit about 500,000 on the Scoville scale. It’s like, habanero.
If you’re a fan of horror and curious about the dark romance genre, I highly recommend that you check out Butcher and Black Bird. I picked up the collector’s edition from Target for about twenty bucks, and I have to say this is the one that I recommend because there is an extra chapter at the end.
After reading this and Leather and Lark, I would love to see Brynn kick it up a few notches and release a full-on splatter punk romance. The gore in this book is good, but I think Brynne can take it to the next level and do something on the level of, like, you know, Baron Beauregard or Christopher Triana. But until that day comes, pick up a copy of Butcher and Blackbird, and I’ll see you in the next one.
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