Contract killer Lachlan Kane wants a quiet life working in his leather studio and forgetting all about his traumatic past. But when he botches a job for his boss’s biggest client, Lachlan knows he’ll never claw his way out of the underworld. At least, not until songbird Lark Montague offers him a deal: use his skills to hunt down a killer and she’ll find a way to secure his freedom. The catch? He has to marry her first.
And they can’t stand each other.
Leather & Lark is the second book in Brynne Weaver’s Ruinous Love trilogy, and it takes place shortly after the events of Butcher & Blackbird. It tells the story of Sloane’s best friend, Lark, and Rowan’s older brother, Lachlan. Lark is an aspiring singer who lives a double life as a “serial deleter,” and Lachlan is a contract killer who wants to retire to a quiet life and run his leatherworking shop.
Their worlds collide when a phantom lurking in the shadows begins taking out members of Lark’s family. The blame is put on the Keene brothers, and in order to save their lives and the life of her best friend, Sloane, she reluctantly agrees to marry Lachlan. Now, while Butcher & Blackbird was more along the lines of a horror romance, Leather Lark is more of a dark rom-com sprinkled with some crime drama.
I feel like there’s less violence in this one, but there’s still enough gory imagery to satisfy fans of horror. Mainly the pizza scene. I think there’s more emphasis on the romance aspect of the story in this book compared to Butcher & Blackbird. Lark and Lachlan are forced into this situation and must make it believable, even though they can’t stand each other.
The story overall is much more complex than Butcher & Blackbird, in my opinion. Just because there are a few things happening at once. You have Lachlan trying to get to a point where he can retire from contract killing, he and Lark are trying to navigate their fake marriage, and finding this person hunting Lark’s family. While that may seem like a lot, all of the story elements are seamlessly blended together by Brynne’s writing. And it’s done really well.
Now, I’m sure you’re dying to know about this spice level. How spicy is it, you ask? I’d say it smells like a Scotch bonnet level. It’s about the same as Butcher & Blackbird with some butt-stuff. However, after that bonus chapter, it’s more like a Carolina Reaper.
Finally, I think this book is just as good, if not better than Butcher & Blackbird, and I’m really excited to start Scythe & Sparrow. This was an easy five-star rating for me.
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