Tag: 2023 Release

Book Review:: Done and Dusted | Lyla Sage

Sometimes when life knocks you down, the best place for you to go is home. And sometimes the person you least suspect is the key to find yourself again.

Done and Dusted by Lyla Sage Book Cover

Emmy Ryder shows up at her family’s ranch in Wyoming after years of being distant, pursuing her barrel racing dreams – but after she has a bad fall, the same thing that killed her mother, she also has a breakdown and heads back home. Her trip home was unannounced so her father and two older brothers are surprised to see her, but no one is more surprised than Luke Brooks, her brother’s best friend, when she walks in looking like a smoke show he can’t take his eyes off of. Luke teaches riding lessons at the ranch, and Emmy needs to learn to be comfortable on the back of a horse again.

This is a really sweet and spicy romance. Luke is a yearning, protective love interest we love to see. He’s also a no-good good-for-nothing, at least in his harrowed past, and as Emmy gets to know him, she sees how he’s worked hard to separate himself from that, and why he was that way to begin with.

There is just enough depth to the characters to get you engaged with the story, but not so much that we forget why we’re there – to watch two hot young people fall in love, despite it all.

The covers for this series are amazing…like an old time classy western, but what lies inside is a modern spicy romance full of tropey goodness you won’t want to put down.

Details

Title:: Done and Dusted (Rebel Blue Ranch #1)
Author:: Lyla Sage
Genre:: Cowboy Romance
Publisher:: Dial Press
Length:: 356 pages
Audio Length:: 6h 51m
Audiobook Narrator:: Aaron Shedlock, Stella Hunter
Audiobook Publisher:: Random House Audio
Published:: June 6th, 2023
The Litertarian Rating:: 4-Stars

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If you liked this book, check out…

Play Along | Liz Tomforde
Wild Love | Elsie Silver

Book Review:: It All Comes Back To You | Melissa Wiesner

It All Comes Back to You by Melissa Wiesner is going on my top list of all time favorite books. It reminded me of my favorite book of last year, In the Likely Event, by Rebecca Yarros. Gabe and Anna are not just two love interests, their lives are completely intertwined in all the best and most complex ways. This story had me in a vice from the first pages, and it consumed me entirely until I turned the last ones. Even now I can feel this story overtake me when I think of it, which is often.

It All Comes Back To You

Gabe and Anna meet when they are assigned as project partners for a college level economics class. Gabe needs it for his major, and sixteen-year-old Anna talked her way into it with her enormous brain. They become unlikely friends during that semester, and their relationship frames the rest of their lives in ways neither of them expected.

Anna would tell you her life is fine, but as the two of them grow closer, Gabe begins to suspect things aren’t as straight-forward as Anna would have him think. Though he knows it will damage her trust in him, Gabe takes steps to give her the helps she needs but does not want.

He saves her.

Anna’s relationship with the Weatherall’s (Gabe’s family) is the balm for our souls. They’re not perfect, but they are close and loving and the exact opposite of Anna’s early life. They welcome her in like one of their own, and give her a soft place to land whenever she needs it.

This story takes place over many years as Anna and Gabe flash in and out of each other’s lives. Their friendship is a pillar in both of their lives, and though their bond is undeniable, they both know it would be a mistake to take it further with Anna’s past continually haunting her.

I am in love with this book. I want to carry it around, nestled close to my chest so I can have it close to me. I’m not ready to let it go. It’s the kind of story that slithers under your skin and sinks deep into your bones. It’s not a book to read for a little escape, or a weekend of entertainment…it is an experience, and one I hope you’ll undertake as well.

Blown. Away.

Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Details

Title:: It All Comes Back To You
Author:: Melissa Wiesner
Genre:: Contemporary Romance
Publisher:: Forever
Length:: 336 pages
Audio Length:: 10h 40m
Audiobook Narrator:: Kate Handford
Published:: March 18th, 2025 (August 17th, 2023)
The Litertarian Rating:: 5 (million)-Stars

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If you liked this book, check out…

In the Likely Event | Rebecca Yarros
Wish You Were Here | Melissa Wiesner

Book Review:: Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers | Jesse Q. Sutanto

If you love contemporary murder mysteries and haven’t yet discovered Vera Wong, you’re in for a treat. She is the fun and spunky lead in an investigation no one invited her into. She’s happy to help, of course, because young people don’t always know the best way to do things these days. She knows because she keeps an eye on things with The Google and The Facebook. You have to, if you don’t want to be left behind.

Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers Jesse Q. Sutanto Book Cover

Vera Wong is a widowed Chinese Auntie with a grown son who never heeds her relentless advice, like how to wake up early when you’re young to make the most of your day. When a dead body shows up in her failing tea shop, she jumps at the chance at helping the police by getting a jump start on the investigation before they arrive. It’s not disturbing evidence if she wears rubber gloves and follows the procedures she’s seen on CSI, right? And no one will mind if she keeps a little something the deceased was holding…no one else saw it, so no harm done! But when the police aren’t convinced the victim has been murdered at all, she continues the investigation herself, pinpointing four suspects who showed up at the tea shop after the body was discovered. Everyone knows the murderer always comes back to the scene of the crime! She is convinced it is one of them: the wife, the brother, an online reporter (The Buzzfeed!), and a crime podcaster, all of whom have their secrets. One of them must have done it, but which one?

I absolutely loved Vera and her steadfast all-knowing ways. There is a right way to do things, and she’s not afraid to let you know it. Life has been lonely since her husband passed away, and having a dead body turn up in her tea shop was unexpected, but certainly cured the monotony of her strict routine in a way she didn’t know she needed.

It is an unusual case, but her sleuthing does turn up some clues but while Vera is searching for a murderer, what she’s actually doing is connecting a handful of floundering individuals over this thing they now have in common – her.

This book is full of heart and humor, good food and matchmaking, family and community. It’s an always interesting story of how an old woman got her groove back and ultimately solves the crime that turned up on her doorstep.

If you’re a cozy mystery fan, you won’t want to miss Mrs. Vera Wong.

Details

Title:: Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers (Vera Wong #1)
Author:: Jesse Q. Sutanto
Genre:: Contemporary Mystery
Publisher:: Berkley
Length:: 339 pages
Audio Length:: 10h 41m
Audiobook Narrator:: Eunice Wong
Audiobook Publisher:: Penguin Audio
Published:: March 14th, 2023
The Litertarian Rating:: 4-Stars

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Finlay Donovan is Killing It | Elle Cosimano
How to Solve Your Own Murder | Kristen Perrin
Famous Last Words | Gillian McAllister

Book Review:: Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun | Elle Cosimano

What have Finlay and Vero gotten themselves into next? Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun is the third book in a sometimes-hilarious contemporary mystery series led by a novelist mother of young kids who gets caught up in schemes way over her head.

The series needs to be read in order, so to avoid spoilers for you, please click to my review of the first book, Finlay Donovan Is Killing It, if you haven’t read the first two books yet!

Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun by Elle Cosimano Book Cover Finlay is peeking around a corner, chewing on her nails.

So here we start: the site is down, Steven is safe, but Finlay is on the hook now for discovering the identity of EasyClean, and Feliks is not the most patient of men. Behind bars or not, Feliks’ people are everywhere and she can’t afford to get this wrong, or waste time. Cam says the suspect is a dirty cop and Nick, with his injuries from the finale of the last book, is on desk duty and volunteered to teach at a week-long citizen’s police academy. His squad invites Finlay along so she can do ‘book research’, and Vero won’t let her say no. Ah, what the hell, Steven has the kids for the week anyway.

The usual shenanigans ensue immediately, and don’t let up.

The first time I read this third book it was my least favorite of the series, but reading through it a second time, I think it was an issue with my own comprehension. There is so much going on, and so much to mentally juggle, I think I just didn’t absorb everything going on the first time. My advice is not to rush through it, as tempting as that may be. I think maybe the greatest flaw of this series is that it’s too easily bingeable. At this point in the larger story there are so many lines of complexity running through it’s more difficult to keep everything straight.

Let’s talk about Nick! I’m a great fan of this clever hot cop. The entire premise of whatever relationship he and Finlay may or may not have is so tension-laden. He’s the cop on Feliks’ case, and there’s no way she can ever reveal to him everything that’s happened to her without severe consequences for one or both of them. I was so tickled that he and Finlay got to spend a lot of quality time together in this book in this sleep-away camp situation 🙂 I also live for the fact Finlay has never outright lied to him. Oh my tender little heart…I fear it is destined to be broken by this…situationship?…sooner or later!

Now Vero: Finlay’s Latina partner in crime who plays waaay too fast and loose for my comfort. I love that she and Finlay can rely on one another – their trust is really the glue sticking everything together in this series. As soon as that starts to fall apart, they’re F*%#ED! I really enjoyed getting to peek behind the crack of her hard-enameled shell to see a little bit of possible-vulnerability in the person of Javier. The two clearly have a history, and that guy seriously caught no breaks in this book.

Though this book is complex as all-heck, it really holds its own in the series overall. I mentioned that it used to be my least favorite in the series the first time through, but this time it changed my mind. So far, I don’t have a least favorite. If one thing is true, it’s that this series is deliciously bingeable.

Details

Title:: Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun (Finlay Donovan #3)
Author:: Elle Cosimano
Genre:: Contemporary Mystery
Publisher:: Minotaur Books
Length:: 304 pages
Audio Length:: 8h 47m
Audiobook Narrator:: Angela Dawe
Audiobook Publisher:: Macmillan Audio
Published:: January 31st, 2023
The Litertarian Rating:: 4-Stars
Spice Rating:: 1

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If you liked this book, check out…

Finlay Donovan Is Killing It (Book One)
Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead (Book Two)
Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice (Book Four)
Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave (Book Five)

How to Solve Your Own Murder | Kirsten Perrin
I Did Something Bad | Pyae Moe Thet War

Book Review:: Exes & O’s | Amy Lea

What if your next great love was one you already had? What a question. Timing is everything, after all. Then again, maybe fixating on your past can leave you blinded to what is right in front of you.

Exes and O's by Amy Lea Book Cover

Tara needs a date for the Valentine’s Day event she’s attending, and her grandmother has convinced her to look to her past to find one. Explore the ghosts of romance past and reconnect with her exes to see if there is any lingering spark there. Her very own second chance romance. She launches a whole project on her bookish social media, typecasting her exes into tropes and reaching out to them to see if there is any lingering potential there. Her new roommate Trevor is as invested in the project as anyone, helping to coach her through the dates, giving her tips to avoid scaring them off too early (given that she’s often called “crazy” or “too much”).

It’s a high concept novel, in a way. The project is a gimmick, exposing all of Tara’s sometimes still-tender wounds and insecurities. This of course is perfect territory for real feelings to catch between her and Trevor, the one who’s always there for support when she’s continually disappointed.

It’s a successful trope for a reason, the trusty forced proximity roommate romance. They’re there to see all the high-highs and low-lows. The vulnerabilities and the celebrations. Real life. If they’re still interested after all that? They’re a keeper for sure.

The concept of a woman being ‘too much’ or ‘crazy’ I think is well placed here. It’s clear that it isn’t a her problem, it’s a them problem, and though she does learn some lessons along the way (confidence in herself being the big one), she is ultimately accepted by those she cares about for being her own dang self.

Overall, this was an enjoyable, lighthearted, Valentine’s-Day-season winner. If you’re looking for something fun to cheer you up this time of year, or to just get you in the mood for good ol’ V-Day, this one is a great choice.

Details

Title:: Exes & O’s (The Influencer #2)
Author:: Amy Lea
Genre:: Romance
Publisher:: Berkley
Length:: 400 pages
Audio Length:: 9h 37m
Audiobook Narrator:: Natalie Naudus
Audiobook Publisher:: Penguin Audio
Published:: January 10th, 2023
The Litertarian Rating:: 4-Stars
Spice Rating:: 2.5

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Funny Story | Emily Henry
Is She Really Going Out With Him? | Sophie Cousens
The Right Move | Liz Tomforde

Book Review:: The House in the Pines | Ana Reyes

One summer can alter the course of everything. One new friend. One lost story. One betrayal. One house in the pines.

The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes Book Cover

Maya is convinced the strange boy keeping her company over her last summer before college killed her best friend Aubrey during a disagreement. The only problem is, he never touched her. Maya knows this because she watched it happen. He and Aubrey were talking, then she fell over. Dead.

Seven years later, she sees a viral video online of the same boy in the very same scenario. Another girl, dead. Not a finger laid upon her.

It can’t be a coincidence.

But ever since that summer, with her insistent conviction of his guilt, she’s been repeatedly told she is mentally ill. Delusional. Crazy. She’s even been medicated. And now, having quit her medication cold turkey, she travels back to find out the truth and get justice for Aubrey and all the other women he might have hurt.

I was surprised to see the Goodreads rating so low on this book. At the time, it was 3.10, which is one of the lowest I’ve seen on a book I’ve actually read. There were no major dealbreaker type flaws in my view. In fact, I was quite captivated.

This checked all the boxes of a psychological thriller. The possibly untrustworthy narrator, a strange and compelling mystery to solve, a setting that toes the incredibly thin line of being either idyllic or incredibly creepy, a suspect that could as easily be a murderer or completely innocent and misunderstood…

The narrative is sprinkled with flashbacks from that pivotal past summer where everything ended up so wrong. I thought the flashbacks were handled very well and felt as compelling as the current events. It is in the past that we get to know our suspect, after all.

It all just felt very well crafted to me. The details kept me doubting my own theories, and while there were plenty of clues to the truth that was ultimately revealed, I was never sure until quite late into the story.

I wasn’t as interested in the part of the story that didn’t have to do with the mystery – her current boyfriend and the conflict she felt with spending time with his parents – but it didn’t take up much time and ultimately didn’t bother me.

Overall, I really enjoyed it. If you’re looking for a compelling psychological thriller to add an extra chill to your dark winter evenings, consider this one!

Details

Title:: The House in the Pines
Author:: Ana Reyes
Genre:: Mystery/Thriller
Publisher:: Dutton
Length:: 321 pages
Audio Length:: 8h 34m
Audiobook Narrator:: Marisol Ramirez
Audiobook Publisher:: Penguin Audio
Published:: January 3rd, 2023
The Litertarian Rating:: 4-Stars

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If you liked this book, check out…

The Reappearance of Rachel Price | Holly Jackson
The Truth About the Devlins | Lisa Scottoline
The Haunting of Maddy Clare | Simone St. James

Book Review:: Yours Truly | Abby Jimenez

Do you believe in life after love? Specifically, once your (ex)husband of more than a decade turns out to be sleeping with someone who pretended to be your friend…the whole time? Or maybe after the woman you’ve been seeing more than two years dumps you after your first couple’s counseling session and starts dating your brother three months later? Meet the two heroes of Yours Truly, the second installment of the Part of Your World series by Abby Jimenez.

Yours Truly Abby Jimenez Book Cover

Jacob is starting a new job at the hospital as an ER doctor where Briana Ortiz is the frontrunner for the director position. He has high anxiety, especially social anxiety, and he’s not the best with making friends. No one at the new hospital likes him. He’s the odd man out, and Briana is convinced that he’s come for the job she wants. When he stumbles into the supply closet where Briana is sobbing after another ER visit from her brother (who has failing kidneys), something changes between them. In order to apologize for the incident that got them off on the wrong foot, Jacob decides to write her a letter, knowing it will be much easier to communicate clearly that way for him. A new friendship is born. Letters turn into texting which turn into phone calls which turn into a friendship which quickly morphs into a fake dating situation Jacob accidentally created trying to reassure his family he’s fine about his ex and his brother now announcing their engagement!

I have to say, Abby Jimenez is great at crafting characters that fundamentally fit together. It’s no question that Briana and Jacob belong together and will be very happy together forevermore. In this case, Jacob’s family has direct experience not only with medical issues like her brother’s, but specifically a kidney transplant, so he knows intimately how she must be feeling at this difficult time of her life. And her brother grew up with a lot of anxiety, so she knows how much of an effect it has on Jacob’s every.single.day life. He is quiet, but his family is loud and extroverted, like Briana. Vice versa, Briana is extroverted and overtly friendly (if not vengeful), and her brother is more reserved. They’re both doctors. They’re both pet owners and outdoorsy. It doesn’t get more synchronous than that!

Their love story is sweet and convincing and swoon-worthy.

However…

I didn’t like that Jacob was involved with Briana’s brother’s kidney donation. It really gave me the ick early because it felt like this was something that was going to taint whatever chance at a genuine relationship they might develop. There’s no way around how much complication that adds to the situation. It really caused me a lot of stress as I read, thinking it would ruin the book for me if it was used as a point of drama later in the book.
(SPOILER:: All said and done, it ended up fine, mostly because she found out immediately what was happening.)

I also started to feel by the end of this book that the author was telling us far too much about how the characters were feeling. She does a great job already of crafting situations that exhibit and justify the complexity and depth of their feelings, so I felt like the constant “I loved this”‘s were unnecessary as often as they were used. Sometimes, supporting character voice? Okay. Constantly? Please give me some credit as a reader that I can figure out what’s going on here.

Also the final complications between the two of them before the H(appliy)E(ver)A(fter) soured things a little bit. All 100% understandable, but still.

Sigh.

All in all, I couldn’t quite give it five stars.

I’m looking forward to reading the third book in this series finally. I’ve heard nothing but great things about Just for the Summer. I’m hoping for a Part of Your World level romance epic, but gosh, that’ll be hard to beat!

Details

Title:: Yours Truly (Part of Your World #2)
Author:: Abby Jimenez
Genre:: Contemporary Romance
Publisher:: Forever
Length:: 416 pages
Audio Length:: 11h 23m
Audiobook Narrator:: Kyla Garcia, Zachary Webber
Audiobook Publisher:: Forever
Published:: April 11th, 2023
The Litertarian Rating:: 4-Stars
Spice Rating:: 2

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If you liked this book, check out…

Part of Your World | Abby Jimenez
Hate Mail | Donna Marchetti
The Slowest Burn | Sarah Chamberlain

Emergency Contact | Lauren Layne & Anthony LeDonne

Listen up people, I’ve found some essential holiday romance reading here for you. Emergency Contact is a hilarious holiday rom-com second chance romance with a planes-trains-and-automobiles style plot you won’t want to miss.

Emergency Contact by Lauren Layne and Anthony LeDonne Book Cover

Katherine is thisclose to having everything she’s been working for since her father died on Christmas ten years ago – making partner at her law firm. She’s sacrificed everything for it: friendships, vacations, even her marriage. The call should be coming any minute now…when she gets into a car crash in a cab outside of her office. Unfortunately, she never updated her emergency contact information, so who do they call but Tom, the ex-husband, who happens to be on his way to the airport to spend Christmas with his family in Chicago – and to pop the question on Christmas Eve to his perky new girlfriend. Katie has no one else to help her change her bandages and make sure she’s following concussion protocol (interrupt her sleep, etc.) for the following 48 hours, so despite their ill feelings for one another, he decides to drag her along to family Christmas in Chicago. Their trip is doomed, however, and they have one problem after another on their race to get there before midnight on Christmas Eve. Through every setback, as annoying and just typical as they each are to each other, they start to unpack the issues that drove them apart and leave them both wondering if the new path they’re on is the one they really want.

Oh my gosh, this is the perfect holiday romance. Katherine is a self-described grinch, while Tom enjoys the holidays, usually with his big family in their idyllic house in Chicago every year. They’re largely opposites, but they can’t hide that innate attraction. They split up because Katherine was far too obsessed with work, trying to make partner in order to accomplish the dream her father had for her. Tom felt invisible, even though he understood that she was chasing so hard for the father she lost to cancer before they ever met. He had a life plan. He wanted kids, the house in the suburbs…he had a spreadsheet, and Katie was no longer on it. But when he sees her there in the hospital bed, with no one to call and acting like her usual aggravating self, he can’t just walk away.

These two bicker with the best of them. They’re snarky and rude, and they each give as good as they get. And despite their outward hostilities, there are little moments where they are able to really communicate, and several signs from the universe that maybe the future they’re supposed to have is right in front of them.

Obviously this one got me right in the feels. I loved it. I can’t remember ever enjoying a holiday romance as much as I did this one. It was both a romance and a non-stop adventure (what could possibly happen next?!). The rapport the characters had with one another was loaded from the beginning, and believe me, they didn’t just fall together immediately. Every inch was earned.

The whole story was done well. Were parts of it a little cheesy? Of course, but that’s part of its charm. Also there’s no sex, which makes it inclusive for just about every reader.

If you need a little more holiday spirit in your TBR, add Emergency Contact. It’ll leave a smile on your face others might just mistake for holiday cheer.

Cheers!

Details

Title:: Emergency Contact
Author:: Lauren Layne & Anthony LeDonne
Genre:: Holiday Romance
Publisher:: Blackstone Publishing
Length:: 250 pages
Audio Length:: 7h 27m
Audiobook Narrator:: Tim Paige & Brianna Cohen
Audiobook Publisher:: Blackstone Publishing
Published:: October 24th, 2023
The Litertarian Rating:: 5-Stars

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If you liked this book, check out…

Planes, Trains, and All the Feels | Livy Hart
The Co-Op | Tarah DeWitt
Christmas is All Around | Martha Waters

Book Review:: Ghosted | Sarah Ready

Sarah Ready does it again! This is the second book of hers I’ve read and I think I liked it even more than Wished. I especially recommend her if you’re a fan of magical realism at all. If you ever watched the movie Just Like Heaven with Mark Ruffalo and Reese Witherspoon, this story has similar vibes (but the twist isn’t what you think). It’s heartbreaking and oh so romantic.

Ghosted by Sarah Ready Book Cover

When Jillian moves into a new apartment in NYC, it seems to be already occupied…by the spirit of a man named Daniel. Her best friend (who works at CERN) seems to believe he could be the real deal, and he seems friendly enough. When he finds out she has trouble communicated with anyone of the opposite sex due to a past trauma, he wonders if this is the key to unlocking his passing into the great beyond and vows to help her. Because he’s not ‘real’, Jillian can communicate with him freely. Through a series of ‘practice’ dates Daniel coaches her though, Jillian realizes what she wants, and what she doesn’t.

It is a story about healing, and family, and fate. It’s about optimism and faith and trust. It’s an unconventional tale in a layered story I just couldn’t put down.

It’s a longer book for a romance. It could almost be two different books, but instead we get one big romantic epic with a midpoint that really does change everything.

Jillian’s story is one of self-discovery, compassion, and healing trauma. She works as a columnist with a floundering audience. The office staff is a quirky cast that is bonded through the company’s harder years. Every facet of the book was entertaining, and I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed it. Absolute yes, read this one!

Details

Title:: Ghosted (Ghosted #1)
Author:: Sarah Ready
Genre:: Contemporary Romance/Magical Realism
Publisher:: Swift & Lewis Publishing LLC
Length:: 457 pages
Audio Length:: 14h 3m
Audiobook Narrator:: Sarah Naughton & Rob Brinkmann
Audiobook Publisher:: Swift & Lewis Publishing LLC
Published:: September 26th, 2023
The Litertarian Rating:: 5-Stars
Spice Rating:: 2

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If you liked this book, check out…

Wished | Sarah Ready
If I Were You | Cesca Major

Book Review:: Butcher & Blackbird | Brynne Weaver

Holy gee whiz. I requested this from the library because I was honestly not expecting to like it. I mean, serial k*ller romantic comedy? WTF?! How does it have such high ratings? Such a wide audience? What is happening!!

Y’all.
Y’ALL.
I loved it.

Butcher & Blackbird Brynne Weaver Book Cover Dark Romance

How in the world does this book work? Let me tell you: it’s a magic mix of comedic tone, high stakes, and deliciously slow burn romance.

Sloane and Rowan are straight up serial k*llers. They hunt and destroy the biggest scumbags in the country. They have monikers. And secret identities.

On one hunt, which happens just before the start of the novel, Sloane makes a mistake and gets locked in a cage. Luckily, Rowan was coming to hunt down the same guy and finds her there before she…expires. Yes, folks, he rescues her, the modern morbid damsel in distress. They get to talking shop, and a contest is proposed. Once a year, Rowan’s brother will pick out a sleezebag for them to end and whoever gets there first and does the job wins.

Don’t get me wrong, this shit is bloody and gruesome and horrific. Sloane is known for removing the eyes of her victims, for example, and they may or may not have been served a steaming plate of human by one of their targets. But with an impossibly light and hilarious tone, it fucking works. This is exactly the same genre as any other romantic comedy you can think of, except it’s probably better than a lot of them. It’s like that movie Mr. & Mrs. Smith. They’re doing all this badass shit, blowing shit up, as****inating targets, etc., but the movie is actually about their marriage. Same thing. How, Brynne Weaver. How?!

The romance is what shines in this book. Oh, it’s so juicy. Our two characters are in such high stakes situations whenever they see each other, and it makes for fast and strong trust bonding. It’s also spaced out over years, and there’s lots of longing and wondering and daydreaming and yearning and burning. Gah, the author just hits so many good notes. The nicknames, the symbolism, the ‘seeing’ of each other’s damage, the real, deep love. Extraordinary.

Also, the audiobook is the first true duet I think I’ve ever heard (and I listen to a lot of audiobooks). It’s fantastic, and I absolutely think it adds so much to the experience of the book. I don’t always recommend one format over another, but this time I really do. (Also, do you really want this hanging out on your shelves for OTHER PEOPLE TO SEE?! I’m not even trying to scar my children that way).

Literally what are you still doing reading this. Go find this book and give it a listen (check your library, if you’re not ready to commit yet). But the best part? IT’S A SERIES (with a glorious name, see below).

One warning though, while I wouldn’t say this is erotica by a long stretch, the scenes of intimacy there are could be described as…………..wild. intense. torturous? I mean it fits their characters, hey? But they’re certainly skippable if they’re too much for you (they were for me!). However, it is absolutely still worth reading even if you’re not into that!

Details

Title:: Butcher & Blackbird (The Ruinous Love Trilogy #1)
Author:: Brynne Weaver
Genre:: Dark Romantic Comedy
Publisher:: Independently Published
Length:: 360 pages
Audio Length:: 8h 43m
Audiobook Narrator:: Joe Arden & Lucy Rivers
Audiobook Publisher:: Blue Nose Publishing
Published:: August 14, 2023
The Litertarian Rating:: 5-Stars
Spice Rating:: 12?

Linky Links!!

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Author Website
Amazon Affiliate Links
[Hardcover] [Paperback] [eBook] [Audible]

If you liked this book, check out…

King of Wrath | Ana Huang
Burn for Me | Ilona Andrews
Not in Love | Ali Hazelwood