Brynne Weaver

Every serial killer needs a friend.
Every game must have a winner. 

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 & Blackbird is the first book in the Ruinous Love Dark Romance trilogy of interconnected stand-alones. This dual POV novel ends on a HEA.

***Butcher & Blackbird is a DARK ROMANCE intended for an adult audience - please see Brynne’s website for a comprehensive list of CWs***

Ruinous Love #1

Butcher & Blackbird

The viral friends to lovers dark romantic comedy full of murder, chaos and sizzling chemistry. Every serial killer needs a friend. Every game must have a winner. When a chance encounter sparks an unlikely bond between rival murderers Sloane and Rowan, the two find something elusive - the friendship of two like-minded, pitch-black souls who just happen to enjoy killing other serial killers. Stalking across the country, 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 deeper, the restless ghosts left in their wake are only a few steps behind, ready to claim more than just their new-found romance. Can Rowan and Sloane dig themselves out of a game of graves? Or have they finally met their match?

Butcher and Blackbird

saidaa<3

She’s everywhere, in every drop of my blood, in every spark of thought, and I want to fucking destroy her for it. To shatter her just like she’s broken me. Because she brings me to my fucking knees. I want to ruin her so that she’s mine, my beautiful disaster. My wild creature. Mo goddess of chaos.

Shantel

“I would kill for you, and I have. I would do it again, every damn day. I’d turn myself inside out for you. I would die for you. I don’t just like you, Sloane, and you fucking know it.”

Butcher & Blackbird (The Ruinous Love Trilogy - A Dark Romantic Comedy Series Book 1)

Sophia

“You did color,” he whispers, but he still doesn’t let go.

I smile in Rowan’s arms. “What can I say, Butcher. I guess you brought it out of me.”

I don't know if he wants to eat her and Rowan or if they are about to eat a random victim he cooked but one way or another I don't like it💀

Thorsten’s restraint buckles as the approaching trolley squeaks in the hallway, a beaming, ravenous grin claiming his features as his refined mask peels away. But Rowan doesn’t notice. He just smiles at me, swaying slightly in his chair, a glassy sheen coating his half-lidded eyes. 

“No one competes with Sloane.” Rowan’s eyes anchor on mine, dragging me into the depths of a navy sea.

“She just hasn’t realized it yet.” 

Is he a golden retriever killer? The fangirling is adorable lmao

“Oh my God. I knew it. I fucking knew they had it wrong. It had to be a woman. The Orb Weaver! Such a cool name. The intricate fishing line, the fucking eyeballs. Amazing. I’m such a huge fan.” 

“Why doesn’t she have much?” Lachlan asks, his brow furrowed, his voice stern.

And I thank every god I never pray to when she wraps her arms around my body.

“Or I’ll just bleed out on the floor, that’s cool… but getting out of the chair would still be aces. Preferably with no stabbing.”

this man’s name awakens something in me 

“Do me a favor and give him a big sloppy kiss instead,” Lachlan says.  

“I don’t really like guns,” she says and grips his hair in a tight fist. She pulls the blade free with her other hand. “Too loud. No finesse.” 

I know I’m not a normal person, but I don’t feel like a monster. I feel like a weapon.

But I am everywhere too. In the huge black leather wing, the intricate feathers spread across a wall above the booths, the exact spot where I would want to sit.

The only two people I love in this world are sitting right next to one another, forging the first moments in a friendship, a foundation that will hopefully only grow with time. 

 “A perfect Sloaney choice. Sheltered and equidistant between the exits.” 

Table twelve is PERMANENTLY RESERVED for:

        - any reservation under the name Sloane Sutherland 

        - a beautiful, black-haired woman with hazel eyes and freckles, 5’8”, probably alone, shy, looks like she wants to run

        Inform Rowan immediately of any reservations under this name or any guests fitting this description.

“I would kill for you, and I have. I would do it again, every damn day. I’d turn myself inside out for you. I would die for you. I don’t just like you, Sloane, and you fucking know it.” 

“Do you think I just like you when I tattoo it on my skin? I play this fucking game every year and tear my heart out watching you walk away, only to do it all over again, and I like you?” 

“Did I get the raven you left on the table tattooed on my back?” His smile is teasing, but there’s a hint of shyness in it as he finishes my thought. “Yeah. Appears to be the case.”

She’s everywhere, in every drop of my blood, in every spark of thought, and I want to fucking destroy her for it. To shatter her just like she’s broken me. Because she brings me to my fucking knees.

"Something caught your eye, pretty girl?"

There's art in our scars. There's wonder in the way we can heal.

“You want me? Then fucking tell me, Sloane.“

siinsiiin

Stella 💫

fun airplane read.. brightness all the way down. made me happy! love a badass fem lead that kills people and does artsy stuff it's gonna hit every time

Kamu Pancholi

I really liked the premise, it’s super interesting. I do love a little freak weirdo duo

Tiana holt

Amazing even if I did got so mad at him at the end she should have let him die for that. Let’s just say I’m happy they’re happy. 

I will not be continuing the series. This book was fun but I have no interest whatsoever in the other two. 😝

Ester Waclavova

I loved this. 

Amazing even if I did got so mad at him at the end she should have let him die for that. Let’s just say I’m happy they’re happy. 

I will not be continuing the series. This book was fun but I have no interest whatsoever in the other two. 😝

"don't you blackbird me. that can-can motherfucker stamped my fucking forehead."

rowan: absolutely loved this man. the way he spoke about sloane was everything to me. the way he did so many things for her, little, big things. just to prove to her she was able to love and be loved. 

sloane: her sass, her intricate way of viewing things and the way she always wanted the best for her friends. i loved her and lark and i hope we got more of that in L&L. 

i honestly loved this book, some parts had me gagging and i got the ick in the extended chapter (iykyk). but overall i loved the feelings it portrayed although i wish we got more on their past and why they became what they became. 

they both knew eachother in and out, even when they were just friends who met up annually. i loved the text aspect of this book too, it added so much even if there was little of it. 

super excited to read L&L (yes, i ordered book two immediately) i need another book on them, but i’ll settle for crumbs of them in this book.

"blackb-"

"don't you blackbird me. that can-can motherfucker stamped my fucking forehead."

~ ♡ 5/5

rowan: absolutely loved this man. the way he spoke about sloane was everything to me. the way he did so many things for her, little, big things. just to prove to her she was able to love and be loved. 

sloane: her sass, her intricate way of viewing things and the way she always wanted the best for her friends. i loved her and lark and i hope we got more of that in L&L. 

i honestly loved this book, some parts had me gagging and i got the ick in the extended chapter (iykyk). but overall i loved the feelings it portrayed although i wish we got more on their past and why they became what they became. 

they both knew eachother in and out, even when they were just friends who met up annually. i loved the text aspect of this book too, it added so much even if there was little of it. 

super excited to read L&L (yes, i ordered book two immediately) i need another book on them, but i’ll settle for crumbs of them in this book.

reread count: lll

Not much of anything until the last bit of the book really, not much plot, subtext, interaction or anything. Overhyped. I immediately felt like I was missing something about the previous history of the pair from chapter one 

Colleen

Everytime they called each other butcher and blackbird I giggled loudly 

Sílvia

Ralie Sutton

this review is biased bec id never pick this book or read it for myself. so i knew going in id hate it lol. 

this book is just awful and gross to me, not to yuck peoples yum but a lot of this i just do not want to read about!!! in short, i have nothing nice to say so ill say nothing at all. 

alice l

this review is biased bec id never pick this book or read it for myself. so i knew going in id hate it lol. 

this book is just awful and gross to me, not to yuck peoples yum but a lot of this i just do not want to read about!!! in short, i have nothing nice to say so ill say nothing at all. 

Good banter, believable romance, and an interesting premise. The audiobook for this was phenomenal - all romance books should be duet narrations!! I think Weaver did a great job at balancing out the dark themes and gruesome scenes with humor and romantic tension so that the book didnt feel too heavy. 

I will say the particular brand of spice in this was just… not for me. And it was a main part of the book, at least in the last half. There was some stuff I would’ve been happy to skip over. 

Alli

Good banter, believable romance, and an interesting premise. The audiobook for this was phenomenal - all romance books should be duet narrations!! I think Weaver did a great job at balancing out the dark themes and gruesome scenes with humor and romantic tension so that the book didnt feel too heavy. 

I will say the particular brand of spice in this was just… not for me. And it was a main part of the book, at least in the last half. There was some stuff I would’ve been happy to skip over. 

Adorable and well-written, with likable MCs and a unique plot. Thoroughly enjoyable, easy read if you like a little bit of murder with your romance. 

Kristen Savage

A friends-to-lovers dark romantic comedy full of murder, chaos, and spice, unlike anything you’ve read before.

Every serial killer needs a friend.
Every game must have a winner.

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?

Gross and sexy? I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected.

maderinn⟢

It was okay ig...if I had a penny for everytime either of them "snorted" I'd be bezos, so eternally bored

Nala

this reads like a fan fic tbh and my mind wandered to genshin AU fic where male protag is basically tartaglia lol (???) 2 stars bc the dialogue banter was a lil funny time to time and that one part about cooking together via the phone was actually kinda cute.

Loved this book. When I say I cackled at some of the scenes! The character development was a bit lacking, but overall a great read. 

Kelly Viljoen

✨Six months of memes and jokes and texts and sometimes calls, just to say hello. And every day, I look forward to it. Every day, it warms me up, lighting places that have always been dark.

✨“No one competes with Sloane.” Rowan’s eyes anchor on mine, dragging me into the depths of a navy sea. “She just hasn’t realized it yet.”

✨“I was scared when we started, afraid that I was making a huge mistake. But finding someone who could understand me for all the shattered pieces beneath the mask? I needed that. Before you came along, something was missing. You, Rowan. You were missing. You made it safe to feel seen.

✨“I would kill for you, and I have. I would do it again, every damn day. I’d turn myself inside out for you. I would die for you. I don’t just like you, Sloane, and you fucking know it.”

“I’m scared of you destroying me. Me destroying you.”

✨When Sloane pulls my lips down to hers, I know it. I feel it in every beat that throbs in my raw, bleeding flesh. That the world could turn in every direction and shatter every reality, but there’s no other life than the one we choose to build.

✨“Sloane Sutherland, my beautiful Blackbird. From the first moment I met you, you changed the course of my life. I can’t remember anything being fun or exciting or new without you. I can’t remember feeling anything but numb until you burst into my world in your smelly little cage of orzo pastas,”

✨Maybe I was right. We’re not normal people. We are monsters. But if we’re monsters, we’ll thrive in the dark. Together.

And then I walk from the shadows and into the sun.

Mariaaa

✨Six months of memes and jokes and texts and sometimes calls, just to say hello. And every day, I look forward to it. Every day, it warms me up, lighting places that have always been dark.

✨“No one competes with Sloane.” Rowan’s eyes anchor on mine, dragging me into the depths of a navy sea. “She just hasn’t realized it yet.”

✨“I was scared when we started, afraid that I was making a huge mistake. But finding someone who could understand me for all the shattered pieces beneath the mask? I needed that. Before you came along, something was missing. You, Rowan. You were missing. You made it safe to feel seen.

✨“I would kill for you, and I have. I would do it again, every damn day. I’d turn myself inside out for you. I would die for you. I don’t just like you, Sloane, and you fucking know it.”

✨“What are you scared of?”

“I’m scared of you destroying me. Me destroying you.”

✨When Sloane pulls my lips down to hers, I know it. I feel it in every beat that throbs in my raw, bleeding flesh. That the world could turn in every direction and shatter every reality, but there’s no other life than the one we choose to build.

✨“Sloane Sutherland, my beautiful Blackbird. From the first moment I met you, you changed the course of my life. I can’t remember anything being fun or exciting or new without you. I can’t remember feeling anything but numb until you burst into my world in your smelly little cage of orzo pastas,”

✨Maybe I was right. We’re not normal people. We are monsters. But if we’re monsters, we’ll thrive in the dark. Together.

✨I take one breath.

And then I walk from the shadows and into the sun.

millena

4,5 ⭐️ the first chapter scared the shit out of me, it was disgusting and i was having dinner!!!!!!! I needed days to have the courage to read it again but this time I did it 🫡

I was NOT expecting to laugh so much, they’re so adorable and their dynamic was the perfect strangers to friends to lovers

did some scenes made me want to throw up? yep!!! but it was worth it (unless we're talking about the proposal, that was definitely to much for me)

can’t wait to read the next one 🥳

I loved this book! I silly hate slow burns but I did not mind this one! The first part was a little hard to get through but once I got through that I blasted through the book! I adored the ending! 

Nora

The viral TikTok friends-to-lovers dark romantic comedy full of murder, chaos, and spice--unlike anything you've read before--now available in all bookstores When a chance encounter sparks an unlikely bond between rival murderers Sloane and Rowan, the two find something elusive--the friendship of like-minded, pitch-black souls. 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?

The Ruinous Love Trilogy

Oh my gosh! They ended up being so cute together! I had been warned about certain scenes but I really didn't find them nearly as bad as they made it out to be. I loved every bit of this book. I highly recommend!

Alex Landau

Rebecca Hurd

Soooo…even with all the TWs and some graphic kills this book was so freaking good!! Their love was palpable!! Funny moments and lots of spice can’t wait to see where Brynne takes these characters in the next 2 books!!

For being a book about two serial killers and how that brings them together, the killing is such a small part of the story. The playful nature of the characters and what draws them together had so much buildup. This is a love story with a twist and I dig it!

Butcher & Blackbird Ruinous Love #1

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