A review by gabalodon
Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver

adventurous dark lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Well, this was certainly unique!  I strongly recommend you pay attention to the trigger warnings, as that will give you an idea of the level of gross to anticipate.  Once you remove the sometimes fun shock value of the murder shenanigans, the underlying romance seemed pretty simplistic and underwhelming.  I didn't really buy into their friendship dynamic (the time scale of those first couple years felt odd) and the number of times the FMC "rolled her eyes" was truly brutal.  There was a lot of genre whiplash between gross murder shenanigans, to a basic pining romance, to erotica, back to murder shenanigans, rather than a consistent blend.  That all being said, there was a somewhat interesting twist at the climax (would have been more compelling if there were more interactions between the characters involved) and I like that there were some family and friend dynamics going on aside from the main pairing.

Overall I'd say if you find the premise compelling, are not squeamish, and the trigger warnings don't scare you off, it's probably worth a shot in case you end up being one of the thousands of people who are rabid about it.