Butcher & Blackbird | Book Review

When a chance encounter sparks an unlikely bond between rival murderers Sloane and Rowan, they find something elusive—the friendship of two like-minded, pitch-black souls who just happen to enjoy killing other serial killers.

From small-town West Virginia to upscale California, and 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?

This was one I really wanted to like, and I did to some extent. It had a playlist with designated chapters to listen to specific songs, so that’s an automatic plus one star for the good playlist, lol.

Too Cringey…

⬇️minor spoilers only from first chapter⬇️

I’m not referring to anything related to the long list of TWs at the beginning—well, maybe, but not because I was triggered. Unless you count second-hand embarrassment as a trigger.

Ya know, I don’t get my hopes up for good writing anymore, but I have to say the first few pages were an amazing hook—almost too amazing, as I quickly realized it was only getting worse from there. No, like literally on the 5th page, where they’re having their first meeting while she’s surrounded by maggots and stuck with a corpse. But what is she thinking about? Of course, how the hot man who happened upon her circumstance has very bitable lips.

Now, this was genuinely funny at times, in fact my favorite line was on the next page (pg. 6):

“‘I’m guessing you made it your business too, judging by the quality of the hunting knife stuck in his throat. Handmade Damascus Steel. Where’d you get it?’ I sigh. My gaze lingers on the body and my favorite blade before I press my cheeks to my drawn-up knees. ‘Etsy.'”

Amazing. Had to stop reading and send to my friend because I thought It was so funny lmao.

The humor is funny in some places but falls flat in others. The plot, story, and characters are all over the place. The chemistry between our two serial killers was there… I guess… but I just didn’t care for it. I appreciated the attempt, but everything needed more polish, especially the writing and how the author chose to describe things and other characters.

Am I the problem?

While it’s not a surprise that I often disagree with a lot of the new popular book trends, I consider myself pretty well-rounded: sci-fi, fantasy, romance, dark romance, etc. Basically, I’m not picky—just give me something good and I’ll go to town. But, how come I can’t seem to agree with these often popular ‘BookTok’ books? I even searched around other bloggers, and they all seemed to enjoy it.

So, I obviously went on Goodreads and looked over the 1-2 star reviews… Oh, there it is… sweet, sweet validation. Hmm, but what was that?

Picture has spoilers!!!!!

am I ….am I… old now?

No, that can’t be true. I’m still in my mid-twenties, and honestly, I don’t mean to yuck anyone’s yum, but this is just a poorly executed book that I would’ve DNF’d if I hadn’t bought the physical copy.

At this point, I am on my hands and knees begging publishers to take the time with these authors who have amazing premises for books, to actually do their jobs and edit/polish them. I would much rather wait to read a well-done book than see them continue to push out these viral ‘trope’-filled monstrosities. Oops, I fear I’ve lost the plot of this blog post, which was a book review; tl;dr: 1 star, not for me.

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