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Butcher & Blackbird

The Ruinous Love Trilogy, Book 1

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Butcher & Blackbird

By: Brynne Weaver
Narrated by: Joe Arden, Lucy Rivers
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About this listen

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

Butcher & Blackbird is the first book in the Ruinous Love dark romance trilogy of interconnected stand-alone dark romantic comedies. This dual POV novel ends on an HEA.

Butcher & Blackbird is a dark romance intended for an adult audience—please see Brynne’s website for a comprehensive list of content warnings.

©2023 Brynne Weaver (P)2023 Blue Nose Publishing Contemporary Contemporary Romance Crime Romantic Suspense Women's Voices Murder Romance Suspense Funny Witty
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While the storyline is pretty far-fetched, the performance of both narrators is hands down the best I've ever listened to. I wish all audio books were recorded this way.

The banter between both characters is hilarious, and that's easily what kept me engaged in listening.

The smut, once you get to it, is alright, but the overall performance is why I'd recommend this book.

Now THIS is what an audio book should sound like!

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I’m sure I would have loved this book if I read it, it was quirky and funny and dark and I loved it! But their narration! It was more than narrating, it was performing, it was wonderfully done, the best duet I’ve heard. Truly extraordinary.

What a performance!

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This was GREAT and I definitely think you should listen to it instead of reading as the voice actors here are fantastic! Fun, funny, sexy and just all around a rollicking good time - highly, highly recommend.

Narration was fantastic!

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I have no notes, just *chefs kiss*! Performance is stellar, story is powerful, i heard those trigger warnings… but did not expect them to be told in such a way. I wish the second novel was a continuation on this one, a stand-alone with these 2 main characters feels like I’m being robbed.

My out-loud cackling of laughter

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amazing truly amazing one of the best books I have read ( listen ) to in ages

everything

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I am making an early call here, this is my favourite book of 2024! (will it be de-throned? we shall see!)

So, I was really reluctant/wary to get into this book, as I normally avoid ANYTHING to do with horror (except Buffy - cause it's Buffy!) but after seeing a few rave reviews on social media I decided to give it a go, and I wish I had sooner!

This book was HILARIOUS, emotional, violent, touching, nihilistic, and worth every second. Someone likened the violence to Monty Python and that feels pretty accurate - whilst graphic and disgusting the t*rture and m*rder scenes all had an element of slapstick comedy that kept the tone in this really interesting place between scary and fun (though if you have a particular affinity for orzo pasta or cookies and ice cream, you may never look at them the same ever again)

Brynne's writing is phenomenal, she knew exactly how much to put into each scene to make it well-rounded without being overly wordy, and the characters had time to really shine.

I listened to the audiobook for this one, and I cannot express enough how incredible it was. Probably the best quality audiobook I've heard yet.

Bluenose Audio is really carving out a corner of the market with the amazing way they bring these books to life. The books are really dramatised and multilayered, for example (this is no more spoilery than reading the blurb, don't worry) when the FMC is torturing her latest victim, you don't just hear her narrating about the pitiful moaning you're supposed to imagine is happening in the background, but you actually have the other narrator making muffled moans and pleads. It's like Bluenose have discovered the sweet spot between adding additional layers of sound and sound effects without adding full-on foley tracks (which gets weird really quickly for me personally, cannot do graphic audio haha) and I LOVE IT!

The acting is just -chef's kiss- ... Joe Arden and Lucy Rivers both knocked it out of the park. Joe puts on an Irish accent for the MMC and it is absolute perfection- and hearing him switch from 'scary murderer' to 'omg she's so f*cking cute' is the best kind of roller coaster. Lucy Rivers was new-to-me and she was also just immaculate. The emotion she managed to convey with her words alone is outstanding.

If you've been on the fence about this book/audio because of the horror, I recommend giving it a try. Check the trigger warnings of course, but also read them with a lense of comedy. My husband has been trying to get me to watch a horror movie with him for YEARS and to this day I still can't watch anything scarier than Buffy or Supernatural - so trust when I say this book is great!

My top book of 2024

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So I’m only an hour in and this performance is already top notch; dark, gory, engaging and incredibly hot! Moreover, the writing is eloquent, fluid and has held me on the edge of my seat each delicious minute.

Banter and Cadence *chef’s kiss*

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I loved the story line, both actors were fantastic, made the book come to life 😍

Joe Arden’s voice and accent was magnificent

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Best narration I have listened to on Audible so far. They took what was already a hilariously dark and fun story to the next level. If you’re not squeamish this is the perfect book for lovers of romance and crime genres, blended together with witty banter and wicked humour. Looking forward to the next one.

The narrators are amazing

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this was so f****ed up in the best way possible. the audiobook is perfect, both narrators were excellent and added to the story. couldn't love it more.

oh my gosh

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