Now Read This: Butcher and Blackbird

The viral BookTok sensation “Butcher and Blackbird” is worth the hype: funny, spicy, and graphic in all the best ways possible.

Calling all fans of thrillers and serial killer-esque and smut novels, Butcher and Blackbird, written by Brynne Weaver, is for you.

We see two serial killers, Sloan, the Orb Weaver, aka Blackbird, and Rowan, the Butcher, compete to kill—you know, normal serial killer games—while falling in love along the way.

Weaver does an excellent job at capturing specific elements of thriller/horror with her descriptions of the different murders that stick with you, like the opening scene of Sloan being trapped alongside a decaying body. She also does a fantastic job with the romance elements, where readers are rooting for these two killers to fall in love because we have seen them laugh, fight, flirt, and encounter “accidental cannibalism” together.

Weaver has beautifully crafted this dark romance within the descriptions of popping eyeballs out while building the sexual tension between our two characters.

Both gore and spice co-exist well within the book, and Weaver’s use of comedic relief moves the story along.

This book never felt too heavy, but it was a quick and fun read. Another piece that made reading this engaging was the specially crafted playlist with 2-3 songs per chapter. The playlist includes a variety of songs from artists like Twenty-One Pilots to Not a Toy. Each song fits each moment perfectly, and who doesn’t love having a soundtrack to the movie playing in our heads as we read?

Weaver is very meticulous in every detail she picks, which can be seen from the plot to the playlist to her characters.

She gave us our trope-y romance novel characters, from enemy-ish to friends to lovers, along with a strong leading woman who is independent and does not need anything anyway but will ultimately accept the help from the hot man she has a soft spot for.

If you are on BookTok, then Butcher and Blackbird has no doubt crossed your timeline. Rest assured, it’s well worth the read.

If you love it as much as I think you will, Weaver has another book in her “The Ruinous Love Trilogy” that follows this one called Leather and Larke, which embodies this similar dark romance.