Ruinous Love Trilogy #3

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Want more than a review? Want all the juicy, bloody details? Read the Spoiler Report of Scythe & Sparrow HERE.

Doctor Fionn Kane is running from a broken heart. One he hopes to mend in small-town Nebraska, far away from his almost-fiancee and his derailed surgical career. It’s a simpler life: head down, hard work, and absolutely no romantic relationships. He wants none of the circus he left behind in Boston.

But then the real circus finds him.

Motorcycle performer Rose Evans has spent a decade on the road with the Silveria Circus, an it suits her just fine, especially when she has the urge to indulge in a little murder when she’s not in the spotlight. But when a kill goes awry and she ends up with a broken leg. Rose finds herself stuck in Nebraska, at the home of the admirable nerdy town doctor.

The problem is, not every broken heart can be sewn back together.

…And the longer you stay in one place, the more likely your ghosts will catch up.

Content & Trigger warning

As much as Scythe and Sparrow is a dark romantic comedy and will hopefully make you laugh through the madness, it’s still dark! Please read responsibly. If you have and questions about this list, please don’t hesitate to contact [Brynne Weaver] at brynneweaverbooks.com or one of [her] social media platforms ([she] is most active on Instagram and TikTok).

• Eyeballs… again.
• Eyelids.
• Possibly sausages and/or hot dogs.
• Staple guns
• Clowns
• Sexy clowns
• Medical trauma including serious injury, ambulances, open fractures, puncture wounds, blood loss, hospitals, surgical recovery.
• Impaling
• References to domestic physical abuse (not depicted), psychological/emotional abuse, sexual harassment, threats and intimidation, misogyny
• Parental neglect, child abuse (not depicted)
• Weapons including knives, guns, baseball bats, metal hooks, an edge beveler
• Detailed sex scenes, which includes (but not limited to): adult toys, primal kink, cum kink, anal, rough sex, sexual acts in public
• Injuries and death. It’s a book about a doctor and a serial killer

If you have read my reviews on the the first two books in this series, you would know I have mixed feelings. Butcher & Blackbird is a fantastic novel. Leather & Lark was less so. Still a great story but lived up to the stereotype that the sequel is never as good as the original.

Scythe and Sparrow, however, totally redeemed this series for me. It’s gory, dark, and completely ruinous!

What I loved most about this is the fact that we have seen parts of this in the last two books. We have met Rose and Fionn. We kind of knew them on the surface and knew a bit about what happens to them, respectively. That alone could have gone horribly wrong. Brynne seamlessly wove all three tales into this one novel. Not giving us a play-by-play of what we previously read. Assuming that we, as readers, have two brain cells to rub together and can somewhat remember the events and moved forward with the story. Love that kind of confidence in her readers. Sure, a reminder here and there is appreciated, but we don’t need everything regurgitated word for word.

All the pieces of the puzzle came together just so Rose and Fionn could have their moment. Fionn was advertised as the most ‘normal’ of the Kane brothers. A doctor that just wants to move on with his life and let his brothers continue with their darker ways. Of course Fionn is more complex than that.

Rose is going through a pivotal moment in her life without being portrayed as wishy-washy. She remains strong and righteous, with a beautiful dark streak. If she didn’t have one she would have no business interacting with the Kanes and their significant others.

The ending is as emotional as a story revolving around family of serial killers can be. Filled with all the emotions you’ve come to expect from all six of the main characters from the series.

It did leave things open for a spin-off or another series in the same universe where a cameo or two from the Kane family would be possible. Not sure how I feel about it. It seems out of left field to re-introduce someone that only had a fleeting moment in one of the books (no spoilers here, only vague comments!). I get Brynne loves these characters and world she has created. How could she not? It felt very last minute but I’m not completely mad about it.

My one and only real complaint is the same rant I went on about in my Leather and Lark review. The trigger warnings…

I get this is a dark romance that is based on serial deleters that believe they are making the world a better place. Let’s face it, they are. No qualms there. Every book in this trilogy, Brynne has this list of trigger warnings. Great! On one hand, it’s a dark romance about serial killers – common sense please. On the other, I understand some bigger scenes/situations can get heavy, i.e. DV and CA.

As with Leather and Lark, the trigger warnings on Scythe and Sparrow are more interesting than the content in the story. the list has become nothing more than an attempt at shock value. To me 90% of the list is there for hype purposes only. When these things show up in the story it is very anticlimactic. It’s not like eyelids were torn off by hand or anything. Seriously, it was one, maybe two sentences and there isn’t even blood or trauma (and that’s all the spoilers I’ll give here).

All that being said, this book is a great finale to The Ruinous Love Trilogy and I love that I read all three books. The characters are each their own individual person that stays true to who they are written to be. The concepts are creative with very little story flaws. Marks for a great series. Highly recommend – even if I didn’t love each book, still amazing reads!