Scythe & Sparrow: The Ruinous Love Trilogy

God, I want to kiss her. I want to feel the heat of her lips against mine. Would she want that? Would she melt against me if she did? Or would the tension I feel between us snap and release something feral inside her? Inside me?

From the #1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of the genre-breaking international TikTok sensation Butcher & Blackbird and Leather & Lark comes the final book in the Ruinous Love Trilogy—a friends-with-benefits dark romantic comedy packed with murder, mayhem, and spice.

Doctor Fionn Kane is running from a broken heart, one he hopes to mend in small-town Nebraska, far away from his almost-fiancé 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 replaces him.

Motorcycle performer Rose Evans has spent a decade on the road with the Silveria Circus, and 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 an injured leg, Rose replaces herself stuck in Nebraska, at the home of the adorably 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 are to catch up.

Tropes:Friends with benefitsSmall town romanceFish out of waterForced proximityHurt/careTouch her and die

As much as Scythe & 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 any questions about this list, please don’t hesitate to contact me at brynneweaverbooks.com or on one of my social media platforms (I’m most active on Instagram and TikTok).

• Eyeballs … again. If it’s any consolation, I don’t know why I keep writing them into books because eyeball shit freaks me the fuck out
• Also eyelids. Yep. We’re there now
• I’m not sure as I really ruin cotton candy as much as maybe just defile it
• Possibly sausages and/or hot dogs
• Ill-advised use of staple guns
• Are drug-addicted raccoons a trigger? Debate!
• Clowns
• Sexy clowns
• Medical trauma including serious injury, ambulances, open fractures, puncture wounds, blood loss, hospitals, surgical recovery
• Impaling (not the sexy kind, but okay … that too)
• References to domestic physical abuse (not depicted), psychological/emotional abuse, sexual harassment, threats and intimidation, misogyny
• Injured dog—but if you’ve read Leather & Lark, you already know Bentley will be fine! He’s too grumpy and badass to die
• Parental neglect, child physical abuse (not depicted)
• Numerous weapons and sharp objects, including knives, guns, baseball bats, metal hooks, an edge beveler—you should be used to these by now
• Detailed sex scenes, which include (but are not limited to): adult toys, primal kink, cum kink, anal, rough sex, sexual acts in public
• Explicit and colorful language, including a lot of “blasphemy.” Don’t say I didn’t warn you!
• There is a lot of injury and death … it’s a book about a doctor and a serial killer falling in love, so I feel like that’s probably a given

Please note, if you’re the kind of reader who likes to skip epilogues, I humbly request that you make an exception! There are no babies or pregnancies, but there might be another surprise or two that you won’t want to miss. Just trust me! (“But the ice cream!” you say. “The pizza! The beer and smoothies and fancy calcium!” I know, I know—but just trust me this time. Haha!)