Scythe and Sparrow
Table of Contents
Scythe and Sparrow
Scythe and Sparrow is the latest novel to be checked off my to be read list. This is one that I have been impatiently waiting for it to be released, and it felt like an eternity between this and when I finished Leather and Lark.
“And by working you mean running around yelling, ‘Come get me, you ugly piece of shit,’ and laughing maniacally?”
Brynne Weaver, Scythe and Sparrow
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About Scythe and Sparrow
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 finds 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 finds 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.
Book Playlist
Chapter 1: Ace of Cups
- “Handmade Heaven” by Marina
- “The Inversion” by Joywave
Chapter 2: Oath
- “Mess is Mine” by Vance Joy
- Fight to Feel Alive” by Erin McCarley
Chapter 3: Stranded
- “Lost and Far from Home” by Katie Costello
- “My Heart” by The Perishers
Chapter 4: Prairie Princess
- “The Daylight” by Andrew Belle
- “Next Time” by Greg Laswell
- “Silenced By the Night” by Keane
Chapter 5: Left Unsaid
- “Traveling at the Speed of Light” by Joywave
- “Never Be Alone” by The Last Royals
- “In a Week” by Hozier featuring Karen Cowley
Chapter 6: Shadows
- “Orca” by Wintersleep
- “Look After You” by Aron Wright
- “Darker Side” by Rhodes
Chapter 7: Ta-Da
- “Man’s World” by Marina
- “Fun Never Ends” by Barns Courtney
Chapter 8: Push to Shove
- “Roses R Red” by Cray
- “Shutdown” by Joywave
- “Minuet for a Cheap Piano” by A Winged Victory for the Sullen
Chapter 9: Sutures
- “You Haunt Me” by Sir Sly
- “Evelyn” by Gregory Alan Isakov
- “Reflections” by Two Lanes
Chapter 10: Renegade
- “Every Window is a Mirror” by Joywave
- “Is It Any Wonder?” by Keane
- “San Francisco” by Gregory Alan Isakov
Chapter 11: Beast Mode
- “Too Young To Die” by Barns Courney
- “Take It on Faith” by Matt Mays
Chapter 12: Reduction
- “Strangers” by Wave and Rome
- “Sister” by Andrew Belle
Chapter 13: Scratch
- “Helium” by Glass Animals
- “The Greatest” by Billie Eilish
- “Fear and Loathing” by Marina
Chapter 14: Reckless
- “The Few Things” by JP Saxe featuring Charlotte Lawrence
- “Pieces” by Andrew Belle
Chapter 15: Descent
- “Twist” by Dizzy
- “First” by Cold War Kids
- “Cold Night” by Begonia
Chapter 16: Surfacing
- “Horizon” by Andrew Belle
- “All Comes Crashing” by Metric
- “Realization” by Two Lanes
Chapter 17: Stroke of Luck
- “I Know What You’re Thinking And It’s Awful” by The Dears
- “Shrike” by Hozier
- “Butterflies” By Tom Odell featuring Aurora
Chapter 18: Hurdles
- “Fun” by Sir Sly
- “Nuclear War” by Sara Jackson-Holman
- “Watch What I Do” by Cray
Chapter 19: Confection
- “About Love” by Marina
- “We’re All Gonna Die” by Cray
Chapter 20: Claws
- “Coming Apart” by Joywave
- “The Aviator” by Stars of Track and Field
- “Wandering Wolf” by Wave and Rome
Chapter 21: Haunted
- “I Love You But I Love Me More” by Marine
- “Mayday!!! Fiesta Fever” By AWOLNATION featuring Alex Ebert
- “Content” by Joywave
Chapter 22: Dark Corners
- “Come Back For Me” by Jaymes Young
- “Monsoon” by Sara Jackson-Holman
- “Au Revoir” by OneRepublic
Chapter 23: Untethered
- “Arches” by Agnes Obel
- “Master and A Hound” by Gregory Alan Isakov
- “Sweet Apocalypse” by Lambert
Chapter 24: Battlegrounds
- “Into the Fire” by Erin McCarley
- “Particles” by Olafur Arnalds and Nanna
- “Hold On” by Chord Overstreet
Chapter 25: Out of Time
- “Stranger” by Katie Costello
- “Viva La Vida” by Sofia Karlberg
Chapter 26: Script
- “Can I Exist” by Missio
- “Cardiology” by Sara Jackson-Holman
- “For You” by Greg Laswell
Chapter 27: Three of Swords
- “Fall For Me” by Sleep Token
- “Quietly Yours” by Birdy
- “The Shade” by Metric
Epilogue 1: Maps
- “Closer To You” by Gracie Abrams
- “Maps” by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
- “Re-Arrange Again” by Erin McCarley
Epilogue 2: Blade of Rage
- “Serial Killer” by Slayyyter
Bonus Chapter: Suspend
- “Official” by Charli XCX
- “Kiss Me” by Empress Of featuring Rina Sawayama
Thoughts on Scythe and Sparrow
“I’m ninety-nine percent sure you have no credentials at all, and you won your stethoscope at the Duck Pond game.”
Brynne Weaver, Scythe and Sparrow
I will be honest here and say that my expectations of this novel were crazy high. Mostly because I absolutely loved Butcher and Blackbird, and even more so, Leather and Lark. This made the anticipation and expectations probably ridiculously high.
I was kind of sad that it didn’t suck me in and keep me on the edge of my seat the way the previous two books in the trilogy did. It flowed really well, don’t get me wrong. But the tone of it was much different, and I wasn’t entirely expecting that.
I am struggling with the fact it was good, but it just wasn’t the same tone as the other two. This is the problem with trilogies. It is impossible not to compare the other books in it. I wanted it to suck me in, keep me reading, and wanting to binge the entirety of it in one sitting. This one took me a week to read, reading off and on as I had time.
I also found it kind of annoying that Rose wasn’t the best serial killer out there. She struggled hard with not screwing it up. Because she had the perfect setup, being part of the circus, and constantly traveling. This would make it much harder for her to be found, or for anyone to even take notice of her to become a suspect. Her motives made the most sense, and were actually really relatable, but she desperately needed practice to become a more proficient serial killer.
I did call it my “crocheting serial killers” book, complete with a pet raccoon, which made me giggle. My question, of course, was, do serial killers actually crochet? Now I wonder! I think I enjoyed the ending the most, because we get to see more of the other characters from the previous two books. It seemed like this one didn’t give them much space, where the other two had all the characters making appearances in them.
Final Thoughts on Scythe and Sparrow
“If you hit someone in the back of the head hard enough, you can pop their eyeballs right out of their face.”
Brynne Weaver, Scythe and Sparrow
I am calling Scythe and Sparrow a four star read. I really enjoyed it, but it didn’t quite hit my expectation of being amazing.
This one definitely had the most Nora Roberts romance trilogy feel to it out of any of the three. Which may be a contributing factor on why I wasn’t as much of a fan. The other two had the base idea, being each book focuses on one family member, in this case, three brothers, and each book focuses on their lives with glimpses into other characters in the other books. But in Butcher and Blackbird, as well as Leather and Lark, that was where the similarities ended. Because they were unique. This one felt almost basic, or standard Nora Roberts vibes to it, because it moved at a much different and less unique pace to it.
Scythe and Sparrow is still absolutely worth reading. Please don’t get me wrong. I’m not trying to sway you from reading it. It was good, and really did flow well. I just found myself wanting more because of how I felt reading the other two books in the trilogy. Maybe that was the goal though from Brynne Weaver, to write a different book that had a different vibe and feel to it. I am not sure what her intentions were.
If this were a standalone novel and I was rating it, I would call it a four or five star read for sure. But I can’t call it a five star read here, because I’m comparing it to the other two books. So it is a four star read for me. But I am mad that I wanted a five star read.
I almost wish that I had read Scythe and Sparrow first, in some ways. Now, all three can be read in whatever order you want to read them. It isn’t a requirement to read them in order. Which is important, in my opinion. Because I think every single book, series, trilogy, standalone, whatever, should be able to be read as a standalone novel. I feel like if I had read this one first, it would be a full five star read, because I wouldn’t be comparing it to the first two books.
Discussion
Have you read Scythe and Sparrow or any other writing from Brynne Weaver? Are you a fan? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
About the Author
Brynne is a fan of velociraptors, the Alien movies (well, most of them), red wine, and wild adventures. She can relate nearly anything you say to a line from the movie Hot Fuzz. She has been trying unsuccessfully for years to convince her husband that they should acquire a pet mink to add to their menagerie of animals (what could possibly go wrong with that plan?!).
When not busy writing, Brynne can be found with her husband and son on their family farm in NS, Canada, or enjoying her other passions which include riding horses, reading, motorcycling, and spending time with family and friends around a raclette and a bottle of wine.
Purchasing Scythe and Sparrow
If you are interested in buying the paperback version of Scythe and Sparrow, click here.
Click here for the Kindle version.
Click here for my favorite Kindle I currently own.
More From Brynne Weaver
Did you enjoy my review of Scythe and Sparrow? Need another great Brynne Weaver novel to read? Here are my favorites!
Scythe and Sparrow
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