Review--Scythe & Sparrow by Brynne Weaver

 

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, work hard, and absolutely no romantic relationships. He wants none of the circus he left behind in Boston.

But then the Silveria Circus finds him.

Motorcycle performer Rose Evans has spent a decade on the road with Silveria, and it suits her just fine, especially when she has the urge to indulge in a little murder and mayhem when she’s not in the spotlight. But when a kill goes awry and she ends up with a broken leg, she 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.

Scythe & Sparrow brings a conclusion to Brynne Weaver's The Ruinous Love Trilogy and it was a nice fitting end. We still met up with the past couples, so it gave a nice send off to the characters and their futures. While the ending teased at possibly something new to come, I am not sure what it means until I pick up her new series which supposedly takes place in the same universe as this one.

For some reason, I found I didn't quite enjoy this one as much as I did the previous books. I don't know why that is to be honest. The characters were still great, Rose is a riot and I love her brash and boldness. She works in a traveling circus and, as has been the way, when she meets someone absolutely loathing, she decides to take matters into her own hands. Although, compared to Sloane and Lark, Rose isn't as smooth with her killings. Things get a little messy...

Then you have Fionn, the youngest of the Kane brothers, but instead of taking the the lives of evil people like his brothers, Fionn is a doctor and saves lives instead. Although, that wasn't always the case as we learn...or have learned...the timeline of this series has sometimes made it hard to discern what events we know in what books. Which is possibly one of the issues I had with this one. Time is just wonky in this series. We saw that in the first book with I think a 3 or 4 year timespan going on. So basically, we get that in each book as well and we can kind of fill in the blanks of the other characters and what they were doing when we focused on one couple.

Rose gets injured by her target. She had found her next kill, a real douche bag who enjoyed beating and berating his wife and possibly his children. She decides to take him out...but wasn't anticipating on him fighting back, and especially fighting back so well. She barely escapes with her life, but at least she took his eye out before she nearly collapses at the doctor office of one Dr. Fionn Kane.

Fionn helps to get Rose to a bigger hospital and essentially saves her leg. Since she lives in an RV, traveling with the circus as her job, she's out of commission and an RV is no place to heal when on crutches, so he offers her a place to stay until she's healed. Which is why we see her wielding crutches at Rowan when he and Sloane come for Fionn's help in the first book. We eventually catch up in time to see when Rose helps Lark and nearly loses her life again, if it weren't for Fionn's help.

I'm not sure where my disconnect with this story happened. I guess, maybe it's because there wasn't enough killing? Lol. The Dexter vibes are still sort of there, but Rose comes off as an amateur compared to Sloane and Lark. And if I am recalling correctly, we really only had two "incidents" happen in the book with a few being brought up in conversation, but it was much more minimal compared to the first two books I feel like.

Fionn and Rose both aren't the best with relationships, so instead decide to indulge in a "just for physical fun" kind of deal. But naturally, that too doesn't go as plan. Both have their own emotional issues that they need to work though and overcome before they can finally let the other one in...at the same time.

We're once again treated to some very hot and heavy romantic interludes throughout this one which probably also contributed to some of my disconnect. Sometimes it got a little over the top for me, as I'm the kind of reader who could do with the "less is more" with the intimacy levels. The "just for fun" aspect always kind of bored me in books in general, so it's not just this series.

But still, all in all, it was a fun and entertaining read. I loved seeing the past couples still popping up. Trying to make out the timeline does get a little tricky at times, so it's usually best to just roll with it. Lol. While this one brought and end to the trilogy there definitely was a backdoor left open for other possible things to happen in this world. One of the epilogues definitely had my head spinning a bit and I had wondered if it connected to the new series. But since I need to start that one still, I can't say that it does with certainty. All in all, a fun and entertaining read, but not necessarily my favorite of the trilogy. Highly recommended for those Dexter/rom-com combination vibes if you enjoy that untold blend! It makes for high entertainment nonetheless.

Overall Rating 3.5/5 stars