Black Sheep by Brynne Weaver & Alexa Harlowe – A Book Review

Spoiler-Free Overview

Bria grew up in a cult, but after being shunned and left to die in the desert, she’s rescued by a serial killer, Samuel. Then raised to be his successor. 

Now, Bria is a doctoral student by day, murderer by night. She’s focused on finding and taking down abusive cults, especially those that target women. But, of course she can’t forget about her academic work. Which is where she meets Dr. Eli Kaplan, whom she wants to be the advisor for her dissertation. 

Their first meeting goes sour when Eli admits he hasn’t read her proposal because he’s taking a sabbatical. This pisses off our quick-to-anger heroine. What Bria doesn’t know is that Eli is using his time away from school to investigate the same cult she’s been hunting. 

Eli can’t get Bria out of his head, and the undeniable attraction keeps bringing them together.

Liz’s Thoughts and Feelings

After reading Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver, I was ready to dive into another serial killer romance by her. Black Sheep doesn’t live up to the fun and unbridled chaos that comes from Sloane and Rowan, but it still kept me coming back for more.

Bria and Eli deny each other for the first quarter of the book, each for their own reasons. Eli has rules around dating students (which are good rules). Bria is driven and thinks of herself as too damaged to want ‘normal’ things like a relationship. Yet, when the romance does happen, it happens quickly, which is part of the issue. I didn’t get the romance. Eli falls first, but the connection between the two characters doesn’t come across as much as I wanted on the page.

Eli is supposed to be this bad-boy professor type. He has some kinks that, for some reason, make him a good romantic partner for Bria. Which is where the sexual chemistry comes in. And the spice is nice. They never repeat themselves, and when a book is really spicy, it can become repetitive.

Sadly, there’s a lot of build up with Eli’s kinks that never pays off. Sure, he likes some toys and some light BDSM, but it’s all a little underwhelming. I think he needs more darkness to be a good match for Bria’s murder-vibes.

Bria’s character starts off interesting. In the opening scene, she offs someone, and it’s pretty gruesome. I thought that was going to set the stage for a darker, grittier story. And while they talked a lot about death and her murders, there wasn’t enough to continue at the level of grit and gruesomeness I was expecting. I really wanted Bria’s character to stay darker. But after she meets Eli, she becomes this femme fatale or person that can match his level of kink. 

I wanted a little bit more personal development from Bria. Her big story arc is learning that she can be loved and that she is worthy of love. But there could have been a lot more to that in my opinion, because all that happens internally. I feel like there should have been some conversations with Samuel or even with Eli. 

Even with those complaints, I still enjoyed the book. It wasn’t as dark as I expected, but that’s okay. It feels like a good entry into a dark romance if you wanted to give something like this a shot.

The side characters are fun and bring some levity to the book. Eli has a professor best friend, Fletch, who actually ends up being Bria’s advisor. She’s constantly telling Eli to get his head out of his ass, especially when it comes to Bria. And we all need a little more of that energy in our lives.