This book has the Alpha Male MMC I was craving! If you are in the mood for a tatted up bad boy who is just the right amount of possessive look no further. Set in Paris, she is recovering from a mess of a marriage... and the hurt and betrayal that comes with that. He is the head of a secret society that polices the baddies of Paris. She may think it is too soon to move on but he has other plans and none of us can resist his filthy mouth ;-)

Entertaining and engaging story. I loved the narration! The accents were amazing. The witty banter was fantastic. I loved how the ex was constantly told off.

This book ends on a cliffhanger, which as much as I was enjoying the story, I despise. How could I not like a bad ass mafia man falling first for a woman who is taking back her own life by leaving her no good cheating husband just because he just so happens to be rich and handsome? You deserve better girl? But what she thought was just going to be a one night stand is turning into more. Can she look past the fact that he is a killer?

I finished this two days ago and am STILL fanning my face from all the blushing. Woo this was spicy and hot

This is the first book by Ms Sky that I have read and it was a good read. To start this review I must point out that this book ends on a cliffhanger - if you are not a fan of them then this may not be the book for you.

Fleur is trying to get divorced from her cheating husband but her hopefully soon to be ex is not giving up - he wants to try to reconcile but since he will not be honest with her about if there were others that he cheated on her with and will not leave her alone, she had no interest despite he has money and means even though they may be illegal. She meets a dream of a man while working at her bar tending job and things evolve from there.

Bastian is a dangerous man who is looking to crack a human trafficking ring when he meets Fleur in a chance encounter when he steps into her bar. He is upfront about not being a relationship man he offers to be the man that tries to get her ex to move on but finds that he is drawn to her.

There is a lot going on with the plot of this book that are no place close to being resolved in this book. This pair have amazing chemistry together and were well written characters. There is a little mystery since this is the first book of this series and the story is just developing with these characters.

Overall, this is a good read making me look forward to seeing what comes next in the story of Fleur and Bastian and I would recommend this book to others if you don't mind a cliffhanger.

“Just because the world turns dark, doesn’t mean you have to.”

TheButcher by PenelopeSky is book one in the FifthRepublic series, and a 3 ⭐️ read.

The Audiobook is Out On the 20th MAY 2025

Fleur found out her husband of three years had cheated on her, and his mistress is the one who told her because he didn’t have the balls to do it himself.

She move out, and got a new apartment, a job as a bartender, while trying to move on with a broken heart. She wonders where it all went wrong, if she hadn’t been enough for him, if she’d been stupid for marrying him in the first place?

—:—:—:—:—

Set in Paris this is a dark romance book to make your toes curl!

The story doesn’t really end and made me scream “Noooooo!!!” When it did. I felt for the FMC, because it feels like she has jumped out of the frying pan into the inferno of hell!

The book is smut strong, and story weak, however as long as you know it going in (which I did) You know what you are getting and came enjoy it!

Favourite Quote: “Trust is like glass. It takes time to heat and temper, to make it transparent for both parties to see through. But once it’s shattered, there are so many broken pieces on the floor that it’s impossible to put back together.”

Spicy Level - 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Note: Please read and review all trigger warnings before reading any recommended book. We love to read for our pleasure, so keep your mind, and emotions safe!

Audio Book Available
Publisher: Dreamscape Media
Narrator: StacyGonzalez & MichaelFerraiuolo

Publication date: 20th MAY 2025

Fleur is in the midst of a breakup with her two-timing ex when she meets Bastian at the bar where is currently employed. Bastian and Fleur hook up. A lot. The end. Did I mention Fleur's ex cheats on her? Because she sure does! All jokes aside, there is little plot, accompanied by a particularly personality-less FMC. Recommended if your looking for something really surface level.

A good dark romance novel featuring a lot of smut. Not much character development beyond Bastien and Fleur's "relationship". I did appreciate Fleur's fiery spirit to stand up for herself against some mafia-esque men. Bastien's dominant yet loving personality was swoon-worthy, giving Fleur just enough space to move on from her cheating ex. I would have loved to get a little more world-building because the little glimpses were quite intriguing. Overall, a quick read with lovely narrators.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media via NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Nope. All spice, no plot, which I usually don’t mind but there was no development of anything throughout the whole book. The jump from scene to scene is nonsensical and so fast you end up with whiplash. The MMC enters the bar the FMC works at, sees her for the first time and bam! They’re in love.

Half of the book is them having sex and the other half is her trash of a cheating ex whining to get her back. It was annoying, boring and not worth the time.

Bastien, “The Butcher”, was definitely not as violent as I expected. I guess I thought more mafia? But somehow it was more of a society that governs somewhere between the underworld and the law. But in France. Kind of confusing.

It definitely started off hot and heavy and I was floored - excited. But then things started to feel a little flat. Worse, Bastien started rubbing me the wrong way near the middle-end. Like sure, Fleur was (rightfully) hesitant to jump into a relationship, despite doing some pretty relationship-y things, but it was clear she just needed some time and trust. And he was doing so good!! At least I thought. Bastien ignored her dismissal of their relationship, which wasn’t the biggest problem, as he was keeping it to himself and kind of just letting her grow into it - but then he snapped and his communication skills just went out the window.

I am ALL for an alphahole, but his behavior just gave me the ick. I was cringing throughout some of those scenes and sadly, even during some of the spicier stuff. I wanted to like him, but as the story went on, I found myself mad at Fleur for taking his crap after such a strong start and mad at Bastien for being so flaky and horrible.

The Fifth Republic stuff was secondary and I just always felt like I was missing some sort of information. Something about the flow with that involved just didn’t sit right.

Unfortunately, I can’t say I’ll be continuing this series 😔

The Basics:
1st Person Dual POV
1st book in the Fifth Republic series - NOT a standalone
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/5
⭐️⭐️/5


Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review 🤍🎧

I felt like I was starting this book over and over again. It was beyond repetitive. Everything was said so many times over. There is a little something to the story and it got more into the dark side of what Bastien did for maybe like half chapters at a time. Just not enough to help this story. Bastien wasn't too terrible until he was. I got the whole bad guy thing with him but then it would turn on the annoyed Fleur. I got why because she was very wishy washy and annoying.

Now Fleur, oh my gosh! Was she getting a divorce? Did her husband cheat on her? Was this thing with Bastien only casual? Those things felt like they were her only thoughts from start to finish. All she could think about was her cheating husband even when she was doing Bastien. It was same thing over and over with her POV. Her character didn't get any better.

This story never really moved along to a plot that sucked you in and wanted you to keep going to see what was going to happen. It was spice and Fleur questioning everything, feeling depressed and never really getting divorced. This could be the first book that has made me cringe during those spicy moments.. His 'member' being called a forklift. His stamina (in his words) his gun still has bullets. Sucking a ball out of a cannon. Him doing the biggest deposits. Tugging her back like a horse. His "member' moving like a sling shot and lastly pounding into her like a sprinting horse.

Yup..

I gave the star for the narrators. I received an early copy of The Butcher Audiobook for an honest review. This book wasn't for me.

The spice in this was amazing. With a title like the butcher I was expecting more of a cut throat plot but it was mainly sexy scenes with a sprinkle of plot. I don’t mind at all though. The spice was done very well!! I’m excited to know that there are more books already out in the series!

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for my ALC in exchange for my honest review.

This was just okay. I have to agree with a lot of the reviews. If you're going to be called "The Butcher" there really should be more violence. Also I received an ALC and both of the narrators were American despite saying they are both from France. I didn't really understand why because all of the side characters had French accents. I did enjoy the spice so I would not be completely opposed to reading the second book.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the ALC.

Unfortunately this book was not for me. I was excited to see the audiobook on NetGalley after seeing the ebook suggested to me by KU.
However, I felt like the narrators were not the best. I tried to focus on the story itself, but I found that to difficult to get through. I didn't feel like much was happening and the dialogue was cringy. I DNFd at 60%.
I'm open to trying this author again, I could definitely see potential for a good story, but this one just didn't quite get there for me.

Fleur just found out that her husband cheated on her from the woman he cheated on her with. When she found this out Fleur wanted to divorce her husband but he paid off the court so it didn’t go through. She tried to move on with her life and get away from her husband.

Fleur was working as a bartender. One night a very gorgeous man came in and sat at the bar. Bastian and Fleur talked that night and ended up spending the night together. It was the most passionate and steamy night she had in a while. Fleur thought it would be just casual hook ups but Bastian wanted to be more serious.
Then Fleur found out that Bastian was the famous crime lord of Paris, the Butcher. Will she still want to stay with him after knowing who he really is?

This was a short and steamy read. The story is short so it’s not really deep but it’s still very enjoyable.
I liked the main characters. They got together really fast and fell for one another fast. I would have loved it if it was a little longer or more deep. I didn’t like her ex-husband and I didn’t like how often he was mentioned.
This story is really spicy and has a lot of spicy scenes.
This is my first book by Penelope Sky and I really enjoyed it.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Damn bastien is so fucking hot and takes what he wants!

I didn’t realize their story continues, but this book didn’t leave on a true cliffhanger. It just left you wanting more of them


Holy heck these narrators for this book are amazing. Bringing this story to life was hot. I loved experiencing it through audio!

It was a quick listen. Lots of spice I was into it the moment it started however I feel like we lost the plot and the story and it ended up just being all spice.

A lot of smut very little actual plot. I was hoping for more substance. So many analogies and they're not great. Forklift of a D. Really? The writing seemed kind of hokey.

I received an audio copy. The male narrator's voice totally fits his character. The female narrator sounds like an angsty teen, which doesn't fit the character in my opinion. The voice she uses for the husband and his accent? Comical!

I'm giving it 3 stars because I did finish it and enjoyed most of the spice. It's a good, quick read if you need a palate cleanser.

Fleur sees the most achingly handsome and dangerous-looking man walk into the bar she tends.

"The only pretty feature about him was his eyes, crystal blue like the waters along the white shores of a tropical paradise. More brilliant than the sky on a clear day, but the rest of his face was harsh with sharp cheekbones, a jawline that could cut glass, and a mouth that looked like it could do more damage than a bullet from a gun."

Bastien was supposed to be a one-night stand to forget about her cheating husband, who refused to divorce her. This fling should have made her husband back down and accept her rejection, but knowing she was with another man and refusing to forgive him, he made threats to her that he would have this "new man" regret seeing her to trying to get her to change her mind about him and not see him again. Bastien is not just a normal man. He's powerful, lethal, and wicked, and his nickname of "The Butcher" is known all over Paris by the authorities and thugs in the city. No one messed with him, and now that he was obsessed with Fleur, the first woman he ever wanted to see more than the usual two encounters, he made sure her husband granted her the divorce she wanted.

"Trust is like glass, it takes time to heat and temper to make it transparent for both parties to see through, but once it's shattered, there are so many broken pieces on the floor that it's impossible to put back together. A year may pass, and you'll step into the kitchen barefoot for a glass of water and get a shard in your heel, and you'll remember how it got there." 

Fleur starts to learn about Bastien's "job", but she doesn't fear him. She has never felt so alive, so safe, as when she was with him. He makes it clear that he wants her, respects her, and cares for her. What she didn't know was how opposite his family member was, and the trouble he's caused the city and Bastien. While Bastien deals with that issue, he makes it very clear about how he feels about Fleur and what he expects from her, and she is scared that she went from one relationship to another and if Bastien will break her heart too, but this time, if it end,s it will tear her apart. 

There is side information discussed about his "job" and the trouble he deals with in the city, and the person behind it. It seems to just be a scratch at the surface, and I assume things will escalate in the upcoming books, and Fleur will be at the forefront of his mind, and he in hers.  

This novella is mostly open-door spice that focuses on their growing infatuation with each other and their relationship as her previous one ends. It's fast-paced with some disturbing topics that aren't for everyone. If you aren't into dark romance, this book isn't for you. I couldn't stop listening. 

I received an ALC from Netgalley and Dreamscape Media in exchange for an honest review. I can't wait to listen to the next book.

The Butcher dives into the gritty underworld of Paris, blending dark romance, crime syndicates, and emotional tension. When a woman tries to reclaim her life from a powerful man, she finds herself drawn into an even darker world ruled by secrets, danger, and an intoxicatingly dangerous antihero.

The spice is strong and steady throughout, and fans of morally gray characters and high-stakes tension will find plenty to sink their teeth into. The plot is unique and layered, with power plays, revenge, and emotional conflict at its core.

Unfortunately, the audiobook narration didn’t work for me. Despite the dual POV format, the voice actors lacked emotional depth—especially in the steamy scenes where connection and tone really matter. The male narrator is slightly better than the female, but overall, I think the story would land better in print or ebook format.

If you enjoy dark romance with crime intrigue and don’t mind a morally gray cast, this one may be worth checking out—just not in audio.