↠ 4 stars ⭐️

This novella is quite short—only 48 pages—but definitely packs a punch. It’s the Annual August Showdown, and the gangs all here!

As expected, this was a jolly ole murdery time. I loved seeing the Kane brothers and gals all together again. And our favorite feral girl Barbara makes an appearance too. There’s murder (duh), a bit of spice, and quite a few laugh out loud moments. We even get references to a few memorable moments from the trilogy.. which may or may not be unfortunate depending on how you look at it hahah.

If you’re craving more of the Ruinous Love trilogy, this is the perfect little fix! It’s also a nice bridge into Brynne’s upcoming release, Tourist Season, and I’m excited to see what crazy ride Brynne takes us on in The Seasons of Carnage trilogy!

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and Brynne Weaver for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Was this at all necessary? No. It didn’t add anything new to what we already know of these characters. Was it still a fun little on-brand get together with some good laughs and reminiscing? Yes.

This is told from Sloane’s POV. Her and Rowan are the couple leading the charge here despite it being a family affair, which worked fine for me as they’re my favorite couple of the trilogy. It seemed a little imbalanced, though, if the intent was to spread the love amongst the group. Having POVs from each of them would’ve been cool!

4.5 Stars Such a fun novella and perfect if you loved the Ruinous Love series! It’s a bonus novella for the series featuring all three couples on the Annual August Showdown that Sloane and Rowan started in the first book. Love and Other Killers is the perfect cherry on top of the Ruinous Love series!

This was a fun, quick novella! I thought that it worked pretty well as a novella, and it didn’t feel too rushed. I haven’t finished the original trilogy yet, but this makes me excited to do so. I did however wish there were POVs from the other characters, instead of just Sloane’s.

Brynne Weaver said this novella is meant to be a bridge to connect the Ruinous Love trilogy to the Season Of Carnage and I think her idea was brilliant. Love And Other Killers is the ultimate hype man to get readers amped up for the next series to come. This novella is a fun little 48 page treat where we get to revisit all of our beloved, fucked up, found family members. Written strictly in Sloane’s POV, this novella took me back to the couple who started it all. The writing is full of Weaver’s signature morbidly dark humor that we have all come to know and love.

Another thing I really love about this novella is that it worked as a little refresher for the last three books. There were things from the last three books that were mentioned in this story that I had completely forgotten about. I honestly wish that more authors would offer fun little recap novellas so that I don’t have to go back and reread serval books in order to move on to the newest one.

In the past I have only ever listened to Weaver’s books on audio so this was a bit of a switch up reading it. The entire time I was reading it I kept thinking, “man I wish this novella could be offered on audio” because it just isn’t the same without Joe Arden’s sexy voice saying “feckin” but with it only being a 48 paged novella I figured it probably wouldn’t be an option… so imagine my complete surprise when I saw they are also offering an audio ARC as well!!!

This was a really quick read, less than 40 pages. It follows all the couples the Ruinous Love series, with Sloane as the narrator.

My favorite thing about the series was the annual game and I loved that she revived it for this short story. I definitely think you need to have read at least the first book in the Ruinous Love series before starting this as there are some characters that show up and you kinda need the content.

Overall, this story still has all the magic we know and love.

Love and Other Killers was such a fun, twisted read! I loved being back with all my favorite characters from the Ruinous Love trilogy. Brynne Weaver totally nailed the dark, addictive vibe again.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for a honest review!

4 / 5 Stars
I am truly licking up crumbs with this novella and I am not mad about it. This book is super short (under an hour to read) and features all three couples as they compete in the annual serial killing games. It's takes place during the first prologue of Scythe & Sparrow (with a still green Rowan) and as we meet April (from the next series). We get all of our favorite references (Budget Batman, the doilies, the drugged muffins) and we even get Barbara (the true star of the show).

Because it could technically be read as a standalone, we do spend some time being reminded of basic plot points from past books which is a tad frustrating for folks who read all three books because new information is precious, but I am also greedy.

Thank you to Amazon Original Stories and NetGalley for providing this eARC. All opinions are my own.
Publication Date: August 12, 2025

This is the Ruinous Love Trilogy’s version of a Christmas special. It’s quick and heartwarming (if murder can be heartwarming?) and a nice reflection on the characters from the past three books — including Barbara (yesss!!). Based on this, I’m also thinking we’ll see Autumn again soon in the Brynne Weaver world.

5 stars

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I've never embraced the idea of a warm hug from a group of serial killers with such rapid vigor. I couldn't wait to visit some of my favorite couples again. This novella was everything I wanted it to be with the bonus of getting a glimpse of the new FMC from Cape Carnage. I love these couples and laughed out loud so many times. Who knew that a murder game could make my kick my feet with delight. At this point I can't even decide which couple is my favorite. I read this in one sitting and it reminded me of all the reasons I fell in love with the Ruinous Love trilogy. I have already read Tourist Season (the first in the Seasons of Carnage Trilogy) and recommend reading this novella first (it won't really make a difference, but I think it will remind the reader where they met the FMC originally.) I'm such a selfish reader because I already want more. I will always be grateful for what Brynne gives us, but I will never get enough of the Kane brothers and the Sticker Bitch Crew.

I thought it was really interesting that the timing of this story is intertwined with the 2 epilogues at the end of Scythe & Sparrow. I decided to reread those, which helped a ton. Since they’re short, I’d recommend just reading both before starting this but if you want to read them chronologically, here’s how to do so: read chapter 1 of this (L&OK), epilogue 1 of S&S, chapter 2 of L&OK + chapter 3 until everyone is leaving the AirBnB, epilogue 2 of S&S, then finish chapter 3 of L&OK followed by the rest of this story.

Rowan and Sloane are my favourite couple in the Ruinous Love trilogy, so I love that this was from Sloane’s POV! It was so funny, the found family aspect that she feels mixed with the actual family aspect of the 3 brothers being together was great, and of course it ended up being spicy too.

There was a lot of build up leading to the ‘serial killers killing a serial killer’ as part of the Annual August Showdown, and then the actual murderous part felt… quick. Which I get, it’s a short story, but even taking that into consideration it felt faster than I expected. But I still really enjoyed this, it feels like a really nice wrap up to this trilogy. And of course I adored seeing Barbara again.

Perfection. If you loved the Ruinous Love series- this bonus ending will leave you happy. It has everything you want: all three couples, Barbara, inside jokes from the books, and no new ruined foods! I was laughing out loud and flying through it. It’s all in Sloane’s pov but all the characters are highlighted.

I dropped everything I was reading as soon as I got my hands on this novella. I love the trilogy and was so excited to get a glimpse of these characters together.

It was a fun, little adventure with all three couples with a few nods to the original stories.

The novella doesn't add much to the previous books but it was nice to see them all together. Having a open door of a possible diverging story with a previous side character is a nice touch.

I loved this and was happy to get a small piece from a series that I loved.

Family Version of the Annual August showdown, featuring our favourites, the Kane brothers and Sloane, Lark and Rose, YES! 😍

This novella was perfect, giving us a bit more of The Ruinous Love Trilogy while passing the baton to the Season Of Carnage Trilogy 🖤

It's murdery, funny and steamy, everything we love! We even get to revisit everyone's favourite racoon 🤭

What an awesome novella! I love how Brynn Weaver still did a playlist even though it was such a short book. This book was an amazing follow up to the ruinous love trilogy and I’m looking forward to the new series soon!

Such a fun little novella expanding on the banter and found family of the Ruinous Love Trilogy. For such a short book, it sure packs a punch - including a little bit of spice. The reintroduction of Autumn makes me wonder if she will link in with future books the author has planned!

I was so excited to read this novella and be welcomed back into the world of Ruinous Love. There’s something about the way Brynne writes her worlds that makes murder games sound fun and romantic and not at all unhinged.

Silly, steamy, and slightly demented; all the things we have come to love from Brynne Weaver wrapped in short novella form.

I like both the slight extension of the Ruinous Love Trilogy as well as the reminder of who Autumn is (ahead of the Seasons of Carnage Trilogy first book release). While it’s said it can be read as a stand alone, it’s riddled with past references that help bring it to life so personally I’m glad I read the other books first.

My biggest issue is that it seemed too short and rushed. I understand the point of a novella is to be quick, but I would have liked a little more back story as to why they were going after Allan and the final chase itself.

Thank you to Brynne Weaver, Amazon, and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book just felt really rushed in the beginning and there was no build up to be interested. I loved the slasher aspect but that all it was

I wanted to love this but it felt really rushed the whole time. It just needed to be a little longer in the beginning to really set the scene and explain what was going on