Book: Butcher: A Motorcycle Club Romance by Frank Jensen, Cathleen Cole
Reviewed by Suzy Wickedly Good Reads
Rating: 5/5
She Came to Kill Him. He Decided to Keep Her. 🪓🖤
Oh. My. VIKINGS! I absolutely LOVE this MC romance series! I've listened to every book in the Tucson Chapter, and I honestly think Butcher might be my favorite of them all! Butcher has fascinated me from the very beginning. He's the club's loose cannon. The man you want beside you when things are about to get REALLY ugly. Torture, killing, and all the nastiness associated with the darker side of MC life? Butcher is usually somewhere in the middle of it. This is a man who literally picked up an AX during battle and started taking out enemies like an actual Viking warrior! And then kept the ax as a souvenir. It hangs on his wall. Because, apparently, that's normal home décor when you're Butcher. 😂🪓 He's raw, brutally honest, completely unpredictable, and often misses social cues altogether. You never know what's going to come out of his mouth or what he's going to do next.
And yet...
He's the uncle ALL the children run to! Uncle Butcher has been teaching Priest's girls essential life skills. You know, the usual things... pickpocketing, card hustles, and self-defense. Normal uncle activities, right?! 😂 I've spent this entire series wondering WHO this man really is! Well, we finally learn that Butcher is former CIA. Okay. That explains a few things!
Then along comes Isla. A highly skilled assassin who has earned her deadly reputation through sheer ability. She was taken off the streets and molded into a lethal weapon, and she's exceptionally good at what she does. Her latest assignment? Kill Butcher. There's just one little problem. Butcher finds her absolutely irresistible. Imagine an Angelina Jolie Wanted -level assassin going after a man who initially thinks her knife play might be some kind of kinky bedroom game. And when he realizes she's ACTUALLY trying to kill him? He thinks it's CUTE! I cannot with this man! 😂 So, naturally, Butcher knocks Isla unconscious, ties her to a chair, and heads off to MC Church to inform his brothers that he'd like to keep the sexy woman he brought home. Oh, and by the way, she's an assassin who was sent to murder him. Cue the stunned silence. I swear, that scene alone was worth the price of admission!
What follows is an absolutely delicious pairing of two dangerous, socially awkward individuals who somehow make perfect sense together. Think Mr. & Mrs. Smith if both assassins were a little more unhinged and one happened to belong to a motorcycle club full of equally questionable men! 😂🔥 The banter between Butcher and Isla is FANTASTIC! But underneath all that violence, humor, and scorching chemistry is something surprisingly heartfelt. Isla has spent her life surviving. She's learned how to play whatever role a target needs her to play, but genuine relationships are completely unfamiliar territory. The real Isla is insecure, guarded, and constantly waiting for the moment this strange, dysfunctional family decides she doesn't belong. And Butcher? For all his terrifying tendencies and questionable social skills, there's one thing he's never doubted. He knows exactly where he belongs. His brothers are his family. Their children are his family. And once he decides Isla belongs with him, that's that. He's not letting her go. Even if he has to tie her to a chair again! 😂 And THIS is why I love this series so much.
Yes, these Vikings are morally gray. They're violent, dangerous, and absolutely willing to get their hands dirty. But the loyalty? The brotherhood? The way these intimidating alpha men become the coolest, most protective uncles to the club's children? THE FOUND FAMILY! ❤️ It gets me every single time. And while each book delivers a romance, the overarching storyline and character relationships make this series so much more rewarding when experienced from the beginning. PLEASE READ OR LISTEN TO THESE BOOKS IN ORDER! You'll miss so much of what makes Butcher special if you haven't witnessed his unforgettable moments throughout the previous books.
🎧 Audiobook Love
Michael Norman Johnson and Phillipa Miller ARE the Vikings Rampage MC as far as I'm concerned! They've brought these characters to life throughout the series, and I genuinely cannot imagine hearing them portrayed by anyone else. Their performances capture the personalities, humor, intensity, and emotional moments beautifully. At this point, these audiobooks are automatic buys for me. I'm already planning to pick up the other series on audio as well!
🖤 My Wicked Verdict
Morally gray bikers, deadly assassins, scorching chemistry, outrageous humor, brutal violence, and one gloriously dysfunctional found family. Butcher checked EVERY SINGLE BOX for me! I loved the dynamic between Butcher and Isla, the hilarious banter, the unexpected vulnerability, and the way this terrifying man finally met someone who could match his particular brand of crazy. I always recommend this series to MC romance lovers, but this installment? It just might be my favorite Viking yet! 🏍️🪓🔥
Reader advisory: This is a dark, violent MC romance featuring assassins, torture, and morally gray characters. Check content warnings before reading.
Thank you so much Cathleen Cole & Frank Jensen and Pink Flamingo Productions for the ALC opportunity. This is my honest review, and the opinions are solely my own.