Sinners Retreat: A Dark Rom-Com (The Slaycation Series)

Very cute serial killer romance… a little too much cannibalism for me lol

I loved this book read this book in almost one night!! Cannot wait to get to the rest of the series.

Sinners Retreat is proof that serial killers can have meet cutes too. Lauren Biel takes two vigilante killers, sends them to a lawless island retreat filled with murderers, and turns the result into a dark romantic comedy. I had a ridiculously fun time reading this story. Kindra is the Heartbreak Killer, a sharp-tongued vigilante who targets predators and takes their hearts as trophies. Her invitation to Sinners Retreat gives her the perfect opportunity to hunt the killer responsible for her brother’s death. Ezra has his own bloody reputation. Romance is nowhere on his itinerary, but a chance meeting at the airport changes his avoidance of settling down pretty quickly. Neither Ezra nor Kindra has to pretend to be normal around the other. They can flirt, joke about murder, and compare macabre interests without anyone running for the nearest exit. The humor keeps the darker material playful. Ezra and Kindra participate in the retreat's murder games, hold their secret identities close to the chest, liase with other serial killers, and fall into an easy romance with lots of spice. The third act conflict was not very convincing because Kindra handles a devastating twist with remarkable speed. Maverick deserves credit for arriving with some much needed intervention and helping these two sort themselves out. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Angelina Rocca, Sean Masters, Gregory Salinas, Shane East, and Alexis Paige. The production uses dual narration rather than duet narration. That is not my preference. Angelina Rocca was the standout of the primary narrators. Sean Masters occasionally sounded mumbly and I noticed breathy recording noise that made a few sections hard to understand. I was surprised to see five narrators listed after finishing because the additional voices never registered strongly enough for me to notice them. The story itself was exactly what I wanted from a dark romantic comedy. It is violent, spicy, funny, and bizarre without taking its serial killer basis too seriously. The supporting cast left me curious about who might get more attention as the series continues. I will happily pack my bags for the next Slaycation. Alaska sounds like a perfectly reasonable destination for another outing.

Very macabre rom-com with a beautiful island backdrop.
In my opinion, this is not dark at all, it was fun and light, and a little bit twisted.
Kindra is a curvy set on avenging her brother's murder.
Ezra... well, he killed her brother.
These two are on a crash course from jump. Jumping each other's bones that is.
Kindra finds out the truth about Ezra at the worst possible moment.
Ezra confesses all and Kindra has some hard truths to face.
They do get their HEA with a wonderful epilogue.
This one was pretty spicy. 🌶🌶🌶🌶/5 chilies on the spicy scale. There were not as many spicy scenes as a normal Lauren Biel book, but it was still very adventurous and spicy.
I listened to the audiobook. This is a full cast audiobook, and it is a wonderful cast.
DUET narration, 5 narrators, many POVs, first person

I ATE THIS BOOK UP. I have never read a dark rom-com but I was here for it. I loved Ezra and Kindra though I wish Ezra would’ve told her the truth sooner. I felt so bad after she found out the truth about her brother and I’m glad she was able to accept that her brother was a monster. Bennett got on my nerves a little bit, but I got where he was coming from so that gained him points and him assaulting fruit was not on my bingo card. It was disturbing and hilarious asf because my lord there are TWO other women on that island (not counting the FMC) and this man goes for a PINEAPPLE(???). Cat was annoying and a bit dramatic, she gave me weird vibes at first. The hatred those two have for each other has me excited for their book though! 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐓𝐨 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭 ↴ 🪚 Banter 🔪 Serial Killers 🪚 Dark Humor 🔪 Plus-Sized FMC 🪚 MMC w/ Glasses 🔪 Forced Proximity 🪚 Dangerous Chemistry 🔪 Black Cat x Cinnamon Roll 🪚 One-Night Stand that spirals into CHAOS 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 ↴ Non-consensual cannibalism • Gorey hobbies • Macabre retreat activities • Consensual drowning • Mentions of child abuse 🔪 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 📖