The Midnight Review

⭐⭐⭐⭐¾
Lethal Kiss
Taylor Grothe

I won an advance readers copy of Lethal Kiss from Taylor Grothe & Tor Publishing. Thank you for the opportunity to read this! All opinions are my own.

Quotes:
“I won’t let them take me away from the things I love anymore. … I have finally found a soft home for my heart, one they won’t tear away from me. Not again. They’ve taken and taken and taken, and I finally have a chance to have something only for myself. … I want to make you burn.”

🥀

“She’s unbound, unhurt. Her perfect face is done up, her lips dark red. … She is beautiful. She is terrible. She’s the cause of my death, I know it.”

🥀

“‘It’s funny. I feel more at home in a church than I want to admit. The ritual. The regalia. The comfort of knowing someone is out there, looking down on me with love. But it’s not real, is it?’

‘But lamb, isn’t it? Real, I mean. The monsters. The myth of it. Sure, there may be no all-knowing God protecting your steps. But there’s truth here, too. Love, kindness, gentle faith. You think you might not deserve it for leaving, but you do.’” 

🥀

“‘You’re hyperventilating. I’m strong but I don’t think I can carry you if you drop to the ground right here and now.’ That’s not true. I could, but I would look ridiculous and I’m wearing my favorite heels.”

🥀

Review:
Lethal Kiss is a uniquely brilliant sapphic horrormance, featuring an undead entity from Norse mythology known as a Draugr and a people-pleasing human.

First, the Draugr — this is such a fascinating monster! Naturally I had to do further research on these because my husband’s knowledge came from Skyrim, where they’re just portrayed as zombies, and I had no knowledge whatsoever. Draugur are undead and prey on humans, yes, but they’re shapeshifters and they’re clever. In some legends, they’re very similar to vampires in that they can turn their victims into one of them. Grothe, a scholar of medieval fiction and Nordic Saga, pulled ideas from varied sources  to create Marcella — a man-eater in every sense of the word.

Marcella has been in acadamia… well, a really long time. When an unexpected move leads her to a college campus where professors are mysteriously disappearing, Marcella wants to just pack up and leave but is drawn to Lacie, her next door neighbor and a people-pleasing assistant professor, for reasons she can’t explain.

Lacie. Lacie carries church-kid-turned-queer-woman trauma, and I would do anything for her. She’s also a GREAT example of Autistic representation.

Her best friend goes missing right when Marcella turns up, so naturally she is mistrusting of the incredibly attractive stranger. But ultimately, the two pair up to solve the case and uncover far more than either one of them expected. About the school and the disappearing professors, but also about themselves and each other.

The romance is real — awkward, steamy, and confusing — and the stakes are high. The ambiance is top tier. The horror is gorey, the sex is spicy, and the existential dread is haunting. And sprinkled throughout is plenty of humor and witty dialogue.

The scenes in the chapel are so devastatingly real and beautiful, I found myself sobbing and blowing up Taylor’s DMs (thanks Taylor 😂😭)

Lethal Kiss was a healing experience I didn’t know I needed. If you love dark acadamia with feminine rage, evil men being put in their place, secret societies, gothic cathedrals, a frustrating romance and a heart wrenching villain origin story, you have to read this book.

Lethal Kiss releases  October 20th, just in time for Halloween. Available anywhere books are sold.