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Under Your Skin
You’re the only one who can get under my skin.
Levi
Trapped in nightmares from my past, the only comfort I find is in gifts from the man who killed my mother’s killer—presents wrapped in a body bag and delivered to the morgue for me to examine.
From the first time I saw his mark, I knew I had to keep my Killer safe, had to keep his work a secret for me and me alone. Every body is a love letter, and I’m the only one who can read them.
Jonah
When I accidentally leave evidence behind during a kill, I have to go to the morgue to rectify my mistake. I didn’t expect to find a young mortician admiring my work.
Relishing in it. Studying it.
Covering it up.
I have no idea why someone would want to hide my crimes, but I’m determined to find out. What I discover is a man named Levi—a man obsessed with the idea of who he thinks I am.
A man who threatens to change my entire world.
~~~
Under Your Skin is a dark romance set in a world where a corrupt town lets a serial killer walk free, and a young mortician is determined to make sure it stays that way. Expect high heat, intense emotions, and two men who find their own way to define what love really means.
Levi
Trapped in nightmares from my past, the only comfort I find is in gifts from the man who killed my mother’s killer—presents wrapped in a body bag and delivered to the morgue for me to examine.
From the first time I saw his mark, I knew I had to keep my Killer safe, had to keep his work a secret for me and me alone. Every body is a love letter, and I’m the only one who can read them.
Jonah
When I accidentally leave evidence behind during a kill, I have to go to the morgue to rectify my mistake. I didn’t expect to find a young mortician admiring my work.
Relishing in it. Studying it.
Covering it up.
I have no idea why someone would want to hide my crimes, but I’m determined to find out. What I discover is a man named Levi—a man obsessed with the idea of who he thinks I am.
A man who threatens to change my entire world.
~~~
Under Your Skin is a dark romance set in a world where a corrupt town lets a serial killer walk free, and a young mortician is determined to make sure it stays that way. Expect high heat, intense emotions, and two men who find their own way to define what love really means.
386 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 21, 2024
374 people are currently reading
1397 people want to read
About the author
Lee McCormick
17 books380 followersLee McCormick has been writing since they were very young, and they've finally found the courage to offer up some of their favorite ideas to the world. Parent to two amazing kids and three pretty fantastic dogs, they've always been fascinated with dark romance and love that transcends time and reason.
When they aren't busy working on their novels, you can usually find them browsing queer romance recommendations or playing a video game.
When they aren't busy working on their novels, you can usually find them browsing queer romance recommendations or playing a video game.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 322 reviews
May 28, 2024
⭐️ 4 stars ⭐️
✗ Levi and Jonah were fucked up on multiple levels, so what does that say about me that I enjoyed this murder-y, lust-crazed, blood-filled love story?
What is it about danger, about taboo, about the wrongness of it all that has me hooked, heart palpitating and brain addicted, to every word on the page? ✗
Under Your Skin was unhinged and wild, sexy and devious. The plot intriguing to a certain extent, but mostly overshadowed by the lust-drunk vortex that is theromance between serial killer Jonah and Levi, young mortician who’s been covering up his crimes. Let’s use romance loosely here, ‘cause there wasn’t much romancing between these two, more a mutual obsession, toxic possessiveness masked as love, damaged souls finding their equal and calling it fate.
And I ate that shit up.
The spice was as hot as it was disturbing in a ‘why am I into this’ kind of way. I mean, did they really have to go at it right next to dead bodies, right at the crime scenes (yes, multiple crime scenes), right in the morgue?
Despite being completely blindsided by the finale, I still found it a bit rushed and not as satisfying as I’d hoped.
Maybe it was the shortness of the epilogue, the too perfect happy ending that didn’t quite fit them.
I’m still hopelessly in love with Lee McCormick’s writing style and can’t wait to see what other crazy stories they cook up.
I received a copy of this book from Gay Romance Reviews, and this is my honest review.
CW and tropes (spoilers):
- Serial killer vs mortician
- MC w/ tattoos
- Size difference
- Violence
- Murder
- Parental death
- Mentions of necrophilia (off page, prior to book, not MCs)
- Mentions of drugging/SA (off page, prior to book, not MCs)
- Mentions of torture
- Mild dub-con
- Possessiveness and jealousy
- “Touch him you die”
- Strict top/bottom
- Primal play
- Blood play & blood as lube
- Knife play
- Breath play
- Face-fucking
- Praise kink
- Overstimulation
- Coming untouched
- Felching
- Frotting & rimming
❮ It was suicidal to fuck someone you knew was a serial killer… but… ❯
✗ Levi and Jonah were fucked up on multiple levels, so what does that say about me that I enjoyed this murder-y, lust-crazed, blood-filled love story?
What is it about danger, about taboo, about the wrongness of it all that has me hooked, heart palpitating and brain addicted, to every word on the page? ✗
Was I already under Levi’s skin the same way he’d seemingly crawled under mine?
Under Your Skin was unhinged and wild, sexy and devious. The plot intriguing to a certain extent, but mostly overshadowed by the lust-drunk vortex that is the
And I ate that shit up.
“I want to paint you inside and out, Levi. Until I’m the only thing on your skin, the only thing under it. I want to fuck you until my name is the only thing you know.”
The spice was as hot as it was disturbing in a ‘why am I into this’ kind of way. I mean, did they really have to go at it right next to dead bodies, right at the crime scenes (yes, multiple crime scenes), right in the morgue?
Despite being completely blindsided by the finale, I still found it a bit rushed and not as satisfying as I’d hoped.
Maybe it was the shortness of the epilogue, the too perfect happy ending that didn’t quite fit them.
I’m still hopelessly in love with Lee McCormick’s writing style and can’t wait to see what other crazy stories they cook up.
// If Levi wanted me to, I’d burn down the entire world just to see the smile curving across his lips. If he wanted me to, I’d cut my own chest open and let him crawl under my skin, beneath my ribs. I’d let him settle there and listen to a heart I never knew I had until I’d met him. //
I received a copy of this book from Gay Romance Reviews, and this is my honest review.
CW and tropes (spoilers):
- Serial killer vs mortician
- MC w/ tattoos
- Size difference
- Violence
- Murder
- Parental death
- Mentions of necrophilia (off page, prior to book, not MCs)
- Mentions of drugging/SA (off page, prior to book, not MCs)
- Mentions of torture
- Mild dub-con
- Possessiveness and jealousy
- “Touch him you die”
- Strict top/bottom
- Primal play
- Blood play & blood as lube
- Knife play
- Breath play
- Face-fucking
- Praise kink
- Overstimulation
- Coming untouched
- Felching
- Frotting & rimming
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May 28, 2024
MM Romance
Idiots
1 star
I am fucking pissed off!!!
This book was sooo good for the first 50% that I was thinking it would be a 4 or 5 star review but NO FUCK THIS BOOK! I am sooo tempted to just type FUCK THIS BOOK over and over again a million times but instead I need to rant!
This book is about two completely unhinged people; a mortician, Levi, who has been covering up crimes for "his killer" for years and getting his kill signatures tattooed on his body and the actual serial killer himself, Jonah, who fucks up and leaves evidence at the crime scene and while he's trying to retrieve it from the morgue meets his number one fan. The first 50% was this really fun cat and mouse game and I was eating up their interactions. I fucking have over 70 highlights and I was thinking that this would be a 5 star review but this took a turn into WTF and not the good kind! Thank fuck I was reading it with Mug and the rest of my discord server because we all agreed it was fucking shit and that at least makes me feel a bit better wasting my long weekend to read this shitty excuse for a book.
Dark romance has to stay consistent especially when you have unhinged characters but the author decided to do a 180 shift in their personalities and they became dumb as fuck. It made this book a chore to finish and by the end I was pissed at this author. This author is in the doghouse on perma DNR right now because I am just so gd disappointed that I can't imagine trying anything else out by them. So what happened? Besides the idiotic as fuck miscommunication and the fact Jonah was keeping the dumbest secrets ever, secrets Levi knew about because hello he's been covering up his crimes for 6+ years, both characters became absolutely ridiculous. I couldn't stand being in any of their whiny POVs and stuff would happen that didn't match up with what they would have done based on their personalities. Jonah was super possessive of Levi because he was basically wearing all his kills on his body and yet I am supposed to believe that when they have a dumb as fuck fight that Jonah lets Levi just leave? He doesn't try to hold him down and keep him there? It made no sense because at the start that's exactly what he was doing. I mean he even went as far as killing someone to leave a personal message for Levi so who is this guy letting him walk out the door? So this was the start of my interest waning in this book but it got so much worse.
This book mostly takes place in a morgue, in a corrupt town that covers up all the crimes either blaming them on animal attacks or accidents and there were 3 guys, Owen, Duncan and Finn who were always around because they worked for the police, coroner or fire department. These 3 were also all lovers at some point although I'm not sure why I even needed to know any of that because it never went anywhere or made sense. But anyway as time goes on these 3 become even more involved in things and they kind of took over the book in a really boring way. I didn't care about any of them and actually Finn all but disappeared. However, Levi was also adopted and his dad owned the morgue. His dad was a lovely character and really cared about Levi so my jaw dropped when this book had another twist and the thing is my buddy reader joked at the start that this could be a thing and I was like that would so dumb but no she was right. And it was so fucking dumb! It took this book even more into a ditch for me. I seriously contemplated not finishing it and had I not been buddy reading it, I would have DNF'd because it was so fucking stupid.
What happened to these two characters I couldn't get enough of?? The twists sucked and they made the book suck and I can't believe a book I was going to rate so high is now in my worst reads of the year. There were also so many unanswered questions about the town itself that had me rolling my eyes. I don't actually care about them now because that would have prolonged the book and thinking about having to read extra pages of this makes me feel like like super-gluing my eyes shut. I hate wasting my time reading garbage when there are so many better books on my TBR and yet I keep getting distracted by pretty covers and suffering. The arc reviews for this were mostly positive but once again I know how arc reviews work having done them and some people are not as honest as they probably should be. I can only be thankful this was on ku and had some hot sex scenes although by the end I was skipping over the sex scenes because any minute more of this book felt like to a death sentence.
And then the whole scene taking place at 90% was just so eye roll inducing, ridiculous, fucking stupid, moronic, and every other word meaning the same thing that I couldn't believe I was even in the same book. EYE ROLL EYE ROLL EYE ROLL. I had to actually get on my laptop to write this because rant typing is too slow on a phone so just put emoji eye rolls there and that was me the rest of the book.
I wish I had quotes but I had only been highlighting what I loved and by the time I got to the WTF moments, I didn't want to linger any farther in this shit storm. Sorry I picked such a shitty book my discord peeps. Cry emoji, Pissed emoji, Over it emoji, GRRR emoji.
But seriously, FUCK THIS BOOK!
Idiots
1 star
I am fucking pissed off!!!
This book was sooo good for the first 50% that I was thinking it would be a 4 or 5 star review but NO FUCK THIS BOOK! I am sooo tempted to just type FUCK THIS BOOK over and over again a million times but instead I need to rant!
This book is about two completely unhinged people; a mortician, Levi, who has been covering up crimes for "his killer" for years and getting his kill signatures tattooed on his body and the actual serial killer himself, Jonah, who fucks up and leaves evidence at the crime scene and while he's trying to retrieve it from the morgue meets his number one fan. The first 50% was this really fun cat and mouse game and I was eating up their interactions. I fucking have over 70 highlights and I was thinking that this would be a 5 star review but this took a turn into WTF and not the good kind! Thank fuck I was reading it with Mug and the rest of my discord server because we all agreed it was fucking shit and that at least makes me feel a bit better wasting my long weekend to read this shitty excuse for a book.
Dark romance has to stay consistent especially when you have unhinged characters but the author decided to do a 180 shift in their personalities and they became dumb as fuck. It made this book a chore to finish and by the end I was pissed at this author. This author is in the doghouse on perma DNR right now because I am just so gd disappointed that I can't imagine trying anything else out by them. So what happened? Besides the idiotic as fuck miscommunication and the fact Jonah was keeping the dumbest secrets ever, secrets Levi knew about because hello he's been covering up his crimes for 6+ years, both characters became absolutely ridiculous. I couldn't stand being in any of their whiny POVs and stuff would happen that didn't match up with what they would have done based on their personalities. Jonah was super possessive of Levi because he was basically wearing all his kills on his body and yet I am supposed to believe that when they have a dumb as fuck fight that Jonah lets Levi just leave? He doesn't try to hold him down and keep him there? It made no sense because at the start that's exactly what he was doing. I mean he even went as far as killing someone to leave a personal message for Levi so who is this guy letting him walk out the door? So this was the start of my interest waning in this book but it got so much worse.
This book mostly takes place in a morgue, in a corrupt town that covers up all the crimes either blaming them on animal attacks or accidents and there were 3 guys, Owen, Duncan and Finn who were always around because they worked for the police, coroner or fire department. These 3 were also all lovers at some point although I'm not sure why I even needed to know any of that because it never went anywhere or made sense. But anyway as time goes on these 3 become even more involved in things and they kind of took over the book in a really boring way. I didn't care about any of them and actually Finn all but disappeared. However, Levi was also adopted and his dad owned the morgue. His dad was a lovely character and really cared about Levi so my jaw dropped when this book had another twist and the thing is my buddy reader joked at the start that this could be a thing and I was like that would so dumb but no she was right. And it was so fucking dumb! It took this book even more into a ditch for me. I seriously contemplated not finishing it and had I not been buddy reading it, I would have DNF'd because it was so fucking stupid.
What happened to these two characters I couldn't get enough of?? The twists sucked and they made the book suck and I can't believe a book I was going to rate so high is now in my worst reads of the year. There were also so many unanswered questions about the town itself that had me rolling my eyes. I don't actually care about them now because that would have prolonged the book and thinking about having to read extra pages of this makes me feel like like super-gluing my eyes shut. I hate wasting my time reading garbage when there are so many better books on my TBR and yet I keep getting distracted by pretty covers and suffering. The arc reviews for this were mostly positive but once again I know how arc reviews work having done them and some people are not as honest as they probably should be. I can only be thankful this was on ku and had some hot sex scenes although by the end I was skipping over the sex scenes because any minute more of this book felt like to a death sentence.
And then the whole scene taking place at 90% was just so eye roll inducing, ridiculous, fucking stupid, moronic, and every other word meaning the same thing that I couldn't believe I was even in the same book. EYE ROLL EYE ROLL EYE ROLL. I had to actually get on my laptop to write this because rant typing is too slow on a phone so just put emoji eye rolls there and that was me the rest of the book.
I wish I had quotes but I had only been highlighting what I loved and by the time I got to the WTF moments, I didn't want to linger any farther in this shit storm. Sorry I picked such a shitty book my discord peeps. Cry emoji, Pissed emoji, Over it emoji, GRRR emoji.
But seriously, FUCK THIS BOOK!
May 18, 2024
"A part of me wondered if Levi would let me cut him open so I could hold his heart in my hands."
Oh my gosh!! Screaming, no freaking way!!! I was wrong!! I was not expecting him to be the bad guy.
Holy shit!
Dark and delicious. I loved this so much!
Sexy times were extremely hot and dirty. I think 3 times they fuck next to a dead body so definitely check TW on this.
There's also really sweet moments. Like- after Levi's accident, the way Jonah said they were making love like a couple on their honeymoon had me giddy as fuck or when Jonah saw all the drawings he left on dead bodies tattooed all over Levi. 🤭
"Look at you. You're every wrong thing I've ever done wrapped on the body of an angel. "
HEHE.
The only thing that bugged me was how corrupt their town was with little to no explanation as to who or why???
Why was his dad involved in covering up murders?
Zero back story on Johan/Alec.
Maybe info for future books?
Slight OM drama/cheating.
Theres a part after our MCs have sex, Levi goes to a club to hook up with someone because "you don't own me" (hes mad + being a attention whore... its ok we love him for it)
He kisses someone and gets felt up before Jonah kills the guy.
Touch him and die.
Good God, that part was so hot 🥵
"Show me how much you want it, Levi. Look me in the eyes and show me how much you want to fuck a murder"
🧎♀️
Oh my gosh!! Screaming, no freaking way!!! I was wrong!! I was not expecting him to be the bad guy.
Holy shit!
Dark and delicious. I loved this so much!
Sexy times were extremely hot and dirty. I think 3 times they fuck next to a dead body so definitely check TW on this.
There's also really sweet moments. Like- after Levi's accident, the way Jonah said they were making love like a couple on their honeymoon had me giddy as fuck or when Jonah saw all the drawings he left on dead bodies tattooed all over Levi. 🤭
"Look at you. You're every wrong thing I've ever done wrapped on the body of an angel. "
HEHE.
The only thing that bugged me was how corrupt their town was with little to no explanation as to who or why???
Why was his dad involved in covering up murders?
Zero back story on Johan/Alec.
Maybe info for future books?
Slight OM drama/cheating.
Theres a part after our MCs have sex, Levi goes to a club to hook up with someone because "you don't own me" (hes mad + being a attention whore... its ok we love him for it)
He kisses someone and gets felt up before Jonah kills the guy.
Touch him and die.
Good God, that part was so hot 🥵
"Show me how much you want it, Levi. Look me in the eyes and show me how much you want to fuck a murder"
🧎♀️
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 28, 2024
3.5 rounded up.
ETA 5/27: OK, discussing this on the Keenk discord made me realize there were a LOT of things wrong with this book that I overlooked because I was just happy I wasn't my usual flakey self and actually finished a buddy read.
- Why is the whole city/town covering up murders? Like, the popos AND the hospital?
- Why is the dad so absent-minded?
- What's the deal with Finn?
- Why was Liam's solution to Jonah not admitting the reason he killed Troy was because one of Troy's victims was an innocent (Liam's mom) to go out and offer is ass to a serial rapist?
- Why did Jonah's inner monologue suddenly become super vague in order to mislead the reader into thinking he killed Liam's dad?...OK, I think I just answered my own question there.
- Were all of these unfinished/half-baked plot lines a set up for a sequel???
New rating: 2.5 NOT rounded. I may come back and rounded up if I'm feeling cute. Who knows.
ETA: LEVI, not Liam, but whatever, lol.
ETA 5/27: OK, discussing this on the Keenk discord made me realize there were a LOT of things wrong with this book that I overlooked because I was just happy I wasn't my usual flakey self and actually finished a buddy read.
- Why is the whole city/town covering up murders? Like, the popos AND the hospital?
- Why is the dad so absent-minded?
- What's the deal with Finn?
- Why was Liam's solution to Jonah not admitting the reason he killed Troy was because one of Troy's victims was an innocent (Liam's mom) to go out and offer is ass to a serial rapist?
- Why did Jonah's inner monologue suddenly become super vague in order to mislead the reader into thinking he killed Liam's dad?...OK, I think I just answered my own question there.
- Were all of these unfinished/half-baked plot lines a set up for a sequel???
New rating: 2.5 NOT rounded. I may come back and rounded up if I'm feeling cute. Who knows.
ETA: LEVI, not Liam, but whatever, lol.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 4, 2024
Not to be dramatic (narrator: she couldn't remember the last time she wasn't dramatic), but if Lee McCormick asked me to slit my throat so they could use my blood as ink for their next book, I would strongly consider it.
HNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGHHHH. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph - this one did things to me. Things I should probably run past a licensed psychiatrist. Like, should I probably unpack the fact that my immediate reaction to a serial killer dicing up a guy because he had the audacity to touch the killer's love interest (possession? obsession?) be "Awww, that's so sweet!"? Most likely. But I've been raw-doggin' life for 30 years so...
But why am I talking about homicidal codependency as my preferred love language instead of this GLORIOUS. ASS. BOOK!?!
I'd call it a guilty pleasure but there's ZERO guilt and ALL the pleasure. Jonah and Levi really ticked all the right boxes for me (and then some). There's touch-him-and-die and then there's so-much-as-look-in-his-direction-and-you'll-wish-you-were-born-without-eyes.
I LOOOOOVE the way the story hits the ground running and it's a fucking ALL OUT SPRINT to the finish line the whole way through. Jonah is just the cutest most adorablest murderous psychopath I ever did see & Levi is a brilliant, beautiful BRAT and I love him with my whole heart.
The set up for the plot and the way everything played out was perfection. Better yet, it was even more than I expected. Cause here's the thing - I am my own worst nightmare when it comes to plot twists; most of the time I guess the plot twist WELL before it's revealed (or even hinted at in some cases). But this time?! Even AS THE PLOT TWIST WAS UNFOLDING I was like "Wait, literally what is happening right now and where the FUCK is this going!?" Levi's confusion was my confusion and I haven't had that feeling in a loooooong time. I ate that shit up.
AND ALL THE LITTLE THINGS!? Levi's relationship with his dad (MYYY HEAAARRTTTT 😭) , the nightmares, the drawings & tattoos, the BITE, the FUCKING SOUTHERN DRAWL. FUCK ME UP, It's like this book was custom made to make me MAX LEVEL HORNY, I swear.
There was a direct correlation between the number of people murdered and the number of times I giggled and kicked my feet like a schoolgirl. Therapy, who? Read this if you know what's good for you (and then DM me on IG so we can giggle about murder together).
✧While I received a free e-arc from GRR, all thoughts are my own.✧
HNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGHHHH. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph - this one did things to me. Things I should probably run past a licensed psychiatrist. Like, should I probably unpack the fact that my immediate reaction to a serial killer dicing up a guy because he had the audacity to touch the killer's love interest (possession? obsession?) be "Awww, that's so sweet!"? Most likely. But I've been raw-doggin' life for 30 years so...
But why am I talking about homicidal codependency as my preferred love language instead of this GLORIOUS. ASS. BOOK!?!
I'd call it a guilty pleasure but there's ZERO guilt and ALL the pleasure. Jonah and Levi really ticked all the right boxes for me (and then some). There's touch-him-and-die and then there's so-much-as-look-in-his-direction-and-you'll-wish-you-were-born-without-eyes.
I LOOOOOVE the way the story hits the ground running and it's a fucking ALL OUT SPRINT to the finish line the whole way through. Jonah is just the cutest most adorablest murderous psychopath I ever did see & Levi is a brilliant, beautiful BRAT and I love him with my whole heart.
The set up for the plot and the way everything played out was perfection. Better yet, it was even more than I expected. Cause here's the thing - I am my own worst nightmare when it comes to plot twists; most of the time I guess the plot twist WELL before it's revealed (or even hinted at in some cases). But this time?! Even AS THE PLOT TWIST WAS UNFOLDING I was like "Wait, literally what is happening right now and where the FUCK is this going!?" Levi's confusion was my confusion and I haven't had that feeling in a loooooong time. I ate that shit up.
AND ALL THE LITTLE THINGS!? Levi's relationship with his dad (MYYY HEAAARRTTTT 😭) , the nightmares, the drawings & tattoos, the BITE, the FUCKING SOUTHERN DRAWL. FUCK ME UP, It's like this book was custom made to make me MAX LEVEL HORNY, I swear.
There was a direct correlation between the number of people murdered and the number of times I giggled and kicked my feet like a schoolgirl. Therapy, who? Read this if you know what's good for you (and then DM me on IG so we can giggle about murder together).
✧While I received a free e-arc from GRR, all thoughts are my own.✧
February 27, 2025
Words. Many words. Oh so many words.
The result is a story that is perfect in its basic outline. The plot is not particularly sprawling, but the idea behind it is exactly what I wanted. There are two characters who aren't quite normal, a killer and one who has a thing for corpses. I also wanted something that was slightly dark and let me slowly come down from the last book. And with preferably a good if not too strong dash of romance and delicious sex scenes that show the obsession and darkness of the characters.
It's all in here and I should be happy. But I'm not.
Words. Many words. Oh so many words.
Unfortunately, you can really talk or write a thing to death.
The writing style is really good. But the non-stop babbling of the two characters in their heads, the constant repetitions and the really completely unexciting things these many words create were so annoying.
I can't really describe it exactly. I love long sprawling stories, I also love poetic writing, but that's just not it here. I'm also fine with long inner monologues when a character is rolling a problem back and forth and has to deal with something. But here it's completely different, it's just constant nonsense.
And I'm sorry to say it, but the “mystery” that is supposed to exist in this town, which is not clarified in any of these pages, is of zero interest to me. There's supposed to be another book that reveals why everything is swept under the carpet in this town. Blaaaaaah. As if I was still interested in that.
If you take out individual quotes, it's actually really good, it's just the fillers in between that really weren't for me.
“Why not skip the middleman, Levi?” He trailed the flat of his blade against my jawline, along my neck, and twisted so the sharp point traced against the teeth impressions he’d left behind. “We both know where the mark will end up.”
“Fuck.” I hissed the word out as he cut me, but it didn’t stop me from leaning forward and catching his mouth with mine to stifle the scream. 🔪🩸🔪
“Maybe I brought you here because I know no one will be able to hear you scream. Did you ever think of that, Levi?”
Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. 🔪😳🔪
✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨
Minor spoilers probably ahead
✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨
Content warnings: stalking, murder on page, child abuse in the past off page, car accident, death of parents
Cheating between MCs: No
Other person drama: No
Breakup: No
Kinks: face fucking, rough sex, breath play, fucking in front of corpses, biting, knife play, blood play, blood as lube, cum play, felching, primal play, overstimulation
The result is a story that is perfect in its basic outline. The plot is not particularly sprawling, but the idea behind it is exactly what I wanted. There are two characters who aren't quite normal, a killer and one who has a thing for corpses. I also wanted something that was slightly dark and let me slowly come down from the last book. And with preferably a good if not too strong dash of romance and delicious sex scenes that show the obsession and darkness of the characters.
It's all in here and I should be happy. But I'm not.
Words. Many words. Oh so many words.
Unfortunately, you can really talk or write a thing to death.
The writing style is really good. But the non-stop babbling of the two characters in their heads, the constant repetitions and the really completely unexciting things these many words create were so annoying.
I can't really describe it exactly. I love long sprawling stories, I also love poetic writing, but that's just not it here. I'm also fine with long inner monologues when a character is rolling a problem back and forth and has to deal with something. But here it's completely different, it's just constant nonsense.
And I'm sorry to say it, but the “mystery” that is supposed to exist in this town, which is not clarified in any of these pages, is of zero interest to me. There's supposed to be another book that reveals why everything is swept under the carpet in this town. Blaaaaaah. As if I was still interested in that.
If you take out individual quotes, it's actually really good, it's just the fillers in between that really weren't for me.
“Why not skip the middleman, Levi?” He trailed the flat of his blade against my jawline, along my neck, and twisted so the sharp point traced against the teeth impressions he’d left behind. “We both know where the mark will end up.”
“Fuck.” I hissed the word out as he cut me, but it didn’t stop me from leaning forward and catching his mouth with mine to stifle the scream. 🔪🩸🔪
“Maybe I brought you here because I know no one will be able to hear you scream. Did you ever think of that, Levi?”
Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. 🔪😳🔪
✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨
Minor spoilers probably ahead
✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨
Content warnings: stalking, murder on page, child abuse in the past off page, car accident, death of parents
Cheating between MCs: No
Other person drama: No
Breakup: No
Kinks: face fucking, rough sex, breath play, fucking in front of corpses, biting, knife play, blood play, blood as lube, cum play, felching, primal play, overstimulation
May 28, 2024
ok i REALLY was vibing with the first half of the book….levi was insane and protective of his killer and jonah was obsessed and possessive, it was all good, feet kicking up, giggling stuff….but then, in the second half of the book, the author starts making their characters act sooo stupid making for some seriously idiotic drama caused by both of the mmcs being DUMB AF!!
first of all, levi goes to jonah’s house for the first time and is shocked to the core that his house looks normal bc he was expecting it to look like some murder dungeon with weapons everywhere and for jonah to have a calendar with all the dates he’s killed circled in red like ????? are u actually dumb??? pls🤦♀️😭 do u think nothing of ur serial killer lover like of fucking course jonah’s house wouldn’t look like that, he’s not trying to get caught!!! my god🙄
speaking of dumb, so ur telling me that jonah, aka this smart and careful serial killer, would keep the boots aka the evidence he wore when he was murdering levi’s father like 10 fucking years ago?!😭😭 literally good fucking bye!!! levi sees these boots and puts two and two together, has a breakdown, then tries to storm out when jonah is like ok i know this looks bad but lemme explain and jonah LETS HIM LEAVE???? WHAT😭 no ma’am, MY jonah would’ve tied his ass to the bed and forced him to listen and not let him leave until he accepted it…..but this counterfeit jonah lets him leave and then also GIVES HIM SPACE for days🤦♀️🤦♀️ pls stop playing with me rn bc obsessive and possessive jonah is not giving the person that BELONGS to him space!!!!
and this whole thing started bc jonah kept dragging and dragging these half truths about his involvement in levi’s parents’ murders when it obviously bothers levi that he’s not telling the whole truth….like if u had just kept it a buck in the first place, levi wouldn’t even be tripping bc his father sucks and it’s not jonah’s fault levi’s mom died!!!🤦♀️ jonah literally dug his own grave by being a moron. i have to say, i’m still a little confused on the initial argument where jonah “lied” or withheld information the first time and levi was all like “say her name” and then storms out when jonah wouldn’t….but at the end of the day levi is just as obsessed with jonah, this whole thing really wouldn’t have been such a big deal if jonah had just told him the whole truth like he asked for🙄 i mean come on, levi immediately got a tattoo of his killer’s marks without even stopping to think it through and now he’s COVERED in those tattoos, he’s been covering up jonah’s crimes for YEARS, like seriously, the man has been all in from day 1.
ugh both levi and jonah just turned into completely different characters after the halfway mark…they were dumb and annoying at all times, and levi even got a little whiny in his inner monologue. it’s like one person wrote the first 50% of the the book and someone else wrote the rest, it was so jarring and i wanted to SCREAM!!!!! like what tf happened😭
then, apparently the reason his dad has sold his soul to the police and covers up all the crimes and forges autopsy results is bc the police offered to give him good references to help him adopt levi, like WHAT???? why would he even need help adopting in the first place: he’s an upstanding citizen, and he’s got a steady employment, good income, housing, able to provide etc….man is a boss bitch ceo proud owner of a funeral home like i’m pretty sure the man would’ve been approved by the adoption agency regardless, and the deal is sooo fucking lopsided it’s ridiculous….the police “help” him adopt levi and in exchange he has to lie, cover up, and forge half the town’s autopsies for the rest of his life???? like bro, u got screwed💀💀 god makes no fucking sense🙄 NONE OF THE SECOND HALF OF THIS GODFORSAKEN BOOK DOES FR😒😒 and why tf is the town covering up LITERALLY EVERYTHING😭😭 it actually became completely ridiculous🙄
and don’t even get me started on the last fucking third….i almost threw my tablet out the fucking window, bradley cooper in silver linings playbook style….the author got us to believe that jonah killed levi’s adoptive dad in the hospital for simply knowing his real name, his birth name….(how did the dad even know that in the first place??? never answered)….except that didn’t happen, jonah didn’t kill levi’s adoptive dad, but levi believes that and confronts jonah with a knife in the woods…..i mean jesus, these two can’t trust each other to save their fucking lives!!!! why should they even be together!!!! jonah does a shit job at explaining he didn’t kill levi’s dad, i mean FUCK, is it so fucking hard to get the goddamn words out😭😭 jonah had this problem the entire second half of the fucking book and it was driving me nuts!!!! and duncan and owen show up, guns blazing and ready to shoot down jonah….except duncan ends up stabbing owen and it’s revealed that duncan is actually the son of the man who killed levi’s mother (i actually accidentally predicted this earlier in the book holy f😱🤓) and surprise surprise, he was also the one who killed levi’s adoptive dad at the hospital. levi ends up shooting duncan twice. then levi and jonah fuck next to the dead bodies and actively REFUSE to check to make sure they’re both dead before they leave the crime scene. MORONS!!!!!! i’m telling you the character assassination in the second half was reckless and out of control, like why are they both soooo fucking DUMB now!?!?
urrrgggghh just SO MUCH USELESS ANNOYING DRAMA….there was a whole love triangle plot line with duncan, finn, and owen that never gets resolved bc we never hear from finn again and who tf knows if duncan and owen are actually dead or if the author is planning some second book with maybe finn and owen as a couple or some bullshit😒 idk all i know is i stopped giving a fuck very goddamn quickly, i barely finished, i had to skim or i would’ve dnf’ed. first half, fine, second half, CRIME!!!!!
thank FUCK i buddy read this with the discord and megan(🫶🫶) so it wasn’t a bad experience bc i had someone to rant with and talk shit🤣🤣 bc otherwise i would have lost my mind!!!!!
sorry if this is hard to follow or doesn’t make sense, i can’t spend another second on this book, even just to proofread🤣🤷♀️
ETA: ok so i just read gina’s review and holy fuck how did i not make this connection before, but levi didn’t give a fuck about his dad dying😭😭 ig i was just too happy it was over to clock that levi only cared about hoping on jonah’s dick asap💀💀 this just made me more livid omg wtf!!! it’s like they “killed” duncan and owen (one of the them is alive, i’m telling u) and then jonah’s dick cured levi of his dead dad grief, the end???😤😤 MORE TOMATOES🍅🍅🍅🍅
first of all, levi goes to jonah’s house for the first time and is shocked to the core that his house looks normal bc he was expecting it to look like some murder dungeon with weapons everywhere and for jonah to have a calendar with all the dates he’s killed circled in red like ????? are u actually dumb??? pls🤦♀️😭 do u think nothing of ur serial killer lover like of fucking course jonah’s house wouldn’t look like that, he’s not trying to get caught!!! my god🙄
speaking of dumb, so ur telling me that jonah, aka this smart and careful serial killer, would keep the boots aka the evidence he wore when he was murdering levi’s father like 10 fucking years ago?!😭😭 literally good fucking bye!!! levi sees these boots and puts two and two together, has a breakdown, then tries to storm out when jonah is like ok i know this looks bad but lemme explain and jonah LETS HIM LEAVE???? WHAT😭 no ma’am, MY jonah would’ve tied his ass to the bed and forced him to listen and not let him leave until he accepted it…..but this counterfeit jonah lets him leave and then also GIVES HIM SPACE for days🤦♀️🤦♀️ pls stop playing with me rn bc obsessive and possessive jonah is not giving the person that BELONGS to him space!!!!
and this whole thing started bc jonah kept dragging and dragging these half truths about his involvement in levi’s parents’ murders when it obviously bothers levi that he’s not telling the whole truth….like if u had just kept it a buck in the first place, levi wouldn’t even be tripping bc his father sucks and it’s not jonah’s fault levi’s mom died!!!🤦♀️ jonah literally dug his own grave by being a moron. i have to say, i’m still a little confused on the initial argument where jonah “lied” or withheld information the first time and levi was all like “say her name” and then storms out when jonah wouldn’t….but at the end of the day levi is just as obsessed with jonah, this whole thing really wouldn’t have been such a big deal if jonah had just told him the whole truth like he asked for🙄 i mean come on, levi immediately got a tattoo of his killer’s marks without even stopping to think it through and now he’s COVERED in those tattoos, he’s been covering up jonah’s crimes for YEARS, like seriously, the man has been all in from day 1.
ugh both levi and jonah just turned into completely different characters after the halfway mark…they were dumb and annoying at all times, and levi even got a little whiny in his inner monologue. it’s like one person wrote the first 50% of the the book and someone else wrote the rest, it was so jarring and i wanted to SCREAM!!!!! like what tf happened😭
then, apparently the reason his dad has sold his soul to the police and covers up all the crimes and forges autopsy results is bc the police offered to give him good references to help him adopt levi, like WHAT???? why would he even need help adopting in the first place: he’s an upstanding citizen, and he’s got a steady employment, good income, housing, able to provide etc….man is a boss bitch ceo proud owner of a funeral home like i’m pretty sure the man would’ve been approved by the adoption agency regardless, and the deal is sooo fucking lopsided it’s ridiculous….the police “help” him adopt levi and in exchange he has to lie, cover up, and forge half the town’s autopsies for the rest of his life???? like bro, u got screwed💀💀 god makes no fucking sense🙄 NONE OF THE SECOND HALF OF THIS GODFORSAKEN BOOK DOES FR😒😒 and why tf is the town covering up LITERALLY EVERYTHING😭😭 it actually became completely ridiculous🙄
and don’t even get me started on the last fucking third….i almost threw my tablet out the fucking window, bradley cooper in silver linings playbook style….the author got us to believe that jonah killed levi’s adoptive dad in the hospital for simply knowing his real name, his birth name….(how did the dad even know that in the first place??? never answered)….except that didn’t happen, jonah didn’t kill levi’s adoptive dad, but levi believes that and confronts jonah with a knife in the woods…..i mean jesus, these two can’t trust each other to save their fucking lives!!!! why should they even be together!!!! jonah does a shit job at explaining he didn’t kill levi’s dad, i mean FUCK, is it so fucking hard to get the goddamn words out😭😭 jonah had this problem the entire second half of the fucking book and it was driving me nuts!!!! and duncan and owen show up, guns blazing and ready to shoot down jonah….except duncan ends up stabbing owen and it’s revealed that duncan is actually the son of the man who killed levi’s mother (i actually accidentally predicted this earlier in the book holy f😱🤓) and surprise surprise, he was also the one who killed levi’s adoptive dad at the hospital. levi ends up shooting duncan twice. then levi and jonah fuck next to the dead bodies and actively REFUSE to check to make sure they’re both dead before they leave the crime scene. MORONS!!!!!! i’m telling you the character assassination in the second half was reckless and out of control, like why are they both soooo fucking DUMB now!?!?
urrrgggghh just SO MUCH USELESS ANNOYING DRAMA….there was a whole love triangle plot line with duncan, finn, and owen that never gets resolved bc we never hear from finn again and who tf knows if duncan and owen are actually dead or if the author is planning some second book with maybe finn and owen as a couple or some bullshit😒 idk all i know is i stopped giving a fuck very goddamn quickly, i barely finished, i had to skim or i would’ve dnf’ed. first half, fine, second half, CRIME!!!!!
thank FUCK i buddy read this with the discord and megan(🫶🫶) so it wasn’t a bad experience bc i had someone to rant with and talk shit🤣🤣 bc otherwise i would have lost my mind!!!!!
sorry if this is hard to follow or doesn’t make sense, i can’t spend another second on this book, even just to proofread🤣🤷♀️
ETA: ok so i just read gina’s review and holy fuck how did i not make this connection before, but levi didn’t give a fuck about his dad dying😭😭 ig i was just too happy it was over to clock that levi only cared about hoping on jonah’s dick asap💀💀 this just made me more livid omg wtf!!! it’s like they “killed” duncan and owen (one of the them is alive, i’m telling u) and then jonah’s dick cured levi of his dead dad grief, the end???😤😤 MORE TOMATOES🍅🍅🍅🍅
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 21, 2024
This was a fun, dark little romance. Psychopathic serial killer and his not-so innocent little mortician. Codependent, obsessive, possessive, unhinged men who have found their perfect match in one another 👌
If you are in the mood for a steamy, bloody, twisty story then I would pick this one up. I don’t want to say too much about the plot but the vibes were twisted and sexy.
“Look at you. You’re every wrong thing I’ve ever done wrapped in the body of an angel.”
(definitely check TWs before going in babes)
If you are in the mood for a steamy, bloody, twisty story then I would pick this one up. I don’t want to say too much about the plot but the vibes were twisted and sexy.
“Look at you. You’re every wrong thing I’ve ever done wrapped in the body of an angel.”
(definitely check TWs before going in babes)
May 16, 2024
I love an intense and unhinged dark romance. Under Your Skin is a wonderfully executed dark romance between serial killer Jonah and his secret admirer, mortician Levi. Their connection is primal, possessive, and relentless. I enjoyed how devoted Levi is to protecting his killer, while Jonah is intrigued by his admirer and entranced by his devotedness.
Overall this is a fun, entertaining dark psychotic romance that I enjoyed from start to finish. I loved that I could never really predict where the story would go and how Levi and Jonah would get their HEA. This was a fascinating introduction to this cast of characters and I look forward to being back with these them soon.
*** I reviewed a complimentary copy of this story.***
Overall this is a fun, entertaining dark psychotic romance that I enjoyed from start to finish. I loved that I could never really predict where the story would go and how Levi and Jonah would get their HEA. This was a fascinating introduction to this cast of characters and I look forward to being back with these them soon.
*** I reviewed a complimentary copy of this story.***
May 23, 2024
This is by far my favorite Lee McCormick work so far.
While I liked and enjoyed the previous two works this author put out, this one really and truly sold me on this author.
I was a tad weary going in. It really depends, for me, with serial killer romances. If there were to be too much gore, too much psychopathy, too much evil in them...if both MC's were that evil, if they went after innocent people, etc...I don't know if I could take it.
But I like this author and have already read one book of theirs before where one MC is a serial killer, so I decided to dive into this.
And boy am I glad i did.
Jonah is a serial killer. He's been active for 25 years. His first kill was his brother. Not because of anything traumatic he did to him, but just because he was a big shithead that Jonah couldn't stand anymore.
But...he doesn't kill innocent people. Now, he continually thinks that it not because he has a conscience or because he cares about those people (meaning if he could get away with it...he probably would kill them. Which, as a psychopath, makes sense, but still...yikes), but only because bad people aren't anyone that people will miss, or care about enough to try to get any justice for them.
Jonah is basically Dexter. Although even Dexter grapples with his morality more than Jonah does, tbh. But still, he goes after the bad people for conveniences sake only.
Levi is the young man who has been obsessed with 'his Killer' for years. Jonah always leaves a drawing in some capacity at his crime scenes, and whenever Levi sees it, he treasures it. Because for Levi, he lost his mother (and father, who was a bastard he didn't lose sleep over) when he was 7, and watched her brutal murder from the closet he was hiding in.
Jonah is the man who, years later, killed the man who killed Levi's mother. And Levi looks up subsequent kills by him to see that they were all bad people, so Levi kind of sees him as his hero, in a fucked up way. He helps cover up all of Jonah's crimes, too, as a coroner. Well, not a licensed one yet, but the town is so corrupt that it doesn't really matter. As long as his adoptive father signs off on official documents and stuff. Otherwise, Levi generally does all stuff that coroners do and funeral homes do all in one.
Jonah is unaware of Levi until he gets slightly sloppy and leaves a bracelet on one of his victims. When he goes to the funeral home to try to get it back before it's noticed, from the shadows he watched Levi find it and talk to himself - or to 'his Killer' - reverently.
From there, Jonah's own obsession starts.
He even gets a job as a security guard for Levi (there were break ins recently that caused a panic attack in Levi, so his father hired a security guard for his safety) to be close to Levi without having to hide in the shadows.
Levi doesn't get close to anyone. Except his 'Killer' who he thinks he'll never meet. Little does he know that the man he's drawn to, attracted to, is that very same man.
And of course, once Levi knows that, all bets are off.
I'm a sucker for 'you're my only exception' and 'touch him and die' tropes, which this delivered on beautifully.
For Jonah, Levi is the only person he's ever let in, ever felt anything for, ever felt the need to protect and keep alive instead of kill. Their chemistry was great, and once the sex started happening, it was deliciously good. I was so invested in this story from beginning to end, and their relationship and chemistry. There were a few twists and turns near the end as well that I did not see coming. It was very well done.
Also yes, while there is gore and violence in this, no doubt about it, and it doesn't shy away from it, it never went too far for me. Yes, Jonah didn't really have a conscience (when it came to anyone BUT Levi), and would kill anyone if he could, but it helped that he didn't kill any innocent people anyway. As fucked up as he was, he had his own code (moral, no, but a code nonetheless) and he tried as much as he could to stick to it. (Although he does kill a guy in the beginning who didn't exactly do anything to deserve it...but he was definitely creepy and gave off the vibe that he could and would do shitty things soon. Also, it was for Levi anyway. When a psychopath gets attached to you, it makes sense that he would kill anyone who does or could harm you.)
Also, the love these two come to have is great. Who know a murderous psychopath could be so loving😍 and careful and soft with the one he loves. Levi will always be his exception.
Also, Levi, while not entirely like Jonah, is his own kind of fucked up - and doesn't have a problem with Jonah being a serial killer and even gets turned on by some of the fucked up shit he does - so he is perfect for Jonah. Only someone almost as fucked up as Jonah - or as fucked up in some ways - could be the loving life partner of a serial killer.
They were a match made in hell. Going onto live and kill another day.
And I loved them together. They worked just wonderfully together. The plot was good too, keeping me surprised and on my toes until the end.
Now, was it entirely clear why this town was SO corrupt? Nah. Like whose deep pockets is paying off basically *anyone* who could do something about the crime in the town? That basically *no one* was willing to fight for the dead (except one)? But I didn't care all that much. It worked for this story. And Jonah SO would have been caught if there'd been anyone truly moral to do anything about it.
But Jonah and Levi are our MCs, so I have to route for them to get that HEA. And get it, they did.
This story is a great ride, and I highly recommend it, especially if you've read and enjoyed this author before.
This has truly made me excited for the next work by this author.
I absolutely can't wait for what they bring us next! 😘
I received a copy of this book from Gay Romance Reviews, and this is my honest review.
While I liked and enjoyed the previous two works this author put out, this one really and truly sold me on this author.
I was a tad weary going in. It really depends, for me, with serial killer romances. If there were to be too much gore, too much psychopathy, too much evil in them...if both MC's were that evil, if they went after innocent people, etc...I don't know if I could take it.
But I like this author and have already read one book of theirs before where one MC is a serial killer, so I decided to dive into this.
And boy am I glad i did.
Jonah is a serial killer. He's been active for 25 years. His first kill was his brother. Not because of anything traumatic he did to him, but just because he was a big shithead that Jonah couldn't stand anymore.
But...he doesn't kill innocent people. Now, he continually thinks that it not because he has a conscience or because he cares about those people (meaning if he could get away with it...he probably would kill them. Which, as a psychopath, makes sense, but still...yikes), but only because bad people aren't anyone that people will miss, or care about enough to try to get any justice for them.
Jonah is basically Dexter. Although even Dexter grapples with his morality more than Jonah does, tbh. But still, he goes after the bad people for conveniences sake only.
Levi is the young man who has been obsessed with 'his Killer' for years. Jonah always leaves a drawing in some capacity at his crime scenes, and whenever Levi sees it, he treasures it. Because for Levi, he lost his mother (and father, who was a bastard he didn't lose sleep over) when he was 7, and watched her brutal murder from the closet he was hiding in.
Jonah is the man who, years later, killed the man who killed Levi's mother. And Levi looks up subsequent kills by him to see that they were all bad people, so Levi kind of sees him as his hero, in a fucked up way. He helps cover up all of Jonah's crimes, too, as a coroner. Well, not a licensed one yet, but the town is so corrupt that it doesn't really matter. As long as his adoptive father signs off on official documents and stuff. Otherwise, Levi generally does all stuff that coroners do and funeral homes do all in one.
Jonah is unaware of Levi until he gets slightly sloppy and leaves a bracelet on one of his victims. When he goes to the funeral home to try to get it back before it's noticed, from the shadows he watched Levi find it and talk to himself - or to 'his Killer' - reverently.
From there, Jonah's own obsession starts.
He even gets a job as a security guard for Levi (there were break ins recently that caused a panic attack in Levi, so his father hired a security guard for his safety) to be close to Levi without having to hide in the shadows.
Levi doesn't get close to anyone. Except his 'Killer' who he thinks he'll never meet. Little does he know that the man he's drawn to, attracted to, is that very same man.
And of course, once Levi knows that, all bets are off.
I'm a sucker for 'you're my only exception' and 'touch him and die' tropes, which this delivered on beautifully.
For Jonah, Levi is the only person he's ever let in, ever felt anything for, ever felt the need to protect and keep alive instead of kill. Their chemistry was great, and once the sex started happening, it was deliciously good. I was so invested in this story from beginning to end, and their relationship and chemistry. There were a few twists and turns near the end as well that I did not see coming. It was very well done.
Also yes, while there is gore and violence in this, no doubt about it, and it doesn't shy away from it, it never went too far for me. Yes, Jonah didn't really have a conscience (when it came to anyone BUT Levi), and would kill anyone if he could, but it helped that he didn't kill any innocent people anyway. As fucked up as he was, he had his own code (moral, no, but a code nonetheless) and he tried as much as he could to stick to it. (Although he does kill a guy in the beginning who didn't exactly do anything to deserve it...but he was definitely creepy and gave off the vibe that he could and would do shitty things soon. Also, it was for Levi anyway. When a psychopath gets attached to you, it makes sense that he would kill anyone who does or could harm you.)
Also, the love these two come to have is great. Who know a murderous psychopath could be so loving😍 and careful and soft with the one he loves. Levi will always be his exception.
Also, Levi, while not entirely like Jonah, is his own kind of fucked up - and doesn't have a problem with Jonah being a serial killer and even gets turned on by some of the fucked up shit he does - so he is perfect for Jonah. Only someone almost as fucked up as Jonah - or as fucked up in some ways - could be the loving life partner of a serial killer.
They were a match made in hell. Going onto live and kill another day.
And I loved them together. They worked just wonderfully together. The plot was good too, keeping me surprised and on my toes until the end.
Now, was it entirely clear why this town was SO corrupt? Nah. Like whose deep pockets is paying off basically *anyone* who could do something about the crime in the town? That basically *no one* was willing to fight for the dead (except one)? But I didn't care all that much. It worked for this story. And Jonah SO would have been caught if there'd been anyone truly moral to do anything about it.
But Jonah and Levi are our MCs, so I have to route for them to get that HEA. And get it, they did.
This story is a great ride, and I highly recommend it, especially if you've read and enjoyed this author before.
This has truly made me excited for the next work by this author.
I absolutely can't wait for what they bring us next! 😘
I received a copy of this book from Gay Romance Reviews, and this is my honest review.
May 23, 2024
I was drooling over this blurb…. A mortician full of tattoos that are the marks the serial killer he tried to protect left on the bodies. Wet dream….
The first 50% are very slow, and not slow burn, just slow moving… Nothing really happens, and we are stuck in a loop of inner dialogue. The idea of the book is more dark and bloody than the actual plot is. It’s bloody, but it’s not gore… It’s wrong, but without the sense of wrongness I think I would feel in a book with this story. I wanted to fear Jonah, but no, I was 💅🏻....
Jonah is like a bit of a dormat that is supposed to be very scary uhhhhhh (not). And Levi is just a bratty brat, not in a Good way. Every time they fight, the first thought is to go fuck someone? I imagine him full of tattoos, making a child tantrum every time something doesn’t happen as he expected.
There are some serious hot sex scenes here, well, dirty and filthy doesn’t do justice … blood for lube 🥵🥵🥵 teeth mark highlighted by a sharp knife 🔪 Jesus f Christ. But they are portrayed as if it were the only form of connection between them, and with this plot? the options were endless.
There are lots of plot holes that I chose to ignore and ride along...
Basically I wanted to love and that didn't happen and me being a bit Levi am throwing a tantrum! I'm sulking...
The first 50% are very slow, and not slow burn, just slow moving… Nothing really happens, and we are stuck in a loop of inner dialogue. The idea of the book is more dark and bloody than the actual plot is. It’s bloody, but it’s not gore… It’s wrong, but without the sense of wrongness I think I would feel in a book with this story. I wanted to fear Jonah, but no, I was 💅🏻....
Jonah is like a bit of a dormat that is supposed to be very scary uhhhhhh (not). And Levi is just a bratty brat, not in a Good way. Every time they fight, the first thought is to go fuck someone? I imagine him full of tattoos, making a child tantrum every time something doesn’t happen as he expected.
There are some serious hot sex scenes here, well, dirty and filthy doesn’t do justice … blood for lube 🥵🥵🥵 teeth mark highlighted by a sharp knife 🔪 Jesus f Christ. But they are portrayed as if it were the only form of connection between them, and with this plot? the options were endless.
There are lots of plot holes that I chose to ignore and ride along...
Basically I wanted to love and that didn't happen and me being a bit Levi am throwing a tantrum! I'm sulking...
May 25, 2024
sexy dark
wow. i don't usually read this level of violence/dark stories but i'm so glad i did!! this was an amazing story written so well! it's like Dexter but m/m 🌶🫠⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
wow. i don't usually read this level of violence/dark stories but i'm so glad i did!! this was an amazing story written so well! it's like Dexter but m/m 🌶🫠⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
June 22, 2024
3.5 stars RTC
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 18, 2024
2.5/5 ⭐ (rounded up I guess)
2.5/5 🌶️ (kink in stupid places)
2.5/5 🤢 (unnecessary use of 🩸as lube)
So much internal monologuing i was hoping one of them would die.
I started reading this very enthusiastically and with a lot of expectations. Not necessarily high ones, but just lots of them. A moral vigilante / serial killer and a mortician in learning? Say LESS!
In reality though, while some of the elements here were interesting and tugged on deeply buried strings within my soul, most of this hot mess was underwhelming. Actually, looking back i should have known - i tend to DNF M/F serial killer romances (especially where the FMC is also one) and i guess i don't particularly understand the appeal of a murderer as the main character. The only book where this really worked for me was Brainwashed by Nyla K., no questions.
We have a weird (little? it seemed like disproportionately many people were dying for a little) town vaguely somewhere in US. There is a mortuary / funeral home, where the dude who runs it also acts as the town ME / coroner. Okay? Weird, but okay. He has a son, Levi, who is helping him while studying to become a coroner. Or mortician? Or ME? i don't care. There are some other men in employ of Weston the Funeral Home Owner, and they are also all queer men by the way, which is totally irrelevant to the story, however i found to be exemplary for the incredibility of this world.
The town is tiny, and every official party (police, ME, judicial system, fire dept, what else?) are all looking the other way when murders happen. And they HAPPEN. All the damn time. Because there is a serial killer in town. Why is he a killer? He is driven by an urge. A need? I don't know and again, at the risk of sounding repetitive, don't give two hoots, about why Jonah feels the need to kill. At least to satisfy his urges he picks shitty people, who are if not deserving of untimely end, at least will not be missed by many.
Levi is traumatized by some events in his past which inadvertently tie him to his (adoptive) father, the funeral home and subsequently to Jonah. Levi loves this Killer (whose victims come along to the mortuary, and he knows they are his victims, because Jonah leaves little drawings on them, cute huh) without knowing who he is. Anyway, they end up meeting, some not so sexy times ensue, and HEA. They had sex in absolutely ridiculous places, the 'blood as lube' was really just used for shock value, and at some point i was worried for Levi's blood platelet counts because he was cut and bleeding and then milked dry 3 times, which stopped being hot after the 2nd time for sure.
Also, this book was 10000 years long in how long it took me to read it. Because, and i can't stress that enough, i love being in characters' heads, but these 2 heads were so full of thoughts, even i got scared. Nobody can have that many thoughts producing incoherent strings of internal monologue so long the dead bodies in their mortuary had gone way past their expiration dates. And also, i read someone saying that it was ridiculous how everyone was covering up the continuous stream of unexplained deaths in this tiny town (that boasts a gay club by the way, fancy that) and i thought - nah, that's not weird, but what in Mystic Fucking Falls was happening there i ask you?
Anyway, if anything i just said appeals to you, by all means, give this a whirl. I am just afraid to pick up any other work by this author at the risk of being second-hand mentally drowned in internal monologues and inexplicable kinky sex in inappropriate places.
2.5/5 🌶️ (kink in stupid places)
2.5/5 🤢 (unnecessary use of 🩸as lube)
So much internal monologuing i was hoping one of them would die.
I started reading this very enthusiastically and with a lot of expectations. Not necessarily high ones, but just lots of them. A moral vigilante / serial killer and a mortician in learning? Say LESS!
In reality though, while some of the elements here were interesting and tugged on deeply buried strings within my soul, most of this hot mess was underwhelming. Actually, looking back i should have known - i tend to DNF M/F serial killer romances (especially where the FMC is also one) and i guess i don't particularly understand the appeal of a murderer as the main character. The only book where this really worked for me was Brainwashed by Nyla K., no questions.
We have a weird (little? it seemed like disproportionately many people were dying for a little) town vaguely somewhere in US. There is a mortuary / funeral home, where the dude who runs it also acts as the town ME / coroner. Okay? Weird, but okay. He has a son, Levi, who is helping him while studying to become a coroner. Or mortician? Or ME? i don't care. There are some other men in employ of Weston the Funeral Home Owner, and they are also all queer men by the way, which is totally irrelevant to the story, however i found to be exemplary for the incredibility of this world.
The town is tiny, and every official party (police, ME, judicial system, fire dept, what else?) are all looking the other way when murders happen. And they HAPPEN. All the damn time. Because there is a serial killer in town. Why is he a killer? He is driven by an urge. A need? I don't know and again, at the risk of sounding repetitive, don't give two hoots, about why Jonah feels the need to kill. At least to satisfy his urges he picks shitty people, who are if not deserving of untimely end, at least will not be missed by many.
Levi is traumatized by some events in his past which inadvertently tie him to his (adoptive) father, the funeral home and subsequently to Jonah. Levi loves this Killer (whose victims come along to the mortuary, and he knows they are his victims, because Jonah leaves little drawings on them, cute huh) without knowing who he is. Anyway, they end up meeting, some not so sexy times ensue, and HEA. They had sex in absolutely ridiculous places, the 'blood as lube' was really just used for shock value, and at some point i was worried for Levi's blood platelet counts because he was cut and bleeding and then milked dry 3 times, which stopped being hot after the 2nd time for sure.
Also, this book was 10000 years long in how long it took me to read it. Because, and i can't stress that enough, i love being in characters' heads, but these 2 heads were so full of thoughts, even i got scared. Nobody can have that many thoughts producing incoherent strings of internal monologue so long the dead bodies in their mortuary had gone way past their expiration dates. And also, i read someone saying that it was ridiculous how everyone was covering up the continuous stream of unexplained deaths in this tiny town (that boasts a gay club by the way, fancy that) and i thought - nah, that's not weird, but what in Mystic Fucking Falls was happening there i ask you?
Anyway, if anything i just said appeals to you, by all means, give this a whirl. I am just afraid to pick up any other work by this author at the risk of being second-hand mentally drowned in internal monologues and inexplicable kinky sex in inappropriate places.
May 21, 2024
Why all the positive reviews?
The outline of the story sounded like it would be interesting.
The execution of the writing, not so much.
Made it to 38% then had to quit.
I do like stories with main characters with questionable morals if written correctly.
To me there’s something very fascinating about the grey area.
This book was just boring.
The characters spend most of the story (at least the part I could force myself to read) thinking… and thinking… and thinking.
All inside their heads instead of having a story, having action and character development.
Some books suck me in no matter how long they go on for, but this one did not.
First tried skipping, but nothing could keep my interest.
The whole town just pretending like there is zero crime was just silly.
The outline of the story sounded like it would be interesting.
The execution of the writing, not so much.
Made it to 38% then had to quit.
I do like stories with main characters with questionable morals if written correctly.
To me there’s something very fascinating about the grey area.
This book was just boring.
The characters spend most of the story (at least the part I could force myself to read) thinking… and thinking… and thinking.
All inside their heads instead of having a story, having action and character development.
Some books suck me in no matter how long they go on for, but this one did not.
First tried skipping, but nothing could keep my interest.
The whole town just pretending like there is zero crime was just silly.
May 28, 2024
Shout out to my fraaans at DC Keenk for this buddy read.
Y'all make even the most difficult books better.
So.... if you like blood, serial killers, morgues, then this might be for you.
I think what I was most disappointed by was the potential. There were a few good lines, moments that really stood out that made me think I'll give McCormick another try down the road. I definitely wouldn't yuck your yum if this was your jam. It just wasn't mine...
I feel like so much of the plot was contrived. It felt forced and in an unnatural way. There's no reason for the manufactured drama of Jonah holding anything back from Levi. Their connection was amazing till Jonah decided to withhold and lie. It very much felt like the author saying "AH HA! This is a good idea!" when it indeed was *not* a good idea. The connection and creepiness they had together would have flowed much smoother if he'd just told the truth. It felt like a very manufactured eye roll worthy plot point. Enough so that many of my friends quit reading shortly thereafter.
Also, Duncan, Finn, and Owen. Wtf. I felt pretty confused. I had to read, reread, and still reread to try and figure out who came first with which person. It felt important but the plot point was both not fleshed out enough and then also abandoned weirdly at some point. Why have it there at all then?
And lastly, the huge deal they made at the end about not checking the bodies. Come. The. Fuck. On. You know one of them is going to be alive, probably Owen since I think he was only stabbed. But who knows. They also left the cabin unlocked which means one of them is going to drag their sorry ass in there so be on the lookout for revenge in the next book.
Sadly, I however, will not be carrying on. I look forward to reading McCormick again in a few years. I hope they get a better crew to help tighten up the writing. With some editorial help I think there is hope they could improve.
1 star for the potential, 1 star for some seriously f'd up stuff.
I do kind of want to take away one star for killing off Levi's dad. He was such a nice guy. He totally could have been swayed to see how Jonah would have protected Levi At All Costs. But no..... you had to go and take away one of the truly good people.
Y'all make even the most difficult books better.
So.... if you like blood, serial killers, morgues, then this might be for you.
I think what I was most disappointed by was the potential. There were a few good lines, moments that really stood out that made me think I'll give McCormick another try down the road. I definitely wouldn't yuck your yum if this was your jam. It just wasn't mine...
I feel like so much of the plot was contrived. It felt forced and in an unnatural way. There's no reason for the manufactured drama of Jonah holding anything back from Levi. Their connection was amazing till Jonah decided to withhold and lie. It very much felt like the author saying "AH HA! This is a good idea!" when it indeed was *not* a good idea. The connection and creepiness they had together would have flowed much smoother if he'd just told the truth. It felt like a very manufactured eye roll worthy plot point. Enough so that many of my friends quit reading shortly thereafter.
Also, Duncan, Finn, and Owen. Wtf. I felt pretty confused. I had to read, reread, and still reread to try and figure out who came first with which person. It felt important but the plot point was both not fleshed out enough and then also abandoned weirdly at some point. Why have it there at all then?
And lastly, the huge deal they made at the end about not checking the bodies. Come. The. Fuck. On. You know one of them is going to be alive, probably Owen since I think he was only stabbed. But who knows. They also left the cabin unlocked which means one of them is going to drag their sorry ass in there so be on the lookout for revenge in the next book.
Sadly, I however, will not be carrying on. I look forward to reading McCormick again in a few years. I hope they get a better crew to help tighten up the writing. With some editorial help I think there is hope they could improve.
1 star for the potential, 1 star for some seriously f'd up stuff.
I do kind of want to take away one star for killing off Levi's dad. He was such a nice guy. He totally could have been swayed to see how Jonah would have protected Levi At All Costs. But no..... you had to go and take away one of the truly good people.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 3, 2024
I loved the first 50 or so percent of this book. It was 5 stars for me. I so enjoy this type of dark story line.
The chemistry between Levi and Jonah was fantastic. The way Levi had this whole relationship with his "Killer" was unique and super interesting. The tension was perfection. I am here for a morally grey/black MC.
But after the half way point, things seemed to slow down and then the last twist in the story seemed so totally unnecessary to me and I feel like it really took away from the story between Levi and Jonah.
I received an ARC of this from Gay Romance Reviews and this is my honest opinion.
The chemistry between Levi and Jonah was fantastic. The way Levi had this whole relationship with his "Killer" was unique and super interesting. The tension was perfection. I am here for a morally grey/black MC.
But after the half way point, things seemed to slow down and then the last twist in the story seemed so totally unnecessary to me and I feel like it really took away from the story between Levi and Jonah.
I received an ARC of this from Gay Romance Reviews and this is my honest opinion.
May 22, 2024
***ARC Review***
This is my honest and voluntary review for the ARC I received.
I love a good age gap romance and a good dark romance. This book is both! You will definitely want to take a look at the Trigger Warnings for this book. It’s dark start to finish. The thoughts (and actions) that both MCs have are morally grey at the very least and dark AF in certain regards. That said, the pairing between Levi and Jonah is absolutely exquisite. The obsession and possession in this book is astounding and totally captivating. This book is so well written, you won’t be able to put it down.
Levi enjoys working as a mortician at his father’s funeral home. He is infactuated with the person who killed his mother’s murderer. Jonah enjoys what he does as well - unaliving bad people. Jonah’s been a serial killer for two and a half decades and is usually good at it…until he makes a mistake. Jonah is initially concerned when he comes across Levi in the morgue, but he doesn’t have to be. After realizing something about Levi, Jonah becomes obsessed with him. He even begins stalking him.
Jonah’s possessiveness over Levi shows even before they become an item. Levi doesn’t kiss so when it happens between Jonah and him, it spins everything on its axis. Once Levi and Jonah finally get together, their chemistry is explosive. The passion between these two is visceral. They have some intense moments, both physically and conversationally. Levi asks questions because he’s naturally curious, so Jonah will have to learn how to open up if he wants to keep Levi…and he really wants to keep Levi.
There is a lot going on that Levi and Jonah don’t know about one another at first. There are several half-truths and lies of omission. Both MCs have to work their way through it all (and a twist that leads to more conflict) before they can have an HEA with one another. When all is said and done, Levi and Jonah accept one another as they are. They see one another as they are. They are a darkly suited match, but gah do they work as a couple!
This is my honest and voluntary review for the ARC I received.
I love a good age gap romance and a good dark romance. This book is both! You will definitely want to take a look at the Trigger Warnings for this book. It’s dark start to finish. The thoughts (and actions) that both MCs have are morally grey at the very least and dark AF in certain regards. That said, the pairing between Levi and Jonah is absolutely exquisite. The obsession and possession in this book is astounding and totally captivating. This book is so well written, you won’t be able to put it down.
Levi enjoys working as a mortician at his father’s funeral home. He is infactuated with the person who killed his mother’s murderer. Jonah enjoys what he does as well - unaliving bad people. Jonah’s been a serial killer for two and a half decades and is usually good at it…until he makes a mistake. Jonah is initially concerned when he comes across Levi in the morgue, but he doesn’t have to be. After realizing something about Levi, Jonah becomes obsessed with him. He even begins stalking him.
Jonah’s possessiveness over Levi shows even before they become an item. Levi doesn’t kiss so when it happens between Jonah and him, it spins everything on its axis. Once Levi and Jonah finally get together, their chemistry is explosive. The passion between these two is visceral. They have some intense moments, both physically and conversationally. Levi asks questions because he’s naturally curious, so Jonah will have to learn how to open up if he wants to keep Levi…and he really wants to keep Levi.
There is a lot going on that Levi and Jonah don’t know about one another at first. There are several half-truths and lies of omission. Both MCs have to work their way through it all (and a twist that leads to more conflict) before they can have an HEA with one another. When all is said and done, Levi and Jonah accept one another as they are. They see one another as they are. They are a darkly suited match, but gah do they work as a couple!
May 22, 2024
✨ARC REVIEW ✨
Mortician and serial killer in a corrupt town which hides all the murders that happen there. Count me in!
Levi is the adopted son of the resident mortician and Jonah is a serial killer who reads a bit like a psychopath, but thankfully he is not. Maybe...
Jonah discovers that Levi has been hiding the little clues left by him he's found in the corpses. What follows is a totally unhinged round of kinky smut (give me all the CNC and primall, obsession and lies, instersped with tender moments, between the two.
It started strong, lost a little bit of wind in the middle but then we got to all the little twists and lies being discovered and, my dudes, it was so far-fetched albeit amazing I couldn't stop reading.
They're all a bit morally black, but who doesn't like a villain?
Mortician and serial killer in a corrupt town which hides all the murders that happen there. Count me in!
Levi is the adopted son of the resident mortician and Jonah is a serial killer who reads a bit like a psychopath, but thankfully he is not. Maybe...
Jonah discovers that Levi has been hiding the little clues left by him he's found in the corpses. What follows is a totally unhinged round of kinky smut (give me all the CNC and primall, obsession and lies, instersped with tender moments, between the two.
It started strong, lost a little bit of wind in the middle but then we got to all the little twists and lies being discovered and, my dudes, it was so far-fetched albeit amazing I couldn't stop reading.
They're all a bit morally black, but who doesn't like a villain?
June 8, 2024
Wow! My Mind was blown. First and most definitely not the last book from the author. What to expect
🖤MM
🖤Age gap
🖤Touch him and 💀
🖤Dark
🖤Blood play and many more kinks
🖤Stalker
🖤Serial K!ller
🖤Obsessive MC
🖤Corruption of a small town
🖤And so much more
If you want a safety book, this is not for you. I do all sorts of triggers, and this is what I got with this book. This book may not be the darkest book I have read. It does have two unhinged MMCs and is intense. I loved it.
Johan stalks Levi, who works at the morgue after his last kill; Johan is instantly attracted to Levi. His attraction intensifies as he sees Levi’s tattoos and what they symbolize.
Under My Skin is a Dark, twisted, and steamy read, which I enjoyed. There was a plot hole I was a little confused about, but it was later explained.
Would I recommend this book? Absolutely
May 11, 2024
I feel like the best and most accurate review of this book would be a series of distressed, somewhat horny screeches, but since that doesn't translate well into text I'll try for a proper review.
This book is wide open from the very first page, and it doesn't let up for a second. The tension is there right from the beginning, the characters constantly keep you guessing, and-as you can expect from Lee McCormick-the payoff for that burgeoning sexual tension is HOT. Aside from that, go ahead and shelve any and all expectations you have for this book because I'm pretty sure it's impossible to expect the twists and turns it takes.
Levi is such a beautifully written study of what trauma can create from a person. Obviously, not everyone who gets traumatized gets their moral compass skewed quite so spectacularly, but his romanticizing a serial killer IS kind of the point of the book so I don't feel like that should take away from appreciating how complex and convoluted his character is. Jonah is the perfect balance to Levi, and not only is their physical chemistry off the charts, so is their emotional chemistry. There isn't so much a shift from obsession to love as a forming of love alongside the obsession, and it lends an appropriately dark tone to the relationship between these morally gray characters.
I won't talk about any plot twists but just take my word for it and buckle the fuck up, because you're in for a wild ride. Under My Skin is yet another book to demonstrate why Lee McCormick is an insta-read author for me. Twisted, sexy, and darkly beautiful.
This book is wide open from the very first page, and it doesn't let up for a second. The tension is there right from the beginning, the characters constantly keep you guessing, and-as you can expect from Lee McCormick-the payoff for that burgeoning sexual tension is HOT. Aside from that, go ahead and shelve any and all expectations you have for this book because I'm pretty sure it's impossible to expect the twists and turns it takes.
Levi is such a beautifully written study of what trauma can create from a person. Obviously, not everyone who gets traumatized gets their moral compass skewed quite so spectacularly, but his romanticizing a serial killer IS kind of the point of the book so I don't feel like that should take away from appreciating how complex and convoluted his character is. Jonah is the perfect balance to Levi, and not only is their physical chemistry off the charts, so is their emotional chemistry. There isn't so much a shift from obsession to love as a forming of love alongside the obsession, and it lends an appropriately dark tone to the relationship between these morally gray characters.
I won't talk about any plot twists but just take my word for it and buckle the fuck up, because you're in for a wild ride. Under My Skin is yet another book to demonstrate why Lee McCormick is an insta-read author for me. Twisted, sexy, and darkly beautiful.
September 11, 2024
The thing about Lee’s writing is it’s so heart achingly beautiful. I fell so hard for these characters. The concept of a serial unaliver & a mortician is wild yet here I am thinking about this love story long after finishing. The secrecy, the primal need for one another, the plot twist?! Obsessed. Lee once again made me fall for the most morally of grey characters & I am not mad about it.
May 23, 2024
“I watched the light leave their eyes, and he opened them up to hold their stilled heart in his elegant hands.”
Under Your Skin was dark, twisted and delicious. It's the love story between two deeply unsettling individuals living in a small town where crime gets swept under the rug. And, I, loved every moment of it.
Jonah is a serial killer who sticks to killing people nobody is going to miss. Not because he’s some vigilante – but to assure he won’t get caught.
Levi works at the town’s morgue and reads every murdered body as a gift to him and does whatever necessary to protect someone he doesn’t even know the identity of.
And, a single mistake made one night pushes these two men into the same orbit. This book was horrifying and sexy at the same time. It’s filled with lots of steam, lots of emotions and lots of crime. If you’re a fan of dark romance you’re sure to enjoy this. But, I would suggest checking the warnings and triggers beforehand.
Under Your Skin was dark, twisted and delicious. It's the love story between two deeply unsettling individuals living in a small town where crime gets swept under the rug. And, I, loved every moment of it.
Jonah is a serial killer who sticks to killing people nobody is going to miss. Not because he’s some vigilante – but to assure he won’t get caught.
Levi works at the town’s morgue and reads every murdered body as a gift to him and does whatever necessary to protect someone he doesn’t even know the identity of.
And, a single mistake made one night pushes these two men into the same orbit. This book was horrifying and sexy at the same time. It’s filled with lots of steam, lots of emotions and lots of crime. If you’re a fan of dark romance you’re sure to enjoy this. But, I would suggest checking the warnings and triggers beforehand.
July 5, 2024
3.75/5⭐️
I was initially drawn to this book because of the mortican/serial killer relationship. I’ve never read a book with a relationship like that so I was extremely intrigued.
The first part of the book was sooo interesting. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time and loving every minute of it. Once Jonah got the job, I feel like the book went downhill. It became boring and I was having a tough time getting through it. In the beginning, I was LOVING the relationship dynamic and when they finally got together, it felt like it was lacking something. Towards the last 100 pages the book picked up again and I started loving it, once again. I’m not sure what happened in the middle of the book to be honest. It felt out of place.
For some reason I felt more drawn to the mystery/ thriller aspect rather than the romance plot. I believe this relationship had so much potential but in the end, it didn’t reach that full potential.
I still love Jonah and Levi. I just feel like their romance was not all it could have been ☹️
Safety:
• strict t/b although one line made it seem like Jonah was vers in previous hookups. No hint that Jonah and Levi were ever vers with each other though.
• no virgins, both do casual hookups
• no OW drama
• OM- Levi had sex with his coworker a few times and he is in the book a lot. Their past is brought up a few times. OM causes drama and tries to make advances on Levi and also tries to split up the main characters.
• both celibate since meeting, Jonah has been celibate for a few months longer
• Levi never kissed anyone until Jonah. There is a scene where Levi does kiss someone at the bar to make Jonah jealous after Jonah and Levi got together.
• completely free of OM/OW from Jonah’s side. Only Levi has the OM drama.
• both didn’t seem like manwhores but they appeared to have casual hookups frequently.
Thank you to the author and GRR for allowing me to read and review an ARC of this book!
I was initially drawn to this book because of the mortican/serial killer relationship. I’ve never read a book with a relationship like that so I was extremely intrigued.
The first part of the book was sooo interesting. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time and loving every minute of it. Once Jonah got the job, I feel like the book went downhill. It became boring and I was having a tough time getting through it. In the beginning, I was LOVING the relationship dynamic and when they finally got together, it felt like it was lacking something. Towards the last 100 pages the book picked up again and I started loving it, once again. I’m not sure what happened in the middle of the book to be honest. It felt out of place.
For some reason I felt more drawn to the mystery/ thriller aspect rather than the romance plot. I believe this relationship had so much potential but in the end, it didn’t reach that full potential.
I still love Jonah and Levi. I just feel like their romance was not all it could have been ☹️
Safety:
• strict t/b although one line made it seem like Jonah was vers in previous hookups. No hint that Jonah and Levi were ever vers with each other though.
• no virgins, both do casual hookups
• no OW drama
• OM- Levi had sex with his coworker a few times and he is in the book a lot. Their past is brought up a few times. OM causes drama and tries to make advances on Levi and also tries to split up the main characters.
• both celibate since meeting, Jonah has been celibate for a few months longer
• Levi never kissed anyone until Jonah. There is a scene where Levi does kiss someone at the bar to make Jonah jealous after Jonah and Levi got together.
• completely free of OM/OW from Jonah’s side. Only Levi has the OM drama.
• both didn’t seem like manwhores but they appeared to have casual hookups frequently.
Thank you to the author and GRR for allowing me to read and review an ARC of this book!
July 3, 2025
story of Levi and Jonah
This is a dark romance, featuring Levi and Jonah, and is a standalone book.
Levi finds comfort in the bodies left at his morgue by a killer, seeing each one as a message just for him. When Jonah realises someone is hiding his crimes, he meets Levi - a man obsessed with him - and their dangerous bond begins to grow.
This dark romance had me hooked from the start. These two were made for each other in the most twisted way, and their mural obsession was such a unique touch. The kink, biting, and marking were intense and added so much to their connection. Plus, there’s a twist I still can’t stop thinking about. A wild, addictive read!
Things to expect in this book are:
Standalone book
MM romance
Check CW
Mortician x Serial Killer
Age gap
Mutual fixation
Obsessive & Possessive
Jealousy
Stalking
Spicy times & dirty talk
Blood play
Primal play
Praise kink
Biting & marking
Twisted soulmates
HEA
This is a dark romance, featuring Levi and Jonah, and is a standalone book.
Levi finds comfort in the bodies left at his morgue by a killer, seeing each one as a message just for him. When Jonah realises someone is hiding his crimes, he meets Levi - a man obsessed with him - and their dangerous bond begins to grow.
This dark romance had me hooked from the start. These two were made for each other in the most twisted way, and their mural obsession was such a unique touch. The kink, biting, and marking were intense and added so much to their connection. Plus, there’s a twist I still can’t stop thinking about. A wild, addictive read!
Things to expect in this book are:
Standalone book
MM romance
Check CW
Mortician x Serial Killer
Age gap
Mutual fixation
Obsessive & Possessive
Jealousy
Stalking
Spicy times & dirty talk
Blood play
Primal play
Praise kink
Biting & marking
Twisted soulmates
HEA
January 30, 2025
“My killer” 🥰
“I would shatter all his pieces as long as I was the one who got to put him back together.”
Jonah and Levi. Levi and Jonah. Fucking meant to be in the most fucked up way. Every new reveal solidified the fact that Jonah and Levi are soulmates.
“It was suicidal to fuck someone you knew was a serial killer… but…”
This book was hot. It was dark. It was spicy. It was unexpected. It was shocking. It was intoxicating.
The spice was disturbingly sexy…. And maybe I need to see a psychologist to figure out why I loved it ☠️ 🩸
PLEASE read the trigger warnings.
“Look at you. You’re every wrong thing I’ve ever done wrapped in the body of an angel.”
“I would shatter all his pieces as long as I was the one who got to put him back together.”
Jonah and Levi. Levi and Jonah. Fucking meant to be in the most fucked up way. Every new reveal solidified the fact that Jonah and Levi are soulmates.
“It was suicidal to fuck someone you knew was a serial killer… but…”
This book was hot. It was dark. It was spicy. It was unexpected. It was shocking. It was intoxicating.
The spice was disturbingly sexy…. And maybe I need to see a psychologist to figure out why I loved it ☠️ 🩸
PLEASE read the trigger warnings.
“Look at you. You’re every wrong thing I’ve ever done wrapped in the body of an angel.”
May 24, 2024
I know this is a silly criticism to have regarding a dark romance about a serial killer and a coroner but this just wasn’t really believable to me
June 12, 2024
This was different. This was more. Levi wasn’t begging me for his life, he was begging me to show him what it was like to really live.
A serial killer in a town that largely doesn’t care and the mortician who helps cover up for “his killer”. I love a stalker romance but esp when Levi had this whole romantic idea of what/who his killer was and Jonah kept teasing him. Their chemistry was fantastic and the spice was twisted but hot!! 🥵
It just went on a bit too long for me. A lot happens in the second half and not all of it worked or made sense. Purely for vibes this still gets 4 stars from me because I overall enjoyed reading it but yeah it should’ve been edited down a bit I think.
I received an ARC and this is my honest review.
A serial killer in a town that largely doesn’t care and the mortician who helps cover up for “his killer”. I love a stalker romance but esp when Levi had this whole romantic idea of what/who his killer was and Jonah kept teasing him. Their chemistry was fantastic and the spice was twisted but hot!! 🥵
It just went on a bit too long for me. A lot happens in the second half and not all of it worked or made sense. Purely for vibes this still gets 4 stars from me because I overall enjoyed reading it but yeah it should’ve been edited down a bit I think.
I received an ARC and this is my honest review.
May 11, 2024
I love a good dark romance & this for sure was well done! I enjoyed Levi & Jonah’s story and watching their relationship grow 🖤 They recognized something in each other and didn’t attempt to change one another which I loved. I also loved how they wholeheartedly rode for each other no matter what! Levi was protecting Jonah before he even knew who he was. & we seen exactly what Jonah would do to protect Levi 🔪🩸The plot itself was captivating and I for sure did notttt expect that twist 😱 literally did not see it coming at all! You will not regret picking this book up!
May 19, 2024
Absolutely blown away by this book!
I knew it was going to be good. Everything Lee McCormick has written so at has been 5 stars from me. But this is the first book where I have IMMEDIATELY wanted to read it again. That doesn’t happen with me. I’m not a big re-reader and most definitely not directly after finishing the time.
I really don’t want to give much away because the plot is so intricate, but I will go into the things that I loved: two obsessive/possessive MCs, red flags GALORE, jealousy that kills, primal play & marks of ownership, and a seriously corrupt town that’s the perfect playground for a murderer.
I absolutely love Beyond Time by Lee, couldn’t stop raving about it when it came out, BUT I think this has taken the top spot as my number one book (sorry Kade 😘). This is one of the best books I’ve read this year. I cannot wait to get my grubby little hands on this! Wonderful job Lee, thank you for writing this!
*I received an advanced copy from in exchange for my honest review.*
I knew it was going to be good. Everything Lee McCormick has written so at has been 5 stars from me. But this is the first book where I have IMMEDIATELY wanted to read it again. That doesn’t happen with me. I’m not a big re-reader and most definitely not directly after finishing the time.
I really don’t want to give much away because the plot is so intricate, but I will go into the things that I loved: two obsessive/possessive MCs, red flags GALORE, jealousy that kills, primal play & marks of ownership, and a seriously corrupt town that’s the perfect playground for a murderer.
I absolutely love Beyond Time by Lee, couldn’t stop raving about it when it came out, BUT I think this has taken the top spot as my number one book (sorry Kade 😘). This is one of the best books I’ve read this year. I cannot wait to get my grubby little hands on this! Wonderful job Lee, thank you for writing this!
*I received an advanced copy from in exchange for my honest review.*
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