Lethal Kiss

by Taylor Grothe

Jennifer's Body meets Ninth House: Taylor Grothe's adult debut novel is a sapphic horror/romance that's as grotesque and blood-soaked as it is beautiful.

When Marcella is hired at Preston University, she has her game plan already mapped out―lay low for a few semesters, enjoy the extensive library, and maybe feast on a couple of her coworkers. That is, until a professor is found murdered and it’s not her doing. She may be the newest monster on campus, but she definitely isn’t the most dangerous.

Assistant professor Lacie is aware how ruthless the track to tenure is. But seeing the corpse of one of her colleagues is enough to make her suspect the other professors that came before her didn’t just quit academia. Unfortunately, there’s only one person she can trust enough to ask for help―the beautiful, aloof, and tantalizingly secretive Marcella.

Lacie and Marcella team up to make a chilling discovery: there’s something festering under the marble floors of Preston University, and it’s hungry. Marcella might be a monster, but the deeper into the mystery they dig, the more she’s attracted to Lacie’s immovable bravery and quiet intelligence. And the closer they grow, the more Lacie is drawn to Marcella’s vicious nature.

The weight of spilled blood and stolen opportunity is too heavy to carry alone, but they’re both determined to get what they deserve―even if they have to kill for it.

Genres: Horror, Romance, Lesbian, LGBT, Queer, Fantasy, Dark Academia

384 pages, Paperback

Expected publication October 20, 2026

About the author

Taylor Grothe is a writer of adult and young adult horror, horror romance, and dark fantasy. They hold a nonfiction MFA from Fairfield University, acted as the graduate Assistant Managing Editor of Brevity, and their short works can be found in esteemed publications such as Titan Book’s These Dreaming Spires, Brevity’s craft blog, Haven Speculative, and Shortwave Magazine. They are a scholar of medieval literature and Nordic Saga. Taylor lives with three cats, two kids, and their spouse, in New England.

Reviews

[Robin]

Girl dinner: consuming the hearts and life force of the men who have wronged me

Blood-soaked, gory, propulsive fun. Lethal Kiss is a bleeding heart in book form, one a Draugr has latched onto with fearless hunger. Taylor Grothe’s modern horror masterpiece is both a tense look at academia, the snarled web of patriarchy, and the dark powers we embrace to cast off such bonds. Within the boundaries of Preston University, something darker lurks, targeting the women on campus. Marcella, a newly hired professor and Draugr feasting in plain sight, and Lacie, an assistant professor, form an unexpected alliance to uncover the truth and unmask the perpetrators. Taylor Grothe’s craft is of precision unequaled, honing the darker truths of this tale while still carrying wit, camp, and unhinged sapphic desire (the best kind). Lethal Kiss manages to singularly deliver the horror of the season, honoring the queer voices that have been erased and the visceral hurts carved into the foundations of college campuses everywhere. This is, first and foremost, a story of becoming and the little violences one endures before that moment. Grothe is solidified as a fresh voice in the horror space, and I am endlessly hungering for more.

Bookstagram | Blog

[Krysta ꕤ]

”Pity the fool who sees a monster and leans into it anyway.”

this book doesn’t stray far from it’s base idea, which in turn makes the experience of reading it feel repetitive and predictable. i was loving Marcella’s character at first, but her appeal starting to wane after a while.

Lacie and Marcella were so confusing to me, i just couldn’t understand what drew them to each other. the dialogue itself was also repetitive, especially in Marcella’s pov. the slowest of burns, in every way you could think of, but also the most boring kind. the whole “academic mystery” of the plot doesn’t have much to support it, so it got to a point where i lost interest.

➻ thanks to NetGalley, the author and Macmillan Audio for the alc, all opinions are my own.

[jenny reads a lot]

Why is it so hard to write reviews for books you loved so much!? How do I explain how thoroughly this book seeped into my soul with just a short review?!

This is everything you need. Dark Academia, rich folklore, romance that is a little toxic and a lot sexy, bad men getting their due, gorgeous prose, main characters you want to root for, and my favorite, a narrative that asks “what makes a monster.”

10/10 no notes. Unputdownable.

I would let Marcella step on my face in her Louboutins. I want to hug Lacie, and maybe give her a little slap too. I would gladly be devoured.

Audio Narration: 5/5
Narrators: Jaime Lamchick & Jennifer Pickens
Length: 12 hrs 50 mins
Style: dual pov, dual narrated
Thoughts: Wowza that was one of the best audiobook performances I’ve listened to in quite some time! These two narrators were so phenomenal and they did such an amazing job bringing the two characters to life. I need to find more audiobooks narrated by them stat bc dammmnnnn that was good! Literally no notes.

5⭐️| IG | TikTok |

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted book. All opinions are my own.

[Elle]

This was such a relaxing read (listen) for me! Both narrators were fantastic but I especially loved listening to Marcella's narrator. The voice was sultry and so satisfying to hear. I found myself listening to this book in the car and even at work. This was a fun listen and was a lighter tone than what I usually read. Whenever I gravitate towards a book like this, I look for the perfect balance of horror, romance, and plot. I felt that this one gave me what I was looking for.

I enjoyed the two FMCs, Marcella and Lacie. Their relationship was exciting to me and a bit toxic, but not overbearing. I liked this book from starting at the author's note, to the last page. I was intrigued that this wasn't a classic vampire story and Grothe actually went the route of draugr instead. Grothe also explains in the author's note that any variance from the typical draugr was intentional, which I thought was smart to include.

I thought the pacing was solid within this book, there wasn't a single moment where I felt my attention slipping or as though I was getting bored or fatigued. I did find it a bit unbelievable that the murders went unsolved for so long since they were messy and rather impulsive. But this didn't really bother me, it was more of a passing thought that I had and then I let it go.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC. All opinions are my own!

[ReneeReads]

I am so glad that I listened to this book instead of reading a physical copy because I really think it adds to the ambiance. Marcella's narration is velvety and sultry and just what you imagine it would be. I really loved the overall atmosphere and the setting of this book along with all of the gruesome descriptions. Marcella certainly comes off as a succubus at times and I loved every second of her. I thought Lacie's character was fine, but she wasn't really a standout to me. I hated all of the misogyny and I think the men got what they deserved. It was a bit cliche but hey, who doesn't love a little revenge after all these years of the patriarchy? This was a very enticing read and I think other readers will enjoy this as well.

Jaime Lamchick (Narrator); Jennifer Pickens (Narrator)

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for access to the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

[Sara.]

Thank you NetGalley, Tor Nightfire & the author Taylor Grothe for the ARC. I am reviewing this as part of the novel's street team.

TW: explicit gore, misogyny (objectification, infantilisation), sexual harassment, religious trauma, parental abuse, racist microaggressions, queerphobia, misgendering of a femme non-binary character

Jennifer's Body (2009) but make it dark academia and actually sapphic upfront? I thought this was going to be a home run, especially with the promising Author's Note right at the front; of Grothe mentioning "monstrosity in queer novels" and "critiquing the hegemony & supremacy of white, Eurocentric higher academia". But ultimately, Lethal Kiss excels in aesthetics but falters in actual substance in the issues it wants to explore.

On the surface: it's camp, it's bloody, it's unapologetic and all that makes for a potentially fun wild ride. The story doesn't hesitate to call out the gross misogyny prevalent in the upper echelons of the faculty, as seen in the mistreatment of POV protagonists Lacie the human and Marcella the (femme-presenting) draugr. The gore—particularly of Marcella eating people—is brutal and graphic as befitting the horror part of this horror-romance novel. Grothe's pose is just overall great for the horror genre; unsettling and atmospheric. The novel even opens with a killer line:

The easiest way to kill a man is by pinching the delicate skin of his throat with your teeth and shucking the tissue like an oyster's shell.

That really sets the tone for the rest of the novel.

I also do like Lacie and Marcella as individual characters. They're interesting enough, though I thought I'd find Marcella to be the more compelling one, given that she's a literal immortal man-eating creature posing as human. Boy, did my view change. Firstly, you need a shit ton of suspension of disbelief over her getting away with her murders for this long, due to how sloppy and laughably unplanned they often are. Maybe I expected a centuries-old figure to be more calculated and methodical, rather than giving into her base instincts so often. Like it's a goddamn miracle she wasn't caught or even suspected.

And secondly, I wish we got Marcella doing anything academic at all. Save for one instance of her preparing the following semester's course with a provocative course title ("Sex & Blood: The Vikings Saga"), she leaves all the researching of which folklore monster could be behind the campus murders to Lacie because sure, a better use of her ~charismatic talents~ is needling information out of people rather being in the library or archives. We're TOLD more than once that she has a passion for knowledge, that she earned her place in universities based on her own intellectual merits, but we don't get to SEE any of that. Like pick up a book, even. I read dark academia for characters doing academic things, not just be hot and manipulative in an academic setting.

Now if you want the Ambitious Character Actually Doing Academic Things and acting like her academic career is her lifeline, her heart & soul? That's all Lacie, who also provides autistic rep. Her past religious trauma and parental rejection when she came out is both intriguing and heartbreaking. You can see her initial reluctance to get involved with the campus murders as spinelessness, the way Marcella does, or you can have empathy for a woman who's been rejected all her life, clinging onto the one thing she is passionate about and offers her financial security when she has nothing and no one else. Lacie has a lot more to lose than Marcella.

The romance was, well, it's a thing that happens. 🤷 You know how sometimes when reading fanfiction, because you're already intimately familiar with the original IP's characters and their dynamic, the fanfic writer can focus on crafting the romantic moments and less so on the build-up to the feelings developing? It feels like this here. It's like I'm reading a Jennifer's Body dark academia AU fanfic—because Lacie & Marcella's personalities and even their appearances are largely reminiscent to the film characters—and I'm expected to already know these characters and their relationship and just fast forward to them getting together.

The romantic development wants to be ~sizzling~ but it felt sped up, especially on Marcella's end which doesn't make much sense to me. She falls for a human so quickly when she's initially presented as pragmatically seeing humans as Food and doesn't typically get close to them; like huh? I love Morally Grey Characters Gradually Thawing For Their Love Interests but this wasn't a delicious thaw. She's already getting jealous over someone else touching Lacie when she barely knows the other woman? For a cold-skinned undead creature, she needs to chill.

Basically, where's the SLOWBURN? I don't get excited over jumping straight into physical attraction that's supposed to grow into "Love". They don't spend enough time together that's actually just for the sake of bonding emotionally, or doesn't end with someone getting upset (usually Lacie), until we get to the Sex Chapter that's supposed to be a culmination of whatever surface-level romantic feelings. Also, the entire time they're having sex and I'm thinking "there's people that are dying", like that's some excellent timing right there. No seriously it's that hilarious because literally the next moment, we get a Missing Person alert.

While I appreciate the critique the story is trying to make, the twist revelation that the men in charge are actually monsters / Not Human All Along and are literally feeding on people doesn't feel as impactful to me. The horror of misogyny or other forms of bigotry is that these are regular PEOPLE like anyone else, but who choose to commit heinous acts or hold on to vile beliefs. And so in allegorical stories, this makes them even more monstrous than literal monsters who might possess more humanity than the humans themselves. Making the novel's villains literal monsters doesn't hit as hard as, say, if they stayed human men but were summoning monsters to do their dirty work / sacrifice other humans for their own gain.

And then there's the White Feminism of it all, which is really befuddling because the novel actually started out pretty self-aware. Early into the story, it acknowledges that academia can be racist, with the way its faculty members of colour had to endure microaggressions in the comments and opportunities afforded to them. When the campus murders started to gain traction around the 25% mark, there's an exchange between white Lacie and her two colleagues who are BIPOC (i.e. Therese is Korean but her boyfriend Lyle's ethnicity is never explicitly stated or alluded to; just that he's definitely not white) :

"I just don't want to get in trouble. This is a big risk for me."

Lyle snorts and looks like he's about to say something when Therese cuts in. "Do you think you're the one likeliest to 'get in trouble'? That of all of us, a white woman is the most persecuted in Classics?" She crooks her fingers as she levels a deathly state at me. "I mean, come on, Lacie."

This started out really promising to me! But then every named character of colour is treated like shit. Arjun, one of other assistant professors who happens to be favoured by the deans, was terrible from the get go; objectifying Marcella and belittling everyone else. Sure, there are BIPOC who'd choose proximity to whiteness as something to aim for and step on other BIPOC to get ahead, but I don't think that's something a white author has the nuance and authority to tackle. Still, one Bad Brown Person isn't necessarily a red flag... until the other BIPOC started getting the short end of stick too.

Therese ends up a campus murder victim, which itself isn't inherently problematic, until it becomes clear her death is to push Lyle into a more villainous role in the later part of the novel. Our sole woman of colour was killed to motivate a man into action. I didn't think I'd have Fridging on my bingo card, but here we are. Lyle's portrayal is the final nail in the White Feminism coffin, because he becomes so overcome with a desire to avenge Therese's murder that he ends up using & endangering the two white main characters. The story goes out its way to villainise a man of colour's grief over the injustice of his girlfriend's death that Marcella even says to him in the climax, "You're no different than they [the white deans in charge] are". She equates him to be on the same level as the White Men Ruining Everything.

Never mind that white women are the biggest beneficiaries of affirmative action over BIPOC, including admission into universities. Never mind that white women continue to be complicit in the suppression of BIPOC's rights. White women's tears have historically been dangerous to men of colour. Am I supposed to go Good For Her that our white protags triumphed over the Shitty Men of Colour, who are ~just as bad~ as the white men on top? Why bother acknowledging the racism in academia and Lacie's white privilege if you're going to disregard all that?

That really is the most disappointing aspect of this novel, when it really didn't have to go in that direction.

[tori]

Taylor Grothe said “you want toxic yuri? and horror? oh, and you love Jennifer’s Body?” and said HERE. And you know what? I ate it up (just like Marcella eats humans. She’s just a little hungry, and I support both women’s rights and wrongs).

My friend said “read this, you’ll love it,” so I did what any reasonable person would do and bumped it up my TBR. And I can confirm: I did, in fact, love it. It’s gay, and it also slays (literally), so really, what’s not to love?

Marcella is just so innately lovable. Is she a monster? Yes. A creature to be feared? Yes. But if monster, why hot and hilarious?

Something I loved so deeply about this book was the dichotomy between Marcella and our other FMC, Lacie. Lacie comes from a background rife with catholic guilt, complicating her relationship with her family and her sexuality - she fears loving a woman, and what the implications of that may be. Marcella, though having faced persecution for her sexuality in her own right, also fears BEING feared for what she truly is. This fear of loving and the fear of not bring able to BE loved created an incredible “push-and-pull” dynamic. Monster and human, both longing for acceptance and struggling with self-loathing - and really, are they so different after all?

Lacie is repressing her sexuality, and Marcella is repressing her hunger. The idea of “need” is so wonderfully explored here, how desire, when repressed, is all-consuming. What if, instead, one indulged, unapologetically and unabashed?

By the end, Lacie is tired of wanting, of being afraid. She wants to finally feel angry. And would it be wrong to be a little hungry?

[laurel [the suspected bibliophile]]

DNF'd at 32%

The writing style was pissing me off.

I received an ARC from NetGalley

[Rachael | ☾ whimsicalfiction ☾]

I already can’t wait until fall rolls around so I can reread LK with the perfect atmospheric ambiance!
This is for the lovers of unhinged queer sapphic rage, the monster lovers and the burnt out eldest daughters who were part of the gifted programs in school but feel like they’re teetering on the edge of the universe now.

[Beth | Bookwyrm.Beth]

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the gifted audiobook and Tor Nightfire for the gifted book!

✦ 𝐌𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 ✦
This was an untamed, tense dark academia horror that felt like the perfect mashup between Ninth House and Jennifer’s Body. The atmosphere was seductive, intense and cold, while leaning a little into the “slasher” subgenre of horror. The narrative was packed equally full of unsettling gore, institutional critique, and an intense sapphic romance.

I’m a big fan of dark academia settings, and I loved the way the author went about building this fictional university. The foundation of this story was less about dark, aesthetic architecture and more focused on a highly realistic, toxic microcosm of upper academia. This inspired images of tweed, clicking heels and forced-politeness within faculty meetings; all very surreal considering the paranormal elements.

I enjoyed the opposites-attract dynamic between Lacie and Marcella. Lacie was an anxious, timid assistant professor on the autism spectrum, while Marcella was an elegant, terrifying, genderfluid draugr/badass. Their connection was passionate and complex, exploring a compelling monster x human dynamic that doesn’t shy away from Marcella's terrifying, predatory nature. I enjoyed their transition from colleagues to allies to partners, but I did think that their lust came on a bit too quickly for me to find their deeper connection believable.

The mixed pacing of the narrative was a little difficult for me as well, as it bounces between slow burn mystery and intense, feral violence quite often. The transition between the two felt a bit jarring sometimes, and I think this was compounded by the otherwise elegant prose. That said, this was certainly a cathartic release of feminine rage. A lot of truly horrible men get ripped apart, and I did appreciate that.

I recommend this to horror readers looking for lots of feminine rage and a good, contemporary dark academia read for fall.

✦ 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀 ✦
This was a duel narration by Jaime Lamchick and Jennifer Pickens. Having two distinct narrators really made for a fun experience with this one, and I felt that each of the actresses did a fantastic job individualizing each character. Both brought exactly the right kind of energy to this tense story, leaning into the visceral horror moments and dialing it back for the tension-filled romance. This was a highly bingeable audiobook that I had a lot of fun listening to. I recommend picking this up on its own, or for a tandem read!

𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙧𝙚:
Sapphic Romance
Neurodivergent Representation
Academic Rivals to Lovers
Reluctant Allies to Lovers
Feminine Rage
Academic Burnout and Institutional Rot
Folklore in Modern Settings


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[inquillery]

Folklorists, academia, Norse, mythology, secret societies, sapphics, horror romance, this is everything to me

[christinac_reads]

"I'm drawn to her and I'm repulsed by her.”

Picture Scarlett Johansson from Under the Skin reimagined in a world of gritty, academic occultism with monsters you’ve only heard about in folk horror. This is a visceral, sapphic, tribute to ruthless, man-eating feminine rage and the crushing weight of academic burnout. I devoured this. Seriously, give me more please.

[Bec]

I loved the feminine rage! The gothic dark academia setting and haunting prose are beautifully done. I really enjoyed the murder mystery aspect and the detailed gore filled scenes.

The pacing was absolutely perfect. I read this pretty much non-stop and there never was a moment I was hoping for the plot to move along. The plot had a clear focus and I appreciate how it didn't feel like the author was just trying to add stuff for the sake of it.

I liked both of our characters, they had depth and I loved getting to see their growth and come closer. The romance was done nicely, the yearning is great.

[MJ]

Thank you netgalley for the free arc in exchange for an honest review 🌹

Lethal Kiss by Taylor Grothe is a monstrously seductive, deeply haunting, and romantic new adult horror novel. Our main characters are professors in the classics department. Marcella, the draugr disguised as a human, has the goal of feeding and not getting caught. And then there’s Lacie, the achingly human and autistic woman who fears nothing more than losing her job. And they just became coworkers, competing for tenure. Amidst a dark academia setting, where misogynistic, old white men take charge—something is wrong. Catastrophically so when fellow professors drop dead.

This book is terrifying, jaw-droppingly gorgeous, and incredibly bewitching. The prose and pacing are magnificent. I highlighted approximately 50% of the book, and I cannot wait to get my hands on a physical copy.

While horror is the primary focus of this book, the romance between Lacie and Marcella captured my heart and soul. There is a sinful amount of yearning between the two women. Their romance is driven by lust at first, but it blossoms into something greater. They are the epitome of being truly seen, facades stripped away, and loved regardless. A love based on innate understanding, forgiveness, and adoration despite it all.

“I know how it feels to truly believe that you’re a horrifying, disgusting monster. But you’re no more monster than I am.”

And please don’t misunderstand me, the horror is equally beautiful. Grotesque, gory, and an all-around blood bath, Grothe does not cut corners when it comes to horror. Bloodshed and murder are plentiful in this novel.

I highly recommend this book to the following people:
- Anyone who enjoys rivals to lovers
- Sapphics who grapple with the age-old question, “Do I want to be her or do I want to be with her?”
- Anyone who has religious trauma.
- Fans of Jennifer’s Body.
- Misandrists.

[fatedhearts_lorilee]

“The easiest way to kill a man is by pinching the delicate skin of his throat with your teeth and shucking the tissue like an oyster’s shell.”

When this is how the book starts, you know you’re in for a good time. This was such a fun ride — the murder mystery, the horror, the dark academia, the romance — it was so well done.

“He’s discounted me, and I am all immolation.” This sentence gave me chills. I love it so much. It’s one of those lines that just resonated and I want to paint it on my wall so I can see it all the time.

There is so much of Lacie’s journey that resonated with me. The insecurity, the constant striving to do your best and prove yourself to those higher up, the knowledge that you’re smart but maybe it isn’t enough? And then when Marcella snaps at her. Ugh. I felt that so viscerally. I have felt paralyzed by the fear of not wanting to get in trouble, and it’s stopped me from speaking up even when I really wanted to. It’s something I’ve been working on a lot, so this definitely struck a chord.

I loved how much we got into the action at the end. It was exciting and tense and I was living for it.

Also, shoutout to Bellatrix. I always love a cat companion! Also, the settee from the House of Lords next to the IKEA accent chairs had me giggling.

And now, a few more of my favourite quotes with no context, just because I love them so much:

I’ve always been a hoarder of knowledge. I want to read everything. All of it.

She is beautiful. She is terrible.

I understand the weight of things lost. Everything, even that which feels most permanent, is devoured by the hunger of time. Yes, everything decays. Even me.

Thank you to Taylor Grothe and their street team, as well as Tor Nightfire for the e-arc!

4.5🌟 rounded up for Goodreads

[Jae Alistar]

The Rage Beneath, the Monster Within, the Hunger Unleashed

Lethal Kiss is a deliciously vicious mix of supernatural horror, feminine rage, and slow-burning desire. Between gruesome killings, monsters hiding in plain sight, and the very real horrors of patriarchy and toxic masculinity, we are pulled deeper into a world we could only imagine in our nightmares. Taylor Grothe builds a dark, sinister story where vengeance, hunger, and desire are constantly fighting for control. The deeper we get into the truth, the harder it becomes to tell where the monsters end and the real horrors begin.

Marcella is a centuries-old draugr who has spent a long time perfecting the art of staying unnoticed, keeping her distance, and never letting herself be burned by love again. Then Lacie comes along. Protective to a fault, Marcella is constantly fighting her own instincts as the monster inside her grows harder to contain, especially when protecting Lacie means risking exposure. Lacie starts out as a timid, self-conscious scholar surrounded by men who consistently underestimate her, but her intelligence and determination quickly turn into something much fiercer. Watching her become bolder as she faces everything hiding beneath the surface is so thrilling, especially as she realizes she has far more strength than she ever gave herself credit for.

The pull between these two is immediate, but the burn is deliciously slow. They are both protective in completely different ways, with Lacie determined to keep Marcella from being discovered and Marcella determined to keep Lacie safe from everyone around her—including herself. When that tension finally breaks, it explodes. Their intimacy carries so much trust beneath the desire, especially as Marcella has to believe Lacie won't run from what she is while fighting the hunger inside her not to consume the woman she's falling for. That vulnerability makes their growing trust feel almost as dangerous as the desire between them, with every step closer becoming another chance to lose control. Their relationship teeters between hunger and destruction, because trusting each other means trusting the monster, too.

A series of gruesome killings quickly pulls Lacie into a supernatural world and exposes something deeply wrong on campus. As Lacie and Marcella work together to uncover who (or what) is behind the killings and clear their own names, the danger keeps escalating, eventually revealing a hoard of monstrous vættir hiding in plain sight and forcing Lacie to confront a world of monsters she never knew existed. The twists keep the danger moving while the story digs into the very human horrors of patriarchy, toxic masculinity, and the pressure placed on women to stay quiet, agreeable, and controlled. The gore and body horror are absolutely relentless. Grothe makes every murder horribly visceral, with descriptions so vivid that I could see every pulsing gash, smell every bit of putrid rot, and hear every squelch and crunch. There were multiple moments that made my entire body recoil, and I loved every graphic second of it.

Jennifer Pickens and Jaime Lamchick bring these women to life with incredibly distinct voices. Pickens' low, gritty delivery is perfect for Marcella, especially when she shifts between the woman fighting for control and the monster clawing its way to the surface. Those transitions were horrifying in all the best ways. Lamchick gives Lacie exactly the right balance of shy uncertainty and growing fierceness, taking her from quietly yearning one moment to barely hanging on the next. Together, they make every shift in fear, desire, rage, and vulnerability feel immediate.

Lethal Kiss turns feminine rage into something ancient, feral, and impossible to contain. When women are constantly told to be quieter, smaller, and easier to dismiss, there comes a point where the monster inside stops being something to control—and starts becoming the thing that fights back. By the end, the monster isn't the thing to fear. It's what happens when a woman has been pushed too far and finally stops apologizing for the rage that made her dangerous—and lets that rage become the thing that protects her.

Thank you to NetGalley, Tor Publishing Group, and Macmillan Audio for the chance to read this ARC/ALC!!!

Favorite Quotes:
"Men in academia are unable to comprehend a woman with an opinion and confidence.”

“Everyone knows that being wrong and loud always wins over quiet and right.”

“I am impressed by you. I thought you were a little lamb, but we’ll make a lioness of you yet.”

“She’s starting to smile. I’m surprised how good it feels to see her brightening.”

“She wants justice. I need safety. Neither of us will survive this without the other… I watch her slotting everything together in her brain, and I wonder where I sit inside there.”

“Isn’t that just the way? Women are expected to hide their feelings behind impassible, suffocating walls spun from silk and smiles."

"I’m so tired of caring. So tired of the goals I’ve had always changing and the standards always raising. I’m so tired of being lied to, of being told I’m good enough as I am only to find out that there’s a never-ending climb to understand the next playing field. I’m so incredibly tired of doing it all with a perfect smile pinned to my face, no matter how much I have to sacrifice to simply hang on.”

“She’s immolation, her touch scraping jagged holes in all the walls I’ve put up.”

“The problem of being alive this long boils down to this: everything decays. All the things you think you care about, the things you think you love, the things you absolutely hate, they decay. The sick thing about memory is you don’t get to choose which. Time does that for you.”

“I am terrified to lose you. You’re good and gentle and beneath that you are a full flame. I want to make you burn.”

“They may know who I am, but they know not what it means to tangle with me.”

“I am not alive. But I am angry. And I am hungry.”

“This is exactly who she is. World-ending, perfect, rageful. Fear the death you have wrought, for it has returned to you. ...I would bleed for her forever."

[Taylor Reads Chaos]

This book is absolutely INTOXICATING. This is one of those books where once you start reading, you won’t be able to stop.

📖 The Plot:

Marcella ate one too many colleagues at her old job, so now she’s moving on to teach at Preston University. Her plan is to lay low, learn a little more, and only snack on a few fellow professors here and there. Very reasonable goals for a fresh start.

But everything goes to hell in a handbasket when Lacey, another assistant professor at Preston and one of the only other women there, turns to Marcella after discovering the horribly mutilated body of her friend. When the police write off the death as a suicide, Marcella and Lacey decide to take matters into their own hands and investigate who the real killer is.

As it turns out, Marcella isn’t the only monster on campus. And while Marcella and Lacey are trying to figure out what’s lurking beneath the floors of Preston, they also find themselves slowly being drawn to each other. Now they have to navigate misogynistic professors and vicious monsters trying to hunt them down, all while falling deeper for each other.

💭 My Thoughts:

This book is so dark, sultry, and BLOODY. The plot was absolutely addicting. Every twist kept me on the edge of my seat, and I was completely enthralled by the storyline.

The monsters in this book were also so unique! I don’t know much about Nordic folklore or the creatures that come from it, so I absolutely loved getting to read about something I wasn’t familiar with. The way Taylor Grothe wove these creatures into the story was fascinating, and I loved how monstrous everything could get.

The misogyny throughout this book was so persistent and disgusting. The whole boys’ club mentality at Preston made my blood boil, especially because so much of it felt uncomfortably real. I loved watching Lacey slowly find her voice and grow into herself throughout the story. She starts off so meek and unsure of herself, and seeing her transformation as everything unfolded was incredibly satisfying.

But what really made this book for me was how incredibly well written both FMCs were. They were such complicated, flawed characters, and their relationship was absolutely intoxicating.

Lacey carries so much religious and family trauma surrounding her sexuality that she’s terrified to let herself love someone. On the other hand, Marcella has her own trauma tied to her sexuality, but she’s even more afraid that she’s fundamentally unlovable because of what she is.

The way these two women both desperately wanted to be loved while simultaneously being terrified of it was just SO GOOD. Their relationship was filled with so much yearning, vulnerability, obsession, and desire. The push and pull between them was absolutely tantalizing and deliciously toxic, and I loved every single moment of it. They were both such a mess in completely different ways, and somehow that made their connection even more compelling.

I was completely obsessed with the way their relationship developed alongside the mystery. The tension just kept building, and between the body horror, the emotional turmoil, and the absolutely insane chemistry, I could not get enough.

UGHHHH. I genuinely feel like I could talk about this book forever. It was dark, messy, sensual, horrifying, and everything I wanted it to be. Just trust me and go read it yourself!

🎧 The Audiobook:

I also HIGHLY recommend listening to the audiobook for this one. The narration was phenomenal, and Marcella’s voice in particular was just WOW. The way the narrator voices her feeding scenes is on another level entirely. There was something so deeply unsettling and simultaneously sensual about the way those scenes were performed. I was both horrified and absolutely transfixed.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for a copy of this audiobook via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

[LZDubbs_reads]

Thank you NetGalley, Tor Nightfire, and Taylor Grothe for the ARC! I'm voluntarily leaving a review, and all thoughts are my own. The fact that I have a physical ARC from the author and an eARC from Netgalley has in no way, shape, or form influenced this review.

4.75 out of 5 stars!

Lethal Kiss is a delightfully bloody romp of story! The main characters are Marcella, a draugr, and Lacie, an assistant professor trying her best. After Marcella is let go from University of Seattle, she is sent to Preston University, where they have a very competitive and unorthodox program for their professors. Meanwhile, Lacie realizes that her work friend, Laurel, has gone missing. Additionally, she is struggling to keep up with the program. While Marcella plans on enjoying herself, achieving tenure, and maybe feeding on a few of her colleagues, she and Lacie are drawn together when they find a murdered body! One in which Marcella was NOT the one responsible.

This story is fun, phenomenal, dark, gory, and campy at the same time! I like the presence of Norse mythology in this story, as it's not a mythology I'm familiar with. I really love the author's usage of these Nordic monsters, especially Marcella. As others have said, there are quite a few comparisons with this story to the movie Jennifer's body! The biggest comparison by far is the killing of boys by a supernatural femme entity. I really enjoyed the fleshing out of the fictional Preston University. While the University is undeniably a high-tier one, there are signs of an underlying rot. Even with this rot, our main characters Marcella and Lacie are still up to the task of solving a mystery and finding justice.

Speaking of the main characters, Marcella and Lacie are wonderful characters who complement each other immensely. Marcella is an icon, and I love her confidence in herself. While some of her confidence is a front, I love that she is sure of herself and decisive in her actions. She also has a secret, softer side that she'll rarely let anyone see. While I don't know if she explicitly has migraines, I wonder if those with chronic migraines can see themselves in her. I love the fact that Marcella is genderfluid, as this is my first time reading a book with a genderfluid MC. I most like that Marcella is able to ultimately be true to herself no matter the cost.

As for Lacie, she is seemingly the opposite of Marcella. She is anxious, autistic, and heavily lacks confidence in herself. She also is reliant on her job, and she is constantly stressed out by the frankly unfair job requirements foisted upon her. However, Lacie has a hidden strength and rage inside herself. Lacie is a very, very resilient person, as I feel like most people, including myself, would either buckle under the pressure and/or quit. Depictions of her autism and anxiety made me feel seen, as someone with both of these diagnoses. I'm sincerely grateful to the author for this representation. While autism and anxiety can be debilitating, those of us who have both have hidden strengths and deserve compassion. In Lacie's case, her knowledge of Norse mythology is invaluable to the investigation, and a little bit of nurturing helps her flourish.

The chemistry between Marcella and Lacie is evident in their first meeting. While the two are initially rivals, their circumstances allow each to find hidden strength and vulnerabilities in the other party. The two do not get along at first, but they learn to give grace to each other and meet each other halfway. I love the fact that it takes time for the characters to warm up to each other. The relationship occurs within two weeks, yet the high-stakes circumstances have a way of making the speed of this relationship feel realistic to me. I'm always a sucker for two characters who see each other, and Marcella and Lacie's relationship is one of my new favorite sapphic ships!

Sociopolitical commentary, specifically critiques about the academic system, are heavily prevalent in this story. While Preston University doesn't exist in real life, the competition of achieving tenure is something I've heard about from my time working in an academic research lab. This competition of achieving tenure is heavily touted by the dean himself. Professors can find themselves heavily favored or set up to fail, with some professors even disappearing. The Classics department is also heavily racist and sexist, with women of color like Therese being looked down upon. The professors openly leer at women and feminine-aligned professors, something that Marcella and Lacie both unfairly put up with.

I have a few nitpicks that keep this book from fully being a 5 star read. A part of me wishes that there were pronunciation guides to the Nordic terms, as I had trouble figuring out how to pronounce these words. I also personally had a bit of an issue with the arc of a side character, Lyle. I'm not entirely sure what his arc accomplished, and I wasn't really satisfied with the way things worked out for him. Even with these nitpicks, I still had a fantastic time with this story!

Lethal Kiss is the perfect read for fall! This story is both for horror fans and romance fans. There's action, tension, suspense, romance, and even some spice. I find the unconventional ending for Marcella and Lacie to be a fulfilling. I even like what I believe is the intentional omission of Marcella and Lacie's last names. This almost signals to me that their first names are what defines them, not their surnames. Lastly, there is an adorable cat named Bellatrix, not named after that one character in that one franchise. Rest assured that Bellatrix remains safe and unharmed.

[kienn]

sapphic dark academia with blood and rage and revenge.... YES!!! thank you for the arc!

**I will reread to compare to the final finished version!**

The easiest way to kill a man is by pinching the delicate skin of his throat with your teeth and shucking the tissue like an oyster's shell...
What an opening.

it's sapphic, bloody, and campy.... Jennifer's Body! and i did not enjoy it

I'm sorry... i wanted to love this.. but when it comes to my tastes, camp is very hard to get right

Unfortunately the style wasnt my cup of tea. the camp!
Marcella, Very vain, on brand for what she is, monstrous, falls in line with the competitive aspect... Lacie, awkward, autistic... they had an interesting dynamic, and i loved how Marcella's character developed further into the narrative... though sometimes their POVs blurred with more Marcella type qualities bleeding into Lacie's pov
when it comes to academia i want brains... not social charisma/manipulation... unfortunately there was alot of that, navigating a male dominated academic setting.... weighed down by bureaucracy and syllabi and teaching classes... i wouldve loved more academia focus. the small bits doing research i absolutely LOVED.
while there is some catfighting at the beginning, i do love the parts with girls uplifting girls. the romance didnt work for me, i felt there was too much focus on aesthetics than chemistry. there is a spicy scene. the gender nonconformity was nice.
the camp. there are some comically evil characters in the old white men sort of way. the writing is simple and easy, but it doesnt work for me. outright mentioning "catholic guilt" deprecates the concept.. i think i just prefer more subtlety. but it absolutely achieves all that is bloody and camp!

things i didn't like:

i know the author is against hp, but i didn't like the implied mention of hp so much... naming the cat one thing and saying the name isnt derived from that one character- why remind us of such a harmful franchise to begin with? why not just change the name?
i felt this book had poor BIPOC rep? skin color is scarcely mentioned (outside of the blanket "old white men" statements, and "pale" which is too vague... there is no intention written around race despite it wanting to be a critique of eurocentrism), and when it was- Arjun is a brown man described with "deep skin"... but portrayed as predatory along with the white men. and Therese is directly observed to be Korean, but is killed off. The thing is, I dont know if Lyle, Lyle Jackson, is BIPOC. A line (in an awkward check your privileges moment) insinuated Lacie had privileges as a white woman compared to "Lyle and Therese" and they called him "the diversity vote" so i assume that's implied But we don't have much to go on regarding Lyle's background. no mention of his appearance, not even in his missing persons alert. did they even mention what he's studying?? especially strange when he states that our mcs are part of the system... while being propped up as a villain.... while he's getting revenge on the system ((manipulating Marcella, i know) ... seeing the end to his arc... unless i missed something. It's just hard to get with the "old white men bad" when the BIPOC rep is lacking
lacie is autistic and i appreciate autistic rep! but. honestly some of the social cues and focus on social dynamics in this book completely confused me. characters dropping the ball. emotions not making sense

im assuming i received an unedited draft because there were typos. so i do hope these issues are resolved in the final version!

😈 monstrous women
🩸 feminine rage
💃 campy bloody horror
🔪 revenge
♥️ sapphic desire

new word i learned: carrel. a type of desk

[BoetBooks]

"I thought you were a little lamb, but we'll make a lioness of you yet."

If you love vampires but are looking for a different twist, this has a unique monster I hadn't experienced before. Trying to contain the monster inside is always a win for me, too!

The beginning took a while to pull me in, but the second half really picked up the action and the stakes. Who knew academia could be so deadly?

It's been a while since I've read a gruesome horror, this is not for those with a weak stomach - or those fond of old white privileged men.

"Come now, Lacie. The rules don't exist. These men made them up."

This ending was a wild ride, and I was there for it. A few things you will find are:

🩸Norse mythology monsters
🩸Dark Academia
🩸Feminine rage
🩸Murder mystery
🩸Gore galore

Special thanks to TorNightFire, for the advanced copy!

[Luke Lucas]

Oh how I love a tale full of misogynistic men getting their comeuppance ✨
Lethal Kiss is a wonderful blend of gory, sapphic, folkore, dark academia setting, and Jennifer’s Body vibes and I lapped it up.
Not your typical monster romance (Marcella isn’t a monster in my eyes🥹) and such a refreshing spin on the genre.
Murder mysteries and secret societies in academic settings are so good and Lethal Kiss hits the mark.
Marcella is an absolute babe, her personality was the standout in this for me, she gave me all of those Sabine vibes from Bury Our Bones that I have been missing.
Somehow mixing that little bit of desire and tension with a bit of humour and wit works really well with the likes of the gory body horror throughout, top marks 🙌🏻

[Breathe.dont.panic]

Lethal Kiss is deliciously the kind of book that doesn’t let you go, it dug itself into me and is still buzzing under my skin long after I read it. The eerie undertones left the perfect setting I was craving and I ate this up in one sitting.

The tension, the yearning, the way the relationship burns - I couldn’t get enough.

And let me just say Marcella? I can’t decide if I want to never meet her in a dark alley or follow her to one.

[justine ⊹ ࣪ ˖ (back-ish?)]

Jennifer's Body meets Ninth House??? I AM SEATED.

[Caroline]

3.75/5

Lethal Kiss is a really interesting read, because I would say it leans more romance than horror... but only by a hair. In some ways, the horror is honestly the more interesting part—not because the romance is poor, but because the horror is so very interesting. You don't see a monster like Marcella depicting very often in current literature, and I honestly could've stood to learn even more about her. In many ways, she does take center stage, and the romance reader in me is glad we had Lacie's POV—while the general reader wanted more and more of Marcella.

What Grothe does really well here is build an atmosphere. As soon as the book began, I was drawn in by Marcella and the mysterious academic setting. I've had a lot of misses with "dark academia" books, and I think a lot of that is because they've centered largely on the students, which just isn't for me. The cutthroat rivalry between professors—including Marcella and Lacie—in this novel really got my mind buzzing. It added a sense of the sinister—with a heavy dose of anxiety—even when the literal monsters weren't eating people.

The prose is really pretty, and as Marcella lures Lacie into her web, it's easy to see why Lacie would succumb. This is enhanced by fabulous narration from Jaime Lamchick and Jennifer Pickens. Their tones are so at odds that it creates a really strong line between the two characters, creating a "chemistry" even when they aren't actually "in the room together", as it were. There's a pervasive seductiveness throughout the book, and it creates a sense of a shiver throughout.

While I really enjoyed this, I do have a couple of bones to pick. For one, the pacing was a bit of hurry up and wait. You get some automatic tension and fear injected into the novel with murder and gore, and then... it takes a while for that go anywhere. Lacie and Marcella are drawn to each other, then it takes a while for them to get more emotionally honest, and then boom, love! The relationship progression wasn't a huge issue for me, as the book has a feverish, hazy quality throughout. But it was a bit jarring, and the ending of the novel felt rather rushed. There was one sequence in general that felt so rich, and I wish we'd sat in it longer. In general, I wish Lacie had more time to really explore Marcella's world.

The other issue was the treatment of people of color in the novel. I doubt this was intentional, but parts of the book slipped into a zone I sometimes see with feminist horror (or fiction in general). One character, Arjun, didn't really get a fair shake, and there was a carelessness with which how he was written. Yeah, he's a man. But he's also one of the few people of color in the book, and the ultimate patriarchy of academia (which the book is critiquing) is vastly white. It felt odd to me that he would be so representative of a negative system that doesn't put people of color first. The nuance there was lost, and while it didn't ruin the book for me, it did take away from what I otherwise thought was a very compelling, strong story.

That said, I would love to read more in this world, and if Grothe has another round in the proverbial chamber for creepy, sexy body horror and passion, I'm so down. I really enjoyed the way physical intimacy was handled as well. There isn't a strap... But there's something that perfectly fits the book in a way that made me SUPER happy.

While not perfect, Lethal Kiss is well worth the read... and in many ways, hypnotic. If it sounds right for you, I definitely recommend the audiobook in particular.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio for giving me a copy of this book via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Nicole Marie]

Oh this was DELICIOUSLY unhinged. Lethal Kiss gave me exactly what I want from sapphic horror romance: women behaving badly, monsters, blood, rage, yearning, and a romance that absolutely does not require anyone to become less monstrous to deserve love.

Marcella immediately had me because I love a woman who knows she’s a monster and is simply trying to mind her business about it. Pairing her with Lacie, who is fighting her own battle in the absolute nightmare that is academia, worked so well. Their chemistry had teeth, literally and figuratively, and I loved watching their relationship develop alongside the increasingly gruesome mystery at Preston University.

But what really got me was how much heart existed underneath all the gore. This is absolutely grotesque and bloody, but it’s also about belonging, loneliness, rage, and finding someone who sees every ugly, hungry piece of you and wants you anyway. There was something strangely tender about it all that made the horror hit even harder.

Sexy, bloody, queer, weird, romantic, and wonderfully gross. Taylor Grothe understood the assignment. I had an absolute blast with this one.

[Marisa (marisalynnreads)]

A huge thank you to @macmillan.audio and @tornightfire for the #gifted ARC and ALC.

"𝘕𝘰, 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘜𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘦."

Dark, sexy, and blood soaked.

Lethal Kiss is a sapphic, horror romance that follows two academia professors as they investigate campus murders. It's a story about rage, revenge, and belonging.

HOW IS THIS TAYLORS ADULT DEBUT?! WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL?! The tension written in these pages is unmatched, Marcella and Lacies relationship was everything I needed in my life.

🎧 Jennifer has become one of my favorite narrators over the past year, so I was really excited to see she was one of the narrators. This was my first narration experience with Jaime, and it definitely will not be my last, they matched Jennifer's energy perfectly.

If you're a fan of Jennifer's Body, you will LOVE this.

[Maggie (EvermoreBooklore)]

This was the perfect sapphic dark academia mixed with body horror and bloodthirsty folklore. I had heard amazing things about this book before going in and I am SO glad I requested an advanced listening copy because this was the perfect moody weekend listen.

I will absolutely be coming back to this author for more! I just loved Marcella and Lacie soooo much. The tension, the suspense, the gore & violence and yet tender moments of it all were just so good. I was completely obsessed!

The narrators did a SPLENDID job. The book itself is already fantastic, but Jaime Lamchick and Jennifer Pickens absolutely added to my obsession. They brought these characters to life so perfectly and I genuinely could not get enough of listening to them!

[Corinne’s Chapter Chatter]

I really wanted to love this one. I absolutely loved Hollow, so when I saw Taylor George was making her adult horror debut, I was excited to see what she would do with it. Unfortunately, this one just didn’t quite work for me.

I gave it 3 stars, and a big part of that is because I really enjoyed the audiobook narration from Jaime Lamchick and Jennifer Pickens. I received the ALC from Macmillan Audio via NetGalley, which allowed me to read ahead of publication.

My biggest issue was that I just couldn’t connect with the characters. I was bored for a good portion of the book, and overall, it just felt like too much. It is VERY campy, and normally I am absolutely here for camp, but something about the way it was done just didn’t work for me. It never quite hit the right tone, so instead of being fun and over-the-top, it often left me feeling disconnected.

I did really appreciate the queer and autistic representation. Unfortunately, I felt like the BIPOC representation missed the mark for me, which was disappointing.

The atmosphere and setting were probably my favorite parts because there was definitely a vibe here that I liked. The problem was the pacing. It was so uneven that I felt like I was getting whiplash between the slower sections and everything suddenly kicking into high gear. And then there were things, particularly when it came to academia, that just didn’t make sense to me and pulled me out of the story even more.

So, unfortunately, this ended up being a very middle-of-the-road read for me. There were definitely things I liked, especially the atmosphere, representation in some areas, and the audiobook narrators, but I never found myself fully invested in the story or the characters.

I still absolutely want to see what Taylor George does next because Hollow worked so well for me. This one just wasn’t my particular brand of campy horror.

[Caitlin Stucky]

Lethal Kiss: Taylor Grothe
Narrators: Jaime Lamchick & Jennifer Pickens
Pub date: 10/20


This was dark academia mixed with folklore and body horror in the best way! I was engrossed by Marcella as much as Lacie and this story had so much mystery that kept me interested! The narration by Jaime and Jennifer was perfect!
Thank you @macmillan.audio & @tornightfire for the gifted arc!

[Jessica]

There's nothing more to say other than this audiobook was PERFECT! The characters, the narrators, the descriptions... all left me hungry hungry hungry (iykyk). This was an EXPERIENCE that you need to try for yourself. Chef's kiss!

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for this advanced listener's copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own and my review is left voluntarily.