Delicate Poison

by Melissa K. Morgan

In a life where loyalty is proven in blood, love is the deadliest betrayal.

Shadow and Slayer find comfort in the stillness of a midnight cemetery together. Anonymous to each other for self-preservation, they form a bond through scars and a brittle faith that there’s life beyond the violence that shaped them.
A decade later, fate drags Evander and Maryn back into each other’s lives. Now, they stand on opposite sides of an underground war.
She’s a weapon. He’s her target.
Each heartbeat thumps closer to treason. Each touch threatens to collapse the world that holds them captive.
Can they escape unscathed or will their connection lead them to the ultimate sentence.

Published April 27, 2026

About the author

Melissa K. Morgan is a self proclaimed book nerd that lives in the Pacific Northwest with her incredible husband and two spirited children. She has been self publishing for over ten years. When she's not writing romance novels, she likes to date her husband, binge read books, attempt to bake, and watch documentaries. Her guilty pleasures are peanut butter cups, wine, over the top reality television, and a good anti-hero. If you're looking for stories filled with unique characters, steamy romance, and plots with a twist, check her out!

Reviews

[Mariah Fields · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved every single minute of this book. I was on the edge of my seat waiting for what was coming next. Both characters are on the dark side for sure. I mean the whole dental floss incident, 10/10.

They also go through so much trauma and it hurts your soul to watch it play out, but it gives a deeper understanding of why the character are the way they are and why they make the choices they do.

The characters had such an intense connection through the whole story, even when they hated each other. That intensity between the FMC and MMC make the spicy scenes that much spicer.

IT WAS SO GOOD! You need to read it, for sure.


Thank you for giving me a chance to be an ARC reader ✨ I received a complementary copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving my honest review.

[Melissa Willis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Evander and Maryn's story

Wow!!!!!! This book is an absolute must read!!!!! You pulled me in with the prologue, then hit me with an absolute freaking twist, then topped it with another twist, in the first freaking chapter!!!!! Then you throw in amazing back and forth banter, cute nicknames for each other, an “agreement” of marriage, and Evander gets upset and hands Maryn a loaded weapon to just do the job if she wants to so bad and then walks off to get a shower. All before Chapter 7!!!! I screamed, I cried, I pounded my thighs in shock. Evander and Maryn’s fathers dragging them into their world and being absolute monsters really hit home with me. Both of their fathers wanting them gone really hurt my soul. Evander saving Maryn when she was kidnapped by the man who attacked her in the hospital, that entire scene ripped me apart. Then Evander says “There is nothing I won’t do for you. I’ll kill for you. I’ll lie for you. I’ll die for you.”, oh man, I thought I melted before, but that line really made me into a puddle. Evander giving Maryn the power to take back her pain from her attacker, beautiful! This book had me on the end of my seat, pulled at my heart strings, ripped my heart out and stomped on it, then put it back in my chest surrounded by a comfy cozy blanket of love! Unhinged I know! I absolutely loved it!!!! I want more!!!!

[Alyssa Stringer · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a world where there is a shadow and a slayer everything is as it’s meant. The way this story is written absolutely plunges you in. My heart raced at the moments of suspense, my eyes cried at the moments of sadness, and my joy jumped at the moments of ecstasy these characters shared. It elicits those giddy feelings. Touch her and die, touched her and also die. The absolute feral beginning of this story too. Everything was just so well written and I really just did not want to put the book down. This book had a somewhat healing quality in showing that your trauma, your pasts, others perspectives of you don’t define you. While maintaining the dark romance that makes us dark lovers squirm with lust. Please pick this beauty up for your next read!

[Monica Holloway · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delicate Poison

I couldn’t wait the release of this one!! I had seen some TikTok videos describing it. I was a goner. There are just some of those books that you see a few words of. It just grabs you and tells you need to read it and get the full story. This book is one of those.

A little more on the dark side with so much suspense. A big page turner that you can’t stop reading till the end. Be sure to grab this one!! You won’t regret it!!!!!

[valerieamanda09 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book will have you invested in all of the characters. Once I started reading, I did not want the book to end. I loved all of the characters. I finished this a few nights ago. It was amazingly awesome to read. This book was everything that I was hoping it would be. You know you have found a fantastic author when they can make you feel what the characters are feeling in the moment. I can't wait to read what in store for us readers 😁

[Melissa Morgan]

Delicate Poison is available now!

[Meg · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I love a dark romance, Delicate Poison by Melissa K. Morgan was middle of the road for me.

The dark elements of the story were very dark and TWs should absolutely be read before jumping into this one.

The feminine rage that we get from our FMC, Maryn, is absolutely palpable. The amount of shit that she has had to go through in her life is astounding, and the fact that she doesn't burn it all to the ground immediately is a testament to the strength that she has.

However, her relationship with the MMC, Evander, is a little bit strange, in my opinion. Maybe it was just because I don't particularly like or jive with Evander that made the difference. There was just something about him that I could not get past.

Evander is supposed to be a big bad wolf that intimidates everybody that he comes across but when he's a cinnamon roll MMC for her. However, the bug bad wolf side just felt forced. I wish he had more of a backbone for most of story instead of small glimpses here and there.

Towards the end, it got repetitive and we were just stuck in limbo for a while and I think that might have been what just turned me off from it.

If you have read the trigger warnings and they don't bother you then I would give this book a try, just for the dark romance element of it. It wasn't bad. It just didn't quite hit for me.





Thank you to Melissa K. Morgan for the ARC. My review is my own, shaped by the story and shared of my own accord.

[Marissa Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

You guuuyysss!!! This
was such a great read! Strong
FMC Maryn and MMC
Evander. Star Crossed Lovers,
her from a corrupt political
family, him the son of The most
ruthless crime lord (he’s aweful)
By chance establish a relationship
in their late teens only to become
ememies years later. Fighting
through their own traumas that
come along from their lives as
fighting to get back to each other!
The plot is intense, fierce,
heartbreaking and mending.
The SPICE had my jaw on the
floor! I mean I definitely was left
questioning some things about my
self and I’m 100% okay with that!
The reason I did not give 5 stars was
because i feel some parts were a little
rushed in my opinion, but over all i 100%
Recommend and hope you enjoy it as much as i did!

[Jilly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a good dark romance and this book delivered! Once I started I couldn't stop reading it.

Slayer & Shadow 🖤

The journey to their happiness was littered with trauma, loss and heartache. There were many twists and reveals that filled in gaps and made you want to reach into the story and pluck out the character and give them your own brand of retribution...at least they made me want to.

✨Tropes✨
Star-crossed lovers
Touch her and die
Forced Proximity
Revenge Plot
Morally Grey

Check the trigger warnings but if you're like me - those are just shopping lists and make you want to dive into a book that much more!

This is one of those books that pulls you in and doesn't release you even after it's over.

[TabbyCat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given the opportunity to receive this book as an ARC. I am leaving this review because I want to. This story starts off strong with the characters that are in it and not only that but the way things go from the beginning to the end kept me on my toes. I didn’t know what to even expect at each and every turn. I love the dynamic between Maryn and Evander. I love the way that the story starts off talking about the main characters as teens and then ends with them together and in love with one another. There were even points where I could feel the emotion from the characters, like the sorrow and also a little bit of the happiness that was also there at some points. The storyline was great and made it hard for me to put the book down.

[Destiny Gibson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book. This is the only ARC I’ve read have read that has copyrights all through the book. I found it very distasteful also took away from the story. It’s a bland slow burn mafia read. I don’t like books that have an asshole as the main character or hurts the female out of anger. I forced myself to finish it honestly.

[Krista Hancock · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished the arc read omg amazing. It broke me and put me back together. Just wow! I don’t want to give any spoilers cause it releases April 27th. Thank you so much for picking me to arc read. I appreciate it. I love this book!

[Bridget Klingele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just finished this book and I have to say it kept me guessing the entire time. I kept wondering who is going to backstab who and what was going to happen. I love when a book can do that to me.

This was a good book with great writing. I thought the FMC was written very well and was so strong for all she had been through. I would say to check you TW because there are definitely some delicate subjects in this book. I love how the title was placed in the book several times what it was a reference to in this book (I would have never thought of that!) and those were my quotes I want to remember.

This is definitely a book I would recommend you read. Thank you for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Meagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ugh. I’m having trouble finding the words to describe how much I fell in love with these two characters and their story. 10/10, would happily read this book again.