Something Wicked

Damn, when Lily Morton goes dark, she GOES DARK. I've stopped reading her contemporary M/M romance novels because they all started to sound the same - snarky banter, oblivious MCs whose friends know they are perfect for each other, and lots of explicit sex. I have enjoyed her Black and Blue series, however, as the addition of a paranormal element greatly enriches Morton's typical plot. The first two books of the series ([b:The Mysterious and Amazing Blue Billings 48752448 The Mysterious and Amazing Blue Billings (Black and Blue #1) Lily Morton https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1573478187l/48752448.SY75.jpg 74054330] and [b:The Quiet House 57437366 The Quiet House (Black and Blue #2) Lily Morton https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1615946338l/57437366.SY75.jpg 89928708]) featured plenty of chills and thrills, but they were mostly of a supernatural nature. This time, however, Blue and Levi are facing a live serial killer with a gruesome M.O. The juxtaposition of Blue's gory visions of the victims being tortured with a chapter-long bout of adventurous sex between the MCs gave me a creepy feeling; the body count was just too high to enjoy the sex toy that Blue brought back from his latest trip. What really worked for me, however, was the relationship between Blue and Levi. No longer troubled by petty jealousies or unnecessary self-deprecation, the bond between them grows even stronger when Levi realizes that, despite his lack of psychic powers, he has a unique role to play when Blue is in the spirit world. And it's a minor plot point, but it's nice to see Levi's career as a cartoonist taking off. The book's ending could serve as a perfect conclusion to the series, but if it's not, I hope Morton returns to the mysteries of the spirit world, instead of more examples of humans being evil.