What a great story! The fantasy and whimsical writing was the right balance. I love that we got a fairytale vibe mixed with lore. It was fast paced, I read it in one sitting. Just beautiful! Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC, it was a pleasure to read this novel.

3.5/5

I must admit it took me a while to fully get into this book, since the true action of the story doesn't start until around the halfway mark. The beginning felt a bit overexplanatory, which made some passages longer than I would have liked. However, as soon as the action started, the book became so fun and engaging: the characters were so likeable, and I found the romance to be very natural and not forced (which often happens in YA novels).

I really enjoyed the way Kazik and Gisela's characters grew throughout the story, and I would have liked to see more of Aleksey. I found the worldbuilding very compelling, and the way the slavic folklore is used as the foundations of the story was something I had never read before.

Overall, this was a fun read with a very unique approach to romance and likeable characters. I would certainly recommend it to those who enjoy YA and/or fantasy books with a good dose of romance.

Great plot and characters pacing was a little slow in some points but nothing that would deter readers from continuing. Amazing atmosphere created, you really feel immersed in this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for a free ebook.
Truthfully, I LOVE the cover. The illustrator and the illustrator alone got me to pick this book up and man do I really want to own a physical copy of this cover.
Do I like this book? For starters, this isn't polyamorous (thank goodness!), it's a TRUE love triangle. No threesome/open relationship nonsense, just three teenagers into each other as individuals and not as a group. Congratulations you've been queer-baited.
I like the premise of a monster trying to regain her humanity and the mystery behind her death of how she was turned into a monster. (Traditional folklore around the world often turns unjustly killed women into monsters such as sirens.) The book does have the standard high school juvenile drama over two people having the same crush and refusing to communicate with each other about it because "romantic tension." Much of the plot can be inferred based on the book blurb and an experienced reader could probably guess the twist from the blurb alone.
However, the folklore is cool and I'm sure it'll be an awesome introduction into this type of world for many readers. The ending does imply a sequel.

I didn’t really know what to expect with this book. It was breathtaking! The mythology mixed with themes of lgbtq+ was well thought out and well written. It does have some dark topics but that is expected. I did enjoy the 3 POV but it did make the book a bit lengthy. Overall I was hooked from the beginning and would recommend this to any fantasy lover.

4.5⭐

Gisela was recently turned into a rusalka (an undead water nymph), but the circumstances of her death was a mystery to her. Kazik was an exorcist, duty bound to banish troublemaking evil spirits. Gisela was Kazik’s biggest headache, until she enlisted him to help her become human again. Set in a bustling spa town also inhabited by creatures from Polish folklores, Gisela and Kazik’s plan to get a mortal boy kiss Gisela was all but easy, especially since they both find their target was devilishly charming.

This Fatal Kiss by Alicia Jasinska was an enchanting and exciting YA fantasy book. I loved the dynamics between the main characters (mischievous Gisela vs uptight Kazik), they made me giggle a lot! There were also many tense, action-filled, wistful, and heartwarming moments. Both Gisela’s and Kazik’s backstories were explored well. The writing was comfortable to read, there was no awkwardness, and the pacing was good as well.

The ending made it clear that this was not a standalone book (I admit I was surprised), and I will be waiting for the sequel eagerly!

eARC provided by NetGalley and Peachtree Teen.

Absolutely loved this book. Loved the lgbtq+ representation. It's not often you get well written and developed bi/poly main characters, it made me so happy to read this book. The world building was fantastic and I felt like i could really connect to the main characters.

This was such a wonderful and enjoyable read!!!! I loved this book and highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys this genre. Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was honestly such a delightful read! There was something that felt so cozy while also having an edge of sinisterness and danger laced throughout, that felt so accurately and uniquely like an old folktale, and I really enjoyed it! There was also something about the imagery that it evoked that reminded me of a Ghibli movie. I absolutely adored the fact that this was based so strongly in Slavic folklore! It was such a fresh and different set of stories and lore to draw upon; many of which I was unfamiliar with before I picked up this book, and which then catapulted me down a rabbit hole of researching them, which in turn drew me into the story and characters even more!

As is often the case with old fairytales and folktales, the story handles some dark topics, ( I mean, our starting point is a young girl who drowned and became a water nymph — so that ought to give you some sense of where we are) but it does so in a way that is appropriate for the age group that is the target audience here; without graphic descriptions or focusing on these elements too heavily,, while still giving them the necessary gravity.

I also greatly enjoyed the LGBTQ representation!! I have read some lovely LGBTQ YA books in recent years, but its so rare to find one with a lead who is bisexual (nevermind 3 of them) and/or Polyamorous! I greatly enjoyed the exploration of both of these aspects in these characters' lives and greatly appreciated the execution!

At times I felt a bit confused and conflicted about the character of Aleksey, though I believe the point was that he was feeling similarly, but I’d have liked perhaps a few more chapters in his POV for his character arc to feel complete. Additionally, there were a few moments when some excessively modern vernacular pulled me out of the flow of the story, but overall I greatly enjoyed and would recommend This Fatal Kiss!

This is quite lovely and well-written YA fantasy with somewhat dark folklore and ambiguously historical setting. There's lots of queer representation and the world is a bit more tolerant towards queerness than one might think from a historical fantasy novel. The spirit world cares even less about gender than the humans do.

The novel gives us 3 POVs, but the third protagonist is not quite as good as the other two. There's maybe just too little about him in the story, and even the ending is left very open regarding him. This prevented me from being completely satisfied with the story. I did enjoy the other two protagonists a lot though, and their journey from enemies to friends to rivals and more. Many supporting characters are also interesting and real.

This is a pretty long book and some things could have been trimmed a bit, while the conclusion could have used more pages, for is a bit too fast and open-ended. It's asking for a sequel, and while this world is enchanting and the third main character could definitely get an interesting arc in a second book, it feels like the story could have already been wrapped into a stand-alone package in this novel.

Despite my niggles with the ending, I don't feel cheated by it, and I was hooked and entertained throughout the novel.

My thanks to the author and NetGalley for ARC.

We are absolutely loving this book over at the podcast. The writing is great and the worldbuilding is so much fun.
I'd say the strongest part of This Fatal Kiss is the characterization. Jasinska really knows her characters.
If I could, I would fill this whole review with all the amazing quotes that I absolutely loved.

Our first episode for This Fatal Kiss goes out September 17, 2024.

https://open.spotify.com/show/4VfEqxbZbmcz9PDqwi4JAo?si=08883ebad8254cae

4/5 stars
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the e-arc.

I have to admit that I would have enjoyed this book more if it was adult or new adult, as a standalone (it was a little too long, when there was no need for it, specially if there is going to be another book). Also, I think the story was so perfectly set to be a tragedy, that I felt really disappointed it wasn’t.
Still, there were a lot of things I enjoyed from the book:
- bi/polly representation. I felt like everyone wanted to kiss each other, and I mean that in a good way.
- despite being a YA, the author didn’t shy away from exploring and deepening into darker themes. I still would have liked it more if it was darker, but that’s a me thing.
- the romance. I felt a genuine connection between the characters, and the development in the romance came with individual character growth. “You’re the most infuriating spirit I’ve ever met, and I never want you to stop haunting me.”
- I extremely loved every aspect of the fantasy and the Slavic folklore in the story.

If there is eventually another book, I will be really excited to read it.
PS. shoutout to this GORGEOUS cover!

First of all, a standing ovation for the cover design. There was no way I wasn’t picking this book up. This Fatal Kiss is a sweet story of a water nymph trying to gain back her humanity by getting kissed. She teams up with a local exorcist, who has foiled all her previous kisses, and maybe, just maybe, she will finally get her mortal life back. I loved the setting of this story - an idylic small town centered around hot springs and forests. I enjoyed each character and the relationships that eventually formed. But for me, something was missing. The first issue I think I had was understanding the setting in terms of time. We had what seemed to be a more old timey village without technology, but then we had very modern language. When our main characters said something like “and wasn’t that a whole mood.” I was a little thrown off. I also wanted to feel a little more of the yearning and crushing, especially since this was in multiple POVs but instead the romance felt a little flat until the very end. The twist with one of the characters seemed very obvious from the second they were introduced so I spent a lot of the book thinking that our main duo was a little dumb and oblivious for not seeing it too. I thought this was a standalone so I was a little confused by the pacing at the end but now seeing that the story is meant to continue I can forgive it - but I didn’t think it tied up enough or answered enough questions for a first book of the series. The ending just felt a little anticlimactic I suppose. I enjoyed it but because of the issues above, I felt myself skimming a lot of the middle. I am interested to see what this author does with the rest of the story though!

I loved this book so much. It had a rich atmosphere, well-developed characters, and an intriguing plot. I loved Gisela, Kazik, and Aleksey equally. Plus, I mean, the cover is gorgeous! I thought the world in which the story takes place was well-developed, sporting various magical creatures living among the humans. The characters each had a distinct personality and motivations that drove them (and often clashed with the others!) and there were a couple plot twists that really got me! Overall this book was amazing, and I sincerely hope there ends up being a sequel. Fingers crossed!

Unfortunately, this book and I did not get along. From the plot and the cover, I expected an evocative novel, but very enjoyable, based on folklore. My first impression turned out to be very far from reality.
The book is certainly enjoyable, but excessively flat and banal. Given how they express themselves and interact with each other, the characters could be extracted from the fantasy context and inserted into a high school setting without much difficulty, with the same romances and dialogues.
Despite the intriguing underlying idea, the development is slow and excessively long for the sparse plot.

Fortunately, the characters are quite likeable.

A whimsical fantasy with a whole slew of creatures from Slavic folklore. We follow Gisela, a rusalka or water nymph who met an untimely death and is now set on wooing a mortal to kiss her and restore her humanity. She enlists the help of Kazik, a spirit hunter who has taken over his grandmother's practice after her death. Kazik has always been taught to exorcise spirits, so Gisela's plea for help causes him to question his worldview. Together, they attempt to woo Aleksey, a neighborhood boy who has his own secrets to hide.

This was such a fun and interesting read. I loved learning about the creatures from Slavic folklore. There were a lot of interwoven storylines that kept the read fresh and interesting. The book ended with some plotlines unanswered, so I'm very much hoping for a second book or series. Highly recommend for fans of folklore/fairytale reads or those looking for polyamory representation. 4.5.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you, Net Galley and Peachtree Teen, for giving me this free E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

As a Slavic person who grew up listening to stories about rusalky, vodníky, etc., I absolutely LOVED this book! I've read all of Alicia's previous works since I love reading about queer characters, and I must say this is her best work so far!

Gisela quickly became one of my favourite FMC's; she's such a funny, likeable, and interesting character, and I absolutely adore her. Kazik's and Aleksey's characters were also very interesting, and even though I predicted the plot twist (the author gave us a lot of hints, so I do believe this was their intention), I still really liked it and found the entire plot of this novel to be very original and well-written. The found family was also adorable; all the Rusalky and Wojciech were very well written, and their relationships were perfect. I enjoyed reading about their lives.

The storyline was original, and the author really brought all those tales from our childhoods to life, which I really appreciated since there aren't many fantasy slavic books out there, and I know I can always count on Alicia to write an amazing story about our culture. I also loved the way she connected her debut with this new book, and I hope she will do the same with her novel The Midnight Girls if she decides to write a sequel or maybe a completely new book also set in this beautiful world she created.

There were a couple of formatting issues, like random big letters, the spaces between paragraphs kept changing, and sometimes sentences got cut off and they continued a paragraph later. I'm not sure if it was like this in all of the E-ARCs, but it kept happening in mine.

Overall, I didn't have any problems with this novel, and I do hope I get to read more of Alicia's work in the future; she truly is an amazing writer. Please anyone who loves slavic tales, queer characters, poly relationships, go and read this novel!

A sassy water demon, a cranky witch boy, and a pretty boy with a secret.

Gisela is a water demon who just wants to go back to her old life as a mortal. She ropes the reclusive town exorcist into becoming her reluctant ally by promising to leave town as soon as she convinces a mortal in town to kiss her (a loophole that will supposedly restore her life). There’s hijinks, and matchmaking, and tension, and “will they (like… all three “they”), won’t they”.

The Polish folklore was very fun and I really appreciated that there was a pronunciation guide (thank you, author!). The characters were entertaining, and I liked watching the trio become reluctant friends. Gisela was particularly lovable and humorous. And Wojciech was a surprisingly sweet father figure for all the rusulki.

The middle of the book got a little slow, so I ended up taking breaks and reading this book more slowly. Once I reached the 60/75% mark the plot really took off and I tore through the rest. I was surprised that the ending was a cliffhanger, but I guess that means more books to come??

There were some repetitive phrases reused throughout the book, something that bugs my brain as I read. I also never figured out what time period the book was supposed to be set in. The clothes and technology made me think turn of the century, but the characters all used present day slang. I wasn’t particularly bothered by the anachronistic language, but I could see it bugging some readers.

I loved this. Honestly, the only thing taking away from this getting a clear sweeping five star rating was the truly ambiguous ending.

The three characters in this novel will sink claws into your heart. From the very start I adored our trickstery water spirit Gisela. Her attitude crossed with vulnerability just made me root for her. She's got a tragic history, obviously, given the fact that she's a rusulka before the novel begins, but she's not a victim. In fact, she has a Plan.

The main person who is killing off those plans one step at a time, however, is exorcist Kazik. He's a human boy who knows exactly what Gisela is, and is determined to follow in his grandmother's footsteps now that she's dead at the hands of one of those evil demons. Does it matter that it's not the same kind of demon that Gisela is? Definitely not! He must remain strong and broody at all times.

Except for when he's standing in front of Aleksey, the boy he has a crush on. And the boy Gisela has set her sights on too, come to think of it. But Aleksey has secrets of his own, and things that both Gisela and Kazik are too blinded by their own feelings and also their stuff towards each other to notice.

The novel interweaves the feelings and confusing passion these three have for each other all throughout the book. They come from three completely different places, and yet the fascination doesn't abate basically from the first chapters of the story. And then we get to the real hairy points towards the end of the novel and they are all just in utter URST for each other.

I drank it all up.

But then we got to what I would have thought of as a cliffhanger towards the second part of a duology if I could find any evidence that this wasn't a standalone novel. There was at least one plot point that went completely unresolved and, while Gisela and Kazik work their stuff out towards the end, we have Aleksey having just kissed Kazik and never actually meeting up with Gisela after the final showdown takes place.

It's just... it's an odd enough place for it to have ended that my first thought, if the final chapter hadn't been clearly signposted 'Epilogue' would have been that the last chapters of this novel weren't included in the early edition of this novel prior to release. It was a bit of a downer for a book that's being marketed as polyamorous, honestly.

This Fatal Kiss by Alicia Jaskinska
Thank you NetGalley for giving me an arc for exchange for an honest review.

*spoiler free review*


Summary
“This Fatal Kiss” by Alicia Jaskinska follows Gisela, a water nymph. She’s a girl that drowned in her past life and is determined to return to her human form. The catch, in order to do so, she must have an authentic kiss. She is determined to achieve her goal at whatever cause, flirting with whoever she can, but things change when she runs into the local exorcist.

Kazik is dark, brooding, and ever so self righteous as the town’s local witch and exorcist. He is bent on cleansing the world of unholy creatures that exist just beyond the mortal realm. He plans to exorcize Gisela, but when the moment comes, his powers fail.

They come to an agreement. Kazik will help Gisela get a kiss in exchange for Gisela not babbling on about how Kazik’s powers are fading. For matchmaker, they set their sights on Aleksey. The popular boy next door, although his appearances are polished, he hides a dark secret of his own.

For those interested in polyamory in YA and fans of queer romantasy, this is the book for you.

Setting
“This Fatal Kiss” takes place in a small city, where tourists flock to bathe in the town’s luxurious and magical rivers. They promise cures to sickness, beauty, and strength. The town is set next to a treacherous river and at the edge of the dark woods. This is heavily inspired by slavic folklore.

Main Characters
We have Gisela, who I loved. She’s a flirt, hilarious, and a fantastic foil to Kazik’s usual serious and dour expression. She’s a gem, and is easily likable, not just as a character but as a person. She seems like someone who is the light of the party.

I related much more to Kazik, our grumpy witch who takes his craft too seriously and is gonna get injured with the stick up his ass the whole time. Kazik is just as funny, but in his own way. It’s easy to understand Kazik’s motivations and beliefs, which make it easy for the reader to like him.

Aleksey is our love interest. He’s written as the popular one, the one who is always pleasing to everyone else but is really too afraid to show his true self for fear of others’ reactions.

Major Themes
Love - This is a queer romantasy. Of course one of the themes is going to be love. I loved the way that polyamory was suggested in this book, and the way the characters at first are resistant to it. I mean, it makes sense. You grew up your whole life believing that monogamy is the only option, you’re surprised that this new opportunity presents itself. I think the themes of true love are also exemplified in the way that Kazik and Gisela approach their sexuality. They’re both confident in their bisexuality/pansexuality, it’s obviously never labled, even Kazik in the face of the church which I was very surprised, especially considering how self righteous he was. There’s lines such as


“For the thousandth time, he reminded himself that his sexuality wasn’t something to be ashamed of; liking people regardless of their gender didn’t mean he was broken nor unlovable. There were a lot of things wrong with him, but that wasn’t one of them.”

“Gisela didn’t feel strongly either way about her own gender. It was easier, really, to let everyone think of her as a girl than exhaust herself explaining that she didn’t always feel like one.”

There’s something so refreshing to see characters so confident in their sexuality and gender in a historical-ish setting.


Trust - With love, there’s trust. And Gisela and Kazik learn to trust one another despite them being enemies. I liked the slow burn between the two. This is helped greatly by Gisela’s extroverted personality, but it grows into something genuine over time. I appreciated that it took them a while to get to that point.

This transitions nicely into how the themes weave with the character development.

Characters
Humility - For Kazik, his major life lesson is learning to be humble. At the beginning of the book, he’s outrageously self righteous and arrogant. He avoids other kids his age, many believe him to think he’s better than everyone else, and quite frankly he acts like it. However, at the end of the book, his major character development is to be humble and to be more empathetic to those around him he believes to be different than himself.

Self-Love - For Gisela, her major character development is self love. This is a direct narrative foil to Kazik’s character development. It works beautifully because on the surface, Gisela seems to be self-obsessed. However, below the surface, we soon discover that Gisela has long been sacrificing parts of herself for those she loves. At the end of the book, she has to choose between sacrifice or choosing herself.

The characters do change greatly throughout the course of the novel. The difference is light and day. The character development was done beautifully, slowly, but realistically. Throughout the troubles of the novel, they evolve into better versions of themselves.

Writing Style
This writing style is hypnotic, whimsical, and easy to fall into. Struck with the familiar and quick style that is so prevalent in YA, it reads quickly and easily. It’s definitely a narrative style, nothing close to the literary fiction I’ve grown used to reading, but definitely nothing less valuable and stylistically clever. There were few lines that made me sit back and go wow, that was a good line. Such as the following:

“Death had left fingerprints on Gisela when it refashioned her into a spirit.”

Oof, personifying death is far from original but saying it left fingerprints on Gisela in a way that morphed her into the undead being she is now made me sit back and go damn.

There’s also moments of description that are short, but vivid.

“Glowing amber lamps, the kind that came from her home island of Caldella, hung from the ceiling like teardrops, illuminating a cluttered space”

Strengths
The banter. It is the chef's kiss. Here’s some of my favorite lines…

“Look at you, all worried about me. Careful, I might think you care.”

“It’s not my fault if she thought I’d make a better boyfriend than you.”

“But then I do have an excellent matchmaker. He’s so knowledgable about boys. Handsome too.” “Flattery will get you nowhere.”

The worldbuilding is just…ooh. Kazik is a witch that is highly implied to be steeped within folk Catholicism. I never thought a YA novel could explain the intricacies between a folk practice and Catholicism. I’m a history nerd, so being able to trace back the folk practice’s origins in Paganism then the syncretization with the Catholicism church being explain in the novel that didn’t make it feel like it reading out of a history textbook was done in a way that was so clever and expertly done. I love learning about the history between folk Catholicism and the Catholic™ teachings. That’s just one example.

The way magic is interwoven into the world and it’s so casual. The way that people are starting to forget the old teachings. I feel like fantasy authors often forget that they’re writing a culture that is alive and changing and breathing. We were stuck in this small tourist town, but I felt like I was in a breathing and living culture that changed and morphed the way that people evolve.

Weaknesses:
I did not care for one of the love interests, Aleksey. Even when his dark secret was revealed to the audience. Don’t get me wrong, it caught me by surprise. But really…he was just too vanilla. Sorry Aleksey. The ending does imply a sequel and you can bet I’ll be gnawing at the bars of my enclosure for the next arc though. I want to see if Aleksey’s writing can be redeemed because I still hold out hope.

Overall impression:
My overall impression is that I’m impressed. I’m not a usual fan of romantasy, but this book swept me off my feet and brought me into the lush landscape I never want to leave.

I would definitely recommend this book. If you’re a fan of a quaint, queer romantasy with a polyamorous twist, this is the book for you.


Once again, I would like to thank NetGalley for the free arc in exchange for an honest review.