This book was so cute, and I loved the personalities of the characters! I loved that this was age-appropriate for YA readers, but didn't feel juvenile.

This Fatal Kiss by Alicia Jasinska is a spellbinding tale that masterfully intertwines romance and fantasy, set against the backdrop of a vividly imagined world. The story follows two protagonists from opposing sides who are forced to work together to break a curse, leading to unexpected alliances and deep emotional connections. Jasinska's writing is lush and evocative, creating a rich atmosphere that draws readers in from the very first page. The characters are well-developed and their journey is filled with tension, intrigue, and poignant moments. Overall, This Fatal Kiss is a beautifully crafted novel that will captivate fans of fantasy and romance alike.

Fantasy,Slavic folklore and a three way love triangle polyamory situationship this novel has all the makings of a fun YA read. The cozy fantasy and world building was pretty well done.

However the book suffers from over exposition of things and explanations that could help edit it down further hopefully (since this is an ARC so am unsure how much of it makes it to final publication). Everything is explained and repeatedly. Yes the world is inhabited by the characters it is infused with but the dialogue at times feels contrived and the focus on the characters sacrifices the fantasy world they are set in. The balance of both somehow seemed off - and the repetitiveness of the obvious and the material came across as compensating for that.

What I liked was that gender fluidity and sexual freedom of being is spontaneous and normalized without much spotlight on the issue. It just is, rather than the pitches of what should be and shouldn’t.

It is whimsical but ends on a cliffhanger which sometimes I am not a fan of - in this case, it wasn’t for me

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!