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.

This book was everything, I loved the atmosphere, the setting, the lyrical but not dense writing... The characters had so much personality and complexity, especially seen in the way that they slowly fall in love despite his reluctance. The magic and creatures are also very interesting and add the perfect glimmering touch to the mythical lore.

Thank you NetGalley and peachtree for the arc!

I loved this book. This novel follows a water nymph in her quest to find a kiss from a mortal in order to return to being human. She strikes up a deal with the local exorcist to help her get a kiss, only they both like the same person.

This book was easy to read and reads really fast. It kept me on my toes and interested till the last moment. I loved the complexity of the characters and how their relationships developed throughout the book. The setting is also fun
and unique. Moments throughout genuinely made me smile and laugh. Parts also had me invested and stressing. Overall, it was a great read and I would recommend to anyone who loves a good YA novel with unique plotlines and setting,

I think the most disappointing thing about this book is that it could have been a lot better than it was. I appreciated what the author was trying to achieve with the queer representation and the themes of this book, but everything about it was so ham-fisted and it really put me off.

It seemed to me like a lot of the focus was on the romance, which I get, this being a fantasy romance and all, but all the other bits of world building and folklore - which were legitimately interesting, by the way - fell by the wayside and felt incomplete and underutilized. And this might not have stung so badly if the central characters had an ounce of chemistry to be found between them.

I won’t discount this author, because once the writing found its groove (around 30% of the way in) this book was an easy enough read. But I expected to have a good time with this book, and came away underwhelmed.

This is great. The cover is absolutely beautiful and it reflects the story within. I haven't read many poly books but this one seemed interesting and I wasn't disappointed.

The world-building here is fantastic, there is a lot of lore and a wide range of spirits and mythical creatures but the amount never felt overwhelming. Each seemed succinct and well-described. Often, when a lot is described at once it's each to confuse different characters or types of spirits for example but that never happened here. It was very well done. The descriptions of all the characters are also great and easy to picture.

The writing is whimsical and immersive, keeping you hooked throughout the story. I loved all three main characters; they were distinct and well-developed. The different dynamics between them were entertaining and the dialogue and interactions between Kazik and Gisela were particularly entertaining and well done. The romance element was sweet and believable. I also really enjoyed the cast of side side characters, particularly all the other water nymphs.

I went into this assuming it was a standalone but I'm not mad at the potential for a sequel. Overall I really enjoyed this and thought it was fantastically done.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an arc of this in exchange for an honest review.

Polyamorous bisexual dream of a fantasy romance - the only situation where a love triangle actually works because everyone is attracted to each other. I had so much fun reading this! The characters are hilarious, I love their interactions and personalities, I'm in love with outrageously flirty Gisela. This is the best Polish folklore book I've read this year, I love all of the detailed world building. I want a little grumpy cat house spirit 😭

Excitedly hoping for Book 2.

thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review.

i have a hard time finding a romantasy i like, but ‘this fatal kiss’ managed to be one of them!

with a world similar to ‘emily wilde’s encyclopaedia of fairies’ where faeries, spirits and magical beings share space with humans, ‘this fatal kiss’ also shares similar vibes to ‘a far wilder magic’, where it’s isn’t *exactly* victorian times, but it reminds you a bit of it and there’s some kind of technology mixed with magic.

the writing is simple and easy to follow. it’s funny, quirky, and sometimes a bit cringe. it is an ya book and it’ll *definitely* remind you of this with the way feelings and character introductions are described. since i wasn’t expecting high-quality writing, that didn’t bother me much. the characters are interesting and i enjoyed following their journeys. i already knew the book was a poly romance (which was one of the reasons why it made me pick it up), so i kept wondering when they were going to get together and was rooting for them throughout the story!

one of the things i really enjoyed about the characters are how they feel and describe their own experiences with gender and sexuality. i admit that i wasn’t expecting much, but i was pleasantly surprised with their discussions about queerness and masking to conform to gender roles that they don’t necessarily feel they fit in.

i admit i wasn’t expecting it to be a series? but i’ll be picking up the sequel. overall, ‘this fatal kiss’ was a good surprise and one of the few ya books i’ve enjoyed recently.

As has happened before, I requested this eARC based on the cover alone. The cover art is gorgeous and magical, which is exactly how the story and the book itself felt.

Described as whimsical, with dark magic, flirty moments, and a polyamorous romance, the book lives up to these descriptors. The story is based on Slavic folklore, evoking the kind of scary fairy-tales I grew up with, infused with a sense of dark magic and didactic messages. Having been raised with Baltic folklore rooted in paganism, the depictions of nature, forest, and home creatures felt both familiar and comforting. Many details about food and folklore felt strikingly familiar to me, adding a layer of nostalgia to the reading experience.

The story is told through the POVs of three main characters, with one receiving relatively minor "screen time". The protagonist, Gisela, is a water nymph, or rusalka, embodying young girls who died or were killed in a large lake and return as water spirits due to unresolved injustice. Gisela learns that a kiss from a mortal could make her human again, a transformation she desperately desires in order to return to her younger brother.

Kazik, the village witch, has magic that helps him exorcise evil spirits and creatures, which puts him at odds with Gisela as she flirts with everyone in an attempt to get that life-changing kiss. Their dynamic is hilarious, with Kazik continually thwarting Gisela's attempts 🤭.

Enter the mysterious Aleksey, the target of Gisela's affections, leading to a deal between her and Kazik: he helps her, and she will stop causing chaos and havoc.

The world-building and magic in this book are incredible! The array of creatures and spirits—water, forest, home—are all intricately connected to nature and brilliantly crafted. Despite the dark magic elements, the book often lightens the tone with humour and whimsy.

I appreciated how gender and gender identity were handled in the story; it wasn’t a big deal whom you liked or how you wanted to be perceived. While polyamory wasn’t as prominent as I expected, the theme was present. I do wish the characters were a bit older, as they were older teenagers.

Though I was initially disappointed to find that this is not a standalone novel, I am definitely interested in reading the next book in the series. I recommend this book to readers who enjoy fairy tales and retellings and want to immerse themselves in a uniquely built fantasy world.

Rating: 4.25/5 ⭐

Disclaimer: Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the arc!

Overall, this was a fun, queer, YA fantasy rooted in Slavic folklore, which I enjoyed. The parts of the world that we do see (so, just the town, bathhouses, and water demon's palace) are intriguing and the spirits and demons were interesting and very prevalent throughout the book, in many different forms. I really appreciated that, although Gisela is our main character, we got to see a lot of types of spirits outside of the rusałka. However, I really have no idea what time it was supposed to be set in - at some points, it feels relatively old-fashioned, but the characters use very current slang and colloquialisms so that kept throwing me off.

I appreciated how queer it was - there's a lot of inclusion of different sexualities and genders, and it was lovely to see a trans rusałka included as well.

In terms of the characters and their relationships, I really enjoyed the banter between Gisela and Kasik, and they all bring something different to the relationship. However, I felt like the polyam aspects of the relationship were really rushed, and I would have liked an additional chapter at the end just to see them together and get some closure on that piece.

3.5 stars.

A polyamorous young adult romantasy seems like a very specific genre, and it appears to be a genre for me! I loved seeing the different dynamics throughout the book, as well as the mythology and magic of the world surrounding them. The basis on folklore and explanation of that folklore in the beginning had me so engaged. The book also deals with heavy topics, but it does so in a really accessible and healing way. Highly recommend this.

A sweeping romantic tale of love between three individuals in a fantasy world, you will be absolutely enraptured by This Fatal Kiss. Jacinska writes the ultimate romance fantasy, and you will feel like you’ve entered into the world she’s created.

I have always thought that the YA market was severely lacking in its queer representation. Its almost always m/m or f/f books that dominate that space. I'm so glad authors like Alicia Jasinska have stepped forward and are giving us the diversity that the queer YA genre needs. Polyamorous relationships are far and few and I'd like to see that change. That aside, this book was wonderful! The writing and the characters were beautifully crafted. Gisela, Kazik, and Aleksey were layered and natural, and so believable. This atmosphere was awesome too, and I can tell this author has spent a lot of time in places similar to the story's setting! I also love to see eastern European culture ingrained in stories! Looking forward to a sequel!

4.5 stars

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this advanced reader’s copy of the book This Fatal Kiss!

Firstly, the writing on this was lovely. I’ve always been apprehensive of multiple pov stories, but I was so excited every time a pov change came along to see how the other characters might react to something. The plot is predictable in some ways and surprising in others so it was a perfect mix of satisfaction and mystery that I enjoyed.

The character work was so good. I loved seeing Gisela and Kazik riff off each other. It’s not a legit enemies to lovers but it felt like it in some ways. The polyamory was handled well but RAH I need more!! I can’t wait for the second book to drop! It was the kind of book I thought about for a while after reading.

The magic system was fun and interesting. Most of the hierarchy was explained, but some was vague since there was a parellel power aspect with the different elements of the beings. (And I hate that my brain kept thinking the water goblin looked like the trolls from Frozen. That’s never going away and I hate it.)

Overall, I really recommend this one! It had a lot of whimsy, a great romance build up, interesting magic system, and fun characters.

It was the perfect blend of romance and world-building. The pacing felt a little slow at first due to over-explanatory or repetitive descriptions, but my interest increased immensely as I got further in.

3,5 stars! i really enjoyed this book. the characters were fun and unique and the folklore was also a lot of fun. i think the book was slightly too long winded and the will they wont they situation between the three main characters got a little old at one point, so i think cutting a couple parts of the book would make it even more enjoyable.

thank you netgalley and holiday house/ peachtree/ pixel+ink for allowing me to read this in advance!

honestly, this was a delightful read! i did not expect to relate to the Slavish folklore as much as i do after finishing it. being a Filipino, we also have existing folklore that i believe up to now, and we say "tabi po" whenever we go to the forest or wander away to unfamiliar places just to pay respect to the spirits.

anyway, the storyline was really magical. the imagery the author had managed to weave through the story was otherwordly! it felt like i was in the story gazing into kazik & gisela, tagging along with them. i really enjoyed the writing and how the characters were deeply relatable, the pacing was not dragging which was exemplary given that i do get distracted easily, however, i pushed through this book so easily. it did not get boring at all. the plot twists were shocking tbh that's why i am needing the sequel already lol.

i need to mention the queer representation in this book!!! also this was my first polyamorous book and the author delivered! the romance was sooo cute and did not feel as though it was forced and there were enough tension, i couldn't ask for more. this was a magically slowburn done perfectly!

i loved this book so much i wanna hug it and sleep next to it & i would DEFINITELY recommend this to @everyone who want to read a cozy, delightful read full of magic and folklore and humorous banters with characters that have personalities!

This was such a delightful read! Jasinska's "This Fatal Kiss" managed to actually make me want to read it despite its cursed "This Something Something" type title, which I just cannot stand anymore, and yes it's because of that absolutely gorgeous cover. It's giving oldschool fairytale inspired by Slavic folklore and it's perfect.
"This Fatal Kiss" is the story of a rusalka, the boy witch/exorcist she convinces to help her become human again and that other guy who she needs to kiss her in order to become human - the guy her exorcist helper is in love with, too. It's a love story between three people, though it gives us ample space to get the characters and their personal issues on their own, too. These three do not just exist to fall in love with each other, and that's always how I prefer it.
I loved all three of them, although I definitely felt more drawn to Gisela and Kazik. They are wonderful, complex characters and the way their relationship develops from admittedly one-sided enemies to genuine lovers feels organic and believable. It's their romance that really works well in this book. Admittedly, Aleksey was incredibly intriguing as a character but his part in the polyamorous little group wasn't as well drawn, so I didn't really feel the chemistry here. Considering the lack of conclusion to his personal story, I'd wager we'll see more about it in the second book.
Which I didn't know would exist, because I expected a standalone based on the info I had, so I do admit I was a little bummed in the end.
All in all, this is a well-written polyamorous ya fantasy with great, loveable characters. It has minor pacing issues especially in the middle of the book and sometimes the tone was a bit modern, but that barely distracts from the enjoyment this book can give you.

A very pleasant read that got me hooked from start to finish. I fully expected it to be a stand alone, but it seems not? I’ll definitely check out the continuation if so.

The prose is very nice, with a 3rd person POV that gives plenty insight to the characters, that all have very distinct voices. I must say my favourite overall was Kazik’s, but Gisela’s was the most entertaining.
The dialogue flows well, though sometimes it felt it tried a bit too hard to be witty/bantering - but that’s my personal taste.
Some of the language used felt a bit too modern sometimes, breaking the immersion - the time period is ambiguous, but still felt close to alte 1890s/early 1900s.
There was a bit of weird formatting in certain points (soMe worDs liKe thiS, or others having too much or none spacing), but this might be an ARC only problem.

The worlbuilding was well done and detailed, with information about the spirits, magic and facts about the locations given organically without feeling info-dumpy. Overall the world and the usage of polish folklore is very interesting, another point that makes me look forward to a sequel.

On the other hand some concepts were repeated a bit too much between chapters, I would have edited some down. The pacing felt good, though sometimes I had the feel Gisela was meant to have been a rusalka for more than one year.

Relationship wise, Kazik and Gisela had the strongest bond to me, both it and them grew organically through the novel. While the poly romance was a selling point I didn’t feel much for both of their relationship with Aleksey, which is a bit of a shame - currently it feels it relied a bit too much on the tell.
All of their realizations of their feelings were written well, as well as their other reflections on identity/sexuality.

Loved nearly all the side characters as well, and the deep bonds they had with the protagonists.

while i'm the slightest bit disappointed by the ending, i absolutely loved the journey leading up to that point! it's just such an intricately crafted novel that it feels as though i'm experiencing a fairy-tale firsthand. i'm definitely excited to see what comes of the finished publication of this story. xx