Alicia Jasinska's "This Fatal Kiss" is a captivating fantasy novel that weaves Slavic folklore with sensitive and diverse queer representation. The well-paced story features spooky creatures that enrich the plot and a world where river spirits and forest beings hint at a deeper mythology. Jasinska's characters are multi-dimensional, with their sexualities and genders thoughtfully portrayed. Though the writing style and dialogue may feel a bit shallow to some, the book sets the stage for an exciting series. Overall, it is an enchanting start that leaves readers eager for more.

This was cute! There were a few things that worked really well for me (poly love triangle!), and a few things that didn't quite. I do like YA as a genre, but This Fatal Kiss definitely feels on the younger side of YA (especially with the dialogue) and I think many of the surface level motivations and characterizations reflect this. The writing style and prose also feel quite young though it has a magical/dreamy quality to it - very similar to Stephanie Garber.

That said, the pacing was well done, the queer rep and relationships were unique (and why I picked the book up!), and the way that Slavic folklore was included in the story was a highlight for me. I thought this was a standalone so was worried that too much was being introduced, but it's really clear now that there will be more! I do wish the writing style and dialogue was a bit deeper (?), but that's down to a personal preference.

Overall I recommend this!

A water nymph, an exorcist, and a town-golden-boy are caught up amidst the mysteries and curses of their town and its sacred bath houses. Gisela, is a water nymph who can’t remember the dark events that brought her to her watery demise, and who now searches for a way to bring herself back to life. Thank you to NetGallery and Peachtree Teen for the ARC in exchange for an honest review, I was beyond excited to receive a copy of this book.

There is an old Slavic folk tale that tells of the Vodnik –– or water goblin –– and how he traps souls under upside down teacups, where they exist for eternity as monumental shelf-decorations. Just deliciously creepy. There are so many little details such as this that snagged my attention throughout this novel; characteristics of strange fantastical creatures that were woven into this story, and which, at least for me, were all new and chilling. These magical creatures borne from myth felt like darker, creepier versions of the monsters from fairytales that I had grown up with (thanks Disney for the unbidden rose-tinted glasses) and which were all the more exciting because of it. I devoured this novel just to snatch up more pieces of this world.

Gisela may very well be one of my favourite female characters out of all the books I’ve read this year. Her teasing, flirtatious tactics were well-balanced by her own moral obligations and moody self-deprecation. Gisela was a heroine who I felt was smart and wily, while also having her own hardships and moody dispositions that made me feel like I could resonate with her. It made me want to know more about her, and to come to care for her character as she sought to find a way to bring herself back to life so that she could return to her family. In her pursuit to find a way to be with her family again, she struggles with episodic amnesia; she can’t remember how she’d become a water nymph. Alicia Jasinska writes a beautiful character in Gisela, developing clear motives that are bounded in family and which are coupled with a well-tempered stubborn attitude. While Gisela is a well-developed character, there is this constant over-hanging shadow that grows as the story progresses, and which fuels Gisela’s dynamic growth. We know that something traumatic happened to make Gisela into a water nymph, and we know that this shadow is going to act as its own bombshell in this story, but Alicia Jasinska only leaves little crumbs along the way for us, as we try to piece together what this bomb is, and how it’s going to take form.

It didn’t take long for these clues Jasinska was leaving us to become some heavy-handed foreshadowing, but just when you’re starting to think that you’ve figured out the plot twist, she reveals new information that changes how you perceive the story. It’s a classic move, but expertly implemented in this novel, in that Jasinska introduces conflicting interests in our other main characters, and while, we might be feeling pretty self-important with having figured out the plot-twist, we’ve now gotten to a point that we’re too invested in all the characters and realize that the very plot twist we figured out means trouble for these characters we’ve fallen in love with. Jasinska meets us at every step of this story as we uncover new truths, and we can’t help but feel this sense of creeping horror that something has to give but at what cost?

Our other two main characters, the exorcist and the golden boy, are well developed in that they offer a perfect compliment to one another; one’s dark and grumpy while the other is all care-free sunshine. I found that they worked well in helping to establish Gisela’s personality, as she interacts differently with either character and it brings a heat and tension into this story that I loved. It’s a slow burn, but the kind that you savour. And the best part, there’s no stupid over-done love triangle trope of jealousy. Don’t get me wrong, there’s definitely a triangle here, but it’s the kind of triangle that felt naturally developed as three people become invested in each other’s lives. I felt that this was an exploration of being human; of building new connections and even as emotions are running high and priorities are shifting, there is a sense of loyalty among all three characters that makes their relationship dynamics feel so wholesome. Its three teens, coping with new and intense emotions while struggling to protect the friendships they so dearly value.

I also loved how this novel approached various sexualities and genders, and how these did not come to define each respective character in the novel as a singular trope but was discussed in terms of certain hardships that each character had faced in accepting who they are. I would love to see these themes further explored.

I adored this novel, and the spooky creepy creatures that so beautifully supplemented our three main characters. I only wish that we could get into more of the history of so many of these creatures and the alluded to rivalry between the river spirits and the forest. This book was an excellent introduction to a world that I so desperately want to immerse myself into again. I am beyond excited for book 2.

i really enjoy stories based on slavic/polish mythology and those elements were the things i enjoyed the most in this book. more time to flesh out the bonds between all of the characters would have helped the story a lot, the romance felt a bit underexplored. the book was opening too many threads so that none ever felt really resolved. i am very sorry to say but this was a bit of an underwhelming read.

This Fatal Kiss is a great book with entertaining characters, an interesting world, and a captivating love triangle/polyamorous romance. However, the book needs another round of editing, if possible. While the setting is fun and somewhat magical, it is difficult to pin down the when and where. Does the story take place in Poland? Is it another world, inspired by Slavic folklore? Which island is Gisela from, and why does she struggle with their language, but it's never shown in her comprehension? I also couldn't pin down the time. I assumed it was during medieval times, but then Gisela would use modern slang and a radio was mentioned. However, phones and other modern technology were not mentioned, so I had a hard time knowing for certain what time period it was supposed to be.

And Gisela - I LOVED her as a character, but I could NOT stand the inconsistencies in her behavior. While she can be impulsive and short-sighted, she is still lovable and has some logic to her reasoning. However, she seemed drastically different in her POV contrasted with her character in Kazik's POV until halfway through the book. Speaking of Kazik, I could NOT get a handle on what the relationship was between Gisela and Kazik prior to the book. Gisela mentions Kazik thwarting all her plans and always wanting to exorcise her, but they have a lot of banter and light-hearted dialogue that seems to suggest it was never all that serious. Once Kazik agrees to help Gisela, she shows no hesitancy and follows Kazik around like a shadow, like she can't do anything without him. While I really enjoyed their scenes together, it felt forced and I would've liked them to have more reason to be hanging around together all the time.

I did not understand the character arcs and motivations for the majority of the book. They just needed a little more fleshing out to convince me. I know Gisela wants to regain her humanity to see her family, but we barely know anything of her family at all. We see more connection to her fellow rusalki then we do to her memories of her family - if any, at all. Why is Gisela so hell-bent on returning to them? What pushes her to finally drink the potion, which still requires her to get a kiss anyway? I also love the twist of Aleksey being a bies, but I didn't understand what his objective was, other than to get closer to Kazik. Perhaps that will be resolved in future books, but the book didn't wrap up his story as well as I had hoped. As for Kazik, I'm not sure why he lost his powers, or why they returned at the end of the book, other than to make the story happen. Felt very contrived.

I REALLY liked this book regardless, and I felt like it was so close to being amazing. A few edits would go a long way for my enjoyment of the book, and potential series.

Thank you Netgalley for my first arc. Thank you as well to Holiday House / Peachtree / Pixel+Ink. It felt extra special being approved for this as it is from an author I have previously really enjoyed.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, it has been the first I have managed to finish for a while since being in my pregnancy induced reading slump. First off, I loved the characters, and the banter between them. Especially between Kazik and Gisela in the beginning, the chemistry and tension was great and I enjoyed that our main character was the flirtatious, cheeky type as opposed to that typically being the energy from the love interest or a side character. I would of loved to see more of that cat and mouse behaviour we initially saw, seeing the extent of Kazik’s initial power more and that tension.

Similarly to Alicia’s other book I read (The Midnight Girls), I tend to find myself wanting more because of how interesting the story is, how she is able to pull you into her stories through her character building. I found myself intrigued by any character she described in detail, which is a feat most authors can’t do. I love that they all feel unique and detailed, even if they didn’t get as many scenes e.g the water nymphs. I was surprised by the cliff hanger, and overall would of liked more insight into this person’s true self/past. I also would of enjoyed more scenes of the water nymphs or Kazik displaying his holy powers/incidents involving different types of spirits and the difficulty of him losing his powers briefly (example the chaos it may have caused when interacting with these beings).

I also love the queer representation and the different gender expressions and sexual identities of multiple characters. The overall love story was so sweet, and I found myself rooting for everyone involved.

There is a lot of folklore and information provided in this book, a lot of knowledge and detail went into fleshing out our understanding of this world. I feel like because of that we may have missed the opportunity for more build up to the final fight but overall I love the coziness of this book and I feel like I truly know this world well. I would definitely recommend this book to friends and people wanting excellent world building, queer rep and an overall great time. I will definitely be getting a physical copy when this book is released.

3.5 stars! I enjoyed this one. I liked all the magical creatures, and Gisela was a joy. Domek ILYSM!!! The main trio were so cute, I loved Gisela and Kazik’s relationship, and my opinion of Aleksey definitely grew as the book went on! I had no idea this wasn’t a standalone so was a bit disappointed by the unresolved ending. But overall, very charming.

I admit that I was sold the moment I read "queer" "polyamory" "fantasy". And it didn't disappoint.
This book was such a breath of fresh air, it caught my attention since the first pages, very easy to read and fast paced.
It's a very good book for people that enjoy YA, I personally cringed a little at the use of many gen z terms (like sky daddy), but fortunately the fact that it's a fantasy and it not take place in the modern world helped reducing this terms. Also apart from that its very well written and I loved the part about mythology, witches, and the fantasy world.
I would love to read more about this story and more about this author!

*squeals in bisexual*

Feisty water nymphs, cinnamon roll exorcists & cautionary crushes.

I. ATE. THIS. UP.
Is there a polyamorous love triangle? Yes. But weirdly I didn’t mind (even though Kazik & Gisela would be my preferred pairing).
It was cute and lush with Slavic folklore. I loved the modern-ish banter and the obstacles. The ending does hint at a sequel but it is satisfying as a standalone.

The foreshadowing might be a bit heavy handed (as well as stressing that everyone is bi), the author needs to trust the readers more, but that’s legit the only complaint I have.
Loved it. I’d join and turn the triangle into a quadrangle.

3.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley for this arc!

Quickly:
Things I love:
That cover!
The folklore
the Queer rep
Woyciech <3


This novel is so fun and full of folklore and magic, it's easy to fall in love with it instantly. It started off slow to get into the main plot, but the writing and world building made that enjoyable and pass by. The author has a way to transport you to the setting and sets up the scene vividly. I could hear things, feel things, smell things, all through the words in this novel, while still being easy to read and YA friendly. Also suitable for fans of ‘Where the Dark Stands Still’, especially if you’re loving Polish folklore like myself!

Gisela’s characterisation is strong; she’s witty and annoying in a sisterly way yet still loveable. She’s flawed in a realistic way: she’s a believable teen girl. Really appreciate that from the author. I hope we get to witness her reunification with her family once she’s finished her new goal of discovering who Aleksey truly is.

Kazik is your broody loner who you can’t help but be drawn to despite his closed off nature. Gotta love someone you can wind up easily, which makes him the perfect target for Gisela. Seeing his internal battles with his sexuality and religion is interesting to see, but so so important to be represented.
However, I really feel like his plot line with losing his magic really took a back burner, and was just convenient for him to not be able to instantly exorcise Gisela before she can execute her plan to gain a kiss from a mortal. It would have thickened the plot to maybe see Kazik get into a pickle where he is expected to exorcise a demon, and of course, fails. The village would lose their trust and conflict ensues. It’s a shame the author missed out on this opportunity.

Aleksey, what a guy. Near the beginning of the novel, I was hoping he’d be a villain. I’m happy I was (sorta?) right hehe. I just love when he was telling Gisela straight up that one day, he’ll reveal his true face. He was hiding in plain sight…how sly. I love it. I’m really glad his plot line near the end of the novel has set the whole thing up for a sequel, because I need answers, Aleksey needs answers, and Gisela and Kazik need answers.

Woyciech is by far my favourite character! I would be the first in line to buy a book with his story (hint hint). He was funny and witty also, and I’m a sucker for a character who is so old he’s sick of other people’s shit. But I also love that he was a father figure to all the nymphs, it really warmed my heart to know someone was looking out for these girls who had encountered unfortunate and traumatising deaths.

The magic of the bathhouses was so fun! I hope these are put to more use by our main characters a little more at some point, just because I’d definitely be using them to my advantage where possible.

The slow burn reaaallllyy burned slowly. We don’t actually get much of an established polyamorous relationship, so I hope this can be explored more in a potential sequel. It will be a really interesting dynamic: Gisela, a human-turned spirit-turned back to human, Kazik, the human exorcist, and Aleksey, the forest demon.

Despite my criticisms, I still really enjoyed the book and would implore people to pick it up, especially if they wish to dip their toes into Slavic folklore. I’ll eagerly pick up any sequel that should hopefully come in the future! <3

Thank you so much for a chance to read this as an arc!

This was honestly such a delightful and fun read, it was surprisingly funny and had a very very sweet romance.

The setting in the book gave me the strongest ghibli vibes (especially spirited away), and that together with the slavic folklore woven into the story created such a dreamy atmosphere and was just so fascinating to read about!

I really enjoyed the writing as well, since it was super easy to read and also engaging without ever getting boring, what I liked especially was that each of the characters had a very strong and distinct voice in the different pov chapters.

The one thing that was a bit frustrating while reading, was that some 'things' were constantly repeated and mentioned throughout the book, as if the author didn't fully trust the reader to understand the importance or meaning after the first (or second) mention... but other than that I really don't have much complaints.

One of my main reasons for wanting to read this book was the queer rep and the poly love triangle (!!!!) that's in it, and I have to say it absolutely delivered and was everything I wanted it to be!!
The romance between the characters never felt rushed or forced, and I wanted every one of them to end up together, because the chemistry was just that good...
a really wonderfully done slowburn.

Most of all I appreciated the bi-rep throughout the book! & also the way the 'biphobia' that the main characters had to deal with at some points was adressed and handled,, which isn't something I see often in books.

overall I'm beyond happy that I got to read this arc and will definitely be recommending this book to anyone that wants to read a cozy, fun & atmospheric book full of magic and folklore!

This Fatal Kiss has the slavic folklore and whimsical magic that I loved of Where the Dark Stands Still, but with a misfit trio reminiscent of The Buried and The Bound. It uses a mix of fantasy and horror elements to create characters who are not as ordinary they appear. I loved the writing immediately. This type of prose is the magical, cozy fantasy writing that is my favorite to read. I loved each of the characters separately and enjoyed all three points of views (which is rare for me). This book has some of my absolute favorite tropes and themes including: poly romance, demons, exorcists, elemental magic, yearning, religious trauma, queer rep, and unique mythology. Looking forward to more books by this author!

While slow in the beginning, the novel picks up around the 150 page mark and while the characters were interesting and enjoyable. I was disappointed however; in the obscene amount the author reminds the reader how both Gisela and Kizik have a sexual preference. While once or twice is completely fine. It was a constant almost every 30-50 pages where we are reminded both the Main characters enjoy both sexes.

This YA fantasy romance is a breath of fresh air for the genre, with queer characters and a poly romance at the centre of the story. I loved all the characters and cannot wait for the next one, I didn’t know this wasn’t a standalone😩

Also that cover is absolutely gorgeous!! 4.5 stars

I was waiting to read this book and when I got a change I devoured it. Such a unique story. So so good to read. I rated it 5 stars and recommend everyone to read this.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-arc.
I am so excited, I am still in the first 10% of the book and I know I’m going to devour it. The story is set on a hot spring town and all the wicked creatures roaming in it haunting people (nymphs and goblins and water spirits) and the magical vibe of it all reminds me so much of Spirited Away🥹✨ Kazik being an exorcist also reminded me of Ninth House which is a big plus
I love Kazik and Gisela already and omgg Kazik’s long earrings are such a dead giveaway that he’s a bisexual mess🥰 i cannot wait for the third main character in this throuple to appear
Will update after i finish