Discover Well-Read Black Girl Books and the projects reshaping publishing →

Book Summary and Reviews of This Fatal Kiss by Alicia Jasinska

This Fatal Kiss by Alicia Jasinska

This Fatal Kiss

by Alicia Jasinska

  • Critics' Consensus (5):
  • Published:
  • Sep 2024, 416 pages
  • Rate this book

About this book

Book Summary

Spirit away with a whimsical fantasy filled with dark magic and flirty, polyamorous romance.

Cursed to haunt the river running through the magical spa town where she drowned, Gisela is a water nymph who dreams of returning to the living world and the family she left behind. All it takes to regain her humanity is a kiss from a mortal...but everyone sees her as a monster.

And then there's Kazik, the brooding, interfering, spirit-hunting grandson of a local witch. He's determined to rid the world of unholy creatures like Gisela. After Kazik botches Gisela's exorcism, she strikes up a deal. She won't tell the other spirits that he's losing his magic, if he agrees to play matchmaker and helps her get a kiss. But Gisela's plan goes awry when Kazik also falls for the devilishly handsome young man that she sets her heart on—someone who could be linked to Gisela's troubled past.

Finely crafted with a magical setting, this delectable quest through the spirit world is an enchanting read for fairy tale enthusiasts and YA fans of queer romantasy.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!
  1. How did Gisela become a water nymph? What is the difference between a nymph and a goblin? Discuss the relationship between Gisela and Wodnik, a water goblin. Water nymphs are shape-shifters. How does Gisela shape-shift? In what way is she playful and malicious? Cite specific scenes in the book to support your thoughts.
  2. Discuss the hierarchy of the spirit world. Contrast the spirits in the novel. Which spirits are the most dangerous? How are spirits like Gisela looked down upon? Note the names of all the spirits at the beginning of the novel. Chart their activities and role in the novel. Why is Rusalki considered a nuisance, especially during Green Week? How do the citizens of Lesna Woods count on Babcia?
  3. Explain what ...
Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Reviews

Media Reviews

"Jasinska employs Gisela, Kazik, and Aleksey's alternating perspectives to spin a delightfully queer polyamorous romance teeming with splashes of ethereal magic. As the trio's relationship unfolds via charming banter and self-conscious uncertainty, secrets heighten the tension in this historical fantasy that's inspired by Slavic folklore." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Engaging and immersive—a delight from start to finish." —Kirkus Reviews

"Found family of other rusałka with diverse sexualities and gender identities, their irascible (but hot) immortal water goblin "grandfather," and the small town setting with its witchy cottagecore aesthetic make this an appealing destination for fans of Jasinska's The Dark Tide as well as readers in search of a cozy, flirty, folklore-inflected good time." —The Bulletin

This information about This Fatal Kiss was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

Click here and be the first to review this book!

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Author Information

Alicia Jasinska

Alicia Jasinska hails from Sydney, Australia and is the author of acclaimed YA novels, The Dark Tide and The Midnight Girls. A library technician by day, she spends her nights writing and hanging upside down from the aerial hoop.

More Author Information

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Read-Alikes

Read-Alikes Full readalike results are for members only

If you liked This Fatal Kiss, try these:

  • As Many Souls as Stars jacket

    As Many Souls as Stars

    by Natasha Siegel

    Published 2025

    About this book

    For fans of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, an inventive and romantic speculative novel about two women—a witch and an immortal demon—who make a Faustian bargain and are drawn into a cat-and-mouse chase across multiple lifetimes.

  • The Palace of Eros jacket

    The Palace of Eros

    by Caro De Robertis

    Published 2025

    About this book

    Perfect for fans of Circe and Black Sun, this bold and subversive feminist retelling of the Greek myth of Psyche and Eros explores the power of queer joy and freedom.

  • Madame Sosostris and the Festival for the Brokenhearted jacket

    Madame Sosostris and the Festival for the Brokenhearted

    by Ben Okri

    Published 2025

    About this book

    In this modern fable with the impish magic of A Midsummer Night's Dream, a masked ball makes two upper-class British couples see each other in a new light.

    A wise, enchanting novel about love, power, and our many selves—past and future, public and private—from the Booker Prize–winning author.

We have 10 read-alikes for This Fatal Kiss, but non-members are limited to three results. Join free to see the complete list of recommendations.
Search read-alikes
How we choose read-alikes

More Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Speculative, Alt. History

Browse all Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Speculative, Alt. History books

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

BookBrowse Book Club

Book Jacket
A Pair of Aces
by Marie Benedict, Victoria Christopher Murray
Two women on opposite sides of the law team up to bring down gangster Lucky Luciano in this gripping novel.

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket
    The Jellyfish Problem
    by Tessa Yang
    A marine biologist rescues a Maine island menaced by a giant glowing jellyfish in this inventive debut.
  • Book Jacket
    Summer's Never Over
    by Darby Bozeman
    A woman revisits a Southern summer camp where a counselor's death may not have been an accident.
  • Book Jacket
    Somebody Worth Killing
    by Jessica Payne
    Meet Nadia Davis, loving mom, devoted wife, secret assassin… and she needs a babysitter.
  • Book Jacket
    The Reimagining of Thornwood House
    by Jaleigh Johnson
    A witch and her ward discover a magical walking house and find the true meaning of home.
  • Book Jacket
    Feast
    by Catherine Kurtz
    In 19th-century France, a girl with a magical taste becomes a duc’s poison taster amid nobility and danger.
Who Said...

We must believe in luck. For how else can we explain the success of those we don't like?

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Book
Trivia
  • Book Trivia

    Can you name the title?

    Test your book knowledge with our daily trivia challenge!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

S the B

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.