This Fatal Kiss

By: Jamie Steinberg

Gisela is a beautiful young girl who, sadly, met an untimely fate by drowning and is now cursed to haunt the river where she died as a water nymph. Rumor has it that if she is able to get a willing individual to kiss her then she can return to her human form and live the life she misses dearly. Author Alicia Jasinska weaves a beautiful tale of folk lore meets love story with This Fatal Kiss as readers desperately want our dear Gisela to get her smooch and become mortal once again.

Gisela spends her days roaming around town with her fellow water nymphs hoping to entertain themselves. Wojciech, the water goblin protector for the girls, has warned them all not to stray too far from where they died and to always keep their hair damp so as not to dry out. They are also in need of avoiding Kazik, the exorcist in town who is on a mission to remove all otherworldly spirits. Gisela, who appears to be around Kazik’s age, can’t help herself from teasing and antagonizing the exorcist as an additional form of entertainment. Unfortunately, after tempting fate too many times she becomes trapped by Kazik in his home. Luckily, one of Kazik’s former schoolmates Aleksey comes across her aid and unknowingly frees her from his clutches. Gisela immediately becomes obsessed with him, hoping that his kiss will cure her from her under water prison and bring her back to life to reunite her with her younger brother and father. However, a twist of fate could dash her hopes as Aleksey may not truly be the sweet, charming boy he seems to be. To say anything else would give away too much of the plot, but it sure seems like Gisela and Aleksey will go to any means necessary to accomplish their goals…

Jasinska captivates with Gisela’s plight. She is simply a sweet but naughty girl just hoping to regain her life back on dry (haired) land. Some may worry they’ll have trouble pronouncing the names of the character’s in the book, but Jasinska actually has you covered with a guide at the very beginning. My qualms with this read are small as I wish we had a full description of Kazik when we first meet him as I spent my initial read on him as an older man until we learn from Aleksey’s viewpoint that they are former schoolmates. Additionally, as both boys become captivated by Gisela I would have liked to have known what draws them to her and hear more about them starting to have more than friendship feelings.

This Fatal Kiss is a fascinating read that mixes modern-day romance with Slavic folklore. Does a botched exorcism lead our heroine to returning to the life she once knew and took for granted? You’ll have to pick up a copy of this romantasy and find out for yourself.