Publication date: September 2024
LGBTQ+ author? Queer
Setting: Fantasy version of an unnamed Slavic country
This book is completely cozy, lighthearted and fun. Once I got into it, I couldn’t put it down!
Giesla is a water spirit, which in Slavic folklore means she died a violent and tragic death near a body of water. She wants nothing more than to become human again. She’s heard a rumour that kissing a person is all she needs to make her dreams come true.
Gielsa enlists the help of the local exorcist named Kazik, who wants to get rid of her and all spirits. But he makes a special bargain with her to play matchmaker. And the two set their sights on wooing Aleksey, a local kid and total hottie. Except Aleksey isn’t quite what he seems…
This YA book tackles the feeling of always wanting to be somewhere else, which is a very teenager or perhaps just human feeling. Gielsa longs to be a human and return home. But she is perhaps overlooking how her current home in Wojciech’s castle allows her to actually be a teen girl, surrounded by found family with all the other water spirits.
The author queers Slavic folklore, which separates water spirits into completely different male and female roles. A human boy become a spirit but was welcomed into a female role as soon as he said he belonged there instead. There is also what we might call butch who becomes a spirit who doesn’t feel like a woman, but she doesn’t want to go live with the men. So she wears men’s clothes and carries on with her day among the female spirits, totally welcomed.
The main romance is also m/f but this gets queered as well, as all the main characters are what we might call bisexual or pansexual. Once a love triangle starts to develop, it takes a gentle turn towards polyamory instead of the usual jealousy and fighting.
So there is all this, plus the plot is fun and fast-moving too. Completely recommend!
Thank you NetGalley for the advanced reader copy.
Queer Book Reviews 
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