Lips Touch: Three Times

This collection presents three standalone novellas centered on the supernatural consequences of a kiss. In Goblin Fruit, Kizzy disregards ancestral warnings and falls for a mysterious boy who harvests souls through attraction. Spicy Little Curses focuses on Anaitis, a girl cursed by a demon so that her first kiss will kill her beloved, forcing her to choose between isolation and a lethal colonial bargain. The final story, Hatchling, follows Esme as she discovers her mother’s past in a wintry parallel world ruled by ancient, bird-like druj. Each tale incorporates dark folklore and features illustrations by Jim Di Bartolo that emphasize the eerie atmosphere of these bargains with the demonic and the divine.

Readers of gothic fantasy and young adult romance seek this book for its focus on the physical sensations of suspense and the high stakes of adolescent desire. The narratives appeal to those who prefer traditional, unforgiving fairy tales over sanitized modern retellings. By the end, the reader understands the tension between human vulnerability and the predatory nature of mythic beings. They walk away with a vivid sense of how folklore functions as both a warning and a source of visceral, dangerous beauty.