Loved this book! I loved the paranormal aspect of the story! I loved the setting in Australia! And I really loved the slow burn build of the relationship between these two characters. And the deadly mystery that hinges on the will they won't they aspect.

This story was seriously cute. Best friends that fall in love. Even if you don't want to ruin your friendship the chance to make it so much more is one that would be hard to pass up. It's romance and friendship with some serious demon beat downs. Ancient love curses, traitors and secrets. It was a fast read and pulled me in right away. I love when a story becomes more with a paranormal twist. It makes things so much more interesting.

I must say this story does have an interesting plot line in regards to the curse. There are a lot of details and rules that must apply that it got a little confusing at times, but it still keeps you interested in finding out more. I'm not sure about the Eros Guardian plot twist. It seemed a little too convenient in regards to the healing factor. I love how Colmer gave us the POV of both Jonas and Cora. I enjoy books more when that happens. It really helps to get into the character's head and care more about them as the story progresses. I also liked the struggle that Cora and Jonas had in regards to their relationship. They did not not want to be together just because of the curse. So, I'm glad Colmer stretched out the friendship/love relationship between them. I am definitely looking forward to book 2. Recommended for ages 14 and up!

*I received a DRC for an honest review.

This was such a treat - the story was one that I was hoping I'd really enjoy and it turns out that I did. The characters were pretty well written as well, and I loved the little love story going on in this one. It's a great book to curl up with on a chilly day.

I realized that after I requested this that I probably was not going to read it. I regret requesting it cause it did sound interesting when I read the summary.

The Third Kiss by Kat Colmer is a lighthearted YA romance that has a commitment-phobic teen falling for his best friend. Jonas Leander doesn’t do long term. Never has, never will. He treats girls like the sweets in the candy store and he’s determined to try them all, without picking any favorites. But when he gets a weird letter advising him that he’s an Eros Guardian who has only one chance left to pick his life partner or spend eternity alone, Jonas has to do some serious soul-searching. Cora Hammond is one of Jonas’ oldest- and best - friends. She figures the letter is some well-deserved payback from one his short-term exes but then she becomes a part of the problem. An impulsive kiss between the two friends reveals there’s a lot of unexplored chemistry between them:

He sat and listened and let me pace, rant, and rave. And when I was done, hot tears finally breaching my icy anger, he reached for me and held me until I cried myself dry. Then held me some more. Past the point where I needed to be held. And into unfamiliar territory. I became acutely aware of every gentle stroke of his hand over my hair. Of the reassuring weight of his palm as it pressed just below and between my shoulder blades. Of his breath as he murmured soothing words near my temple. About then was when the unexplainable happened. I can still remember the startled taste of him, all sweet tangy and warm.

But before they can decide just how much they want to explore this thing between them, Cora becomes the target of the Groth Maar: demons sent to destroy Eros Guardians. Can true love prevail against the powers of hell? Definitely!

Do you like the good guy that bad stuff happen to for no reason or do you like the bad boy that cause bad stuff to happen to him?

I wondered this as I read The Third Kiss by Kat Colmer. The story about Jonas, master of meaningless hookups. The perfect bad boy, right? I mean you read this and think "Oh he's going to find the girl who isn't a meaningless hookup. I can't wait!" But then you meet Jonas, at his 18th birthday party and he receive a letter warning him about a love curse. He has only three more chances, and by chances I mean.. you guess it, kisses to find his true love. If he doesn't kiss his true love he'll miss his chance.

So is the bad boy going to change his ways?

This was what I was hoping to read: the bad boy changes his ways before the curse get him.

But Jonas is a good guy, he's already given up his meaningless hookups ways. But the girls around him, including his sister and the girl he likes (his best friend) don't realized this. The girls at party are all like kiss me Jonas, and he's not interested but then the girls kiss him.

If this sound like a book you want to read, go buy the book. You'll love it. Don't read any farther on this review.

See...

I didn't finish this book. I don't care if Jonas find out why he's curse or if he and his best friend kiss and break the curse. I don't care.

Jonas's is a good guy who has bad things happen to him. I want the bad boy that cause the bad stuff to happen and he need to fix it or a the good guy who makes the wrong decisions and messes up and has to fix it. I didn't see this in The Third Kiss by Kat Colmer. Sorry but I didn't care about the good guy Jonas who wasn't driving the plot forward.

This was a fun, light read that you don'the find much of in YA anymore - the plot was definitely light on substance re: world building, but the romance was enjoyable, and it was a good mix of action and romance.

When I read the synopsis for this book I knew I had to read it. I love that this novel is a unique twists on young adult fantasy novels. I really enjoyed the characters and the setting, The author did an outstanding job creating and writing this novel.

This book had all the makings for an epic love story. And while it did deliver on everything else I look for in an engaging urban fantasy read, I was left a little disappointed with the romance part. Though I admit that this book was blessedly uncheesy, I was desperate for a little more lurve, especially considering that a love curse is actually the main theme.

Still, I freaking loved the story-telling and its nearly perfect flow, the action sequences, the mythology and world-building, the kick-ass characters and their beautiful friendships.
And despite it not being perfect, I never ever wanted the book to end. Can't wait for the sequel. I need to know more about Leo!

*I received a copy from Entangled Teen for review - all thoughts are 100% my own.*

I'm pretty certain I read the summary for this novel before requesting it, but for some reason, I didn't reread said summary before jumping into the story. As a result, I was really confused because I remembered the synopsis having something to do with a curse and the story read as a typical YA contemporary for the first 1/4.

With that said, after I got over that hump, the story turned out to be quite enjoyable. The background between Love's Mortal Coil is really interesting - with the backstory focusing on the Biblical story of Tamar and her half brother who raped and then disgraced her. It was really cool getting to explore the history of the curse with the characters and seeing how the curse would affect them. I do wish that the premise could have been explored a bit more because it was definitely the most intriguing aspect of the story.

I'll be frank and admit that I'm not a huge fan of Cora and Jonas because I got sucked into shipping Leo and Beth together. However, I did like them as characters individually and together, they are still cute. Cora is such a strong willed character and her strength really helps Jonas. Their friendship is also absolutely adorable and it's a no brainer to see how compatible they are.

As the plot thickens and the group has to figure out a way to break the curse, Kat Colmer does a really great job creating a sense of growing tension. The action scenes were also really well written along with several twists that propel the story forward.

I'm definitely intrigued to keep this series on the radar, especially since the next book follows Beth (I believe) and like I mentioned before, I really like her character.

'The Third Kiss' is an excellent first installment in a fresh new young adult fantasy series that readers are going to love. I'm so happy and excited that this is only the first book in a series, because I want more! I loved pretty much everything about this novel - the writing was fantastic, the story line had me riveted, and the characters were realistic and likeable. The author did a wonderful job bringing the story to life - she had me believing that ancient love curses, demons, and Eros Guardians were all real. I adored all of the backstory and history about the curse, the Groth Maar, the Book of Threads, Eros Guardians, and everything else involved. I hope we get to learn even more about them in the next book. I found it compelling and utterly fascinating. The characters were all well written, even the secondary characters were unique and believable. I loved Jonas and Cora - the main characters - and getting to know them both along with watching their relationship change and grow was great. They each had positive qualities and flaws that made them realistic and easy to connect with early on in the story.

One huge plus for me was the author's choice of writing style. The book is told from the first person point of view, alternating between Jonas and Cora. This was a perfect fit for the story and I'm so happy she wrote it this way. I'm a huge fan of the first person POV because of the personal connection it allows between the narrator and the reader - and this was no exception. We get to really know Jonas and Cora - their hopes and dreams, fears, memories, and so much more are exposed for us to see. It made them both real for me and made it all the more intense watching their friendship and relationship take on all of the obstacles throughout the book, and seeing it change and grow was wonderful. I'm really excited to see where the next installment will take us and what will happen - the only bad thing now is the wait. Very highly recommended for fans of young adult fiction, fantasy, paranormal, and romance!

This book was a great quick read and I really enjoyed all the aspects of it. I’m a sucker for witty banter and Jonas and Cora fully delivered. The will they, won’t they that played out was very enjoyable. Cora is a take care of herself kind of girl which I fully relate to and really helped me connect to her as I feel like most YA books these days have ditzy main characters.

The curse itself and the world were so interesting to me and I really enjoyed learning about the curse slowly and all the different facets to it. There are a couple of twists in the book and I will say that I saw one of them coming for most of the book, but didn’t expect the other.

I’m excited to see what more we learn about the curse in the next book and where the story for our characters goes. Jonas, Cora, Beth and Leo are a lovable squad that you’ll be rooting for.

My Thoughts:
The Cover: What a beautiful cover! A soft purple silhouette of a couple, I am sure our protagonists, against a light background with the title in calligraphy in front. I felt the promise of a good read from the cover.

The Plot: All in all, The Third Kiss was a very entertaining story. It's definitely not your average love story, 'cause you hope curses and demons and sharp swords are not involved. But the adventure was amazing. I could not put this book down, even for food (and if you know me, food is one of my favorite things, next to books about adventure, curses, and swords lol)

The Characters: I loved our protagonists! With a lot of books, I often find the supporting characters stealing my heart. But Cora and Jonas were front and centre and were very strong characters. All of our characters were very well written, with strong personality traits and flaws, worthy of love or hate!

Was it Worth Reading?: Without a doubt! I was hooked from the very beginning and am seriously hoping for another! I am also going to find more books by our author, because I love her writing. I highly recommend The Third Kiss and give it 5 out of 5 crossbows.

You can read my review here: http://cindysloveofbooks.com/2017/08/14296/

Kat Colmer’s debut novel The Third Kiss is a bewitching paranormal YA that is superbly written, features delectable dialogue and tangible characters and will keep you entranced from beginning to end!

Jonas Leander is known for his short-term relationships. The master of meaningless hook-ups, Jonas doesn’t believe in love and certainly isn’t looking for it. The only girls who matter in his life are his twin sister Beth and his next-door neighbor/best friend Cora. A year ago, a reckless moment changed Jonas and Cora’s relationship and now with Cora returning from a year abroad, Jonas knows he’s going to have to face the awkwardness between them. Cora Hammond is thrilled to be back in Australia after a year spent with her mother in Manhattan, even if it means dealing with the fallout over a misplaced kiss between her and Jonas. Jonas has always been her best friend, so all Cora wants is to get to how they were, but when Jonas gets a mysterious letter claiming he’s something known as an Eros Guardian, a descendant of a family line cursed to lose their chance at love, Cora and Jonas are sure one of his disgruntled ex-s are playing a practical joke. Yet when strange things begin happening and Cora is attacked by a group of demons determined to make Jonas’s curse come true, the two best friends will have to face the possibility that not only is the curse dangerously real but facing the truth about their relationship may be the only thing saving Cora’s life.

Having literally just devoured this novel, I have to say I was very impressed with The Third Kiss and enjoyed it very much. The novel was intelligently told, the prose sharp and the dialogue biting. The Third Kiss honestly was just a well written and solid read all-round. The Third Kiss focuses heavily around the relationships between the characters, driven by the sharp and sizzling chemistry and banter between the two leads Jonas and Cora. The Third Kiss unfolds through their varying POV’s and includes the perfect amount of paranormal to support the characterizations and relationships we follow. The supernatural elements are there, but it's easy to focus on the interactions between the characters, and their relationships are never lost among the paranormal--it works out to be perfectly balanced.

As our main characters and focus of the story, it was impossible not to fall in love with both Cora and Jonas. Cora was intelligent, practical, town to earth and also every kick-ass. Colmer writes her very capable; highlighting the importance of self defense and gives Cora a stubborn nature you can't help but cheer for. Jonas on the other hand is very smooth-talking and charming who does care very deeply for his sister, aunt and best friend. He's actually a good guy despite his cheeky--and womanizing--nature and I loved seeing him grow and face his true feelings about Cora.

There's so much to love about The Third Kiss including the fact author Kat Colmer situates the story in Australia and gives it a very Australian feel that will also satisfy international readers. We're also introduced to Jonas's twin sister Beth who is also Cora's best friend and someone who brought a lot of potential to the story. They have a wonderful friendship together and had strong bonds. It was wonderful seeing the three of them interact as well as Jonas's friend Leo who loves his slogan shirts and isn't all he seems.

The highlight of the novel for me is easily the relationship between Cora and Jonas. Their romantic development was admittedly somewhat predictable but being a romance as The Third Kiss is, you head into the novel expecting them to obviously fall for one another. What grabbed me is the easy way they interact with each other, the banter, the chemistry and attraction between them. It bleeds through the pages and Kat Colmer has you eagerly turning pages to witness the next electrically charged interaction between them and next smouldering kiss.

The Third Kiss features some interesting mythology I would love to explore more of and enough developments to keep things very interesting. With a breathtaking ending guaranteed to leave you raring for more, I for one can't wait to see what Kat Colmer has in store for these characters next and will be desperately looking for the continuation of what looks like a very promising new series!

You would think that a love curse and the friends to lovers trope would be over played in the YA world, right? Well you are wrong when it comes to this book. And for the record, the friends to lovers trope is my favorite. Because the two characters obviously have something that made them friends in the first place. Being lovers is an added bonus and eliminates that awkward getting to know you stage. You all know what I'm talking about. It's just soooo awkward.

Moving on. I really liked this book. For a while there it was touch and go for me. I generally liked Jonas and Cora as MCs. Both were solid in their own way and I'll talk about that later in the review. (view spoiler). By the way they bickered and snapped at each other, you would think that they didn't really like each other. But then again, I can be a nasty woman to my friends sometimes.

Jonas was a solid MC. I liked his point of view a lot. He was very smart and willing to admit when he messed up. He let us into his true feelings and you really felt the brokenness he hid so well. He was clearly affected by things in his past and my heart went out to him. But sometimes, he was a bit pig headed and really wanted to smack the crap out of him a few times.

Cora was the same way for me at times. It was awesome to see a girl interested in science and fighting but she was still girly. Yay for fellow nerd girl recognition! But she was also very stubborn to the point where I wanted to hit her as well. It was her personality, though. That was just how she was. She, too, was affected by her past, not as drastically as Jonas, but still. Trauma is trauma.

The concept of the love curse was very well done. I've never heard of the one that was used in this book but I'm sure there is some basis of truth. I might do some more research about it, just to satisfy my curiosity. To add more props to this book and author, the secondary characters were well done. They weren't there for the sake of being there. They were a part of Jonas and Cora's life in a very important way. I mean, overall, I couldn't ask for a better start to what I'm sure will be an awesome series!

**4.5 Out Of 5 Stars **
During his 18th birthday party, Jonas receives a strange anonymous card with a vague poem in it talking about three kisses and being rejected if love is not true, which he promptly forgets about. But then strange things are happening around him, girls desiring him (as per the norm) and then the next day telling him he is unwanted, and the card seems to have changed. Not only is he confused over the adverse reaction from his previously admiring crowd, but his best friend Cora just came home and Jonas could not be more conflicted in his feelings towards her. Jonas found himself in a mess, a curse is on the loose and love is at stake.

A good portion of this story dealt with the quest to discover the truth and the struggle that Jonas and Cora had over their relationship. There were other things mixed in of course, be it other relationship dramas, friendship, quirky mishaps usually revolving around Leo and heaps of angst of the I'm-not-jealous-you're- jealous variety. I liked how the story was a mash-up of real life with school and family and romance, but then this crazy supernatural issue wrapped around everything. I can honestly say that I was very quickly wrapped up in this story, the pacing was just about perfect for me, with enough character development and plot that I rooted for the people while at the same time trying to guess what would happen next (and let me tell you, every time I was convinced I had figured something out, I was proven wrong, all the way to the very last page!- way to keep me on my toes Kat!)

The story was dual narrated by Cora and Jonas, with it alternating voices at chapters. Cora was this smart, energetic, self proclaimed nerd who so wanted to get her life back on track after the upheaval of the last year, and step one was pretend she never kissed Jonas. Jonas is a charismatic yet notorious player, having a fan-club of girls who he sees for a max of a week (he knows their names...for the most part) until he moves on,refusing to be in a serious relationship since he saw first hand that love only causes pain. The I really enjoyed both characters in different ways, and it was so obvious the elephant in the room that they both fought hard to ignore- they were into each other from the beginning, but their history caused damage to any hope for love. To put it mildly, I was frustrated at the back and forth they had, refusing to admit the truth and instead be stubborn and hurtful. But on a more positive note, they were great at being friends first, and I liked how regardless of everything else, they were willing to fight for friendship. Beth was the best friend and sister anyone could have asked for, and I enjoyed her upbeat manner even in the face of crisis- she was probably my favorite person in the story, regardless of her not being the main character. And that beings me to Leo, who I originally thought was my favorite, with his nerdy ways, clumsiness and overall attitude...until he wasn't...

I love how this is just the start with the twist ending, and I look forward to the future of the series (and Beth!) and what ever danger and peril the characters will face next. This was such a unique premise for a book, I have honestly never read anything like this before, with Groth Maar and Eros Guardians, a new view on history, adding a completely new spin on the general teen paranormal romances I have come across recently. I highly recommend this for anyone who like magic, danger, surprises and most of all true love. This satisfied the hopeless romantic in me in a big way! I can;t wait for more adventures from Kat.

I received this title in return for my honest review. Follow the tour on my blog at http://smadasbooksmack.blogspot.com/

Please note: I received a copy of THE THIRD KISS from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the publisher and author.

FIVE STARS! I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED IT!!!!!

Here’s why:

Kat Colmer’s debut novel sucked me in from page one! I got nothing done! I literally sat in a chair and read the entire book in one sitting! Friends to lovers is a trope I am fond of, and Cora and Jonas have a hella-hot attraction in spades! Plus, I love the mythology coupled with the drama, romance, and plot twists that just kept me riveted to the very end! What a super cool concept.

Cora is sassy and sweet and smart – I love a character I can truly root for and Jonas is swoon-worthy. He’s a charmer, but in that lovable sort of way in that he cares about his twin sister Beth and his best friend Leo. Speaking of, Leo and Beth kept me on my toes with their attraction and relationship status, and when things really hit the fan, well, the twists kept on turning so quickly it was hard to keep up!

I laughed. I cried. I suffered from whiplash turning the pages so fast and you will too. Highly recommend. Can’t wait for the sequel. Thank you so much for sharing this book with me!

I really enjoyed The Third Kiss. It was definitely a sweet romance, but there was so much more to it. I absolutely loved the curse and demons. There was way more action than in a typical romance which kept the pace really well throughout the book. Some of my favorite parts took place in the demons’ home.

I ended up really liking Jonas even though he was so anti love and I tend to be a bit of a romantic. Cora was the perfect female character for me. Smart and a badass. Beth and Leo were also great and I’m hoping we get more from both of them in the next book. I’m hoping we get more from the professor, too. I feel like there is more to him than we found out in this book.