The Third Kiss is a fast moving, fun, and delightful read. It's pretty much equal parts romance, mythology, and action. I really enjoyed the contemporary feel of the friends/girl next door turns into something more storyline, mixed with the more supernatural feeling of the Eros Guardian mythology. That magical realism is definitely one of my favorite parts of the book. When Jonas starts finding out more about this love curse and discovers an unknown enemy, the Groth Maar, that's when the action kicks up and things really get interesting. Another thing that made me really enjoy this book is the likable characters and the relationships between them. Even the best storylines tend to fall flat if the characters are not enjoyable, but that was not a problem here. The banter between the friends and siblings was fun and helped me to really feel their affection for one another, There were definitely times when I wanted to smack Cora and Jonas for being so dense about their feelings for each other. I mean they even had proof right in front of their eyes at one point that they had a strong potential for true love and they still fought it. Ugh! Overall I felt the story was pretty unique and that twist at the end has me super anxious to get my hands on the next book! I highly recommend this book to fans of teen romance with some great banter, mythology, and action thrown in.

Jonas Leander is not one for committed, long-term relationships, but since he and his good friend Cora shared an impulsive kiss just before she left to spend a year in New York, he's had trouble thinking of anyone or anything else. She, on the other hand, feels little more than a slight fluttering when she remembers that awkward night.

When Jonas receives a strange poem from an anonymous source, Cora does some investigating and discovers it is actually an ancient love curse passed down through the generations of his family. He has three opportunities to choose a partner wisely, otherwise he will be doomed for a life of rejection. For someone as shallow as Jonas appears to be, this is going to be a difficult feat, especially as he's already used up two of his chances! Jonas also finds out that he is an Eros Guardian - the choices he makes have the power to protect romantic love or cause it to die out forever Added into the mix are the Groth Maar, demons who oversee the curse. Their main purpose is to eradicate the Eros Guardian line.

Jonas thinks being in love is a trap - something to avoid at all costs and Cora is far too practical to fall for him. But there is a lot more to them than meets the eye. Because of the bond they share, the potential for genuine love puts Cora in danger from the Groth Maar. The development of their feelings for one another is natural and plausible. They have much in common and understand each other more deeply than they realise.

Filled with clever, witty dialogue and appealing personalities, The Third Kiss is an engaging and entertaining novel. Recommended, especially for fans of fantasy, mythology and romance.

MY RATING: 4/5 STARS

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

I want to first start off this review by explaining that I don't prefer fantasy and supernatural aspects in my young adult/new adult stories. It's just not my cup of tea most of the times but I was given the opportunity by Entangled Teen to review this interesting tale of two people who are destined for each other and who are also fighting against it so I couldn't really pass it up.

While I had difficulty believing the supernatural aspects of the story because I just love real life so much, I found myself enjoying the story and enjoying the plot that Kat Colmer wrote. 

Let's talk about our fierce heroine, Cora. She can probably kick your ass and kick mine too. Seriously, she has a black belt in tae kwon do and she uses this to her advantage to kick some serious demon butt. She also kicks our hero, Jona's butt too. I liked Cora because unlike a lot of fantasy novels on the market, we actually see her actually do something. She isn't an accessory or someone standing on the sidelines, waiting for her hero to save her life. No. She's actively fighting for her life and even for his. I also enjoyed the fact that Cora wasn't smitten with Jona from the first page. Sure, they shared a kiss but it didn't make Cora think Jona was anything special until much later on when the time they spent with each other slowly wore her down and made her see his true colours in order for love to form. 

Now let's talk about Jona. My heart sunk when it was revealed why he was so against love and so against anything close to a relationship. It was sad to hear and I understood why Jona didn't quite understand why his father did what he did until he was in his shoes and went through the same trauma. Kat Colmer did a very good job at making me yearn for Jona and Cora's love. The whole story is about the power of love and it made me really believe in the importance of Jona and Cora falling in love so when it actually happened, it was this amazing feeling. 

I think that was really why I gave it such a high rating. 

Also, the epic fight scenes were pretty good too.

MY RECOMMENDATION:

READ IT!

If you’ve ever wanted more fantasy in adorable contemporary romance novels, this is the book for you. The Third Kiss is an absolute gem and I am so glad I took a chance on it. The story is part romance, part fantasy, and part coming-of-age. The characters stole my heart from page one (okay, maybe Jonas took a bit longer). If you’re looking for a lighthearted read for the summer, absolutely pick this one up.

The Third Kiss started off a contemporary novel. Cora, coming back from a year in New York following her parents’ divorce, returns in time for Beth and Jonas’s eighteenth birthday party. Even though she’s excited to see her best friends, she’s also nervous because of something that happened with Jonas, a notorious playboy, before she left. The morning after the party, Jonas receives a mysterious letter stating that he only has three chances to kiss his true love or he’ll forever be alone. The friends initially dismiss it as a prank but then things happen that make them start to wonder if there might be more to the letter than they originally thought. What happens next is a wonderful blend of fantasy adventures, contemporary issues, and paranormal activity all tied together with some creatively repurposed mythology.

The pacing was absolutely perfect in this novel. I never felt like I wanted a section to go by faster or that one hadn’t been developed enough. There was a lot of information and unique mythology to wrap my head around but the author did an incredible job of weaving it into the text, I never once was confused or disoriented. There was a nice mix of action scenes and quieter ones that allowed the characters to be more introspective. The romance was entirely swoon-worthy, I still can’t get over how perfectly it developed. Everything was tied up nicely, with just enough of a surprise at the end to make me want book two immediately.

The characters in this novel were absolutely fantastic. They easily leapt off the page and into my imagination. I loved how the author included little quirks and flaws in each character, it really made them stand out. Additionally, the relationships between them were strong and well-developed. If Cora and Beth were real, I’d really want to be friends with them. Jonas has his flaws but he matures a lot in this book, coming to some difficult realizations about him self. As for Leo, just read and find out.

The Third Kiss was a fantastic debut that now ranks in my favorite summer reads. I cannot wait for book two in order to continue on this wonderful adventure.

The Third Kiss (Love's Mortal Coil #1) by Kat Colmer is book one in her Love's Mortal Coil series about Jonas Leander and his longtime friend, Cora Hammond. A year-ago, they shared a spur-of-the-moment kiss that both are pretending didn't happen as they reunite, on Jonas and his twin sister Beth's eighteenth birthday.

Known for his lack of commitment in the dating area, Jonas is taken back by a mysterious letter he receives under his door stating that he'll have to endure a test of true love or be forever alone. A curse that gives him three chances, or rather kisses, to find his true love. However, nothing is ever easy.

Demons are out and about trying to make sure he fails on finding his true love and they mean business. Filled with interesting myth-building, action, suspense, and romance, Ms. Colmer creates a story that will keep you interested until the very end.

I liked how Kat Colmer created a unique fantasy story with mythology and curses. She plays with the theme of love: romantic love, familial love, and love through friendship. How deep the bonds are. Jonas and Cora are strong characters. I admired how Jonas cared strongly for both Cora and his sister Beth. Not wanting either to be hurt even at risk to himself.

Ms. Colmer also succeeds through her characters in showing us the various forms of love and how they are experienced and how it affects people feelings towards love. For example, Jonas and Beth's parents loved each other so much, that Jonas described their type of love as all-consuming, which made him steer clear from love all-together. For Cora, though her parents are divorced, when she asks her father if he regrets loving her mother, he tells her no. Bringing forth the idea that it is better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all. I liked how Ms. Colmer has ties-in the different views of love through Jonas and Cora, and how they learn how they really feel about love throughout the book.

Besides, the subject of love, there is the curse. The history and mythos, and how they find out more about the curse was interesting. I don't want to give too much away in regards to that, but I liked how it was presented. Though it did take a little while to get there from the beginning. I really hope there is a second book coming soon, because I really want to know more about the curse, the bad guys, and how are the descendants chosen as the Eros Guardians.

Overall, The Third Kiss by Kat Colmer was a good start to a new YA fantasy series and I look forward to reading more by this author. I gladly recommend.

(I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book I received for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my open and honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.)

he Third Kiss is the 1st book in the Loves Mortal Coil series by Ya Australia author Kat Colmer. It is about:
 “Love curses don’t exist. At least that’s what Jonas, master of the meaningless hookup, tells himself when a letter warns him he’s an Eros Guardian cursed to endure a test of true love or forever be alone. His levelheaded longtime friend Cora figures it’s a revenge prank by an ex. The way Jonas stamps each girlfriend with a weeklong use-by date, it serves him right.
But when an impulsive kiss between the two friends reveals potential for more, Cora becomes the target of the Groth Maar: demons sent to wipe out the Eros Guardian line. And suddenly the curse becomes dangerously real.
Breaking the curse means Jonas’s biggest challenge yet. Failure guarantees Cora’s death. But success may cost him his own life…and the loss of his carefully guarded heart to the one girl far too sensible to fall for him.”
This book was just what I needed, a book based on love with a fantasy element! That’s my favourite kind of book! I’d never heard of anything about loves mortal coil and the mythology behind the story so I loved learning about this new myth and how it took a toll on the characters life’s.
I loved all the characters! Jonas was you main character who was a player and loved having flings with girls and couldn’t hold a relationship down but I loved when we found out why he didn’t want to! He would do anything to keep his sister Beth and Cora safe from harm which I really admired.  He has a very strong relationship with his sister Beth which I loved and you could really see how close they were when you read the scenes between them. Cora was a badass character who could really kick butt and I liked how she could put jonas in his play and kick him back down when he got to big for his boots! I really like Leo too he was your classic nerd who wore nerdy tshirts and interested in computers! I liked his friendship with jonas and his growing friendship with Beth! 
I also enjoyed how we had alternating pics between jonas and Cora so we got to see both of their views on what was happening in the book and what they believed about the myth and how they felt for each other! 
I have this book 5 owls! 5 stars and can’t wait to find out what happens in the next book!

The Third Kiss offers a different take on the idea of love curses; I found the biblical origins of the Love's Mortal Coil curse compelling. It really made me wonder where Ms. Colmer came up with the idea; I bet there's a story there! The curse and the universe in which it resides was well thought out and maintained. I really liked the voices of the two protagonists, Jonas and Cora, and Beth and Leo were strong secondary characters as well. The grownups of the book--Cora's dad, Jonas' aunt, even the professor--seemed a bit more disposable, though that's often the case in YA books, so it didn't bother me overmuch.

I am really interested in seeing where this series is going to go--will there be two books (I totally called the ending of this one; go, me!) or three? Or...more? And how soon will we have to wait to find out???

Rating: 4 stars / B+

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

I tried, really tried. Sorry. I just couldn't connect to the characters or the story. It wasn't bad writing, just didn't feel like anything new.

kat colmer's debut, the third kiss, takes two best friends and two inexplicable kisses and makes them the biggest deal. before cora left sydney for manhattan for a year she kissed her best friend jonas. then she was gone and they never talked about it. and things were weird, but then got better and now that she's back in sydney she hopes they don't ever have to talk about it.

she still doesn't know why she kissed him. she was sad and scared and he was there for her. he's always been there for her. and she loves him, of course. but not romantically, because she knows that jonas is a bad bet romantically. but their friendship means everything. and she can't believe she risked it for a kiss.

when cora surprises jonas and his twin sister with her arrival at their eighteenth birthday party, his whole life goes into a tailspin. he's got girls throwing themselves at him, weird prank love curse letters, his aunt helena making grand speeches and then cora is home. she's finally home after a year of being gone and he doesn't know what he's going to say to her. they have to talk about that kiss.

and when they do and she calls it a deviant impulse, he's not relieved. he's hurt. and when she goes on a date with some other guy he's also angry and hurt. and when they start arguing he kisses her.

it's an impulse. but it's also the third kiss he's able to give before losing the chance to find his true love. and the love curse means that cora's apparent rejection of the kiss and what it could mean for them puts her in danger. and even though jonas isn't ready to admit it, cora means the world to him. it's not just that he doesn't want his best friend to be safe. it's that she is someone who is important to him, who is vital to his happiness, and if she were hurt, life wouldn't be the same.

so cora and jonas spend a lot of time grappling with their feelings and not giving them name. both of them have some real fears about calling what lies between them love. giving it a name gives it power. and jonas has always feared the power love can have over you, mainly because of the way his parents' lives ended. while for cora, loving someone opens her up to the possibility of betrayal. and she isn't sure she has it in her to trust jonas given his terrible track record. except none of those girls were cora. and she means more to him than any casual hook up ever could.

conquering the demons after them almost comes into second place to conquering their fears and issues with love and commitment. and as impossible as all these feats seem, they get there. only to realize that a new set of problems waiting for them at the other end. here's hoping that the sequel to this story doesn't take too long to publish.

I was unable to finish this story as I could not connect with the characters.

I wasn't sure what to expect from Kat Colmer's The Third Kiss but I ended up liking the twist it added to the usual best friends to lover romance type of story. Like with any other good book that uses this trope, the chemistry between Cora and Jude is definitely there which made for many swoony scenes between the two of them. I also liked that Cora was a badass martial artist and could hold her own in a fight. In addition to the usual stubbornness between the characters, the author also adds a mystical element by having Jude be the recipient of a love curse. This adds to the conflict as not only do the two need to overcome the usual miscommunications and stubbornness, but they also have to do it while fighting for their lives by defending themselves against demons. The Third Kiss is a refreshing mixture of contemporary YA with supernatural elements. It is the first book in the Love's Mortal Coil series, and I am incredibly excited for the next book which hopefully expand more of the history of the love curse. And based on the cliff-hanger I hope the second book will focus on Jude's twin, Beth and perhaps will have the return of Leo.

This is a cute, sweet, teen read. It moves very slow but it has some twist and keeps its toe dipped in the sci-fi enough to keep it interesting.

Reading about the curse's background and how it involved the family line was interesting. I liked Cora, Jonas, Beth, and Leo but was confused by how standoffish Cora and Jonas were acting about caring for each other. Even when they figured out she wasn't one that would scorn him they still acted as if she did. Loved the action part of the book and my heart broke for one of them near the end. The beginning was a bit slow but it did pick up, that alone would have me giving it a 3.5 but I did really like the ending so I bumped it to a 4. I received this ebook free in exchange for an honest review.

When I read the premise for this book, I immediately requested. I already love books with romance in them so the idea of love curses just made me even more interested.

The writing in this book is so creative, vibrant and compelling. I found myself trying to squeeze reading time during work just cause I needed to know what happened next. The plot is engaging, hilarious, suspenseful and so much fun. I was really fascinated with the mythology part of the story and enjoyed reading about it.

The romance is so swoony and cute. Cora and Jonas are just too adorable together. They’re friends first and foremost so it’s endearing to watch them work out their feelings for each other. Their chemistry is sweet and I definitely felt that push and pull between them.

Cora is a such great heroine. She’s not without faults and she frustrated me a bit, but I admired her independent attitude. I loved that she’s smart, strong, determined, and brave. Jonas is quite the charmer being who he is – an Eros Guardian. He’s a player with a tragic past – the ridiculously hot “bad boy" you can’t resist and want to save. You’ll feel for him. You’ll root for him. You’ll want him to be happy and the whole nine yards. His twin sister, Beth, is quite the character! She’s confident, straightforward, ridiculously feisty and probably my favorite. Leo is the wild card -- he's new in town and mysterious so he certainly made the story more exciting.

The Third Kiss by Kat Colmer is such wonderful debut novel. It’s unique, intriguing and beautifully written. The characters are lovable and relatable. The drama, romance, mystery, plot twists, and the humor made this story wickedly awesome. I was captivated from start to finish. And that ending?! Soooo crazy!! I absolutely can't wait to get my hands on the sequel.

Review will be posted on my blog, Amazon.com, BN, Instagram, Twitter, and Litsy closer to the release.

The Third Kiss is beautifully crafted and perfectly executed. This book had me guessing all the way through.

Love cures are long gone with the once upon time stories. Jonas is celebrating his birthday when he receives a strange voodoo type letter. It can't have meaning, can it? After a string of bad luck with the ladies, Jonas is rethinking the letter. With a little help from his friends, he wants to work out what is going on.

Cora is back in town. Last time she was here she accidentally kissed the boy next door. She must sort out the mess left by the aftermath.

This is a sweet teen read, but with a twist. It has the geek meets jock romance and a fantasy quest twist. I really enjoyed this book. It came together perfectly, and I can't wait for the next instalment.

4.5 stars out of 5. *ARC received in exchange for a fair review*

Check out my blog on the 8th, August when we will be talking to the lovely author, Kat Colmer. :)

http://chaptersthroughlife.blogspot.co.uk

I'd like to start off by thanking Netgalley, Entangled Teen, and Chapter by Chapter for giving me the opportunity to read this awesome book! I had been a little wary about participating in the blog tour only because I've been big on contemporaries without the fantasy aspect of other stories.

However, I fell pretty hard for this one! Mrs. Colmer writes beautifully and her writing just clicked for me. I'm really hoping that there will be a follow up since this ended with the possibility for a second story. However, given who that will most likely be about, I'm hoping that she'll also explore the new relationship between Cora and Jonas.

I'm a complete sucker for these soulmate type storylines being the hopeless romantic that I am. But, this wasn't one of those straight forward ones where the guy and girl kiss and automatically fall in love. They both had their own guards up but despite that, found each other in the end. I hope one day I'll be lucky enough to find a Jonas of my own.

I loved this one it was such a great book. This one has a great sweet romance and the story is full of mythology, action, adventure, and morality. This wonder coming of age story was a wonderful dual world with romance to be found. I really loved the blend of normal with the supernatural the author did a wonderful job showing how the characters are just going about their normal lives and how each character's relationship develops over the course of the story. The switch to supernatural was flawless and I really liked the information we had when this happened.

You won't soon forget these characters and man I couldn't put it down the ending climax was awesome and I can't wait for book two!

“The Third Kiss” is an interesting (but predictable) YA romance that centers around a curse. As it says in the description, we learn that Jonas is an Eros Guardian and has three chances at love (signaled by kisses) to find someone to be with him forever. As you can imagine, the third kiss is the one that will matter. Cora has just returned to Australia from Manhattan, where she lived with her mother for the last year after her parents’ divorce. She is eager to return to her BFFs, Beth and Jonas, who are twins. However, she is also a bit nervous because the last time she saw Jonas, she made the mistake of kissing him.

Jonas is not a good choice, because he is constantly hooking up and leaving girls- a teenaged playboy. His life was changed when his parents both died in a car accident years before. They had an intense kind of love, and Jonas decided that was what left him and his twin sister alone all those years before. We learn pretty quickly that both Jonas and Cora are attracted to each other, but neither of them wants to enter into a relationship. However, learning more about the Eros Guardian and curse Jonas’s family has carried makes the possibility of their relationship impossible to ignore. And as events develop, Cora is put in danger because of her relationship (or not) with Jonas.

There is a lot of mystery and intrigue early on which really makes the book fascinating. I was quickly drawn in to Jonas and Cora’s story and enjoyed the alternating viewpoints. I found it a little predictable overall (including the “twist” towards the end), but it was a cute story and well written. The book sets itself up for a sequel, and I definitely want to see how it is continued there. The historical/biblical context (without being religious) was also intriguing, and I really appreciated how much history was given to the curse and all the loose ends tied up about where it comes from and why no one knew about it, etc. The author did a really great job making sure there weren’t plot holes! Overall, it’s a cute story with a dash of mystery and destiny to add to the playboy-turned-exclusive/friends-to-lovers romance styles.

Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher through netgalley. All opinions are my own.