Review: The Third Kiss (Love's Mortal Coil #1) by Kat Colmer

Summary/Cover Image from Publisher's Website: 

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.

Review: 

Kat Colmer's The Third Kiss has been high on my wish list ever since I first heard about it. Then I saw the cover and I had a case of insta-cover love. Isn't it just gorgeous? I love the purples. Luckily, The Third Kiss turned out to be just as amazing as I had hoped, if not more! Containing an intricate curse, a will-they-or-won't-they romance, and plenty of funny banter, The Third Kiss had me hooked from page one!

A year ago, Jonas and Cora shared a sudden kiss. Then Cora got on a plane and flew across the world. Since then Jonas has became the king of meaningless hook-ups with a never-fall-in-love mantra while Cora has become a habitual evader of sorts, trying her best to move past her impulsive decision. The summer, however, has brought Jonas and Cora back together again, both hoping (but not really) that the other has forgotten about the kiss. Everything changes, though, the moment Jonas receives a letter detailing that he's Eros Guardian and therefore cursed in all respects dealing with love. Cora refuses to believe it, thinking it's just someone's idea of a prank, but Jonas, deep down, doesn't agree...he feels that it may just be real. Even with their differing views, Cora and Jonas team up along with the help of Beth, Jonas's sister and Cora's best friend, and Leo, Jonas's best friend, to solve the mystery.

One of my favorite aspects of The Third Kiss was the alternating perspectives. I loved being privy to both Cora and Jonas's thoughts. It gave more development to their characters as well as their respective relationships with not only other characters but also each other. Additionally, I enjoyed how it caused a bit of tension and build up to the will-they-or-won't-they aspect to their budding romance, because as the reader, I knew what they were thinking, but they didn't know what the other was thinking.

Talking about the characters, I really came to love them all! Cora and Jonas were both incredibly likable as well as relatable. I admired Cora's unwillingness to settle/be second best. She really managed to put Jonas's in his place regarding his romantic trysts, and not only did it cause for some laugh out loud moments, but it also made her such a kick a$$ kind of character. I especially loved her dedication to karate! Jonas is the typical hookup king, and even though I normally can't stand those kind of guys, I came to really love him over the course of the book. The aspect that really sealed the deal for me is that even though he was the king of meaningless hook-ups, he did try to justify his actions as best as he could, and given his situation/past, it did make sense. I also admired the fact that he would do anything to protect not only Cora but also his twin sister Beth. He was a good guy who just sometimes made horrible decisions.

Now lets talk about my favorite part of this book: THE CURSE! I don't know about y'all but I love books involving curses. The curse in this wasn't the most out there curse ever but I really enjoyed how Kat Colmer went about developing it. From internet searches to meetings with university professors to outright sleuthing, the characters go full force into finding out exactly what and Eros Guardian is and what it means for Jonas. The adventure the characters go on to get the answers is just so much fun. Plus it introduces some suspense as well as twists and turns (some of which I saw coming but others I didn't see coming at all!). Plus, I loved seeing what the curse meant for Jonas and Cora's relationship. It caused some really great tension to that as well....I was just waiting for the moment throughout that they'd finally get off their high horses and get together.

In all, The Third Kiss is an incredibly strong debut. I simply can't wait to see what book 2 of the Love's Mortal Coil brings, and given that crazy, jaw-dropping ending, it is sure to be EVENTFUL!

Grade: A- 

The Third Kiss will be released August 7, 2017!

Source: eARC provided by publisher - thanks Entangled Teen!

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