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The Third Kiss (Love's Mortal Coil #1)

Kat Colmer

❤ Synopsis ❤

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.

The Third Kiss (Love's Mortal Coil #1)

by Kat Colmer
Publication Date: August 7, 2017
Kindle price £6.28
365 pages
Publisher: Entangled Teen

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35668065-the-third-kiss

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Jonas snorted. “The guy has a backyard designed to charm girls out of their underwear.”

Did he seriously just say that? When he himself went off with— Unbelievable! I grabbed the rough wood of the gazebo railing so I didn’t lash out with more than my words.

“And you’d know all about that, now, wouldn’t you?”

His jaw clenched even as a wince tightened the line of his lips. “I don’t like him.”

“You don’t know him.”

“Neither do you.” He widened his stance and crossed his arms. “A few online chats don’t exactly mean much when it comes to getting to know someone.”

My fingernails dug into the railing, the wood biting into my skin. “Nice. So all our conversations while I was in Manhattan were meaningless, too, were they?”

“That’s different.” Jonas scowled under his balaclava of shadows. “We have history, a friendship. You hardly knew him before you left and haven’t seen the guy in over a year.”

He took a half step closer. “Ever heard of taking things slower?”

Breathe. Deep and steady, in and out. “Do you hear yourself? You telling me to take things slower?”

His hand twitched, like a gunfighter about to draw. “We’re talking about you, not me.”

“No, let’s talk about you. And how you need to butt out of my life.” Letting go of the safety of the railing, I took a step toward him. “I don’t go around judging how you change girlfriends more often than your social media updates so where do you get off telling me how fast or slow I should go?”

Jonas stilled. “I’m just trying to stop you from making a mistake.”

My jaw dropped. “What, with your track record? You’re the master of the meaningless hookup. You do not get to lecture me on making mistakes.”

Eyes locked on mine, his pulse punched out a frantic rhythm against the side of his throat. “A mistake for some isn’t necessarily one for others.”

Of all the patronizing— “Are you listening to the garbage coming out of your mouth or has all the bullshit clogged up your ears?” I pressed my clenched hands against my sides, fighting the urge to grab his headphones and show him exactly what I thought of his double standard.

“The guy is a player, Cora.”

I scoffed. “Not every guy operates the way you do.”

Jonas flinched but didn’t say anything.

“And even if he is, maybe that’s all I’m after.” I wasn’t, but it felt good to bait him.

His eyes narrowed, two glistening slits. “That’s not you.”

I edged closer still, my frame vibrating with anger. “How do you know? Maybe that night a year ago gave me a taste for short and uncomplicated.”

I felt more than saw something in him shift. Then a flash of lightning ripped the shadows from his face, leaving his expression exposed.

Shit.

The light disappeared. And with it the space between us.

Kat Colmer

Kat Colmer is a Sydney-based Young and New Adult author who writes coming-of-age stories with humor and heart. The recipient of several writing awards, she has won the Romance Writers of Australia First Kiss contest, as well as the Romance Writers of America On the Far Side contest for her debut Young Adult Paranormal Romance.

Kat has a Master of Education in Teacher Librarianship and loves working with teens and young adults. When not writing, teaching, or reading the latest in YA fiction, Kat spends time with her husband and two children.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

My Review: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ❣

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*

Question One: The first thing I did when I finished this book was google Love’s Mortal Coil and didn't find very much. Where did you get your inspiration for the series title? 

Thanks so much for having me on Chapters Through Life. Interesting fact: Love’s Mortal Coil was originally the title, not the series title, of the book, and one of the reasons my editor pulled the story from the slush pile. “Mortal coil” is a poetic term meaning the turmoil and troubles of daily life. Many people may know it from the “To be, or not to be” soliloquy in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. I’ve taken the idea of turmoil and trouble and applied it to love, rather than life, in the sense that the Love’s Mortal Coil curse will cause those cursed by it to endure turmoil and trouble caused by love—if they choose to love in a selfish, self-centered way.

Question Two: Marie Curie is an interesting choice for Cora to look up to. Especially outside of science. What made you make this choice in role model?

Marie Curie was a very deliberate choice as a role model for Cora. A pioneer in the field of radioactivity, not only was Madam Curie the first female scientist to win a Nobel Prize, she was the only person to have been awarded the prize twice! Definitely someone for Cora to look up to.

However, it wasn’t just Curie’s scientific achievements that made her a fitting role model for Cora; I also liked the loving and mutually respectful partnership she had with her husband, Pierre Curie. They worked as a team, appreciating and bringing out one another’s strengths— the kind of relationship Cora and Jonas have when they’re not too busy pretending they don’t have deeper feelings for each other.

Question Three: I love the mix of sweet teen finds historical fantasy quest. Did The Third Kiss turn out the way you expect? 

I’m not a “fly by the seat of your pants” writer, so in many ways The Third Kiss very much turned out how I expected. I always knew how the story would end, and what the key turning points in the story would be. That said, the final version of The Third Kiss is quite different from my first full draft. The mentor character of the professor, for example, has changed significantly, and some scenes were rewritten almost completely. And Jonas’s friend Leo, his role evolved from draft to draft, until he became a pivotal character in The Third Kiss.

Question Four: Jonas and Beth are twins. Both are Cora's best friends. How did this dynamic work while they were growing up?

Jonas and Beth moved next door to Cora to live with their aunt at age twelve, shortly after losing their parents in an accident. Their age, and close proximity to one another, as well as attending the same school, would have made forming a connection of some sort with Cora almost inevitable. Even with Cora’s socially reserved personality, I can see her reaching out to Beth and Jonas in their grief and offering them her friendship. Losing your parents would be a traumatically life altering experience, one which would have brought Beth and Jonas closer as siblings, maybe even more so because they are twins. It’s therefore no great surprise that Jonas formed as much of a friendship with Cora as Beth did, because the twins would have stuck closely to one another.

I imagine the three of them hung out often at one another’s houses, discovering common interests, sharing their every day school and family frustrations. There would have been little awareness of anything other than friendship between Cora and Jonas early on, allowing them to build a solid foundation to build something more on later down the track.

Question Five: The Third Kiss is a standalone story however hints at a second book. Have you already got something in the pipeline?