The First Kiss Hypothesis by Christina Mandelski

Nora Reid believes scientific laws control everything, even love. With her grandparents’ epic first kiss story cemented in her brain, Nora develops a hypothesis she’s determined to prove:for each person in the world, there is exactly one other person, and at first kiss, they’ll experience an immediate and intense reaction.

But after four years of zero-reaction kisses, she comes up with a new theory: maybe that pesky crush on her stunningly hot best friend Eli Costas is skewing her results.

She needs to get rid of him, and fast.

Eli Costas is an injury-prone lacrosse star with a problem—the one chance he had at winning over the girl next door resulted in the most epically sucktastic first kiss ever. And now she’s...trying to get rid of him? Hell no. It’s time to disprove her theory and show her exactly what she’s missing.

Game. On.

Disclaimer: This book contains a stunningly hot lacrosse player who isn’t above playing dirty to win over the stubborn girl-next-door of his dreams.

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Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Erica – ☆☆☆☆☆
Nora's grandparents met and shared an earth-shattering kiss, and they spent the next 40+ years living happily ever after. As the child of divorce, Nora is holding onto her dementia-addled grandmother's inspiring story of love, wanting a lifetime of what her grandparents had, never what her parents did/have with other people. This has skewed Nora, missing what is being offered by her next door neighbor best friend, even if she's always had a crush on the boy.

At age thirteen, Nora and Eli shared a gross kiss, where no sparks flew, and she's held it against him ever since. The scientist-in-the-making doesn't realize sexual chemistry and romantic connection aren't scientific experiments. There's also the fact that at thirteen, you can't expect sparks to fly when your hormones have just started to do their business in the developing body.

Eli has always had a crush on Nora, but she won't give him a chance after that horrendous kiss where he just pounded a Coke and needed to burp. The poor guy spends the entirety of the novel chasing after Nora, trying to get her to see the truth.

To be honest, Nora's quest for kisses becomes a bit tedious and frustrating, for Eli but also the reader. The character development is where this novel shined. The characters speak and act as their age group, they have fears and worries that match their ages as well. Nora and Eli are both concerned with Nora's grandmother, with leaving/staying behind with their families when it comes to college. Where to go to college and what to study...

Nora and her driver's license: I feel as if the author plucked that out of my head. I struggled with anxiety, perfectly able to drive, and never got my license. I'm 39, and the thought of driving gives me a visceral reaction, so I connected with Nora's character on this front. Eli stating he'd drive Nora around for the rest of her life had me laughing out loud for real.

Recommended to adults and young adults alike, something for everyone to connect with emotionally.

Young Adult age-range: 13+ due to language. Kissing.

Christina Mandelski was born in South Florida, where her love of reading was cultivated in a house full of books. Stories like The Little House series, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, Island of the Blue Dolphins and The Secret Garden, filled her imagination and fueled her dreams to be a writer. That dream came true when her first young adult novel, The Sweetest Thing, was published in 2011, and she’s beyond thrilled about her upcoming series for Entangled Crush.

Chris lives in Houston with one handsome husband, two beautiful daughters, and two freakshow cats. She has a fondness for the beach, her family and friends, and she still loves to read (especially curled up with a good cup of coffee!). She also enjoys shopping, traveling and eating, especially cake. Always cake. When she’s not doing these things, you can find her holed in a cozy spot with her laptop, writing.

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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of The First Kiss Hypothesis by Christina Mandelski to read and review.