ONE LAST KISS is the third book in Jessica Lemmon’s “Kiss and Tell” series. I think all romcoms about divorced couples rekindling a flame are held to the standard of the classic film THE PHILADELPHIA STORY. There are few similarities between that film and this book, except involves two people who were divorced and never got over each other and that the crux of their problem involves a problem communicating.  Gia Knox-Cooper is a woman in a family of well-intentioned men who try to protect and provide for her, but she finds it stifling. Likewise, when Gia married Jayson, he mirrored her father and brothers’ behavior. She finds it untenable, he becomes frustrated, and they divorce. Now, while working together on a company issue, they find out how much they’ve grown since they were together, and whether that will make a difference in finally finding happiness together.

Because this couple has a communication issue, I’m glad that Jessica Lemmon tells ONE LAST KISS from alternating perspectives. It takes a long time before Gia and Jayson reveal their true feelings and make themselves vulnerable. Each position is understandable, they are just slow in expressing it to the person who should matter the most. It’s very understandable that a smart and independent woman like Gia would find it chaffing to have the menfolk in her life constantly hovering over her and trying to make decisions for her – even if they think those decisions will benefit her. It’s also understandable, after getting a flavor of Jayson’s past and the way he had to defend his mother from abuse, that he would be uber protective and solicitous of any important woman in his life. These too are just lacking in a little empathy, but they’re good people and eventually get what they missed the first time around.

ONE LAST KISS is an explosion of emotion and a fantabulous second-chance-at love story. Jessica Lemmon does a good job of balancing the fun and sexy times with the longing and angst. As the story progresses, you root for this couple to make it work and I almost teared up when it looked like they almost screwed things up beyond repair. Even though I didn’t read the previous books in this series, I was still able to enjoy ONE LAST KISS. I look forward to reading Jessica Lemmon’s next book.

Book Summary