This was a great take on sleepless in Seattle! I loved the family and the angst fit in perfectly. This would be the perfect cozy read in the middle of winter. The anxiety and adhd representation was wonderfully done, especially as someone with generalized anxiety disorder.

SO excited to receive both a digital copy and a physical copy of KISS HER ONCE FOR ME. I loved THE CHARM OFFENSIVE so this was one of my most anticipated reads of this year!

Alison Cochrun is for sure an autobuy author for me - she writes fantastic characters and there is always stellar cast of INCLUSIVE characters where inclusivity is done RIGHT. KISS HER ONCE FOR ME was no different. On top of an amazing, inclusive cast, the mental health issues explored in Alison’s book make her characters feel relatable. Ellie was an enjoyable, funny and relatable MC!

KISS HER ONCE FOR ME was fun, holiday romcom that was the perfect way to kick off my holiday reading. I’m not so sure I loved the miscommunication trope 😬 but nonetheless, I really enjoyed this book and recommend this winter!

Kiss Her Once for Me is perfect for readers who have family drama with a capital D. I'm talking about toxic parents, absent parents, and those who look down at us with disdain. I instantly loved Ellie. Not only because of how aimless she feels after losing her job and being in serious financial peril, talk about something too close to home. Her anxiety, the ways she reacts to social situations, all of it resonated so closely.

Even more so, Kiss Her Once for Me has a fake engagement, second chance romance, and tons of forced proximity. With chapters from Last Christmas - which was on serious repeat in my head the whole book - we are able to get a sense of Ellie and the mystery woman's connection. The ways some people just click with us. How a connection just appears and hits like lightning. The romance and the romantic tension, paired with the best meet cute, will melt romance reader's hearts.

An absolute joy to read, I gobbled up this messy, fake dating/second-chance romance in less than a day.

A holiday theme, a strong sense of place, snow as a main character, a quirky and complex cast of characters and, most of all, queer folk: what more could you need? Me, not much. I really enjoyed this book, and found Ellie and Jack compelling enough characters to stick with a story that at times stretched the borders of believability. But really, if I'm reading a rom-com I don't care about that so much. My very favorite part of this book besides the carefully considered and fluid queer identities depicted here, was Cochrun's voice--wry humor, fun and flowing dialogue and so many thoughtful details about the characters' lives and relationships. Loved the grandmas, loved the nontraditional takes on relationships through the lifespan, loved so much of it.

My only suggestion would be that Ellie talk about Jack smelling like bread maybe 1/3 less of the time. I found it distracting, and I really love bread. However, this did not stop me from immediately checking Alison Cochrun's other. book out of the library, and may she write many more.

I absolutely love Cochrun’s writing style. She really hit it out of the park again with this book! I loved the plot and characters. I was cheesing maybe a little too much!

This is my new favorite holiday book. It is gorgeously queer with endearing characters that the reader can root for, while highlighting the journey of being an anxious person struggling through life. I've never related to a main character more!

Such a delightful holiday novel for Alison Cochrun’s second book. All the family holiday traditions, the lies, the flashbacks…lead to a fake engagement, a love triangle include a brother and a sister, and a dog named Paul Hollywood stealing my heart. Yes, I said love triangle and brother/sister in the same sentence. What’s not to enjoy?!

Cochrun writes a perfect romance with inclusive characters and believable situations. You can’t help but love the grandmas and all their joy and quirkiness.

4 Stars

Thank you to @netgalley and @atriabooks for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

#books #bookishlife #booklover #readingisfun #iowabookstagrammers #iowabookstagram #netgalley #atriabooks #kissheronceforme @alisoncochrun

I really, really liked this! 4.5-5?

This has everything: F/F romance; M/F fake dating (engagement); quirky side characters; relatable Swiftie content; cute winter scenes...

On the flip side, it does also have a lot of misunderstandings and sort of has cheating (semi spoiler to clarify why it's "sort of": <spoiler>Ellie and Andrew both cheat in relation to their fake relationship; the people they cheat with don't know that the relationship is fake though</spoiler>).

Most importantly, this is one of those books that traditional romance readers may not love - the entire story is not just fluffy vibes; the characters have not just flaws but also realistic life problems (e.g. shitty parents that they have to deal with; student loans). For me this was a pro, but I know that's not true for everyone.

Even though the central storyline was straight from a romcom and unrealistic, the characters themselves did feel real to me. I would absolutely watch this as a movie.

My biggest complaint is the sheer number of times that Jack's smile is described as a phase of the moon. Also, I was a little confused by the fact the Ellie's online project is described as a webcomic that she draws but then those bits were just text - maybe because I had an ARC? - but that didn't take away from my enjoyment.

4.5 stars

No, you're almost crying at work about how beautiful this holiday romance is!

Kiss Her Once for Me, Alison Cochrun's sophomore novel, is a book that will make you want to go sledding with your friends, make boozy hot chocolate, and cuddle up on the couch in a giant blanket. It just felt like the warmest hug. The Charm Offensive proved that Cochrun was a good writer (even if I found the mental health rep immensely heavy-handed), but this book felt like Cochrun on a whole other level. The humor, the romance, and the feels were balanced so well and I found myself constantly wishing that I didn't have to work so I could read this book instead. Whether you are looking for a romance that actually gives Christmas feels rather than paying lip service to those vibes or if you just want a good sapphic romance, you should absolutely pick this up!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an ARC of this book for a fair and honest review!

alison cochrun is amazing. her taylor swift obsession is relatable and she creates some of the best characters who are just as relatable. this book was wild- right when i thought i knew where it was going, ellie would drop a bomb of new information and i was left speechless several times. what a crazy story. it was beautiful i love cochrun’s writing so much and she is so incredibly creative. a must read sapphic holiday romcom if there ever was one.

Review of Kiss Her Once For Me by Alison Cochrum

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

What a great novel. This story was just what I didn’t know I needed this holiday season. I went into it totally blind. I only requested it on NetGalley because I loved The Charm Offensive by this author. I didn’t read the synopsis so I was ecstatic when I realized it had a Christmas time setting! I loved the characters so much. If you loved the charm offensive you will love this as well. If you haven’t read the charm offensive read it. And then read this one. Or read this one first. It doesn’t matter

Quick synopsis: When the book opens, Ellie is recounting the previous Christmas when she met Jack at a bookstore, spent one glorious day with her during which time she fell hard. She is heartbroken that it ended there and one year later she has fallen on hard times. She lost her dream job and is working at a dead end job and is broke. When she impulsively decides to go with the owner of her shop, Andrew, for a drink suddenly everything changes.

I could say much more but it’s so much more fun to go into this one blind!

MY RATING: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 (4/5)

READ IF YOU LIKE:
▫️Opposites attract, marriage out of convenience, one bed, & insta love tropes
▫️Mental health rep! ❤️‍🩹
▫️T. Swift or Gilmore Girls references
▫️Throwback music 🎶
▫️Found-family feels
▫️All things baking, yum! 🧁

MY THOUGHTS:
This book is as sweet as Christmas treats! Absolutely loved all the holiday spirit this book gave me! 🎄@alisoncochrun’s writing style is never a disappointment. Ellie and Jack really reminded me that soulmates do exist 🥹

FAV QUOTES:
“Jack is wild horses anrainstorms and driving with your arm out of the window on a warm day. But she’s also quiet moments: she’s your first mug of coffee in the morning; she’s watching that rainstorm through a window, wrapped up in your favorite blanket.” 😭💘

“It’s not failure to let people see your imperfections,” Meredith says. “It’s vulnerability.”

RATING EXPLAINED:
I couldn’t get past one of the characters withholding information for most of the story. 🥲 It was driving me nuts lol! There was also some miscommunication happening. HOWEVER, oh my goodness the word play in this novel with the holiday spirit was AMAZING 🙌 Examples: “my heart feels like a powdered sugar inside my chest” … “my anxiety feels like a tangle of Christmas lights again” … “Andrew’s voice is rich molasses” … “Savoring each kiss like she’s the world’s best slice of pie” AHHH, HOW CUTE IT THAT!! 😍 By the end, I was swooning over Ellie & Jack’s love story and getting all the feels! 💚

This book left me in a puddle! Alison Cochrun can do no wrong and if you haven’t read this or The Charm Offensive, I am BEGGING you please read them!

Let me set the scene: woman is crying over her shitty mom and talking to a footstool in a bookstore. She goes to grab a book, and she meets a woman in flannel and a Carhartt jacket who is also picking up the same book. They spend one perfect day together but hearts are broken the next morning. A year later, crying woman agrees to marry a filthy rich hottie for $250k in order for him to get his inheritance - there’s just one catch: she has to spend a week at his family’s cabin for Christmas.

I am in awe of this author. She writes the most perfect romance books with so much inclusive rep and she does it WELL. The Kim-Prescott family is the cutest ever. I predict that Jack will be everyone’s new book girlfriend, and both Andrew and Ellie grew so much throughout this book. Even the side characters were amazing. Alison Cochrun is an auto buy author for me and I’d be shocked to give anything she writes less than five stars.

This was the perfect start to my holiday reading and it deserves every single bit of hype.

For the second time in a row, Alison Cochrun has created fun, likeable characters that are achingly human. This book was at turns hilarious and heart-wrenching, and I found myself breezing through it. Phenomenally well-done.

"Last Christmas I gave you my heart...and the very next day you gave it away..." oh. my. heart. This queer Christmas romance is reminiscent of Sleepless in Seattle and brimming with charm, swoon, and so many feels. A year ago on Christmas Eve, Ellie fell hopelessly head over heels with Jack, a women she met in a bookstore. The two shared a magical, snowy day that ultimately ended in heartbreak. This Christmas, down on her luck with limited choices, Ellie is fake engaged to Andrew. She agrees to spend Christmas with his family: his sweet mother, his quirky and sassy grandmothers and his sister....who just happens to be the same woman Ellie fell in love with last Christmas.

This book charmed me and pulled at my heartstrings! I absolutely adored all the queer representation as well as the discussion of mental health issues. These characters were tender, vulnerable, endearing and so sweet. I didn't want this book to end.

Thank you so for my copy Atria and Netgalley.

I really enjoyed this book. The idea of a love trapezoid really had me laughing. I thought it was the right amount of humor. I really enjoyed Ellie and getting to know her through the story. I don't feel like I really got to know Jack that well since we didn't have her POV in this book. I really liked her til the end when she humiliated Ellie and then all of a sudden changed her mind and Ellie was okay with it. Maybe because we got to know Ellie so well I was a little defensive for her haha. Anyway other than the ending not being my favorite I really enjoyed this book and its cast of characters. I almost wish Andrew had gotten a POV even though they weren't together I think that would have been a fun idea to see his side of this napkin contract and his own love story unfold.

Loved the Christmas vibes and the whole Christmas schedule and list of activities. I think this family really grew and developed over this week together and I loved getting to know them all!

Was a very well written book just not allowed some of scenes in here for my library. Kinda was cool how the twist came out...

LITERALLY THE BEST BOOK OF ALL TIME! Alison Cochran has done it again with wholesome characters and an engaging plot that keeps me wanting to read more but stopping me from reading it all because once I read it, it's over and then I have to wait for her next novel.

I thought this was such a cute, fun twist on the "While You Were Sleeping" movie! There were a few moments where things got a little too over-the-top corny for me, but overall I really enjoyed it. I loved the representation of gender and sexuality spectrums, and I think the mental health stuff was handled pretty well. Will be a highly recommended winter read from me.