Alison Cochrun is about to join Emily Henry as one of the few romance authors I will always pick up. This was such a charming Christmas romance filled with fun characters, growth, and one of my favorite cities. I'm not sure I liked this one quite as much as her last, but it was truly a delight and I will definitely pick up her next book.

3.5 stars. I enjoyed this book, but not as much as Cochrun's last book. I got really annoyed at the fake engagement situation and the characters. This was a really great holiday read, though!

I read this mainly because of my love for The Charm Offensive and generally enjoyed this as well! I definitely had some issues with this but overall it was a pretty solid read. It was definitely Hallmark Movie Esque so if you're into that, this is definitely for you! I found this endearing if not a bit unrealistic. The insta love wasn't my favorite but I did find many sweet moments in their relationship. The characters themselves were the main highlight of this. Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this one! It was such a cute slow burn. I am not a huge fake dating lover but this one may have flipped me!

Alison Cochrun had me with The Charm Offensive, so it should come as no surprise that I absolutely adored her sophomore novel Kiss Her Once for Me! I quite loved that the setting is Christmastime which was a nice surprise since I had no idea going into it, and I never wanted it to end. I feel like this is saying something since the book is 345 pages, so it is a bit on the longer side of what I would normally enjoy for a romcom/romance. I didn't find anything in the story unnecessary, and at this point, I feel like I would love reading a grocery list if I knew Cochrun had written it. Besides the current storyline, there is also a webcomic based on Ellie's one-night stand with Jack and little by little the reader learns exactly what went down that last Christmas between the two of them. I feel like this made the book go even faster, and it was a great way to add some mystery regarding their one night together.

As with Cochrun's prior novel, there was some great LGBTQIA+ rep, and very few characters were straight-up cisgender or straight which I loved and couldn't get enough of. I loved basically every single one of the characters in the book while the antagonists made my blood boil. And can we just talk about how amazing the women are in Andrew and Jack's family? They are like everyone's dream family (minus the dad), and I loved them most of all. The audiobook for Kiss Her Once for Me was SO good, and Natalie Naudus was the perfect narrator. The audio is just shy of 10 hours and 40 minutes and man does it FLY. Fear is a huge theme in the novel, and I don't know about you, but fear is something I know a lot about. This was full of relatable moments and characters, and Cochrun talks about everything with the respect and love it deserved. And of course, the humor was on point, with the story making me laugh and cry in equal measure. I can confidently say that Kiss Her Once for Me is going to be a book I will reread every Christmas from now on, and maybe a few times in between...

Thank you to the publishers for my complimentary listening and reader copies of this book. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

An emotional rollercoaster romance! Loved the tension, the surprises, and the happy ending. Perfectly queer and complicated

So, it’s 70s and sunny here, but it’s also mid-November and there’s already Christmas decor out so, we’re doing the holiday books! I loved this one y’all 💙. It’s a queer love story with a fake dating trope, second chance romance, and all the cozy holiday vibes ❄️.
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Ellie is burnt out from her coffee shop job. To make matters worse, she’s broke and at risk of eviction. She’s also haunted by the dream job she was recently fired from, and the dream girl who got away last Christmas. Ellie agrees to a fake marriage of convenience that promises to solve all her financial woes. But when the dream girl comes back into the picture, she must choose between keeping up the marriage ruse and following her heart.
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I read this one while white knuckling my neck pillow during some serious airplane turbulence. The excellent witty banter made me chuckle and helped soothe the terror 😁. This is a story about finding joy, choosing joy. It’s a book about hope, finding your bliss, and not letting fear take the reigns. I quietly wept through the end of this book. (Let’s just say the flight attendants were thoroughly freaked out by emotional state during this flight 😂.)
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Thank you to @netgalley and @atriabooks for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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Kiss Her Once for Me - Alison Cochrun
4.5/5⭐️

This was a cute little Christmas romance and I really enjoyed it. It had introspective moments, as well as some of the funniest banter and dialogue. This is my first book from this author and I already cannot wait to read more!

I was immediately a sucker for the marriage of convenience / Christmas / second chance tropes, and this author did not disappoint. I finished this book in a few hours. Definitely recommend.

Cue rom-com Hallmark holiday movie vibes and make it queer! I enjoyed the heck out of this cute story and fun characters.

I loved every second of this book. Kiss Her Once For Me gives the same feeling as a classic holiday hallmark story while being completely original. I love a cheesy hallmark movie/book as much as the next person but they do have a tendency to follow the same plot lines and can get monotonous. There was not one part of this book that I was bored with or knew what to expect. KHOFM was messy and beautiful and felt like the warmest coziest hug. It deals with all the emotions around the holidays; good, bad, and ugly while still capturing that holiday magic. I genuinely laughed out loud, cried, and swooned throughout this story. This is without a doubt going to become a yearly holiday reread.

P.S. After reading The Charm Offensive and this masterpiece it’s official I would read Alison Cochrun’s grocery list.

Talk. About. Tension!!!

From a one night stand to a year of longing to a fake engagement to discovering your fake fiancé is the brother of your fling from the year before‽‽‽‽

This was a fun, tension-filled holiday romcom. From one Christmas to the next, it’s amazing how much one person’s life can change – but then again, it can all change in a single day, too.

I really loved how Cochrun wrote this one. It was unique and filled with so much longing – I loved the characters (except for some of the extended family members) and I just wanted to see them all get happily ever afters. I will say, if you dislike the communication trope, you might not want to venture toward this one – BUT, it’s not an accidental happening so much as the basis of everything that happens. For example, how do you carry through a marriage of convenience to a man when you’re in love with his sister and didn’t know? And how can you tell anyone about it without ruining everything?

Definitely a book worth reading. You’ll fall in love with the funky love trapezoid just as much as they all do, too.

This was not quite as light as I was expecting for a Christmas romance, but I appreciated the depth of characterization exploration of difficult topics allowed. Fraught relationships with terrible parents, panic attacks, and debilitating anxiety are present throughout and readers should know that going in and adjust expectations accordingly. Beyond that this was a very sweet and swoony read with lots of very funny moments. I look forward to reading this author again.

3.5 stars. I liked this one but was never super hooked so I kept getting distracted while reading and put it down frequently.

It’s an interesting premise with a bit of a love triangle/trapezoid and a marriage of convenience, and we get anxiety representation and themes of found family. I wasn’t totally sold on the insta love, and the miscommunication / constant fear of failure felt repetitive.

Enjoyable but forgettable. Definitely preferred Charm Offensive and still highly recommend that one!

Loved this book! Great queer take on While You Were Sleeping with a bookstore meet cute! Perhaps a little predictable at times, but I didn't care because it's a romance that is well-written with dynamic characters.

Christmasy queer romance? Check! Found family? Check! Struggling Millennial/Gen Z cusper finding their way? Check! Hallmark movie of a book but make it PG-13? Check!

A very enjoyable holiday rom-com that had me laughing out loud at multiple points during this book. I not only look forward to what Alison Cochrun comes out with next, but re-reading this next holiday season!

A queer meet cute gone wrong with a meet again as your brothers (fake) fiancé 😂 I absolutely loved everything about this book!! I loved the characters so much and their own personal journey that they were going through and overcoming which made this feel more than a romance book. BUT I loved the entire romance part. I loved the duel timeline of Jack and Ellie’s first meeting, while you were also reading about the current arrangement with Ellie and Andrew. Even though I knew it was a fake relationship while reading the summary and that her fake fiancé is Jack’s brother I was STILL shocked it happened😂 I was into every part of this story and was going to throw the book if there wasn’t a happy ending. Recommend!!

Will post on my bookstagram page next week. Linked below

Kiss Her Once for Me is a cute holiday rom-com with a handful of romance tropes (fake dating, insta love, and second chance romance) present. If you like Hallmark Christmas movies, this book is for you. I especially loved the side characters in this novel (the grandmothers were hilarious) and would love to read another title involving this family. This is the second book I have read from Cochrun and I look forward to reading whatever she writes next. She has a special talent for writing loveable characters who you end up caring deeply about and rooting for in her books.

Alison Cochrun does it again!! I am so glad I waited to read Kiss Her Once for Me until I had a break from work and could just fall into the pages with abandon. I loved The Charm Offensive and the moment I saw another book of hers available on Netgalley, I knew I had to try and get an ARC. Thank you so much Atria Books for granting me access.

What a fun complicated read about marriage by convenience and lightning bolt love that knocks you off your feet. Ellie is down on her luck and adrift. A Portland transplant, she hoped being there would change her luck, but after a one night whirlwind romance gone wrong and losing her job, the universe seems to be punishing her. When her landlord, Andrew, proposes a marriage by convenience, she can't really deny the perks for both of them. Andrew will receive his inheritance and she will alleviate her financial stress. Seems like a win-win, right? When the two decide to spend the holidays together, things start to get messy. How is it possible that a year later, Ellie NOW is thrown back into the orbit of her one night gained and lost love?

Alison Cochrun's books require you to carve out some time, because once you start they are really hard to put down. I was on vacation and kept having to stop and do other things and get back to it. I wanted to just read uninterrupted so I finally saved the rest for my flight home and it was perfection! I love when you read a book that you can't stop thinking about. I felt this way about The Charm Offensive too. Add Alison Cochrun to my auto-buy author list!

A sapphic fake-dating rom-com holiday romance? Yes, please. I had high hopes and Kiss Her Once for Me delivered. Alison Cochrun keeps coming with those hits, and I love her for it.

Like The Charm Offensive, this story is funny until it painfully squeezes your heart to death. Then, you cry... and then you keep reading. I was hooked all the way through, and I didn't want to put the story down. I don't read a ton of les-fic romances, so when I get one that I adore, I want to shout about it from the rooftops. And other than a rushed-feeling ending, this book really had it all.

I adored how messy the MCs' lives are. Neither of them are perfect people, far from it, and they feel so absolutely real on the page. Both have extremely complicated family dynamics, and both struggle with difficult parents, and it really added layers to the story while still keeping the focus on the romance. I enjoyed the way class disparity was handled, and I think the author did a nice job with showing each characters' individuality.

Color me shocked, but I didn't even mind the flashbacks and the way these two were mooning after each other after about 5 seconds. I usually hate flashbacks (they draw you right out of the story!), but they sort of worked here?? I'm surprised also.

I think things wrapped up a bit awkwardly in the end (it didn't feel all resolved and still felt a bit tense), but I really adored this story. It was the right amount of Christmassy for this Jewish reader, and it just was a nicely written story.

Alison Cochrun, keep the hits coming. Super excited to see what you have up your sleeve next.