2.5 Stars

Last Christmas, Ellie had a meet-cute with a masc woman called Jack in a bookstore. The two of them spent a snow-filled day together, but the magic was ruined come morning.

This Christmas, Ellie is still not over said woman. She was also fired from her dream job and is about to be evicted from her apartment because her barista job is not enough to keep up with rent. So when the coffee shop's rich landlord proposes a marriage of convenience Ellie is just desperate and drunk enough to say yes. Andrew’s grandfather recently passed and the only way to receive the inheritance is to get married. A fake marriage will mean Andrew gains access to his inheritance and Ellie gets 10% of said inheritance - a life changing amount. To sell their engagement, Ellie spends Christmas with Andrew’s family, only to learn his sister is Jack, the woman from a Christmas ago.

This synopsis intrigued the eff out of me, but I hate to report that it fell short. I was expecting more drama between the siblings, but Andrew disappears from the story and doesn’t show back up in it till the end. I didn’t believe this friendship that Ellie and Andrew developed from their fake engagement. I think a lot of funny/embarrassing antics were missed out because of this and it was a let down for me.

Another issue I had was with the big gesture moment at the end. To avoid spoilers, the gesture doesn’t necessarily go to plan but then everything works out in the end and it just felt out of the blue and made no sense to me. Like, why couldn’t the gesture just go right if everything would work out a page later anyway? It just came across as a cheap shock factor moment.

Lastly, this book felt a little too try hard for me at times. The characters had to remind everyone of their sexual orientation multiple times throughout and I wish the author trusted the reader to know the terms after one explanation because these moments would take me out of the story. I’ve read and enjoyed plenty of LGBT+ books and never felt it was forcing something, so it was weird to me that I felt that with this novel. To be very clear, my problem is not with the representation but with how scripted it feels.

There were other weird quirks about this book, too, like when Ellie complains about playing Christmas music in a coffee shop when this is a Christmas novel. Overall, my enjoyment was a bit shattered for the above reasons, but to end on a positive note I adored the family dynamic, the drunk grandmas, and the Christmas feelings this book gave me.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A year ago, Ellie Oliver had everything, her dream job, an okay apartment in Portland and on Christmas Eve, she met the woman of her dreams. But the woman was there and gone, the job didn't work out and she's about to get evicted... So when the landlord of the coffeeshop where she now works, Andrew, a literal millionaire, asks her if they can get married so he can get his inheritance she has to say yes. After all, he did promise her that she'd get 10% of said inheritance and she's truly broke. The problem is, this deal starts with them celebrating Christmas for over a week in a cabin with his entire family... And that's not even the craziest part...

I loved loved loved loved this. I loved the characters, the plot, the misunderstanding, the relationships between the characters, the friendships, everything.
I loved the romance but I also loved the way it talked about failure, like that was a big theme and it was captivating. I love the structure of the book, with the flashbacks, and how they weren't chronological. I laughed, I cried, I gasped, this was truly a perfect holiday romance. I could see myself in the "cabin" with them and on the ski grounds and in the snow, all of it. I loved that the main character was demi, that was also very good. honestly, I love the Queer rep all around.
Basically, I loved everything about this. (yes I said it before and I will say it again probably)
I will definitely be rereading this over and over. Loved loved it so much, everything about it!!!
Cannot wait for more from Alison Cochrun.

4 ⭐️’s

After the charm offensive I knew I would read anything the author wrote, and I still stand by that. Per usual we have fantastic representation not only in sexuality but mental health as well. Ellie is so relatable and hilarious. Easy recommend.

Kiss Her Once For Me by Alison Cochrun

The readers note at the beginning mentioned how While You Were Sleeping was an inspiration for this book. I just knew I was going to love Kiss Her Once For Me after that. I also grew up watching this movie on VHS. I watch it every year during the holidays.

What a way to start off the holiday season reads! I adored this book so much. Mental health representation, LGBTQ+, Asian representation, chosen family, fake dating. I loved all of the characters and really enjoyed the character development. Watching Ellie work through her issues and making efforts for a better future was so beautiful and inspiring. Ellie is very relatable.

Last year, The Charm Offensive was one of my favorite reads. I can’t wait to read all of Alison’s work in the future!

After loving Cochrun’s debut novel, The Charm Offensive, I was nervous that her sophomore novel, Kiss Her Once for Me. This story follows Ellie Oliver, who currently works at a dead-end job in Portland at a coffee shop after her dream animation job went awry. She meets Andrew and the two of them make an agreement that Andrew will help Ellie financially if she acts as his fake fiancé, so he can get his inheritance. Everything seems on track until Andrew takes Ellie to meet his family and his sister turns out to be Jack, the girl Ellie fell for a year ago.

The story is told in two timelines, the present day and one year ago, which means the reader learns more about each character and their relationships over time. I love the way that Cochrun writes her intimate scenes. These are not limited to sexual encounters between the characters as it expands to any of these moments, even tiny interactions. They are written in a realistic way where the characters do not have to be stereotypically perfect. They could have some hair in places, softer features, etc. With the rest of the romance, though, I think I needed a little more to understand the relationship. Ellie is written as demisexual yet seems to love Jack in a very short amount of time. While I cannot confirm or deny that this is possible, it does not align with my understanding of the subject, and I wish there was more explanation for this situation.

Even though Andrew was not the endgame, given the whole premise of the story, I loved him as a character and found myself invested in him getting any type of satisfying ending. He interacted well with both Jack and Ellie, and I loved their side of the family. It was a nice contrast to Ellie’s relationship with her abusive mom. These elements were all very well done and a great illustration of Cochrun’s writing where there is a nice balance between the deeper topics and the lighter humorous ones. Despite all the great writing, I did have difficulty getting over Jack and Ellie as their relationship rekindles as Ellie is in a fake relationship with Andrew, so it was difficult to connect in it. Due to this the story was not my favorite, but I absolutely love Cochrun’s writing, so I have conflicting feelings. I would still recommend this to others and hope they give it a try themselves. As I continue to love Alison’s work and I cannot believe I will have to wait until 2024 to read her next novel, Here We Go Again!

**I give a special thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, Atria Books, for the opportunity to read this entertaining novel. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.**

This one really did it for me. My heart is so full and I cried like a baby but in the best way. Def will be recommending this.

4.5 stars Warm fuzzies. Those are the two words that describe the overall feeling of Alison Cochrun’s sophomore release and she is definitely in her sweet spot writing about Ellie and Jack. Snow is a magical entity in Kiss Her Once for Me, ushering in two very important moments for Ellie Oliver. A year ago, on an unforgettably snowpocalypse in Portland, Ellie meets Jack during a time when her life feels completely upside down and at her lowest possible point. Never expecting to fall so quickly for someone she doesn’t even really know, the day (and night) seem magical and almost miraculous to Ellie’s defeated heart. But Ellie’s encounter with Jack dissolves as quickly as the snow and we are fast-forwarded to a year later when Ellie has more circumstantial moments that lead her to accepting a fake (napkin) marriage proposal to one of the hottest and wealthiest bachelors in Portland, Andrew Kim-Prescott. In this deal of a lifetime, Andrew will pay Ellie ten percent of his inheritance if she will enter a marriage of convenience for at least a year. Badly needing the money and in a career as a barista that seems to be going nowhere, Ellie accepts the proposal and agreeing to meet Andrew’s family for Christmas. But nothing can prepare Ellie for whom she meets at Andrew’s family ski-chalet of a cabin, as the snow ushers in more magic and questions.

I loved the dynamic between the so-called love trapezoid (IYKYK) and the Honesty Game. Cochran has a way of forcing her characters to talk and deal with their issues and is the queen of writing messy characters with hearts of gold. The alternating timelines between this Christmas and last Christmas kept this story fresh, and also kept me reading to find out more of Jack and Ellie’s story. These are imperfect characters and anxiety, insecurity, and manipulative parenting are all crucial to the storytelling, but the growth that takes place as the result of these hardships is beautifully rectified. If Ellie was feeling something, I felt it. That is the power of good writing. Although this story is undeniably queer, as a straight woman, I could totally relate to the emotional aspects of this book and appreciated such a fresh point of view. There are so many personal moments tying Jack and Ellie together (calling her Elle, musical references, SNOW, etc.) and the tension is palpable. Not only emotional but Kiss Her Once for Me is funny too! I loved the grandmas, best-friend Meredith, the family gathering scenes (tacky sweaters and all), and of course Paul Hollywood. This was a perfect holiday read encapsulating everything both difficult and wonderful about family and Christmas. Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

The Charm Offensive was one of my top favorite reads last year. So I was super excited to read this! It didn’t disappoint! I really enjoyed this story and loved all the characters. A great blend of funny romcom but also emotional and in your feelings. Definitely would recommend adding this to your TBR!

Maybe 2.5 stars? I loved The Charm Offensive and really wanted to love this too, but the romance just didn't work for me. You can just see the vague outline of how everything will eventually implode from close to the beginning, and having that hanging so heavily over my head didn't make for a great reading experience. There were explorations of perfectionism and what it means to fail that really resonated with me, but these were (very understandably for a romance book) secondary.

CW: anxiety and panic attacks, infidelity, negligent parents, ableism, marijuana use, biphobia, transphobia

Kiss Her Once For Me by Alison Cochrun is a holiday rom com about a woman who fakes an engagement with her landlord…only to fall for his sister.

I absolutely loved The Charm Offensive, so I was looking forward to Kiss Her Once For Me. It has my favorite trope - fake dating/marriage of convenience, but unfortunately, I didn't love this book. I liked the idea of a While You Were Sleeping with a twist.

The whole insta-love that sets up this book from last Christmas was a little too much and I didn't like the going back to Last Christmas, as it made the book feel more disjointed. I loved Andrew's family - the two grandma's were hilarious! I was also surprised to see the letter from the author wasn't in the beginning of the physical book, but it was on the @netgalley version. I liked seeing her why.

This book does have some great themes of family, acceptance, mental health and a lot of Taylor Swift references.

The following review was posted on my blog today, Sunday, October 30th, 2 days before publication. It will be shared on Twitter and Instagram between today and the day of publication, and has already been posted on Goodreads. The blog post includes links to order the books and to its Goodreads page, so readers can add it to their to-be-read books.





“Honesty game: I feel like I’ve known you forever.”

Genre: Romance, LGBTQIA+
Actual Rating: 5+ star emojis
Spicy Meter: 2 fire emojis
Content Warnings: As given by the author—there are moments of homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia. Deals with generalized anxiety disorders and stigmas around neurodiversity. Mentions adultery and cheating.

“Kiss Her Once for Me” follows Ellie Oliver, an animator and demisexual hopeless romantic, through two very impactful moments of her life—both revolving around the winter holidays. Bring on December 2021, where Ellie has just moved to Portland and is working at an animation studio, when she unexpectedly has a meet-cute and calamitous one night stand with Jack, only to never see her again. Then flash-forward to December 2022, where she’s working as a barista after losing her dream job in animation and she somehow agrees to fake-marry the coffee shop’s cute landlord, Andrew, so he can get his inheritance. But before they get married, Ellie has to endure a few days at his family’s cabin, celebrating Christmas… only to find out Andrew’s sister who he’s referred to as Jacqueline is actually Jack. The same Jack who broke Ellie’s heart last Christmas. -Queue in “Last Christmas” by Taylor Swift (2007 cover)-

First things first: get this book as a Christmas/holiday gift for all your lesbian, bisexual, queer, and sapphic-loving reader friends. Now. Go order them so they’ll be there for the holidays. I cannot begin to explain how much I loved this book.

“Kiss Her Once for Me” will be hands down my favorite holiday book this season—I have no proofs but also no doubts. This book had it all. Fake dating? Check. Marriage of convenience? Check. Miscommunication? Check. Close proximity? Check. Diverse characters? Check. Character growth? Check. Epic sapphic couple? Check check check.

I would not change a single thing about this book. Alison Chochrun is a swiftie, alright? The amount of times Taylor Swift is mentioned cannot be a coincidence, and I was there for it. I, too, have devoted countless hours to listening to Taylor Swift. I, too, believe evermore is an ode to Christmas. I, too, believe Lover is the superior album.

It isn’t the most explicit read, but there are some steamy scenes—and although this usually knocks down some stars while rating, I didn’t mind it too much through this read. The kissed were sweet and the conversation and intimacy achieved through communication was stellar. I did not feel like something was missing when I finished this read.

I would highly recommend “Kiss Her Once for Me” if you’re looking for a sapphic romance full of wintery feels. If you enjoy books by authors like Casey McQuiston, Rachael Lippincott, and Alexis Hall, then Alison Cochrun’s writing is right up your alley. This was such a fluid, lovely read. Oh, how I wish I could start reading it for the first time all over again.

If you click here, you’ll be redirected to Goodreads, so you can add the book to your TBR list.

Or you could click here, and be redirected to Amazon, so you can order the book.

ARC provided by Atria Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: November 01, 2022

This is the cutest book!!! I am fully obsessed with Alison and everything they write. I am such a sucker for a holiday romance that feels true to life.

This meet cute is adorable. Imagine this…a snowstorm on Christmas Eve that makes everything magical, including Ellie having a perfect night with the woman she met at a bookstore. However, in the morning her dreams are shattered. Soon after she loses her job and is just feeling lost.
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She takes a job at a local coffee shop and after a drunken night with the shop’s landlord she somehow agrees to a marriage of convenience for a substantial sum of money. They agree to spend the holidays together and when Andrew introduces Ellie to his sister she is shocked to find out it’s the woman she fell for the previous Christmas Eve. It’s no surprise that the Grandmas are the total mvps of this story!
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This is a fun take on a holiday story and I was all in! Thank you #Atria and #NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars

This book managed to melt my cold, cold heart! I was sucked in from the very first page, so much so that I was shocked when I finished it 6 hours later and looked outside to find it is in fact still October, and I very much am not in Portland. I went from kicking my feet and giggling, to processing my own mommy issues (rude), to crying, to dragging my Christmas decorations out of the basement early. While I think there were some definite pacing issues with the last 10% of the book, this was exactly the fun, cute, and cozy sapphic Christmas romance that I've always wanted!

❄️ E-ARC Review ❄️

Book: Kiss Her Once For Me

By: @alisoncochrun 💙

Release Date: November 1, 2022

GOOD THINGS CHECKLIST:

✔️ another amazing, beautiful, representative romance (if you loved Charm Offensive, you'll love this one too)

✔️ WINTER, SNOWY, CHRISTMAS MAGIC 🥺❄️

✔️ so-called "Love Trapezoid"

✔️ FAKE DATING 😈 but it's with the love interest's brother HAHAH just wait it gets so interesting

✔️ stranded in a snowy cabin together & guess how many beds there are... ☝️

✔️ imperfect characters but SO relatable and real - honestly one of my fav things about Cochrun's books

✔️ mental health in the spotlight, along with LOVE (duh)

ALISON, YOU DID IT AGAIN!! you wrote a book that simultaneously made me feel so seen while creating an incredible, fun, unique love story.

This book is out THIS TUESDAY & it's honestly the perfect holiday read, so slap this baby onto your wishlists because you're gonna LOVE IT!!! 💙💙

thank you to @atriabooks and @netgalley for the advanced e-book copy!!

Despite being an avid reader, rarely do I feel truly seen by a book. I’m queer and read quite a few LGBTQ+ books but Alison Cochrun’s books hold a special place in my heart. Last year I absolutely ADORED the charm offensive and had been anxiously awaiting Kiss Her Once for Me. I was NOT disappointed.

This sapphic Christmas story is so cozy and cute, I can’t get over it. Our story takes place in a dual timeline, this Christmas and last. Last year, Ellie had one perfect snowy day with a girl that just didn’t last. This year nothing seems to be going right for Ellie. She’s down on her luck, behind on rent, and feeling destitute. When Ellie agrees to a fake dating scheme to make ends meet, her past and present collide in the most chaotic way possible - Cue “It’s All Coming Back To Me” by Celine Dion.

Jack and Ellie are perfectly awkward and adorable. This sweet romcom is all that I needed to get me out of a reading slump. And having Demisexual rep is just the icing on the cake. I’ve never pre ordered anything so fast and I’m dying to get my hands on whatever Alison Cochrun writes next. I am IN LOVE with this book.

Cochrun has done it agin with excellent Ace-spectrum and mental health representation! This magical love story was sweet and heartwarming, and the characters were all so charming and loveable. I love the holiday backdrop and the tropes are done perfectly.

4.5

“We all have seasons of needing and seasons of giving.”

I absolutely adored The Charm Offensive, so I knew going in that I would really love this book. It delivers with fake dating and second chance romances, with not shortage of character growth and reflection.

Ellie is at a strange crossroads in her life where she has been let go from what she always thought was her dream job and trying to stay afloat. When Andrew offers a way out that benefits them both, she reluctantly takes it. When she spends the holidays with his family as his fake fiancée, she’s shocked to discover that his sister, Jack, is the mysterious woman she fell for over one night the previous Christmas.

Ellie is a compelling, complicated character who has always had a plan and doesn’t really know how to function once those plans go awry. She’s stuck between what she thinks she needs to do and what she really wants to do. Jack pulls Ellie into her orbit and it shakes Ellie’s foundation. So much so that Ellie creates a web comic based on the interaction. Jack and Ellie are alike and different in so many ways, but deep down it’s clear that they balance each other out. Ellie spends too much time in her head about what she believes should happen instead of focusing on what she wants. Jack is the family outcast, according to her father, and has a hard time believing in herself. Ellie and Jack become each other’s biggest supporters, almost unknowingly.

The chemistry between Ellie and Jack is so palpable from the moment the see each other again, and it simmers to a book over the course of the book. They clearly felt the same way the previous Christmas, but miscommunication proved to push them apart. I was able to figure out how the book would end early one, so the ending wasn’t surprising as it felt like it was pretty obvious all along.

I highly recommend adding this to your Christmas romance TBR! It’s so beautiful and heartwarming, and it will not disappoint.

5/5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me access to an eARC!

This was such a cozy sapphic Christmas romcom and I literally sobbed at so many parts of it--from the casualness of the (perfect) representation of both sexuality and gender identity, to the sheer and deep connection I felt to the main character, Ellie. The romance was messy and all over the place, but it felt realistic and I loved the emphasis on healthy communication despite the premise of the novel (fake relationships/marriage of convenience).

The author being a Swifite was such a bonus, too--the cute little debate that Ellie and Jack have about Evermore vs Lover was so cute and was one of my favourite scenes.

Overall, I thought the characters and the whole relationship felt real and I really enjoyed it. I ate it up in a day! Thanks to the author for writing this--it's perfect and makes this sapphic reviewer happy. <3

Thank you @netgalley for a copy of this book. Overall, this was an enjoyable romance. You will like this if you are a fan of forced proximity and forbidden romance. Ellie decides to marry Andrew to gain a large sum to help with her dire financial situation only to find out that Andrew's sister is Jack who she spent 1 day with. Jack and Ellie's one day is monumental for both of them and how they can't have each other and is forced to spend a week together.

I thought there was a lot going on with the story with flashback of the day between Jack and Ellie to Andrew's love and Ellie's situation. I didn't buy Ellie and Jack's connection - it seems way over the top to feel that much after one day.