This is a charming story. When Ellie first moved to Portland, everything was going her way. She had a dream job, and she met a woman at a bookstore that she felt a strong connection with. But then, she experiences a betrayal the very morning after the meeting and, not long after, she loses her job. With money or a support system, she takes a job at a local coffee shop. Entering the holiday season, Andrew, the coffee shop's landlord from a wealthy family, makes a proposal out of left field -- the two should enter a marriage of convenience so he can gain access to his inheritance. In exchange, Andrew will give Ellie a part of the inheritance. Ellie accepts the proposal, and agrees to spend the holidays with his family to convince them their relationship is real.

When Andrew introduces Ellie to his sister Jack, she is beyond shocked to discover she is the same woman that Ellie spent that magical day with a year ago before Jack broke her heart. As Ellie and Jack spend more time together, Ellie feels the old feelings returning, but the risk, of hurting Andrew and trusting again the person who broke her heart, seems too great.

This is a fun and creative premise, full of strong main and supporting characters (especially Ellie's best friends and Andrew's grandmothers) and a touching story -- the perfect modern holiday romcom.

Highly recommended!

Kiss Her Once for Me is a wlw holiday romance by author Alison Cochrun. A fake relationship plan that goes side was when both participants are in love with other people.

Ellie fell in love on with Jack on Christmas Eve, just to have it shattered the next day. One year later, she's barely making ends meet and still nursing a broken heart. When the landlord, Andrew, from her job asks her for a marriage of convenience she hesitates, but she really needs that money to keep a roof over her head. Her plans go down the drain when they show up at his families cabin and his sister is the woman from last Christmas. While Ellie tries to ignore her chemistry with Jack, Andrew is trying to ignore his own chemistry with Jacks best friend, Dylan. It's a bit of a mess but when their lies get uncovered before they come clean will it destroy a future for her and Jack.

This is packed full of great characters! I'll start with the side characters because they all deserve a mention. Ellie's best friend Meredith, Andrew's mother and his grandmother's, and Dylan of course. Each one of them added to my enjoyment of the story in some way. I have to spotlight Andrew, who is not the main love interest, but I fell in love with him. I thought he was charming in his own way, and it was so obvious he had layers and such a big heart. Give me a novella focusing on what happened off page between him and Dylan and I would eat it up!

Now onto our leading ladies, Ellie and Jack. Ellie's anxiety was very relatable to me and I loved the Bi and demiace representation she encompassed. However, the insta love aspect of her situation with Jack. Jack, was a fine character, but I felt like it was hard to see the real her with only Ellie's POV. At the same time I'm not sure how the story would have flowed with both point of views so 🤷‍♀️ The romance between them has mild steam with flashbacks of their night together and a present day open door intimate scene.

I'll be honest this one took me a bit to get into the grove of the actual story, but I think that was a "me" problem because by the end I was quite enjoying myself and couldn't remember why I struggled in the beginning so I'm not going to take points away for that lol It alternates between present day and last Christmas Eve, in the form of Ellie's webcomic for those flashbacks.

Overall, Kiss Her Once for Me by Alison Cochrun is a queer holiday romance filled with a fake relationship, a love trapezoid, second chances, book co parenting, snowball fights, cookie baking, snowed in,


Rep: bi demi MC, lesbian MC, enby SC, queer SC

It’s easy to see why Alison Cochrun is quickly making a name for herself as a captivating romance writer. Her first novel The Charm Offensive was a runaway hit amongst readers and critics alike, even earning an editor’s best pick for romance from Amazon. I’m sure Kiss Her Once for Me will have much the same appeal. Early reviews are labeling it “dizzyingly adorable” and “whip-smart,” which I wholeheartedly agree. This fake-engagement rom-com might just be one of the most creatively crafted, holiday-themed novels I’ve read to date. It’s clear Cochrun has a real knack for storytelling and should be on every lgbtq romance reader’s watch list.

Cochrun sets this novel up nicely. Readers are quickly sucked into Ellie Oliver’s financial crisis and dating woes. Cochrun’s inspiration for this story was born from her love of While You Were Sleeping, but she admits that once the writing of this novel got underway, a lesbian Bill Pullman was not meant to be. She says it became clear fairly early in the drafting process that fear was at the core of Ellie’s story and it pushed her to craft a narrative themed in that. Readers will be thankful she let the composition unfold organically because Kiss Her Once for Me is something that’s fresh, original and highly entertaining.

Fear, as mentioned earlier, is threaded neatly and purposefully in the fabric of this heartwarming story. It’s designed to drive the characters and in turn the story. Cochrun does a masterful job of applying it in this story, creating something that evokes relatable emotion and connectivity. Readers understand Ellie and Jack and they relate to them. They understand the urge to protect the heart, even when it skips a beat under the lure of desire. Ellie and Jack’s fear of love is beautifully scripted; it pushes internal conflicts and vulnerabilities excruciatingly well. And when love does happen, readers stand up and cheer for it, making this rom-com swoon worthy.

Final remarks…

I enjoyed so many things about this book. The character development is fantastic; Ellie and Jack just jump off the page. The secondary characters are immensely entertaining and wonderfully drawn; they could have a sit-com of their own! Best of all is the will they/won’t they moment; it’s more heart-tugging than Sandra Bullock’s confession/wedding scene in While You Were Sleeping—and that’s saying something! Ellie’s declaration squeezes the heart in all the ways a good romance should.

Strengths…

Creatively designed
Engaging storyline
Fantastic characters
Heartwarming
Entertaining
Well-worth the read

Ellie Oliver lost her dream job in animation and now works at a coffee shop, just passing the mindless days and going home to her closet-sized apartment. She keeps flashing back to the magical Christmas Eve a year ago, when she met an amazing woman on a snowy morning and fell in love over the course of the day, but lost her. Then the coffee store's landlord comes up with a shocking proposition: he needs to get married to earn his inheritance, and she needs money. They'll have a (short) marriage of convenience, which includes spending the holidays at his family's winter cabin. But when Andrew and Ellie arrive to meet the fam, she cannot believe that his sister Jacqueline is actually "Jack," the woman she fell in love with last Christmas Eve. Now Ellie has to decide between keeping up the ruse with Andrew for financial security or risking everything for love.

KISS HER ONCE FOR ME is so charming! Christmas! Fake romance! Lesbians! It felt a little more serious than CHARM OFFENSIVE despite the holiday theme, but it's still such a great story. Cochrun said she was inspired by the movie "While You Were Sleeping," which is one of my absolute favorite films, and I could totally see it. (We even have a Jack!)

Much like CHARM, KISS covers anxiety in such a thoughtful way. Ellie is an anxious soul, afraid to to trust or take chances. Her fear of failure hit me in the gut. As for Jack, after you read this, no real lesbian may ever match up again. She's a lesbian ideal, a flannel-laden, pastry baking hottie. Andrew's family is a trip too, especially his grandmas, who are totally amusing (and very "While You Were Sleeping)."

I loved how the theme of art and web comics ran across the book (Ellie wrote a web comic about her day with Jack, and we learn about their encounter through excerpts from it). It's pretty hard not to enjoy a book about love, snow, and finding yourself. It has serious parts, but embraces its tropes, such as dating a friend's brother and the good 'ol fake fiance. It also really made me want to visit Portland!

Overall, this is such a lovely, touching, and fun read. Hallmark, Lifetime, please come and make this into a holiday movie! 4.5 stars.

I loved this! What a joyful, emotional ride of a novel. I was really excited to dive into this after absolutely adoring Cochrun's debut, The Charm Offensive, and this absolutely delivered. One of my favorite things about this book was the found family Ellie discovers through her relationship with Jack. Will definitely be returning to this one in December!

This was just ultimately not for me. The story felt forced and insta love is not for me. I did love that this was inspired by the movie, While You Were Sleeping. and the wide cast of characters.

This book also took me months to complete....so that says a lot for my engagement with these characters.

Alison Cochrun can do no wrong! After totally adoring The Charm Offensive, I was so excited to read this next novel and I was not disappointed! Excellent banter, great side characters, so many laughs and just a really cute holiday love story. Highly recommend!! Read it for the Boozy Grandma bits alone. :)

I absolutely loved this book so much! Ellie is such an anxious little flower, her growth throughout the book was such a pleasure to read. I adored Jack - she stomped her way right into my heart with her too loud voice and her dough kneading injury.

I loved every single thing about this book, it is the perfect holiday read.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

While I was initially a bit taken aback to see that Alison Cochrun was releasing another stand-alone, as I was intrigued by the possibilities the ending her debut opened up, I was still eager for anything she would write. And upon reading, I ended up liking Kiss Her Once for Me for all its messiness.

Ellie is a woman after my own heart, and I couldn’t help but relate to her. She deals with anxiety, and I couldn’t help but relate to how she allowed her sense of self-doubt to rule her life and, as a result, hold her back from truly thriving. Her demisexuality is also drawn with a lot of nuance, and I appreciated an exploration of sexuality in that context, demonstrating how deep her instantaneous connection with Jack is.

I liked getting a feel for both Ellie and Jack’s past and present relationships. Their bond is truly electric at both points in time (and chock-full of Taylor Swift references!), and while I did feel like the burden of what went wrong the first time around was often shifted too much toward Ellie’s side, I did mostly like them together.

I also liked the intricate family and friendship dynamics that inform the messy love polygon drama. Andrew is motivated to fake-marry Ellie to get access to his inheritance out of misguided brotherly protectiveness of Jack, and while he remains unaware of Ellie’s…acquaintance…with Jack, he also has his own secret queer love in Jack’s friend Dylan. Each of these revelations brought drama and tension, but ultimately I appreciate how it was all resolved.

The one element I found a bit odd was the way Ellie’s webcomics were incorporated. I appreciate it as an aspect of her character, and it plays a role in her developing confidence in herself as she does get a promising job opportunity. However, the “Last Christmas” chapters, while described as a webcomic, were presented not only as prose, but without much distinction from the “present” arc, such as with no names changed, despite discussing real events. Another webcomic Ellie is working on about her current situation is discussed, and when everything is revealed, it’s implied Jack has read that one and knows about her online identity, and put two and two together regarding the fake dating scheme. Without clarifying information as to how much was fictionalized in the versions of the webcomics the characters see in-universe, I can’t help but wonder if there’s some kind of ethical violation at play, even if this is never addressed.

With that caveat, I enjoyed this book for the most part. If you’re looking for a heartfelt queer holiday romance with a great balance of familial and romantic relationships, I recommend checking this one out!

(3.5 Stars)

You had me at Paul Hollywood the dog! A festive, sapphic romance with boozy grandmas, fake dating, and a love story that feels reminiscent of Red, White, and Royal Blue and While You Were Sleeping!

I LOVED The Charm Offensive, so Cochrun has become an auto read author for me and I couldn't wait to dig into Kiss Her Once for Me.
Although I don't usually love holiday centered books, I found this one easy to read and enjoy!

What I Enjoyed:
-LGBTQ+ Rep!!
-Ellie is truly a relatable MC. She deals with tough familial relationships, a fear of failure, deteriorating mental health, and relays all of that to the reader in a genuine way.
-The side characters. The Kim-Prescott family is a HOOT. The grandmas steal the show and I could read an entire book of just their shenanigans! And Meredith and Ari are the best friend we may not deserve but WE ALL NEED!
-This book puts the traditional marriage of convenience trope on its head in a fun, inclusive way that I loved! The book feels very original!
- The line "miscommunication is for the straights". I DIED LAUGHING. Happy to have a self aware author/MC who can make fun of the miscommunication trope in most romcoms.

What I Struggled With:
- The other main characters. I didn't feel connected to Andrew, Jack, or Dylan. Dylan felt like all snark. And Andrew and Jack came off privileged and aloof. There was good banter, but I just never felt like any of them truly came out of their shell so to speak. Even in the final scene, Jack felt too mellow in contrast to Ellie and her feelings.
- The pacing. Some parts of this felt quick whereas some parts dragged. This could be do to the fact that the book had many flashbacks despite the reader already knowing where the flashbacks end, the fact that the majority of the book takes place over a very detailed week, or the secrets among characters were just too drawn out. Regardless, this book felt like it could've been shorter/wrapped sooner.

Overall, this a great sophomore novel from Cochrun! Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for an advanced reader e-copy in exchange for my honest review!

This book is such a god damned delight. I loved The Charm Offensive so desperately when I read it, so I had incredibly high expectations going into this. Also I have a tendency to hate the second book by an author -- idk if the sophomore slump is on their end or mine but I was NERVOUS. But there was zero reason to have any doubts because Alison Cochrun absolutely slayed me with this one.

Kiss Her Once for Me follows Ellie, an artist and animator turned barely employed barista, as she meets Jack, a woman she falls in love with over the course of one magical Christmas Eve snowstorm that goes tragically wrong after a miscommunication for the ages. Fast forward a year and Ellie, desperately broke and on the verge of eviction, agrees to fake marry her boss's landlord and at his family's Christmas vacation discovers that his sister and best friend is no other than Jack, the woman from the magical one night stand.

This book is zany. There's no other word for it. It is chockfull of all the best tropes. Fake marriage of convenience! There's only one bed! Forced proximity! Being stranded thanks to weather (multiple times)! Endless Taylor Swift eggs! It is silly and fun in the best way. Some of the stuff that happens in the book borders on the absurd but its so CHARMING it never veers off the track into actual absurdity. Similar to The Charm Offensive, the secondary characters in this book really steal the show at times. My favorite is Andrew, because he goes on such a journey and my feelings went on that journey wit him: I loved him then I hated him and then I loved him so so much.

This review is no substance, just vibes but please go read this book!!

• Fake Engagement
• Anxiety Rep
• Christmas In The Mountains

Ellie moves to Portland and on Christmas she meets Jack, only to be betrayed the next morning. After her life starts to fall apart, her landlord offers her a marriage of convenience to solve her money issues. After drunkenly accepting, the two go to his family vacation home for Christmas and meet his sister... Jacqueline or Jack! Does Ellie pick the safe route of money and fake relationship or something too risky with Jack?

This book has so much more to it than just the falling in love in romance novels. There’s family drama, mental health representation, and twists that I did not see coming! I read this so fast! A romance novel with depth is hard to find at times, and this is definitely fitting that description perfectly. This is a favorite of mine now!

<i>Thank you to Alison Cochrun and Atria Books for the digital ARC of Kiss Her Once For Me through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.<i>

#KissHerOnceForMe #AlisonCochrun #AtriaBooks #NetGalley #ARC #eARC

“I can’t stay here! Andrew has a weird thing with his sisters best friend, and I slept with his sister, and it is a whole love trapezoid thing, situation, that’s going to end disastrously for everyone involved.” - I feel this quote really wraps up the summary for this book.

Ellie has had the worst year, let go from her “dream” job, on the verge of eviction, unable to find her place in her new city due to her anxiety disorder, and an inability to let go of a one night stand with the first woman she has felt a connection with in a long time. She is on the verge of a meltdown until Andrew, the landlord at her work, makes a proposal. (Both literally and figuratively.)

Ellie and Andrew come to an agreement he gets the fake fiancee he needs to inherit his trust fund and she gets 10%. It sounds like a great plan until Ellie feels guilty for lying to his wonderful family, his ex shows up to Christmas, and she sets her eyes on Jack, Andrew’s sister and the woman she has been dreaming about for the last year.

Kiss Her Once for Me, manages to take one our favorite romcom tropes, faking dating, and turns it upside down. Jack and Ellie's conversations are so deep, and it really sets up the reader to believe this relationship could be real so quickly. Particularly around the way they dig into their families and anxieties. I loved how the subject of Ellie’s anxiety is handled, as someone with anxiety I can relate to the full body freeze when under pressure and a desire to hide under a weighted blanket.

All of the characters are vibrant and distinct, and I would totally go on vacation with them.

Kiss Her Once For Me
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Romance
Format: Kindle eBook
Date Published: 11/1/22
Author: Alison Cochrun
Publisher: Atria Books
Pages: 368
GR: 4.41

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Atria Books and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

My Thoughts: This was such a cute, fun read. One day stand turns into fake fiancée’s sister, what’s not to love? This was a different spin on the fake fiancée trope that I really enjoyed. Throw in a dash of Christmas and it will light up your holiday. I adored Ellie’s character, even if I did not agree with some of her choices. She really evolved over the story, initially being a timid young woman living in fear, and in the end become this strong, independent woman who fights for what she wants. Then there is Jack, who is strong, independent, and fearless, who shines so bright, but she does not see it. They were like salt and pepper, yet blended together effortlessly. The plot just works very well. There is also the trope of second chance romance sprinkled in. The characters were developed so well, had depth, witty banter, amazing chemistry, and creatively immersed into the story. The author’s writing style is complex, funny, emotional, and engaging. I will definitely be reading The Charm Offensive, Cochrun’s previous book, as I really loved her style. The storyline was paced well and flowed effortlessly. This book publishes next week and I would highly recommend picking up.

Prepare yourself for a messy Christmas season! Ellie is a down on her luck animator working as a barista with an intense cause of generalized anxiety disorder and heartbreak. When the unfairly handsome coffee shop landlord asks her to have a marriage of connivence with him, Ellie is absolutely not interested. But drunk Ellie had different plans. Now engaged and playing the part of fiancé, Ellie is determined to keep the ruse going. But the last thing she expects is the girl who broke her heart, the one night stand who forgot her last Christmas, to be the sister of her new finance.

Plot: 3/5
Did I mention messy already? Structure wise the plot was solid but the whole concept is a weird love trapezoid that has so many moving parts you’re not sure how you want it to work out.
The interspersed web series chapters were really cute and added depth to the story. Though it would be a big ask, it would be so cool if those had been in the actual webcomic format.

Characters: 4.5/5
Our main character, Ellie, has a crippling fear of failure. Mixed with her shithead parents and anxiety, she’s really NOT thriving. She’s deeply relatable and exhibits so much growth by the end. Not erasing her mental illnesses in anyway but she works to improve herself and gains a valuable support system.

Jack is absolutely chaotic and the drawing on the cover does her zero justice because she’s half Asian and a hot butch with tons of tattoos but she just looks like a bland white person. Her personality is fun and infectious, and she’s so self aware and honest. She makes a perfect match for Ellie.

The other characters, Andrew and Dylan, and the whole Kim-Prescott family and amazing and goofy.

I have already mentioned Ellie’s shithead parents and I absolutely love seeing the situation where a child offers their parent a chance to have relationship with health boundaries rather than automatically forgiving them. Even better to see the parent reject them and go noncontact. You don’t get to see that much in books and it’s something I think should be shown more.

Writing: 3/5
It’s giving bingeable romance. I didn’t find Cochron’s writing style particularly unique in anyway but it was solid. She does dialog very well but I found the descriptions outside of that kind of bland.

Overall: 3.5/5

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for the eARC of this queer holiday romance from the author of The Charm Offensive, which I loved last year.

While fake dating is probably my least favorite romance trope, I trusted Alison Cochrun to write it smartly and to engaging effect. And she definitely did! I loved all of the ancillary characters in this book - especially Ellie's friends and Andrew's extended family. The modern Portland setting was described perfectly. I could totally picture the meet-cute in the stacks at Powell's!

I think this book will be a heart-warming holiday read for many readers, with all the snow and cozy Christmas vibes (x2 timelines) you could ever want!

THIS. BOOK. I'm in love.

A Christmas Rom-Com with a sapphic love interest?! Count me in. Ellie is probably one of my favorite hot-mess characters I've read about in a novel - her dialogue, both inner and spoken, had me laughing throughout the whole book. I, as well as plenty of readers I'm sure, can totally relate to the feeling of being afraid of failure, feeling sorry for taking up space, and so many of her other struggles from her upbringing. I think this was a huge reason I loved her so much, she felt RELATABLE which a lot of authors don't write their characters as (not that there's anything wrong with a perfect romance, I just enjoy something more down to earth like this story)..

When Andrew approached her for this arrangement, I was totally into the fake-dating and totally here for her getting her money! But then the whole thing took a turn I wasn't expecting (I rarely read the synopsis of novels) and the way she was thrown into this situation, and at Christmastime at that, I did not see coming at all! That said, her and Jack are SO FREAKIN CUTE! Also, a moment for the grandmas in this family. They had me dying.

This review is all over the place, but I absolutely adored this book. Can't wait to read more from Alison!

I adored The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun, so I was thrilled to have the chance to read Kiss Her Once for Me. And, I was not disappointed! Cochrun captures holiday magic in this "meet cute" turned fake dating rom-com that's teeming with unfortunate events. It's brimming with representation, and it's the perfect antidote to <redacted> channel holiday movies that tell the same story over and over again.

You'll fall in love with Ellie, Andrew, their friends, and their family. You'll also get to see a thoughtful exploration of mental health. Definitely recommend this one!

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

I wanted to like this more than I did! I loved Cochrun's debut, The Charm Offensive, because I felt like it hit a good balance between having fleshed-out characters and a fun and intriguing premise that managed to be a rom-com while also subverting common rom-com tropes. I just didn't like the characters or the plot of Kiss Her Once for Me as much as I wanted to. I enjoyed the dynamics between Ellie and the Kim-Prescott family, but the premise of this one was kind of convoluted, and so often I felt like we were rushing through all of the different moments and that most things resolved really neatly. Overall, it was a cute, easy read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Mild summary spoilers below.

Ellie is pulled into a fake engagement for money at a low point in her life. Last Christmas, she fell for a woman and was heartbroken. This Christmas, her fake engagement leads her into that person's path once more.

This sapphic holiday romance absolutely worked for me. I was fond of the characters, main and side (love you, Meemaw!). As someone who has anxiety, a fear of failure, and a fear of letting people down, there was part of me that really understood Ellie. I liked the chemistry and tension throughout. I also adored the family dynamics in this.

Insta-love and miscommunication tropes do appear and are both addressed somewhat. For how quickly they fall for each other, they still had deep conversations and got to know each other. I'm not a fan of either of these tropes usually so I was surprised that the story worked for me. I think both characters were at low points so they intimately attached to each other and got deep much faster. And the writing style and dialogue were very enjoyable. My main frustration was when the truth was withheld a step too far for my taste.

I thought the representation was quite good: demisexual, bisexual, butch lesbian, non-binary, Korean to name some. I can see some issue being taken with someone who is demi falling for someone so quickly though.

Laughed a bit, cried a bit, and had a great time reading this overall. I would recommend this for those looking for a fun and emotional queer love story. I hope to pick up The Charm Offensive soon. 4.5 stars rounded up.