Did someone say Christmas in July? I’m here for it just as I was here for this fun, cute, sexy holiday romance novel. The banter between the characters was spot on and the sparks between Ellie and Jack were blinding. The grandma commentary was the cherry on top. There were a few scenes I was legit laughing out loud and getting looks from my wife, worth it. And as a huge Taylor Swift fan, her references were perfectly woven in and Jack’s music taste in general was just great. I can’t wait to reread this one around the holidays.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Kiss Her Once For Me is a funny, cute, and surprisingly deep novel about Ellie, a young woman living alone in Portland, struggling to make ends meet after she gets fired from her dream job. Just when she thinks she's hit rock bottom, charming, handsome and rich Andrew approaches her with an offer: If Ellie will marry him, she'll get 10% of his inheritance he is set to inherit from his grandfather. The only catch? She has to spend the Christmas holidays with Andrews family and sister - a sister who turns out to be Ellie's former one-night-stand slash the one that got away.

Is this the perfect book to cozy up with during winter when it's snowing outside and there's holiday songs playing in the background? Yes. Did I read this in the middle of the summer, when it's approximately 100 degrees outside where I live? Also yes!

But it didn't matter - I loved this book so much! It was such a cute romcom but it was also so much more than just a romcom. It was about fully accepting yourself, including all the parts that you don't like to shine light on. It's about realizing that family isn't just people you're related to, family can be so much more. It's about learning that's it's ok to be afraid and accepting your fears and learning to overcome them. It's about love, happiness, acceptance, and cheesy romantic songs (like Call Me Maybe!)

I loved the dynamic between Ellie and Andrew, and loved the side characters as well - Dylan, Jack, Lovey, MeeMaw, Kathrine, Meredith, and Ali. This book has an awesome cast of characters that are all so well created. There's also great representation for LGBTQIA+ members.

Highly recommend reading this when you're ready to curl up on the couch by a fire. But it is also great to read it when you're baking in practically a sauna in the middle of the summer - it will cool you down!

Please note: I did receive a free ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review :)

Alison Cochrun became one of my instant-buy authors after The Charm Offensive, and Kiss Her Once for me has fully affirmed my decision.

Cochrun writes in a way that I'd swear she has lived my life as me. Her characters are so vivid and relatable that it's almost alarming. By the time I was 8% into this I had highlighted almost a page and a half of dialogue that had made me physically react.

I truly cannot say enough lovely things about this book. The mental health rep is fabulous (something Cochrun does Very Well), and the characters are wonderful. I fell for Dylan and Andrew IMMEDIATELY and Ellie <I>is</i> me, so naturally, Jack is my favorite.

I'll stop rambling now, but this book is 100% the perfect Christmas romcom with the perfect cast of characters. I cannot wait to read this over and over every holiday season.

Thank you Net Galley!
Sapphic. Christmas. Rom-Com. This is a wonderful read for people looking for romance and comedy. It reads very quickly and is very entertaining. This is a great holiday read if you're looking for something fun and sapphic to brighten your spirits!

Alison Cochrun is officially an instant buy author for me.
With the bar being set soooo high from The Charm Offensive, it is that much more impressive that I am completely obsessed with this book. Ellie and Jack share my heart with the inebriated grandmothers.
These characters seem treasured by the author. Such thought and care went into the development of them that they were such honest portrayals of different life experiences. Ellie's journey with failure was so beautifully written.
The ending had me SOBBBING.
Can't wait to pick up my own copy and read it again at Christmas time, because yes, this book can be enjoyed immensely in the summer, but it had those perfectly cozy winter vibes.

CW: biphobia, child neglect, narcissistic caregiver, infidelity, alcohol and drug use, ableism

Did I just read a Christmas book in June? Yes, yes I did. But it was queer, so we'll pretend it's for pride month. Bookstagram, you're gonna be going wild for this book come its release in November.

Meet Ellie, our queer twenty-five year old protagonist with generalized anxiety disorder and a severe fear of failure. Me too, Ellie, me too. After Ellie falls in love with a girl she met on a magical snow day in Portland, she realizes it was a one-night stand and is promptly brokenhearted for a year. That is, until the hot young rich owner of the coffee shop Ellie works for offers her a deal: fake marry him so he can get his inheritance and she gets 10% of the cut. Things get more complicated when Ellie's snow girl shows up at the family Christmas. How is she meant to survive a week when at every corner her snow girl is there?

The characters in this were great, as was the relationship building. I loved how every character was unique and none of them were perfect. I enjoyed the writing style and was definitely taken in by the emotions of the story. Cochrun executed this chaotic found family book messily and beautifully.

Perfect for fans of Written in the Stars and Happiest Season and all things Christmas and sapphic, Kiss Her Once For Me was the perfect wintery book for me to read at the end of June. As a lover of romance, graphic novels, Taylor Swift, found family, and of course, happy endings, this book may be my favorite read of the year.

The Charm Offensive was one of my favorite romances of 2021, so I immediately pushed the whole TBR pile aside when I saw Kiss Her Once For Me was available. And absolutely no regrets - I adored it so much.

Kiss Her Once For Me again shows what Alison Cochrun does best - creating beautiful, complex characters who you will fall in love with and truly root for. I loved Ellie, Jack, Andrew. Derek, and the whole rest of the Kim-Prescott family. A fake engagement leads to our MC Ellie spending a week with her new fake-bethrothed’s family - only to realize his sister is her one night stand from last Christmas. What follows is a week of festive family fun, a messy love trapezoid, and all of the feels.

There are plenty of hilarious moments (where can I sign up for a MeeMaw and a Lovey?), but plenty of more serious ones as well. And while this was a love story, it’s also a tale of found family and overcoming the obstacles we may put in our own ways. Thought this book wasn’t super long, all of the main characters experienced character growth.

I’m so grateful for the opportunity to read this early and can’t wait to see what this author writes next. Thank you to Atria and NetGalley for an advanced copy.

(Now off to reread The Charm Offensive.)

I loved this romance so much. It was so great and fun. Definitely recommend if you are looking for a cute romance. I will now be looking at the authors debut as I can see real talent.

I couldn’t put this book down! Ellie was someone I could relate with, having a fear of failure, but in Ellie’s case, her fear was detrimental to her way of living. Her fear was so strong that she would unintentionally fail because she knew she would. She needed someone like Jack, someone who could show Ellie that failing was part of life, someone who could make Ellie feel whole. I also enjoyed the chapters between the main storyline, which were written as Ellie’s online comics she was posting anonymously online about her magical snow day and her marriage arrangement, However, I would have LOVED if these in between chapters were actual comics or if there was a brief comic strip shared, even if it was the full story. That would have been amazing! But, that doesn’t detract from the amazing story of self discovery and growth that Cochran has shared in this version of While You Were Sleeping. Cochran took a great story (from a Sandra Bullock movie) and made it her own, with queer characters, a character looking for love and for a family that will love her, and making a Christmas story, without too much Christmas. This was a fantastic read and I will be recommending this book to my friends and family when it comes out on November 1, 2022.

What can I say about this book? It was perfection. Ellie and jack have an adorable meet cute in Powell's on a snowy Christmas Eve that turns into a one night stand. One year later Ellie's life has completely changed and isn't feeling hopeful but takes a chance on a rich boy. She's in for a surprise when she joins his family for Christmas.

I sat down and completely devoured this book and even cried at the end. I loved it so much!

Thank-you to Atria and Netgalley for the arc!

This is SO much more than a holiday romance. Alison Cochrun is queer fiction royalty now. She was just getting started with Charm Offensive, and honestly…this might be better!
Fake dating, a love trapezoid, a meet cute at Powells bookstore, and effortlessly representing complex identities. All with a magical and romantic holiday backdrop.

Just finished this book and now I’m sobbing in bed because of how perfect it was. I binge read this adorable queer romance and wouldn’t have stopped if someone tried to pull this book from me.

I’m so blessed to have gotten an e-arc of this because even in the hot summer air this writing took me straight to Christmas, where magic is in the air along with a chill.

If you are wanting a Christmas romance that will make you feel warm and cozy this is the one.

Kiss Her Once for Me is the queer Christmas rom-com I needed in my life. It’s funny and campy in the way rom-coms all tend to be, but I also found it to be heartfelt and honest. Ellie’s anxiety disorder and her toxic familial relationships are realistic and raw. I felt like Cochrun really bared her soul with these aspects of the character, and reached into mine in the process. Ellie is real to the point of sometimes being unlikeable. She’s an imperfect person, and I both empathize with her and see myself in her. This IS absolutely a romance, but it’s as much about Ellie’s personal growth as it is about her relationship with Jack.

This is a solid interpretation of While You Were Sleeping. Cochrun made the story her own while preserving the charm of it. The plot is a little predictable, as are most rom-coms, and tropes abound, but mostly in a fun way. The fake relationship is a bit contrived, coming way out of left field, and the reunion of Ellie and Jack requires a significant suspension of disbelief. But in the end, I’m here for it. Very enjoyable overall.

Author- Alison Cochrun
Publisher- Atria Books
Pub Date- Nov. 1, 2022
Stars- 5/5

“Failure happens. That doesn't make you a failure.”

Where do I begin with this book? It was beautiful and moving. It hit close to home so many times. I highlighted so many parts of this book. If Ellie was a real person..I really think she would be me. Her fear of failure, her spiraling anxiety, her fear of anything good happening, her traumatic childhood, and the aspect of just giving up because her plans didn't go the way she wanted them were all so relatable. I teared up a couple of times because it was like I was reading my life. For that, I am so grateful. The character development between Ellie and Jack was addictive and really grips your heart. Their story is chaotic, sad, beautiful, and downright sexy. I also really enjoyed Meredith's character! She reminded me so much of a friend i have in real life. It truly made me smile. I loved her quick wit and the way she was always fighting to be there for Ellie even if it means 3 am facetime. And the grandmas!!! Their characters were perfect. Literally perfect. I loved them! They were incredibly funny and boozy! I also enjoyed Andrew's character, however..I feel like his character doesn't really fit the way he acts. He seems like he would be this cold, stone-hearted person but he's really just a cinnamon roll.
The world-building was fantastic! This book made me feel like it was truly Christmas in JUNE!! I adored the family aspect and I enjoyed how the author wrote about what it felt like to be a part of a loving home after years of not having one. That really pulled on my heart strings. This book was equal parts funny, loving, sad, chaotic, and honestly..in some parts...steamy! I could sit and rave about this book forever! I loved every single part of this book! I really don't have anything negative to say. It's so beautiful and I truly loved it!
Thank you Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

A sapphic holiday rom-com? Yes, I'm going to read that. But this book was also much more. In addition to being a delicious romance between Ellie and Jack, the book explored serious topics like toxic parent/child dynamics, family issues, perfectionism, and failure. There was a diverse set of characters, including a demisexual bisexual main character, as well as trans, nonbinary, masculine of center, and Korean-American characters, and some seriously hilarious grandmothers tossed in, too. All of the characters were given full personalities, and we got to know them all. They were so well fleshed-out, I almost felt like I knew them in real life.

The romance, as mentioned, was delicious. And I'm not only saying that because Jack always smelled of just baked bread. The romantic tension between Ellie and Jack was phenomenal and the care that they had for each other was incredibly sweet.

I will definitely be reading this again around Christmas time and I suggest you do, too.

*I received an e-ARC of this title via NetGalley from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Put this on every list of perfect Christmas books! An absolutely perfect romance!

I loved the way this story is told with bits of Elle's webcomic interspersed with the story in the current time. I loved seeing Elle and Jack having their one perfect day together and then seeing how it all went wrong. Beyond Elle and Jack, the secondary characters in the book are so vivid and real and add so much to the story (Meemaw forever).

Give this book to every romance fan in your life. It's an absolute delight.

I loved Cochrun's debut, and her sophomore novel doesn't disappoint! Cochrun does an amazing job of creating a wonderfully likable cast of characters that make her novels feel like coming home. I wish I had an Andrew, Dylan, or Ari in my life! Plus, reading a sapphic winter holiday romance is exactly what I needed this summer! This one'll hit especially hard for any folks out there who find themselves feeling lost post-grad.

I really, really enjoyed this book! It was such a cute, witty, and charming romance story that kept me hooked!

I adored this heartfelt romp of a rom-com and felt like I could really identify with Ellie. The characters are so lovable and I'm always a sucker for a good fake dating trope too. This was such a good follow up to The Charm Offensive and I will definitely read again during the holiday season!