This sapphic holiday romance features a second chance romance, a love trapezoid, and a whole lot of snow days. After agreeing to enter a marriage of convenience with her landlord, Ellie discovers that his sister is the woman who broke her heart last Christmas. I felt like Jack was too hard of Ellie sometimes given her own mistakes / choices but overall I really loved this one-- especially the ace / demi rep!

Once again I ended the year with an incredible book by Alison Cochrun! One of the last books I read in 2021 was The Charm Offensive, and I closed out 2022 with Kiss Her Once for Me.

This book has such a fantastic setup: Down-on-her-luck animator Ellie Oliver agrees to pose as the wealthy Andrew Kim-Prescott's fiancée in exchange for a tidy sum of cash. But when they arrive at his family's home, Ellie is greeted by Andrew's sister Jack, the woman she fell in love with last Christmas Eve. While struggling to keep the charade going, Ellie realizes that Andrew has feelings for Jack's best friend—making it all so deliciously messy.

Cochrun writes characters who feel so deeply human to me. Ellie is complicated, hilarious, and wildly relatable as she struggles to find her place in the world while feeling as though she's barely keeping her head above water. Though this isn't inspired directly by a holiday movie, it reminded me a lot of While You Were Sleeping, particularly the way that a lonely Ellie was so openly embraced by the Kim-Prescott clan and how much she comes to love them as she falls for Jack.

Speaking of Jack–my darling pastry chef! Though this is a single-POV romance, Cochrun does a fantastic job of letting us in on Jack's thoughts and feelings to the point where I felt like I knew her just as well as I did Ellie. I loved reading along as she shared her dream of opening The Butch Oven. Plus the flashbacks to the night they met so wonderfully connected the initial spark between Ellie and Jack as it lead up to the undeniable chemistry they have once they're together again.

I listened to the audiobook, which was narrated by the brilliant Natalie Naudus, who always captures character voices so beautifully and conveys the humor, nuance, and emotion of Cochrun's writing perfectly. If you have the chance to listen to it, it's a real treat! I also loved Andrew and Dylan, so here's hoping this isn't the last we see of them.

FREAKING Loved this cute lil queer (honestly, just completely inclusive) holiday read! I LOVED the audiobook so much and could not stop listening. Everyone needs to read this smart read!

You definitely have to suspend some disbelief for this one (a fake engagement to her true love/one night stand's brother?), but, hey, it's Christmas! Cochrun follows up The Charm Offensive with this new holiday rom-com. Ellie Oliver finds herself alone and jobless before finding work at a coffee shop. Her landlord, Andrew, makes an unexpected proposal: A marriage of convenience to help him secure his inheritance. Ellie is on board with the plan until she meets (and falls for) Andrew's sister...who just so happens to be her magical one-night stand from last Christmas.