Alison Cochrun

The author of the “swoon-worthy debut” (Harper’s Bazaar) The Charm Offensive returns with a festive romantic comedy about a woman who fakes an engagement with her landlord…only to fall for his sister. One year ago, recent Portland transplant Ellie Oliver had her dream job in animation and a Christmas Eve meet-cute with a woman at a bookstore that led her to fall in love over the course of a single night. But after a betrayal the next morning and the loss of her job soon after, she finds herself adrift, alone, and desperate for money. Finding work at a local coffee shop, she’s just getting through the days—until Andrew, the shop’s landlord, proposes a shocking, drunken plan: a marriage of convenience that will give him his recent inheritance and alleviate Ellie’s financial woes and isolation. They make a plan to spend the holidays together at his family cabin to keep up the ruse. But when Andrew introduces his new fiancée to his sister, Ellie is shocked to discover it’s Jack—the mysterious woman she fell for over the course of one magical Christmas Eve the year before. Now, Ellie must choose between the safety of a fake relationship and the risk of something real. Perfect for fans of Written in the Stars and One Day in December, Kiss Her Once for Me is the queer holiday rom-com that you’ll want to cozy up with next to the fire.

A Novel

Kiss Her Once for Me

Lindsay

Jack kisses me into a knot that only she can untangle.

Everyone knows my sexuality is like a Rorschach test.”

“What you see when you look at me says a lot more about you than it does about me.”

Needing emotional intimacy in relationships while also having an anxiety disorder that makes emotional intimacy nearly impossible is just rude as hell on the part of my brain.

Homesickness sluices through me, but there is no home to be sick for, nothing waiting for me here or anywhere.

I decided to give this book a try because I enjoyed Alison Cochrun’s previous work, The Charm Offensive. And I do find Kiss Her Once for Me to have the same light and swoon-y vibe, but still with complex characters. I can also see how the main characters in this book resemble the two main characters in The Charm Offensive – which I don’t really know if it’s a good thing or not for some people, but I don’t have any problem with it.

I love how Alison Cochrun talks about mental illness in her works. Both Dev in The Charm Offensive and Ellie in this book are dealing with their own mental struggles. I can feel it was written with genuine care. One thing though, I was kinda hoping to see more Asian/Korean sides from Jack or Andrew. I know it’s not the center of the story, but as an Asian myself, I was secretly wishing their ethnic background would be talked about more as the story goes. But maybe that’s just me and my obsession with how authors would incorporate Asian characters and Asian-related issues in their story.

Kiss Her Once for Me is a light read, and a sweet one. It’s goofy at times, maybe cringey at parts, but overall it was an enjoyable experience and a much-needed romcom break for me!

Sashi

I decided to give this book a try because I enjoyed Alison Cochrun’s previous work, The Charm Offensive. And I do find Kiss Her Once for Me to have the same light and swoon-y vibe, but still with complex characters. I can also see how the main characters in this book resemble the two main characters in The Charm Offensive – which I don’t really know if it’s a good thing or not for some people, but I don’t have any problem with it.

I love how Alison Cochrun talks about mental illness in her works. Both Dev in The Charm Offensive and Ellie in this book are dealing with their own mental struggles. I can feel it was written with genuine care. One thing though, I was kinda hoping to see more Asian/Korean sides from Jack or Andrew. I know it’s not the center of the story, but as an Asian myself, I was secretly wishing their ethnic background would be talked about more as the story goes. But maybe that’s just me and my obsession with how authors would incorporate Asian characters and Asian-related issues in their story.

Kiss Her Once for Me is a light read, and a sweet one. It’s goofy at times, maybe cringey at parts, but overall it was an enjoyable experience and a much-needed romcom break for me!

The world needs more queer romcoms!! I read it all in one 5 hour sitting - I just couldn't put it down. Main character was a bit annoying at times, so that's the only reason for the deduction. I plan to order more books from this author ASAP!

Sarah Ashmore

thank you to atria books and netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

kiss her once for me: a sapphic christmas romcom sprinkled with a little bit of childhood trauma (for funsies, of course).

this book!!! i don’t think a romcom has made me feel and swoon the way this one has made me feel and swoon in a good long while. i also haven’t stayed up (genuinely) all night to read a book in a good long while either. so, i feel like that should tell you exactly how much i’ve adored this.

ellie and jack, andrew and dylan, and their absolutely shenanigan-filled fake-dating love-quartet situation… it was truly a wild ride and i loved every second of it. from the humor and discussions of mental health all the way to the exploration of toxic family. it was all so well crafted.

unapologetically queer. trans, enby, and poly side characters bracket our aspec and lesbian main characters. and beyond that, they interact (mostly) with family who are accepting of their identities without much question. it’s always so refreshing and heartwarming to not only see characters confident in their queerness. but also to not have to worry about any backlash with their identities. it allows for readers to escape solely into the love story. and i highly appreciate that that’s what happened here.

and after adoring both of alison cochrun’s releases, i can without a doubt place her onto my authors’ list to always read from in the future. i know that i can trust my time with their work, and that’s a rare thing to come across. i cannot wait to see what’s next.

ps. i highly recommend the audiobook for this one! the narrator does an 

conveying the tone of the scenes and the humor.

thank you to atria books and netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

kiss her once for me: a sapphic christmas romcom sprinkled with a little bit of childhood trauma (for funsies, of course).

this book!!! i don’t think a romcom has made me feel and swoon the way this one has made me feel and swoon in a good long while. i also haven’t stayed up (genuinely) all night to read a book in a good long while either. so, i feel like that should tell you exactly how much i’ve adored this.

ellie and jack, andrew and dylan, and their absolutely shenanigan-filled fake-dating love-quartet situation… it was truly a wild ride and i loved every second of it. from the humor and discussions of mental health all the way to the exploration of toxic family. it was all so well crafted.

let’s not forget to mention, it is so unapologetically queer. trans, enby, and poly side characters bracket our aspec and lesbian main characters. and beyond that, they interact (mostly) with family who are accepting of their identities without much question. it’s always so refreshing and heartwarming to not only see characters confident in their queerness. but also to not have to worry about any backlash with their identities. it allows for readers to escape solely into the love story. and i highly appreciate that that’s what happened here.

and after adoring both of alison cochrun’s releases, i can without a doubt place her onto my authors’ list to always read from in the future. i know that i can trust my time with their work, and that’s a rare thing to come across. i cannot wait to see what’s next.

ps. i highly recommend the audiobook for this one! the narrator does an incredible job conveying the tone of the scenes and the humor.

Kiss Her Once for Me A Novel

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