Reviews with content warning for Alcoholism - Kiss Her Once For Me

Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Kiss Her Once For Me by Alison Cochrun

11 reviews

mbrogs2024's review

Go to review page

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

kelly_e's review

Go to review page

funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Title: Kiss Her Once for Me
Author: Alison Cochrun
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Rating: 3.25
Pub Date: November 1, 2022

T H R E E • W O R D S

Thoughtful • Nostalgic • Messy

📖 S Y N O P S I S

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.

💭 T H O U G H T S

The Charm Offensive was an absolute hit for me, so of course, I was keeping an eye on new books from Alison Cochrun. It just may have taken me over a year to finally pick up Kiss Her Once For Me. Unfortunately, this one didn't have the same experience as her debut.

Honestly, the premise sounded kind of ridiculous, so I knew going in, I'd have to suspend belief in order to appreciate this big hearted romcom. Marriage-of-convivence is a trope I often struggle to become fully invested in and it was no different with this one, especially when you add in the love triangle and lack of communication elements. Additionally, I wouldn't necessarily classify this as a holiday read, rather it just has strong winter vibes.

This book delivers an incredibly diverse cast of characters with representation spanning ADHD, anxiety disorders, bisexuality, demisexuality, and nonbinary. It was just all very well done. I also found myself appreciating the growth of the main character, the self-discovery theme, and the quirky family more than the actual romance aspect.

Overall, Kiss Her Once for Me didn't live up to my expectations, yet I don't know if it was really the book itself or rather just it containing elements that I don't love. I am curious and looking forward to see where Here We Go Again, Alison Cochrun's upcoming 2024 release will land for me.

📚 R E A D • I F • Y O U • L I K E
• cozy romance
• queer romcoms (demisexual rep)
• love triangles

⚠️ CW: toxic parental relationship, emotional abuse, child abuse, biphobia, transphobia, lesbophobia, homophobia, mental illness, generalized anxiety, panic attacks/disorders, alcoholism, infidelity, sexual content, alcohol, abandonment, cursing, drug use, classism, bullying, gaslighting, ableism, racism, body shaming, fatphobia, death, misogyny, sexism, divorce

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"Your trauma is something that happened to you; it’s not who you are."

"We all have seasons of needing and seasons of giving."

Content Warnings

xiggy's review

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Very trope heavy and fluffy soft. If you’re not into tropes and mushy cliches don’t pick this one up, it’s not for you.

Content Warnings

uranaishi's review

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Content Warnings

dojipengin's review

Go to review page

emotional funny inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

aansano's review

Go to review page

fast-paced

Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

frantically's review

Go to review page

emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

I loved the concept of this but the execution was just too riddled with miscommunication for me. Also, the way Jack didn't even pretend to understand in what different situations she and Elle were in — of course 200 thousand dollars would've changed her life. That's not something you easily say no to.

Content Warnings

thereaderfriend's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Loved this book so much that it's a new favorite! It's not a 5 star book. It is a 4-4.5 star book because the repetition about the bread smell and last Christmas allusion was annoying. There were some misspelling errors that were hard to ignore too. But other than that, it was great! Great anxiety rep and I think great demisexual rep, despite what some may think

about how fast Ellie fell in love with Jack, although I can't say i have experienceas a demisexual person bc im still learning about myself

. I also related a ton to Ellie and her insecurities

due to childhood trauma and current trauma from her current situation with her parents

I think the author, Alison Cochrun, did a great job at writing about Ellie's insecurities and doubts. Very relatable and believable. A little too on the nose but JUST what I needed to read. Very inspiring. Also loved the dynamics between the protagonist, her friends, and the family. Really liked the plot twists and turnarounds too. Was skeptical at the end with that climax but I really enjoyed the falling action. Also the smut.. HOTTEST smut I've ever read. Was trying to read this in public with fam but ended up at THE scene and had to stop bc 1, fam and public were near me (which normally doesn't stop me bc most smut I've read has usually been cringe and done nothing for me and 2, SO HOT! I mean it lol I felt so uncomfortable trying to read it in public bc it evoked ~ feelings ~ lmao

Content Warnings

kitheminges's review

Go to review page

emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Kiss Her Once for Me follows Ellie, heartbroken from last Christmas and in the middle of a quarter-life crisis as she meets Andrew who offers her a deal she can’t turn down. The only catch? They have to get married. 
Broke and not wanting to spend the holidays alone, Ellie accepts. Only once she arrives at the family cabin for the holidays, the woman who broke her heart is there. And Andrew’s sister. 

This book was so sweet and fluffy while being very grounded in the fear of failure and anxiety. The story was dramatic and the characters were all so loveable. 

One part I am disappointed to see was the use of the word ‘dem*nted’ which is ableist in nature. However, hopefully with final edits this will be changed. 

Overall, it’s a great Christmas romcom to help you feel a little less alone and believing a little more in the magic of snow.
Thank you to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Content Warnings

bananathebookbestie's review

Go to review page

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I need you to stop what you're doing and pre-order/add this book to your TBR immediately! Kiss Her Once for Me comes out on November 1, 2022, and it's the perfect read for the holidays.

This book has such a fun premise: Imagine the perfect snow day — the city shuts down, there's magic in the air, it's Christmas Eve, and you meet and spend the day with your absolute dream person. After spending a wonderful night together, you leave (because you're deeply afraid of failure) and assume you'll never see them again. One year later, you end up fake-engaged to the landlord of the coffee shop you work at because it will benefit you both — he'll get his inheritance, and you'll get $200,000. When you go to his family's home for Christmas, you meet his sister... who is none other than your dream person you spent last Christmas with. She doesn't know your engagement is fake, and your fiancé doesn't know you had a one night stand with his sister.

This book was so festive and queer and fun! It filled my heart all the way up and broke it at the same time. (All of the emotions were worth it, though.) The absolute chaos of what Ellie calls the "love trapezoid" is hilarious and inevitable. I adored each of the characters and their personalities. I even loved how the major conflict was handled — it felt authentic and there was genuine growth from everyone. I don't usually find myself loving the "found family" trope, but it worked so well here and I was rooting for Ellie, Jack, Andrew, Dylan, and their whole family. I also think the cabin scene is the most romantic love scene I've read in a long time. It was descriptive and tender, but not crass. I felt how much Ellie and Jack loved each other through every action. These two characters are clearly better together and I'm glad for the journey they took to figure that out. I only wish there was an epilogue to give us a glimpse of how they're faring together in the future.

And while this book is fun, it balances the joy of the holidays with heavier topics. (Make sure to check the content warnings before reading!) There's family trauma — like childhood emotional neglect, perfectionist parenting, and representation of the insecure attachment style. There's also legit anxiety representation, which Alison Cochrun writes so well and makes me feel so seen, and fantastic queer representation throughout.

I'm happy to give this book five stars, but even happier to recommend this to people. I will be shouting from the rooftops about how much I love this book! The Taylor Swift references and built-in holiday playlist were the cherry on top. Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for a review copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Content Warnings

More...