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nere's review
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
in short, it had tropes I don’t like and I didn’t know that going in. not necessarily the book’s fault. for what its worth. I kept reading until the end. which is more than could be said about most other romance books I start and promptly don’t finish.
Graphic: Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual content
Moderate: Biphobia and Drug use
Minor: Infidelity
generalized anxiety disordercheye13's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Alcohol
cats33's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Sexual content, Cursing, and Alcohol
Moderate: Sexism, Infidelity, Biphobia, Grief, Homophobia, and Misogyny
Minor: Racism and Vomit
sophie42's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Sexual content, and Mental illness
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Drug use and Biphobia
potatooftheworld's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Moderate: Homophobia, Sexual content, and Biphobia
so_many_books's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Kiss Her Once for Me managed to knead together all of these things and enchant me with its wonderfulness.
After reading The Charm Offensive by Allison and loving it with all my heart, the baseline was pretty high for this book. Kiss Her Once for Me is different and yet has the same feels as The Charm Offensive. It definitely fulfilled my expectations.
Ellie and Jack's story starts at one wonderful Christmas Eve, evaporates the next morning and rekindles a year later when Ellie goes home for the holidays with his fake fiancè, Andrew, just to realize, his sister is actually the woman she longed for since last Christmas. Oh, and there's Jack's best friend, Dylan, who is somehow romantically involved (but not really) with Andrew. It's messy, it's funny, it's full of emotions.
The Christmas preparations with this messy family are the perfect place for rom-com moments. Snow ball fights, cookie baking, skiing, getting lost in the snow. All of it is there.
Ellie is one messy main character. She's a little lost after her plans went out the window as an artist. She's a bit lonely, and desperate. Her relationship with her mother is less than optimal. She has anxiety and She's short on cash. Is it really a surprise she goes along with Andrew's plan of fake marriage to get his inheritance? No.
I love how messy she was. She felt real with all her doubts and worries and fear of failure. I could very much relate to not having the right therapist to help.
Jack is the sweetest butch love interest. She is funny and quirky and restless and caring.
Andrew is this big softie who hides behind his playboy ways.
And the rest of the family? The grandma's who like to get high? The grumpy best friend? The kind-hearted mom? They are all perfect and heartwarming.
It was so sweet to see Ellie experience the warmth of family love. It was captivating to see her rediscover her feelings for Jack. The whole story was this heartwarming hug. The end was a bit angstier than I liked, but it all turned out okay.
I loved the storytelling. The jumps back and forth between last year and this kept me on my toes. I would've loved to see the graphic novel pages that were such a big part of the story.
As always, the representation was on point. Lots of queer identites are represented beautifully. But the best thing is definitely the mental health and neurodivergent rep. We have a main character with sever anxiety, and a love interest with ADHD. And it's the most normal thing ever. They are there but they aren't the main focus of the story. They are there to show it's perfectly fine to have anxiety. It's okay to be visible fidgety and restless because of ADHD. It doesn't make you weird, it makes you normal. And I love that. You can live your life just as normally as anyone even if you're neurodivergent.
Overall, this book made me smile and warmed my heart. I definitely need more queer rom-coms by the author.
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Biphobia and Panic attacks/disorders
bookmarvel's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Sexual content
kelly_e's review
- 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
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."
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, and Mental illness
Moderate: Homophobia, Gaslighting, Transphobia, Biphobia, Child abuse, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Sexism, Infidelity, Fatphobia, Ableism, Cursing, Drug use, Classism, Bullying, Racism, Body shaming, Death, and Misogyny
generalized anxiety, divorcescrubsandbooks's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Sexual content
Moderate: Infidelity
xiggy's review
- 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
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Abandonment, Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, and Cursing
Minor: Alcoholism, Drug use, Biphobia, and Addiction