Kiss Her Once For Me

With strong "The Proposal" and "While You Were Sleeping" vibes, this delightful LGBTQIA2S+ romance has a few of my favourite tropes and is a story about finding love, friendship, messy family dynamics and the beauty of found family.

I loved the main couple and the story also benefited from a strong, amazing cast of secondary characters. I just loved 'em all - especially the grandmothers! This gaggle of characters enabled Cochrun to explore themes of anxiety, fear of failure, people pleasing, perfectionism, and familial pressure. And don't worry romance lovahs, there are some spicy scenes between Jack and Ellie that are totally swoony. And while I normally break out in hives at the mere thought of a romance featuring Insta-Love, in this instance it totally worked! 

I am also not a fan of characters being emotional doormats. It totally puts me off so initially, Ellie's interactions with her cliched narcissist mom were hard to read but I also understand that these scenes helped explain where Ellie was coming from and how Jack's family was the polar emotional opposite. 

With high marks for diverse and represented LGBTQ+ characters and the respectful way the mental health angle was handled, this was a delightful (mildly) festive RomCom that has some sweet, some heat and a cute story about not being afraid to go for what you want out of life.

After loving this book and her debut, The Charm Offensive, Alison Cochrun has officially been put on my list of Must Read Authors for me.

My Rating: 4.5 stars

Author: Alison Cochrun

Genre: RomCom, LGBTQIA2S+

Type and Source: Trade Paperback from public library

Publisher: Atria

First Published: November 1, 2022

Book Description from GoodReads: The author of 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.