Having absolutely adored The Charm Offensive, I knew I had to reach Cochrun’s latest, Kiss Her Once for Me. And this holiday romance is such a joy. Don’t get me wrong, there is some serious tension and angst too – especially if you love messy family drama – but it melted my heart! Keep reading this book review for my full thoughts.
Summary
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.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
TW: biphobia, panic attack
Kiss Her Once for Me is perfect for readers who have family drama with a capital D. I’m talking about toxic parents, absent parents, and those who look down at us with disdain. I instantly loved Ellie. Not only because of how aimless she feels after losing her job and being in serious financial peril, talk about something too close to home. Her anxiety, the ways she reacts to social situations, all of it resonated so closely.
Even more so, Kiss Her Once for Me has a fake engagement, second chance romance, and tons of forced proximity. With chapters from Last Christmas – which was on serious repeat in my head the whole book – we are able to get a sense of Ellie and the mystery woman’s connection. The ways some people just click with us. How a connection just appears and hits like lightning. The romance and the romantic tension, paired with the best meet cute, will melt romance reader’s hearts.
But what truly stole my heart was the complex family situations. The ways in which we hide secrets from the ones we love. We try to protect them. To shelter their hearts, but in the end, we can hurt the ones we love. Additionally, having to take a stand against someone who has hurt us, someone who isn’t good for us, is something I have a hard time with. So this theme in Kiss Her Once for Me struck a chord. If you’re looking for a holiday romance with some emotional difficulty and plenty of tension, this is for you!
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Kiss Her Once for Me examines what happens when we have to question safety versus love. When honesty and transparency begin to become more complicated, how can we win back trust? Find Kiss Her Once for Me on Goodreads, Amazon, Indiebound, Bookshop.org & The Book Depository.