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.
Publishing Date: November 1, 2022
Genre: Romance
Age Group: Adult
My Rating: 2/5
I desperately wanted to love this book. Earlier this year, I read The Charm Offensive and fell in love with Cochrun's writing. The characters in TCO popped off the page and the plot was both funny and (by rom-com standards) believable.
Something went wrong between TCO and Kiss Her Once for Me. KHOfM really relies on the holiday vibes for the story to work. And as someone who doesn't feel particularly mushy around the holidays, the story didn't work. How am I supposed to believe the love story of two people if they've only met for one day? Even in one week, how are they supposed to be soulmates? BUT with the *spirit of Christmas*, the two main characters are in love without really knowing each other. That's the bit that really made me feel negatively about the book.
Aside from the romance not being believable, I was not particularly attached to the characters or the plot. There were so many side characters, and I felt pretty much nothing for all of them. The plot was also super lacking. If you like cutesy ski resort family antics, then you may like the plot, but I prefer more substance than just fluff.
Overall, this book was super disappointing. I really want to find WLW romances that I love, but this book fell too far into the trap of "soulmates" and didn't do the work to make me believe that the main characters were in love.
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