Se ela fosse minha

by Alison Cochrun, Mariana Mortani (Translator)

Uma deliciosa comédia romântica sáfica recheada de humor, segundas chances e muito espírito natalino.

Um ano atrás, tudo parecia estar indo bem para Ellie Oliver. Ela havia se mudado para Portland por causa de um emprego e conheceu uma mulher pela qual se apaixonou no decorrer de uma única noite. Um ano mais tarde, a situação é outra. Ellie não faz ideia de onde está Jack e seu emprego foi por água abaixo.
É quando Andrew Kim-Prescott, dono da cafeteria que Ellie frequenta, faz uma proposta insana depois de beber um pouco demais: um casamento de conveniência que dará a ele sua parte numa herança e a ela o fim dos problemas financeiros.

Para convencer os Kim-Prescott de que o relacionamento é legítimo, o “casal” decide passar as festas de fim de ano no chalé da família, e lá Andrew apresenta sua irmã a Ellie, que fica chocada ao se dar conta de que a Jacqueline de que ele tanto falava é Jack, a misteriosa mulher por quem ela se apaixonou no Natal passado. Agora, Ellie deve confrontar o que aconteceu no último ano e escolher entre a segurança de um noivado falso e o risco de um amor real.

Genres: Romance, LGBT, Christmas, Queer, Lesbian, Contemporary, Holiday

336 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2022

About the author

Alison Cochrun is a high school English teacher living outside Portland, Oregon. When she's not reading and writing queer love stories, you can find her torturing teenagers with Shakespeare, crafting perfect travel itineraries, hate-watching reality dating shows, and searching for the best happy hour nachos. You can find her on Instagram or at her website www.alisoncochrun.com.

Reviews

[Cindy Pham · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a pleasant surprise for my last book of the year to be a 5-star read! This was a fun, sweet book and the drama and yearning were JUICY!! There was a love trapezoid and high stakes and a ridiculous yet actually understandable premise for why they needed to fake marry. I normally don’t buy into romance only built from one day with each other but the yearning and author’s dramatic way of expressing sentimentalities got to me. I could also tell she put care into developing both the main character and her love interest, so we get a sense of who they are and their goals and their own individual arcs even outside of the romance. I also appreciated that miscommunication was addressed quickly and that the characters often talked about their feelings with each other (as the love interest says, miscommunication is for the straights). Overall, a sweet, messy sapphic rom-com that I hope gets a movie adaptation.

[Alice Oseman]

Thanks to Atria Books for sending me an early copy (though I ended up reading this on audio!)
Alison Cochrun is one of my favourite romance writers. Her characters feel so real and complex, and her stories are incredibly fun and engaging, with just the right amount of drama and without relying on irritating plot devices. This one was the perfect book to read at Christmas, especially as - like protagonist Ellie - I am also a webcomic creator! I really related to Ellie's burnout and desire to rediscover her old passion for making art.
I can't wait for whatever Alison Cochrun writes next.

[Ali Goodwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars! This book was super cute and I love the messy set up. Ellie and Andrew agree to a marriage of convenience for financial reasons & when Ellie spends Christmas at Andrew's house, she finds out her ex is Andrew's sister haha so its so messy but in the most fun way. Also had great Christmas vibes with them spending the xmas holidays in a snowy cabin.

My two complaints are that it's kind of insta love & the characters made a questionable choice towards the end that I didn't know how to feel about. But other than that super cute & I loved the characters!

[Cassandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

SAPPHIC CHRISTMAS ROMCOM??? THIS IS THE BOOK OF MY DREAMS



UPDATE: THE COVER?!?!? IN LOVE

UPDATE: FINISHED READING AND IN LOVE!! NEED TO WRITE REVIEW SOON !!

REVIEW:

Last year I had the pleasure of reading a copy of The Charm Offensive and when it instantly became one of my all-time favorite romances, I knew I needed more from Alison Cochrun. I searched rights reports hoping to see an announcement for another book and found out she was writing a sapphic Christmas rom-com??? To say I was excited about this release would be a massive understatement. Even then, I was not ready for how this book would surpass my incredibly high expectations.

The scenes in this novel were vivid, cozy, and memorable—basically, everything I want in a romance novel. The characters and scenes literally pop off the page. The writing immediately sucked me in and transported me to their wonderfully awkward but lovely exchanges.

I don't want to go into spoilers but THE MEET-CUTE?!?!? I cannot wait for this to be out in the world and be able to share it with anyone who will listen to me gush about it. I think it is safe to say Alison Cochrun has joined my list of favorite authors. I will be eagerly anticipating whatever she writes next. For now, I am going to go listen to Its All Coming Back To Me Now on repeat, bye.

[emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

christmas spirit levels: low.

and not just because it's february. tragically, they have remained low since december 14, a time when the hearts of each and every person should dance with ideas of baking an inedible number of cookies and feeling capable of smiling somehow, even though it's winter and that should be physically impossible.

because december 14 is the day i read this book.

i would have preferred more festive fun, less people being so terrible and annoying, but we take what we can get i suppose.

and this book - the rough equivalent of a stocking full of coal - is what i got.

bottom line: i did not know i was on the naughty list, but it seems obvious in hindsight.

-----------------

beginning to plan how i will christmas harder than anyone has ever christmas'd before

(thanks to the publisher for the copy)

[Hailey (Hailey in Bookland)]

I read this book in this reading vlog!

I read this book shortly after watching THE HAPPIEST SEASON movie with Kirsten Stewart, so I honestly couldn't help but think of that the whole time I was reading this (which is a good thing because I really enjoyed both!). It wasn't just that this is also a sapphic love story, it was also the environment the characters are in and where the love interest comes from. I really liked watching these characters' relationship develop. This is a really sweet second chance romance with a messy fake dating situation that just WORKS. The chemistry was believable and was really cute. This is also another Christmas read I think you could read whenever, but I think Christmas is the best time for it. It's really festive with them being home for the holidays and all the festive family activities which were absolutely adorable.

Also I will say if you liked Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur you would probably love this one! I keep getting the two mixed up because they have a lot of similar elements (not just both being sapphic). That one is also not a Christmas read, it just happens that their fake dating thing is set to end on NYE.

[Mariana ✨ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thanks to Simon & Schuster and Edelweiss for providing me with an eARC of this book!

BEWARE: this review is LONG 💀

No one is more disappointed about this rating than me. My 1st ever ARC, of one of my most anticipated releases of 2022! And I ended up not really liking it… This book simply wasn’t for me.

But while I didn’t like it, I do think the author achieved what she was trying to: this is basically a Christmas rom-com with a lot of LGBT rep, which I can appreciate. I also like that the author took popular tropes (fake dating, marriage of convenience) and gave them an unexpected twist. If you enjoy cheesy Hallmark movies with insta-love and a lot of Christmas-y scenes, this book will be perfect for you, and you should definitely read it!


ROMANCE:

My biggest problem with this book was, unfortunately, the main relationship. Ellie and Jack met and fell in love in just a couple of hours, which is just…… not what I like in a romance. 😅 I prefer slow-burns, and this was literally the opposite of that, so I just couldn't truly feel their love for each other.

Additionally, after spending less than 1 day together, they don’t talk to each other for an entire year, yet I’m supposed to believe they’re still madly in love… 😐 I couldn’t even understand how complete strangers fell in love in like 6 hours, let alone how that love didn’t falter after 1 year.

This whole situation was even worse because Ellie was demisexual, yet fell in love and had a one-night-stand with a stranger… I’m not trying to say that a-spec people can’t feel that way, but I do wish her attraction to Jack hadn’t been so sudden.

Plus, Ellie was always emphasizing how ridiculous it was that she fell in love so fast (I agree!), which made it especially difficult for me to forget that this was insta-love… Also – and maybe this is just a pet peeve of mine – Ellie was CONSTANTLY saying things like “This ain’t me! I don’t do these things! I’m not this type of person!” Well, you clearly ARE, though! Because you were doing all of those things you kept saying you don’t do! It just got annoying, because she’d say it every chapter! Like…. miss girl… ENOUGH! 😭🤚 (some examples – keep in mind there were DOZENS MORE:
• “This isn’t me. I don’t follow a woman home after a single day together.”
• “This doesn’t happen to me. I don’t picture kissing total strangers, and if I do, there isn’t toe-curling involved.”
• “I can’t! It’s ridiculous! You can’t be in love with someone you’ve known for a total of (…) Seven days? You can’t be in love with someone you’ve known for what amounts to a single week!”
Yet she did every single one of these things. 😑).

The flashbacks were lackluster, to be honest. We were supposed to see them fall in love, but, as I mentioned, it was hard for me to fully believe they were in love since they’d only known each other for a couple of hours. And despite being basically strangers, they’d say stuff like “You are totally capable of achieving this dream! You can definitely take this big risk and be successful!” as if they knew each other???? Like, YOU DON’T KNOW!!! You just MET!! 😭 It was very jarring to see 2 strangers talk as if they’d known each other for years.

Their scenes in present day were also not that interesting. Basically, Andrew and Jack’s family just kept creating moments that forced Jack and Ellie to spend time together, and it was always super awkward, and also very contrived! Andrew telling Jack to help Ellie when she fell, Dylan making Jack teach Ellie to snowboard, the whole family leaving them together to cook, making them stand next to each other for photos, even the DOG pushed them together so they fell on each other!!! 😭 And, the worst moment in the whole book: THE WHOLE FAMILY STARTS CHANTING SO THAT ELLIE AND JACK WOULD KISS UNDER THE MISTLETOE?!?!?!?!?! While they full on believed Ellie was marrying Andrew???? What the fuck??? 😶😶😶 No words.

Basically every “cute” (more like awkward) moment they had together was forced by the family (or the bad weather lol). None of it felt organic, which made it hard to enjoy.

This book also has something I hate: a 3rd act conflict where they break up for a dumb reason…… 🙄🙄🙄 Jack found out Ellie was fake-marrying Andrew, and got super pissed, which I kind of understand. But I really didn’t like how Jack got on her high-horse, basically blaming Ellie for ruining their romance *twice*, as if the previous Christmas Jack didn’t have a whole ass wife?!?!? They really gloss over that, and basically everyone in the book blames Ellie and says she “self-sabotaged” the relationship, but I really don’t see that??? I genuinely don’t understand how any of that is Ellie’s fault, to be quite frank.

And then Ellie was super depressed because she “broke up” with this person she’d been with for a total of 1 week… It was very dramatic. And I just didn’t care when they got back together, honestly, because I didn’t care about their relationship at any point in the book… 🤷

So, overall, I didn’t enjoy their relationship in the past (insta-love just isn’t for me), and I also didn’t care about them in the present (every moment they had was awkward, cheesy and forced). Basically, this romance gave me NOTHING.


CHARACTERS:

Ellie was a decent protagonist. Her social anxiety was very well portrayed! That was definitely my favourite thing about this book! Has stomachaches just thinking about social situations, doesn’t leave the house unless necessary, never has plans, gets nervous even when hanging out with friends… It was very a realistic depiction of social anxiety!

Ellie’s banter with Andrew was suuuper funny! I wish we’d gotten to see more of them together. And overall, I wish we’d gotten to see more of the side characters. At the end of the book, we’re supposed to believe Ellie really connected with the whole family, but there were barely any bonding moments between them, so it felt jarring when she said she loved them all. Ellie’s best friend and the coworker were also pretty irrelevant, and I lowkey forgot they existed.

Ellie’s relationship with her abusive mum was definitely interesting. It shows that even though someone is obviously manipulative and draining, it can still be hard to cut them out of your life.

And then there’s Jack… She was definitely interesting and three-dimensional, which I appreciate. HOWEVER… She spent the whole book going after her brother’s fiancée, and straight up trying to get with her, making out with her… A literal homewrecker!!! 🥴💀

And in the end when she found out Ellie was just fake-marrying Andrew, Jack said: “The fact that I couldn’t stop flirting with you, couldn’t stop finding excuses to touch you. The fact that I was so desperate to kiss you under the mistletoe. I was so angry at myself for betraying my brother like that, and it turns out this entire time, your relationship with him was fake. You let me believe I was a terrible person!” 🤨 Pardon? I’m really fucking sorry, but if you keep doing those things, while full-on believing you’re destroying your brother’s marriage, you are a terrible person! It just turned out you got lucky, but you’re still awful! Ridiculous. Goodbye. 🙄


OTHER STUFF:

• If I had a dollar for every scene where Jack takes off Ellie’s shoe and sock and then massages her sweaty foot I’d have 2 dollars, which isn’t a lot but it’s weird that it happened twice

• Not to be a grinch but like… Respectfully: I just didn’t care about their family traditions: cookie making, snowball fights, decorating, family photos, Christmas songs…… god I was bored 😪 (no offense)

• Honestly I was mostly bored reading this. I always got distracted lol

• The book was too sexually explicit for me, personally (though I really appreciate the verbal consent aspect!! 👏🏻)

(review posted on 08/07/2022)


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(21/06/2022)

GUYS NOT TO BE DRAMATIC OR ANYTHING BUT I JUST GOT AN ARC OF THIS BOOK AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASGJHAKFD 😭💖😭💖😭💖😭💖



it's one of my most anticipated books of 2022 ( The Charm Offensive was my favourite book of 2021) and i'll be able to read it early!!! i literally can't believe this! 🥺🥺🥺 plus, it's MY 1ST EVER ARC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

hashtag blessed 🤧💕


-----------


(09/09/2021)

Alison Cochrun wlw book???



I loved The Charm Offensive and now I can't wAIT to get my hands on this aaaaaaaaaaaaahhh take my money

[Lex Kent · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.50 Stars. So Good! One of the better holiday romances that I’ve read in a long time and a book that will easily make it onto my best of 2022 list. I had never read Cochrun before, so I had no idea what to expect, but when I heard the three words sapphic, holiday, fauxmance, you could not hold me back. While this book had a lot of things I really liked, it also had some things I normally am not a fan of so there was a lot of ways that this book was set-up for a personal fail. It is amazing because on paper this should not be a Lex book, but it is just so well written, and for a sophomore book that is even more impressive, that none of the things that would normally bother me bothered me. This is a holiday book that I would highly recommend.

While I am a huge first-person fan, I don’t think it works well in romance like it does fantasy, mystery and many other genres. There are only a few first-person sapphic romance writers, like the great E.J. Noyes, that I can even name off the top of my head that I trust to consistently read because it is not easy to get the art of having only one POV during a romance right. So, you can imagine my surprise of just how well this romance worked in first-person. Cochrun, had to write so hard to make the character of Jack come to life, with out us knowing her POV, that Jack almost stole the book from the character of Ellie whose head we are in. If you are not a first-person romance fan or a selective one like I am, I would still give this a chance as I think Cochrun will win you over like she did me.

If you follow my reviews, you will know two of my major pet peeves are flashbacks and instalove. Well, while this is a fauxmance, this is also a second-chance romance and to show the first-time romance, it is shown in flashbacks which just so happens to include an instalove story. Are you ready for this shocker, and it will be a shocker for my friends and followers, I didn’t mind the flashbacks or the instalove. I found the flashbacks to be part of this heartwarming, gooey romance and I believed in the instalove because I believed these characters were meant to be. I can’t believe I totally fell for it, but I did so for once I didn’t care and I just saw that part as the fluffy part of the holiday romance and was shockingly okay with it.

While this book did have some great feel-good moments and holiday fluff, I was happy that it had its emotional moments too. This book got to me, and I was glad to have my tissues nearby. We happen to be going through a big wave of Covid right now, in fact it is why I’m a little late on reviewing this book. Everyone I know, friends or family around me, seem to have Covid except for me. I’ve been trying to take care of everyone without catching it myself. So, this morning when I woke up early to finish this book and was found with swollen eyes, a red nose, and a trash can full of Kleenex, the obvious question “Oh no, did I give you Covid?” was asked. My answer: “No, it’s just that my heart has been broken into tiny pieces and then slowly mended by this wonderfully written queer holiday romance book I just finished.” Well let’s just say I got some dirty looks and no sympathy for that statement.

I would love to talk more about this book, but my review is getting long already. While the year is not up, this book might be in the running for my biggest surprise of the year. While I was hoping to enjoy this, I didn’t not expect this to be a 2022 fav. It is also that this book doesn’t seem to work for me on paper since it has some of my biggest pet peeves, but Cochrun sure pulled it off anyway. As I mentioned before, this is only her second book so it makes me really excited to think about what other books she might write in the future. If there was any question about it, I absolutely recommend this queer holiday romance.

A copy was given to me for an honest review.

[Melanie (meltotheany) · Rating 5 out of 5]

new fave holiday book.... new fave romance <3

tw/cw: panic attacks, loss of a family member, bad parenting (manipulative), abandonment, cancer mention, cheating mention (side characters), biphobia, talk of housing crisis, vomiting, divorce of parents/parents not in a happy marriage, some inner thoughts about body image

🎁 kiss her once for me playlist, made by my friend evie ❤️

Youtube | Instagram | Twitter | Blog | Spotify | Twitch

[abby (sumreader) · Rating 1 out of 5]

i just binged this whole book in the past 4 hours out of spite because of how much i did not like it

don’t get me wrong, i hate that i didn’t like this because it’s about lesbians!!!! that’s literally me!!!! i’ll begin by listing the things i liked because they’re (sadly) few and far between.

1) phoebe bridgers was name dropped once and taylor swift was name dropped like 5 times and there were some great t’is the damn season and all too well metaphors going on.
2) the smut scenes were kind of hot ???

sorry in advance

1) WHY DID JACK HAVE A FOOT FETISH LIKE ARE WE BRUSHING PAST THAT???
2) insta love can be well done SOMETIMES but this was absolutely not the case…you can’t create a demisexual character and then the plot be that their demisexuality doesn’t apply to one particular person…
3) JACK BLAMING ELLIE FOR RUNNING AWAY WHEN HER LITERAL WIFE KNOCKED ON THE DOOR??? OF COURSE ELLE WAS GOING TO LEAVE IF SHE THOUGHT SHE WAS A ONE NIGHT STAND WHEN SHE FELL IN LOVE!!!!
4) i love hands, i really do, but that can’t be the only thing you’re attracted to about jack, right elle???
5) stupid stupid stupid miscommunication
6) i swear everyone in this book behaved like literal children
7) the second tiktok was mentioned twice i should have stopped
8) the millennial humor and pop culture references just were absolutely not it
9) WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU WRITE A WEBCOMIC ABOUT A RELATIONSHIP YOURE CURRENTLY IN WHEN THERES 200K ON THE LINE THAT COULD KEEP YOU FROM BEING HOMELESS
10) pls never describe someone as smelling like bread ever again. especially when they’re a baker.
11) wtf is a quarter moon smile

ok i’ll stop i’m sorry i really wanted to love this book

[Melissa (Semi Hiatus Until After the Holidays) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a sweet queer riff on While You Were Sleeping (one of the best Christmas movies ever!) that I didn't know I needed to read. If you’re looking for a fun fake relationship story, look no further!

Main premise: Ellie agrees to marry wealthy Andrew so he can get an inheritance. She's broke and he promises her $200k for the deal, so she agrees because her life is pretty much a mess. When she goes to spend Christmas at his family's cabin, she is floored when she comes face to face with Jack, the woman she spend a fabulous night with the previous Christmas and never heard from again. And she's Andrew's sister. The sparks are still there.

Here's what I loved:
Found Family--Always welcomed, and I loved Ellie's found family complete with drunken grandmas and laminated activity schedules. Also the other friendships Ellie makes are wonderful and round out the family aspects.
HOT romance--whew, the romance between Jack and Ellie is swoon-worthy and absolutely believable despite their meet cute turned insta-love, which is most often eye roll inducing for me but not this time.
Deeper subjects--The examination of fear, especially fear of failure, is heartfelt and beautifully examined. There are many iterations of this theme throughout the book and they all really resonated with me.
The Portland setting--oh, how I adore books set in a place I know so well! And at Christmas!

What didn't work so well for me:
I realize that romantic comedies need misunderstandings and lack of communication to propel forward, but I felt like some of the issues could have been cleared up quickly with a bit of conversation.
I realize the point of showing Ellie's bio-family dynamic was to contrast it with something different and have something to compare to, but I didn't like her relationship with her mom AT ALL. I wondered from the beginning why she was being such a doormat and giving her mom the literal last dollar in her bank account, and I just couldn't connect with that part of the story.

Overall though, this is a delightfully funny hot holiday romance about learning how to step outside of fear and go for what we want in life--even if that means we fail from time to time.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own.

[Shawna Finnigan · Rating 3 out of 5]

TW// anxiety, panic attacks, brief ableism scene, cheating, brief mention of biphobia, brief mentions of homophobia, mentions of cancer, brief mentions of racism

The Charm Offensive is one of my favorite books of all time and the synopsis for Kiss Her Once for Me sounded phenomenal, but unfortunately this was a big disappointment for me. I love Alison Cochrun’s writing and I will always love her writing, but the content in this story just didn’t work for me.

The part of the story that pissed me off the most was the miscommunication/cheating/breakup mess. It’s hard to really define in one clear word what happened without spoiling it, but the reason why Ellie and Jack aren’t together at the start of the book just didn’t work for me. It was awful and it was something that I didn’t think was entirely forgiveable, especially in the way that it all went down. What’s even more awful was that the guilt for that situation was pinned on Ellie when it clearly wasn’t her fault. This whole pinning the guilt on Ellie even continued later in the book, too, for things that weren’t Ellie’s fault. Why were so many characters mad at Ellie for what happened? She didn’t do anything wrong in this book.

Speaking of Ellie, I found her to be really relatable. I wasn’t super fond of her personality, but when she would describe her fear of failure and her social anxiety, I completely related to everything she said. The anxiety scenes really captured how my anxiety presents itself, so it was really special to me to have the anxiety representation in this book.

Demisexuality was included in this book, but I wasn’t entirely satisfied with that representation. I’m not saying that people can’t fall in love in a day, but it was constantly emphasized that Ellie doesn’t feel sexual attraction until she gets a deep emotional bond with someone. However, Jack is this magical person that’s the exception to her demisexuality and Ellie just magically feels sexual attraction to her after just a few hours? I’m on the ace spectrum but I’m not demi, so I don’t get the final say on whether this representation is good or bad, but the story definitely doesn’t match with my understanding of demisexuality at all.

I’m on the fence about whether I like this book or not, but I wanted to end my review on a more positive note since I really like Alison Cochrun. There were a few things that I adored about this book. I loved the setting. I live right outside of the locations where this book took place, so the setting was very homey and familiar to me. I also really loved Meemaw, Lovey, and Andrew. Meemaw and Lovey were the funniest part of this story and they helped lighten the mood in the darkest scenes. Andrew was a really interesting character who had a good heart throughout the story. I wish that he wouldn’t have ended up with the person that he ended up with because their relationship seemed like it was purely lust and it lacked depth, but he was still a fun character to read about and I was rooting for his sucess from the start of the book.

I don’t know if I’d strongly recommend this book since it had so many flaws, but I don’t regret reading this book. It will find an audience that loves it. I’m just not part of that audience.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review an eArc of this book.

[Shelley's Book Nook · Rating 3 out of 5]

My Reviews Can Also Be Found On:
The Book Review Crew Blog |

3.5 Stars

This is my first book by this author, and I was pleasantly surprised. I liked the fake dating trope through the holidays and mimicked While You Were Sleeping (without the coma). The book was very funny at times, so there was a good balance of tension and laughs. When Ellie ends up loving the Kim-Prescotts, wishing they were her real family, things get extra confusing when the girl she fell in love with last Christmas turns out to be her fake fiancé's sister!

There is some heavy-duty subject matter in the book, child abuse, mental health issues and LGBTQ phobia. But it was handled realistically and sensitively. The characters also felt very real to me, especially Ellie's mom. I loathed her. There was so much about Ellie's childhood and her mom that reminded me of my own. I could understand how easy it would be for her to attach herself to the Kim-Prescott family.

The sex scenes were few but done very well, and I appreciated that, as this is more about love and wanting to belong than anything else. I was rooting for Ellie and Jack right from the start. They made sense together. This is a well-written, fun holiday read that takes a unique spin on the fake dating trope; highly recommend it.

[mimi (depression slump) · Rating 4 out of 5]

“ Snow freezes time, so the constant pressure of life is briefly suspended in a blanket of snow, and for one day, it’s like you can catch your breath. […] When it snows, the world transforms. Snow is magic. ”

For someone who loves snow as much as me, I don't read enough books set in the winter. And the reason is very simple: I'm afraid they won’t meet my expectations about what is the best season of the year.
So trust me, a simple girl with the dream of packing her stuff and moving to Sweden, if I say this is the romance book you wanna read during Christmas time.

I wasn't familiar with Alison Cochrun, and I've just come to notice this is her second book, but I'll make up for it because her writing is simply sublime.
Everything that happens - from Ellie’s messy family history to her love story with Jack, without counting the even more chaotic secondary characters -, doesn't come to us as events but as feelings: love, sadness, confusion, and fear. And so much anxiety.
And I know how easy could be to just judge them all for their choices and their reactions, but there wasn't one time in my life I reacted to a situation as I expected myself to do.

What I’m trying to say is that behind the perfect Christmas atmosphere and the sweet rom-com, this is a powerful story about mental health, dealing with our past and understanding that trauma is something that happened to us and not what we are.
It's also a story about the biggest fear of perfectionists and people pleasers: failure, which I’d like not to be familiar with but, unfortunately, I learnt my lesson the hard way.

In a few words, this is therapy: it's good for our souls, but it hurts our hearts.

↠ 4 stars

Thanks to Companhia das Letras and NetGalley, who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

[K.J. Charles]

Classic romance set up (broke artist is offered chance to fake-marry rich boy who only gets his inheritance if he's married) but in this case the broke artist is still in love with her one night stand of a year ago, who turns out to be the rich boy's sister.

It's a juicy set up--implausible in the best way and leaning into it. Ellie is a well-drawn character, with devastating untreated anxiety, who is pushed around by her leech mother to a quite exasperating degree. Jack is mostly a likeable, easygoing butch with her own issues to do with her demanding parents. (She's half Korean, although this isn't really something that comes across much re her or any of her family other than a couple of food mentions.) Andrew the dumb rich boy is great.

The problem is:

1) Last year they spent a day together, had sex, the next morning Jack's wife comes round and says she encouraged Jack to have a one night stand. Ellie ghosts for obvious reasons. This is made her fault for not trusting Jack--a woman she's known for 16 hours who didn't mention she was married. It is framed as Ellie failing to embrace possibility; nothing to do with Jack, who literally started an honesty game to talk about their lives, but omitted that bit of hers.

2) Ellie is persuaded to do the fake marriage with the promise of $200K (she's desperately in need of money). She repeatedly asks Andrew to tell Jack the truth once she realises Jack is his sister. He refuses because he doesn't want Jack to find out she's been excluded from her grandfather's will, because that will be emotionally devastating for her, and he wants her to have her share, a million dollars, which she won't accept as a gift. Ellie reluctantly agrees. Nevertheless Jack makes her interest in her brother's fiancee clear, kisses her several times, and has sex with her (knowing Ellie is not in love with Andrew, but without any break up). And then she finds out about the marriage arrangement and blames Ellie entirely for this, calls her greedy, and says it's her fault Jack betrayed Andrew. MATE YOU SLEPT WITH YOUR BROTHER'S FIANCEE OF YOUR OWN FREE WILL. She also rants about Ellie for not having faith in her, but doesn't give Ellie the slightest chance to explain her reasons. And yet the *first* break up was Ellie's fault for not giving *Jack* a chance to explain. Mmm hmm.

Ellie is in a ridiculous situation, but she's there because of poverty. Jack, who has a hugely privileged family begging her to take their money, gets on her high horse, and considers herself the wronged party to the very end of the book. Until Ellie is gaslighted by everyone into believing she's let Jack down twice, and executes a massive grovel accordingly.

Gah. There was tons to like here, and this was so close to working for me, if Jack had just acknowledged her significant part in what went wrong--but she doesn't. She believes herself the wronged party to the end, which resonated strongly and uncomfortably with Ellie's put-upon relationship with her demanding mother.

Honestly, I wished Ellie had ended up with Andrew. At least he was capable of recognising when he messed up.

Obviously I am very heated by the wrongs done to a fictional character here, which just goes to show that it's a super engaging read with well drawn characters. Ellie undoubtedly had a lot of things to sort out about herself too, and the way she works on them is terrifically satisfying. But I wish the book hadn't decided that Ellie's issues needed to be addressed while handwaving Jack's, because that left a fundamental imbalance for me.

[Marieke (mariekes_mesmerizing_books) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dear Alison,

I know you were freaking out when the first early readers got ARCs. As one of those lucky bastards, I was over the moon, although I have to admit, I was scared too. The Charm Offensive was one of my most favorite books of 2021, and would Kiss Her Once for Me meet my expectations?

And how they did! You belong to this small category of queer rom-com authors like Casey McQuiston, Alexis Hall, and Anita Kelly, whose books I’d buy going in blind. (For those who haven’t heard of Anita yet, Love & Other Disasters is a must-read, and please add their next novel, Something Wild & Wonderful, to your TBR!)

Kiss Her Once for Me is a gem. I started reading it on a hot Saturday morning and imagined those cold snowflakes falling softly and cooling me down. Meanwhile, I sang Last Christmas out loud, knowing those lyrics by heart. I immediately fell in love with Ellie and Jack, and from the first page, a smile started dancing on my face. Sometimes, the corners of my mouth almost reached my hairline, my body jerking back and forth from joy and my jaws hurting badly. At other times those corners fell down, causing a lump in my throat and an aching pain in my chest.

Did I already say this book is a gem? The writing is so striking and incredibly lively. The snowflakes gave me goosebumps, and I could see Andrew putting chains on the Tesla (!) so vividly. I followed Ellie to all those bathrooms and felt almost like an intruder listening to those crying spells and conversations. The warmth of the story seeped into my bones, and those people, those beautiful people, Elly, Jack, Andrew, and Dylan, all nestled themselves deep into my heart.

Believe me, Alison, this story is a gem (I’ve already said that twice, didn’t I?), and I will gulp down every book you write from now on at a furious pace!

Love Marieke

I received an ARC from Atria Books and Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

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[carol · Rating 1 out of 5]

1- the best thing about this book is how much the author loves taylor swift. very relatable.
2- the insta-love was just. way too unbelievable for me
3- i was already not into that weird-ass foot scene the first time, and THEN IT HAPPENED AGAIN
4- jack blaming it all on ellie when SHE LITERALLY HAD A WHOLE WIFE???? GIRL?????
5- i never want to read about someone's quarter-moon/half-moon smile or about smelling like bread again
6- the whole thing at the end about how much love she has for her friends felt a bit hollow when we only see them for, like, 3 pages. but okay.
7- soooo much miscommunication oh my god
(8- i was originally giving it two stars, but the more i think about it the less i like it lol rip)

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

KISS HER ONCE FOR ME was an adorable Christmas romance. Ellie and Jack had a meet cute one year ago on Christmas Eve, and then a misunderstanding parted them. A year later, Ellie agrees to have a fake fiancée relationship with Andrew, who owns the building she’s a barista in. He can’t claim his inheritance without a wife and she’s in financial trouble. Win win. Except when she shows up to meet his family, Andrew’s sister is Jack. I loved the chemistry between Ellie and Jack, the baker and web comic vibe they had together. I loved Andrew and his tortured romance with Jack’s best friend. I loved Andrew and Jack’s family. This was just a great Christmas romance all the way around. 5/5 stars.

[Larissa Cambusano · Rating 4 out of 5]

“honesty game..”

this was such a messy, cute and fun romcom. it had so much depth, so much representation & diversity, amazing characters, such an interesting plot, holiday vibes and many taylor swift references.

jack was one of my favorite characters ever. and ellie was the best. i adored how they loved each other so much, i could feel it through the pages. i also adored how jack was so understanding of ellie’s anxiety. i loved all the side characters as well. DYLAN AND ANDREW? obsessed.

now i need to read the charm offensive immediately because i’m highly impressed by this author.

*cue last christmas* 💚🌟

[Celine Ong · Rating 5 out of 5]

my intense commitment issues makes me afraid to shelve books on my gr faves shelf but yknow what? shelves on gr faves shelf

___

sapphic christmas romcom?! hallmark christmas movie, but with women falling in love?! disaster bisexual artist and her butch baker love interest?!!

brb deconstructing the notions of time so i can read this immediately

[Hannah B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

✨(*whispers* ₘₑᵣᵣᵧ Cₕᵣᵢₛₜₘₐₛ)✨

I have such an urge to twerk to Last Christmas


……psych I already did WHY ISN’T THIS BOOK NAMED AFTER IT THEY REFERENCE IT SO MANY TIMES

ITS BEEN A YEAR
SINCE THEIR LAST CHRISTMAS
THEY GAVE EACH OTHER THEIR HEARTS THEN THEY GAVE THEM AWAY

I get what the title is doing but I’m sorry I don’t want to interpretive dance to Holly Jolly Christmas. Last Christmas was referenced so many times by name!! I bet they changed the name in editorial bc there’s no way this wasn’t called last Christmas or it’s been a year or someone special.

Also the main and side romances were so fricken adorable, Meredith is the BEST friend ever, and I too want a sexy oak tree.

My only qualm, HOW WAS THE DOG NOT NAMED PAWL HOLLYWOOD (someone also voted for Pawl Howllywood and truly so many missed opportunities) SUCH DEVASTATION HAS NEVER BEEN WITNESSED.

The writing style was also a bit flowery for me with a lot of metaphors and a certain whimsy for the beauty of life that I don’t possess (50/50 potential I am dead inside who knows). Like there was so much talk of delicate wrist bones and wrist bones in general lmao. I’m now very acquainted with my wrist bc I was trying to see my wrist bone. No dice, apparently I’ve got thick juicy wrists.

Overall this was so much fun I’ll be rereading every year and adored everything about it! I loved how Andrew wasn’t a bad guy 🥲 better than the dude in the movie. I also just love how Meredith held Ellie accountable (so did Jack) and the breakup a. made sense and b. led to character growth!! That’s what a great third act breakup achieves!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 🌶️🌶️.5*/5

*We got one open-door scene that spanned two chapters. It was more explicit than I was anticipating! Very hot and in a cabin no less!! Snowed in!! That’s what dreams are made of.

[tappkalina · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was definitely better than The Charm Offensive, but I have to accept the fact this author is just not for me.

I loved the inner journey the mc went through and I needed this book like fresh air after the weekend I had, and the family aspect actually made me tear up, but the author needed to ruin it with cheating. Not one, not two, literally everyone cheated on everyone. And I'm sorry, but in a romance book I can't root for someone who is a cheater. I don't care that two of them knew they are not in a real relationship, because the other two didn't know, so in their mind it was cheating and just run with it. Fuck them. Fuck them all.
Plus, the demisexual rep is questionable at best.

[Zoë! · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 So I have pretty conflicting feelings about this. On the one hand I thought it was well written, fun to read, and never bored me as other romance books have in the past, but there were also a lot of parts that really got on my nerves. Verdict? I have no clue!

There is a fine line between quirky and cringy, and it’s definitely blurred here. I had moments where I laughed out loud and others that made me recoil, with the middle ground ceasing to exist. Quick TW for me being mean, idc: I just know if I met Ellie in person she would annoy the shit out of me, I AM SOOO SORRY!!! It wasn’t really anything in particular (I too am a bi girl with GAD, don’t come for me), she is just not my kind of person, and that’s okay!! While I enjoy a good unlikeable protagonist; it has to be on purpose, and I doubt Ellie was intentionally insufferable. Oh well. Eyes were rolled. Sighs were sighed. I’ll survive.

Jack on the other hand was pretty great love interest material! The two of them were pretty cute together and even though insta-love is definitely not my favorite trope, I think it was done reasonably well here. Sometimes you really can have instant chemistry with someone you’ve only just met, rare but possible! Can you really say it’s love after only a collective week of knowing each other? I guess everyone’s definition of that word is different, so I won’t be the judge.

I have to say, the side characters and group dynamics were pretty awesome here. Instead of being written as more of a second thought, Andrew, Dylan, and Jack’s whole family, were all well developed and so fun to read about! Alison Cochrun is fantastic at writing characters, so even the fact that I could be so annoyed by one is a testament to her talent in that area.

The second half of the novel is what really sets ‘Kiss Her Once For Me’ apart from others in its genre; loved the way third act conflict was handled, and seeing protagonists actually communicate and be honest with each other was such an unexpected breathe of fresh air!! Characters in literally every other romance book… take notes! When something more serious actually did come between them, the reactions still seemed realistic and I adored how they both had to grow before coming together again. During the last 20 pages I still wasn’t sure of how it was going to end, and I finished the book with a smile on my face.

For seasoned romance readers as well as those who avoid the typically formulaic structure of the genre, this one’s for you!! I’m so happy I read something from Cochrun, and cannot wait to read The Charm Offensive next year :) fingers crossed for more laughter and less cringing.

[Brigi · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF at 80%.

You might be wondering why would I stop reading a book when I got so far in, and it boils down to demisexuality being misrepresented in this story.

I was excited to read this novel, because the author's debut, The Charm Offensive, was one of my favourite reads last year. I didn't expect the demisexual rep there, and I resonated so much with it. I honestly didn't know this new book had demi rep too, and it seems that info was excluded from a lot of marketing posts too... I wonder why!

Anyway, I don't know what happened. Did Allison Cochrun lose her notes on demisexuality? Did her internet cut out when she got to those parts of the novel? Because honestly, this was terrible. The main character, Ellie, meets Jack, the love interest, on Christmas Eve 2021. She's crying in a book shop, because her mother ditched her for the holidays, and she's in a new city and doesn't know anyone. So Jack, a total stranger, tries to cheer her up and they spend the day together.

Maybe I'm too ace, but they already kiss after about 4-5 hours??? Ellie already feels attracted to Jack? Don't get me wrong, I definitely felt aesthetic attraction to people even a few minutes after meeting them, but romantic/sexual attraction? And not just that but they have a one night stand later that day. So I'm really upset, because a lot of people who have never heard of demisexuality/ don't know much about it, will read this and get the wrong idea. A few hours is not enough to form a meaningful connection!

And then they don't meet for an entire year, and you want me to believe both are still super attracted to each other? Like, fine, they actually spend more time together the second Christmas, but the situation is a LOT more complex, what with Ellie being engaged to Jack's brother. So I gave up when Ellie and Jack start banging again (it was also way more graphic than I prefer, especially when I didn't really feel the connection and chemistry between them).

Believe me, I tried to come up with reasonable theories for this mishap. The most logical one would be that the demi part was added later, either as a selling point or after The Charm Offensive became so popular. But the thing is, it is integrated into the story. It's not just the mc sprinkling it into one convo. It comes up several times, and the mc says time and time again that she's not this type of person, she doesn't go home with people after the first date, she doesn't have one night stands etc. Clearly, it is part of the conflict, so I doubt it was inserted only later.

I'm not upset that this is how it played out. It would have been a fine sapphic Xmas romance with allosexuals. But if you set up reader expectations that the main character is aspec, then of course you're going to let down a lot of them. So when I reached the part where they hook up again, I decided to request a refund from audible.

There were some other things which I didn't like (for example Jack's smile is described as a quarter/half moon so many times it can be used as a drinking game), and it was getting dull too. Mariana's review goes into more detail, I agree with everything she says.

Rep: bi "demisexual" mc, lesbian Korean-American love interest, pan Korean-American side character, queer nonbinary Latine side character, trans lesbian side character

[Casey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hot take: a romcom should not be stressful to read.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this holiday romance so much!! The angst? With all of the characters? Ellie agrees to get married to Andrew because they both need his inheritance from his grandfather. Little does Ellie know, his sister is the woman she fell madly in love with last Christmas when they spent one snowy day together. Ellie goes how with Andrew for Christmas and there is so much tension and relationship and family drama! This definitely read like a holiday movie and I just ate it up. I loved the holiday traditions, the awkward family conversations, the heavy history so many of the characters had...it was so entertaining the whole time and I couldn't put this book down!

[Chelsea (chelseadolling reads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 stars. Review to come!!

CW: anxiety, toxic parents, financial insecurity, recreational drug use, biphobia, cheating

[Katie Colson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading Vlog: https://youtu.be/cnAA3AkYT2I

⭐️2.5

🧂 TAKE MY OPINION WITH A GRAIN OF SALT! 🧂

Giving this a 3 only because the author simply doesn't deserve a 2. But that's what my rating would be based on enjoyment.

I don't tend to enjoy romance and this book solidified that I certainly don't care for 'cozy' stories. *flashback to reading legends and lattes*.

This isn't bad by any means. It just fell very flat for me. It's so fast and flippant. The characters are likable enough but not lovable. I appreciate the sapphic representation. But it was still overwhelmingly boring.

I definitely enjoyed this far more than The Charm Offensive but regardless, it wasn't a success for me.

I wouldn't tell someone not to read this. But I wish I could warn my past-self not to bother.

[Steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

okay. i loved this. it's cute, dramatically messy, sweet, and incredibly warm with all its snowy christmas vibes. while you were sleeping (in all its cheesy glory) is one of my favorite romcoms of all time, and alison cochrun nailed this sapphic retelling. her version retains the most important themes from the original (bone-deep loneliness and the idea of falling in love with an entire family, tropey holiday sweetness, conflicted romantic chemistry with supposed love interest's sibling) while adding new depth (ellie's anxiety and fear of failing, intergenerational pain, poverty and socioeconomic privilege). the film touches on parent issues and financial differences, but the book takes time to explore them much more deeply.

i truly love the moment queer romcoms are having right now. i love how unabashedly tropey they can be. and this book has one of my favorite romantic moments from the original film: family urging the secretly-attracted couple to kiss under the mistletoe! oh my god it's so cute. we also have snowed-in forced proximity, which is delicious.

the story is peppered with flashbacks to the snow day love story of last christmas, which contrast with this angsty and anxious christmas. ellie is spending this holiday in a cabin with her fake fiancée, andrew, her lost love from last year, jack, and the rest of their family, boozy grandmas and all.

and jack! oh my god, jack is such a fantastic love interest. cochrun's acknowledgements say that jack was supposed to be a lesbian bill pullman (from while you were sleeping), and she absolutely is, but she's even better. she's strong, shamelessly loud, neurodivergent, extremely sexy and smooth and confident, and determined to follow her dreams independently. also, not to make unnecessary comparisons, but as far as asian american butch lesbian love interests in recent popular sapphic romcoms, jack feels so much more real and nuanced than jane from one last stop. jack says herself, "I'm not your manic pixie dream butch."

Jack is wild horses and rainstorms and driving with your arm out the window on a warm day. But she's also quiet moments: she's your first mug of coffee in the morning; she's watching that rainstorm through a window, wrapped up in your favorite blanket.

。。。

i love jack's casual neurodivergent rep, as she has ADHD and has followed her own path with her educational choices. ellie has an anxiety disorder, and it's really good to see her anxiety on the page, and see her learn to better cope with it (as well as coping with her fear of abandonment and other mental health issues). ellie is also demisexual, which we always love to see. ellie is surprised by last christmas's attraction for jack, which blooms quickly because their emotional intimacy also develops quickly.

there's also dylan, jack's nonbinary latinx bestie who is in love with ellie's fake fiancée, andrew, and who rounds out their messy little love trapezoid. and ellie's coworker in portland is ari, a brown trans woman who insists on being ellie's best friend. memorable characters and solid rep all around in this book, which i really appreciate.

the book also has a pleasing symmetry. it begins with ellie in dreary portland, lonely and miserable, with her mom hitting her up for money, and only coworker ari and long distance bff meredith for support. then the middle of the book is an escape to the snowy, warm-glowy family cabin, full of messy tension and romantic chemistry and family affection. and when the shit hits the fan, ellie is back to her old life in portland, but she is changed.

oh, and in addition to all the wonderful tropes, there is a plethora of cultural references that hit the spot just right. gillian anderson appreciation, wanting to click with the l word but feeling alienated by its focus on sex, alison bechdel's fun home as part of a bookstore meet cute. the queer cultural shit is all spot-on and it's a blast.

one of the strongest themes from the original film is the deep loneliness of not having family to spend the holidays with, or to spend any of your days with. then the joy of being welcomed into a warm, raucous, loving family with open arms, and finding a sense of belonging with them. and then the pain of falling in love with the entire family whilst knowing it is temporary, you are an invader, and you can't keep your place with them. all of the sweetness is painful because you know it won't last. these tangible emotions are beautifully done in kiss her once for me, and i'm grateful for that. because the key love story is between ellie and jack, but this is also a love story between ellie and jack's entire family.

[aarya · Rating 2 out of 5]

2022 Winter Bingo (#SnowInLoveBingo❄️): Baking

Saying this as a Swiftie: something is wrong if your book has more Taylor Swift allusions (5) than references to an MC's biracial Korean rep (3). Yes, I counted. In the first two pages of top GR reviews, only *one* review mentions Jack's ethnicity. Like... what are we doing here, folks? To be clear, I blame the author completely because that’s how nonexistent, blink-and-you-miss-it the rep is. Reviews won’t talk about something if the author expended negative effort. Rep portrayal is more than just a few casual mentions of maternal heritage. This omission feels particularly egregious considering most of the book is spent with Jack’s family (including her brother and mother).

So many pop culture allusions, so little relationship/character development. Why do Ellie and Jack like each other — because they both enjoy mainstream music and queer media? Ellie felt like a fully-fleshed out character with thoughtful anxiety rep and toxic family issues; Jack did not. You can’t blame it on the single POV because I’ve read plenty of single POV romances where the non-POV love interest experienced significant emotional development.

Next, I don’t understand why people kept blaming Ellie for the separation last Christmas. After Jack and Ellie’s hookup, Jack’s wife enters (I think Jack is in the bathroom) and is like “I’m the wife and we allow an open relationship, hi!” Understandably, Ellie (who is demisexual) totally freaks out and runs away. A year later, Jack asks “why did you ghost me?” and upon hearing the reason is like “well, yes, I was married, a fact I didn’t convey to you in our magical day despite our all-day Honesty Game. My wife wanted a poly/open relationship and I didn’t, yet I decided to try it anyway, but really our marriage was essentially over.” After this scene, Jack still refers to Ellie “ghosting” her AND Ellie blames herself for ghosting/hurting Jack. Later (after the bleak moment), Ellie asks Jack for a THIRD chance, implying that she was wrong to leave the first time. I just don’t think it’s ghosting if someone leaves upon realizing that their hookup is married (doesn’t matter if Jack felt that the relationship was over). In my opinion, Jack should’ve taken more responsibility for the lie of omission. Why was there no apology?!?

During the bleak moment, when the truth (fake engagement with Jack’s brother for inheritance money) comes out, Jack yelled at Ellie for the deception and lack of trust. Jack blames Ellie for making her feel like a terrible person (apparently it’s Ellie’s fault that Jack flirted and seduced her brother’s fiancée). Okay, fine, but why does Jack get to have an angry moment and Ellie never explodes? Arguably Jack is also a terrible person for deliberately seducing her brother’s fiancée and could’ve been yelled at by her brother. Don’t even get me started on Ellie’s public apology/grovel at the end.

I’m just fed up with these people and the hypocrisy of it all. Ellie bore the brunt of the emotional burden and blame, never demanding better for herself. I would’ve killed for an apology or admittance of wrongdoing from Jack. I don’t feel like rooting for their HEA because everything felt so unbalanced. See above spoilers for an explanation.

Read via audio (narrated by Natalie Naudus).

Disclaimer: I received a free audiobook from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.