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megelizabeth's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
"...I kiss her like I know it’s going to hurt later. I kiss her like I don’t care."
This took me a minute to get into, and I particularly think the set-up could have been stronger in terms of actually seeing Ellie and Andrew agree their plans. Ellie herself also took me a while to warm to (despite her anxiety being a bit too relatable), but I came to completely adore the romance between her and Jack and was fully rooting for them and invested in seeing how everything came together. I absolutely loved the family dynamics as well and loved that there were various relationships and issues being explored in relation to the central romantic plotline.
The Christmassy vibes were also excellent and overall this was both a fun and wholesome read whilst also having a good amount of angst and depth, and definitely one I'd recommend if it sounds intriguing.
This took me a minute to get into, and I particularly think the set-up could have been stronger in terms of actually seeing Ellie and Andrew agree their plans. Ellie herself also took me a while to warm to (despite her anxiety being a bit too relatable), but I came to completely adore the romance between her and Jack and was fully rooting for them and invested in seeing how everything came together. I absolutely loved the family dynamics as well and loved that there were various relationships and issues being explored in relation to the central romantic plotline.
The Christmassy vibes were also excellent and overall this was both a fun and wholesome read whilst also having a good amount of angst and depth, and definitely one I'd recommend if it sounds intriguing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Minor: Cancer and Death
khakipantsofsex's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Biphobia and Cancer
imstephtacular's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Biphobia, Cursing, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, and Pregnancy
skudiklier's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I didn't know almost anything about this book going in, and wow was I pleasantly surprised by the whole thing. I read almost the entire book in one sitting, because I couldn't put it down. The romance was perfect, and also it was weirdly and unintentionally relevant for me, as someone who just moved to Portland less than two months ago. I loved the bi rep, the anxiety rep, the demi rep, the nonbinary rep, the way they try (and fail) to not fall victim to unnecessary miscommunication as horribly as the straights always do in romances. (Also is it just me or is Ellie also autistic??? I both have anxiety and am autistic so sometimes it's hard for me to tell what social anxiety things are related to which haha. But idk she felt extremely autistic to me and I'm gonna say I also loved the (maybe unintentional) autistic rep as well.) This was a perfect book to start the year with, and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a lovely queer holiday romance.
Edit to add: I actually kind of forgot what The Charm Offensive was about, and now that I went back to look at my (5 star) review for that book, I'm even more convinced that Alison Cochrun is one of my new favorite romance authors. In both books, I was super sucked in and read them basically in one sitting. But even better, in both books I felt like even the parts of romances that I don't like (e.g., when they have a fight and break up near the end, usually over some miscommunication) were handled much better in these books than in most romance novels. Like, Cochrun clearly puts a lot of effort into making sure the relationships are as healthy and realistic as possible, while still giving us all the normal pieces of a romance and keeping the drama amped up. I'm just so impressed! And I can't wait for Cochrun's next book.
Edit to add: I actually kind of forgot what The Charm Offensive was about, and now that I went back to look at my (5 star) review for that book, I'm even more convinced that Alison Cochrun is one of my new favorite romance authors. In both books, I was super sucked in and read them basically in one sitting. But even better, in both books I felt like even the parts of romances that I don't like (e.g., when they have a fight and break up near the end, usually over some miscommunication) were handled much better in these books than in most romance novels. Like, Cochrun clearly puts a lot of effort into making sure the relationships are as healthy and realistic as possible, while still giving us all the normal pieces of a romance and keeping the drama amped up. I'm just so impressed! And I can't wait for Cochrun's next book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Alcohol
Moderate: Biphobia, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Transphobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Cancer, Death, Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Acephobia/Arophobia, Murder, Pregnancy, Outing, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment
Toxic parents, cutting off family memberstoofondofbooks_'s review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- 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
5.0
There really just wasn't a single thing to hate about this. Is there insta-love? Yes. Do I hate insta-love? Yes! However, in this one case, I will allow it because I loved this story and I love this couple. Am I not really a fan of Christmas books? Correct, I tend to stay away from them. Did I absolutely love this? Also correct.
My point is, this book had some tropes that on paper, shouldn't have worked for me, and yet they *did.* So basically, if you've been eyeing this one and are unsure about it, give it a try and see if you love it, too.
Bonus points for the Taylor Swift references all throughout this gem.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Biphobia, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual content, Vomit, and Alcohol
Moderate: Racism, Xenophobia, and Outing
Minor: Cancer
decklededgess's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
trigger warnings: infidelity (not referring to the polyamory mentioned in the book), sexual content, alcohol, anxiety and panic disorders, body shaming, emotional abuse, transphobia, lesbophobia, biphobia
Hoooooo boi was this book an emotional roller coaster. After The Charm Offensive, I’m wary of emotional devastation when it comes to Alison Cochrun and I WAS RIGHT. THIS BOOK WAS RUDE AS HELL. I finished it in a day.
Ellie and Jack are just something else. The tension, chemistry, yearning, HAVE MERCY. I also didn’t expect to care for Dylan and Andrew as much as I did. I was rooting for all for of these fools in their silly little self made love trapezoid of pain to figure shit out but nooooooooooo they just went and imploded on themselves. The four of them in their messiness had me wanting to yank my hair out.
This book is also stunning in its representation of generalised anxiety disorder. It’s respectful yet accountable for how the main character creates chaos for herself and others through her own pain. It also does a fabulous job of taking time in resolving the knot of hurt and working towards healing.
The queer representation was diverse and well thought out. I appreciated that there were two sides to polyamory represented. One where partners have to remove themselves from the relationship after realising polyamory was not for them and another for representing people who found happiness in polyamory. And no one was villainzed for those choices. It’s a small subplot but I found the care in that decision making really diplomatic and honest.
One of the most devastating third act break ups. EVER. But we get fed with some of the horniest smut ever too. So. Balance.
Hoooooo boi was this book an emotional roller coaster. After The Charm Offensive, I’m wary of emotional devastation when it comes to Alison Cochrun and I WAS RIGHT. THIS BOOK WAS RUDE AS HELL. I finished it in a day.
Ellie and Jack are just something else. The tension, chemistry, yearning, HAVE MERCY. I also didn’t expect to care for Dylan and Andrew as much as I did. I was rooting for all for of these fools in their silly little self made love trapezoid of pain to figure shit out but nooooooooooo they just went and imploded on themselves. The four of them in their messiness had me wanting to yank my hair out.
This book is also stunning in its representation of generalised anxiety disorder. It’s respectful yet accountable for how the main character creates chaos for herself and others through her own pain. It also does a fabulous job of taking time in resolving the knot of hurt and working towards healing.
The queer representation was diverse and well thought out. I appreciated that there were two sides to polyamory represented. One where partners have to remove themselves from the relationship after realising polyamory was not for them and another for representing people who found happiness in polyamory. And no one was villainzed for those choices. It’s a small subplot but I found the care in that decision making really diplomatic and honest.
One of the most devastating third act break ups. EVER. But we get fed with some of the horniest smut ever too. So. Balance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Gaslighting
Moderate: Biphobia, Body shaming, Cancer, Death, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Transphobia, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol