Reviews tagging 'Classism'

Kiss Her Once For Me by Alison Cochrun

24 reviews

megandherbook's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Moderate: Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Homophobia and Transphobia

kelly_e's review

funny lighthearted relaxing medium-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

3.25

Title: Kiss Her Once for Me
Author: Alison Cochrun
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Rating: 3.25
Pub Date: November 1, 2022

T H R E E • W O R D S

Thoughtful • Nostalgic • Messy

📖 S Y N O P S I S

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.

💭 T H O U G H T S

The Charm Offensive was an absolute hit for me, so of course, I was keeping an eye on new books from Alison Cochrun. It just may have taken me over a year to finally pick up Kiss Her Once For Me. Unfortunately, this one didn't have the same experience as her debut.

Honestly, the premise sounded kind of ridiculous, so I knew going in, I'd have to suspend belief in order to appreciate this big hearted romcom. Marriage-of-convivence is a trope I often struggle to become fully invested in and it was no different with this one, especially when you add in the love triangle and lack of communication elements. Additionally, I wouldn't necessarily classify this as a holiday read, rather it just has strong winter vibes.

This book delivers an incredibly diverse cast of characters with representation spanning ADHD, anxiety disorders, bisexuality, demisexuality, and nonbinary. It was just all very well done. I also found myself appreciating the growth of the main character, the self-discovery theme, and the quirky family more than the actual romance aspect.

Overall, Kiss Her Once for Me didn't live up to my expectations, yet I don't know if it was really the book itself or rather just it containing elements that I don't love. I am curious and looking forward to see where Here We Go Again, Alison Cochrun's upcoming 2024 release will land for me.

📚 R E A D • I F • Y O U • L I K E
• cozy romance
• queer romcoms (demisexual rep)
• love triangles

⚠️ CW: toxic parental relationship, emotional abuse, child abuse, biphobia, transphobia, lesbophobia, homophobia, mental illness, generalized anxiety, panic attacks/disorders, alcoholism, infidelity, sexual content, alcohol, abandonment, cursing, drug use, classism, bullying, gaslighting, ableism, racism, body shaming, fatphobia, death, misogyny, sexism, divorce

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"Your trauma is something that happened to you; it’s not who you are."

"We all have seasons of needing and seasons of giving." 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Biphobia, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Transphobia, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Minor: Ableism, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Alcohol, and Classism

generalized anxiety, divorce

readandfindout's review

medium-paced

3.5

Style/writing: 3.5 stars
Themes: 4 stars
Characters: 4 stars
Plot: 2.5 stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, and Classism

Moderate: Biphobia, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, and Abandonment

Minor: Ableism, Body shaming, Death, Misogyny, Racism, Transphobia, and Gaslighting

chasingpages1's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Biphobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Grief, Lesbophobia, and Classism

kbairbooks's review

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Ugh my heart. I really enjoyed this read. The anxiety rep was so good (in my opinion), the therapy aspects at the end I enjoyed, the familial relationships of the Kim-Prescotts I enjoyed, the details, the story snippets, the air stream, and the bakery. I think my biggest meh thing about this book is that I didn’t necessarily vibe with the two main characters at times? And I didn’t feel their connection as well as I have for other romance books. But overall I liked the story, the growth, and the delicious christmassy queerness of it all.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Moderate: Biphobia, Body shaming, Infidelity, and Classism

kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective sad tense 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

4.0

Adorably sweet, this book follows Ellie as she attempts to work through all the fears she has that keep her from truly living. The characters are lovable and interesting, especially the grandmothers. This book would make a fantastic movie so I really need Netflix to get on it, like yesterday. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Biphobia, Child abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Grief, Lesbophobia, Outing, Abandonment, and Classism

itsheyfay's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Abandonment, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Biphobia, Child abuse, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Drug use, Racism, and Transphobia

reading_rebellion's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

It's okay. Not an easy fun read! I almost didn't finish this book tbh. The pace was too slow for me. 

The dialogue was hard to get through for me. I do appreciate the not so perfect relationship dynamics and mental health representation, but the MC was a bit whiney and insufferable at times. Didn't love the "half moon smile" and Swiftie references every other chapter. Overall okay. Wouldn't read again. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Grief

Moderate: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Minor: Body shaming, Drug use, Alcohol, and Classism

The over mentioning of Taylor Swift songs/lyrics and half moon smile gave me the ick.

infjkiki's review

emotional hopeful tense medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Moderate: Biphobia, Homophobia, Infidelity, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Alcohol and Classism

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

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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