Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - Kiss Her Once For Me

Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Kiss Her Once For Me by Alison Cochrun

93 reviews

elliott_the_clementine's review

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emotional hopeful reflective sad tense 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

4.25

Kiss Her Once For Me is painfully messy and completely adorable.

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the_rabble's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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

4.5

This is a cute one. I'll be recommending it.

If you're looking for tall women protagonists with defined personalities including a big, loud, mid-20s butch love interest, and a minimal amount of hijinx for a fake relationship storyline, this is your book.

Structure: Cochrun does the best flashback structure I've seen in a romance, repeatedly going back to the day Ellie and Jack first meet.

Setting: Portland. I grew up in the PDX metro area, and this is probably the media- aside from Metal Lords- that best lives in the space. Very different vibes, but captures the Portland/west side PNW snow experience in a very real way. YMMV on hipster & transplant culture, but the rent woes are real.

Representation: MC is bi demi with anxiety, LI is biracial butch lesbian with ADHD, the brother is pan, LI's bff is a Spanish-speaking enbie. Notable side characters are trans and alphabet mafia. Nothing feels tokenized or preachy (aside from some hipster cultural touchstones)- it's all pretty natural, casual inclusion.

Narrator: Natalie Naudus is always stellar. This could have been done with someone with less dulcet tones, but I'm never going to turn down Naudus.

Sex Scenes: they happen, it's infrequent, and very well done.

Who I Wouldn't Rec This To: I would recommend this to pretty much anyone with a narrow exception: Our POV, Ellie has a toxic parental relationship and severe anxiety, on page one. If someone is dealing with depression or has similar anxiety issues, I'd be cautious to rec or be sure to let them know it's okay to drop it and come back or DNF.

By the end, Cochrun creates satisfying payoff regarding an overarching

fear of failure

that is empowering and lovely. However, the anxiety is in play the entire book (like actual anxiety disorders) which I could see being a lot for people experiencing severe symptoms.

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illtakethenightshiftx's review

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medium-paced

4.0

kicked my feet, cried a lil, suddenly wanted to know when my bookstore meet-cute will happen 🥹

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kelly_e's review

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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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janehadley's review

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funny hopeful 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

4.0

I read the acknowledgements about a quarter through the book and the author said she was going for a lesbian Bill Pullman and I never knew that was exactly the hottest proposition ever. I really loved the characters and the themes around failure. The shenanigans and miscommunication were a little out of control but I loved Jack so much I was happy to follow her wherever she went. I had to come round on Ellie, the pov character, mostly because she represents so much about myself that I don't like (perfectionism, crippling anxiety, the inherent selfishness that comes with being depressed). But once I figured that out, I was able to really enjoy the book! (Internalized misogyny is rough.)

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