Reviews with content warning for Gaslighting - Kiss Her Once For Me

it's okay. I had a hard time getting into it because we didn't really learn much of the characters and their personalities. it seems as far as the author is concerned being queer IS their personalities which feels a bit like a mockery. I did enjoy the wlw love story and all of that and it was well written. but it also feels like the author felt the need to put every LGBTQ+ joke that she could fit into the book, into the book ya know? it was almost a huge cliche. it just felt like trying too hard. but I did enjoy it and it was cute at times. (and I'm a fellow LGBTQ+ member so don't think I'm like a straight person bashing this thekgks)

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books4em's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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

4.0

I definitely enjoyed Kiss Her Once for Me! I only gave it 4 stars because it just didn't draw me in as much as I had wanted/expected it to. There is a great deal of representation - there's bi, demi, lesbian, nonbinary, and Korean-American representation to name a few. It also does a good job of discussing mental health (not that deeply) but anxiety and adhd are big parts of the two main characters lives. Based on what I've heard about The Charm Offensive, I'd say there's less talk on mental health in this one than her previous book. But it's still done very well! The story is also a lovely twist on a typical holiday romance story. That combined with the representation and discussions on mental health and relationships with toxic parents, it's definitely a great book. It was also nice to see at the end how they work on themselves first before attempting to get back together!

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sophiesmallhands's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful 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

5.0

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thefatpaperback's review

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funny hopeful lighthearted 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

“Was it possible to have a hole inside you, cookie-cluttered into the shape of a person you hadn’t met yet? Because that’s how it felt when I talked to Jack. We were nothing alike and everything alike.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I knew from page one I would love the bell out of this book. It was one of those reads where I so desperately wanted to read the book, but felt SO MUCH on each page that I had to put it down for at lease couple minutes after each chapter. Until, eventually, putting it down wasn’t an option at all. I loved THE CHARM OFFENSIVE, but Alison Cochrun makes magic in KISS HER ONCE FOR ME. It’s got all the things you want in a slow burn—longing, pining, yearning—with the addition of holiday shenanigans, MESSY characters, and tropes galore. It also made me really, really miss Portland. I visit the city and Powells bookstore ONE TIME and then feel it haunting me like the song Last Christmas haunts Jack and Ellie throughout the novel.

Last Christmas, Ellie Oliver was alone on Christmas until she meet cutes Jack in a bookstore. The two women have a magical snow day together, but after a betrayal and the loss of her job—Ellie is alone and struggling financially as a barista this Christmas. When the coffee shop’s landlord, Andrew, proposes that Ellie fake marry him for ten percent of his grandfather’s inheritance, Ellie is desperate enough to agree. Andrew and Ellie decide to spend the holidays with Andrew’s family at their cabin, where Ellie discovers that her fake fiancé’s sister is Jack-the woman Ellie fell for last Christmas.

❄️ Messy characters in messy situations

❄️ One night stand to lovers

❄️ Fake Dating / Marriage of Convenience

❄️ Insta Love

❄️ Soulmates

❄️ Demisexual rep

❄️ Queer Christmas Romance

❄️ One Bed Trope

❄️ Snowed In

I’ll read this book over and over—Christmas or not.

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