A review by bloomed
Kiss Her Once for Me by Alison Cochrun

funny fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

the good: this is a really easy read with a pretty heart-warming story and some funny moments. the cast of characters is extremely diverse (in race, gender, neurodivergence, and sexuality) and, overall, with a few exceptions, respectfully written. i’d love to see more books with this level of inclusion, especially ones this lighthearted! even during the more fraught parts, there was a fair bit of queer joy to be found here. 
 
the so-so: some of the queer themes felt a little… introductory, like the characters were sometimes mouthpieces that were meant to explain certain identities to the reader, rather than believing the (ostensibly queer) target audience will inherently understand or have the wherewithal to educate themselves on things like, for example, demisexuality; it cropped up more often in the beginning, when the story’s foundation was being laid, but it really struck me and pulled me out of the moment every time it happened, because the characters would suddenly stop talking like actual, human people, and instead start to sound like they were speaking in clunky definitions, just to make absolutely sure that i knew what they were talking about. there were similar blips in the actual writing, where it would take a brief nosedive in (what i assume was) the author’s attempt to ensure that the reader understands what she was trying to communicate. see: the main character, ellie, often thinks of her love interest, a woman named jack, as… well, “the woman named jack”. it felt like she continually used that turn of phrase so as to avoid any confusion about jack’s gender identity, given the ambiguity of her name—but maybe it was just a stylistic quirk? either way, it bounced off of me every time it happened. 
 
the ugly: while the first fifty to seventy-five percent of this was a fun, cute, queer, christmas-y romp, the meat of the conflict that arose in the back half of the story was frustrating, to say the least. the sheer amount of miscommunication (and there is a lot of it!) just didn’t work for me, and neither did the way the characters started to behave as a result of said miscommunication. usually, it’s a trope that doesn’t bother me (in fact, #hottake, i kind of enjoy it when executed properly!), but it just didn’t land for me here. it wasn’t enough to turn me off of the story completely, but i did find myself confused at why certain characters were being nailed for their perceived bad behavior, while others were given “get out of jail free” cards, especially toward the last handful of chapters. so many things would’ve been resolved immediately if the characters sat down and talked for a few minutes, and it felt like the only reason they didn’t was to draw the story out. at a few points, i had to put the book down and remind myself that it’s not, in fact, that serious, and that i shouldn’t be getting annoyed at fictional characters being weird, irrational assholes at each other. 
 
still, this is a pretty solid 3/5 stars for me—but it would’ve been even better if it felt like the author trusted the reader to understand what she was putting down, and if the amount of miscommunication was scaled back, if only by a little bit. 
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