Quick take
Cozy up with this delightful holiday tale as old as time: boy meets girl, girl meets boy’s sister (who she loves).
Good to know
LGBTQ+ themes
Quirky
Fake Dating
Siblings
Synopsis
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.
Free sample
Get an early look from the first pages of Kiss Her Once for Me.
Kiss Her Once for Me
Snow Day
A Webcomic By Oliverartssometimes
Snow days are a special kind of magic.
When I was a kid, snow days meant freedom from the stress of school and from the debilitating social anxiety I felt there. On a snow day, I could wander outside and make friends as easily as packing a snowball between my gloved palms.
In college at Ohio State, snow days meant freedom from my rigorous study schedule, when my best friend, Meredith, would burst into my dorm at one in the morning so we could go sledding in South Oval on trays stolen from the dining hall.
And in Portland, a snow day seemed to mean freedom from everything.
My boots sink into nearly a foot of snow as I step onto the Burnside Bridge. The boundaries of the city had blurred over the course of the day, and now nothing is contained to its usual place. Grass, sidewalk, and street have all become one smooth, fluid thing—a world that looks sugar-spun and impossibly sweet. Up ahead, a couple cross-country-skis across the bridge while their portable speaker blares “White Christmas,” and behind me a group of twentysomethings is having a snowball fight in the middle of the road, and beside me, a woman slips, grumbles, and curses, “Fuck the snow!” at a rather loud volume.
“Is it the snow we should be blaming?” I ask calmly. “Or your shoes?”
“The snow,” she answers, clomping her boots deliberately with each step. “These boots are magnificent.”
I gesture to the boots in question. “They do seem like they were selected more for aesthetics than utility, though. Like your coat.”
She stops stomping through the snow and looks up. “Wait. What’s wrong with my coat?”
Why I love it
Ashley Tisdale
Actress & Founder, Frenshe
This holiday season, I was so excited to take some time to slow down, relax, and open a good book. Top of my list was Kiss Her Once for Me by Alison Cochrun, which I was so excited to dive into. And this winning story about Ellie Oliver did not disappoint. Ellie’s life is a mess. She’s lost her dream job, rarely leaves the Portland apartment she can barely afford, and is painfully single. I love reading books about people who are a little down on their luck and make a comeback—what’s more relatable than that? But I’m getting ahead of myself.
While working her new dead-end coffee shop job, Ellie gets offered a potential get-out-of-rut-free card. All she has to do is fake marry the coffee shop’s landlord, Andrew, who will inherit a fortune if their “relationship” successfully fools his father. Except there’s one little hitch in this marriage plot . . . it turns out Andrew has a sister and this sister, Jack, just happens to be the mysterious woman Ellie had an ever so brief, wondrous meet-cute with the winter prior. The drama!
Kiss Her Once for Me is the perfect holiday rom-com to end the year with. Let me know what you think after reading!
Member ratings (18,095)
Nicole K.
Pawleys Island, SC
I loved this even way more than expected. It was such a delight and I LOVED the characters. Such diversity and representation… this story really touched my heart and it wasn’t extremely predictable!
Kaitlyn R.
Orlando, FL
Just an amazing rom-com, almost Hallmark-esc. I really related to Ellie/Elle so much with the social anxiety and feeling your 10 year plan went to shit. This book made me laugh and cry and feel 5 ⭐️
Samantha L.
Bound Brook, NJ
An overused romcom trope turned into an absolutely enigmatic story. My god! The chemistry between Ellie & Jack may be the best I’ve ever read. I was swooning with every interaction. Beyond passionate!
Tammy T.
Axton, VA
One perfect snow day, too good to be true! Just when you think you have put that day behind you…BAM! The past is in your face and you can’t slip away unnoticed like you did a year ago. A must read!
Emma S.
Naperville, IL
What a joy! This was the first Christmas romance that actually worked for me. I loved Ellie's character and the twist on the fake dating trope. Great representation and messy drama that was amazing!!!