Kiss Her Once for Me

Finished January 6

Kiss Her Once for Me by Alison Cochrun

This lesbian romance has much more to offer than the satisfying romance it contains. It is a book about dealing with failure, about how we respond to the expectations of others, about being our true selves in all their messy truth, and about how we find those true selves.

It is a book about dealing with the fears we all face, the fears of failure, of rejection, of imperfection, of negative attention, of positive attention, of success, and of being vulnerable. 

Ellie Oliver is a woman who more or less raised herself and is still dealing with a toxic parent in her life. She has used art as a way to make herself feel good, as a way to get positive attention, and now as a way to earn a living, but it has also become something that is no longer something she does for herself in a healing way, but usually something that she does for others. She is broke, unhappy, and trying to hide from everything that she doesn't want to deal with.

Jack Kim-Prescott is a woman who has not lived up to the expectations her wealthy family has had for her. She tried, but she stopped trying a while back. She is slowly finding her path, career wise, but still struggling in her personal life. When they meet, they recognize each other, but it also scares them both to a certain extent because of their pasts. 

The book is set in Portland, Oregon, beginning in December 2021 and ending sometime early in 2023. 

This book makes you feel for the characters, and hope for them, and care about what happens to them. A great read.