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.

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!