Title: Fool Me Once: A Novel
Author: Ashley Winstead
Release Date: April 5th 2022
Genre: Romantic Comedy, Second Chance
“A simmering slow burn bursting with banter… This is a romance for anyone who’s ever felt too messy to be loved.”
—ROSIE DANAN, author of The Roommate
In this fierce and funny battle of the exes, Ashley Winstead’s Fool Me Once explores the chaos of wanting something you used to have.
Lee Stone is a twenty-first-century woman: she kicks butt at her job as a communications director at a women-run electric car company (that’s better than Tesla, thank you), and after work she is “Stoner,” drinking guys under the table and never letting any of them get too comfortable in her bed…
That’s because Lee’s learned one big lesson: never trust love. Four major heartbreaks set her straight, from her father cheating on her mom all the way to Ben Laderman in grad school—who wasn’t actually cheating, but she could have sworn he was, so she reciprocated in kind.
Then Ben shows up five years later, working as a policy expert for the most liberal governor in Texas history, just as Lee is trying to get a clean energy bill rolling. Things get complicated—and competitive—as Lee and Ben are forced to work together. Tension builds just as old sparks reignite, fanning the flames for a romantic dustup the size of Texas.
Fool Me Once is a quirky and fun read. Lee Stone is smart, strong, and funny. She also has her issues which we see come out during the story. While this was a fun read for me, it had some cringe moments. It made me say “Girl what are you doing?!” more than once. I think that is what makes Lee relatable. The other characters are not perfect and some are not likable at all. The energy between Lee and Ben is great. The playful banter between the two had me laughing. I kept saying “Just kiss already!”
This is not my normal kind of read and I’m glad I took a chance on it! It was fun along with some heartfelt moments that caused me to tear up. This is a new to me author and I will be looking into her other book. If you love fun quirky romance reads, I highly recommend you check this book out! I give it 4 stars.
*I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion*
The Literary Vixen 