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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
5⭐
Thank you, NetGalley and Graydon House for providing me with a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.
After writing a amazing thriller book, it's commendable to pull off a romance book and Ashley Winstead has done it successfully.
What I liked most about FMO is flawed main characters. It's a workplace romance and I was so invested in the book. This book is funny, emotional, spicy, discuss gender disparity and more. Highly recommend.
Thank you, NetGalley and Graydon House for providing me with a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.
After writing a amazing thriller book, it's commendable to pull off a romance book and Ashley Winstead has done it successfully.
What I liked most about FMO is flawed main characters. It's a workplace romance and I was so invested in the book. This book is funny, emotional, spicy, discuss gender disparity and more. Highly recommend.
Lee Stone (aka Stoner) is working as the communications director for a woman-owned electric car company. She’s facing the most important moment in her career - working to pass a clean energy bill in Texas - when her grad school ex-boyfriend, Ben, turns up and they are forced to work together and things get complicated (and hot).
•-•-•-•
This book was really funny, and the opening chapter with the Disney Princess wedding and the teapot costume was especially hilarious. I loved Lee and Ben’s banter throughout the book and really liked Lee’s relationships with her friends and family . My only issue was that I had a hard time understanding Lee’s reluctance to just go ahead and date Ben. I get that she had been betrayed in the past, but it felt forced and she started to get on my last nerve. I really liked the political and social commentary Winstead included, and overall thought this was a really smart, fun, funny book that is going to be wildly popular — I can’t wait to spot it in the wild this summer at the pool!
* Thanks to Harlequin / Graydon House for the NetGalley review copy!
•-•-•-•
This book was really funny, and the opening chapter with the Disney Princess wedding and the teapot costume was especially hilarious. I loved Lee and Ben’s banter throughout the book and really liked Lee’s relationships with her friends and family . My only issue was that I had a hard time understanding Lee’s reluctance to just go ahead and date Ben. I get that she had been betrayed in the past, but it felt forced and she started to get on my last nerve. I really liked the political and social commentary Winstead included, and overall thought this was a really smart, fun, funny book that is going to be wildly popular — I can’t wait to spot it in the wild this summer at the pool!
* Thanks to Harlequin / Graydon House for the NetGalley review copy!
DNF - Only made it through chapter 1.
I love love loved the Boyfriend Candidate, so I was excited to go back and read Fool Me Once, the first book in this series.
My joy was so short-lived, however. And this is maybe going to sound petty or nit-picky, but if you're going to set the very first scene somewhere that is as well-known as Walt Disney World, maybe do some research to see if what you're writing can actually happen.
Lee is a bridesmaid for her friends wedding at Disney. Fine. The author talks about how weird it is for people to get married there, which, whatever, I can get over because different strokes for different folks. But Lee is dressed as Belle, sneaks out of the hotel room of her one-night stand, and collects her friend, who is somehow dressed as Chip? And they have 90 minutes to get back to their hotel, pack up, and Uber to the airport. That would never happen. Anything in Orlando is an hour from Orlando. I could look past this.
But then Lee and her friend leave the hotel of the groomsman and end up SMACK IN THE MIDDLE OF MAGIC KINGDOM. Would absolutely never happen. And then, because they are dressed like Disney characters, kids keep trying to stop them and hug them, and get photos. Again, THIS WOULD NEVER HAPPEN. Disney has very strict rules about adults dressing in costume, for this very reason.
The author couldn't be bothered to get the first scene's setting accurate.
I love love loved the Boyfriend Candidate, so I was excited to go back and read Fool Me Once, the first book in this series.
My joy was so short-lived, however. And this is maybe going to sound petty or nit-picky, but if you're going to set the very first scene somewhere that is as well-known as Walt Disney World, maybe do some research to see if what you're writing can actually happen.
Lee is a bridesmaid for her friends wedding at Disney. Fine. The author talks about how weird it is for people to get married there, which, whatever, I can get over because different strokes for different folks. But Lee is dressed as Belle, sneaks out of the hotel room of her one-night stand, and collects her friend, who is somehow dressed as Chip? And they have 90 minutes to get back to their hotel, pack up, and Uber to the airport. That would never happen. Anything in Orlando is an hour from Orlando. I could look past this.
But then Lee and her friend leave the hotel of the groomsman and end up SMACK IN THE MIDDLE OF MAGIC KINGDOM. Would absolutely never happen. And then, because they are dressed like Disney characters, kids keep trying to stop them and hug them, and get photos. Again, THIS WOULD NEVER HAPPEN. Disney has very strict rules about adults dressing in costume, for this very reason.
The author couldn't be bothered to get the first scene's setting accurate.
This book tried to do A LOT but I think it paid off to follow the story and wait for the different strings to meet.
Everybody is kind of a horrible person in this book so it’s pretty hard to root for anybody.
Pleasantly surprised that this was set in Austin.
3.5 stars. Good storyline with the politics and stuff. Bit of a frustrating premise of what makes her not believe in love. Mostly only read this one because I was going to read #2 of this series and realized it was a series so I figured i should read this one first in case there’s any character overlap.
How do you not fall for a book that starts with its main character, Lee Stone, sneaking out of a man’s hotel room after a Disney-themed wedding at Disney World, dressed as Belle? Running through the theme park to get to her hotel, she’s stopped by children hoping to meet their favorite Beauty and the Beast character. But Lee has to get home to Texas and back to work.
Lee (“Stoner” to her friends) works hard and plays hard. She’s sharp and smart in her job and is a hot mess in her personal life. Through too many disappointments, Lee does not believe in true love and happy endings. She’s the communications director of Lise Motors, a female-run electric car company. Lee is the force behind getting a green energy bill enacted which would replace Texas state vehicles with electric cars. The governor is onboard and hires Ben Laderman to work with Lee and the Lise team. Could it be the same Ben Laderman who was Lee’s fourth and last major heartbreak five years ago? Of course it is and the two have to work together. Ben has moved on and Lee has since avoided any real intimacy, choosing meaningless hookups.
Author Winstead has created in Lee a flawed character who is fooling herself that she is truly over Ben. As their professional relationship develops, the two have to navigate their complicated feelings for one another. As the two experience a rollercoaster of emotions, they have to also deal with the challenges of Texas politics. Fool Me Once has humor and romance. There’s heartache and loss. And there’s a wonderful group of supporting characters including great friends and family who help Lee through it all. It's a very appealing book.
This is the same author who wrote last summer’s exceptional mystery/thriller, In My Dreams I Hold a Knife, which was a 2021 favorite of mine and quite an impressive debut. Fool Me Once reinforces Winstead’s writing talent and this book demonstrates her ability to deliver in multiple genres. Quite a feat. Don't pass this one by.
Many thanks to Harlequin Trade Publishing / Graydon House Books and Ashley Winstead for the opportunity to read this enjoyable book in advance of its April 5, 2022 publication.
And for all you thriller fans out there, Ms. Winstead has a dark mystery coming out in August. I can’t wait.
Rated 4.5 stars.
Review posted on MicheleReader.com.
Lee (“Stoner” to her friends) works hard and plays hard. She’s sharp and smart in her job and is a hot mess in her personal life. Through too many disappointments, Lee does not believe in true love and happy endings. She’s the communications director of Lise Motors, a female-run electric car company. Lee is the force behind getting a green energy bill enacted which would replace Texas state vehicles with electric cars. The governor is onboard and hires Ben Laderman to work with Lee and the Lise team. Could it be the same Ben Laderman who was Lee’s fourth and last major heartbreak five years ago? Of course it is and the two have to work together. Ben has moved on and Lee has since avoided any real intimacy, choosing meaningless hookups.
Author Winstead has created in Lee a flawed character who is fooling herself that she is truly over Ben. As their professional relationship develops, the two have to navigate their complicated feelings for one another. As the two experience a rollercoaster of emotions, they have to also deal with the challenges of Texas politics. Fool Me Once has humor and romance. There’s heartache and loss. And there’s a wonderful group of supporting characters including great friends and family who help Lee through it all. It's a very appealing book.
This is the same author who wrote last summer’s exceptional mystery/thriller, In My Dreams I Hold a Knife, which was a 2021 favorite of mine and quite an impressive debut. Fool Me Once reinforces Winstead’s writing talent and this book demonstrates her ability to deliver in multiple genres. Quite a feat. Don't pass this one by.
Many thanks to Harlequin Trade Publishing / Graydon House Books and Ashley Winstead for the opportunity to read this enjoyable book in advance of its April 5, 2022 publication.
And for all you thriller fans out there, Ms. Winstead has a dark mystery coming out in August. I can’t wait.
Rated 4.5 stars.
Review posted on MicheleReader.com.
I accidentally or my hoopla glitched and this was returned early and I'm fine with it. There was a constant mention of drugs and alcohol and I dont thin it fit the story line at all. it was really jarring and distracting from the story line. It was drawn out, too long, and actually boring. I think the boyfriend candidate was the only book of this author's that I enjoyed.