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A review by naankattai
Fool Me Twice by Meredith Duran
4.0
This is the first full-length historical I've read in a REALLY long time, and everything about it just clicked for me. I particularly liked that while the big thing waiting to be revealed made me feel like SICK with anticipation for a Ensuing Drama (and the payoff there was good!!), the misunderstanding didn't stick for longer than a couple quick chapters - they wanted to talk about it, they wanted to know, even when they were frustrated and betrayed.
I also really weirdly dug the Work that Alistair had to put into himself over the course of the book. Olivia helped him early on (in a way I love watching!) but he had understandable (and pretty different, compared to standard sad man backstories) reason to be where he was, and he had to put a lot into pulling himself off the ground, and it was genuinely pretty thrilling to see it happen. I liked Olivia's story too - I was so convinced it was going to be one thing, and it wasn't!, and she was such a sturdy character without being OTT or unbelievable or scrappy, if that makes sense.
My biggest complaint is that I would've liked to spend a little more time with them after the denouement - I knew they'd be good together and why, but it would've been so nice to see them together without the issues of his ambition or her station or their pasts hanging over their heads.
I also really weirdly dug the Work that Alistair had to put into himself over the course of the book. Olivia helped him early on (in a way I love watching!) but he had understandable (and pretty different, compared to standard sad man backstories) reason to be where he was, and he had to put a lot into pulling himself off the ground, and it was genuinely pretty thrilling to see it happen. I liked Olivia's story too - I was so convinced it was going to be one thing, and it wasn't!, and she was such a sturdy character without being OTT or unbelievable or scrappy, if that makes sense.
My biggest complaint is that I would've liked to spend a little more time with them after the denouement - I knew they'd be good together and why, but it would've been so nice to see them together without the issues of his ambition or her station or their pasts hanging over their heads.