I love when an author starts a new series and you find old friends within the pages. Fool Me Once revolves around Alliance, a service that sets up arranged temporary marriages. Alliance has been found in past series written by Catherine Bybee. This series starts with three temporary wives that are trying to come to terms with their divorces and find their own happiness.

This book is Lori’s story. Lori is the lawyer who writes the pre-nups for the temporary marriages. While on a cruise where Lori is playing mother to her group of divorcees she meets Reed. The relationship continues after the cruise and some secrets come out that could put their relationship into trouble.

I love the setting, the characters, and the story. Once I started I could not put it down. When I did put it down I continued to look for a few minutes here and there to pick it up and read a few more pages. There is romance, secrets, sex, and fun everything I love in a book.

I recommend picking up your own copy and enjoying meeting Lori and the girls in the first book of the First Wives Series.

You’re a powerful, influential guy. You need a wife, but just for 'show' or only for a limited time. What can you do?

You’re a beautiful woman. You've been burned before, but, you need some financial help, and you’re not looking for a forever relationship. What can you do?

Alliance!

Fool me once is a spin-off of the Weekday Brides series, where we first met Lori Cumberland as the lawyer for Alliance, who help the men seeking a wife for a while, and the women needing some financial help, get their pre-nups and break-ups done!

When Lori and Samantha realize that there is sometimes a bit of sadness, or unexpected drama surrounding the breakup of some of their high-profile clients, they decide to take 3 of these ladies on a Mediterranean cruise, to do some de-stressing. Lori, a divorcee herself, is the hostess for this trip.

Lori is not looking for any kind of relationship, but, fate may have a different opinion.
While she wants the women she’s with to see there is a future, or just a hook up for them, she’s not interested…then in walks Reed.

What follows is a page turner with post-divorce hook ups, intrigue, strong friendships, secrets, lies, and eventually a HEA!

I enjoyed this book and can’t wait to see what’s in store next for this fabulous new series.

I pretty much love everything Catherine Bybee writes. Her storytelling is fabulous and her stories are unique. She writes with such ease and draws me into her world. My little getaway from everyday life.
This story was totally different from other romances I’ve read. I liked it a lot. I don't know why it took me forever to pick this one up. It's been on my to be read list for two years yikes. There are so many books on my TBR list it's hard to decide which one to read next. That’s a good thing I guess.
Anyway this is the first book in the "First Wives" series, and I really enjoyed it. I can't wait to pick up the next one. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good romance.
A very special thank you to Montlake Romance via NetGalley for the advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review.

I'm always a fan of Catherine Bybee. Her stories always reel me in and keep me hooked. I loved this premise of this series. This is a spin off from the Weekday brides and their bond is being divorced from the arrangement and not quite bouncing back after their agreements have ended. These unlikely group of woman become strong friends and find love with some suspense and drama thrown in.

Lori is the tough as nail lawyer is the common link with all the woman. As the woman are on a cruise they meet sexy Reed, but not is all as it seems. Causing Lori to get hurt.

"You should be castrated and strung up naked in the town square where mounds of fire ants can feed off you for months"
"Oh, wow, you've give this some thought."

I loved the friendship bond between these woman. Can't wait for more from this series.

This is a spin-off from the Day Brides series that were such fantastic reads. In this one, we have Lori, the lawyer who prepares the prenups for the marriage contracts and three of the contract brides. Avery is just finished with her divorce and is having a party, celebrating her new life with the five million dollars and a new luxurious condo as per her contract. Shannon has already gone through her divorce but she’s devastated because she fell for her husband but he didn’t. After Avery’s celebration, while Lori is tending to her hangover, they learn that another of the brides, still under contract, just lost her husband through suicide.

Lori flies to New York to help Trina during this time, and when she sees Trina’s emotional state, she whisks her off, with the other two ex-wives, to an European cruise, departing from Spain. They officially dub themselves the First Wives club, like the movie, set forth their own rules, and proceed to have fun. They get hit on by single guys on the ship, beginning by Lori. She’s acting like the mother hen but Reed is persistent and insistent and gets to join the girls in their outings and partying. Added to the mix are a couple of Spanish men who are looking for fun and flings. And the action starts.

This one book started a little boring but got suspenseful pretty quick. We get introduced to Ruslan Pretrov, Trina’s father-in-law, hated by her husband, divorced from her mother-in-law, but looking to get the money from Trina’s husband. He’ll do anything to get the money, including spying to find out if Trina’s marriage was real or contracted. There’s a lot of sleuthing and looting. Trina is targeted in the cruise, Avery is robbed, and Lori learns that there is someone getting intelligence on Alliance, the company that Sam created to contract convenience marriages.

Reed is in the cruise under false pretenses, and the reader can tell that he’s some sort of cop or spy or detective from his actions. Later we learn his purpose on the trip and realize that as he’s falling for Lori, he’s digging a big hole for when he’s found out. Lori already has one divorce under her belt, and is cynic enough not to believe in love, until Reed reels her in and makes her fall. At many times in the book I realized that Reed is acting with good intentions, his real purpose for being on the ship is forgotten and all he wants is to help and protect Lori and her friends. But I also thought he was being stupid on not revealing his situation before it was too late. He gets close to all of them, and after the cruise he gets to meet the others, the security detail of Alliance, with which he fits in perfectly.

Alliance is in danger and everyone scrambles to save what they can. It’s really an entertaining story of suspense in the high flying world of rich people. I liked everyone and loved their close circle of friendship. They joke and intrude and protect and harass their friends, all for the purpose of their welfare. Great characters and great story, can’t wait to read the other girls’ stories.

Spin off series from the Weekday Bride series. It is about Lori, a divorce attorney for Alliance and Reed a private investigator. Fast paced. It has friendship, romance, action and suspense. Enjoyable.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the eARC

At first I wasn't 100% on this book, but I'm pleased to say that it grew on me. With returning favourite characters all over it was brilliant.

Loved Lori and Reed’s story. Romance, a little mystery, and great friends. A wonderful spin-off series I can’t wait to read more of!

Catherine Bybee’s writing is always a joy to read. It flows smoothly and has a down-to-earth, family feel that draws the reader into her stories immediately and allows them to truly feel a part of the people she so eloquently writes about. This book is no exception.

I had trouble figuring out what exactly the story was trying to be, however. Is it a romance? A suspense? Or women’s fiction? There is a bit of all three but none are well enough defined to stand out and actually carry the story. I absolutely loved the set-up with Trina and Wade, the way they meet and get to know each other. But, just as the relationship begins, first the women’s fiction, then the suspense plot-line takes over and completely forgets the budding romance development. Because all three are being juggled throughout, none actually go deep enough to really catch the reader’s heart. In each area there are unanswered questions and threads never fully developed.

Still, as a continuation in the series (I wouldn’t suggest reading this one as a stand-alone), it allows us to enjoy the characters we are coming to love and follow Trina as she finds her well-deserved happiness.

After a slowish start, the story picked up speed and turned out to be an enjoyable read. There are a lot of new characters to meet and obviously a lot of ground work being done for the rest of the series - despite this Lori and Reed stand out. Their path to love doesn't run smoothly but it's an entertaining ride!

Fabulous new series from Catherine Bybee! I can never put them down. Lori & Reed were fantastic! I actually figured out the mystery of Sasha way before epilogue and I didn't cry during reading (which never happens with Bybee's books), so GO ME! I cannot wait to see what's in store for the rest of the First Wives!

Fool Me Once had a really unique concept with Lori working for the Alliance, a company that helps arrange short term marriages for the wealthy when they need it.

The book started out slow for me, but I found myself enjoying it more the further I read. I liked how supportive the women all were of each other. It was nice to see female friendships portrayed so positively. Even though I liked Reed and Lori, I think the girls were the best part of the book.

While not one of my favorite books, I think I am curious enough about the stories of the other women to read more books in the series. I am especially looking forward to Shannon's book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

An ALLIANCE is formed when Lori takes her clients Trina, Avery, and Shannon on a cruise in the Mediterranean. As the group comes together to form friendships and have some fun as single women. Gatherings occur - coincidence or fate. DANGER lurks in the high seas. A veil of MIST forms as things are exposed, things are not always as they seem.
Friendships are formed. Secrets are revealed. Loopholes are examined in this intriguing tale.

I have to say that Fool Me Once just really didn't completely work for me. I loved the Weekday Brides series, and was excited to get to revisit some of my favorite characters in the spin-off First Wives Club series. However, something about the story just fell flat for me.

As this was the first book in the series, there were many characters to reconnect with or meet for the very first time. There was lots of information about each female character and her prior husband to keep up with, as well as a suspense element that I felt led me in the wrong direction for part of the book. I liked both Lori and Reed, but really didn't feel like they received enough overall attention as the main couple with all the other characters that had focus in the book.

I did really like Lori and Reed as a couple, even knowing Reed was holding back information from Lori. They had great chemistry once Lori started to let down her guard. I loved that Reed became protective not only of Lori but her friends as well. I did want to smack him upside the head when I discovered all he had kept hidden from Lori and her friends. I will say I felt like he did a great job showing Lori how important she was to him in the end and loved how he groveled to get back into her good graces.

Since I have loved so many other books by Ms. Bybee, I will totally give the next book in the First Wives Club a try. While the amount of information in Fool Me Once felt like information overload to me, I really do feel like others will probably enjoy this book more than me. I did love the character development that occurred with many of the characters and do look forward to revisiting these characters in the future.

Rating: 3 Stars (C-)

4 <b>Counselor</b> stars


Reed : <b> all men were assholes...and he was the worst of them all </b>

I loved reuniting with some named from the weekday bride series by the author !!! #alliance!!I love all the side characters and stories. Our two MCs are a bit on the ehh side. I like them just fine I just wasn't as in love with their story as much as I was with everyone else's .

I loved this first book in the First Wives Series! It was a great romance. Main character, attorney, Lori, arranges temporary marriages for her rich and famous clients. On a cruise, she meets private investigator, Reed Barlow. These two suddenly hit it off in a big way, and feelings begin to grow. However, Reed has a secret. He is in a place now to make tough decisions, and he could lose Lori either way.

This romance between Reed and Lori wasn't always smooth, but it was sweet, tender, and steamy. I am looking forward to seeing what the author comes up with next for this series. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley or providing a copy of the book in return for an honest review.

This one was so good I read it in nearly one sitting! First off, you do not have to have read the Weekday Brides to read this even though this is a spin off from that series. Lori is a divorce attorney from Alliance and being divorced herself she is in need of some fun. She decides on a cruise and it is well deserved. There she meets Reed who is a PI. The chemistry between these two is unmistakable and really what happens on a cruise stays on a cruise, right? Fun, flirty, sexy, definitely a well-written story with spectacular characters which is always what we expect with a Catherine Bybee novel. I am definitely looking forward to more in this series and I highly recommend this one!

**Received this ARC from the publisher via NetGalley**

I’m a big fan of Catherine Bybee’s books and this did not disappoint! Love that she found a way to spin off the weekday brides series so that we can still follow those characters in this new series. Lori’s and Reed’s was fun and interesting with just enough action and intrigue. As always the characters have depth - and it’s not all one sided - gray areas abound ... ethics questions on all sides! Can’t wait to see what’s in store for Trina, Shannon (Paul???) and Avery.

What a great way to spend the day, wrapped up with a glass of wine and an outstanding book. Reed and Loris story grabbed my attention from the very beginning and kept me engaged throughout the book. This is a great story and I have to admit that the bond the characters formed in this story was one of my favorite parts.

When I pick up a new book from Catherine Bybee I know that I will get a fabulous romance filled with friendship, sexual tension, and just a hint of suspense. The fact that all of her characters are connected through friendship among strong and successful women always makes me happy. In Fool Me Once, the first book in Catherine's new First Wives series, we meet Lori and Reed, two characters with something to hide. The attraction between them sizzles from the start. However, once things really get good, everything around them goes haywire. Two sketchy guys... Missing jewelry... A mysterious woman... Throw in exotic locations and you get this fabulously fun book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. As with most of Catherine's books, Fool Me Once has an amazing cast of characters. Not only Lori and Reed, but also a supporting group of new and old friends. There are a couple characters we haven't met before, at least I don't think we've met them in previous books. I'll have to double check to satisfy my curiosity. I can't wait to follow the rest of the First Wives ladies as the series progresses.