This was so cute. Thank Netgalley and HTP Books for the early copy. I really enjoyed the Story and the banter of the main characters. Ashley Winstead can write fiction or thrillers and captivate you with the story. This was a fast paced RomCom with EX's becoming lovers again. It did not Disappoint.

I went into this expecting a sparkling romcom, but found this underwhelming. Lee has major trust, self-destructive, and addiction issues that clearly require a lot of AA and therapy, but one 5-minute conversation with her therapist best friend 80% into the book and she’s better. While romances aren’t known for their realism, I’m not buying Lee’s 180, and spending hundreds of pages in her first-person narration was not all that fun. I’m tacking on an extra star because her friends and especially her love interest were great.

This was such a fun novel!! I loved In My Dreams I Hold a Knife and couldn’t wait to read whatever else Ashley Winstead wrote.

I was surprised to love the political aspect so much and was obsessed with Grover Mane during the first 3/4 of the book for being the progressive governor I wish Texas had.

I laughed so hard during the half marathon Stoner ran and was cheering her on throughout the entire book. I loved her commitment to the cause and the inspiring ending.

This was my first romcom I've ever read and it absolutely blew me away!! I loved Ashley's debut In My Dreams I Hold a Knife and totally trusted that if anyone could sell me on romcoms, it would be her. And that was the case! The witty humor of the main character, Lee Stone, had me literally laughing out loud. The will they won't they tension is almost unbearable. And underneath the love and laughter is a coming of age story as Lee has to face her defense mechanisms and self-destructive coping skills in order to become who she wants and needs to be. Without spoiling the ending, it might be the most empowering ending I've seen any romcom (Movie, TV Show, or book) give to a female lead.

I haven't read her thrillers but I can tell Winstead is a talented writer. This was a really smart read with great, nuanced characters. I hope the main character does not put people off because I think while she is a tough cookie it is coming from a really relatable place.

It was a very fun and enjoyable romcom for me. And I really liked the main characters, especially Lee. She was one charming lady, I really loved her and her wit. However, Ben, seemed a tad bit flat for me. Nonetheless, their chemistry made up for his lack of intrigue(ness) lol. Also, I really liked the writing, it was just beautiful; the pacing and the build up; it was everything, just perfect. Overall, it’s a 4 stars read for me!!

This was such an underwhelming book for me which is such a let down!

I thought Ben was so. boring. What an incredibly flat character and that’s so disappointing considering he’s our hero.

Lee is so smart and driven and I can absolutely relate to her struggles and she made this book for me.

I loved Ashley Winstead's first book, IN MY DREAMS I HOLD A KNIFE, and so was delighted to hear about this upcoming romcom. It follows the messy, competent, afraid-of-commitment Lee Stone (Stoner) and her ex-boyfriend Ben Laderman, whose heart she broke back when he was in law school. This book is a love letter to Texas politics, unlikeable characters, and falling in love against the odds -- there is no shying away from Stoner's mistakes here, but we also get a compelling glimpse into the heartbreak that made her who she is, and Ben and Stoner's relationship is funny, complex, and ultimately satisfying.

Will be honest. I don’t enjoy second chance romances I feel like it’s the most boring and predictable trope. However I did like the heroine most people would call her unlikeable and mean but I loved how flawed and funny she was. Ben though he was dry and flat and boring.

Overall this book was well written and most enjoyable. If you love politics and a strong feminist lead you’ll appreciate this book. I personally, as a Disney fanatic, didn’t appreciate the lack of facts pertaining to Disney at the beginning of the book. I wish I could sleep at a resort in the middle of a Disney park but that’s not possible.

Lee the main character is driven, smart, and strong. Her attitude with relationships gets to be annoying but I also never experienced cheating at the level she has, so I can’t relate to it very much.

Cheating, trouble with commitment, politics, feminism, and a little bit of love; If you love those things than this is your book.

Oh my freaking gosh. I cannot with this book and Ashley Winstead’s writing. I’m pretty sure at this point, she could write a refrigerator technical manual and I would throw money at it.

Ashley does such a great job with the character development. The banter between the characters was on another level and I found myself constantly laughing out loud while reading. Ugh and her writing style! Ashley does such a great job at pulling you in with her writing and character development that you just feel like you are apart of the story. She also makes you feel ALL the emotions and ugly cries. I would absolutely recommend this to anyone who loves a good enemies to lover romance! Thank you for this wonderful novel, I cannot wait till it is released in April!

This review will be posted to my Instagram blog (read_betweenthecovers) in the near future!

This book is a cross between The Hating Game and Meet You in the Middle. Both of those happen to be two of my favorites. This book was such a great read. I loved the witty banter, the depth of the characters and of course the romance. I read this one super fast because I couldn’t put it down. I was rooting for Lee and Ben right away. The writing of this book was wonderful. Great dialogue, easy to read, not too much fluff, etc. The reason for 4 ⭐️ instead of 5 ⭐️ really has to do with the subject matter. Cheating was such a huge part of the storyline and sadly I just didn’t love that. It kept me from completely embracing Lee because the cheating almost seemed justified. Another part I didn’t love was the marathon scene. So random and out of place. Still not sure what the point of it was. Not a deal breaker at all, just odd.

This is an open door romance and a political read. Political books don’t bother me if they are funny and sweet, which this was. I don’t have to agree with certain things to enjoy the book. And this book was most definitely enjoyable!

Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC!

This book started off strong. I truly was immersed and loved the banter, wit and writing style that Ashley Winstead provided. However about 1/2 way through the book, a certain plot point (infidelity) was treated in a way that I didn't appreciate. I couldn't agree with the message that was presented, and I bet this is just because of the way I was raised . But ultimately this book just didn't do it for me. Individually I liked the characters and certain parts of the book, but in the end, this flippant disregard for this one scene left a bad taste in my mouth. Again this is a me thing, so I'm still rating this book a 3.5 (round up to 4) because It was still good in many other ways

love love LOVE Fool Me Once!

I bow down to Ashley Winstead who can not only write good thrillers but slay us romance lovers with fun banter, an enemies to lover trope, and relatable characters that jump off the page in her latest rom com debuting April 2022.

Lee Stone doesn't believe in love. She's been burned many a times with cheating and has suffered four major heartbreaks that have her set her straight when it comes to romance. Despite her messy romantic life, Lee is thriving as the communications director for popular electric vehicle manufacturer that is sponsoring a bill to turn Texas green and its success is sure to set her up for a VP position. However, the governor's new policy director and the only man standing in the Lee and her dreams is none other than Lee's Heartbreaker #4. DUN DUN DUNNNNN. Talk about drama...

Fool Me Once is truly such an enjoyable read. It is a fun, relatable second chance romance with a plot and good laughs to keep you going.

Lee Stone is a flawed main character, who for her actions can easily be written off. You want to shake her a bit and tell her to get her life together. She's not perfect, but she's relatable. We've all been her or been friends with someone like her, which makes you want to root for her despite her terrible way of handling things.

She's messy, but so is life. Winstead does a great job of showing that life is not all black and white. There's a lot of grey when it comes to love, cheating, grief, and relationships. And often times, we're the only ones standing in the way of our own happiness.

Along with great side characters, light political drama, and some spice that'll make you blush, the depth this rom com offers is one of the reasons it's easily 5 stars and one to read in 2022!

Run, don't walk to read this one!


Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for sharing an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I didn't think I'd ever rate a book about Texas state politics 5 stars yet here I am.

There is not one character I did not like in this story, ok maybe Chris cays she's highly punchable but I truly loved how real these characters felt and that is something Winstead is really good at doing is making her characters relatable and flawed.

The political parts weren't even as boring as I thought they would be. They were fun especially the campaigning shenanigans parts.

The romance was sweet because reasons I can't say without spoiling but cute af.

Favorite scene was definitely the marathon for breast cancer!

So excited for the next book by Winstead and I'm so hyped she is writing another thriller! But I also want more romances cause I saw potential with Alexis and a certain brother and I need that story!

Oh yeah thanks for the early copy publisher gods and goddesses!

I loved this book and couldn't put it down. I've been recommending it to everyone I speak to. I sped through Winstead's first book "In My Dreams I Hold the Knife" and I can't wait to read what she writes next.

I picked up an advanced copy of this book from Netgalley after falling in love with the author’s debut novel, In My Dreams I Hold a Knife. While Fool Me Once is a romance novel, the author once again did a fantastic job at creating relatable characters that I found myself drawn to read about even when I found myself not liking those characters. I will warn you that this is not your typical rom-com romance book. Our main character is the definition of a flawed character, and throughout the book I found myself rooting against her because of her toxic behavior and inability to take responsibility for her actions. It was hard to pull for this relationship to work out because of how toxic both characters were for each other. I absolutely loved the complex characters and how the author explored trauma and the consequences of failing to take responsibility for addressing one’s past trauma. I think people may be thrown off by our main character, but I do think it is a solid book with fleshed out real characters. There's a much deeper story here behind the romance that I hope readers can see. My full thoughts are in my time-stamped December wrap up at the following link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFLUCZWfGMw

I read In My Dreams I Hold a Knife this fall and loved it, so I was a little surprised when Ashley Winstead switched genres to romcom for her second novel - but she absolutely nailed this one too!

Although politics aren’t my favorite, I loved the depth and realness of the characters. Even though Lee drove me a little crazy at times, I enjoyed watching her grow and was completely rooting for her and her second chance with Ben. This book has so many creative and funny scenes and such witty banter, I couldn’t put it down!

I highly recommend grabbing Fool Me Once as soon as it hits the shelves on April 5, 2022. I can’t wait to see what the very talented Ashley Winstead comes up with next!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for sharing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was all over the place with this book. The book started a little slow for me and Lee is a bit of an anti-heroine and that was a little hard to process. But once I got going in the book and understood her backstory and experience her progress, you cannot help but enjoy the ride and her pure heart. I was laughing out loud because Lee really does get into some odd situations. I mean really, who goes viral three times?!

And then there is Ben, the one that got (pushed) away, who is back and on her work team. He is such a great, grown up guy. You almost think he deserves someone different, someone better. But the heart wants what it wants and Ben’s just wants Lee to grow up enough to admit she loves him back.

There are a lot reasons to not like Lee, but bad decisions make for good stories, right? And this was a great story overall.

There are so many fun, quirky twists and turns in this it deserves it’s romcom designation, but there is so much more too. There is a lot of substance to the story too. Green energy, climate change, sexism in the media, and empowerment of women are all important topics addressed in the book. And I loved the ending so much. Sigh…. Ben.

Finally, a flawed female lead. Finally, a female lead who stays true to her principles and doesn’t immediately cave because the male lead is “tempting.” Lee’s been burned by love too many times in the past to the point where she realizes that love isn’t enough to keep a relationship. When her ex comes back to her hometown of Austin, TX, she faces an internal battle between her heart and her mind.

What I loved:

Lee’s backstory allows you to gain an understanding of why she is the way she is. The side characters are actually important and not just placeholders. Ben is really kind, patient, and caring. I did enjoy the banter and there were sweet moments scattered throughout.

The political setting was a refreshing backdrop for the book. Coming from a Texan, climate change is an uphill battle here and I could feel Lee’s frustration throughout the book.

I think the standout for me is the writing. Winstead writes SO WELL. She’s able to achieve a stream of consciousness style of writing where Lee’s internal monologue seems natural and dialogue between characters flows exactly like it would in real life. Just like In My Dreams I Hold a Knife, Fool Me Once excels in its ability to immerse the reader.

The marathon chapter and the press conference chapter were some of the funniest writing I’ve read in a long time, I couldn’t stop myself from cracking up.

What I didn’t love:

While I relate to Lee in so many ways, I did find her justifications and views against love to be stubborn at times. She finally learned the error of her ways but it was after 200 excruciating pages of me wanting to smack her. It also got a little repetitive with Lee constantly evading Ben and Ben (literally) following her everywhere, but that eventually resolved.

The lack of diverse characters. Everyone in the book is white (or at least not obviously POC). There is queer representation though. Lee’s political lens comes off very “millennial liberal white woman” like she just finds political issues (besides climate change) as a trend. I wish there had been more diversity to balance that out.

I docked a star for these two reasons. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone who enjoys romance. Fool Me Once releases April 5th, 2022. Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I will be posting a mini-review on 12/26/21 on Instagram @bookswithsiddhi as well as the full review on Storygraph. I will post my full review on Instagram @bookswithsiddhi one month from the publication date on or around 03/05/2022.