Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - Fool Me Once

I seem to be giving a lot of three star ratings lately. This was another read that was not totally amazing, but not necessarily terrible either. I think what saved this book for me was the fact that I was already familiar with our main characters from reading Winstead’s newest book, The Boyfriend Candidate. I accidentally read the two books “backwards;” although not labeled as a series, the characters repeat. As such, I already knew that Lee and Ben were a fierce power couple, but the story of how they ended up together? Eh, not as great. The on-again, off-again antics became quite annoying after a while, and in this book, Ben seemed way too good for Lee. It was cool to read about her rise to the top in Texas politics, though. While this book won’t be a staple in my Winstead collection, I’ll continue to shout from the rooftops about The Boyfriend Candidate and how wonderful Lee’s sister’s love story is.

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danajoy's review against another edition

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Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

If infidelity is a complete unforgivable for you I would avoid this book. There seems to be cheating everywhere.

Lee is a very flawed protagonist. She's strong and intelligent but also drinks too much.She isn't the standard romance heroine. For one thing she doesn't believe in lasting love. Another being that she very publicly cheated on her last serious boyfriend.

The same ex-boyfriend that she'll now have to work with as they try to get a huge piece of legislation passed.

Whether or not you can forgive and root for Lee will probably be the deciding factor on your enjoyment of the romance here. She's got a lot of trauma and defence mechanisms in place that seem really toxic.

The writing is good, the characters are quite complex. This wasn't the sort of swoony romance I'd ever want for myself but it was interesting, full of character growth and a very dedicated hero. Ben and Lee had great chemistry it was just the way that cheating was brushed off meant that I could not enjoy it more.

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michmoo's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

An enjoyable romance with an interesting subplot. I loved the attention the story brought to the need for a transition to sustainability and the use of electric vehicles (whilst dunking on Elon Musk) - I personally would have liked more exploration but after all it is at it’s heart, a romance, so it doesn’t truly detract from the purpose of the novel.

I agree with another review that I came across that it was strange how the FL would be strong and capable in the work setting but then require saving when in the presence of the ML, but that’s the romance genre for you.

Overall, it’s a fun and solid romance. I recommend, but more seasoned readers of the genre might get sick of the tropes and messy characters of it all.

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megcrs's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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ameliabee33's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

⭐️⭐️.75-3/5

The overall book kind of fell flat for me. We follow Lee and her history of bad decisions catching up with her when her ex-bf that she cheated on shows up to help her with her electric vehicle campaign in Texas. She gets caught up with her feelings for Ben, her ex, and realizes that she has been in love with him since the start, that she hasn't gotten over him in the 5 years that he has been out of her life. She deals with her serious daddy issues and abandonment issues to finally get it through her brain that it is okay to be with Ben, because they both have been in love with one another
since college.

Things that I liked: The political banter side of things was super fun and I enjoyed seeing a liberal representation of Texas. Honestly the little expeditions that the main characters head out on in the name of green energy was also pretty cute. It was a bit cringy at times but overall, lighthearted and fun.

Things I didn't like: I think that the entire message of second chances that the author was going for fell flat for me. I get that the point that was trying to get made was that yes Lee cheated, but that was because of her daddy and abandonment issues, so now that she just magically addresses that, it's all better now. There definitely was a reoccurring theme that cheating in relationships happen, people are human
And make mistakes. I guess maybe it's my prejudice against cheaters, but I just didn't think that it was realistic that Ben would forgive Lee like that. Especially after she just made the decision to cheat to get it over with so that she wouldn't be hurt when it inevitably happened w/ Ben? I was confused by her redemption arc, it didn't seem realistic and she was just overall a person that made shitty decisions and justified it shittily 💩 ALSO there were some serious substance abuse issues that were NEVER addressed properly. Like WHAT.

Anyways, overall mid experience for me.

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holyhead_harpie's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I thought I would enjoy this more than I did.

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