This is my third Ashley Winstead book and I absolutely love her writing. Every aspect was done so well and the political backdrop was incredible. I adored the characters & rooted for them, especially our green heroine Stoner. This one is for all the messy girls with messy lives 🧡. 
Winstead is an auto-buy author. 

The silliness of the main character clashed a bit too much with the delicate themes of infidelity, grief and self-worth for me to fully enjoy this story. 

This book is...a lot. I'm going to start off with what I like first.

Firstly, I really like the way that the author writes. It was fun, funny, and enjoyable. For this reason, I would most likely read another book of hers.

Secondly, the male lead Ben was alright. I wouldn't say I loved him but he was far more enjoyable than the FL (which, yes, I know is part of the point.

Onto the things that irked me.

Starting off - the first chapter of the book almost made me DNF (but my personal rule is two chapters to give it at least a chance). The FL berates her friend for having a Disney themed wedding at Disney world - basically what kind of grown woman does this, etc. So shaming at the start. Stellar. Also...I know this is goony but the way the author describes the layout of Disney World makes no sense. She says they're at a hotel but also right in front of the castle? Like they stepped out of the hotel to directly in front of it which doesn't make any sense if you look at a map. Just a technicality but it threw me.


Lee, the FL, is TERRIBLE. I know her growth is the vast majority of the story and I can appreciate that, but Jiminy Christmas she is unlikable. Even at the end. And the AMOUNT of TIMES she STORMED OFF and Ben had to go chase her down was obnoxious. I physically rolled my eyes at the 4th time (and there were more after).

The side characters have no depth except maybe Lee's sister who is Absolutely pathetic. I understand that her storyline with her cheating fiancé was supposed to be a counterpart to Lee being a cheater to Ben but it fell flat and she had nothing else going for her. And we never really got any time with Lee's friends to enjoy them.

Lastly, this is a personal thing, but the idea of the green machine bill in Texas was distracting - because it kept reminding me that this was fiction. Unfortunately, I would love if this bill were truth but it's not and that kept bumming me out.

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Lee Stone doesn’t believe in love—especially when it comes to her disastrously-ended relationship with former grad school flame Ben Laderman. But when Ben lands back in her life unexpectedly, all of Lee’s philosophies may just need to be revisited.

Ashley Winstead is uniquely talented, and one of those talents is that she can take plot devices and tropes that you may not always love and turn them into something absolutely incredible. In my review of her debut thriller, In My Dreams I Hold a Knife, I noted that I’m not always a fan of dual timelines or romantic thrillers, but I loved them in that book. Similarly, I’m not a huge fan of cheating storylines in romance, nor do I usually like a messy cynic main character—but I absolutely LOVED them both here.

I was so absolutely hooked by Fool Me Once from the very first chapter, and the whip smart characters, laugh-out-loud humor, and fun political plot keep me engaged throughout. Best of all, the ending was pitch perfect—honestly, I was near tears (Ben is JUST TOO PERFECT, y’all). Truly, I’m an Ashley Winstead superfan now and forever, and cannot wait to read every single book she ever writes moving forward.

Recommended to anyone, but especially if you like: second chance romance; political rom-coms; chaotic main characters.

CW: Infidelity (like, a lot of infidelity, in so many contexts); death of a parent; sexism; some discussions of homophobia.