Fool Me Once
By Ashley Winstead
If you’re like me, then you love a feminist. A novel that has a leading lady who is more focused on her career than winning the heart of a man, SCREAMS: “Isabel this book is for you.”
HOWEVER, with that being said, I do love a little romance. Feminist first, romantic second. Dog lover first, feminist second, and romantic third.
Book blurb: Lee Stone is a twenty-first-century woman: she kicks butt at her job as a communications director at a women-run electric car company (that’s better than Tesla, thank you) and after work she is “Stoner,” drinking guys under the table and never letting any of them get too comfortable in her bed…
That’s because Lee’s learned one big lesson: never trust love. Four major heartbreaks set her straight, from her father cheating on her mom all the way to Ben Laderman in grad school—who wasn’t actually cheating, but she could have sworn he was, so she reciprocated in kind.
Then Ben shows up five years later, working as a policy expert for the most liberal governor in Texas history, just as Lee is trying to get a clean energy bill rolling. Things get complicated—and competitive—as Lee and Ben are forced to work together. Tension builds just as old sparks reignite, fanning the flames for a romantic dustup the size of Texas.
Review: Lee Stone feels like a real person. When I was reading Fool Me Once, it felt like I was apart of Lee’s life. I was privy to all her awkward moments, her competitive-fueled quick-whips, and her celebratory triumphs. I found it so refreshing that a female main character is putting herself and her career first, has many faults (some of which I actually found quite charming), and has difficulty with romantic relationships. Ashely Winstead does an amazing job writing a character that feels like someone you might know, which makes it so easy to get lost in her books.
Ashley Winstead is the older sister of one of my dearest friends. My friend, Mallory, has always said such wonderful things about her sister and her writing, and it wasn’t until I read Ashley Winstead’s book, In My Dreams I Hold A Knife (a mystery-thriller), did I understand that my friend’s praises were completely accurate. Before reading In My Dreams I Hold A Knife, I stuck to what I knew I loved, which was fantasy. Just like her other books, Fool Me Once introduced me to a world of books in a genre I hadn’t even considered worth my time reading. If you’re someone who is interested in a romantic-comedy novel but doesn’t know where to start or which book is worth making the genre jump, read this book.
Get ready to laugh, swoon, cheer, and fall in love with reading all over again.
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