Despite a vow to focus on backlist books and ARCs, I broke my rule and nabbed this one off Libby. I enjoyed the last politically themed romance I readDespite a vow to focus on backlist books and ARCs, I broke my rule and nabbed this one off Libby. I enjoyed the last politically themed romance I read from Winstead and this one was just as fun. It follows up on some characters from the last, featuring Lee Stone's school librarian sister, Alexis, but can easily stand alone. After her ex calls her mousy (and bad in bed), Alexis worries she's boring and timid and doomed in relationships. There's no way she's as interesting or smart as Lee, who is in the Texas state legislature. Introverted by nature, Alexis vows to get out of her comfort zone and have a one-night stand.
But things go awry when Alexis meets Logan at a bar. After lightning literally strikes their hotel, the two are caught on camera, and Logan flees. Confused, Alexis has no idea what happened until pictures of them hit the Internet, and she realizes the handsome man she nearly slept with is the current Democratic gubernatorial candidate of Texas. In an attempt to stop the ensuing scandal and help Logan, Alexis agrees to pretend she's been dating--and continuing to date--Logan. Nothing will go wrong with this foolproof plan, right?
What follows is a cute, witty story filled with funny banter and sexual tension. I loved sweet Alexis, who just needed to find herself, and tough, stoic Logan. While this is a romance, it also covers serious topics such as the importance of teachers and school funding, the impact of banned books, and politics in general. There are a few ups and downs (oh, please, everyone, just communicate), but they are balanced out by the humor. The side characters are great, too, and it's fun to see Lee and Ben again. Overall, this is a really sweet romance (power to the introverts). 4+ stars....more
Lee Stone works as director of communications at Lise Motors, the first female-led electric vehicle company. She idolizes its founder and has big dreaLee Stone works as director of communications at Lise Motors, the first female-led electric vehicle company. She idolizes its founder and has big dreams for electric vehicles in her home state of Texas. She's known to her friends as "Stoner," thanks to her partying ways and her inability to commit. Thanks to her father cheating on her mother while Lee was in high school--and a string of bad relationships since--Lee's mantra is not to trust men and never get serious. The one time she felt she truly liked someone, Ben Laderman in grad school, she was convinced he was cheating and so cheated on him--he fled to California and she's never dated seriously again. But now Ben is back, working for the governor of Texas, and the one person Lee has to make nice with to get her passion project passed: a clean energy bill that would have Texas using electric vehicles throughout the Government. Soon Lee and Ben are back to their competitive ways, but it seems like sparks are flying as well.
"The past I thought I closed was coming back to haunt me. Ben Laderman, my greatest mistake--the one person in the world who'd seen me at my worst, who'd seen the real me, who I'd thought I'd really, truly loved--was coming back."
FOOL ME ONCE is a cute read, filled with lots of romantic tension and sparks. I honestly liked a lot of the politics and drama more than some of the romance, though in this day and age, it was hard to imagine Texas even touching the thought of going green. Lee, especially her "Stoner" personality, was a little hard to like and sympathize with. She took the"can't trust or believe in love" trope to extremes and at times, I just wanted to shake her. There was a little too much unwillingness to commit and a lot of back and forth on her part. At times, I just felt bad for Ben. He's incredibly easy to like and while he may take their competitiveness a bit too far, he usually got my vote in most of their arguments.
Still, as Lee and Ben cross Texas trying to drum up support for their bill, there are lots of comedic moments and plenty of romance and silliness. There are tender and touching bits too and some serious topics as they work to save the environment and make the future better. I enjoyed an appearance by a grizzled advisor to one of the senators and some of Lee's friends. There's a good cast of characters here and some surprising drama behind the scenes. (This is politics after all.)
If you like political dramas or Parks and Rec, this one is for you. It's funny with lots of political (and romantic) tension. 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 here.
I received a copy of this book from Harlequin Trade Publishing / Graydon House and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review.
Juno, a former therapist, moves in with Winnie and Nigel Crouch because she thinks the family is nearly perfect. They appear A wild and wacky thriller
Juno, a former therapist, moves in with Winnie and Nigel Crouch because she thinks the family is nearly perfect. They appear a loving couple who adore their teenage son, Sam. But once she's living in their picture perfect house, Juno realizes all isn't as it seems. And when she overhears a conversation between the couple that she cannot forget, she gets involved... setting in motion a string of events that she cannot undo.
"Humans had a way of uprooting happiness. They found flaws in it, picked at it until the whole system unraveled."
Well, this was an interesting read, to say the least. It had the odd distinction of being both predictable in many ways yet really weird and crazy. It's a fast read and while there's nothing really amazing here, it was certainly good for a crazy (!) twist or two. I didn't care for any of the characters--Winnie, Juno, or Nigel--and most of my sympathies stayed with poor Sam, who had to deal with all these wacky adults in his life. There's a lot of drama and truly, the plot is bizarre and wild. Which is definitely fun at times and a bit too much at others.
Overall, this is a dark read with an insane plot and characters that aren't exactly endearing. It's a quick read that stressed me out and probably won't stick with me long, but was enjoyable enough for a few days. 3 stars.
