2.5 stars rounded up. I wanted to like this book much more than I did. I thought it was way, way too long. It was almost 400 pages and could easily have been 100 pages shorter. I also had a very difficult time connecting to any of the characters.

This book was so funny! Ashley Winstead really can do it all! I knew she was a great thriller author but now i know she can do contemporary romance too. This book had me laughing out loud. I always have a hard time connecting with female MC's but i found Lee is relatable, flawed, and the kind of woman i would want to be friends with.

To my soul, I'm a chicken so I've never read Ashley before. I'm too timid to crack open thrillers often so I had to jump on the chance to read her romance debut.
Lee Stone, aka Stoner, doesn't believe in lasting love. With her history, one can't blame her. She is the ultimate professional at work and the a disaster when 5 o'clock hits. As the opportunity to push the Green Machine bill through to Texas law, Lee has to join forces with the only one that got away.
The writing is engrossing and I couldn't look away. There's much to like particularly with the romance and the glimpse into dirty politics. My struggle is that I'm not a fan of a self-destructible heroine. Her constant sabotaging soured my tastes for the story. That aside, I'd love to read another Ashley Winstead romance.
Thank you to HTP and NetGalley for the advanced copy. All thoughts in this review are my own.

All the stars! This is an auto-buy author for me. I absolutely loved it! Highly recommend for a book club.

Another 5 star from @ashleywinsteadbooks - this enemies to lovers, second chance, politically charged romance was everything I didn’t know I needed! There is no genre Winstead can't write and she is quickly becoming a favorite author for me and has truly become a must read!

WOW, I loved this one! I was a little surprised since it centers around politics, but the characters were smart and sassy, yet flawed and oh so funny. This second chance romance won my vote!.

Lee Stone, or "Stoner," as most of her friends call her, works as the communications director of a woman-owned electric car company. Lee is also excited to be working with the new governor of Texas, a liberal governor, to get "her" green energy bill passed.

But Lee is shocked when she finds that the governor has brought on a policy expert to the team - Ben Laderman. Ben was Lee's boyfriend throughout graduate school; Ben was Lee's fourth major heartbreak (and last). Lee was the one who cheated on Ben; he left the state and took Lee's faith in love with him. But now he's back, and they have to work together to pass this bill.

You can imagine that things get complicated and tense, but I loved "Stoner" and Ben. These are two of my new favorite characters. I'll note here that there is a lot of cheating in here. Lee has some deep-seated issues with loss and heartbreak that we see her work through. But the banter is fantastic! And the situations Lee gets herself into are pretty amusing. The tension between Lee and Ben is perfect for this "hotbed" political rom-com. 𝘈 𝘧𝘶𝘯, 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘱, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘹𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥!

Thank you to @HarperCollins and @htpbooks for a spot on tour and a gifted ebook.

I'm confident that I am a fan of anything and everything that Ashley Winstead writes. I could not put this one down! I loved the characters so much, and truly rooted for their success. Great read!!

Original Review Posted to Goodreads,

2.5 stars-I really did not connect with this story or the MC. The cheating and the way she treats her ex-BF/BF is gross and triggering, it really threw me out of the story. I did not vibe with much of the romance at all it was just OK; I do like very few romance novels, but something about this trope with these characters didn't sit/work well for me. It was just fine. Good writing style though.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing, Graydon house for access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ashley Winstead proves that she can write in every genre! She wrote the unputdownable thriller 'In My Dreams I Hold a Knife' and now does a pivot to contemporary romance in the fabulous 'Fool Me Once.'

Messy main characters, Texas state politics, green energy vs. big oil and a strong female protagonist all come together perfectly in this laugh-out-loud romantic comedy. I love when an author writes something fresh and exciting and that's exactly what Ms. Winstead has done with Lee and Ben.

Lee Stone is a smart, ambitious executive at a female-owned electric car company that doesn't quite get the recognition that Tesla does. Lee is determined to change that. She is given the task of helping pass legislation in the state of Texas that will not only be environmentally friendly, it will be a huge boost to her company. Lee has sworn off any kind of meaningful romantic relationship.

Lee gets the shock of her life when she suddenly discovers that her old law school boyfriend Ben Laderman is the Texas Governor's new policy aide. Will they be able to work together to pass the new legislation?

This all might sound a little trite but I promise that the author perfectly reveals both Lee and Ben's vulnerability and carefully builds up the tension between the two. Their chemistry and their banter is believable and realistic and very, very funny.

I am usually bored with books in the romantic comedy genre but I adored 'Fool Me Once'. The author isn't afraid to write about contemporary political issues and it all worked perfectly here. And can I talk about the Prologue? FINALLY a romance that doesn't end up with the heroine pregnant and married! THANK YOU MS. WINSTEAD!

If you love contemporary romance that features an intelligent, ambitious heroine and a hero that looks like Clark Kent (not Superman!), then I highly recommend this book. It was a total delight from beginning to end.

(Thank you to the publisher for providing a digital review copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.)

If I had the time available to binge this book in one setting, I would have! I appreciated nearly every page of this one and Stoner is one of my new favourites (and Ben too)! This book made me smile right from the first chapter and Stoner's escapades were hilarious yet relatable. I appreciated that this book was more than just an second-chance romance trope as it had a great subplots of family and friendship, environmental activism, female leadership, screwing the patriarchy and coping with grief/loss. While I laughed out loud and smiled through much of this book, I also teared up very strongly in one scene - Winstead pulled on my heart so hard.

While I didn't understand all of the US politics (as a Canadian), I loved this book! The slow burn romance was well done and I was flipping pages fast desperately longing for these two to figure themselves out!! I won't spoil the ending but I thought it was going one way for a split second, and it didn't, which I'm so happy for! The ending was perfection for me. LOVED!

FOOL ME ONCE – Ashley Winstead

Graydon House

ISBN: 978-1-252-89974-4

April 5, 2022

Contemporary Fiction



Austin, Texas – Present Day



Lee Stone is the communications director at a women-run electric car company that is trying to get a green energy deal passed in Texas. While the governor is supportive of the measure, it will take a lot of push and shove to get the members of the legislature to go along. The governor has assigned Ben Laderman to assist Lee in the project to help get the legislation passed. The problem Lee has working with Ben is that he is her old college boyfriend—the man she broke the heart of by cheating on him with another man. Of course, things are awkward between them. But if they want the deal to pass, they will need to set aside the old feelings and work together—platonically. The problem is, Lee soon realizes that she is still attracted to Ben. However, Ben has a girlfriend.



Lee’s belief in love and happily-ever-after was shattered after her father cheated on her mother and they divorced. Lee never forgave her father, even after his death. All of her teenage and adult life, whenever she has found herself falling for a guy, the man usually bursts her bubble by cheating on her, which confirms her belief that men are cheaters. However, with Ben, the moment Lee realized she was falling in love with Ben, she went looking for proof of his cheating. She ended up sabotaging their romance by deliberating cheating on him. Of course, he walked away, and she hasn’t seen him—until now. Ben can barely look at Lee but is going to have to put aside his feelings to work with her on their project. One day while they are out in the boonies visiting a man on business, Ben’s car breaks down and the two of them are forced to spend the night together at the man’s house—sharing a room. It is there that Lee realizes that she is still attracted to Ben. We only know Lee’s thoughts as FOOL ME ONCE is told solely from her point of view, yet we sense that Ben has the same feelings about her. How long will it be before they act upon the attraction?



While the interaction between Lee and Ben is an integral part of FOOL ME ONCE, the main focus of the story is about the campaign to win over the senators so that they will vote for the bill. Persuading men in Texas, where oil is king, that they should support electrical cars isn’t going to be easy. In this tale, there are a few other things going on involving the characters, including Lee’s uncontrollable drinking problem when she starts to feel like her life is out of control. She will have to figure out if it’s worth getting drunk so hard that she does stupid things.

It is all because she doesn’t want to fall in love after watching her parents’ marriage fail. Lee is sometimes a hard character to like, but if you understand how she felt betrayed by her father’s infidelity, then maybe you can feel sympathy for her. She will have to resolve her daddy issues in FOOL ME ONCE before she can accept love from any man. And of course, readers will wonder if the legislation passes. Lee turns out to have quite the journey.



An interesting and intriguing tale, be sure to not miss FOOL ME ONCE.



Patti Fischer

This book caught me from the first scene that has Lee Stone doing the morning after walk of shame through Disney World wearing a Belle costume after sleeping with a groomsman in a Disney themed wedding. After several heartbreaks in her life, Lee doesn't believe in love. So when she thinks her college boyfriend is cheating on her, she decides to get him back in the worst way by sleeping with his rival in the law program. She discovers her mistake later but it's too late and Ben is gone.
Five years later, Lee is working for a female founded and run electric vehicle company. She is ready to push forward their plan, dubbed the "green machine", to make Texas the first and largest clean energy state. But then she finds out the governor's aide she'll be working with is none other than Ben. She has to deal with her past or her dream career could go up in smoke.
While I could see where Lee was coming from after her past relationships, I still couldn't agree with her anger and justification for what she'd done. I spent most of the book frustrated at her character and wondering why Ben even put up with her. He was definitely the best part of the book. Even when she lets him down over and over, he's always there for her when she really needs him. We all need a Ben in our lives! I like the green theme throughout the book: clean energy against big oil. And recognition for the female entrepreneurs and politicians fighting back against a male dominated government.
I received an advance reader copy of this book. The views and opinions expressed in this review are completely my own and given voluntarily.

Meet Lee Stone; she is the communications director at an electric car company, Lise Motors. Lee has always been unlucky in love and has decided never to allow her heart to be broken again. Now, she only has short-term affairs with men. Lee thinks a lot of Lise Motors' founder and has big dreams for electric vehicles in her home state of Texas. In grad school, she dated Ben Laderman and she was serious about him but events led to her cheating on him. Now, after heading off to California, Ben is back, working for the Governor of Texas. If Lee wants her project, a clean energy bill that would see Texas using electric vehicles throughout Government, passed, she has to work with Ben.

Ambitious Lee is brash, unwise and sometimes crass, but I loved how the author brought out her vulnerability. Ben is equally ambitious and so very reluctant to allow himself to be hurt or suffer more heartbreak. Ashley Winstead's characters are well constructed and I was rooting for them throughout. An amusing and empowering novel.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Harlequin Trade Publishing, Graydon House via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

FOOL ME ONCE had it's funny, memorable moments, but overall it didn't work for me. I'm not sure the cheating in the many ways it manifested itself throughout the story was handled well enough (but this could absolutely have more to do with personal bias than anything else). Lee and Ben are both perfectly likable in their own ways, but there was something missing for me in the arc of the development of their relationship. None of the side characters felt fully developed enough. Also, the opening of FOOL ME ONCE, in retrospect, feels like an odd beginning to the story since there isn't much in the way of references to Disney or princesses. I think it would have been more effective to have started the novel a chapter later and to have Lee know she'll be working with Ben the first time she walks into the meeting as opposed to her already know he'd be there when she walked in. I think there would have been much more tension. All that being said, although this one wasn't for me, I'm certain that there are plenty of readers out there who will thoroughly enjoy it.

A fun slow burn second chance romance set in the hot seat of Texas politics and electric vehicles. Lee has issues with men, especially men who cheat, and that includes Ben, who she thought be the one. Mind you, she is not innocent, especially given how she acted five years ago when she thought Ben betrayed her. Now, though, guess who the Governor has assigned to work with her on a clean energy bill? That's right and the two of them have to get over themselves to cooperate. I liked, btw, that this doesn't trend into the farcical as some of this genre do. Lee's complicated and so is Ben so you might find yourself rooting for them as I did. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. It's an entertaining read.

After In My Dreams I Hold A Knife, her smashing debut last year, Ashley Winstead does a 180º and delivers a complete different thing for her second novel. One could wonder if the transition from dark thriller to rom-com would work and, rest assured those of you with any doubts (I had none), it absolutely does! It was bloody fantastic! She is now not only a name to watch in the thriller genre but also in the romance one.

Lee Stone (Stoner for her friends) is a comms director at a women’s electric car company in Texas. After some heartbreaks she’s sworn never to do relationships again, but her try to get a clean energy bill rolling will put back in her life Ben Laderman, her last boyfriend and the one she cheated on before he could cheat on her. Now, five years later, when forced to work together old sparks will reignite but will their past allow them to flame?

I absolutely adored this enemies to lovers story. Kicking it off with an hilarious first scene it just keeps getting better and better as it progressed. It was a romance, yes, but with much more depth than your typical romances. I usually avoid stories in which politics play a main part but here I found all those politics added a whole layer to the story that served not only as an excuse to moved the story forward but to make really important points about climate change, sexism, misogyny and feminism, with a cast of strong and ambitious women not afraid to mark their ground.

Both Lee and Ben were really well developed. They were three dimensional characters, with their virtues and their flaws, which made them much more realistic and engaging. Their chemistry was off the charts and the level of steam was just the right amount to not overpower the story. The banter between them was hilarious with several laugh out loud moments. Despite their setbacks I could not help but root for them both personally and professionally.

Fool Me Once was much more than a romance. It was a story about love but also about fighting for what you believe in, trust and forgiveness, not only about forgiving others but more importantly, learning to forgive yourself. With it Ashley Winstead proves she can write anything she wants and I’ll be there to read it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Graydon House for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️-ALL-THE-STARS!!!

Can I just take a moment to say that Winstead is an amazingly talented author who can write any genre and absolutely go above and beyond any expectations that I may have had?!

I mean oh-my-gosh this rom com with a second chance romance trope was everything I needed and more! It was fun, funny, romantic, light hearted, and just overall a super enjoyable read.

I adored all of the characters, but especially the main character Lee, she just seemed to have the worst luck at love, and I found myself rooting for her to get her happy ever after. There was just the right mix of spice, laugh out loud moments, and the relatable bad luck at love that had me feeling oh so connected to this book in every way.

Also, let me just talk about BEN for a moment, because all of us need a Ben in our life. Ashley, you nailed it with this character, the description of Ben and his suave attitude, and the physical description—Ben is definitely my favorite book boyfriend! I especially loved the banter back and fourth between him and Lee, it was so fun.

Winstead’s writing is phenomenal, in both books I have read of hers so far, her debut book In My Dreams I Hold a Knife was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G and one that I always recommend to everyone! Her writing style just hooks the reader in, and I became completely immersed in Fool Me Once and the characters. I also really enjoyed how Winstead made this book oh so relatable in so many ways by adding in the themes of loss and grief, heartbreak, cheating, climate change, and ultimately forgiveness.

Already looking forward to Winstead’s up and coming book, The Last Housewife, which publishes in August!🤗

𝐆𝐎 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐍𝐎𝐖!🧡

With this book Ashley Winstead proves she’s not just the new master of the thriller but also a rom com talent. There is truly nothing she can’t do. I loved this book so much and it gave me that familiar rom com comfort with some actual things that make it stand out.

From the first pages of a Disney themed wedding I was fell in love with Lee (aka Stoner amazing nickname) and her broken self destructive self. I feel like she’s the kind of main character we don’t see enough of in rom coms. Lee has a lot of baggage and she’s been through a lot of shit but I loved watching her come into her own and face her past. She’s a hot mess who I just wanted to shake so many times but that made her so fascinating.

The story follows Lee and Ben who did not have the best breakup in grad school and now come face to face again. The enemies to lovers; hate to love vibe is strong with this one. Ben is the dream man, he knows what he stands for and what he wants and sees that people can change but is no pushover.

I will be honest politics are not my favorite things in books and but I loved the push and pull of Lee and Ben at work so much and everything was done to add to the plot.

The book also beautifully touches on grief and how our childhood shapes our perceptions into adulthood. A big thing I always believe in is people have the room to change and if someone is willing to do that we don’t need to forget the past but we can forgive and grow and I loved how the book showed that with Lee.

Thanks to NetGalley and Graydon House for the ARC for my honest review

Funny, Emotional, and Delightful

Fool Me Once by Ashley Winstead is a hilarious second chance romance. It's a slow burn centered around a battle of the exes, and has plenty of character development. The novel follows Lee, the communications director for an electric car company, forced to work with her exboyfriend Ben, a policy expert for the Texas governor, to help pass a clean energy bill. Lee and Ben are likeable and relatable. My favorite part about their romance was that it didn't appear unrealistic. The romance was honest and it took its time. The supporting characters provide an important emotional touch to Lee's growth. There were many parts that I laughed outloud and wanted to shake Lee while saying get it together! She had so much growing up to do before the end of the novel that I was genuinely worried the romance wouldn't succeed. This novel is fun and witty, but brings up many political views that others may not agree with or like. Unfortunately, we live in world of political polarization, and some may refuse to enjoy this novel over a matter of opinion. I recommend this to those who enjoy a romantic comedy with a chaotic main character and an open mind.

I laughed out loud many times in this book. Lee does not trust relationships because her father cheated on her mother. This lack of trust has a huge impact on her life. When her old boyfriend becomes her working partner on a very important campaign, she has to deal with her past. The title is exactly appropriate for this story because Lee is not going to be fooled twice.

This book was the perfect escape. I found myself yelling at Lee and the next page laughing at something she did. I absolutely loved her determination, even though sometimes it was directed in the wrong place.