Fool Me Once by Catherine Bybee

Fool Me Once (First Wives, #1)

by Catherine Bybee

From Weekday Brides to First Wives, a dazzling series about four women and their alliance of newfound friendship, unexpected love, and second chances.

Cynical divorce attorney Lori Cumberland lives by one motto: Love is grand, but divorce is a hundred grand. With one failed marriage under her own personal belt, Lori had fallen hard and early—and it isn’t something she plans on repeating. She’s content focusing on the temporary marriages of her rich and famous clients. When she joins some of her recent divorcées on a celebratory cruise, her only vow is fun, sun, and new friends. But Lori finds herself tempted by a jury of one.

For Reed Barlow, falling into the world of private investigation was easy. He knows the law and knows how to avoid breaking it—all while doing his job. His rule to live by? No emotion, no involvement…until Lori. His charming smile and cocky attitude distracts Lori and lowers her guard, which is exactly what Reed desires.

But what appears as a one-time-only flirtation may be a plot orchestrated by Reed. As he’s taking his investigation to a dangerous level, it’s Lori who could end up in jeopardy. Reed has only one shot for Lori to grant him a second chance. But if he comes clean with her, he blows his cover. And that just might cost him the opportunity for an alliance of family…and of love.

Reviewed by Sam@WLABB on

4 of 5 stars

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I am a HUGE Bybee fan, and was really excited to hear about this spinoff series. I always liked the way she created that camaraderie between all the different characters, and also gave us a little bit of suspense with the romance.

This book brings us back into the world of Alliance and the Weekday Brides. However, the focus is on three former brides and the lawyer, Lori, who presided over all their prenups and divorces. Lori had been in love and been burned, so she is the perfect person to join this group of former brides and they readjust to live after an Alliance marriage. The "first wives" journey to the Mediterranean for a luxury cruise in order to soothe some wounds. Lori was looking for romance, but fate (or is it?) has a different idea.

I was really excited to catch up with some of my favorite characters from Weekday Brides, but it was even more fun getting to know Lori and the other first wives better. Lori was a great heroine. She was strong, sassy, and no nonsense, but also a good and caring friend. Her and Reed sizzled on the page and I was really rooting for these two. Reed made a few bad choices, but once his heart was in it, he was willing to throw himself in the line of fire to protect Lori, and he may have made me swoon once or twice (or more). Seriously, when Reed talked about hiding the turkey legs, I actually shed a tear.

Of course I loved the suspense element, because it brought Neil and Rick back into my life (I missed you boys!), but I also found this Sasha character quite intriguing, and I really hope we see more of her, as we work out this nefarious plot that is running along side the romance.

Yes, I loved all these things, but when it comes to a Bybee book, it's the friendships or rather, family of friends that bring me the most joy. You have the sisterly like vibe with the female characters, the bromance between the male characters, and the overall family vibe when they are all together. They laugh together, they hurt together, they get mad together.

I hope each book will focus on one of the first wives, because I really want the whole story behind Shannon's Alliance marriage.

It was so much fun to be back in the world of Alliance and the Weekday Brides, and I can't wait for more of this series.

*Thank you to the publisher for the advanced copy of this book

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 14 September, 2017: Finished reading
  • 14 September, 2017: Reviewed