Fool Them Once

Push and Pull #1

by Kyra Parsi

Ethan and I did not get off to a great start in our… well in anything, really.

He thought I was a burglar who’d broken into his penthouse in the middle of the night, I thought he was a sexy serial killer who was there to scary-movie-murder me… you get it.

And that was just the beginning. A teaser if you will. Because a mere seven hours later, the loon slipped an arm around my waist, looked me dead in the face, and called me “sweetheart” in front of his grandmother. With, like, no warning whatsoever.

So obviously, when he made me the insane offer of five hundred thousand dollars just to hold his arm at a few family events and play pretend, I politely declined. Because I’ve always made really good, healthy life choices and have fantastic self-preservation instincts. Especially when it comes to suspiciously attractive, wealthy men I barely know making promises that are way too good to be true.

Oh wait, no I don’t. And I definitely said yes.

But it’s fine. I have this all under control. I’m going to be able to pay off my loans, pay back Peter and Jo, and everything is going to be just fine.

Genres: Romance, Fake Dating, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Friends To Lovers, Forced Proximity, Billionaire Romance

360 pages, Paperback

Published December 1, 2022

About the author

Kyra Parsi is a Canadian author of contemporary rom-com books.
She's also a closeted romantic with a minor (read: major) book hoarding problem. But don't worry, it's under control. She pinky promises.

Keeping up with Kyra's writing shenanigans:
Website -> https://kyraparsi.com/


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Reviews

[Whatishreads · Rating 4 out of 5]

[for safety details, check below]

HELLO???? WHY IS THIS BOOK OR THIS AUTHOR NOT FAMOUS YET???? WHY HAS SHE ONLY WRITTEN FOURS BOOKS???? AND WDYM IVE ALREADY READ THREE OF THEM????

Guys, seriously, do yourself a favor and read her books! HER WRITING IS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING 😭🤌🏼

This one has miscommunication trope. One of the trope I don't like. At all. And yet I rated it 4 stars???? It's literally a miracle that this author has managed to not only made me finished these books with my least favorite tropes but also made me rate them 4 stars.

But I have one complaint. NO EPILOGUE??? SERIOUSLY??? WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO US 😭 I'm a gal who likes epilogues (multiple) who wants to see them get married, have babies etc

Anyway I'm not sure if Grey, Ethan's brother, will get a book of his own but I'm kinda curious about him now. He's got a reputation (not the good one) i mean he a manwhore so I'm not sure I should get my hopes high but I'm curious about him and Mila. Also I like my hero a bit unhinged and he's exactly that.

SAFETY DETAILS:

Cheating:no
Sharing:no
OM drama: not really but there's a little drama around her ex in the end
OW drama: none
Sex scene with OM or OW: no
Virgin/manwhore: no virgins or manwhore
Separation: no
Celibate during separation: --
Condoms: used
Safe sex: yes. Both were tested and used condom
Book info:
- fake relationship
-accidental roommates
-friend's brother
-sister's friend
-miscommunication
-condoms used
-possessive hero
-grumpy hero
-no third act breakup
HEA: HFN
SAFE?:for me, yes!

[Jen ♥ · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a lot to take that only came around during the last 15% of the book.

This is supposed to be a fake dating scheme, but honestly, the MCs here just basically lived together for two weeks before they made a grand introduction on Ethan's grandma's birthday.

Ethan didn't even want the CEO role but he and his brother, Grey, were vying for that position. Despite the fact that he hates his job, he won't let Grey win and take on that role. According to him, their grandma would favor the one who is a grounded family man, hence why he lied when he introduced Skylar.

Skylar's a friend of Ethan's sister and is going to intern for a fashion company for the next three months. Alexis lets her stay in their family penthouse, thinking no one is currently using it. But Ethan, who wasn't supposed to be there, at least not for another three months, came back, and that's how they end up living together.

She agreed to test the waters for the next two weeks and see if they could pull this off. After all, if she signed the contract, she'd get half a million dollars. So win-win for them.

This falls into insta-love because, of course, they fell in love within two weeks. And most of the drama and revelations piled up in the end. So it's kind of overwhelming. 🤷‍♀️


============================

Skylar, 24. She's an unplanned baby, and her awful parents never failed to remind her of that. They got divorced when she was 7, and unfortunately, her mom took custody. To win her approval and affection, she decided to be the quiet kid, more like a wallflower. In her mind, if she doesn't make any fuss; her mom won't be mad at her and will love her like a mom is supposed to. That's why she developed a problem with communicating. She finds it difficult to express her thoughts, and she hates confrontation. So expect miscommunication in the story—not because she wanted it, but because she just can't handle communicating properly. Though, tbf, Skylar has been trying here. Also, she only had one ex that ruined her confidence—the same ex who cheated on her with her mom. 🤢

Ethan, 30. Idk how to feel about him. He has a one track mind when it comes to competing with his brother. It's their father's fault in the beginning because they were raised to pit up against each other. But even after his father's death, this fight was still going on between them, when in reality, both of them should've done something to stop it. All throughout the years, they've included innocent people in their games, especially women. Ethan admitted to sleeping with a woman in whom Grey was interested, only for him to ghost her the next day because he was done with her, and he made his point to his brother. The never-ending games hurt them and other people in the process. And this rivalry didn't stop until the end of the book. Ethan threatened Grey by using his assistant and someone he's been in love with. And Grey did the same thing to him by using Skylar. They just didn't know when to stop, and honestly, they both became awful towards each other and with other people. 😫 But at least, I could say that Ethan isn't that bad when it comes to Skylar; he's a different person with her, good and loving tbh.

As for the romance, it was instant, and in the two weeks they've known each other, I was surprised they even got a four-day separation. 🤦‍♀️ They had a miscommunication, and then Ethan ghosted her for 4 days to visit his uncle. Anyway, they fix their issues the day before his Grandma's birthday, then another issue came up afterwards, but this was fixed this too immediately.

As for the steamy scenes, I love that all of them were soft, sweet, and really intimate. 🤭 It's probably vanilla for some, but there's something about the gentle kisses and looking into each other's eyes that somehow makes it so swoony. 💖

The ending was rushed, and I was left with questions that I wanted answered. Like, what happened to Ethan and Grey's relationship? Did they fix it or not? Did Skylar get the position in the company, or is she going back to NY? What happened to Ethan's uncle? His back story wasn't clear. How did his grandma handle his resignation? Is something going to happen between Grey and his assistant? Did Ethan open his restaurant? Idk, there were too many holes left. So to say, the ending was unsatisfying. 🤷‍♀️


Book info:
- Forced proximity 
- Neglectful parents 
- Sister's friend
- No cheating, OPD
- Separation (see notes)
- Slowburn (see notes)
- Non-virgin MCs (see notes)
- HFN (in a relationship)


Notes:
- Separation. Not really, but he didn't talk to her for 4 days and came home late at night to avoid her. He also visited his uncle for two days, I think.
- Slowburn. They almost had sex at 47%, but Ethan made a remark that triggered Skylar's insecurities, so she stopped it. The actual deed happened at the 72% mark.
- Skylar has been celibate for almost four years after the trauma (mentally and emotionally) caused by her ex.
- Ethan has been celibate for months. I get the manhoe vibes, though. While his brother was a proud hoe who has been caught publicly on numerous occasions, Ethan managed his activities "on down low and out of the public eye."

[alana ☁️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars

i didn’t think i would love this book as much as i did but i found myself genuinely cackling with delight throughout 😭💖
Sky and Ethan are so precious to me 😭🤌🏻

.

rtc later!

[Sieni · Rating 5 out of 5]

omgggg this book is THE BEST!! fool them once is an amazing comfort read YET it had me mentally sliding down walls, always on the edge of my seat, SCREAMING with excitement. i love love love this book and i just cant explain how perfect this book is! this book was so original i LOVED it, it gave me so many emotions

** i received an advance review copy for free, and i am leaving this review voluntarily **

[SzarlottaSzott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have I read all of this author’s books in a week? Yes, yes, I have! And you should do the same! Ah nothing is better than discovering a new author that can do no wrong ☺️ I love love her writing style! Delicious proximity, realistic love stories and this humour! I was laughing out loud!

[nikki | ཐི༏ཋྀ​​݁ ₊ ݁ . · Rating 4 out of 5]

rating: 3.5★

this was cute but i definitely see the growth in parsi's writing compared to her new series.

it was funny and sexy, but just not as good as the newer ones! i love a roommates trope tho 🤭

[Pinky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Trigger Warnings: Previously in car accident, death of loved ones, parental neglect (unwanted pregnancy), parental abandonment, parent controlling diet, body comments, coerced into nude shoots, making derogatory comments about sex with partner (ex), selling nudes of someone without consent since they have rights to pictures, cheating ex with parent, sex tapes, blackmail

“I’d forgotten what it felt like to want to come home at the end of every day, until you,” he murmured, and I died a little. “I’d forgotten what it felt like to miss someone. I’d forgotten how to play, to laugh, to just be. Until you.”

Unfortunately I didn’t enjoy this as much as Kyra Parsi’s other books, A Deal with the Bossy Devil and Failure to Match. This book wasn’t that memorable, the characters fell flat, and the storyline was a bit boring. Ethan is a sweet guy but too boring, he’s a green flag which is great. Skylar is cute but she isn’t memorable, I forgot their names while reading the story. I am going to read Ethan’s sister’s story next but I am not that interested in Alexis. I am however interested in Ethan’s brother Grey, he seems to have an interesting personality and I want to see his romance. The progression of the romance was too fast. But it was a quick read, well written, and it takes place in Toronto! Both characters are green flags, admit their flaws, try their best to communicate (especially Ethan), which is nice. It’s a sweet romance so if you want something light, check this out. Still love Kyra Parsi’s books but this just wasn’t for me.


Skylar needs an apartment in Toronto so when her friend Alexis offers for her to stay at her place, Skylar says yes. Alexis didn’t know her brother Ethan would be home. When she finds out, Skylar needs to find another place to stay. Ethan needs Skylar’s help to win against his brother Grey. He will help Skylar if she plays along with him but things start to get too real.


Now for spoilers


Alexis offers Skylar a place to stay since Skylar will be in Toronto for her internship. She is from New York and her bestie is Mikaela. Mikaela’s parents Jo and Peter have done their best to include Skylar into their family after she dealt with shit. Skylar is thankful to Alexis who is rich and Skylar spends the night. While walking around in the dark, she runs into a stranger in the apartment who pushes her against the wall by accident. He has a bat in his hand and Skylar is terrified but it turns out to be Alexis’s brother Ethan. Alexis’s apartment is a family suite that everyone shares, Ethan feels terrible after calling Alexis and apologizes to Skylar. Skylar offers to move out but he lets her spend the night. Alexis promises to help Skylar find a place the next day and Ethan and Alexis are concerned about Skylar’s head. But Skylar says that she is fine despite feeling pain in her head. Ethan makes Skylar breakfast as an apology for hurting her head. Ethan goes to meet his grandma Anita while Skylar and Alexis follow. Ethan wants to take over the family company but his competition is his twin brother Grey, who he despises. But Grey has been fucking around and ruining his reputation. Ethan’s father managed to win the company over since he had a family over his brother Carlo who was his competition. So when Anita sees Skylar and asks who she is, Ethan immediately says his girlfriend who he plans to propose to. This was way too soon for me, they barely knew each other at this point. It just felt forced and there was no chemistry. Both Skylar and Ethan found each other attractive but that’s about it.


Ethan texts Alexis telling her to go with what happens next and Anita goes to meet them. Anita asks Skylar if she’s been dating Ethan. Ethan acts like they were trying to keep it a secret which was why Skylar was confused in front of Anita. Alexis is pissed with Ethan since she doesn’t like him messing with her friend. Alexis is with Joel, the son of their house chef who she grew up with. They are going to get married and Anita is over the moon for it. I felt meh about Alexis, she was sweet but didn’t stand out to me. Ethan and Alexis didn’t like Grey much which I found interesting, Grey might be the most interesting character in this since he seems to have layers. Ethan tells Skylar he can pay her half a million dollars to act as his fake girlfriend and she can live with him. He needs this so that he can get the company since Anita plans to retire. Skylar is unsure but Ethan gives her time to think about it. Skylar turned out to have a small concussion and goes to the hospital while Alexis and Ethan feel guilty but she is fine. Ethan cooks Skylar meals and they memorize each other’s information. They have conversations but I wasn’t interested in anything they had to say to be honest. Skylar bought Ethan take out once and they have dinner while talking but the convo was surface level for me. Ethan makes a bet that Skylar will freeze if he kisses her but she says he is wrong. They have some playful interactions where she goes after him with a trimmer and they play in the snow which was cute. Ethan then asks her out to dinner since he liked spending time with her.


Ethan takes Skylar out on a date since he likes spending time with her. While eating, Ethan runs into his uncle Carlo who is now married and has kids. Despite not getting the company years ago, he is living a happy life. Meanwhile Ethan’s dad died and Ethan is now fighting with his brother for the company. On the date, they flirt and get touchy so he takes her to the car where they makeout. When they get home, Ethan and Skylar almost have sex but they stop when Skylar freezes a bit. Ethan feels bad but Skylar feels like he is doing all of this so that she would sign the contract to be his fake girlfriend. She asks him why he took her out to dinner and when he says he wants to spend time with her, Skylar doesn’t believe him and he leaves. Once she gets the guts, she tells him she sucks at communication but thinks he did everything to make her sign the contract. Ethan gets upset and tells her to leave his office, he’s pretty polite though, he said please, lmao. Skylar feels like shit and wants to apologize to Ethan. She tries to reach out to him during a snow storm since he didn’t come home but the messages wouldn’t deliver. So she waits for him and falls asleep on the couch. When he comes, he tells Skylar that she was right, they should keep things professional and not make things complicated. He says sleeping together would be a bad idea but Skylar feels terrible. He asks her why she waited up for him but Skylar doesn’t answer. They spent too much time apart for me to care about this.


Skylar is unsure about the state of their relationship but misses Ethan. He doesn’t spend much time in the apartment and when she reaches out, she doesn’t hear back. She goes to the apartment to find Grey there. Grey is confused about who Skylar is but she introduces herself as Ethan’s girlfriend. Grey starts questioning Skylar and he is so much more interesting than Ethan. He has this charming facade but you can tell he is cold and calculated. Skylar tells him about the company she works for where she is an intern and shows him her portfolio of designs for clothing since he asks for it. During this time, Skylar ran upstairs to text Ethan to warn him that Grey was over and tried to call but he wouldn’t answer. Skylar planned on telling Grey that Ethan wasn’t coming so that he would leave. Grey says he knows the CEO of the company Skylar works for and can help put in a word for her. Skylar is thankful but feels wary about him and that’s when Ethan comes in. Ethan is pissed to see Grey there and tells him to leave but Grey says that Ethan doesn’t show up to meetings and he came to pick up some papers from Ethan’s office. Ethan is pissed he went through his things and tells him to leave. While leaving, Grey says he gets why Ethan is with Skylar, cuz of her eyes and how pretty she is. Grey really seemed to be a complex character, he interested me in just one interaction. Meanwhile I kept forgetting Ethan and Skylar’s names since they were just meh. Ethan asks Skylar what happened and Skylar tells him she recorded the conversation for him. Ethan listens to part of it and talks to Skylar while crowding her on the couch. He can’t seem to resist her anymore since he loved that she thought of him and Skylar is flustered.


Skylar goes to bed but Ethan comes in and starts flirting with her. Skylar says she thought he wanted to keep things professional but he admits he just wants her. He says he misses her and they have sex. He tells her they can talk about the contract later. Skylar has to go to a party with Ethan where Anita will announce her retirement. Alexis gives Skylar a dress which was sweet. At the announcement party, Skylar and Ethan were too busy making out to care. They plan to stay for dinner and then head home. But before they could, Skylar runs into Grey who told her he knows she has a fake relationship with Ethan. He noticed that in Skylar’s sketchbook with her designs, her recent drawings are all of Ethan. He asked why she started drawing Ethan recently and called her. We cut to Ethan and he is wondering where Skylar is. This part was so unnecessary, Skylar could have easily answered her phone but she doesn’t. Alexis finds out Skylar went home cuz of their doorman so Ethan runs home. He finds Skylar packing and asks her what is wrong. He is patient and tells her they just need to communicate which I loved and Skylar cries into him, breaking down. He holds her, lets her cry it out, then asks her again.


Skylar tells him that her parents neglected her growing up since she was an unwanted pregnancy. Her mom was supposed to be an actress but got pregnant and blamed Skylar for not having a career. Her dad abandoned her and she always came home to her mom’s new boyfriends. She barely talked since she didn’t want to make her mom mad since her mom always blamed her for things. She got close to Mikaela and Mikaela’s parents were Skylar’s teachers and they let Skylar stay over often. Skylar was approached by a modelling agent and when her mother found out, she was happy and got involved in Skylar’s life. She controlled Skylar’s diet and accepted gigs that Skylar wasn’t comfortable with for money. She took control of Skylar’s finances so Skylar couldn’t enjoy the money she made. Skylar found out that Grey looked into her history and contacted her nasty pig ex Simon. Simon was a photographer that worked with Skylar. She tells Ethan most of the story but lets him google the rest and Ethan calls Simon. Ethan tells Simon to tell him everything he told Grey and has to send some money to get info from him. Simon says he was paid $5000 by Grey for information on Skylar. Skylar used to date him, Simon love bombed her into dating. He wanted sex and once they had it, he secretly made fun of her. He called her “Star,” and Skylar thought it was cute until she found out that he told his friends he nicknamed her that since she laid like a star during sex and it was boring. He tells Ethan all these disgusting details and Ethan is so pissed. Then Simon says that he coerced Skylar into doing nude shoots and since she didn’t want to, he asked Skylar’s mom Deb to convince her. Deb said yes and now he had full rights to those nude shoots. He refused to give it back to Skylar but sold some of it to Grey. Skylar broke up with him after two years since she caught him cheating with her mom, he’s such a nasty fucker. Ethan is pissed and says he will buy the rights to the pictures but he has to delete everything. Simon is happy since he just got married and keeps saying the wedding was expensive, he is so disgusting.


I was glad Skylar told Ethan all of this instead of an unnecessary third act breakup. I hated that Grey basically blackmailed Skylar. He told her he had the pictures and said she can break things off with Ethan and he will have a temporary place for her until she finds another place. Ethan goes to Grey and tells him to give the pictures to him. He has sex tapes of Grey with his dad’s assistant and his dad’s assistant’s sister. Apparently Grey didn’t care about being filmed or for the tapes to get out but Anita did. Ethan has copies in case he needs to use it against him (yes its fucked up). Grey tries to manipulate Ethan but Ethan is pissed and says he will have Mila’s family deported since they are there illegally. Mila is Grey’s assistant and apparently Grey cares about her. I am more interested in their story since Grey is the typical cold boss fuckboy but cares for Mila. Yea its cliche but I know Kyra can make it good. Grey says that Ethan is just like their dad and Ethan says Grey is the same. Ethan realized he is sick of working at the company and it doesn’t bring him joy. I did notice that Ethan didn’t take his job as seriously as Grey. He didn’t go to meetings didn’t answer his phone, and was busy visiting Carlo and his family when he was MIA during the book. He is tired so he has a meeting with Anita. In the meeting he tells Anita that he quits and Alexis is so proud of him. He tells Anita that she is the reason that he and Grey don’t get along. She didn’t stop their dad from separating them, their dad wanted Grey and Ethan to compete for the company when they used to be close as kids. Ethan and Grey slowly started resenting each other and Ethan hates it, he just wants to focus on family like his uncle Carlo. He goes home and tells Skylar and he says that he only wants her. Two months later, Skylar says she isn’t sure if she will be in Toronto or New York after her internship. Ethan plans to buy a restaurant in Toronto or New York, so he will move wherever she is. They say I love you to each other and it was funny seeing how Skylar sucked at cooking and wanted Ethan to compliment her but he wouldn’t. Their relationship was the span of a coupla months and yea some books are like that, but the execution wasn’t done well for me. There was more chemistry in the second half and I found this relationship to be healthy, but I just wish it were more interesting. Even the ending had so much info-dumping of the character’s pasts. Mass paragraphs of Skylar and Ethan’s past rather than it being shared at a better pace. Even if this was a miss for me, I am sure so many people would enjoy this.


Stay safe folks!

[CB · Rating 4 out of 5]

REVIEW

Rating: 3.5/5
POV: 1st, dual
Tropes: Fake Dating; Grumpy/Sunshine; Romcom; Friends to Lovers; Slow Burn;
Heat Level: 2/5
Kinks: N/A

Likes:
*I really love it when I like the FMC because I find myself usually being more harsh towards the FMC and how they behave, etc. Sky was a great and I was really rooting for her HEA.
* it was legitimately funny. I laughed a lot during this read.
* The progression of the MCs relationship was good, I enjoyed reading about them becoming friends, then lovers, and then in love.

Dislikes:
* It felt like there were some “big”ish type moments that were left with no explanation. One of them being why multiple times her texts weren’t going through to his phone… did he block her? It couldn’t have been his phone was dead because of particular instance that proved that wasn’t it… so if he blocked her why? We never find out 🤷🏻‍♀️
* I found the sister/friend to be a bit much/annoying regarding how she wasn’t supportive.
* I wanted to find out how the brother reacted to the big 3rd act news. My guess is we don’t get that reveal because he probably get his own redemption story.

Conclusion:
Very funny romcom. Wasn’t as spicy as I would’ve liked but the slow burn was still good. I felt like the story had a mix of things I liked and then things I didn’t. Overall though I do like this authors writing style and I would read more of her books. Pretty much any thing I wanted to put in this review I said above in the likes/dislikes.

3.5/5 - rounded to 4.

[Dana Gordon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I give this book 3.5 stars!
A little Canadian romance with a shoutout to my home town. Was the story line predictable? Yea. But was it also delicious? Yes. Great book to get you back into the groove!

[abi]

Omg I didn’t know this author had other books!! A Deal With the Bossy Devil was so cute and I loved Kyra’s writing

[Briana Mae · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has got to be one of my most decorated - in the sense of hightlights and annotations - reads of 2022. Perhaps even, of all time!

Kyra Parsi’s humour and quick wit shines brightly through Ethan and Skylar, and oh my was I enraptured. There was a magnetic, unrestrained attraction that ignited almost immediately between them, grounded in an understanding and acceptance wholeheartedly deserved. Ethan was patient and supportive, his love for Sky fierce and protective, and I adored watching her bloom and finding love and security in being entirely herself; something long overdue.

For the most part, this was a lighthearted and humorous take on the forced proximity / fake dating setup with all the blurred lines that I love to bits. However, beneath the banter and the easy fall, there was a heavy and emotional depth to both of their characters with guarded pasts, battles, and self-sabotaging ways that they needed to wage and overcome, which only made their growth and journey together that much more endearing.

Fool Them Once was unexpectedly witty and fabulously gripping; a true romcom masterpiece that’ll have you laughing the night away!

I received an advanced copy of this book thanks to the author and BookSirens, and I am voluntarily leaving my honest review.

CW: mentions of revenge porn

[Hey Lin]

I kept trying to go back and finish this but it fell so flat for me. And now it's been so long that I kinda forget what happened. It's that forgettable 😂😩

It started off good! h's friends has a family penthouse just sitting there unlived in 🤷 very realistic that 👍 her friend tells her to live there since she just needs a place for a short time. She hears someone in the penthouse and H is the one who she thinks is a burgler. they decide to live together? I think? I forget 😂😂

Then his grandma wants him in a relationship and he blurts out without thinking that he's dating the h

😐😐😐😐😐😐😐😐

This is like the set up of every single male ceo/billionaire fake dating story EVAR. How pedestrian and unoriginal. and it ducks to say because the two other books I read of this author (failure to match and the other one.....I forget 🤦) were really good!

i tried!!!!.....But its like watching paint dry reading this book.....

Dnf

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75⭐️ EVERYONE READ THIS BOOK RIGHT NOW! It has 92 ratings what the heck?!?

[Lillie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I need to start by saying I LOVED her other books but this one was just not it. I really did not like the FMC and the pace was so slow then randomly everything happened in the last third of the book.

[Jade · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dnf at 50%, sssso boring I tried my best to get through it but I just couldn’t I wasn’t interested in it🙃

[•°Dahlia ( hiatus ) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay ... I did it , I finally finished it .

𝐌𝐲 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠
𝘗𝘭𝘰𝘵 : 4🌟
𝘞𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 : 3.5🌟
𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 : 3.75🌟
𝘖𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭 : 3.5🌟

👉 𝙎𝙠𝙮𝙡𝙖𝙧 moves to Toronto to start work as an intern at a Fashion House. She is offered accommodation by her friend 𝘼𝙡𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙨, in what she believes to be an empty apartment.
𝙀𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣, Alexis' brother, arrives back in Toronto unannounced, and moves into his home base, which just happens to be where 𝙎𝙠𝙮𝙡𝙖𝙧 is staying.

From each assuming the other is a burglar, to a fake relationship to help 𝙀𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 take over his grandmother's company, this is a fast paced, but very entertaining read.

👉 Both parties have issues that need to be addressed, and never seem to be on the same page together. They both have internal dialogues going on instead of communicating properly with each other, which causes problems in their developing relationship.
They start to admit to their feelings, but it's not all hearts and flowers, by any stretch of the imagination. There is a lot of self-sabotage going on, which is not helped by major interference from Ethan's twin brother, who also has his sights set on taking over the company.

♠︎ 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙛 ♠︎
It was just amazing their meeting at night 𝙎𝙠𝙮𝙡𝙖𝙧 thinking he is a murderer and 𝙀𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 thinking she is a bulgar ..wow that was really funny and the hair trimmers and Snow scene so was incredible I was like laughing so hard even if the tension was still there , thy were having a good time as I was too

♥︎ 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙛 ♥︎
I dont know .. really the first half was amazing but the second ? No .
It was really hard for me to keep going with the story and not put it down since it as close to the end ... Plus the spice with I skimmed and in my opinion just slowed the whole story .

▪︎𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙧𝙙 𝙖𝙘𝙩 𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙠-𝙪𝙥 ▪︎
There was really no need of it , like 𝙎𝙠𝙮𝙡𝙖𝙧 with her miscommunication problem with caused a whole " kind of break-up " even if they still weren't together, and 𝙀𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 not talking to her a whole week... like it just slowed the story telling...

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This was a book I randomly downloaded as a free deal on Kindle. And it was a good read! It relies on the miscommunication trope a bit, BUT it kind of makes sense since they don't know each other and are dealing with their own issues. 
I really liked the characters and the storyline, how things played out! There were cute scenes, steamy scenes, and the writing was done well! I do wish one additional part was wrapped up as part of the ending, but I think that would have been too unrealistic maybe. 

Anyways. If you're looking for fake dating with some spice and cute moments, I'd recommend! 

TW: sexual content, emotional abuse, toxic relationship, abandonment, medical content, vomit, cursing, alcohol, infidelity (recounted)

[manvi · Rating 4 out of 5]

really cute book. I loved both the mcs. Ethan was called a "grumpy hero" by some reviewers so id just like to say.. he's definitely not that. he was the sweet hero from the start- so patient and understanding and God, I wanted an ethan. so if you're looking for a grump, this isn't the book for you. but if you're here for banter, moments that make you wanna giggle and kick your feet, and an H that's with the h through the thick and thin..then this book is for you.

and maybe I'm a cheater because from the moment we were introduced to the H's twin brother, grey (who's supposed to be the villain of the book, mind you) I was hung up on him. he did awful stuff but honestly? I can't wait for his book, if we're going to get one. I hope we will because I cannot wait.

[Juliette · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt the pacing was a bit off but I am really loving Kyra Parsi's writing would definitely recommend her other books.

[Lauren Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️
Seems like my favourite trope is billionaires offering women money, a beautiful home, security and an aesthetically pleasing view to be their fake partner… Who knew?

[Emma Schissel · Rating 2 out of 5]

bring 👏🏼 back 👏🏼 realistic 👏🏼 timelines 👏🏼

i can’t handle any more 2 week books. be f’n for real 🙄

[Terri Zumbrook · Rating 5 out of 5]

FOOL THEM ONCE is one of those “deep sigh” love stories that had so much going on, but I hardly noticed because it drew me in with its enchanting moments, Skylar and Ethan’s chemistry, the effortless fun moments, and Ethan’s fierce devotion to Skylar.

For much of the story we know something is troubling Skylar. We know Ethan is drained by something. When they get together the reader gets to watch them muddle through the mess they make of things and hope they keep coming out on the other side.

I loved rooting for these characters, but I also have admit I so want to see Ethan’s brother Grey both humbled and humanized.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Clara Loisy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved every second of Fool Them Once. My friend recommended it after she received an ARC copy and I complained of being in a reading slump. I was not disappointed. Not only was it hilarious, I've never felt so compelled to just love both characters from the start. And the butterflies! I only had my lunch breaks to read and I struggled to go back to work because I didn't want that feeling to end. 
Kyra Parsi's writing style made every part of the story flow so perfectly and I can't wait to read more from them.

[Kristine Frey · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Enjoyed this read! While I found the pacing to be a bit off in a couple places and a few characters remained one-dimensional/overly simplistic, the plot overall worked well. Highlights for me: the banter between the two main characters, in-depth treatment of character histories & motivations, character growth & learning, female friendships—and the romance scenes worked for me! I didn’t know what to expect going in, not having read this author or any reviews before, but this way surpassed my expectations. I’d like to read this again sometime!

[JM · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

Another Kyra Parsi novel I ate up. While I didn’t like it as much as her others, I still really enjoyed it.

What I loved:

The banter and humour is always A++++. The tension and build up was perfectly frustrating. Many times I was laughing out loud because of their dialogue.

What I didn’t like:

I wish it was longer. I felt like the ending needed a bit more closure. There were a lot of reveals in the last 15% and I wanted to know what happened to all of these characters at the end (good and bad). Show me what happened with Grey, Simon, Deb. How is the company doing?

[KP · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 🌟 Listen, I’m a Parsi stan ‘til I die. She’s my favourite and this was classic KP; it was funny and sharp-witted and the man is a Bloody Good Man.

There was just a lot less drama, the stakes were minimal and the grump was maybe five minutes max before we entered 100% cinnamon roll status. And I’m not complaining. I ate it up, but if I’m comparing to her other novels which are five star, stairway-to-heavens…I have to rate it fairly.

[Becky Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this!
I was smiling and giggly and doing the whole giggling leg kicking thing. This book made me so happy!

Kyra is officially the queen of romcom books.

Rated 4 stars because things would have been so much better if there was more communication between the characters rather than jumping to conclusions. Did get a little irritating. I get it because of Skylars past but still....

However, I would recommend this book, it's funny, light hearted and a feel good read.

[✨ starlit freckles ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

not a review; more like a...rant?

the story is lovely except the ending. insta-love (or lust) but lovely nonetheless. i just don't know why this author wrote such unsatisfying ending...the same goes for in love and war. can't you add a few more pages? tie up all the loose ends?

her two most recent billionaire romances are perfect (for me). maybe i shouldn't really read an author's back catalogue when one or two of their books became my cup of tea. maybe i should've stop while i was ahead.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just love how Kyra Parsi makes me laugh out loud. The lighthearted playfulness that her couples have is just so joyful. 😀

I enjoyed this one but I felt it had a little less spice than others and I could tell it was written earlier than the bossy billionaires books. I mean that as a compliment! She's improved and I read them in the wrong order.

[Rosie Vy · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book came out of nowhere and i was living for it. it’s such a cute and comfy read with the right amount of angst hehee and ethan is so down bad for skylar which i absolutely love too. 4 stars because I felt the ending could have been better and tied some loose threads