Review: Not Fooling Anyone by Allie Winters

Not Fooling Anyone by Allie Winters
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC for review, all opinions are my own.

This is the second book in the Lessons Learned series, but it is a complete standalone.  Mia and Tyler are present in the book, but they are minor side characters and they are only briefly mentioned.  You don't need to read book 1 to read book 2, they can both be read independently.  The main focus of this book is on Lexie and Ethan.  

Lexie has not had an easy life, and in reading this emotional tale we get to know her and why she keeps to herself and pushes people away.  Getting to know her and seeing her character develop is a huge part of the book.  When Lexie initially meets Ethan, she misjudges him as a dumb boxer.  Turns out he's actually fairly intelligent and generally a good guy.  Ethan is training as a boxer at the same gym where her dad, a former pro-boxer works.  Knowing that Lexie is looking to earn extra cash, her dad sets her up with an offer from the gym's owner to put her future CPA skills to work and modernize his accounting.  It just so happens that Lexie and Ethan are also in the same psychology class.  Hard up for some extra cash Lexie signs up for a psych study, but it requires her to have a romantic partner.  She finds herself in a fake relationship with Ethan in order to earn the money.  Lexie is not really interesed in romance, boyfriends, or people in general.  She's been hurt by the people she's let into her life in the past, but Ethan is determined to break down her barriers and get to know her.  As they spend time together getting their fake relationship story straight and getting to know each other, they realize that they are becoming friends.  Lexie tends to shy away from talking about things, which leads to miscommunication and misunderstandings because she doesn't want to get hurt.  Ethan tries to give her space, but he does eventually encourage her to have the conversations she is avoiding and they do eventually get better at communicating.  

This is a more heavy and emotional novel for Smartypants Romance.  Much of what we see from their offerings tend to be a little lighter and comedic.  There are some humorous moments, but this deals with some heavy topics such as drug abuse, abandonment, and bullying.  Overally, I really enjoyed this!

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