Fool for You

by Ariana Taylor

When twenty-two-year-old Vera Reed lands in Rome for her study abroad, love was the last thing on her mind, but Rome had other plans, giving her two versions of it.

She first crosses paths with Will, who is the perfect combination sweet and charming. He shows her a softer side of love that is steady and caresses her while healing her broken heart. The kind that doesn’t make her question her sanity at every twist and turn. And is there to protect her every step of the way.

Then there’s Theo, whose love overwhelms her in the most beautiful ways. Consuming her mind, body, and soul, showing her a love she never knew she craved, until him. With him, it’s impossible to step away even when she knows she should.

Vera finds herself caught in a love triangle that shows her both the good and bad sides of love. One filled with secret glances when no one’s looking and the other that consumes her whole body.

She quickly realizes how easy it can be to lose pieces of yourself in the people you fall for. Most importantly how hard it can be to dig yourself out when you’re caught up too deep.

402 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication February 24, 2026

About the author

Prepare for the incoming third-person narration of myself. Ariana Taylor lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two toddlers. When she’s not chasing her kids you can find her reading, writing, or studying for finals. At all time of day you can find her sipping tea, coffee, or chugging her second Alani NU of the day. She enjoys reading romance, fantasy, and medical nonfiction books seeing as her degree is in Healthcare Administration. You can usually find her at Barnes and Noble or a library because books feel like her home.

Reviews

[joni ౨ৎ - busy]

no. just no!
full rant to come but this book caused me so much anger + just pmo SO much

𐙚⋆°｡⋆♡ ── pre-read
this cover is so cute and im excited to read a book set in rome!!! this is the author's debut novel and the microtropes have me very excited!!!

↪ started jan 15
↪ finished jan 16

[Caitlin]

Advanced Reader Copy // Review \\

Study / Travel Abroad ✅️
Girl BFF / room-mate ✅️
TWO men who want her? ✅️.... but for different reasons.

I went in relatively blind to this as I usually do, and the end really took me for a ride!
This book was super fast passed (which worked well for it) and full of "whats going to happen next" ! 🥰

[Symone · Rating 3 out of 5]

*ARC REVIEW* Vera travels to Rome to study abroad and find herself, but instead ends up caught in a love triangle between two different men. One who embodies seduction, desire, and irresistible tension. The other is forbidden, yet deeply supportive, gentle, and yearns for her. From early on, I felt like something was off, and that sense of unease kept me hooked as I tried to figure out what was really going on. This story has spice, heated moments, and situations that had me shouting at the FMC. The ending delivered a major plot twist that completely surprised me. While I loved the shock factor, I wish some elements of the ending had been hinted at earlier so it blended more smoothly rather than feeling like a sudden shift in genre. But overall, it was still a nice read.

[Savannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

i adored this book! i love the love triangle & the characters development. the main female characters ended up being my favorite. there is a HUGE HUGE HUGE plot twist at the end that REALLY confused me and i had to reread to attempt to understand it, but there is going to be a book two so i’m expecting more answers there. this book is pretty spicy which i LOVE!!!! so again i love it & am excited to see book two!!!

[Kalene · Rating 5 out of 5]

holy what did I read?! I wasn't expecting any of that and I loved it! I definitely want more and hope to read whatever is next

[Shyanne Huff · Rating 4 out of 5]

~Fool for You Review~

4.5 ⭐️’s

Vera Reed is a college student who got accepted to study abroad in Rome, but has sworn off the thought of finding love in exchange for finding herself and enjoying the experience of the country her father came from. Instead she finds herself with a new roommate turned best-friend to share all her darkest secrets with and a self proclaimed promise already broken when Vera is caught between two polar opposite men with attractive British accents that would make anyone fall to their knees. There are longing looks, soft touches, passion, secrets, gripping moments and then something much more sinister. Her feelings become tied between both, but one wants to save her and the other wants to destroy her. Nothing is as it seems though and Vera was too blinded by the enthrallment of lust and love within her love triangle to notice that she was at the center of it all.

Will, known as airplane guy is sweet and savory. He is all gentle touches and lingering longing looks. He shows Vera the kinder side of love that keeps you grounded, feeling safe and not always questioning things.

Then there’s Theo, who happens to be bookstore guy and his presence is all consuming and addictive. His claim on Vera is passionate and aggressive, but in a good way. The pull he has on her is undeniable and Vera knows it, even in the throes of heated arguments over the constant secrets and lies.

I enjoyed the plot of the book and each characters personality throughout. It all stayed pretty consistent and writing was smooth with minimal errors. As an arc reader I went into the book completely blind because I wanted to have a feel for it myself without knowing anything about it! I did think it would be more on the contemporary side and was thrown for a loop at the end of the story, but I have a feeling that the author will give more of an explanation on exactly what we think might have been missing in the next installment which I will happily read! Thank you to the author for allowing me to be one of the first readers of the book in exchange for my honest review!

Tropes include:
*Abroad in Rome
*Found best friend
*Love triangle
*Fantasy Twist

[Brimstone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall this book was a lot. It took me longer than normal to read for most of my ARCs due to the nature of the overall story.
There was a lot happening and a lot of plot lines crossing. I like the idea of Fool For You by Ariana Taylor. However, personally you can tell this is a debut novel /new author. WHICH ISNT BAD! Just not my cup'o'tea. Vera has a lot of potential and I am excited to see where book 2 goes. This author can do so much with this story and these characters. ***Spoilers to Follow***
Evie def didnt deserve the slap in the face that was this love triangle between Will and Theo and Vera. The best friend should have been given so much more and not as a backup plan/use her to stay close to someone else. That plot could have been better/not so cruel to Evie and Veras relationship. If I were Evie I would have left her in the dirt. If I were the author I would have just made Will chase her harder/prove to her he was the better option. Not while making out w her bestie. I think the elements of magic and prophecy were rushed at the end and not at all woven into the storyline in previous chapters. There was so much potential to make this a romantasy. The smut seemed forced and a lot of repetitive wording while in intimate scenes. Overall I think the story has potential but lacked in sense of direction and planning. Here is is to hoping book 2 thrives!

[Lexi · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a refreshing read! Very fast paced and addictive. I absolutely loved the study abroad setting and all that comes with it. We start with Vera being upset about getting her third pick for travel abroad, but she quickly has reasons to be excited about being there. Her roommate Evie is a great best friend character. I loved the love triangle, especially with both male characters being likable and charming in their own ways. I usually go for the more “bad boy” character as opposed to the “good guy,” but I enjoyed both of them. They each had different things to offer for Vera. I could not put this book down and I am in need of the second book, desperately. This is one of my favorite reads of the year!

[Madeline McKinney · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this book would have had a lot more potential in a different genre. If this story was written as a YA romance or even just closed-door it would have been so much better. I loved Vera's attempt to find herself abroad and her friendship with Evie was cute, but the way they acted was more suited for YA. The smut scenes were poorly placed and removed any charm from Theo and Vera. There was a lot of "hot-and-heavy" and no actual dialogue of the characters getting to know each other. The whole appeal of a Duke is their general "gentlemanly" disposition compared to normal men, placing lust in the foreground of his character made him lose likability for me.

[Tasia Longhorn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vera goes to rome to study abroad and try to find her place in life away from her mother. She joked about finding love. Rome decided to make it less of a joke and more reality. Giving her not one but two *options*

Will was easy to talk to and a great flight partner. (Also likes to kiss Vera's roommate Evie.) Theo who even though he has some secrets his love consumes her in the wildest way. She is in between a love triangle and letting her roommate be happy to.

This book has romance, smut, family, friendship, everything you could want. Such an authentically AMAZING story.

[Aaliyah Jade · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to devour this book but I fear I forced myself to finish my food. I do love a good romance especially if it’s set in a beautiful country like Italy! And the banter at the beginning really got my hopes up high. However as the story dragged on I kept questioning some of the thought processes of the FMC, I don’t think she was fully developed as a character and in turn it caused her to lack in other parts of the storyline (the rest of the book) I had no connection to her or anyone else in the story. The last 10% was the most interesting with a little twist but it was a bit confusing to understand.

I do think the second book will answer any questions I have and I’m hoping that it will show growth as this was the authors debut novel and we all get better over time 🤍

[Michelle White · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book starts off with Vera meeting 2 men on her way to Rome. She feels an instant connection with both of them. This book takes you through the trails of falling in love with one and having feelings for another. Until the very end of a mind-blowing twist! Can't wait for the second book to see what happens! This was such a good read.

[Rachel Hackett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I must be vanilla because WOW. The love triangle had the yearning I love on one side compared to the other which had spice and obsession. The author was not kidding around when she wrote explicit sexual content ten times in the arc form. It does end on a cliffhanger that had me on the edge of my seat wanting more but loved the fantasy twist at the end.

[Danielle Stiner · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 22%. From the get go did not vibe with characters. Once you know who everyone is, I hated the quickness of everything. It kinda felt forced and once I reached chapter 9 was really hating Theo. By the end of the chapter I was done cause he is giving me major narcissistic vibes and that is not something I enjoy reading. Maybe a good fit for someone… that just isn’t me.

[Ella]

dnf at 11%
I unfortunately can tell this won’t be a book for me, so I am choosing to stop reading now. There’s been a lot of weird sentences and confusing information as well as the general writing not being my favorite.

[Amanda Knight · Rating 4 out of 5]

Holy smokes. That last two chapters were a doozy. I wasn’t expecting that. I actually really liked the whole book. There was quite a few spelling errors in my arc version, but nothing that can’t get ironed out eventually. I was really impressed with the writing and the storyline.

[Jessica Rueger · Rating 4 out of 5]

okay that ending ..! That is exactly what made me go from having a good time to NEEDING MORE! Gonna go look at a wall now because I did not see that coming!!

-3.5 beautiful ✨’s

[Ashley Nightshade · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a hard book for me to rate and if I’m being honest, my ADHD self is having trouble articulating all my thoughts.

Full review to come once I can gather my thoughts.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

um…what??! this book constantly threw thing my way and gah!! the way i wanted to shake vera.

i mean who can blame her…theo was very very captivating and wow was it easy to swoon at his words.
but there was also will who…gosh was he the definition of yearning and the way he spoke and treated vera gah! he never hid from his emotions for her.

a complicated love triangle that comes with constant hurt and love. but most of all the ending is what had me SHOOK…like um hellllo??!??!??

you can obviously pick whichever team but there’s only one right answer…and it’s will…i said what i said.

reminder to the girlies … never ignore those red flags!

but like i need book 2 NOW