first elena armas book, and she did not disappoint!!! it’s runaway bride, with a twist and i am absolutely here for this engagement of convenience!

reading this felt like watching a movie, and i personally feel like those are the absolute best books. the writing feels vivid, very descriptive and emotional, it just draws you in. you can feel the chemistry burning between matthew + josie, as if you are there watching it all unfold first hand. i swear ever chapter i was giggling so hard.

A fun sweet read! Highly recommend.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for my ARC.

Elena Armas must lace something in between the pages of her books, because they are SO addictive and demand your full attention from start to finish! The Long Shot duology has given me the mushiest and warmest of feelings! I loved Josie and Matthew's chemistry and how their story was different from the former in the duology. It was such a sweet, emotional, and happy book from start to finish. Readers will fall in love with this story!

The Fiance Dilemma by Elena Armas was absolutely fantastic - I literally could not put it down. She took the fake dating trope to another level! I loved the tension between Josie & Matthew but I feel like this book was the slowest burn, ugh, I almost feel like she was intentionally edging her readers 😅.

I feel like the people pleasers and “I can do it myself” babes will really enjoy this book and I say that with complete confidence knowing I myself am in those particular boxes 🙃. I expected Elena to deliver & boyyyyyy did she ever! Matthew and Josie may be my new fav out of her couples & they must be protected at all costs. (Side note, where do I get me a ‘Matthew’? Is that on Amazon? 🤔)

This is an obvious 5⭐️ read and should make it to the top of your tbr immediately once published on July 30th, 2024.

4.5/5

Such a fun read and my new favorite Elena Armas book!

Works as a standalone, but is a spin off/sequel to The Long Game.

Takes place is the cutest little North Carolina town. The cast of small town characters was so entertaining!

*Engagement of convenience
*Forced proximity
*Sunshiny, girl-next-door FMC
*Supportive and goofy MMC

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this eARC in exchange for my honest review

I’ve said in previous reviews of Armas’ books that she never misses, but I think I have to eat my words with this one.

The book wasn’t bad, but I was definitely disappointed with what it was. To start, the first half of the book feels really chaotic while not a lot actually happens. I think for the first third of the book I was just waiting for there to be some character development, or at least something that would move the plot forward. We spend a lot of time in Josie’s (the FMC) thoughts, cycling through the same anxieties over and over, and it doesn’t really take you anywhere. You also don’t really get to know any of the other characters until much later because you’re in Josie’s head so much.

Her love interest, Matthew, doesn’t get interesting until the later half of the book, and I REALLY wish this had been a dual POV like The Long Game was. I spent a lot of time wondering what Matthew was thinking, and what motivated him to help Josie with the fake engagement scheme at the center of this book.

The redeeming member of this book? Bobbi, the PR shark turned wedding planner extraordinaire. She was sassy, she was bold, and I feel like she was just the right amount of mysteriously damaged to make m want to read a book about her after being so disappointed by this one.

Overall, here’s how I’d score this:
Plot: 2.5/5
Spice: 2/5
MCs: 3/5 (only because Matthew has potential)
Side characters: 3.5/5

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuester publishing for the eARC!

ELENA! How dare you make me fall for a blonde?! Kidding, kidding, I love all hair colors 🤭 But you guys, this book is just wow. And maybe I finally like the nickname sweetheart. I've been changed!

Welcome to Green Oak, NC! For those who've read The Long Game, welcome back. Meet Josie Moore, coffe shop owner, town mayor and frequent flyer in the fiancé department. She finds herself in a 'jam'. Enter Msthhew Flanagan, sweetheart, glasses toting golden retriever and her sister's best friend.

The way I loved this book friends. I have been a fan of Elena Armas since TSLD. I love her writing style, humor, and characters every single time. And this was no exception. If you're looking for found family, small town romance, second chances, and a very sunshiney mmc, run to the stores on 7/30! Thank you @thebibliotheque and @atriabooks for this gifted arc!

xo

I’m having mixed feeling about this book. Loved the beginning. Got a little slow in the middle and finished strong. The story of a young lady that can’t seem to walk down the aisle. She struggles w a father that hasn’t been present and her mother passes at an early age. While the premise of the story was fun and entertaining, I would have preferred a different lead male character.

I loved this book and the sweet little town of Green Oak and all of its characters. I somehow missed its prequel but I was able to jump right in. Josie was wonderfully flawed and Matthew was every woman’s dream. I do wish that there was more relationship building along the way but the ending was wonderful regardless.

Josie comes across as a pushover being bullied and coerced by two people she has zero connection with, and it rubbed me the wrong way at the start. It seemed to me that she was vulnerable and being manipulated and taken advantage of, paired with the bully/gossip podcast aspect, it felt overall very mean. However, once the story started moving and Matthew started making a solid appearance, it became comical in a stereotypical rom-com way that was fun and sweet. I loved the full circle of the story with their relationship, I appreciated the villain characters taking accountability for their actions and I loved the strength of love and partnership throughout.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC and the opportunity to read and review this title.

I absolutely loved this book. The long game wasn't my favorite but I felt like the author redeemed the town and previous characters so well. The chemistry was great and the character growth was believable. I'll be telling all my friends about this book!

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/203572092-the-fianc-dilemma" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="The Fiancé Dilemma (The Long Game, #2)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1707891821l/203572092._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/203572092-the-fianc-dilemma">The Fiancé Dilemma</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20669618.Elena_Armas">Elena Armas</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6524437967">5 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
The Spanish love deception was the book that got me back to obsessively reading so I've been following Elena all along. This book is amazing, Matthew is such a great guy, proving that men written by a woman truly are the measuring standard.
<br/><br/>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/143499939-isabel">View all my reviews</a>

So I need to read the long game next. You can read this as a standalone but I feel like I’m missing some background on the characters that would be icing on the cake of this book. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The FMC grows in this book and she’s just a super sweet character. The MMC is swoon worthy (even if he is a blonde). I usually don’t highlight quotes and I did a few times here. You have here a fake engagement, he falls first kind of book.

I received an ARC from netgalley and the publisher.

I adore Elena Armas and this book was no exception. Matthew really had the whole unconditional love thing down pat. The writing, the characters, the sass, everything was just perfect

I have loved the author’s previous books, but this one didn’t measure up.
It felt as if the author put trope over plot. I couldn’t really buy into the initiating conflict that she had to lie that he was her fiancé because she’d been previously engaged before? And because her wealthy, new father in a different state didn’t want to look bad? It just felt - well… fake. I didn’t believe that the press would actually care so much about the characters, so the whole premise felt too unrealistic.

2.75 ⭐️

I don’t know why it took me forever to get through this book! I had such high hopes but it just felt flat to me.

The beginning went really slow and the characters dynamics weren’t giving me the thrill I usually find in the contemporary romance novels I read. Once I hit the 70% mark the story picked up the pace but that kind of defeats the purpose of pleasure reading if you have to wait that long for the story to peak your interest. I have enjoyed Elena Armas’s books in the past- sadly this wasn’t one of them.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC in return for my honest review.

The beginning of this book was really difficult to get through unfortunately, but things started getting better about 25-30% into the book. Josie is very quirky, and it was definitely a “it’s not you, it’s me” situation that made me disconnect from the book initially around. I ended up taking a month long break.

I’m glad that I stuck with it and read the entire book though, Even though the reason they started fake dating was extreme and they were essentially strangers, Matthew was very sweet and seemingly perfect (impossibly so at times) for Josie, and I enjoyed seeing them fall for each other.

Books by Elena Armas are always enjoyable. The tale of Josie and Matthew was amazing. Josie is under pressure from her little community and others to proceed with a successful engagement because she has called off four previous engagements. Though they quickly realize they are both interested in more than just a fictitious engagement, Matthew is at the right place at the right time. Josie's dad's publicist Bobbi and a colorful cast of supporting people make for a humorous ensemble. There is increasing strain as the wedding day draws near. Josie's happily ever after is a wonderful way for Armas to wrap up the tale.

I love a fake dating trope and a fake engagement even more! This book is a perfect combination of small town shenanigans, he falls first energy, a meddling grandpa, and the sibling’s best friend trope. I literally cried at the HEA of this couple and feel strongly that it lives up to the Elena Armas hype!

If you’re looking for a funny and light-hearted romcom, you’ll have to check this out in July 30th!

Summary: Josie recently connected with her biological father and he happens to be a pretty big deal. When the public finds out about Josie’s existence, they’re quick to point out all her failed engagements. So, she fakes another engagement to her sister’s best friend to try and do some damage control.

Thoughts: Man, this one was just not for me. I think I had a hard time with it because it felt like the MMC spent the first 7 chapters just so confused. I think this would have benefitted from a dual POV because I had a hard time understanding what his deal was.

Once he ends his deer in the headlights moment, he all of a sudden turns into a possessive growler and it felt like such an aggressive lane change.

All of the other characters in the book barely communicate with each other. It’s like they’re all dancing around one another and it felt so awkward.

The FMC was really cute and the story really had such great potential but I just couldn’t connect with anything here. Except the farm animals, they were adorable and easy to connect with of course.