I have learned that listening to Elena Armas books will always result in a lower score for me. Thankfully—I didn’t make that mistake this time. It’s really the horrible accents that make me dislike her books. I might need to do a reread of some of them through physical books.

Tropes I enjoyed in this book:
•he fall first and harder
•sister’s bestfriend
•fake dating

I really enjoyed Matthew in this book. I felt that he was a great male lead, I had wanted more of him when first hearing him in The Long Game. Elena delivered in the male department, I think he is on par or very close to Aaron. Love that he just lets Josie be a little weird and crazy and is just along for the ride.

Josie? Kind of a mid lead for me. Could be a little annoying at times when I felt like she was being whiney or talking about all her engagements.

Okay but did anybody else feel like the last 100 pages were kind of rushed? I felt like we jumped from getting to know characters and building a story to “this is the end” which did kind of stressed me out.

I really feel this is a 3.75 rating so I rounded up. The characters were good, the town is cute, and I loved Grandpa Mo

Thanks to NetGalley for my ARC of this book.

I love Elena Armas, but the fmc in this one made this book not particularly my cup of tea. Josie is the mayor of small town Green Oak, and a huge people pleaser. She's left a trail of broken engagements behind her. When her estranged father Andrew decides to come into her life via a publicist intervention regarding her love life, Josie makes up a quick lie that turns into a complicated charade. She claims to be engaged to Matthew, her friend and best friend to her newly discovered sister, Adalyn. The publicist runs with it and takes over, planning a quick wedding that will involve Andrew and the whole town.

Things I loved: Matthew's character, the slow burn and eventual spice, great chemistry.
Things I didn't love: Josie's character and dialogue were just really not for me. It was way too cutesy and unrealistic. I can imagine this being really appealing for some readers, but it took me out of the story and made it hard for me to finish this book. I also just didn't understand her motivations. She had no reason to go along with Bobbi Shark or her father's plans, but she did. She's clearly not a weak willed woman, but in these instances she just lacks any spine.

I'm rounding up 3.5 to 4 stars because I imagine this book being perfect for a lot of people, but it just wasn't for me. I'll still absolutely read the next Elena Armas novel that comes out.

Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

"𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙖 𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙞𝙘𝙚. 𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙩 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙣𝙮 𝙤𝙧 𝙘𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙝é 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙨, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙄 𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙄 𝙨𝙖𝙬 𝙝𝙚𝙧, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚. 𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙬𝙖𝙡𝙠 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙞𝙨𝙡𝙚, 𝙬𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙢𝙮 𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙣 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙖 𝙙𝙤𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚. 𝙨𝙝𝙚’𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙮. 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙛𝙪𝙘𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩.”

I was completely captivated by the fresh and welcoming atmosphere of Green Oaks, beautifully revived from the previous book in the series. It was a joy to return to this charming small town, where a deep sense of community and family spirit infused every interaction. The way everyone looks out for one another with warmth and loyalty that feels almost like family was genuinely heartwarming. I especially loved reconnecting with some of the beloved characters and youngsters from the first book, whose return added a wonderful layer of depth and nostalgia to the story.

Josie has given love plenty of chances—four failed engagements and a father who's always been absent. But when her business tycoon father decides to retire, she finds out that her messy romantic history is turning into bad PR for the family. Meanwhile, Matthew is not only out of a job but, after taking a wrong turn on his way to Green Oak, NC, he unexpectedly finds himself being introduced as the fiancé of his best friend’s sister, Josie. What begins as a huge misunderstanding quickly turns into a fake engagement. Josie might be wearing his ring, but she knows it’s only for show. However, as the lines begin to blur, the small town starts to believe that maybe the fifth fiancé is actually The One.

I absolutely adored Adalyn and Cam and fell in love with everything about this small town in the first book, so it’s no surprise I loved every second of being back in Green Oak. Matthew had me blushing and kicking my feet, and his backstory had me swooning. Josie was so relatable and down-to-earth—I just loved her. Honestly, Armas is one of those autobuy authors for me because her books always make me so happy, but this one might just be my favorite. If you haven’t checked out The Long Game series yet and you’re looking to fall head over heels in love, you absolutely should. It had me kicking my feet like a giddy schoolgirl!

Did someone say fake fiancé, sign me up!

Elena Armas does it again. I absolutely LOVED this book. This fake fiancé was done so well. Small town coffee shop owner Josie needs a new fiancé, yeah cause she’s had 4 already.
Matthew and Josie are off to a rough start. He’s a little bit of a grump but has us swooning with how over protective he is of her. He is a natural flirt and Josie is swooning. The slow burn that’s leads up to a little spice is so worth it. There is family drama as well as small town shenanigans.
They had me laughing and tearing up the perfect rom-com. I couldn’t put this book down!!!

Josie has given love plenty of chances with 4 failed engagements and an absentee father but as her business tycoon father gets ready to retire, she learns her romantic history is bad pr on the family. Matthew has not only been fired but after making a wrong turn on his way to Green Oak, NC ends up stumbling upon his BFF’s sister greeting him as her fiancé. What started as a big misunderstanding quickly turns into a fake engagement and while Josie may have his ring on her finger she knows it’s only temporary. Lines start to blur and the small town comes to believe that maybe the fifth fiancé is truly The One.

This is one of those books I’m kicking myself for not reading sooner. I absolutely adored Adalyn and Cam and everything about this small town in the first book so it was no surprise I loved every second of being back in Green Oak. Matthew had me blushing and kicking my feet and my goodness the backstory had me swooning. Josie was so relatable and down to earth and I loved her so much. Honestly, Armas is one of those autobuy authors for me cause her books just make me so happy but this one might just be my favorite she has come out with. I definitely think if you haven’t checked out The Long Game series yet and you want to just fall in love with love you should because it gave everything I needed to be kicking my feet like a little school girl.

Josie is always the bride. But never one that gets married. After 4 failed engagement she realized she needs something to get her out of a PR story. In come Matthew. Can fake love turn into real love.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book before the release date. I am very sorry it took so long to write this, I honestly forgot about it. Anyway, Elena Armas is such a good writer. She wrote one of my favorite books, The Spanish Love Deception. She just knows how to write a man. This book had so much drama and slow burn. It was just so fun to watch it unfold. Josie had four failed engagements and she was a secret child of a very powerful man. So when she comes out she needs to be put in positive light. The first thing she can think of is to say that the man walking across the street is her fiancé. She didn’t realize it was Matthew, her long lost sisters best friend. This book was funny and spicy and everything you want in a rom com.

The Fiance Dilemma by Elena Armas was a slow-paced version of Runaway Bride. I thought that I would enjoy the storyline because of my love for the movie, but that wasn't the case. The characters were irritating and I didn't like the found father aspect of the story.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced digital copy of the book.

TW: parental abandonment, parental loss

3.5 stars

Welp I didn’t enjoy this one as much as The Long Game but it was still an entertaining read.

The Fiancé Dilemma is the sequel to The Long Game but this time we are following Josie and Matthew. With a ridiculous fake dating/engagement plot there’s loads of edging between these two and even you the reader. I swear on my life I was waiting forever for these two idiots to finally get physical. I’m not usually so hard up for that but there was so much eye contact and TOUCHING but then the scenes would change quickly and I’d be left hanging cold.

Josie was a little TOO quirky for me and I seriously don’t mind quirky cutesy characters but they way she was constantly people pleasing instead of telling people to mind their own business got on my nerves after a while. She does have some issues being engaged 4 times and never actually getting married will do that to you. And having a father that you literally know nothing about pop into your life after 20 something years is going to have your head spinning. But Josie is beyond kind to every single person and I can appreciate that about her. Matthew was all about Josie, maybe a tad too much. I would’ve love to get more of his character development but I can’t say I don’t love a man who worships his woman as much as he does. And that mouth of his whew!

I was hoping for more of Adalyn and Cam but what we got I soaked up so quick! They are adorable and I’m so happy for these fictional characters lol

The Fiancé Dilemma was a cute read that is unexpectedly emotional. Lots of parental issues here that aren’t quite explored that much but I thought the love story part of this book made up for some of the missteps by the author. I’ll definitely continue to read her work and support her. Thank you so much to Atria Books for gifting me an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

i love elena armas books because they're always cutesy little romance books that i don't have to think too hard about. loved this one!

4 stars.

"𝘈 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩. 𝘠𝘰𝘨𝘢, 𝘮𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘴, 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘢𝘵𝘴."


Ugh. I loved this book so much.

I have been waiting for Matthew and Josie's story since I read "The Long Game" last year.

And it was just perfect.

Matthew is the epitome of a book boyfriend, and I just love them so so much.

Thank you to @atriabooks and @netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for this review ❤️
.
.
.
.
#bookstagram #booksta #books #booksbooksbooks #avidreader #ilovereading #thetwistedlibrarian #professionalbookworm #thefiancedilemma #elenaarmas #whatsnikkireading #book66of2024 #soulmates #fakeengagement #smalltownromance #runawaybride #atriabooks #netgalley

I'm a big fan of Elena Armas, I've read all of her books so far. The Fiance Dilemma was good, just not my favorite book of hers. I liked the characters but this book seemed to have a lot going on and I felt like it kind of distracted from the overall story.

Got about 2/3 through liking this book just enough before I forgot about it and eventually decided it wasn't for me. It's harmless and would work well if you don't know what book to read next and need something of a palate cleanser. It just missed the mark for me.

I really enjoyed this one! Matthew was my favorite of the whole book by far. He is so sweet, such a gentleman and so caring. I really liked the aspect of fake marriage and how it brought them closer together. I do feel like we don’t get much closure or dive deep into the problems such as her four first engagements so I would love liked to see more of that play out. Some parts were a bit slower and I felt less interested with the podcast aspect of this book. Josie and Matthew really were fun to read about. The tension and friendship between them hooked me and I loved every second. Overall, I definitely recommend.

I enjoyed this book and the characters. I loved the main female character from the previous book and I’m glad she got her story. It was a lot of fun.

Gah what a cute book! This is actually my first Elena Armas book and I loved it! Marriage of convenience is one of my favorite tropes! Josephine was so funny! Matthew was too but his was more sarcastic humor which I love! Josephine is the mayor of her small town and has had 4 previous engagements! To try to appease her dad and his PR agent, she pretends to be engaged for a 5th time to Matthew! And I think you know where this is going! 3.5 stars! Quick read!

Elena Armas did it again! Matthew and Josie are so sweet together. If I could actually marry a book boyfriend, it would be Matthew! When Josie's life starts to run away from her, Matthew steps in to help her knowing that by doing so he's sacrificing what he actually wants from Josie. With each new obstacle thrown their way, Matthew and Josie grow closer together and stronger in their love.

[Regardless of how the story lines concluded, I still can't stand Andrew or Bobbi.]

Tropes:
slow burn (slooooow)
fake engagement
small town romance
golden retriever MMC
no third act breakup
fun nicknames

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for the advanced copy of The Fiance Dilemma.

Thanks to Atria and Netgalley for this advanced copy!

I have been a fan of Elena Armas's other books, but this one just seemed off to me. With the single POV with Josie, I felt at times like I couldn't figure out her chemistry with Matthew. Matthew is ALL IN during this novel and I don't know if I forgot their origin story or what from the first book in the series but I was glad to get some of the information towards the end of the book. For most of the book I kept thinking, why is she not realizing how committed he already is? Why isn't she questioning why? Does she just love him already? It felt imbalanced and confusing. And Cam and Adyln staying far away was ok in the sense that it focused the book but if my sister was all of a sudden engaged to my best friend I would do more to say "uh, what? Tell me more".

So it was fine! There were some good moments! The podcast stuff felt like a tack on when I think it was supposed to be a thread. I had hoped for a little more.

This book took me a bit to get into, and it was my first Elena Armas book. There were aspects I really liked (fake dating, small town vibes,) but over all I just wasn’t super invested in the characters. I’d be willing to give another book of hers a try at some point.

Thank you so much for allowing me to read this book. It is recommended to have read the long game to have an accurate understanding, but it can be read as a stand-alone.
Our FMC is allowing turning her life from 0 to 100 and fall in love in the process.
The story is so good; I'm so happy to have given Elena another try.