Thanks to NeGalley and the publisher.

I absolutely love books by this author. Funnily enough I haven’t read her first but every single one after and I loved them all.
This one was so much fun and I couldn’t put it down!!
Can‘t wait to read more by her

Plot: Josie is her famous father's recently revealed secret baby and she has four previous engagements. For romance reasons, the press are very into examining Josie's past which leads to her fake engagement to Matthew, her half-sister's best friend. Many hijinks ensue.

What I Loved: There's something about the way Arias has created this small town that is just so cozy and comforting to me. I also loved the way the sexual tension in this book simmers. It's a slow burn on that aspect and even the way the two go back and forth with the is it real/is it not was appealing to me.

Who Would I Recommend this to?: You have to be okay with a lack of logic, ready to ride for and with Josie and Matthew as the situations they're in become more and more silly. If you loved the town aspects of the last book, I do think this book is a great choice for you. And I, personally, loved it.

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑭𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝑫𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒎𝒎𝒂 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐣𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠, 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬! 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐨 𝐮𝐧𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 (𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭, 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐰, 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐠𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐉𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐞’𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐞). 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐓𝐎𝐎 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐝, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐈 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝, 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐲 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐉𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐞’𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲.

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐞, 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐰’𝐬 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 *𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐟’𝐬 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬,* 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐧 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬! 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐦-𝐜𝐨𝐦 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞.

𝐈𝐧 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑭𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝑫𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒎𝒎𝒂, 𝐉𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐞’𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐉𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐞—𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐰-𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐰 𝐮𝐩 𝐢𝐧. 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐉𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐞’𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬, 𝐚 𝐏𝐑 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐉𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐞’𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐉𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐟𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐡 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫’𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝, 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐰.

𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓀 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜 𝐸𝓁𝑒𝓃𝒶 𝒜𝓇𝓂𝒶𝓈, 𝒜𝓉𝓇𝒾𝒶 𝐵𝑜𝑜𝓀𝓈, & 𝒩𝑒𝓉𝒢𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓎 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒜𝑅𝒞! 𝒜𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝓅𝒾𝓃𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓂𝓎 𝑜𝓌𝓃.

I really enjoyed this book. It was super cute. Fake dating is always fun. I am going to have to go read more from Elena Adams now.

Faking dating/ fake fiance is one of my favorite tropes and Elana Armas did this one well. I really enjoyed reading Matthew and Josie's story. It was cute and their chemistry was so fun. I loved so many of Matthew's characteristics. He was a perfect book boyfriend and perfect for Josie.

I can't wait to read more books by Elena Armas.

Thank you Netgalley and Atria Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was fortunate to receive an advance readers copy of this book, I really enjoy Elena Armas books, they’re so light and quick enjoyable reads. This one was funny, I actually found myself laughing out loud at times. While a very slooowwww burn, the relationship build was cute and man did Matthew have it bad for Josie. I’d say 3.5 rounded up, definitely worth the read. Thank you to the publisher @atriabooks and Simon & Schuster for letting me escape to green oak.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria books for an eletronic ARC of "The Fiance Dilemma" by Elena Armas, out now!

I love a good fake dating, or in this case fake fiance story and this one did not disappoint. I have enjoyed all of Elena Armas' books and this one was just as amazing as the others I have read by her.

Definitely recommend reading this book if you liked her other books, enjoy romance books and/or love the fake dating trope!

I really tried to get into this book, but it was a DNF unfortunately. I could not relate to the characters at all and was not interested in how their love story would progress.

I loved Elena Armas’ Spanish Love Deception and The American Roommate Experience and was pumped to read her latest book, The Fiancee Dilemma over the summer. This book centers around Josie Moore, who’s had some challenges when it comes to relationships with men - four failed engagements and a once-absentee father. When a popular magazine plans to feature her famous father, Josie is worried her romantic past will become national news. When acquaintance, Matthew Flanagan comes to town looking for a place to crash after some troubles of his own, the two hash out a plan to act as fake fiancées to hopefully alleviate some of their troubles.
If you love Elena Armas books, fake engagements and stories about second chances, this book is for you!

3.5⭐, 2.5🌶️

The romance was cutesy, the story was cutesy, the characters were cutesy. A whole lot of cute, but nothing WOW for me (if that makes sense?) Like I was hella excited when our first spicy scene was a phone call/ bathtub scene, but it was sooo mellow that it wasn't exciting? (see above, it just felt cutesy, not saucy). But that may also be because I listened to the audiobook and Brittany Pressley has such a calming voice.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest and unpaid review!

My Elena Armas obsession started with The Spanish Love deception back when it was a I die book on Kindle Unlimited, and has only continued to grow from there! And let me tell you my love for her only continues to grow with The Fiance Dilemma!

Matthew needs to write a book on how to be the perfect man. I'll buy that for my husband.

I want to be Josie. I need to be Josie! I aspire to exude her calm, perfect, quirky demeanor. That's what I want. That's my new goal!

The whole way their relationship developed is just my favorite kind of book! It had a little of my favorite “its always been you” vibe going on, we get Cam and Adalyn cameos which we love, and of course, our favorite rooster, Sebastian Stan is back!

This book is just never not on my brain! 😍

This book was an enjoyable time! I liked the premise but struggled a bit with the connection between the two main characters. I found it unbelievable at times and wanted more romance but overall it was a good time!

I thought this was such a cute book, and I was rooting for Josie and Matthew the whole time. Their relationship felt believable even though the premise was a fake fiancé. Josie was a sympathetic character, and Matthew was the best thing for her! I would recommend this book to any fan of romance, even if they hadn’t read the first book in the series.
Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC!

Matthew and Josie were everything I wanted them to be in this follow-up to The Long Game. I really enjoyed being back in Green Oaks again as it's such a charming town filled with all the chaotic side characters (and Maria Vasquez who deserves a book in like ten years) and Josie's cafe. This book is centered on Josie and Matthew pretending to be engaged to help her father's perception as he nears retirement. But Josie is a chronic run away bride and Matthew is all in, so reading as the days got closer to the wedding date felt like a bomb was just waiting to be dropped. ANother really well done well wrapped up and spicy book from Elena Armas. Can't wait for her next one!

Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review!

dnf at 22%

I put this down so many times and just could not convince myself to pick it back up. The main character was extremely childish and I could not get over her behaviour. I was hoping to love it as much as I did TSLD, but I could just not get past the main characters personality.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC, I wished this one would have gone better for me.

The Fiancé Dilemma by Elena Armas is a charming romantic comedy that navigates the complexities of love and commitment with wit and warmth. The story follows a young woman who, faced with family pressures, decides to fake a relationship with a handsome stranger, leading to unexpected chemistry and heartfelt revelations. Armas’ engaging writing style and relatable characters create a delightful backdrop for exploring themes of trust and the true meaning of love. With its blend of humor, romance, and emotional depth, this novel is a perfect escape for readers seeking a feel-good love story.

This was my first Elena Armas book, but it will definitely not be my last! I loved it from the beginning! It was charming, funny, and who doesn't love a grumpy old grandpa in the mix?! Matthew is pretty much my dream guy! A spontaneous blonde with glasses and a dirty mouth... yes please! I was so invested in Josie's story too, and really loved how everything wrapped up! This book was a dream, and I definitely recommend!
Thank you so much to @netgalley for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review!

A lovely story, that really sells you on the friendship and care between the two main characters. I loved how he was so ready to protect her from the start, no question asked. A man really with a clear mind. Josie was a sweet and strong in her own way protagonist, that really moved me to deep understanding and compassion.

This book was okay. Not good, not bad. Just okay.

I felt like I could figure this story out after the first few chapter so it seemed to just dragged on for me. To be honest, I don’t even remember half of this book now that I’ve finished it 🙈

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you to Elena Armas, Atria Books, and NetGalley for an eARC of The Fiance Dilemma.

I really wanted to enjoy this book. I loved The Spanish Love Deception so I thought this book would be more of the same - a laugh out loud but sweet love story. While it had it's moments, this story truly missed the mark.

I felt that Josie and Matthew lacked chemistry. Josie was honestly a bit annoying to me. She was absolutely not a character I could relate to. Her entire personality was a juxtaposition - She was super committed to her town but couldn't commit to a person. She wouldn't stand up to her dad, but she's supposed to be the mayor of the town. It didn't make sense to me.

Since I couldn't relate to the characters this story just dragged. It felt drawn out and I found myself completely uninterested in picking the book up. What did keep me coming back were some cute laugh-out-loud moments.

While this book missed the mark for me, I do want to read more Elena Armas.

This pains me, but 2/5 stars.